Page 3 of Axel

“True…,” he acknowledged that with a shrug, “but I am getting jealous. All the guys keep boasting about grandchildren and I have to keep my mouth shut. I am starting to feel conspicuous.”

“I am not going to conceive a child to make you feel inconspicuous.”

He studied her for a minute, taking in the artlessly tousled thick dark brown hair cut closely at the sides and fuller on the top. It emphasized her sharp cheekbones and stubborn chin. Her eyes dominated her small face and had graced several well-known magazines over the years.

Now she was a contributor to a widely successful magazine featuring several different heartfelt topics. He was proud of her but would love to have a grandchild bouncing on his knees before he was too old to make that effort. “Love is a grand thing.”

Lifting her head, she met his direct gaze with one of her own. “Not so grand where you are concerned.”

He shrugged thin shoulders, a faraway expression on his craggy attractive face. She hated when he brought up the topic of her mother, but inevitably, the conversation would always turn to her.

“I was flattered when she paid attention to me,” a smile touched his lips, “me, a lowly sailor, thin and gauche and lost. I loved the sea and being in the military was a way for me to escape the impossible situation at home.” He had told her about his father who had been an abusive drunk who had taken out his frustrations on him and his mother.

“There I was, with several of the fellows, walking right where they were shooting a low budget film and there she was, petite and utterly stunning. I had eyes for no one else and never dared expect that she would notice me.”

He had told the story so many times, she was familiar with it.

“She did.” Picking up his iced tea, he took a long swallow, a sad expression on his face. “It was love at first sight for me and I hoped it was for her too.” He shrugged. “It probably was at first.”

Reaching across, she placed a hand over his, causing him to start slightly as if just aware of her presence. “We had you,” his smile widened, and he shook off the maudlin mood just like that.

“And you are the greatest gift a man could ever hope for.” Turning his hand over, he lifted hers and kissed the back of it. “Now,” he continued briskly. “Tell me about this assignment that’s going to take my baby girl to some obscure town.”

*****

Dragging off the sodden headband, Ellie dropped wearily into the porch swing and kicked off her tennis shoes. Stretching her legs out, she stared at the moisture that had gathered on her skin.

Her body suit was soaking wet - because of the humidity of the September afternoon and the fact that she had gone more than her usual six miles as if running from her demons.

She had come straight from the retirement community, stopping long enough to change out of her work clothes into a workout outfit and hit the trail.

Her house, a charming two bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom redwood structure was set well back from the road and had a trail leading to a park. It was a popular area and people like herself used it as a workout area.

She liked to exercise alone as it was when she got to think and plan, especially when she was up for a big story. And this was going to be a biggie. She had complained to her friend about going to a small town, but it would do her good.

Aside from the fact that she would be some distance away from her mother and her constant complaints, she would also have the time to think about her life and where it was going.

Each time she left her dad, it was with a feeling of utter sadness and desolation. She knew he was far from being lonely, not with all the activities they had going on, but she could tell that it was a tug in his heart as well to see her leave.

She loved him. A smile touched her lips as she recalled the times when she had resented the hell out of him. Her mother had packed her head with lies, blaming him for leaving them behind. She had finally found out the truth when she reluctantly agreed to meet with him while she was a senior in high school.

That he could still love her mother was beyond Ellie’s comprehension. But he did and he kept hoping that she was going to come back to him. Shaking her head, she eased out of the swing, she left the shoes on the porch and went inside in search of something cold to drink. A glass of wine and perhaps a couple of slices of pizza.

She had just tugged the top over her head when her phone rang. Snatching it from the side pocket of her jogging shorts, she uttered a sigh of relief to discover that it was her dad.

*****

Axel dragged his fingers through the thick moisture of his coffee brown hair as he stopped underneath the huge oak tree with the overhanging branches.

The night had cooled off somewhat, with dark clouds scudding across the sky and blotting out the blue. He had finished tackling paperwork, facetiming his assistant and was due to go over to the main house to have dinner with his mother and sister.

He loved them to death and would do anything in his power to make them content, but tonight he would have preferred solitude.

His assistant had reminded him of the upcoming interview and that the woman from the magazine was scheduled to be here a week from today. He was not looking forward to it and wondered why the hell he had agreed to being interviewed in the first place.

He was here in River Glades to conduct several business efforts and provide the town with some well needed sprucing up. The mayor had handed him the key to the city in an elaborate ceremony that had taken place last Saturday. On top of that, he was being treated like royalty when he would rather have kept a low profile.

His mother and sister had their hands full receiving visitors, most of them women from the area, ones he had gone to schoolwith and who had not given him the time of day and were now falling over themselves to be with him.

---