Ever After (12 page)

W
hen Caleb got to the Hartley-Bell house, he knew he should go to the front door and knock, but he didn't. Instead, he went around to the back gate. It wasn't the big double gate by the B&B but the small one hidden behind shrubs and the old chicken coop. It took some muscle to open the gate, but in the last year Caleb had spent a lot of time in a gym. At first he'd protested what was, to his eye, an artificial form of exercise. He believed men got muscles from climbing rigging and hauling anchors. Jared had scoffed at that idea and hired him a personal trainer. Caleb hated to say it, but it had worked.

The first thing he saw was that the chicken coop had been remade into a home gym. The yard where the chickens had scratched and fluttered in their mud baths had a pretty grape arbor over it and two chairs beneath it.

He sat down in one and looked out over the long view of the garden. It was awful! It had once been lush to the point where it looked like the Garden of Eden. Now it was nearly bare, the flower beds still outlined but empty.

The big pergola was gone. The girls had served tea under it, and he remembered pink and white rose petals dropping onto the tablecloth. He'd always thought the petals matched the perfect skin of those beautiful girls.

As he envisioned those soft summer days, the food, the laughter, and most of all, the perfection of the girls, he could feel tears coming to his eyes. So many years had passed, but today it all seemed fresh.

He heard a door close, then a woman's laughter, and he knew he should leave. If he went back out the gate and around to knock on the front door, they'd never know he'd been there.

He was about to get up, but when he saw them, he sat back down. He was always curious about people. They were a young, handsome couple and Hallie looked like Leland. How many generations separated her from her ancestor? he wondered. But no matter the time, the resemblance was still there.

For a moment Caleb closed his eyes in memory. They had all envied Leland so very much. Every man on Nantucket had tried to make the girls fall in love with him. They'd brought back gifts from their sailing voyages to far-off places, poems written on scrimshaw, busks made of ivory to slip into their corsets, buttons. The risks they'd taken to get recipes for the girls! Around Nantucket it became a saying, “What did you bring back for the Bell girls?” Their father made his daughters return silks and jewelry, but they were allowed to keep plants nurtured on long voyages, pretty pieces of china, and their favorite, recipes from foreign lands.

When the young men were home from their long voyages, they hung around the house constantly. The girls' father used to
run them off with an oar, threatening them. But it didn't deter any of them. They were back again before daylight, with a new gift and a new hope.

But none of them came close to receiving that look of love. The girls were the same to all the men who visited. They were gracious, kind, generous. But there was no spark.

Until Leland Hartley arrived. He had come over from Boston, a young man who wanted time away from his blue-blood family, away from his endless studies. One of the Starbuck boys invited him to tea at the Bell house to meet the sisters. They were young and at the height of their beauty.

Caleb hadn't been there that day, but he'd heard about it—as had everyone on the island. Hyacinth opened the door, smiling as always, and was introduced.

Then Juliana came into the room. She and Leland looked at each other and…Well, that was that. They were married six months later. A week after that…

Caleb didn't want to think about the end of the story, of when he'd been told of their deaths. None of the Nantucketers could imagine the island without the Bell girls, and for days everyone was silent in grief.

Afterward, the girls' father lived alone, willing himself to join his cherished daughters in Heaven. The garden became a mass of weeds and the house was always dark. As for Leland, Caleb was told that his deep sorrow had made him suicidal, and he'd been put under watch to prevent him from harming himself.

As Caleb watched the young couple, he could see Leland in the girl, and he couldn't help marveling at how characteristics were passed down through the centuries. The way the girl moved her hands was like Leland. The tilt of her head was like him. Even her laugh sounded like his.

She was walking with a big, muscular young man on crutches,
and their heads were very close together. He could hear quiet laughter between them. Like Leland and Juliana, he thought. They had eyes only for each other.

Oh, my poor, poor Juliana, Caleb thought. How it must hurt her to see this young woman who was so like the man she loved. Or did it make her feel good to see that he'd lived on in this pretty girl?

The couple were coming closer and even as absorbed in each other as they were, they'd soon see him and that would be embarrassing. He started to get up, but then that odious woman from the inn next door threw open the big red gates and came storming toward the couple. The gate slammed behind her, loud enough to be cannon fire.

The young man, Jamie, was a bit behind the girl so she didn't see his reaction—but Caleb did. Jamie dropped to one knee, reached out to grab the girl, but then seemed to remember where he was and let his hand fall away. His action was something that Caleb had seen many, many times and he knew what caused it.

When the young man was using his crutches to get himself up, he saw Caleb sitting in the chair. Instantly, his face took on a look of aggression.

“Jamie!” Hallie called. She was with the angry woman. “Have you seen Edith today?”

He hardly turned around, but kept his eyes on Caleb. “No, I haven't,” he said over his shoulder as he made his way to the older man. His face was glowering, menacing, even. “May I ask who you are and why you sneaked onto this property?”

“I'm Caleb Huntley,” he said, “and I shouldn't have come unannounced. I apologize for my lack of manners.”

Jamie recovered himself, his face relaxed, and he sat down in the other chair. “Sorry for the…” He waved his hand, not knowing how to explain his actions, then nodded toward the older woman standing in front of the gate. “I take it you know
who we are, but that's Betty, and her mother-in-law, Edith, constantly runs away.”

“Do you blame her?” Caleb asked. They could hear the angry tone of Betty's voice.

“Not at all. I think that even if Edith were here, we'd not tell on her. She sneaks us food from the inn, so we have these wonderful afternoon teas, or a lavish breakfast after an early workout.”

“Does she?” Caleb asked, smiling, his eyes sparkling as though from some mischief. “Does she still serve those little anise seed biscuits?”

“Oh, yeah. And cookies with bits of fruit buried in them. And fuzzy navel cupcakes.”

“From the 1960s,” Caleb said, nodding. “I remember them well. That recipe was from a woman trying to find a man she'd met years before.”

“You mean someone who stayed at the inn?” Jamie asked.

Caleb was trying to think of a way to answer that when he saw Hallie coming toward them. He got up, introduced himself, and offered her his chair.

“I couldn't take your seat,” she said to the very handsome older man.

“I'll get a bench,” Jamie said and went into the gym.

Hallie sat down in his chair. “I'm sorry I didn't greet you when you arrived, but Betty showed up and…” She shrugged.

“I'm afraid I came in through the gate behind your new gym. I was trespassing and I apologize. I haven't been here in years and I wanted to see the place.”

Hallie looked through the open door into the gym. For Jamie to carry a bench and manage his crutches by himself was going to be difficult. She started to get up to help him, but Caleb put his hand on her arm.

“Let your young man impress you,” he said. “Help him when there's no other male around.”

“Good advice.” Hallie looked back at the garden.

“Have you had many visitors?” he asked.

“None, unless you count angry Betty. Edith has been here, but I've never had a conversation with her.”

“But I hear you've eaten her food,” Caleb said, smiling. “Fill you up, did it?”

What an odd question, Hallie thought but didn't say.

“Tell me about your young man. Jared said you're treating him for his injured knee.”

“Yes, I am.” She glanced toward the gym at Jamie. He had his cell phone to his ear and when he caught her eye, he mouthed, “Todd.”

“Any problems?” Caleb asked.

“No,” Hallie said. “Jamie is pleasant to be around and laughs easily. I enjoy his company very much.”

“But…?” Caleb asked. When Hallie didn't say anything, he lowered his voice. “If something's bothering you, you can tell me. I have a lot of grandchildren so maybe I can help.”

“It's nothing,” Hallie said, but just the idea of “grandfather” seemed to open doors. When she was growing up, her grandparents were her best friends. “He won't take his clothes off.”

“Oh,” Caleb said.

“No, not like that. For massages. I've never seen a body hold as much tension as his does and I could help him, but he won't let me.” She gave a sigh. “It's just one of his quirks, that's all.”

“Does he have many of these odd behaviors?”

Hallie laughed. “About a dozen of them. I can't get him to leave this place for a moment. He won't even walk down the lane with me. And there's some big mystery about why he's here. If his family can afford a private jet, why didn't they send him to some exclusive place in Switzerland or somewhere? Why here, to me, to someone they don't even know?”

“Whatever their reason, from what I've seen of you two together, I think they made a wise decision.”

Hallie waved her hand. “It's not what it seems. We laugh and tease and…” She broke off with a grimace. “Anyway, he's in love with some girl named Valery. He says she's the love of his life.”

Caleb looked toward the gym. Jamie was still on the phone. “From the look of him, I think you're doing an excellent job.”

“I hope so. The truth is, it doesn't seem like work. Jamie said his family will be arriving in a few days. Have you met them?”

“Not many of them, no.” Caleb leaned closer to her. “When your young man gets off the phone, why don't you leave him with me for a while? I'll see what I can find out. Petticoat Row Bakery has marvelous pastries. I'd love to have tea here in this garden.”

“I will,” she said. “And thank you.” After Jamie put his phone away, she went to the door and told him she was going into town and that Dr. Huntley was staying for tea.

“Maybe Edith will bring us something,” Jamie said.

“No, I think we'll try something different today. I'll be back in about an hour.” For a second she hesitated, as his eyes seemed to be asking her not to leave. Heaven help her, but she almost kissed him in reassurance. Like she did at night. I
need
to get away, she thought. She waved to both men and left.

Jamie took the chair by Dr. Huntley and for a while they sat in silence, looking at the barren garden.

“She has no idea what you've been through, does she?” Caleb asked quietly.

For a moment Jamie seemed to be trying to decide whether or not to tell the truth. “None.”

Caleb nodded. “I hear you won't take your clothes off.”

“Too many nicks and holes in this old body,” he said. “People see them and I get the ‘poor Jamie' routine. Then they start with questions about how I'm feeling. What I've learned is that they just want to hear that I'm fine.”

Caleb understood what he was saying. “Who is Valery?”

Jamie took a deep breath. “A fellow soldier. We were all half in love with her and envied her husband back home. She kept our spirits up, made us laugh, kept us from being too scared to move.” He paused. “She was in the Humvee that blew up when I was in it. I was the only one who survived with all my limbs.”

“And Valery?”

Jamie had to swallow the tears that were beginning to come. “She didn't make it.”

“Something like that leaves a man feeling guilty, doesn't it?”

“Beyond what you can imagine.”

“Actually, I believe I can,” Caleb said softly, then changed tone. “When are you going to tell young Hyacinth about all this?”

“Never!” Jamie said fiercely. “Since I got back, she's the first person who hasn't looked at me with pity in her eyes. My whole family tiptoes around me. They tell the kids to be quiet, not to drop things, not to yell because Uncle Jamie is…is half a man.” Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his temper. “But what really hurts is that I need all of it.”

“How did you get here on Nantucket with Hallie?”

He took a moment to answer. “When we heard about a physical therapist inheriting this house, it seemed like a solution. It was a chance to get me away from my family. Let me have some peace. I was all for it. I even exchanged some emails with a girl I thought was Hallie. But the night before I was to leave I chickened out. I did
not
want to dump my fears and terrors on some innocent female. You saw that I can't even hear a gate slam without going into a defensive position! Who deserves that? Who—”

Jamie's hands were clenching the arms of the chair, his knuckles white. “My brother drugged me. Mom and Dad knew nothing about it. I went to sleep at home and woke up here, and I met Hallie.”

At the mention of her name, he started to relax. “She's been
the best thing for me. She doesn't pity me. She just thinks I'm a bit weird.” He gave a little smile. “But that's okay with her. I get the idea that she's used to dealing with people who aren't exactly normal human beings.”

“And you don't want to risk losing that,” Caleb said. He knew a lot about being scared of losing something. Long ago he'd been afraid that if he weren't a very wealthy man, he'd lose the woman he loved. His penalty for that vanity had come down from Heaven itself. “You should tell her,” he said. “Strip down to your skivvies and show her the truth.”