Rocky Mountain Angels (30 page)

He couldn’t help but reflect on the night Beth had slept in his bed. He was a man, and she a woman, so it hadn’t been completely without temptation, but he realized now that he should have felt so much more. And he knew instinctively that had it been Mari, he wouldn’t have been able to stay in bed with her without causing himself great embarrassment. He rolled to his side.

She’s in a completely different room, and she’s affecting me.

When they had arrived at the hospital, Joe tried to keep up with all the family introductions but finally gave up. He hadn’t thought about how old some of her siblings would be, but since she was the last of a large brood, it only made sense that the oldest was nearly 50, and his kids were in college already.

And he hadn’t anticipated the age difference between his parents and hers, which was probably a good fifteen years. Of course, she was the last of her herd, and he was the first of his; naturally they’d be older. It made Mari’s concern for her father more acute, and his heart went out to her; she obviously loved him very much.

Her family was a friendly bunch, and after he and Mari had left the chapel and rejoined them, he’d had more of a chance to talk to her brothers. All had seemed to assume that he and Mari were a couple, and while Joe knew he should be setting them straight, he found he was enjoying that assumption more than he ought. He’d let Mari straighten them out on that score.

One sweet little girl with curly brown hair had latched onto him and sat on his lap while he and Sam, who was the closest to his age, chatted. He had looked up to see Mari watching him. He shrugged, and she smiled, and it had nearly undone him completely. And he knew right then he wanted to have a family with Mari and have a sweet, curly-headed girl of his own.

Joe took a deep breath and let it out, willing his mind to shut down and let him sleep. If Mari hadn’t looked so tired, he would have kept her up long enough to tell her he now had no engagement entanglements, and he would know her feelings for Eli.

First thing tomorrow
.

***

Mari was lying awake in what had been her old room. Not much had changed in it, really, since she was in high school. The shelves here were lined with books from younger days and interspersed with her stuffed animal collection. The walls were still stark white with rainbow striped valances over white mini blinds.
Eli would cringe
.

Mari had thought she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, but there was too much racing through her mind. Joe had been so much more than a terrific friend today; he’d been her rock in every possible way. Physically, he’d held her while she cried; spiritually, he’d kept her from sliding off into an abyss of fear with just the right words at just the right time; and emotionally—though she had tried not to let it happen—he had captured her heart. Eli had never come close to touching her that deeply.

So what of Beth? Is Joe really capable of putting so much into another woman without it affecting him? Does he still think of me as his little sister?

She closed her eyes to summon every look and touch. Yes, he’d held her hand and held her tight against him, but there were none of the little touches that Eli gave her to show his interest—the circling of his thumb on the side of her hand, turning his nose into her hair when he held her, letting her curls twist around his fingers. And Eli’s eyes always held a spark of what he longed for but couldn’t have yet.

She had never seen that in Joe’s eyes.

A tear coursed down the side of her face, and she swiped it away with one swift motion.
Stop it! You have more important things to think about.

Flopping fiercely to her side, she began to pray for her father.

Chapter 23

Mari was awakened by the sun streaming in the window and the smell of hashbrowns and eggs. Wondering if her mom had come home after all, she rose, wrapped herself in her plaid robe, and followed her nose. It wasn’t her mom in the kitchen, however, it was Joe.

“Well, I finally get a Joe breakfast.” He turned at the sound of her voice. “Ben has made me breakfast, Eli has made me breakfast,” —she sat at the table— “now I’ll finally see how the number one Rhodes does it.”

Joe gave her a dazzling smile that melted Mari’s heart into a puddle. “I hope your mom doesn’t mind me poking around in her kitchen.”

Mari waved a hand toward him. “Are you kidding? After five boys, there isn’t much my mom minds at all. She always said that she was pretty uptight when she had her first baby, but by the time she had me, she was ‘as loose as a goose’—absolutely nothing ruffles her feathers anymore.”

Joe slid two eggs and half the hashbrowns onto a plate and handed it to Mari. “Toast is about to pop, and” —the tea kettle started to whistle— “and there’s the water for your tea, although I haven’t found the tea yet.”

Mari laughed and got up. “I think you’ve thought of everything.” She rounded the table and maneuvered past Joe to open a cupboard. “Well, it used to be in here.” She spotted it on an upper shelf and stood on tiptoe but couldn’t reach it. Joe snagged it easily and handed it to her with a smile. Mari took the box, opened it, and pulled out a teabag. “You’d be a pretty handy thing to have around, tall man.”

Joe looked down at her with a mischievous sparkle she’d never seen in his eyes. “God gives little women what they need.” He winked and snatched the toast out of the toaster, spreading the butter on before they had a chance to cool.

Mari blushed and returned to her breakfast, only to realize that she had never gotten a cup or the hot water for the tea bag clutched in her hand. Joe’s eyes were positively twinkling as he poured her a steaming mug from the kettle and slid it over to her before sitting down on the other side of the table.

What’s gotten into him today?

Mari looked at the toast stacked on the edge of his plate. “Do I get one of those, or do I need to make my own?”

Joe swallowed his bite of eggs and gave her a teasing smile. “Come and get it.”

Mari’s eyes widened at the low, sexy way he said it. She paused a second then reached across the table, but Joe pulled his plate back.

“Ah, ah, ah. Didn’t your mother teach you that it’s impolite to reach.” Joe’s lips twitched as he tried to look serious.

Mari blinked.
Heaven help me, what kind of game is he playing?

Rising, she slowly made her way around the table as Joe went on eating. She reached a hand toward the toast, hardly able to contain a smile, herself, and he allowed her to take it without hindrance. As she started to move away, however, he caught her hand, and there it was—the caress of his thumb. Mari turned back, her breathing shallow, and she knew there had to be questions on her face.

“Mari, there’s something I need to tell you.”

The doorbell rang, and Mari jumped. She pulled out of his grasp and started for the door, setting the toast on her plate on the way. “Excuse me just a minute, Joe.”

Mari scurried to the door and opened it to find her oldest brother. He had a thick head of hair almost the color of Mari’s but with gray setting in at the temples. He had the look of a banker, with a long black wool topcoat and gray scarf. “Jerry, is everything all right? Is Daddy—”

“He’s fine, Mari.” She opened the door wider, and he stepped in. “Well, if not ‘fine’ then at least about the same.” He took a small breath and took her hand. “The tests show that Dad needs a stent put in where there’s some blockage in an artery. They plan on doing that today.” Mari felt suddenly weak in the knees but managed to stay upright. Her worry must have shown on her face as Jerry hurried to reassure her. “It’s a very standard procedure these days. Nothing to worry about.”

She nodded, trying to hold back tears and squeezed his hand before pulling away. “I’ll go tell Joe and get ready.”

Joe met her at the kitchen door. “Joe, Daddy’s having a stent put in this morning. I need to get there right away.”

She turned toward the hallway, but Joe caught her arm. “I’m sure you’ve got time to eat first, doesn’t she...”

“Jerry,” her oldest brother supplied, stepping forward, “and yes, the procedure isn’t due to start for a couple of hours.”

She looked from one to the other feeling irritated. “But I want to see him first.”

Jerry mussed her hair as if she were five. “You will. Now go eat your breakfast.” He turned to leave. “Thanks for taking care of her, Joe.”

Joe nodded, and Mari
felt
five. “I don’t need someone taking care of me. If I didn’t have a broken toe and a broken car heater, I could have driven here myself.”

Jerry gave her a smile. “Sure you would have, sweetheart.” His smile disappeared. “Now go eat.”

Infuriated, Mari breezed past Joe on her way to the kitchen, feeling irritated right down to that recovering big toe.

Joe had learned a thing or two from Beth, and he knew better than to continue trying to talk to Mari in her current state of mind. Instead, he went back in the kitchen and massaged Mari’s shoulders while she practically inhaled her breakfast. There was a warning about choking on the tip of his tongue, but he held it in check. I 
guess if she chokes, I’m in the perfect position to do the Heimlich.

The massage didn’t seem to be helping her relax, however, and finally she actually swatted his hands away. “Joe,” she growled without looking at him. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I just can’t... you... Daddy...” Her words were coming out in no real order that Joe could decipher, but the emotion behind them was loud and clear.
Back off.

Joe stepped back. “Sure, I understand. You’ve got a lot on your mind.” He wanted to stroke her hair, lose himself in her pillow-mussed curls, but he moved around the table instead. “If you’re finished, I’ll wash the dishes while you take a quick shower.”

Mari put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. “I’m sorry, Joe.”

He started running water in the sink. “No need to apologize.” He smiled at her over his shoulder. “Now go on, so you can see your dad.”

Joe ate the last couple of bites of toast on his plate and downed the rest of his coffee then slid the dishes into the hot sudsy water.
Well, that didn’t go as planned.
Not that what happened before Jerry arrived had really been planned. He had been determined to tell her how he felt about her, but something devilish had gotten into him when he saw her in her robe and PJs, looking more beautiful than any woman ought to after just getting out of bed, and he had slipped into a mood and a mode he probably hadn’t employed since his college days. He could tell he was surprising her, but what he hadn’t had time to ascertain was if she liked it or not.

He rinsed the dishes in the drainer then grabbed a dishtowel hanging on the oven door. He was disappointed to have to wait yet again to talk with her about the state of his heart, but Mari had enough to deal with right now. Joe placed the dried dishes back in the cupboard then raised his eyes.
The time was obviously not right, eh, Lord?
He felt a “soon” in his spirit, but he didn’t know if it came from God.

Or if it was just wishful thinking.

***

Mari called Joe after her dad was back in the ICU to tell him the outcome of the stent procedure and to find out about his meeting with the Rabbi concerning the synagogue. He had wanted to postpone his meeting, so he could sit at the hospital with her, but she insisted he go. She knew she would latch onto him, and her heart was in twists already.

“The doctor says everything went according to plan, so now he just needs rest and recovery time.”

“That’s good to hear. How’s your mom holding up?”

“She’s great. I wish I had her faith.”

“You’ll get there, Mari. She’s had more time to develop it.”

“I guess so. Anyway, how did your meeting go?”

“Good. Rabbi Yelson was going to take me to see the site right after lunch, but some parishioner emergency came up, so I’m just hanging out a while to see if his schedule clears or not. You didn’t happen to bring your camera, did you?”

“No. I was too distracted to think about packing it.”

“Oh well, I have a camera in my phone. That will do.” He paused. “I’m in no rush, but when were you thinking of going back to Colorado?”

“Oh, I haven’t really thought about it. When do you need to be back?”

“Like I said, I’m in no rush. We’re on your time table.”

“Okay, how about we stay until May?” she teased.

“Hmm, well, I’ll need to buy some clothes or do laundry every five days.”

Mari laughed. “Classes start next Tuesday, so if everything goes okay with Daddy’s recovery, I suppose I should try to be there.”

“You might want a day of recovery yourself. How about driving Sunday? If your dad’s okay, that is.”

“If Daddy’s okay.” She found she was reluctant to commit to going back. Going back meant a long, maybe weird and uncomfortable, emotional, heart wrenching drive with Joe followed by a weird and uncomfortable, emotional, heart wrenching reunion with Eli. How could she keep kissing him when she knew she was falling in love with Joe?
Maybe moving to Colorado Springs was the biggest mistake of my one-wrong-turn-after-another life.

“Mari, are you still there?”

“Yes, sorry, sooo... you’re hanging out...”

“Yeah, I’m near a shopping mall, so I guess I’ll walk around and get a bit of exercise.”

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll see ya when I see ya.”

“I won’t be too late. If he doesn’t call me by 4:00, I’ll just reschedule for tomorrow.”

“Okay, see you later, then. Bye.” Mari had no sooner hung up the call when it vibrated in her hand. Eli’s name was on the screen, and she wondered if her feelings of guilt had somehow summoned him.

***

Joe had been strolling around the three story mall long enough to know he was tired of walking. Sitting on a bench, he stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles. He yawned and resisted the urge to grab a coffee from the nearby kiosk that smelled like a little bit of heaven.
If I want to sleep tonight...