ROMANCE: His Reluctant Heart (Historical Western Victorian Romance) (Historical Mail Order Bride Romance Fantasy Short Stories) (23 page)

              Even so, she thought she’d seen Sue’s eyes narrow when she’d caught her checking out Josh.

              Once upstairs, she found she and the boys had an adjacent suite next to the DeVilliers parents. “We’re going out. Feel free to order whatever you like from room service. The boys can stay up, if they’re watching TV in bed.”

              The boys were happy to order burgers and fries - so was Laura for that matter - and were surprisingly calm once they knew they could stay up and watch cartoons. They found a movie that even she didn’t mind, and when they’d finished their dinner there was another knock on the door.

              “Your chocolate sundae, ma’am.” Josh presented the little dish on a silver platter. She involuntarily covered her face with happy surprise.

              “Josh! I mean, I didn’t-”

              “No, it’s my treat. Have a great night, Laura.” He started to leave, but she didn’t want him to go yet.

              “Wait! Hey, maybe you could help me with something?” She explained having forgotten to bring all of her toiletries. “I was wondering where I could pick that sort of thing up?”

              “Oh! Yeah, you’re going to want a toothbrush in the morning at least, right? And you’re kind of stuck here.” He thought it over. “Tell you what. Give me a list of the things you need and I’ll get you the basics tonight.”

              “You don’t have to do that!” She stammered.

              “No, but I don’t mind. There’s a notepad and pen in your nightstand. Just let me know what you need and you can pick up the rest tomorrow. If you like, I’ll take you over there when you’re free.”

              She kind of liked that idea, so she stopped objecting. When she offered him cash, he ignored it. “Don’t worry about that.”

              “I insist.” She said, pressing the money into his hands. “A free sundae is one thing. You’re not going to pay for my deodorant.”

              He laughed and jammed the cash in his pocket. “Fine, I understand. I’ll be back before you know it.”

              She dropped back into her bed next to the boys. They each had small beds of their own, as arranged in advance. As she lay there thinking about Josh’s cute face, Tim piped up, “I think you’re in loooooooooove.”

              The boys giggled and she threw a pillow at them. This started a pillow fight which soon calmed down as the cartoon movie started back up.

              She was just polishing off the last of her ice cream- the boys had insisted on dishes of their own, so she’d had two more sent up from the kitchen- when there was another gentle rap at her door.

              Josh handed her a plastic bag. “It’s all there, change too.”

              “You didn’t have to keep that.” She started to tip him, but he held up a hand.

              “I don’t take tips from pretty girls.” He claimed.

              “Hmm.” She tipped her head quizzically. “And that happens a lot?”

              “Not as often as you’d think. And none as pretty as you.”

              She blushed. Noticing them lingering by the door, Tim started to tease her again. “Laura and the man are sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S…”

              “Knock it off, you!” She playfully demanded. With a quick nod and a wide grin, Josh turned and left.

              Laura went back to bed, her heart pounding and butterflies in her stomach. Late into the night she was thinking about him before she finally drifted off to pleasant dreams of flight, islands, and ice cream sundaes.

---

              “Oh, there you are.” Sue said as Laura entered the DeVilliers’ suite. “I thought you’d never get back from wherever you were.”

              “I’m sorry if I was gone too long, ma’am.”

              “Sue, dear.”

              “Sue. As I said, I had to pick up a few things from…”

              “Yes, yes, fine. It just seemed to take a very long time to me for a trip to the convenience store.” She went to a mirror to check her makeup as the boys were jumping on beds in the neighboring bedroom. Wes was sitting at a table on the balcony drinking coffee and reading the paper, ignoring them all. Laura debated whether to let the boys jump since their parents were allowing it, but then pictured Jim falling off and cracking his head. “Boys! Stop please.” She yelled into the room at them.

              Surprisingly, Sue backed her. “Yes, no more of that. I know Laura has been gone for some time, but that’s no excuse.” She moaned grumpily. “Oh, I don’t know how you do it, Laura. You are a Godsend, you really are. I’ll need you to keep an eye on them while Wes and I visit with our friends the Goodrich's for tennis. Wes, you’re ready for tennis, aren’t you?”

              “Sure.” He muttered.

              “Great! Well, we won’t be very long.”

              The adults left, leaving Laura and the kids to their own devices. For a while, they watched cartoons on TV, giving their nanny tons of grief whenever she suggested they should leave. But it was so beautiful out that Laura couldn’t stand it. She finally coerced and bribed the boys into putting on swim trunks and heading down to the pool.

              The pool wasn’t too crowded, so she and the boys dipped into the shallow end. After she’d had enough time in the water, she hopped out and stretched out on a reclining chair. She closed her eyes, only for a moment. She knew she had to keep an eye on the twins, even if there was a lifeguard.

              A second later she opened her eyes. “Hey hottie.” A stranger in khakis and a polo shirt was looking down at her, leering at her and staring as though she were a piece of meat. He wasn’t bad-looking, this red-haired stranger, but she was instantly turned off by his cheesy grin. “You look like you could use a drink. Can I buy you something?”

              “No. Thanks.” She tried not to sound cold, but didn’t want to encourage him either. She’d brought a book, so when he didn’t move she picked it up and decided to read. “Seriously, I appreciate it. But I’m fine.”

              “Not into dudes, huh?” He scoffed, shrugging his shoulders. “Whatever. I was just trying to throw a dog a bone.”

              She was shocked by his horrid comments. “What the hell?” She was surprised to hear herself speaking the words, but she was so outraged, she didn’t know what else to say.

              He was starting to leave and was laughing as she suddenly spotted Josh casually walking in her direction. Josh had his hands in his pockets, whistling and appearing to not notice the red-head as he walked alongside the water. As the two neared, Josh stepped directly into the man’s path and bumped shoulders hard enough to send the creep spinning and into the pool.

              “Oh no!” Josh cried out, clearly pretending to be concerned. “I totally didn’t see you there, sir! Are you all right? So very sorry.”

              “You idiot!” The man shouted, flailing away at the water. Kids in the pool were laughing at him. “I’ll report you to management! You’ll be out of a job by the end of the day!”

              “My sincere, sincere apologies.” Josh kneeled down next to Laura. “You’re okay, right?”

              She looked at her harasser wading towards the stairs and chuckled. “Yeah. Doing better now, thanks. You won’t really get fired will you?”

              Speaking quietly so as not to be heard, he replied with a grin. “Nah. Written up at worst, probably nothing will happen at all. Management hates that guy. He trashed his room and has been a complete jerk to everyone. We’re all sick of him.”

              “Good. I’d hate for you to lose your job on my account.”

              “For you? Don’t be silly. I’ve wanted to do that all week. That one was just for me.” He winked. “So, you ever get off work by any chance? If you don’t mind me asking.”

              She thought it over. He was asking nicely. “I do have the evening off. The DeVilliers are taking the kids to the movie theater, thank God.”

              “Great. Would you like to see some of San Marcos with me? I know a great Cuban place.”

              “Well- sure. I’d be free at 8.”

              “See you then.” He took off and she was left to daydream about her night out on the town.

---

              “Great band!” She yelled for the second time, almost in Josh’s ear when he came back with their drinks. The four-piece rock-a-billy act was just getting warmed up at Shooter’s, their first stop after dinner. She’d managed to fend off three people who’d tried to claim his chair since he went to the bar, and she was relieved when he came back.

              “The bassist is a friend of mine. They’ve been working hard at this for a few years.” He replied, similarly having to cup his hands next to her ear.

              The DeVilliers had tried to keep her from taking the evening off at the last minute, which hadn’t surprised Laura at all. Wes hadn’t cared, of course, but Sue - who, by now, had already caught on to the attraction between Wes and Laura - had tried to hint that maybe she and Wes should have another night just to themselves. Luckily for Laura, the boys had chosen to protest loudly, demanding they be taken to see the movie they’d been promised. For once, Laura didn’t try to get them to behave and with Sue lacking any ability to effectively parent her own children, she was soon cowed into accepting the situation.

              Laura wasn’t sure why the jealousy was so strong in this particular instance. After all, Sue was married and there was a big age difference between her and Josh. But it didn’t seem that mattered. Sue was being worse and more impatient than usual with her, and it was irritating.

              They listened to a few more songs from the set when Josh leaned in again. He said something she couldn’t hear, so she asked him to repeat it.

              “You want to go for a walk?”

              “Yes!”

              Once outside, he gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry, but I was hoping to talk, but… you know. I could hardly hear myself in there.”

              She nodded. “Yeah, absolutely. Your friend is talented.”

              The downtown was still fairly crowded, but the beach was much more open so they found their way down towards the water. She took off her sandals and carried them in one hand, wading into the lapping surf up to her ankles.

              “You’re so lucky to live here.” She said, gazing out into the dark blue water. The moon and stars shone above, cool and distant in the Atlantic sky. “I don’t think I’d ever get used to this. I’d want to walk on the sand every day.”

              “You’d be surprised.” He said quietly. “We working stiffs still have to report in to work. There’s not a lot of time for recreation.

              “With the right person, I’d think it wouldn’t be so bad.” She looked over at him and he seemed distant and distracted. “Hey. You okay.”

              “Hmm? Yeah, just thinking about something.”

              She wondered how to ask him what without being too prying. Instead, she took a different angle. “So- were you born here? Have you always lived here? This is my first time leaving Minnesota. Well, that’s not true. I’ve been to Milwaukee and Chicago. Not every exciting.”

              “No, I’m from California. I moved out here for a job. And… well, okay, I really came here for a girl.”

              “Oh.” Great. She was competing with a memory. Hopefully a distant one. “I’m sure she was pretty.”

              “She was, and she knew it. She ended up leaving me for a bartender at the resort. I never saw it coming. They were caught by management in the coat room. Yeah…” He gave a bitter little laugh. “That was a fun day. Humiliated in front of the entire staff by a guy I thought was my friend. They were fired that day. They moved to the mainland.”