Page 62 of Dangerous December
“Physical therapyandoccupational therapy starting at seven-thirty in the morning,” he grumbled, though there was still an irrepressible sparkle in his pale blue eyes. “And the vampire woman came by at four, wanting her daily vial of blood.”
Dev laughed. “They don’t want you to enjoy this place too much, so you’ll get well and go home.”
“They’re doing a fine job of it. Thanks for the newspaper, by the way.”
“We finally had our first monthly meeting at Sloane House. Everyone wished you were there.”
That earned a half smile.
“Let’s see.... Elana has been accepted at the community college, but hasn’t received the news about her financial aid package yet. She’s talking about wanting her own place, though.”
“Good for her. She’s a fine mama to that little boy of hers.”
“Beth is going to help Carl work on his long-term disability benefits this week.”
“Carl suffers more than a body should. He deserves those benefits, and more.”
“Let’s see. Who’s left...” Dev grinned at him. “Reva. I understand a friend wants her to move to Michigan, and her cousin wants her to move to Florida, because they each have businesses she could manage.”
Frank stilled. “Is she leaving?”
“The oddest thing...she wants to stay right here in Agate Creek, so she’s starting to look harder for a job. Now, why would she want to do that?”
The sudden tension in Frank’s shoulders eased. “I have no idea.”
“She’s one classy lady, Frank. How long have you two known each other?”
“We haven’t. Well, not really. She was married of course, until her husband died last year. I was just a teacher and never traveled in their social circle. But... I’d always admired her. Lovely woman, so smart.”
“That she is.”
“I hardly dare talk to her at the boarding house. What would she want with an old, gray-haired, unemployed schoolteacher? But since the accident, she comes to see me every day and we have long talks.”
“That’s good, right?”
Frank’s smile turned rueful. “Now I see what I’ve missed all these years, by not settling down. Companionship is a wonderful thing. Too bad I had to just about kill myself to find that out.”
Dev glanced at his watch and stood. “I’d better be going. I’m short a right-hand man at the moment, and I have some shipments coming in.”
Frank beckoned to him as he started for the door. “Just one thing.”
Dev dutifully returned to Frank’s bedside and rested his hands on the upraised side rail.
“An active duty Marine who’s always gone to battle somewhere in the Middle East and a quiet retired high school teacher like me may not seem further apart. You probably don’t think you and I are much alike.”
A brief smile lifted the corner of Frank’s mouth. “But in some ways, we are. I was a loner—guess I still am, mostly.I’m independent, sort of stubborn. I look back and remember a pretty little gal I liked a lot—but I let her slip through my fingers. Maybe I could have had kids and grandkids by now. A real family.
“And then I look at you and Beth, and I see sparks there. But neither of you is paying attention, so you’re going to lose out on something good. You’re going to end up like me, son, if you’re not careful. Lonely every single day.”
The tourist crowds had thinned after the Harvest Festival during the last weekend of October, leaving the town to the locals once more.
Come Thanksgiving, the holiday weekenders would start flooding back for the festive Victorian Christmas decorations, overflowing gift shops, and the quaint little restaurants and B&Bs tucked into the surrounding hills.
Beth smiled to herself as she stepped outside for a brisk, early-morning walk through town before opening her bookstore for the day.
With Thanksgiving less than a week away, the rhythmic jangling of harness bells and clopping of Clydesdale hooves would soon be echoing through town on the weekends, as the massive horses pulled brightly painted wagons with bench seats and roofs decorated in twinkling Christmas lights. Agate Creek’s equine version of shuttle buses to and from the parking lots at the edge of town always charmed her, year after year.
She paused in front of the empty sandstone block building next to the bookstore and looked up at the mullioned windows set deep in the casements.
