Heart's Desire (15 page)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

T
HE
GOSSIP
ABOUT
M
ADDIE
Strong spread around Indian Lake faster than a late-autumn forest fire. Cupcakes and Coffee had always been a rendezvous spot for Helen Knowland and her band of eavesdropping, busybody friends, but these stories did not start inside the café. Instead, Helen and her ilk met at the Book Shop and Java Stop, the public library, the Indian Lake Deli and the garden patio at the Pine Tree Lodges. The most active center of conversation was the Louise House, since Louise Railton had opened her ice-cream and candy shop on the first of May for the summer tourist season.

Since there wasn’t much demand for her homemade frozen treats in the bitter winter months, she shut her doors and used the time to visit family in Florida. Louise had returned in April, tanned and taut from long, barefoot walks on the beach, and she was filled with inspiration for new tropical ice-cream flavors to develop over the summer months.

Louise was waiting on Sophie Mattuchi at Louise House on Friday afternoon. Sophie had put in a very long day and a half at the hospital, and had assisted with an emergency surgery the night before. She had a sweet tooth, and when she was depressed, she often ordered a cone with two scoops and bought a couple pints of various flavors to take home.

Today, however, Sophie ordered only a single scoop. Black walnut.

“That all you want, Sophie?” Louise asked, taking two dollars from the pretty girl.

Sophie smiled as if she was trying to suppress a secret. “That’s all,” she answered, sitting down at a round table. “You put new fabric on the chairs.” She smoothed her palm over the aqua-and-white cabana-striped cotton that now covered all the seats in the little shop. “I like it.”

“I’m going tropical this year,” Louise announced with a firm nod. “There’s going to be some changes in the menu. Maybe put some tropical plants in here. Ferns. Banana trees.”

“Wow. Sounds great,” Sophie said.

“You gotta have change all the time. Keeps the mind going and the body young.”

“Well, I’d say there are quite a few in this town who would agree with that.”

“Not really. Nothing ever changes much in Indian Lake.” Louise continued polishing her retro milk shake mixer.

“I wouldn’t say that. Look at Maddie Strong.”

Louise stopped polishing. “Maddie? What’s changed about her? If you’d said Sarah Jensen, yeah, I get that. She’s getting married. Becoming a mother to those two kids. Cute kids. Polite, too. Not like most of the kids who come in here.” Louise held a stained white kitchen towel in her hand as she clamped her fist onto her hip. “So, tell me about Maddie.”

Sophie took a long lick of her ice cream, then obliged. “Seems the word is out that some hoity-toity Chicago businessman is going to invest in Maddie’s café.”

“She’s expanding?”

“Franchising. But that’s not all. Maddie had to go to Chicago to meet with all these people. Big shots. And they’re so rich, they sent a limousine for her. All the way to Indian Lake. The word is that they’re going to make Maddie rich.”

Louise walked over to Sophie’s table and sat down. She folded her hands in her lap and waited eagerly for Sophie to continue.

“But that’s not the biggest part of the story,” Sophie said in a conspiratorial tone.

“That’s pretty big,” Louise said.

“One of the rich guys, he sends Maddie expensive flowers nearly every week. He sends them to the café, so you can go over and see them if you don’t believe me.”

“He’s courting her?” Louise asked. Sophie’s smile was twisted with a bit too much self-satisfaction for Louise’s taste, so she kept her poker face on and played her cards close to her chest.

“Apparently. Looks like Nate Barzonni is going to have a run for his money.”

“Nate Barzonni? What’s he got to do with anything? He’s old news. Besides, no one has heard from him in over a decade.”

Sophie shook her head and snickered. “You shouldn’t stay away from Indian Lake so long, Louise. Otherwise, you’re going to miss a lot of drama around here. Nate not only came back to town, but he signed on at the hospital’s new cardiac center. He’s my boss. Well, one of them.” Sophie grinned satisfactorily. “Now that this new, rich guy is in the picture for Maddie, my bet is that Nate doesn’t have a whit of a chance with her. I’ve even heard some of Maddie’s friends joking about whose wedding will be first, Sarah’s or Maddie’s.”

Louise waved her hand in front of her face, brushing off the comment. “That’s crazy. She just met the guy.”

“I know. But he sent a limousine and all those flowers. It must be serious,” Sophie countered.

Louise’s eyes narrowed. “You need to get out more, Sophie. City guys are different than hometown boys. City guys do all kinds of outrageous, romantic and flamboyant things for a woman, and it doesn’t mean squat.”

“I’ve never met a guy who’s acted like that.”

“I have.”

“Really? How?”

“I’ve been to Florida.”

* * *

N
OW
THAT
L
OUISE
’
S
ears had been pricked, it seemed they were homing devices for every tidbit of information about Maddie Strong. When she went to the post office, Louise heard two people who were in line waiting for service whispering about the “fancy car” that had come all the way from Chicago to give Maddie Strong a ride when she was perfectly capable of driving into the city by herself.

By the time Louise had overheard another man at the grocery store and one at the hardware store, she could discern one common tone in their voices: jealousy.

And she didn’t like it one bit.

Once jealousy set in, the truth was always twisted and tortured until the person being discussed was hurt, or their reputation ruined. Louise hated that. She’d heard a lot of gossip since the day she’d bought the Rose Street Grocery from Raymond Beabots and turned it into the Louise House. Most of it meant no more to her than the buzzing of summer flies dodging the slow-moving blades of the ceiling fans. However, when the stories involved one of Louise’s friends, turning a deaf ear to the gossip was not the right thing to do.

Getting to the truth of the matter required one course of action. Louise had to visit Mrs. Beabots.

Louise twisted the antique doorbell that was mounted in the middle of Mrs. Beabots’s front door. The first promise of summer was moving across Indian Lake in the form of a warm breeze that swept through the Boston ferns Mrs. Beabots had placed around her front porch. Louise noticed that dozens of daffodils were in full bloom in the garden, along with forsythia and French lilacs.

The door opened with an impressive
whoosh
. Louise knew Mrs. Beabots was in her early eighties, but for her money, the woman didn’t look or act a day over sixty-eight.

“How are you, Louise?” Mrs. Beabots asked brightly.

Louise scrutinized her friend. She wore her blue-rinsed white hair in a shorter-than-normal bob. “You have a new hairdresser. Or that’s a wig.”

Mrs. Beabots smiled. “Observant as always, Louise. I have a new girl, and she’s just the ticket.” Mrs. Beabots cupped her hand beneath the exact curve of the hair close to her ear. She tilted her head. “What do you think? Too young?”

“Lord, no. It’s great. I wish I had thick hair like yours, instead of these feathers.” Louise rolled her eyes. “I’d kill to have that style. It’s very becoming.”

Mrs. Beabots stood back and allowed Louise to enter the foyer. She closed the door behind them. “I’m glad you approve. I thought we’d go into the parlor.”

“Excellent.” Louise followed her into the room, which was filled with spring sunshine. Nearly every cachepot, bowl and container was filled with blooming plants. “Good heavens, it looks like a greenhouse in here.”

Mrs. Beabots sat down and motioned for Louise to take a chair. “It is. These are my forced bulbs and some seedlings I’ve been playing with. Keeps me busy till it’s planting time. Thank God that time has arrived. Winter just seemed so long this year.”

“I’ve only been back a few weeks.”

“How was Florida?”

Louise knew if she answered completely, they would spend all day talking about her, and that wasn’t the purpose of the mission. “It was fine. Listen, I know you’re always busy and I’ve got a million things going on, but quite honestly, I had to speak with you about...”

“Maddie?”

Louise was taken aback. “Well, that’s getting right down to it. Yes, as a matter of fact. Seems I can’t go anywhere that she isn’t the topic of conversation.”

“I’m not surprised,” Mrs. Beabots replied with a slight purse to her lips.

“It’s true then? She’s franchising her café and she’s going to be a millionaire?”

“That’s quite exaggerated, but if it all goes through and it’s handled correctly, I’d say that in a few years, Maddie won’t have to scrimp anymore.”

“There’s another matter I wanted to discuss.”

“Since we’ve already covered the money part, that only leaves romance.” Mrs. Beabots leaned forward. “I don’t like people talking about someone I love, and I know you don’t spread gossip....”

“I don’t,” Louise assured her.

Mrs. Beabots nodded again. “So are they talking about Maddie and, well, anyone in particular?”

“Two men. Nate Barzonni—I just found out he’s back in town—and then some rich Chicago person. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“And he sent a limousine?”

Mrs. Beabots swatted the air with her hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. People don’t do that anymore. It was a Lincoln Town Car.”

“But hired. I get it. And he’s sending flowers?”

Mrs. Beabots nodded.

“Maddie has always been close to you and Sarah. I figured you, of all people, should know what’s going on,” Louise said.

Mrs. Beabots looked down at her hands and then out her beveled-glass windows to the blooming flowers along Maple Avenue Boulevard. “Honestly, Louise, I don’t think that girl has the first clue what’s going on at all.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

N
ATE
PEELED
AROUND
Maple Avenue in his Hummer and barreled to an abrupt stop in front of Cupcakes and Coffee. Still wearing his scrubs, he jumped out of his SUV and slammed the door. He bounded up the steps to the café and went inside.

Nate was surprised not to see any patrons inside, but then he remembered Maddie telling him that past three o’clock in the afternoon, she usually didn’t have much business.

“Nate!” Maddie said with a bright smile as she came out of the backroom. Her face fell as she glanced at the clock. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have a surgery?”

“Canceled,” he said. He spotted a silver vase filled with at least four dozen red roses. His eyes tracked around the room until they fell on a second crystal vase with drooping white tulips.

Maddie watched him as he walked slowly toward her. “You’ve heard.”

“The gossip? Yeah. Couldn’t avoid it. Seems the nurses in my unit talk about nothing else.”

“Really?” Maddie settled a hand on her hip. “I wonder who instigated the topic.”

“Does it matter?” he asked, moving to the counter. He pointed at the roses. “Alex, huh?”

“Yes.” She raised her chin haughtily and pierced him with her eyes. “He likes to send flowers. He’s been doing it since Valentine’s Day.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. I usually give them to Sarah or Mrs. Beabots. Hazel likes the tulips, and sometimes Chloe takes them home.”

Chloe came out from the backroom. “I go for the daisies. He sends those on Fridays,” she said without missing a beat.

Nate rolled his eyes. “I can only guess what Alex wants.”

Chloe tried to stifle a laugh. Maddie glared at her. “I’ll take out the garbage,” Chloe said as she hustled away.

Maddie turned back to Nate. “Alex wants to come to Indian Lake and take me out to dinner. I told him I’ve been too busy. I’ll see him in a few weeks for our next meeting with the investor,” she said flatly, still staring at Nate with an uncompromising expression.

“He doesn’t just want dinner, Maddie.”

“I know that.”

“Has he put the moves on you yet?”

“That’s none of your business,” she replied.

“It’s not. But I’d like to know,” Nate said sincerely.

“Okay. So, I kissed him.”

Nate swallowed hard. He didn’t know why he hadn’t been prepared for her answer. Or maybe the truth hit him harder than he’d imagined it would. “Must have been some kiss.” He exhaled, casting a glance at the roses.

Nate felt like the earth had just dropped away from under his feet. The last time he’d felt this devastated was the night she’d refused his proposal. He’d recognized, then, that her refusal would change his life. But this time he would do something differently. This time he would fight for her.

“Nate, when you came here that morning and I kissed you, it was for revenge.”

He sucked in his breath and held it. “Revenge? Well, I guess I deserved that one. Great. That’s great. And what about the kisses at the beach? Were those for revenge, too?” He spun around and headed for the door.

“I hated you so much, Nate!” Maddie shouted after him. “My emotions were on fire. I thought if I kissed you I would get you out of my system for good. Expunged. Exorcised. Whatever. I wanted you gone. Until I kissed you.”

“And then?” He turned back to her.

“Frankly, I’m off my fulcrum here. Out of whack. Out of balance. You make me nuts, you know that? I don’t know what to think. I had everything all planned out. My life, I mean.”

“And Alex was a part of it?”

“Not in that way, no.”

“Not then, you mean. Not before you kissed.”

She pursed her lips. “And not now, either, Nate. No man is.”

Nate was silent. He nodded. “Thanks for being honest. I appreciate it.”

Nate walked out the door feeling as if he were going to explode. Anger at Maddie wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Cursing at fate hadn’t helped in the past either.

Maddie wanted a life of her own. Without him.

His head told him that giving Maddie time and space was his best option, but right now, his heart was fearful that he would lose her.

When he’d lost her before, he’d been young and filled with the need to escape from his father’s grip and make his own way in the world. Losing Maddie then was a thousand times less painful than this.

This time he knew he wouldn’t recover.

This time he felt a cold chill of deep loss and sorrow crackle through his body like life-sapping frost.

Nate knew what it was like to feel dead inside.