A Seal Upon Your Heart (18 page)

“Is that a little boy?”

Martier’s lips were turned up into a grin as she came down on her knees before the child. “Hi Miles.” The baby recognized her and began to get excited and indicate that he wanted to be picked up. Martier swept him up in her arms and carried him to Tim.

“He is the only boy that’s ever been here. He’s a twin and he and his sister are both foster to adopt. They shouldn’t be here long but there is trouble locating their parents and legalities that keep them from being placed.”

Tim reached out and touched the boy’s straight black hair. He looked up with slanted eyes and gave Tim a curious look.

“Tsunami?”

“Yes.”

“Miles isn’t his real name, is it?”

“No one knows his real name.”

“And their parents?”

“No one knows that either.”

Tim sighed, and then ducked down to look at the child closely. “Hi little Tyke. You’re a cutie.” Miles seemed to approve of him and placed his fat opened palm on Tim’s cheek or maybe he was just trying to get at his blue eyes. Whatever it was both Tim and Martier went, ‘Awwww.’ In unison.  It was sad to leave him because he started to cry but the sister took him while they left.

“I miss the little ones,” she said quietly. He almost placed his hand on her shoulders before he stopped himself.  They went outside while she waved goodbye or hugged whoever they passed. He could tell that it was hard for her. Poor thing. He was happy that they hugged her, someone should. They got the boxes unloaded with the help of some of the sisters and Martier seemed more than ready to leave. She didn’t go over to the younger ones playing outside, afraid that they might start crying. But he suspected that in truth it was she that was afraid of crying.

They drove in silence and Tim realized that as much as he had thought he knew, he had actually been very clueless.

CHAPTER 16

Too emotionally
drained to do anything but go home Jane offered to make them both lunch. Tim said that he could thaw out the steaks and they could have an early dinner. Martier seemed excited about having steak again and intrigued when he said that he was a master on the grill.

He hadn’t eaten anything all day and snuck a quick sandwich knowing that it wouldn’t wreck his appetite. Then he showed her the shed and together they pulled out some of the outdoor furniture so that they could enjoy the nice weather. Tim indicated that the yard was wired for sound and went inside to turn on the radio. Tim listened to vintage rock and Martier liked anything that didn’t consist of Gregorian chanting. Tim laughed for a long time at that one.

Waiting for the grill to heat and the meat to thaw they talked and checked out the garden. Tim was enthusiastic about her fixing it and he promised to have the pool man come out in time for Memorial Day. He discussed the lawn work that he’d do and then followed her into the cottage as she prepared a simple tomato and cucumber salad with the vegetables she’d picked earlier. Tim mentioned that there was basil out there somewhere and they went foraging for the herb and lucked up on fresh rosemary for the steak.

Afterwards she watched him roast the potatoes and prepare the steak for the grill. He moved about the kitchen comfortably and her imagination drifted as she envisioned a day when it would be like this with her very own husband. But unlike Tim, maybe he would lean forward and kiss her when he paused in seasoning the food. And then she thought of something crazy.

What would it be like to kiss Tim?  

A zip of excitement coursed through her and she quickly suppressed it. That was the last thing that she should be thinking about! Tim was her boss! But Martier couldn’t stop the way she watched him concentrating on his task. They had moved back to his kitchen and he was explaining to her the art of seasoning.

“A good steak needs nothing more than salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil drizzled on it.” He grabbed the olive oil and drizzled on a few drops and then rubbing it liberally into the huge cuts of steak. He wiped his hands on a paper towel than dipped his fingertips into a dish containing kosher salt. “A bit of kosher or sea salt, but not too much.”

His low spoken words were doing something to the way her heart  was beating; making it speed up as she listened to it reverberate from his chest. What if he touched her like that with his finger tips?

“Cracked black pepper and because we found this rosemary we’ll take an entire sprig and lay it on top.” He turned to her with a grin that sent her heart racing. “Normally I’m a purist and no green should ever touch steak unless it’s my salad that got too close. But I’ll hand it to the chefs. Rosemary is a fine compliment to beef. So we’ll consider this the
coup de grace
. And
viola.
Steak ala Tim.”

He carried the tray of steaks outside and she followed, listening to his every word as if he was a sage and she his disciple.

“Next the grill has to be smoking hot.” She could see that he had achieved that. He had used a charcoal grill and said that he preferred it but that was because he was old fashioned. “Propane is for girls.” He joked. She liked this Tim.

“Can we put some zucchini on there?” She asked.

He nodded. “Go grab a few and squash if you see any.”
She hurried to do as he asked and when she returned he had already flipped them. They were sizzling and brown and her belly began to yearn for them. He sent her into the kitchen to slice the vegetables long ways and she made quick work of getting them prepped. He returned with the steak as well as the foil wrapped potatoes.

“Right on time.” She said. He left the meat to rest and quickly seasoned the vegetables with lemon pepper, kosher salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. It took less than five minutes and by that time she had the outdoor table set. Tim grabbed the salad from the refrigerator along with wine and two glasses. She thought fleetingly of the odor of beer on him this morning but dismissed it.

Once the food was set before them Martier stared at it in admiration. “I can’t believe we prepared this.”

“Shall we see if it tastes as good as it looks?”

She nodded enthusiastically and sliced into the tender meat. She gave him a pleased look as she chewed.

“Like butter.” He said as he chewed.

“The rosemary gives a hint of…freshness, like the wild.”

He smiled and raised his wine glass to toast. “Good food and good company.”

Martier pressed her glass to his.  This is what a date will feel like, she thought.

~***~

Tim was in his home office but he could barely concentrate on his work when he kept humming and thinking about the orphanage and the time that he had spent with Martier the day before.  She was good company, and funny without trying to impress him with witty banter. And she listened very intently seeming to enjoy when he talked even though he rather enjoyed when she did. Her voice was musical and its slight accent captivated him. Sometimes he thought of her voice in terms of music.

He was happy that she was living in the little cottage but kept wondering what she was doing. Several times he got up to satisfy his curiosity and saw that she was gardening. He had watched her from the kitchen window for a while before returning to his office.  But now he found it hard to concentrate. He wanted to help her with the weeding and he definitely didn’t like weeding.

Slow up, old man, he cautioned himself. She is not here to be your companion or to help you cope with loneliness. Besides…you are twice her age and…

The doorbell rang and his head jerked. Shit, he already knew. He strolled slowly to the door and opened it without even looking out. Because who else would show up on his doorstep unannounced on a Sunday afternoon?

“Hello Jakob.”

“Tim.”

He came inside and noticed immediately that the room had been freshly cleaned. Jakob gave Tim a look. “You finally hire someone?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I did.”

“Good for you.”

“Want a drink?” Tim went into the kitchen.

“No. I think we should have a talk.”

Tim peered into the refrigerator silently. He retrieved a bottled water. “I’m not an alcoholic, I’m not going to become an alcoholic-”

“I want to talk about Corrine, not about your drinking.”

Jakob glanced out the window and paused.  “You hired a gardener, too?”

Tim sighed. Shit…this was not the time to have Jakob read him the riot act over having his assistant living in his guest house. But his friend surprised him. Tim carefully explained the situation and Jakob listened. He looked at Tim and then out the window.

“She’s a young one Tim.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Whatever.” Tim was about to become angry and Jakob continued. “Whatever it takes you to keep your head straight, even if it’s just a minor distraction.” He didn’t like his friend’s characterization but ignored it.

“So do I get a reprieve from ‘the talk’?”

“No.” He said adamantly.

“Well before we go there I want to show you something.” He led his friend upstairs and to his bedroom. He opened Corinne’s closet and Jakob entered it in complete amazement. “Before you say anything, I want you to know that cleaning out this closet was damn near the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I’m sure you know what was harder. I donated her things because…” Tim concentrated on the empty hangers, “because I don’t need them here anymore. And once I realized that, it was actually harder having them in the house.”

“Tim. You should have told us, we would have helped you.”

Tim nodded. “You’ve helped me enough. And thank you. But from here on out, I think I’ll be better able to help myself.”

CHAPTER 18

As the days progressed Tim and Martier developed a routine that was both fulfilling and careful. Each morning he would be waiting to take her to work
. And at work she learned that part of being a good assistant was not to wait for a list of duties but to anticipate what Tim would need to make his day run smoothly. He was very busy. He didn’t just have one client at a time and sometimes he’d have to be at court all day. Sometimes he would get court dates scheduled that conflicted with each other and it was her job to reschedule. No she couldn’t ask him when was the best time, she just had to know.

There were days when he had meetings that lasted for two or three days. And there were days when his schedule was clear. Those days were the best because Tim would say lets discuss client briefings and they would go out to lunch, discuss the case for a few minutes and then spend the rest of the time relaxing.

After work they would have dinner together two or three times during the week. When either ate alone they spent much time wondering what the other was doing. Tim discovered that she didn’t like that he always paid for their lunch or dinner so he offered to purchase groceries if she would occasionally make home cooked meals, and in that way he found a perfect excuse to have dinner with her.

Sometimes Dhakiya would meet her after work and would offer to drive her home. Tim would smile but Martier thought he seemed disappointed, just like she became disappointed when he revealed that they wouldn’t t have their usual Saturday barbecue because Jakob and Elaina had invited him to a big Memorial Day cookout.

It had been two weeks since she had moved into the cottage. The days had warmed up and everyone predicted that summer would be a scorcher. The pool man said that he’d have the pool ready by the weekend and Martier had bought baby back ribs in anticipation of she and Tim bringing in the holiday together.