Manroot (24 page)

Both brothers seemed to be caught up in
whatever this family argument was about. Kyle’s mood was foul; gone was the teasing, fun guy. He lost all interest in her.

It was boring, sitting here in the sticks.
She packed and told Ryan she needed to return to New York now. He shrugged his shoulders, called Tom to drive her. She had forgotten about both brothers before she reached the airport.

The house was pervasive with gloom.
April starting packing as well. When Hannah saw this, she told Kyle and Ryan.

Hannah was calm now, for she had apologized for Tom to the Missus in front of the boys.
She begged to stay, saying they had nowhere else to go.

The family was uncomfortable at her obsequiousness.
They assured her that this was the couple’s home and no one wanted them to go anywhere. Yet it was awkward, now that they knew how Tom really felt.

Ryan went up and asked April to remain.
They needed her; Elizabeth needed her. She consented, not really knowing how she could help.

On Tuesday, Kyle and Ryan
went over all the papers and bills.

“
The accounts are in piss-poor shape,” Kyle grumbled.

“
She’s not much good at managing,” Ryan agreed, referring to their mother.

“
Managing? It’s outrageous the things she buys! She orders everything, and it’s really mounting up.”

“
About the will – why would the Judge promise them something and not make it legal?” Ryan mused.

“
I don’t know,” Kyle answered. “It’s straightforward enough – everything goes to her, except our trust fund. Somebody better put the brakes on her. She’s spending a fortune on junk and the bill just came for the statue – fifty thousand dollars! After that’s paid, she’s practically broke until the annuities come in.”

“
Maybe April can do something with her,” Ryan suggested.

“
We’d better talk to her. I’m glad April’s staying. I’ve been going over the bills. Maybe we should consider selling.”

Ryan was surprised at the suggestion.

“I’ve been thinking,” Kyle continued. “Mother’s almost seventy. How about one of those condos in St. Louis – you know, the Kindo complex. That has a restaurant, beauty parlor, shops – and nurses on the premises. With Tom feeling that way, we can’t count on them staying forever.”

“
No, you’re right. I still can’t believe the Judge left everybody high and dry – Hannah, Tom, Kack, Bruce. What did he think would become of them?”

“
I don’t know,” Kyle smirked, his natural sarcasm revived. “I think he was a better gardener than lawyer.”

“
Well, I’ve still got the series
Backyard Wildlife
. Let’s let it rest for now. I’ll be staying around for four or five months. We’ll work it out later.”

“
Okay, but you better put a stop to her crazy spending. You know, I wonder what she would have said if she knew their offer was ten million on the property.”

“
You’ve talked to them, the developers?” Ryan asked.

“
Yep. Seems they got some big plans. It won’t hurt them to wait awhile.”

They closed the checkbooks, put the papers away.
Kyle stayed a few more days. He wasn’t anxious to get back to Jefferson City. He felt tainted; he felt dirty. His ego had withered, and he felt almost paranoid that people knew he was a phony, a fake. When he returned to the Capitol, he was quieter, less confident. His political acquaintances started to worry. The charisma that had been his had dimmed.

Chapter 32

Ryan traveled back and forth to
New York until the details for the series on the wildlife sculptures were settled. On his return to Hilltop he was pleased to see that things had pretty much settled down.

April was brilliant.
Somehow she had interested Elizabeth in doing an auction for the handicapped club at Castlewood.

They had scoured the closets and gathered together all the unnecessary items
Elizabeth had purchased. April had her working on the catalog. For once she was interested in giving away instead of acquiring. The auction was planned for the next month, and Hilltop was a beehive of activity. Kack had donated several beautiful hand-made Indian rugs, fifty jars of preserves, and Hannah had coaxed her to donate some ointments as well. Kack was very modest about her remedies.

Ryan was relieved to see that the women had their own projects, as he needed time and solitude to begin his series.
He would need to spend many hours in the woods observing the creatures that he would sculpt, as well as a time-lapse camera placed in certain habitats so he might have correct models to work from.

Happily he donated some original paintings from his last wildlife series to
his mother’s auction. This gift changed the whole tone of the event.

An honorary luncheon was arranged as a preview;
Elizabeth was asked to speak. Nervously she practiced to April and Hannah. Her three-minute speech was very appealing.

Ryan saw
all of this, and one day when April came up to the studio for the original paintings, he stopped her.

“
I’m so grateful,” he said.

“
For what?” she asked, puzzled.

“
What you’ve done with Mother. She’s come out of herself, and as for her doing a speech – why, she couldn’t wipe her nose without the Judge, you know that.”

April nodded.
“She is rather pleased with herself.”

Ryan looked down at his hands; he didn
’t know how to put it. He wanted to tell her how he felt. “Sit down, April, I want to talk to you. I never meant to diminish you when I asked you to stay – it’s like I was saying your life, your work wasn’t important. I didn’t mean that. It could seem like I was telling you that. It’s just that the family is so torn up right now. Why, I saw Kyle – he’s drinking too much, and I’ve got a deadline---”

She hushed him.
“I never felt that. In fact, I’m very excited about an important project of my own. I’m writing a book!”

“
That’s wonderful,” he exclaimed. “Mother always called you the poetess.”

“
No, it’s not that kind of a book. I got interested in Kack’s remedies, and I’ve been tracking down some of her ointments, checking with Bradley – he arranged lab-work for me. You know, Ryan, some of her things are right on target – they contain ingredients that medical science documents are right. This whole movement of holistic medicine – it’s fascinating.”

“
Bradley’s been helping?”

“
Oh yes. I’m seeing a lot of him. He’s become almost a co-author. You know how he always admired Kack.”

“
You’re seeing a lot of him?”

“
Yes.”

For the first time he became aware of April as a woman.
Her face was flushed with excitement, her eye sparkled. She was beautiful. She was not his cousin; they were not related. He looked down at the clay to cover his confusion.

Chapter 33

All the newspapers covered the luncheon.
Elizabeth was so proud. She clipped the articles and asked April, “Instead of Mrs. Elizabeth Reardon, should they have referred to me as Mrs. Reardon, wife of the late Judge?”

“
No,” April corrected her. “This has nothing to do with the Judge. It’s something you’re doing.”

Elizabeth
blushed. She wasn’t accustomed to doing anything. She had lived her life basking in reflected glory.

Her happiness was short-lived as
Kyle came out over the weekend.

“
Why all the publicity?” he stormed.

“
Why, dear, it’s my auction. People are interested,” she said proudly.

“
They’re interested in Ryan’s paintings, you mean. What a dumb thing to donate along with Kack’s preserves – paintings worth thousands of dollars! See how they mention Ryan – and then go on to mention me and my work in Jefferson City? I don’t
want
publicity now!”

Ryan tried to calm him.
“It’s over and done with.”

“
With him in the house,” Kyle nodded toward the kitchen, “he could blow the lid on this thing any day now.”

“
He won’t,” Ryan said, “and if he did, what’s the difference? Children are adopted every day.”

Kyle didn
’t answer. He sat drinking in the chair, staring up at the picture. He saw that they had the Judge’s chin, nose, jaw…they were the Judge’s sons, all right. He didn’t doubt that – but who was their mother? The media would have a picnic with this story:
‘Found floating in the creek – two modern-day Moses.’

Kyle
’s visits were painful. His deep depression did not seem to lift; he made everyone in the house uneasy.

The auction went very well; Elizabeth was pleased. April began looking for a new project that would interest her. She herself was spending a lot of time with Kack; the laboratory documentation on the remedies was very positive. Their book,
Holistic Country Ways Remedies
, was coming along nicely.

Ryan had completed four of the sculptures for
Backyard Wildlife,
and their molds had been sent to the studios in Germany where the limited edition of porcelain would be produced.

The first sample arrived back that morning for his approval, and he unwrapped it carefully, hoping they
’d gotten the finish right. Ryan had selected the paints and the glazes himself and provided detailed instructions about how and where they should be used, but he had still been worried. Color and shading were so important, so central to these figures, and he knew that the finish would either make them or break them.

The first figure was
a rabbit, and after unwrapping it, he could not contain his joy. He had to share it with someone. He heard the tapping of the typewriter keys. He knocked at the studio door.

“
Come in,” she called, and the keys still rattled.

“
April, sorry to disturb you. I just had to share this with someone.”

“
It’s okay,” she said as she got up from the chair, stretched, and came over to him. “I wasn’t being creative. I was only typing.”

He had placed the porcelain on the table.

“It’s exquisite,” she said. “Why, I seem to see its chest moving. It’s so real – it looks like the one that Kack always carries around.”

It
’s good, isn’t it?” he said, asking for approval.

“
It’s better than good – it’s beautiful. It looks alive.”

“
Thanks.” He hugged her in his happiness. “I shouldn’t be so insecure. I love working in this medium, but I’m not as confident as I am in painting.”

He started to release her, when he was suddenly filled with the soft scent of her.
He looked into her eyes and saw her lips were parted. Her breath was shallow and warm. He knew she felt it, too.

Softly he kissed her.
The kiss deepened, and she clasped him closer and closer.

They drew apart.
She looked down at the statue between them.

He turned and left the room; she saw him go through the French doors and head
for the woods, walking rapidly. He needed to think now that he had come to see her as a person, as a desirable woman. He had erased that old image of little April as his cousin.

Chapter 34

April sat at the plan
k table with Kack and the papers piled high in stacks by categories.

“
This is the apple cider vinegar and honey chapter, Kack. Look it over and see if I’ve omitted anything.”

Katherine studied through the typed pages carefully; seeing all the words there g
ave her an odd feeling. These were her remedies. She knew they worked. Over the years she herself, Hannah, and many others had tried them and obtained relief.

Now she rubbed at her slightly swollen knuckles, which were aching.
“It’s living by the water,” she said in answer to April’s unspoken question. “Still, this recipe morning and night gives relief.”

Her concentration in reading allowed April to study her closely.
She saw that Katherine had an odd, natural beauty. Her face remained smooth and unlined, her hair, pulled back and braided atop her head, was still a warm auburn color with few silver strands. It was her clothing – dark, obscure, loose, that hid a still-youthful, slender body. The clothing gave a false impression of age.

April had always been fascinated by her.

A rustling from the cage that stood in the corner interrupted Kack’s reading. She got up, opened the door and took out the small feline, making a soft murmuring sound in her throat that seemed to calm the animal.

Returning to the table, she kept the kitten enclosed in her apron.

“A kitten?” April questioned.

“
Of sorts.”

April rose a
nd came around the table to see. She reached down to stroke the tiny creature that shivered. She noticed the pointed, tufted ears, the small spots.

“
Is it a bobcat?”

“
I think a mixture,” Kack answered.

The cat looked up at April with large slate-colored ey
es that glittered like marbles, and hissed loudly.

“
He’s hungry,” Katherine said.

“
We’ve done enough for today,” April said. “You’ve checked that section. We’re almost done with the entire manuscript.” She stacked the papers and prepared to leave.

The smal
l hare that had sat quietly at Kack’s feet under the table now began a frantic race around the cabin. The cat’s presence had set it in motion with fear.

April closed the door of the cabin, leaving Kack to attend to her small charges.

Coming up the path April met Ryan, who was returning from an afternoon in the woods. He was laden down with sketchbooks and a full camera bag.

“
Looks like you’ve been busy,” she said.

“
You, too,” he replied, noticing her stack of papers.

“
Yes, the book is almost done. I’m having Kack check through the last chapters now. It’s amazing what she knows without any formal training. Why, she even knows reflexology. Some of her headache remedies deal with massage, which works on the reflexology concept of the body having meridian lines that connect with other organs.”

“
I’m surprised at you,” Ryan said. “With a medical background like yours, some of these unorthodox remedies certainly must be frowned upon by the medical profession. How do you incorporate both in your beliefs?”

“
I have an open mind. I’m convinced that some of these ideas are not quackery. Brad has also come around. Of course he’s not sharing some of these beliefs with his colleagues. With all these tests the lab is growing very curious.”

They had reached the patio door; bot
h shifted their bundles. Ryan tugged at the door.

April
’s papers suddenly slipped. The wind took the loose sheets, whirling some away.

“
Damn,” she muttered. Ryan opened the door, put their things inside the room, and skipped after the papers, some gleefully dipping up in the breeze like wayward kites, some caught in the bushes and brambles.

Both of them whooped and hollered like two kids as they jumped up in the air catching the swirling sheets.

Finally, they searched the bushes for stragglers. April crawled through the brambles to secure the remaining two pages.

Ryan flopped down on the carpet of leaves, breathless.
“Do you think we got them all?” he asked.

She sat down next to him, sorting the papers.
A concentrated frown wrinkled her brow.

He studied her.
She was very beautiful. This observation struck him again as fresh knowledge. She was April; he had known her forever. The knowledge again came to him. She wasn’t his cousin; she was just a beautiful, desirable woman.

Looking up, she saw in his eyes what
he was thinking. All the love she had always felt for him spilled over.

Together, in a synchronized movement, they reached for each other.

The kiss was tender, full of respect, liking, and a newfound passion.

They drew apart.
April looked down, blushing.

H
e reached over and took her chin, gently nudging it until she looked up at him.

“
I know it’s hard to realize that we have every right to feel like this.”

Again they merged.
Kissing, caressing, they lay back in the softness of the leaves, and he said her name over and over. “It’s okay, it’s okay for us to feel like this.”

She played none of the games of the reluctant female
– it was he who pulled away and sat up. “We’d better stop,” he said. “I can’t be trusted.” He offered his hand, pulled her up, and while walking toward the house, picked the leaves from her tangled curls lovingly.

At dinner they stole glances at each other.
April felt her cheeks burn.

The next day they went to
St. Louis. Ryan had finished another sculpture, a squirrel this time, and he needed to take it to the studio where the molds were made. As they drove to town he explained this process to her, and she listened attentively.

“
They’ll take an impression of the squirrel, a sort of negative made out of rubber. I know it sounds simple, but molds can be tricky, especially with something so small, so detailed. This place has been great so far, but they better keep it up. I want perfection.” He glanced toward her and smiled and repeated the words: “I want perfection. I demand it!”

“
Don’t we all?” she teased.

Like all lovers, they found everything exciting
– the shopping, a Chinese dinner. Later in the movies he put his arm around her, and they sat close in the dark like two starry-eyed teenagers.

Returning from
St. Louis, April sat close to him in the jeep. The bumps on the road brought her jarring into his body.

“
I guess you’ll have to tell Bradley,” he said, and glanced toward her.

“
Tell him what?”

“
About us,” he said.

“
I guess you’ll have to tell Monica,” she answered, fishing for information.

“
Wait a minute.” He pulled the jeep off the side of the road. The motor died, and he turned to face her. “Is that jealousy I hear?”

They reached for each other, the questions lost in their embrace.

“I feel sixteen,” he said, “parking on the road to neck.”

They both laughed and clung to each other.

He started the car, looked ahead, and cursed as headlights blinded him on the narrow road. “Dimmers – use your dimmers, idiot,” he said to the passing car. “We should announce it soon. We must tell Mother tonight.”

“
Tell her?” she quizzed, determined to make him ask.

“
Of course. We’ve got to let her know that we’re in love and want to get married.”

“
I don’t recall being asked,” April teased.

Once again he pulled off the road, and turned to face her.
“I love you, April. I know you love me.”

“
You’re right, I do.”

They reached for each other, feeling that they could never get enough.
Their love was so special, for in addition to passion they felt a long-standing liking for each other.

“
We’ll get married soon, just tell me when,” he coaxed.

“
I couldn’t stand to make the gypsy wrong.”

“
The gypsy?”

“
You remember, the gypsy. She said I would marry you!”

“
Of course,” he laughed. “She also mentioned Kyle. Maybe I’ve got competition – more than just Bradley.”

“
Don’t be silly, Bradley is just a friend.” She leaned over and laid her head against his strong shoulder as they drove the last few miles home.

With her eyes closed, she seemed to see clearly the ol
d woman’s face, her wrinkled brow and piercing black eyes, and involuntarily April felt frightened. It was strange that her prediction, unlikely as it was, was going to come true…