“Timberlake, Colorado?” Helen had asked. “What’s the population there? Three hundred people, six hundred elk?”
“Something like that,” Leigh said. “You can visit me in the summer when it’s warm and I’ll visit you in the winter wherever you are. I’ve only signed a two-year contract so this is just my first possibility. Who knows? I might end up in Maui!”
“Can we please try La Jolla?” Helen asked.
“We’ll see. You’ve been indulging your wanderlust for ten years now. It’s my turn to have a look around. I’ll try to settle on a place where you won’t slip on the ice when you’re old and brittle. You know I’ll always take care of you. You always took care of me.”
“I’m not planning to get old and brittle,” Helen threw back. “That’s why I keep moving! It’s the best defense.”
So, the time was coming up. Helen would spend most of her spring and summer in Timberlake with Leigh. The house in Illinois was sitting empty for longer and longer now with Leigh in Colorado and Helen always on the move.
Leigh had clearly learned the importance of autonomy from Helen, who was so comfortable being a single woman. It took her a long time to get over Johnny Holliday and there had not been a man with real potential in her life since him. She had had a dalliance here and there, but nothing serious. Her sixty-two-year-old aunt was her best friend, and quite the girlfriend she was. She wrote books, traveled the world, tried living in new places, taught writing classes all over the country and online and had a wonderful group of writer girlfriends everywhere. She’d been on a couple of writers’ organization boards of directors, toured to promote her books and had even taught a summer writing course at Boston University. She was open to anything, it seemed. She was fearless and Leigh thought she was beautiful. And she believed her—Helen had no intention of getting old, no matter how old she got.
Leigh knew her move to Timberlake was good for her. She needed to establish her own life but, if she was honest with herself, sometimes she missed having a best friend of the male persuasion. I think we should just get married. You’re perfect for me. Rob was kidding, of course. He had no way of knowing those were the words that she most wanted to hear but that most terrified her.
A person often meets his destiny
on the road he took to avoid it.
—Jean de La Fontaine
2
“THEN DAD HIT on Dr. Culver,” Finn said.
All movement stopped. Everyone in the kitchen froze. Present were Rob’s younger son, Sean, his sister, Sidney, and her husband, Dakota Jones. And of course Rob. He had made dinner and Sidney and Dakota wanted to check on Finn since the accident.
“I guess those pain pills are stronger than I thought,” Rob said.
“Dad, you totally hit on her. And I think she liked it.”
“This sounds interesting,” Dakota said, leaning back on his chair.
“Go ahead and tell us all about it, Finn,” Sid said.
“He almost passed out from the blood and stitches. He was sitting on the floor, I guess to keep from fainting, and she told him to stay down. Then she rubbed his shoulders or something and talked to him real soft. Oh, and the nurse gave him a bowl to puke in.”
“You puked?” Sean asked. It was hard to tell if he was appalled or thrilled.
“I did not puke,” Rob said. “I got dizzy and light-headed. Not from the blood and stitches but... Through all the injuries these two have had, this one actually scared me. I thought he’d cut his hand in half. When the doctor had it under control, I had an adrenaline drop. That’s all it was. She told me not to try to get up too fast. She rubbed my shoulders and head for a minute.”
“And Dad said, ‘Marry me.’”
Rob shrugged and grinned. “In that position, I think that’s just what you do. I admit, I forgot you were in the room for a minute.”
“No kidding,” Finn said.
The doorbell rang and Sean shot away from the table with a hearty, “I got it!” A moment later, the sound of female voices talking and laughing came from the living room.
“Can I be excused?” Finn asked.
“Sure. Of course.”
The house was full of teenage girls, momentarily. They were all fussing over Finn. They brought him flowers and chocolate, let him tell his war story, which Rob was relieved didn’t seem to include him hitting on the doctor. Rob counted. There were six of them. All adorable. All around seventeen. Included among them, Finn’s girlfriend of the past year, Maia—a sweet beauty.
Dakota took a drink from his bottle of beer. “That never happened to me,” he said.
“Or to me,” Rob said.
“Uh...it most certainly happened to you,” Sidney said to her brother. “Maybe not identical circumstances, but girls chased you all the time. I was the wallflower who never went to a prom or formal. Not even in college.”
“I don’t remember that,” Rob said. He glanced into the living room to see six girls and two boys sitting on the furniture, floor, anywhere, talking and laughing. “My house is going to be dripping in testosterone tonight.”
“I’ll help you clean up the dishes,” Sid said. “Why’d you have to make spaghetti? I hate cleaning up the spaghetti pots.”
“I got it,” Rob said. “I left Kathleen in charge at the pub. In case Finn needs me.”
“Oh, I think you’re the last person he needs,” Dakota said. A burst of laughter came from the living room. “He seems to have this under control.”
Sidney started rinsing plates while Rob gathered pots off the stove and put away leftovers.
“It wouldn’t kill you to take a woman on a proper date,” she said to Rob.
“Nah. Someone around here has to keep a clear head.”
“She seems like a nice woman, the doctor. Not at all crazy—a plus in this town.”
“Agreed, she seems nice,” he said. “And she knows how to get out stains. Did you know hydrogen peroxide gets out blood? I could’ve used her expertise while I was raising those two maniacs.”
“Not to mention a discount in medical costs,” Sid said. “You know, the boys are certainly old enough to accept the idea of their father going out with women now and then. After all, they do.”
“Sean isn’t exactly dating yet,” Rob pointed out.
“I bet he’s got something going on—walking a girl to classes, sitting with a girl at games, that stuff. Finn has a steady girl,” Sid said.
“I think he lucked into that,” Rob said. “She’s a sweetheart. And smart.”
“They’re going to leave you, you know,” she said. “You should be looking. For companionship.”
“Maybe I am and don’t want to talk about it. Keep the water in the sink, please,” he said.
And then he thought about it. He’d always had an open mind. But most of the women he’d met since his wife died nine years ago had been a bit too eager and anxious to win over his sons and take charge of his life. He just hadn’t been ready for that. There were a couple of women from out of town he’d had casual relationships with. What that meant was he’d see them briefly, talk to them occasionally, maybe there would be a quick roll in the hay. He’d had that kind of relationship with a woman named Rebecca for a couple of years, then she wandered off for a more serious man. A couple of years later he met Suzanne. She was in sales for restaurant supplies. He took her out for a drink, learned she was divorced, had a couple of grown daughters and was not interested in anything serious. That was about his speed. They got together infrequently but when he did spend a little time with her, it was good. She was also nice and didn’t seem to want anything more than he did.
She didn’t rub his neck or head, as he recalled. And she didn’t have that creamy, peachy skin. He wondered how long Leigh Culver’s hair was—it was always tied up in a bun when he saw her. She had playful green eyes. And a real take-charge attitude. She came into the pub from time to time, was well-liked in town. Today was the first day he’d called on her professional services.
He wouldn’t mind seeing more of her, but that was complicated in a town like Timberlake. Two dates and the whole town had you engaged. Maybe that didn’t happen to everyone but he and Leigh were pretty high-profile—the town doctor and the town pub owner. They would run into more people every day than the average citizen. And people had been trying to fix him up for years.
He wondered if she’d been fixed up lately. He didn’t even know if she’d ever been married. Maybe if he got to know her, he’d find she wasn’t such a prize.
No, that wasn’t going to happen. Eleanor and her husband liked to eat at the pub and Eleanor loved Leigh. Eleanor didn’t suffer fools gladly. Connie Boyle was always saying she was great, as did some of his fellow firefighters.
“Dad? Is it almost time for another one of those pills?” Finn asked as he walked into the kitchen.
Rob looked into Finn’s eyes. He could see he was hurting. He felt his head—warm. But he’d gotten antibiotics. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“It’s throbbing. It feels like the bandage is too tight.”
“Let’s take your temperature,” he said.
It was just barely above normal.
“You’re almost due a pain pill,” he said. “We’ll watch your temperature. If you’re still having trouble in the morning, I’ll call the doctor. If it gets bad in the night, I have her cell number.” She had said it would save her a world of trouble if he’d just call that number rather than meeting a big problem first thing in the morning. Made sense. “We’re going to be good boys and not take off that bandage. I don’t know what happens if you do that but I think she executes you. It sounded serious.” He craned his neck toward the living room. “Your girls gone?” There they sat, waiting patiently. Quietly.