Molly Bull - Brides And Blessings

“Well, it has been a long day.” She faked a coughing spell to make her point.

“You go in and rest while I do these dishes.”

“Please. Don’t.” Suzann hadn’t intended to sound so abrupt She tried to soften it by forcing a weak smile. “Put the dishes in the sink to soak. I’ll do them later.”

“Sure, and then I’m out of here.” He paused contemplatively. “Do you mind if I phone you in the morning to see how you’re doing?”

“Go ahead if you like, but I can’t promise I’ll answer. I’m taking your advice and sleeping in.”

“I won’t call until after church then,” he said.

“That’s very thoughtful of you, but don’t feel that you must. I do a pretty good job of taking care of myself.”

His face flashed disappointment. “I see.” Josh continued to study her with those electrifying blue eyes of his.

She felt terrible for speaking so curtly to him. Suzann wished she could take back her sharp remark. Yet if she did, he might miss her meaning.

Josh slipped his right hand in the pocket of his jeans as if he was searching for his truck keys. “I better go,” he said rigidly, “and I hope that cold of yours disappears real soon.”

“Thanks.”

Then he left.

She hadn’t liked treating him so callously. Suzann bit her lower lip.

Like many child actors, Suzann had always felt that in order to get love and acceptance, one must perform perfectly—before the camera and everywhere else. She had no faith in people who offered affection without expecting something in return.

Suzann knew she was still slightly depressed over her breakup with Greer Fraser. Until the onset of her cold, she hadn’t realized that she was physically exhausted as well. When Josh offered to nurse her back to health, Suzann was warmed by his concern and amazed at how different he was from Greer and the other men she’d dated in the past.

Somehow, Josh’s interest and nurturing nature struck an unsung chord deep within her—as if he was gently teaching her to trust. At the same time, Suzann saw Josh’s kindness as a warning. Take it slow and easy. Men like Josh were rare in California…and that was where she would be living in six months.

She knew she needed the kind of tenderness and understanding that Josh could give her. But she was afraid to reach out and take it. Besides, she wasn’t in Oak Valley to start a romance. Or to steal her sister’s beau.

Suzann crawled into Holly’s single bed under the double windows and went right to sleep. Four hours later, she woke up, feeling uneasy and slightly disoriented, but fully awake.

Yawning, she glanced at the luminous clock, blinking in the darkness. Eleven o’clock.

It would be nine in California. Maybe she should give her sister a call.

Suzann fumbled for the phone on the nightstand, then dialed. Bates answered. Rats. She’d hoped Holly would pick up. She faked her best Spanish accent ever and asked to speak with Miss Condry.

“She’s talking to a gentleman in the drawing room.”

Suzann’s right brow lifted. “Really? Tell her this is Maria Garcia from Texas. Her friend from Oak Valley.”

“She hasn’t been taking her calls today. But if you’ll hold, I’ll go in and give her your message.”

Suzann coughed. “Thanks.”

A few minutes later Holly came on the line.

“Your Spanish accent must have been pretty convincing,” Holly said. “You sure had your butler fooled.”

“It’s not the first time. How’s—” Suzann coughed again “—how’s California?”

“Super, but you don’t sound so good. Are you all right?”

“Just a slight cold. So, how do you like my humble abode?”

“Your house is fabulous. But if you hadn’t drawn me that map, I would never have found your bedroom.”

Suzann smiled. “Who’s your guest? Mike?”

Holly grew silent. “No, his brother.”

“The pediatrician?”

“Yeah.”

“Mike said his brother had moved to Burbank. So what’s Shawn doing there? And where’s Mike?”

“It’s a little hard to explain right now. And Shawn—I mean, Dr. McDowell—is waiting. Could I call you back tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

Suzann held the receiver away from her ear for a moment before hanging up. Something strange was going on in California. She intended to find out what it was.

Suzann slept late the next morning. She might have slept longer, but a coughing episode woke her. When she recovered, she got out of bed and fixed herself a cup of coffee.

The church members she’d met would be in Sunday School and then church. So would Josh. She was free to study Holly’s family photo album and the pictorial Church Directory.

At a little before twelve, she fell asleep again. She didn’t open her eyes until she heard another knock.

Suzann combed her fingers through her hair and made her way to the door, pulling her white, terry-cloth robe closed in front as she went. The small window above the door revealed a young woman about Suzann’s age. She’d noticed her picture in the Church Directory. Still in her groggy state, she couldn’t remember her name.

Suzann opened the door. “Excuse my appearance—and for looking so vacant. But I’ve been sleeping a lot with this cold of mine.” She slanted her head to one side. “Please, come in.”

The young woman frowned briefly as if she might be confused. She was short and petite. Her hair was darker than Suzann’s. Some might call it black. Her eyes were a warm gray and circled by a thick layer of black lashes.

“We missed you at church this morning.”

“I missed being there.”

Suzann motioned toward the couch, taking the chair to the right of the couch for a better view of her guest. Could this be her neighbor? Suzann had caught a glimpse of a neighbor when Josh drove her home, but that woman had looked slightly older. So who?

In hopes of appearing relaxed and casual, Suzann pulled up her legs, covered them with her white robe, and hugged her knees.

“What’s been going on in Oak Valley since I’ve been gone?” Suzann asked.

The young woman sent her another puzzled expression, as if she’d expected Suzann to say something entirely different.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Holly?” the young woman asked. “You seem a little—” she shook her head “—I don’t know…different.”

Suzann stretched out her legs and sat up. Her body language earlier wasn’t doing the job. It was time for Plan B. Too bad she hadn’t come up with one yet.

“Maybe you should see a doctor or something,” the woman said. “About that cold, I mean.”

“That’s what half the church members who came by here yesterday said.”

“I would have come by yesterday too but—I just got back late last night.”

“How was your trip?”

“Trip?”

Suzann tensed. Trip was obviously not the word she should have used with this particular person. Wake up, Suzann, she thought. She could always blame her present addled state on her fever.

“That wasn’t a very good choice of words, was it?” Suzann said. “Sorry. How did it go?”

“At first Mother was devastated, of course. But she’s better, now that we think Dad’s going to be all right.”

“We can thank God for that.” Suzann suddenly realized to whom she was speaking, and her heart went out to Kate Devlon.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” Suzann said softly. “Wish I could have been there for you.”

“There was no reason for you to disrupt your vacation, and there was nothing you could do. Besides, you phoned, didn’t you?”

Suzann nodded. She should have guessed that the stranger was Holly’s best friend the minute Kate walked in.