The Winding Road Home (16 page)

“You're sure you don't mind?” Adele's eyes sparkled and a smile tugged at her mouth, threatening to reveal those dimples in their entirety.

Graham wondered if there could ever be anything he minded this woman asking him. He seriously doubted it. “I don't mind in the least.”

Her smile came then, and he knew he shouldn't be there.

They climbed from his car. It was Saturday afternoon, and they were parked near the video store Tanner Carlucci had recently purchased. As a welcoming gesture, Adele was delivering cookies.

After that they were driving 30 miles to a Swedish historical museum for him to do research. That was also Adele's idea. It had taken him a moment to get the connection. Research?

He shouldn't be there. Between the allure of her dimples, the stress of Rand's decline, the dread of the approaching anniversary of Sammi's death, and the guilt of his deception—compounded now by a trip to a museum—he was walking a tightrope. One misstep and he'd be taking a nose dive into emotional overload. Undisciplined territory. What had happened to his discipline?

“Graham?” She smiled, standing in front of the store. “Coming?”

His discipline? Undermined by pair of dimples.

Inside they were greeted by Kate and Tanner, who both wore jeans and sweatshirts splattered with paint. Two teenage boys stood at the counter, filling out what looked like application forms. A big bearded guy and a little girl with black hair were reading video cases. The girl appeared about eight or nine.

“Cookies!” Kate exclaimed.

“Thanks.” Tanner accepted the plastic container and set them on the counter next to a plate of plastic-covered lemon bars.

“Mr. Carlucci,” one of the boys said, “you shouldn't tempt us like that.”

“Help yourself, guys.”

They eagerly dug in.

“If you don't want a job.” Tanner laughed at their dumbfounded expressions. “Just kidding.”

Adele asked, “Kate, did you bake in the middle of the night?”

“Oh, I didn't make the lemon bars. Lia made those. Graham, have you met Lia's husband, Cal?”

The bearded guy came over, greeted Adele, and shook his hand. “Cal Huntington. That's my daughter, Chloe.”

“Graham Logan. Nice to meet you.”

“Do you live in Valley Oaks?”

The guy was a cop. It showed in his clear focused eyes and no-nonsense demeanor.

“Temporarily. A close friend of mine moved into Fox Meadow.”

Adele added, “He's a history professor on sabbatical. We're going over to the Swedish museum so he can do some research. Tanner, show me where you're painting.”

Adele followed Tanner and Kate toward a back room. Graham knew he wasn't dismissed yet.

Cal said, “Have you got an apartment in town?”

“Yeah. There was a furnished one available on a month by month basis. I don't know how long Rand will be around.”

A flicker of compassion in the green eyes. “Sorry to hear that. So where do you teach?”

“Northwestern.”

“Been there awhile?”

“Awhile. And what do you do?”

“Deputy sheriff.”

Bingo. “Now that sounds like an interesting job.”

“Oh, lots of digging for facts, just like you. Hey, my father-in-law teaches history at Northwestern. You probably know him.”

“It's a huge department.”

The other three were reentering the main room.

“He's in American history too. Older guy. Thin. Long hair. You know, how most of you professors look. His name's Lawrence Neuman.”

“Oh, yeah. I know who he is.” Graham smiled. “Seems like a nice guy. I've seen your mother-in-law in the library.” He remembered Adele telling him about her. “How are they as in-laws?”
Let's move it, Adele.

“They're good ones.”

At last Adele said, “We better go. The museum doesn't stay open very late. See you.”

Goodbyes were said all around, and then they left the store.

Deputy sheriff.
Graham shouldn't have been there.

Tanner closed the door on his young applicants and said to Chloe, “You can borrow any videos or DVDs you want.”

Kate smiled to herself. The guy might be short on business savvy, but he was thoughtful. The little girl had been hinting for 20 minutes.

Chloe turned to Cal, her big blue eyes growing larger. “Daddy! Can I?”

“Sure. Go pick one out.”

“He said
videos.
Maybe I can have two? I know what Mommy likes.”

“All right, two.” He grinned as she skipped down the aisle, and then he turned to them. “Kate, what's with the new guy and Adele?”

Even if she hadn't been inclined to answer, she would have. There was something about the man, even out of uniform. “I guess you could say they're dating. They both spend most of their time at the nursing home.”

“Is his friend really dying?”

Kate exchanged a look with Tanner. “Well, he lives out there and Adele says he has cancer.”

“And she thinks he teaches at Northwestern.”

“Doesn't he?”

“You heard him say he knows Lawrence Neuman?”

They nodded.

“My father-in-law is Jack Neuman and he teaches economics. My mother-in-law spends 99 percent of her time in a library office at a computer. People don't see her.”

“You think he's a fraud?” Kate asked.

“I think he's a
cop
. Chloe,” he called, pulling his wallet from a back pocket, “you ready? Tanner, how much do we owe you?”

“Nothing. I'm not in business yet.”

Cal laughed. “Thanks. Hey, don't say anything to Adele, all right? I'll give my father-in-law a call. Maybe there is a Lawrence Neuman who teaches history. If not, there's no law against cops having friends at Fox Meadow. See you later.”

After they'd gone, Kate and Tanner stared at each other with wide eyes.

Kate asked, “Where'd he come up with cop?”

“Maybe they have a special radar between them or something that sends out cop signals only other cops can pick up.”

She laughed but quickly sobered. “Do you think Adele's in danger? I thought Graham seemed like a really great guy.”

“Well, we know he's got a friend out at the home, so I doubt he's an ax murderer looking for a victim. Cal has to be suspicious about strangers in this small town. It's his job. I remember him sniffing around me when I first started coaching. Kate, you're getting that snoop look in your eye.”

“I am not.”

“You are.” He wagged a finger in front of her face. “You think there's a story about Graham Logan.”

“You never know! Is it cookie-break time yet?”

Tanner beat her to the counter and grabbed two. “I think there's still coffee in the thermos. Want some?”

“Please.” She helped herself to a lemon bar and an oatmeal cookie, and sat on the floor. “I still can't understand why Graham would yank his friend out of Maryland in the dead of Midwest winter when he could have just as easily moved there to be with him. With the Internet, you don't need a Swedish museum located down the road.”

“I'm telling you, there's no story.” Tanner poured coffee into their mugs and joined her. “May I change the subject?”

She nodded and took a bite of lemon bar.

“I noticed another Jesus thing about Cal today. His beard.”

Kate stopped chewing.

“You know, even if all those paintings aren't true depictions, Jesus had to have a beard. I doubt men shaved back then. For certain, itinerant preachers wouldn't have shaved. Walking through desert and sleeping outdoors? No way.”

She chewed, nodding.

“But then there's that suspicious streak. Does that fit? Was Jesus suspicious?”

She shook head and swallowed. “He didn't need to be. He knew everything. No secrets from Him.”

“Hmm. Then if Graham turns out to be a cop, Cal knew the truth. I'd say Cal's got an inside track on the character of Jesus. A sweet bearded ox of a man who knows everything.”

Kate laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks.

Adele sat at the old upright piano in the corner of her living room, leafing through sheet music and surreptitiously studying Graham. His professor's image was in place: He wore a sweater and cords, and his attention was riveted on a local history book. He sat in the overstuffed armchair, his stocking feet propped on the ottoman. The subtle agitation that had plagued him all day seemed gone at last.

That afternoon, after leaving the video store, they had visited the museum. While examining displays of nineteenthcentury farm equipment and historical documents, he had excused himself three times. He went outdoors and made cell phone calls, each lasting quite awhile. In way of explanation he said dying was a legal quagmire.

On the return trip home, they detoured into Rockville, picking up Chinese carryout, a favorite of Rand's. The three of them ate dinner in his room at Fox Meadow, visiting until the older man had tired.

Making calls during their time together was atypical of Graham, but other things were even more uncharacteristic. Outwardly he maintained his usual subdued demeanor. Yet he occasionally lost the train of their conversation. His mind seemed distracted, his eyes focusing on something she couldn't see. With Rand he fidgeted. With her…he maintained his distance…in every way.

She quit looking for another piece of music to play and walked over to him now. As she sat on the ottoman near his feet, he looked up, peering over the rims of his half glasses.

He closed the book. “Midwesterners are a strange lot.”

“You sound as if you're not one. Weren't you born in Chicago?”

“Buffalo, New York.”

“So you're a settler, just like those Swedes.” Smiling, she took one of his hands in both of hers and held it on her knees. “Graham. Do you want to talk about it?”

He stared at her a long moment before speaking. “I can tell by the look in your eye you're not about to accept the answer, ‘There's nothing to talk about.'”

“If that's your answer, I can live with it. But what I can't live with is pretending nothing has changed. So I asked.”

“I think the third thing I first admired about you was your point-blank attitude. Do you want to know the first two things?”

“Graham, you're not answering my question.”

“They're part of the answer. The first thing was how very pretty you are. The second was how absolutely delightful you are.”

She lowered her eyes.

“Adele, dear, you're blushing.” He slid his feet from the ottoman and planted them on the floor.

She felt him shift and lean toward her, but she didn't raise her eyes. Flattery was like a foreign object intruding upon her mindset. It didn't belong there. Compliments concerning an accomplishment for which she was responsible was another thing. Admiration for her looks or the way she spoke had never been a part of her life. Not counting Will's compliments, which were usually when, in his opinion, she wore something especially suitable.

Graham placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face. “I'm sure you hear those things all the time. I didn't mean for it to sound like insincere sweet talk—”

“I've never heard those things, and you sound so sincere, I don't know how to respond.”

He removed his hand and smiled. “You don't have to.”

“You're right. Now getting back to my question?”

“If I recall, you asked if I want to talk about it. My answer is no, I don't, but yes, I need to. I've been distracted today. I take it you're wondering why?”

She nodded.

“It's Rand's imminent death. It's the fifth anniversary of Sammi's death. It's being more vulnerable than I've ever been in my entire life. It's finding you lodged in my heart while I'm not free to accept you there right now because I'm afraid to trust my feelings. It's keeping a physical space between us, thinking that will dislodge you when the whole time all I want is to kiss you.”