were good between the two of you that way. Travis wasn’t worth the time it took him to… She rose from the table and began to clear away the cartons and plates. “Like I said, this isn’t a fit conversation for us to be having.”
Jake sighed. “I worry about you, Nellie. I’m not going to be here forever.”
“You’re healthy as a horse, and I’m happy the way I am.”
The look he gave her said he didn’t believe that for a single minute. She hated how Tiny flashed into her mind at that very moment, making her stomach tighten.
“Reckon Tiny’ll be back tonight?” Jake asked, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin and adding it to the knife and fork abandoned on his empty plate.
“I have no idea.”
Penelope turned on the cold water to rinse their plates and silverware and wished she could bathe her burning face in it.
“Leave the door unlocked.”
“Since when does anyone in Amaryllis ever lock their doors?”
“The back door was locked this morning early.”
“Tiny did it.”
“Oh. Well, I guess he knows the way upstairs.”
“I guess he does.”
“You put everything in his room?”
“It’s all there. Thanks for doing the shopping.”
“Sure, sure. I’m going to watch ‘Law and Order’. Want to watch with me?”
“No, thanks, Daddy. I’ve got some things to do upstairs. Like take a cold shower.
He walked to the sink and pecked her cheek, which was still hot to the touch. “Night, darlin’.”
****
She showered and went to bed with the latest nursing journal. Since she kept up her nursing license, she figured she should keep up with all the new techniques and developments in medicine, too. Not that she ever thought about going back to work. The B&B kept her busy enough. Being an innkeeper let her meet new people. Healthy people all in one piece. People she didn’t have to patch up or transport to the morgue.
At ten forty-five, she realized staying awake wasn’t going to make Tiny show up, so she cut off the lamp and snuggled down, She didn’t even have time to doze off before she heard footsteps on the stairs. Not that nice family on the third floor either. They’d come in just after six, hot, sweaty, and drooping, and gone straight upstairs, obviously worn out by the family reunion. And not Jake. He never came upstairs. So it had to be Tiny.
She realized she was smiling and tried not to. Should she get up and let him know she knew he was here? Maybe not. No, certainly not after the reaction she’d had to that indelicate conversation with her father. Certainly blessed not! She hadn’t felt that way in years, and Tiny would know, because he seemed to know everything.
Listening again, she heard the footsteps moving toward the front room. He’d find the underwear, socks, and pajamas, the toiletries and the fresh pillowcase. Maybe she should check his wound to make sure it was clean. No, he was a big boy. He could look in the mirror and wash it with the peroxide she’d left in plain sight along with the bandage.
When she heard the door close, she turned over and closed her eyes and wished she could close her mind as well.
CHAPTER TWELVE
(Sunday)
The alarm on her bedside table at 5 AM woke Penelope from a restless sleep. Rolling over on her back she let her mind drift over the day ahead. Breakfast for the third-floor guests, late Mass, maybe get a head start on cleaning. She sat up and put her feet over the side of the bed. As they touched the shaggy pink throw rug, the consciousness of Tiny’s presence at the end of the hall hit her like a wrecking ball. Her body actually quivered as if it were trying to decide whether to topple or stand. She stood up to prove she could do it. Don’t you miss a man in your bed? The memory of Jake’s words made her blush again.
By nine o’clock, the nice little family had departed, full of breakfast and bearing the lunch she’d insisted on making for them. They’d thanked her at least half a dozen times for everything, and
Jake sighed. “I worry about you, Nellie. I’m not going to be here forever.”
“You’re healthy as a horse, and I’m happy the way I am.”
The look he gave her said he didn’t believe that for a single minute. She hated how Tiny flashed into her mind at that very moment, making her stomach tighten.
“Reckon Tiny’ll be back tonight?” Jake asked, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin and adding it to the knife and fork abandoned on his empty plate.
“I have no idea.”
Penelope turned on the cold water to rinse their plates and silverware and wished she could bathe her burning face in it.
“Leave the door unlocked.”
“Since when does anyone in Amaryllis ever lock their doors?”
“The back door was locked this morning early.”
“Tiny did it.”
“Oh. Well, I guess he knows the way upstairs.”
“I guess he does.”
“You put everything in his room?”
“It’s all there. Thanks for doing the shopping.”
“Sure, sure. I’m going to watch ‘Law and Order’. Want to watch with me?”
“No, thanks, Daddy. I’ve got some things to do upstairs. Like take a cold shower.
He walked to the sink and pecked her cheek, which was still hot to the touch. “Night, darlin’.”
****
She showered and went to bed with the latest nursing journal. Since she kept up her nursing license, she figured she should keep up with all the new techniques and developments in medicine, too. Not that she ever thought about going back to work. The B&B kept her busy enough. Being an innkeeper let her meet new people. Healthy people all in one piece. People she didn’t have to patch up or transport to the morgue.
At ten forty-five, she realized staying awake wasn’t going to make Tiny show up, so she cut off the lamp and snuggled down, She didn’t even have time to doze off before she heard footsteps on the stairs. Not that nice family on the third floor either. They’d come in just after six, hot, sweaty, and drooping, and gone straight upstairs, obviously worn out by the family reunion. And not Jake. He never came upstairs. So it had to be Tiny.
She realized she was smiling and tried not to. Should she get up and let him know she knew he was here? Maybe not. No, certainly not after the reaction she’d had to that indelicate conversation with her father. Certainly blessed not! She hadn’t felt that way in years, and Tiny would know, because he seemed to know everything.
Listening again, she heard the footsteps moving toward the front room. He’d find the underwear, socks, and pajamas, the toiletries and the fresh pillowcase. Maybe she should check his wound to make sure it was clean. No, he was a big boy. He could look in the mirror and wash it with the peroxide she’d left in plain sight along with the bandage.
When she heard the door close, she turned over and closed her eyes and wished she could close her mind as well.
CHAPTER TWELVE
(Sunday)
The alarm on her bedside table at 5 AM woke Penelope from a restless sleep. Rolling over on her back she let her mind drift over the day ahead. Breakfast for the third-floor guests, late Mass, maybe get a head start on cleaning. She sat up and put her feet over the side of the bed. As they touched the shaggy pink throw rug, the consciousness of Tiny’s presence at the end of the hall hit her like a wrecking ball. Her body actually quivered as if it were trying to decide whether to topple or stand. She stood up to prove she could do it. Don’t you miss a man in your bed? The memory of Jake’s words made her blush again.
By nine o’clock, the nice little family had departed, full of breakfast and bearing the lunch she’d insisted on making for them. They’d thanked her at least half a dozen times for everything, and
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