The Bride Takes a Powder (13 page)

"Decorum? Are you kidding me?
Where do you hear words like that? Romance novels?"

"I haven't read them in years.
And this has nothing to do with that! What did your partners say about your…"
She waved her hand in the air. "…your escapade?" Now he did appear a
little sick.

"Nothing," he claimed.

"Bullshit!" Then she
noticed passersby were staring. She didn't want her personal business being
broadcast through B Falls. Glancing around for a more private place—across the
street the park looked empty.

"Where are you staying?"

"You're kidding, right? I'm
not taking you there."

"You can pack up your stuff
and come back to Chicago with me."

"Oh, that's not going to
happen, Garrett. I'll be staying here. We're over. I left the engagement ring
in my apartment. And, by the way, in case you're wondering, you didn't give me
anything nasty."

He put his hands on his hips and
glared off into the distance. "I'm glad about that, Nor."

"You know, I'm the one who
will have to return the gifts and write the notes. I can't see you doing that."

They reached an empty bench, and
she perched at one end. He paced back and forth in front of her.

Glancing around with a look of
distaste on his face, he fumed, "What do you see in this pit of a town?"

She'd thought for a moment that he
regretted his actions, but he sounded back to normal. For him. "Don't you
dare say anything about it. This is a nice town with nice people."

"It's a dinky backward burg."

"Just go back home."

"I think I'll stick around a
little longer and see what the attraction is."

No.
She'd found herself defending the town. She'd always considered herself a big
city girl, but she'd never felt so relaxed as she did in B Falls. All the
changes had her confused about what she wanted in her life. Would she really go
back to Chicago?

"We would have been married
and on our honeymoon right now if you hadn't run away."

"I can't believe you. Damn it,
Garrett, you were the one who screwed this up."

"It was just a bachelor party,"
he whined.

"Were you cheating on me all
this time?"

He took his time responding to
that. The look he gave her, eyes narrowed, lips pursing, started as scathing
and turned sheepish. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't bother answering. I
just don't care anymore. Now, just go back home. We're done."

He turned abruptly back toward his
car.
Good. He's leaving.
She followed
slowly, relieved that this was over.

At his car, over his shoulder he
said, "I'm checking in at the resort I saw advertised coming into town
although it's probably not as good as it looks on the signs."

What
the hell?
She didn't want him hanging around town, didn't want him to meet
Mike, didn't want him to have a chance to make fun of…of anything.

"After I check in, why don't
you show me around this paragon of a town of yours."

"Why are you doing this,
Garrett? You're not interested in Birchwood Falls or me, not really."

"Norah!"

Oh,
God, can this get any worse?
She didn't want Mike and Garrett to meet.
Too late.
Mike reached them, his gaze
homing in on the other man, his body tense as if sensing the hostility.

"I thought you'd like some
lunch." He stood his ground under Garrett's withering stare.

"Mike, this is Garrett
Dunleith. Garrett, Mike Banning."

Garrett looked like a shabby
imitation of a man compared to Mike, who she doubted would ever cheat on his
woman.
Am I his woman?

The two men shook hands. Mike knew
immediately who this was and why Norah seemed under so much stress. "Welcome
to Birchwood Falls, Garrett. Did you come to visit Norah?" That was lame,
but he didn't intend to lose Norah to this jackass.

"Yes," Garrett responded
quickly.

"No," Norah said at the
same time.

Mike moved closer to Norah—to stake
his claim? To protect her? Yes to both. "Well, would you like to join us
for lunch? Ollie's isn't usually open for lunch, but since I own the place…"

"Oh, Mike." Norah gave
him a look of thanks and smiled, capturing his hand.

He couldn't let her leave with this
yahoo. The guy who'd humiliated and hurt her.

Glaring at her former fiancé, she
said, "Garrett, you need to go back to Chicago now."

"I wouldn't mind having some
lunch though." He looked at his watch. "I should check in at the
resort first."

"Sure, you do that," Mike
grudgingly agreed. "Then come right down First Street to Ollie's. That's
my place. We'll see you there." With that, he tightened his grip on her
hand and tugged her through the park and away from Garrett.

"Thank you for saving me. I'm
so sorry he came to town. I never wanted that. I didn't want to have to see him
again."

"Did you live together?"

"No, we didn't. As a matter of
fact, we don't even have too much stuff at each other's place. Isn't that odd?
Toiletries, some underwear, a pair of jeans, and a couple tops and that's it.
That's kind of scary now that I think of it. It's like we were never that
entrenched in each other's lives."

Mike wasn't sure what to say.
I'm sorry
didn't seem right.
Yippee
did, though. He put his arm
around her shoulders and, since it was starting to rain again, they ran across
the street and into Ollie's.

Lunch of burgers and fries was a
stilted affair. Garrett gazed about the place with ill-disguised disfavor.

"So, what do you do in this
burg for fun?" he asked.

Norah jumped in. "I haven't
been bored here, and I don't miss Chicago one bit."

"Well yeah, sure."
Garrett snapped a nasty glance at Mike. Draining the last of his beer, he said
to Norah, "I want to talk to you in private. Is that something we could
do?"

She looked apologetically at Mike
and said, "I should do this. I'll be back in a little while."

Garrett pulled his wallet from his
pants' pocket. Mike lifted a hand. "Forget it, Garrett."

"Sure. Come on, Norah, let's
go."

She winced at Mike but he said, "It's
okay. I'll be here."
She'd better
come back.
Once they disappeared out the door and were gone for a few
minutes, Mike's curiosity got the better of him and he followed. They'd gone
around the corner of the building. It was still raining so they stood under an
overhang in the parking lot between his place and the old movie theater.

"What the hell are you doing
here in this stinking little town?" Garrett snarled.

Mike had no trouble hearing him
over the rainfall.

"I told you, it's a nice town."

"And that doofus Mike? He runs
a bar? You can do better than that."

"I'm not going to talk to you
about this. After what you did, the humiliation you put me through, you have no
right to talk to me this way."

"You know, if you weren't such
a cold perfectionist with such lofty standards maybe I wouldn't have needed to
go to other women. At least they don't judge everything I do."

"I don't know what you're
talking about. When have I ever judged you?"

"I know you don't approve of
the law I practice, but it brings in the money. I assume that's why you were
marrying me."

She hauled back and slapped Garrett's
face. Mike could hear the sound standing at a distance. He tensed, waiting to
see what the man would do. If he so much as threatened to touch her…

"I have no interest in your
money, and I have no more interest in you. How dare you blame me for your
cheating. Get the hell out of town now! I never want to see you again. Have my
father let you into my condo, and you can take the ring and your stuff."
With that, she turned and stalked back toward his bar.

Garrett looked floored but didn't
go after her. Mike waited for her to come to him, but she charged right by and
headed around the corner in the direction of her apartment.

Garrett spotted him watching. "I'm
not leaving."

"Suit yourself," Mike
replied, heading to Norah's house.

When he caught up with her on the
porch they were both completely soaked. "Norah, wait. Talk to me."
Her face was contorted with fury. He'd rather see fury than anguish although
she probably felt that too.

"Just leave me alone. I'm
fine."

He could let her alone, but he didn't
want to. "What did you see in that guy?" slipped out before he could
stop it.

She turned back to him, her face a
study in hurt. "Don't go there, Mike. You don't know anything about it.
And it's over with him, so the whole point is moot anyway."

"Good lawyer talk there."

Her mouth dropped open, and she
shook her head. "Are you mocking me?"

"No, but I don't want you to
run away from me."

"Like I do?" She seemed
to deflate. "Like I did."

He wanted to take her in his arms
but didn't think it was what she needed at the moment. Instead, he held out a
hand hoping she'd trust him enough to take it, because he'd bet his last dollar
that trust was her issue.
Can't blame
her, can you?

"Mike, I really can't do this
right now."

"Honey, I'll leave you if you
want, but I'll be right there—" He pointed to Ollie's. "—when you're
ready to talk." She looked on the verge of crying.

"You have enough to worry
about. I don't need babying."

He cracked a smile. "I want to
take care of you. My problem will resolve itself."

She threw her hands in the air. "I
don't know what to do with you, Mike. You're either the nicest, most naïve guy
in the world or an idiot."

"I vote for nice." He
chuckled. "Come here. Let me hold you. Maybe I need a hug too."
Try whatever you need to do to win her.

She came into his arms then,
resting her cheek against his chest. "Oh, Mike." Her voice came out
all soft and shuddery.

"It'll all be okay,
sweetheart. You'll see." They stood holding each other while he gently
rubbed her back in comforting up and down sweeps.

Unfortunately, he couldn't help
noticing the river. It was pouring harder, and the water kept rising. They
needed to deploy the sandbags behind the bar and safeguard the rest of the
river's edge. B Falls had flooded two decades before. No one wanted that to
happen again. The water was already surging over the concrete of the river
walk, the walk they'd been on when they first kissed.

"As much as I don't want to
move right now, I need to talk to Marc and get some kids started on filling
sandbags. The river's too high."

She turned her gaze across the
street as well. "Let me change clothes, and I'll help."

He cupped her chin in his hand. "Really?"

"Don't be so surprised. I can
shovel sand just fine."

"I'm not surprised. Thank you."
He smiled, then a sudden intensity of love and gratitude and pride came over
him. Lowering his head, he pressed what started out as a soft kiss on her lips
but turned deep and devastating in seconds. He couldn't end the kiss, didn't
want to. It meant everything to him. Nothing was more important than his
feelings for her.

A strong gust of wind blew heavy
rain against them, reminding him of the river. He reluctantly ended the kiss. "Meet
me behind Ollie's when you're ready. I have to talk to Marc and get the kids
lined up to help. School'll be out soon for the day."

***

Twenty minutes later, Norah headed
his way in jeans, a hoodie, and gym shoes. Ollie's was in chaos. People milled
around getting orders from Mike and Marc, who thrust a rain slicker at her.
Good idea. She was wet but not totally soaked in the short distance from her
apartment.

"You sure you're ready for
this, honey?"

She made a face. "I'm stronger
than I look, sweetie. Just show me where you want me." He pointed upward
to his apartment above the bar. Gripping his finger, she smiled and squeezed
it. "Later." He used his body as a barrier, backing her into a
corner. Standing close, he brushed his thumb across her cheek. Her smile died.
The frenetic activity around them seemed to disappear as they held an intense
gaze that stretched on for long moments. She very well remembered what he could
do to her. He'd made love to every inch of her body, and she knew they weren't
anywhere near done. She flushed with desire from her toes to the top of her
head as she repeated, "Later."

Someone bumped into Mike with a, "Sorry."

"Norah," he began.

"I know, Mike." She
wanted him too, more than she'd thought possible, certainly more than she'd
ever wanted Garrett. The surrounding chaos suddenly burrowed into her mind. She
placed a hand on the middle of his chest, felt his heart thudding. Risking a
glance, his eyes blazed cobalt with promise. She chuckled. "Later. If I'm
not dead." Then she pulled the slicker down over her head, settling it on
her shoulders.

He gave her a quick kiss before
they left the bar together heading toward the river. That was the last she saw
of him for quite some time, at least up close. From her spot on the sandbag
line, she saw him corral the high school kids, organize them to fill sand bags,
and place them along the shoreline. She heard their "yes, Mr. Banning"
over and over. It didn't sound like they'd lost respect for him because of the
scandal and his suspension.

At one point, she straightened from
shoveling sand into bags and spotted Garrett standing in the parking lot
between Ollie's and the theater. Was he going to offer to help? He was
able-bodied, worked out regularly, and surely had enough sympathy for the
people and the town. Then she was busy again. The next time she glanced at the
parking lot he was gone.

Rain poured on the workers until
they were soaked even through the slickers. Her feet felt heavy like they were
stuck in concrete blocks. Gym shoes weren't really good enough for this kind of
work. She slipped almost every time she moved so she tried to stand in one spot
and just keep shoveling, ignoring the aches in her shoulders and arms.