Broken Promises (17 page)

"Umm... no."

"Well, before I started my own business, I'd worked my way up to the top," she said, "the very top, even
takin
' on some fancy dudes high up in big business, if you know what I mean, with the suits and ties and all. But since I moved my business to Baker’s Creek, the girls don't get those high class kind anymore. But they say the boys around here are a lot more fun."

Tess swallowed. "Baker's Creek?"

"Well, south end of town...
Crossbuck
Tavern. It's my place,
ya
know. You say you're in
loggin
'?"

Tess cleared her throat. "Well... yes. I manage Timber West Logging."

"Oh sure," Rita said. "I know quite a few of the boys. Nice bunch."

Tess's eyes grew wide. "Which ones? I mean, who do you know from Timber West?" She tried to visualize which of the men would visit the
Crossbuck
.

"Sean Herring," Rita replied. "Comes to see Rosie. Nice
fella
. Quiet though. And Mac Royer. Jennie always makes him take a bath first. But I'm sort of
thinkin
' about
sellin
' the place. Kinda got me a boyfriend.
Jeddy
wants me to quit."

"
Jeddy
?"

"Big
fella
who used to work for you. Jed Swenson."

Somewhere in Tess's throat was a voice box, but for the moment, she was unable to find it, so Rita continued. "He's different from the
fellas
I've known. Always brings me
somethin
'...you know, flowers, kittens, even brought me a tree once. I said I needed some firewood, so Christmas day he came
haulin
' in this tree and cut it up right in my front yard. Got me through last winter though. Never had no one treat me like a lady the way
Jeddy
does."

"He doesn't mind if you call him
Jeddy
?"

"Well, I don't call him that to his face because that's what his sisters call him and he's kinda sensitive about it. He's usually just plain 'honey.' Anyway, we have this sort of understanding. He treats me like a lady, and I just let him do what he wants.
Jeddy
don't like me
tellin
' him what to do so I don't. He's a cutie though. Makes up for it in other ways."

Tess saw the flicker of light in Rita's eyes as her mind seemed to wander for a moment.

"Then you know about him being in
Afghanistan
?" Tess asked.

"Oh, you mean about his leg?"

Tess looked at her, puzzled. "What about it?"

"
Losin
' half. You didn't know half his leg is plastic and metal?"

"Well, no. He never mentioned that."

"From the knee down. He got it shot up pretty bad fighting off forty men. Got the Medal of Honor for
doin
' it though. But he only mentioned it once. He don't like to talk about it so I never bring it up. That leg's a real touchy subject."

"What about Curt Broderick?" Tess asked. "Do you...I mean, has he--"

"Curt's been in once or twice. Not a bad
fella
, but since he's been
hangin
' around Carl Yaeger he's different. I never did like Carl. Pretty rough about
takin
' what he wants from the girls then
leavin
' fast."

Tess eyed Rita, curiously. "How long has Curt been hanging around with Carl Yaeger?"

"I don't know. A month... maybe two."

Tess carefully considered Rita's words. Carl Yaeger had recently made a firm offer to buy Timber West, which happened to be right after a string of mishaps. "Do you know anything more about Curt?" she asked. "Maybe where he last worked?"

"No. He doesn't come around my place much."

Deciding that was about all she could get out of Rita, Tess said, "so, what will they be teaching you to do after you leave here?"

"
Sewin
'," Rita replied, "just
sittin
' on some factory bench
sewin
', for half the pay I'm
gettin
'
doin
' what I like most. But if
Jeddy
wants to get married--he's mentioned it a few times--I just might tie the knot and settle down."

Before Tess could pursue the topic of Rita marrying Jed Swenson, a guard unlocked the cell door, and said, "Your bail's been posted, Miss O'Reilly. You're free to go."

Tess eyed the guard with uncertainty. "How can my bail be posted? I wasn't able to reach my father. How did he know?"

"I don't know who your father is, miss, but a man named Zak de Neuville's here. He posted bail. You'll be notified about the hearing."

"Hold it," Tess said. "If Zak de Neuville posted bail you can
unpost
it. I have no intention of leaving with him." She gripped the bars of the cell door and pulled it closed. "And, you can tell Mr. de Neuville that I'll sit in here and rot before I leave on his bail money."

"Miss, I'm not sure you can do that," the guard said. "I'll have to check and let you know." He locked the cell and walked away.

Tess called after him, "And I know my rights and I
can
do that. I don't have to accept charity, and I have no intention of paying the bail money back to Zak de Neuville."

Shaking his head, the guard continued on. Moments later, voices rustled through the corridor and Tess heard the guard say, "This way, Mr. de Neuville."

Zak marched in long angry strides toward where Tess stood with her hands wrapped around the bars. "Come on," he said, "you're going with me."

"Oh, no I'm not," Tess replied.

Zak rested his hands on his hips and glared at her. "This is ridiculous."

"Ridiculous?" Tess said. "Isn't it what you wanted? I was under the impression you're the one who put me here."

Zak looked beyond Tess at Rita Clatsop, who stared at him from over Tess's shoulder, then at Tess. "I don't intend to argue with you here. Just come with me and we'll talk about it outside."

Tess pushed her face tight against the bars and peered through them. "I don't seem to be getting through to you, Zak. Read my lips.
Nooo
--" she enunciated in exaggerated movements with her lips. "N...O..."

"Atta' girl, honey," Rita interjected.

"I'm sorry, sir," the guard said. "You have to leave."

Zak took a long breath, eyes fixed on Tess, and said, "This is your last chance."

Rita walked around to stand by Tess, then draped her hand over Tess's shoulder, and said to Zak, "The little lady said no."

Zak's eyes darted to Rita then back to Tess. "This is just great." He glared at Tess for a moment then splayed a stiff hand in the air, and said, "Have it your way. I wash my hands of it."

As the guard led Zak away, Tess crawled up onto the top bunk and stared at the ceiling and wondered how it would all play out.

Her night in jail wasn't too bad. The young woman had been released and Tess was left with Rita Clatsop. Rita talked freely about her childhood and the circumstances leading to her life on the streets, and Tess liked her. She found Rita to be a compassionate and understanding woman and hoped she'd find what she wanted with Jed Swenson.

The following morning, Tess was released. Although she wasn't given details, she learned that the charges had been dropped because her father agreed to shut down logging operations in the pole timber area. He came to pick her up, and as he pulled the truck onto the highway, Tess turned to him, and said, "I hope you're satisfied. I kept logging like you said."

Gib looked askance at her. "I told you to come to me if someone threatened to shut us down. Why didn't you do that?"

Tess stared blankly out the window. "I didn't think you'd be too receptive, especially since Zak was behind it. You do know he's the one who reported the nest, don't you?"

"He came by the house and told me," Gib replied. "He also said he told you to stop, and you refused."

"Of course I refused," Tess said, "but that's because I knew it's what you would have done.." She gave him a sharp look. "That is what you would have done, isn't it?"

"Probably," Gib said. "A man has to do what he has to do."

"I don't understand. You don't seem mad at Zak."

Gib shrugged. "Like I said, a man has to do what he has to do. Zak stands by his convictions. I like that in a man."

Tess started to ask why it's okay for Zak to stand by his convictions about an eagle's nest, but not when he loved a woman and wanted to marry her and she happened to have been under age, but she didn't want to stir up a hornet's nest over Zak, especially when she wasn't even sure herself if a life with him was what she wanted. But then, the thought of life without him seemed unimaginable, especially now that all the obstacles keeping them apart had been removed. All the obstacles, that is, except maybe Zak himself. He could be seriously wondering if he wanted to be married to a woman who, in his estimation, was as stubborn and bullheaded as her father...

"A woman should stand by her convictions as well," Gib said.

Tess looked at her father. "That's what I was doing," she said. "Zak was trying to shut us down and we need the pole timber. I
was
standing by my convictions."

"No, you were forcing Zak to prove he still loved you by turning his back on something he believed in and walking away. The whole jail incident should never have happened. If you love him like you claim, you should work with him in what he's trying to do, not go against him. A lesser man would wash his hands of you. He still might."

Tess couldn't deny that possibility. She could still see the look of disillusionment on Zak's face when she refused to stop logging, even knowing how important the program with the eagles was to him. But it was his look of complete disgust when he'd come for her after posting bail that troubled her most. She'd acted petty and childish--a side of her that Zak had never seen--and she owed him an apology, and an assurance that if they married, she would not establish a pattern of forcing him to go against his convictions to prove he loved her, like her father accused her of doing. And in the end, her father was right. What she'd done was a typical female ploy, an
...if you truly love me you'll prove it by whatever...
thing.

So now the moment of truth. She was the one who insisted their relationship be substance instead of sex this time around. And at this point, Zak would seriously be considering the substance of it, and undoubtedly be questioning it. The irony was, she was certain that if she could get Zak to make love to her at the grotto, under their Adam and Eve tree where they'd first made love, everything would be as it was when she was his little woodland nymph, and he told her he loved her and offered her the world...

"Maybe it's time to sell," Gib said. "With all the equipment repairs, and no pole timber to bail us out, I may have to accept Yaeger's offer."

"Well, don't go signing papers yet," Tess replied. "I just learned that Yaeger and Broderick are friends. Yaeger could have sent Curt to work for us in order to sabotage our operation and force us to sell."

"I've know Carl Yaeger for years," Gib said.

"That doesn't mean he wouldn't do something like this," Tess replied. "I've heard he's pulled some pretty shady deals."

"He's a good businessman," Gib replied. "Moves in when the time is right."

"Sure," Tess clipped. "But he's the one who makes the time right. Just don't do anything until I have a chance to find out a few things about Curt Broderick, precisely what he did at Maddox Construction in
Portland
."

Gib's brow creased in a frown. "Are you sure he said Maddox Construction, not Maddox Demolition?"

"I know he said Maddox Construction," Tess said. She even remembered him stumbling over the name. "What do you know about Maddox Demolition?"

"That's it's the largest demolition company in the Northwest."

"If that's so, it has to be Curt behind everything. If he's also involved with Carl Yaeger, they might make another move," Tess said, weary with the prospect of more trouble.

But for the moment her only goal was reconciliation with Zak. Nothing else mattered.

***

Tess stepped onto the porch of Zak's cabin and peered through one of the front windows. When she saw no sign of him, she walked around back. His truck was parked out front so she knew he couldn't be far. For a few minutes she stood listening to the sounds around her while scanning the surroundings. Gradually, she caught the unmistakable sound of an ax hitting wood.

Following a well-worn trail into the forest, she hiked between tall fir and cedar, walking in brisk strides toward the sound. At the edge of the woods she paused to gaze across a clearing to where Zak stood, stripped to the waist, brandishing an ax. One after another, he took a section of log from the pile beside him and set it on end, swinging the ax and splitting it in two. Over and over the blade cracked, and as soon as the sections fell apart, he propped up another and swung again. Tess had no idea why he'd be splitting logs now, and going at it like a snow storm was on the way, but she couldn't help remembering the first time she'd seen him. Nor could she stop herself from acting on it.