Laughter in the Rain, page 10
His breathing deep, he buried his face in the slope of her neck. “Just let me hold you for a while. Let’s not talk.”
She agreed and settled into the warm comfort of his embrace. The staccato beat of his heart gradually returned to a normal pace and Abby felt content and loved. The key to a peaceful relationship was to bask in their love for each other, she thought, smiling. That, and not saying a word.
“What’s so amusing?” Logan asked, his breath stirring the hair at the side of her face.
“How do you know I’m smiling?”
“I can feel it.”
Abby tilted her head so she could look into his eyes. “This turned into a happy birthday, after all,” she said.
Now he smiled, too. “Can I see you tomorrow?”
“If you weren’t going to ask me, then I would’ve been forced to make some wild excuse to see you.” Lovingly, Abby rubbed her hand along the side of his jaw, enjoying the slightly prickly feel of his beard.
“What would you like to do?”
“I don’t care, as long as I’m with you.”
“My, my,” he whispered, taking her hand. Tenderly he kissed her palm. “You’re much easier to please than I remember.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” she teased.
Logan stiffened and sat upright. “What’s tomorrow?”
“The tenth. Why?”
“I can’t, Abby. I’ve got something scheduled.”
She felt a rush of disappointment but knew that if she was frustrated, so was Logan. “Don’t worry, I’ll survive,” she assured him, then smiled. “At least I think I will.”
“But don’t plan anything for the day after tomorrow.”
“Of course I’m planning something.”
“Abby.” He sounded tired and impatient.
“Well, it’s Sunday, right? Our usual day. So I’m planning to spend it with you. I thought that was what you wanted.”
“I do.”
The grimness about his mouth relaxed.
Almost immediately afterward, Logan appeared restless and uneasy. Later, as she dressed for bed, she convinced herself that it was her imagination.
The lesson with Mai-Ling the following afternoon went well. It was the last reading session they’d have, since Mai-Ling was now ready to move on. She’d scheduled one with Tate right afterward, deciding that what Logan didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Tate was still painfully self-conscious and uncomfortable about telling anyone else, although his progress was remarkable and he advanced more quickly than any student she’d ever tutored, including the talented Mai-Ling. From experience, she could tell he was spending many hours each evening studying.
On her way back to her apartment late Saturday afternoon, Abby decided on the spur of the moment to stop at Patty’s and see how she was recuperating. She’d sent her an email wishing her a rapid recovery and had promised to stop over some afternoon. Patty needed friends, and Abby was feeling generous. Her topsy-turvy world had been righted.
She went to a drugstore first and bought half a dozen glossy magazines as a get-well gift, then drove to Patty’s home.
Her sister answered the doorbell.
“Hi, you must be from the baseball team. Patty’s gotten a lot of company. Everyone’s been wonderful.”
Abby wasn’t surprised. Everyone on the team was warm and friendly.
“This must be her day for company. Come on in. Logan’s with her now.”
Seven
Abby was dismayed as the sound of Patty’s laughter drifted into the entryway, but she followed Patty’s sister into the living room.
Patty’s broken arm was supported by a white linen sling and she sat opposite Logan on a long sofa. Her eyes were sparkling with undisguised happiness. Logan had his back to Abby, and it was all she could do not to turn around and leave. She forced a bright smile and made an entrance any actress would envy. “Hello, everyone!”
“Hi, Abby!” Patty had never looked happier or, for that matter, prettier. Not only was her hair nicely styled, but she was wearing light makeup, which added color to her pale cheeks and accented her large brown eyes. She wore a lovely summer dress, a little fancy for hanging around the house, and shoes that were obviously new.
“How are you feeling?” Abby prayed the phoniness in her voice had gone undetected.
Logan stood up and came around the couch, but his eyes didn’t meet Abby’s probing gaze.
“Hello, Logan, good to see you again.”
“Hello, Abby.”
“Sit down, please.” Patty pointed to an empty chair. “We’ve got a few minutes before dinner.” Patty seemed oblivious to the tension between her guests.
“No, thanks,” Abby murmured, faking another smile. “I can only stay a minute. I just wanted to drop by and see how you were doing. Oh, these are for you,” she said, handing over the magazines. “Some reading material…”
“Thank you! And I’m doing really well,” Patty said enthusiastically. “This is the first night I’ve been able to go out. Logan’s taking me to dinner at the restaurant inside the Sheraton.”
Abby breathed in sharply and clenched her fist until her nails cut into her hand. Logan had taken her there only once, but Abby considered it their special restaurant. He could’ve taken Patty anyplace else in the world and it would’ve hurt, but not as much as this.
“Everyone’s been great,” Patty continued. “Dick and his wife were over yesterday, and a few others from the team dropped by. Those flowers”—she indicated several plants and bouquets—“are from them.”
“We all feel terrible about the accident.” Abby made her first honest statement of the visit.
“But it was my own fault,” Patty said as Logan hovered stiffly on the other side of the room.
Abby lowered her eyes, unable to meet the happy glow in Patty’s. A crumpled piece of wrapping paper rested on the small table at Patty’s side. It was the same paper Logan had used to wrap Abby’s birthday gift the day before. He couldn’t have gotten Patty perfume. He wouldn’t dare.
“You look so nice,” Abby said. Her pulse quickened. What had Logan brought Patty? She thought she recognized that scent…“Is that a new perfume you’re wearing?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, Logan—”
“Hadn’t we better be going?” Logan said as he made a show of glancing at his watch.
Patty looked flustered. “Is it time already?”
Following her cue, Abby glared at Logan and took a step in retreat. “I should go, too.” A contrived smile curved her mouth. “Have a good time.”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Logan volunteered.
Walking backward, Abby gestured with her hands, swinging them at her sides to give a carefree impression. “No, that isn’t necessary. Really. I’m capable of finding my own way out.”
“Abby,” Logan said under his breath.
“Have a wonderful time, you two,” Abby continued, her voice slightly high-pitched. “I’ve only been to the Sheraton once. The food was fantastic, but I can’t say much for my date. But I no longer see him. A really ordinary guy, if you know what I mean. And so predictable.”
“I’ll be right back.” Logan directed his comment to Patty and gripped Abby by the elbow.
“Let me go,” she seethed.
Logan’s grip relaxed once they were outside the house. “Would you let me explain?”
“Explain?” She threw the word in his face. “What could you possibly say? No.” She waved her hand in front of his chest. “Don’t say a word. I don’t want to hear it. Do you understand? Not a word.”
“You’re being irrational again,” Logan accused, apparently having difficulty keeping his rising temper in check.
“You’re right,” she agreed. “I’ve completely lost my sense. Please forgive me for being so closed-minded.” Her voice was surprisingly even, but it didn’t disguise the hurt or the feeling of betrayal she was experiencing.
“Abby.”
“Don’t,” she whispered achingly. “Not now. I can’t talk now.”
“I’ll call you later.”
She consented with an abrupt nod, but at that point, Abby realized, she would have agreed to anything for the opportunity to escape.
Her hand was shaking so badly that she had trouble sliding the key into the ignition. This was crazy. She felt secure in his love one night and betrayed the next.
Abby didn’t go home. The last thing she wanted to do was sit alone on a Saturday night. To kill time, she visited the Mall of America and did some shopping, buying herself a designer outfit that she knew Logan would hate.
The night was dark and overcast as she let herself into the apartment. Hanging the new dress in her closet, Abby acknowledged that spending this much money on one outfit was ridiculous. Her reasons were just as childish. But it didn’t matter; she felt a hundred times better.
The phone rang the first time at ten. Abby ignored it. Logan. Of course. When it started ringing at five-minute intervals, she simply unplugged it. There was nothing she had to say to him. When they spoke again, she wanted to feel composed. Tonight was too soon. She wasn’t ready yet.
Calm now, she changed into her pajamas and sat on the sofa, brushing her long hair in smooth, even strokes. Reaction would probably set in tomorrow, but for now she was too angry to think.
Half an hour later, someone pressed her buzzer repeatedly. Annoying though it was, she ignored that, too.
When there was a banging at her door, Abby hesitated, then continued with her brushing.
“Come on, Abby, I know you’re in there,” Logan shouted.
“Go away. I’m not dressed,” she called out sweetly.
“Then get dressed.”
“No!” she yelled back.
Logan’s laugh was breathless and bitter. “Either open up or I’ll tear the stupid door off its hinges.”
Just the way he said it convinced Abby this wasn’t an idle threat. And to think that only a few weeks ago she’d seen Logan as unemotional. Laying her brush aside, she walked to the door and unlatched the safety chain.
“What do you want? How did you get into the building? And for heaven’s sake, keep the noise down. You’re disturbing the neighbors.”
“Some guy from the second floor recognized me and opened the lobby door. And if you don’t let me in to talk to you, I’ll do a lot more than wake the neighbors.”
Abby had never seen Logan display so much passion. Perhaps she should’ve been thrilled, but she wasn’t.
“Did you and Patty have a nice evening?” she asked with heavy sarcasm.
Logan glanced briefly at his hands. “Reasonably nice.”
“I apologize if I put a damper on your date,” she returned with smooth derision. “Believe me, had I known about it, I would never have visited Patty at such an inopportune time. My timing couldn’t have been worse—or better, depending on how you look at it.”
“Abby,” he said and sighed. “Let me in. Please.”
“Not tonight, Logan.”
Frustration furrowed his brow. “Tomorrow, then?”
“Tomorrow,” she agreed, and started to close the door. “Logan,” she called, and he immediately turned back. “Without meaning to sound like I care a whole lot, let me ask you something. Why did you give Patty the same perfume as me?” Some perverse part of herself had to know.
His look was filled with defeat. “It seemed the thing to do. I knew she’d enjoy it, and to be honest, I felt sorry for her. Patty needs someone.”
Abby’s chin quivered as the hurt coursed through her. Pride dictated that she maintain a level gaze. “Thank you for not lying,” she said, and closed the door.
* * *
—
Tate was waiting for her when Abby entered the park at eleven-thirty Sunday morning. Since her Saturday sessions with Mai-Ling had come to an end, Abby was now devoting extra time on the weekends to Tate.
“You look like you just stepped out of the dentist’s chair,” Tate said, studying her closely. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you sleep well last night?”
She hadn’t.
“You work too hard,” he told her. “You’re always helping others. Me and Mai-Ling…”
Abby sat on the blanket Tate had spread out on the grass and lowered her gaze so that her hair fell forward, hiding her face. “I don’t do nearly enough,” she disagreed. “Tate,” she said, raising her eyes to his. “I’ve never told anyone the reason we meet. Would you mind if I did? Just one person?”
Unable to sleep, Abby had considered the various reasons Logan might have asked Patty out for dinner. She was sure he hadn’t purposely meant to hurt her. The only logical explanation was that he wanted her to experience the same feelings he had, since she was continuing to see Tate. And yet he’d gone to pains to keep her from knowing about the date. Nothing made sense anymore. But if she could tell Logan the reason she was meeting Tate, things would be easier…
Tate rubbed a weary hand over his eyes. “This is causing problems with you and—what’s-his-name—isn’t it?”
Abby didn’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on Tate, so she shrugged, hoping to give the impression of indifference. “A little. But I don’t think Logan really understands.”
“Is it absolutely necessary that he know?”
“No, I guess not.” Abby had realized it would be extremely difficult for Tate to let anyone else learn about his inability to read—especially Logan.
“Then would it be too selfish of me to ask that you don’t say anything?” Tate asked. “At least not yet?” A look of pain flashed over his face, and Abby understood anew how hard it was for him to talk about his problem. “I suppose it’s a matter of pride.”
Abby’s smile relaxed her tense mouth. The relationship among the three of them was a mixed-up matter of pride, and she didn’t know whose was the most unyielding.
“No, I don’t mind,” she replied, and opened her backpack to take out some books. “By the way, I want to give you something.” She handed him three of her favorite Dick Francis books. “These are classics in the mystery genre. They may be a bit difficult for you in the beginning, but I think you’ll enjoy them.”
Tate turned the paperback copy of The Danger over and read the back-cover blurb. “His business is kidnapping?” He sounded unsure as he raised his eyes to hers.
“Trust me. It’s good.”
“I’ll give it a try. But it looks like it’ll take me a while.”
“Practice makes perfect.”
Tate laughed in the low, lazy manner she enjoyed so much. “I’ve never known anyone who has an automatic comeback the way you do.” He took a cold can of soda and tossed it to her. “Let’s drink to your wit.”
“And have a celebration of words.” She settled her back against the trunk of a massive elm and closed her eyes as Tate haltingly read the first lines of the book she’d given him. It seemed impossible that only a few weeks before he’d been unable to identify the letters of the alphabet. But his difficulty wasn’t attributed to any learning disability, such as she’d encountered in the past with others. He was already at a junior level and advancing so quickly she had trouble keeping him in material, which was why she’d started him on a novel. Unfortunately, his writing and spelling skills were advancing at a slower pace. Abby calculated that it wouldn’t take more than a month or two before she could set him on his own with the promise to help when he needed it. Already he’d voiced his concerns about an application he’d be filling out for the bank to obtain a business loan. She’d assured him they’d go over it together.
* * *
—
Abby hadn’t been home fifteen minutes when Logan showed up at her building. She buzzed him in and opened the door, but for all the emotion he revealed, his face might have been carved in stone.
“Are you going to let me inside today?” he asked, peering into her apartment.
“I suppose I’ll have to.”
“Not necessarily. You could make a fool of me the way you did last night.”
“Me?” she gasped. “You don’t need me to make you look like a fool. You do a bang-up job of it yourself.”
His mouth tightened as he stepped into her apartment and sank down on the sofa.
Abby sat as far away from him as possible. “Well?” She was determined not to make this easy.
“Patty was in a lot of pain when I drove her to the hospital the night of the accident,” he began.
“Uh-huh.” She sympathized with Patty but didn’t know why he was bringing this up.
Logan’s voice was indifferent. “I was talking to her, trying to take her mind off how much she was hurting. It seems that in all the garble I rashly said I’d take her to dinner.”
“I suppose you also—rashly—suggested the Sheraton?” She felt chilled by his aloofness and she wasn’t going to let him off lightly.
An awkward silence followed. “I don’t remember that part, but apparently I did.”
“Apparently so,” she returned with forced calm. “Maybe I could forget the dinner date, but not the perfume. Honestly, Logan, that was a rotten thing to do.”
Impatience shadowed his tired features. “It’s not what you think. I got her cologne. Not perfume.”
“For heaven’s sake,” she said, exasperated. “Can’t you be more original than that?”
“But it’s the truth.”
“I know that. But you can’t go through life giving women perfume and cologne every time the occasion calls for a gift. And even worse, you chose the same scent!”
“It’s the only one I know.” He shook his head. “All right, the next time I buy a woman a gift, I’ll take you along.”
