Heartwishes Read online

  He called her cell but was sent to voice mail. He wandered about the empty house, saw that she’d made the bed with freshly washed sheets, and he stretched out on it. It was late and he knew he should shower and go to bed, but he didn’t want to. Besides, he didn’t want to wash Gemma off his skin.

  He lay there, looking at the ceiling and thinking about her, especially about how she made him feel. That he’d talked to her about Jean, been honest with her and she’d not judged him, had been good. There were so many things he liked about Gemma, how calm she was, how . . . He grinned. How beautiful her body was.

  He indulged himself in memory of their time together in bed. He liked the strength of her, the—

  He broke off when his cell buzzed. It was his father.

  “I hear you were out fighting crime today,” Peregrine Frazier said. “What was it? Kids?”

  Colin wasn’t about to discuss a case with his father. His solution to every crime in Edilean was for Colin to turn it over to the Williamsburg police, and go back to selling cars.

  “Dad,” Colin said seriously. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Yeah? What’s going on?”

  “Is Mom there? Will she hear you?”

  “No, I’m alone,” his father said as he looked across the room at his wife. She moved to sit on the ottoman near him and put her head beside the phone.

  “How upset do you think Mom will be to hear that I’ve broken up with Jean?”

  “Well,” Peregrine said slowly while waving at his wife to stop dancing about the room. “Your mother has always liked Jean. In fact, we all love her, but . . .”

  “But what?”

  “Neither your mother nor I could see her living in Edilean.”

  Alea Frazier was mouthing “Gemma! Gemma!” to her husband.

  “Look, son, I wouldn’t be too down about this. Breakups happen. I remember one time when I was in college, and I—”

  Alea looked at him in threat.

  Grinny cleared his throat. “I played golf with Henry Shaw today and he said you were at Sara and Mike’s yesterday.”

  “No secret in that.”

  “He also told me that pretty little Gemma was so angry at you about something that she wouldn’t speak to you.”

  Alea looked at her husband in horror, as that was news she hadn’t heard. She made a grab for the phone, but her husband kept it out of her reach.

  Grinny got out of his chair and turned his back on her. “What I mean to say, Colin, is that it isn’t good to mistreat an employee so she gets angry at you. I think you should—”

  “We made up,” Colin said.

  “Made up? What does that mean?”

  “Dad, you aren’t that old. Gemma and I made up,” he said emphatically.

  Grinny turned to his wife and gave a thumbs-up. “I’m glad to hear it. Henry said Gemma put on a sort of boxing exhibition. Did she?”

  “Oh yeah,” Colin said in a way that let his father know how good she’d looked.

  “Sorry I missed that,” Grinny said, and Alea frowned at him. She pointed to her ring finger on her left hand. Grinny looked at her in disbelief, then turned away. “So you and Gemma are now on good terms?”

  “We’re friends,” Colin said, “and that’s all you’re going to get out of me. Have you seen her in the last hour or so?”

  “No,” Grinny said. “She isn’t with you?”

  “Not at the moment. I thought she’d gone back to the guesthouse, but she’s not answering her phone.”

  Grinny took a deep breath, as he always did before he started a speech. “You know, son, Gemma is a pretty young woman and she’s fresh blood in this town, if you know what I mean. She’s been seen out a lot with young Dr. Tris. If I were you, I’d make my feelings for her known sooner rather than later. I don’t want you to hesitate and lose your chance.”

  “You mean I should hurry up and claim her as my own?” Colin said.

  “That’s exactly what I mean.”

  “Mom is there, isn’t she? And she’s nagging you to help her get one of her kids married.”

  “You’re right on, boy. You hit that nail square on the head.”

  “Mom doesn’t care who I marry, just that I do it, is that right?” Colin said.

  “I think it’s more the end result.”

  Colin groaned. “Not grandkids again. I wish Ariel’d come back so Mom could go after her.”

  “You’re the oldest, so responsibility falls on your shoulders.” Grinny was looking at his wife and she was nodding in approval at what he was saying.

  “I’m doing my best, Dad. Would you check that Gemma got back safely?”

  “Sure,” Grinny said. He paused. “You think Jean will . . . I mean . . .”

  “Come and cook for you?” Colin asked. “She probably would, but she might spike the punch with antifreeze.”

  “Too bad,” Grinny said. “Too, too bad. You think Gemma can—”

  “No, she can’t cook. Good night, Dad.”

  “Good night, son.”

  As Colin got off the bed and went to the kitchen, he was shaking his head at his father’s phone call and thinking about his mother listening. He knew there wasn’t anything in the refrigerator, but he looked anyway.

  The unopened bottle of champagne from Tess was there, and to his surprise, Gemma had filled the refrigerator with food. There was also a note from her. That she’d left it inside the refrigerator made him laugh. She was beginning to know him almost too well.

  I had fun at the grocery. Tell you about it later. Sleep well. Gemma

  He pulled food out of the fridge, and minutes later, he was sitting at the counter and eating chicken, broccoli rabe, a big twice-baked potato, and drinking his favorite beer from the bottle.

  When his phone buzzed, he grabbed it, hoping it was Gemma. Instead, it was a text from Sara.

  Did you hear what Gemma did with Mr. Lang today?

  Immediately, Colin called Sara. She answered on the first ring. “Tell me everything,” he said.

  “I want to, but Mike says I can’t. He says it’s up to Gemma to tell you. Think it’ll get you two back together?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me! I’m sure Luke and Rams told you that Gemma and I bought a lot of furniture today. We are back together. Lang didn’t play one of his tricks on Gemma, did he?”

  “Calm down,” Sara said. “Mr. Lang is now so in love with Gemma that I thought Mike was going to have to give him a pill to calm him down.”

  “In love with her? What happened?”

  “I wasn’t there, but—Uh oh. I’ve been caught. It’s impossible to snoop when your husband is a detective. Wait a minute.” As he listened, Colin could hear Mike’s low voice in the background. “My husband says he expects you at his gym tomorrow at six-thirty A.M. He said Gemma said she’d tell you everything then. I’m hanging up now to keep from saying another word. We have to leave tomorrow, so call me and tell me what’s up with that robbery. Good night.”

  Colin called Gemma’s cell again, but still only got voice mail. He left a message saying he’d heard that he’d been thrown over for Mr. Lang. Thirty minutes later, Colin had showered but there was still nothing from Gemma.

  Finally, his father texted him that Gemma was okay and sleeping—and she didn’t like being waked up. Colin went to bed and drifted into sleep, smiling.

  19

  AFTER COLIN LEFT to investigate the robbery, Gemma took a shower and put clean sheets on the bed. She couldn’t decide whether she wanted to stay there and wait for him or make her way home.

  She wandered about the house, looking at the woodwork and thinking about the furniture they’d bought. She couldn’t help wondering if she’d get to use that furniture. Would she ever live in a house that she liked as much as this one?

  She thought about all Colin had told her about Jean and she knew she should feel some sympathy for him. The things Jean had said were hurtful. But then, Gemma was also sure she should feel sorry for Jean.