The Amber Stone (14 page)

Teresa sensed his conflicting need, the strange sense of awareness seizing her again as it had the first day she saw him. She said his name in a soft whisper and when he lifted his eyes to meet hers, she felt for a moment as if they were one soul in two bodies. And that all the pain and confusion she felt, he felt it too.

“I don’t know what this is,” he said. “Or who you are.”

“But you feel like you know me?” she asked, eager to hear him say what she felt. “I’m sorry. I realize now that you weren’t making fun of me that day. You just hadn’t known the right words to use. I understand that.”

His gaze swept over her face in wonder and he lifted his hand to touch her cheek. “The right words? How can you not know how beaut—” He released her and stepped back. “I can’t do this,” he said in a raw whisper.

“You once asked me how I knew about that man’s allergic reaction. I could sense it.”

“What?”

She bit her lip, holding his gaze, feeling that she could trust him. “I could just sense it. I know it sounds crazy but—”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not crazy. I can sense your power.” He cupped her face in his hands.

She closed her eyes and smiled. “And I can feel yours. You always make me feel calm.”

“Is that why you won’t leave me alone to dance with my shadows?”

Teresa opened her eyes. “No, it’s because you deserve to feel alive again.”

He let his hands fall. “But I can’t—”

Louisa came into the room, interrupting him. “What’s taking you two so long?”

Teresa knew the mood had been broken and stepped away from him. “Nothing,” she said ducking past them.

That night, as the stars twinkled high above the house, Teresa replayed Sean’s words in her mind, the feel of his hands on her arms and face and the look in his eyes. He didn’t want to like her, but did that mean that he did? Did he want her to stay away or was he telling her not to? She couldn’t understand him even though she felt as if she knew him. Out of the corner of her eye, as he held her, she saw the tiny stones of his necklace and they seemed to twinkle at her, but she didn’t know what that meant. Jessie knew more about stones than she did. As Sean held her she wanted to feel angry, but instead, she felt as if her heart would burst.

Several days later, she felt more herself. Sean hadn’t stop by and she was relieved, although her heart still longed to know what he was thinking. She was fixing a sign on the front porch of her store before it opened when she heard Sean’s rusty truck drive up. It made a ghastly sound, then quieted. She was so stunned by the sight of him that when she gave the sign one last whack, she missed the target and hit her thumb. She gasped then bit her lip to keep from screaming as tears filled her eyes. Vulgar epitaphs circled in her head at a dizzying pace. She paced back and forth holding her thumb, willing the pain to go away and cursing herself for being so stupid. She blinked back her tears and cradled her hand when she heard him slam his door closed. By the time he approached her, she looked calm. She kept her face averted and pretended to be busy.

“Need a hand?”

She turned to him to say no but the word died on her lips. “What happened to your hair?” she cried. In the sun the black curls had been tinted a distinctive dark green.

He ran a self-conscious hand through his hair. “St. Patrick’s Day at Preek’s Bar...I thought I’d do my share.”

“Couldn’t you have just gotten drunk?”

He grinned. “And who’s to say I didn’t?”

She folded her arms, believing him because his eyes were a little red. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Yes.”

“How long is it going to stay that way?”

“A couple of washes.”

“Why didn’t you dye your beard as well so that you could look completely ridiculous?”

“Someone has sharpened her tongue today.”

“Louisa’s not here.”

“I came here to see you.”

“Oh…” she said, surprised by his honesty. She turned back to the sign, not wanting him to see the joy on her face. “Go on inside. I’ll be with you in a minute.” But she didn’t hear him move and turned back to him and saw that he was gone, although his truck remained. She sighed, not knowing what to think and straightened the sign, then glanced down at her thumb.

“Psst.”

She turned around to see where the sound was coming from and looked down. On the porch railing she saw a little, wooden grey cat with big green eyes. Suddenly a dark curly head and laughing eyes appeared next to it. “Do you like it?”

Teresa walked over to the carving amazed by the sight of his joy. “Is it for me?”

Sean straightened to his full height looking irritated. “Do you see anyone else hanging about?”

“No, but why?”

He frowned. “Stop asking silly questions. Do you like it or not?”

She touched the object briefly, then pushed her hands into her pockets. She wanted to be happy but she wasn’t sure. She didn’t know men the way Louisa did and wasn’t sure how she should react. Should she pretend that it didn’t matter? Or tell him how beautiful she thought it was? She didn’t want to push him away, but she didn’t know how to play games either. “Does this mean…that we’re friends now?”

Sean scratched his beard and turned away. “Do you like it or not?”

“How come you never bring Mist with you?” Teresa asked, not ready to answer his question.

“I only take him with me to the bay.” He looked at her and suddenly grinned. “And you’re getting as good as me at not answering questions.”

“I do like it. Thanks.”

He raised his eyebrows affronted. “Thanks? That’s it?”

She leaned on the railing to ask him what more he expected, not quite sure if he was flirting with her or not, but without warning she heard a loud crack, like a gunshot, pierce through the air and she and the railing fell on top of him.

She quickly rolled off him. “Oh, no. Are you okay?”

He took a deep breath then pushed off the railing. “I suggest you get that fixed,” he said in a hoarse voice.

She touched his arm. “I am so sorry. Where are you hurt?”

He stared up at the sky. “Everywhere and then some.”

“I’m sorry.” She saw blood seeping through his shirt, a piece of wood had punctured his skin.

“I think I just saved you from a lawsuit,” he said with a painful chuckle.

“It’s not funny.”

He slowly sat up and was about to say something—when his statement was cut off by an exclamation.

Teresa looked at him alarmed. “Are you hurt somewhere else?”

He grasped her wrist and pulled her hand towards him. “What happened to your thumb?”

She glanced down and saw it was swelling and turning blue. “I hit it with a hammer.”

“What for?”

She glared at him. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Sure,” he said with teasing doubt. He took out a handkerchief from his back pocket. “Don’t worry it’s clean,” he said as he gently wrapped the handkerchief around the finger and tied it together. “Now we’re both the walking wounded.”

“Come on inside. I’ll have to close the store today and see about getting the railing fixed, but we have to look at you first.” She made a quick call to the store manager to notify the clerks that they wouldn’t need to come in, then turned to Sean.

“I’m fine,” he said.

But she didn’t believe him until she had him in the back kitchen area. She grabbed some fresh herbs and quickly chopped them.

Sean looked at her, curious. “What are you doing?”

“Making a poultice to draw out any hidden splinters, don’t worry it won’t take long,” she said, efficiently moving through the kitchen. She blended the herbs with some water until it was a mushy consistency then spread it on muslin with a spoon. “This is so it won’t stick to the wound,” Teresa explained when she rubbed some body oil on the affected area, aware of his nearness, the warmth of his skin and his steady gaze on her. She then placed the poultice on him, moving fast so that her hands wouldn’t tremble, then she applied a bandage to hold it in place. “Keep it on overnight and come back tomorrow so that I can check it.”

“Yes, doctor,” he said with such solemnity that she couldn’t help a smile. She turned to the fridge and poured him something to drink.

“Hmm,” he said after a long swallow and holding his glass out for more. “This is delicious.”

“Mint lemonade always refreshes,” Teresa said, refilling his glass.

“I can get that railing fixed for you by tomorrow. I know a guy who’s helped us with repairs at the clinic who’s reliable.”

“You work at a clinic?” she asked, unable to mask her surprise.

“I volunteer there.”

“Why?”

The corners of his mouth kicked up in a grin. “Because they wouldn’t be able to afford me.”

“That’s not what I was asking.”

His grin widened. “I know.” He studied her for a moment. “I used to be a surgeon and that’s all I’m going to say.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised.”

He looked around at the bowls, oils and herb mixtures on the counter. “What were you up to before you hammered your hand?”

“Making some peppermint gel for the women at the local garden society.”

“You’re making a lot. How much do you charge them?”

Teresa blinked. “Charge them?”

He nodded.

“Oh, it’s just something I’ve always made,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “When I was a piano teacher, one of the ladies complimented me on my hands and I told her my secret for keeping the fingers limber. It’s nothing special.”

“But isn’t the time, effort and materials worth something?” he said lifting up one of the jars and sniffing it. “How does it work?”

“Oh, it’s just a simple gel.” She took his hand and smoothed some gel over it, only realizing too late how bold her action had been. She could have just told him, instead of holding his large hand in her own and massaging the gel over his beautiful brown skin. She kept her gaze lowered, hoping in the quiet of the room, he couldn’t hear her pounding heart. “It has a wonderful restorative effect on dry, working hands.”

Sean touched his hands impressed. “You should make this available in your store and see if it sells.”

“But the clientele around here doesn’t have time to work in gardens and play piano.”

“But the clinic sees a lot of women who work hard all day. Not just pampered women want to feel and look good.”

“I wouldn’t know how much to charge.”

Sean asked her a few more questions then came up with an amount that hit the right price point for their target audience. He then helped her come up with a product description for the jar and to put on the store’s website.

Teresa bit her lip. “Do you really think this will work?”

“It’s worth a try.”

***

To her shock, the gel was an instant hit. Soon “Beautiful You” was buzzing with new customers and the sales receipts reflected their success. Louisa rang up five customers in a row, already feeling tired, even though the day had barely started. Her mood lifted when she saw Sean enter.

“Is Teresa around?” he asked.

“No, but you can keep me company.”

“Another time.” He winked at her then looked around the busy shop. “Don’t want to get in the way.”

Louisa watched him leave, with a frown. Flirting with him wasn’t half as much fun as it used to be. He used to be more attentive, but now he seemed distracted, as if he wanted to be somewhere else. No, with
someone
else. That bothered her the most. He was an attractive man and always made her feel beautiful and now things weren’t the same. Of course she could blame her expanding waistline, but she still had a pretty good figure and could definitely turn heads and she was definitely smaller than Teresa. Though a baby hippo was smaller than Teresa. Teresa. She couldn’t believe she was a little jealous of that plain little goody-two shoes. People liked her. Sean especially, not that Louisa thought much of it.

She doubted he wanted to get in her jeans. Who would? The girl was probably as dry as the Sahara—no action there. But something about him was different whenever Teresa was around. Once she’d caught him staring at Teresa as she washed the dinner dishes, but couldn’t figure out why. Even her father seemed to be under Teresa’s spell, always asking her to play a tune or praising her cooking. Like that was all a woman was good for? Who cared about cooking nowadays? It wasn’t like she was amazing at it.

But she knew part of her jealousy wasn’t Teresa’s fault. She missed her lover. She even went to town to follow his daily route just to be with him in spirit. Then she went to the shop he owned with his wife. She’d never been inside before. Never been interested, but now she was curious. An attractive woman approached her. “Can I help you?”

“I’m just looking.” She saw a corner where there were a number of sale items. She knew they were poor sellers since Teresa had gotten rid of the same items when she had taken over the beauty shop. She had a sense about things like that.

Louisa’s heart started to race as an idea came to her. She knew of a way she could get him back. It would fix everything and he would need her this time and wouldn’t be able to toss her aside. Then he’d realize how much he loved her and would leave his wife.