Love at Last. Irene Brand

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СКАЧАТЬ stirred when she heard a knock at the door. She padded across the hardwood floor in her stocking feet and opened the door for the landlord to carry in her luggage.

      “Hope you’ll be comfortable here, Lorene,” John Montgomery said. “If I can be any help, let me know.”

      “This is a beautiful home. Has it been in your family long?”

      His laugh was slow and hearty. “No. Dottie and I bought the property several years ago. The place had been vacant for a long time, and it took us three years to fix it up. It’s a good project to bring in a little money and keep us out of devilment in our retirement years.”

      “It’s a nice location—should be quiet at night.”

      “Sure is.” He tipped the brim of his cap, a gesture that she’d seen several times already in Woodston, perhaps a custom left over from the Old South. “Make yourself at home.”

      She closed the door after John’s departure, went into the bedroom and spread out on the canopied bed that would have been at home in Gone with the Wind. At six o’clock Lorene forced herself to get up and check out her wardrobe. Leaving most of her luggage where John had placed it, she opened a garment bag and chose a white button-front, long-sleeved, lined crochet sweater and a long patterned skirt that swirled gracefully around her ankles when she walked. She eased her feet into white sandals and crossed the hall to the bathroom.

      Wedged in behind the staircase, the bathroom contained a shower stall and the other necessities. Lorene brushed her hair and repaired her makeup, giving special attention to her eyes, hoping to camouflage the raw hurt and deep longing that hadn’t been there when she’d stood before the mirror earlier in the day. She didn’t believe the makeup did any good, for the eyes staring back at her still had a bleak and wary expression.

      From her jewelry box she took the silver ring set with a small garnet that Perry had given her when he’d promised to love her forever. Promise rings had been popular on campus between engaged couples, and Perry had saved for weeks before he’d accumulated enough money to buy the ring.

      Lorene slipped the ring on her finger, but quickly took it off and dropped it back in the box. She fastened diamond solitaires in her ears and clamped the jewelry box tight.

      Since Perry might not know how to access her apartment, she went to the porch to wait for him. But he must have been familiar with Riverview Ridge, because he drove in and parked beside her station wagon before she had time to sit down. He came toward her, dressed in a red sport shirt and black trousers, looking like the young man she remembered. Until she’d encountered him today, Lorene had never seen Perry in a suit and tie.

      “Ready?” he asked.

      “Yes. I thought you might not know how to find me, so I came downstairs to wait,” she explained, not wanting him to think she’d been so eager for this dinner date.

      “Dottie only has one apartment, so I knew where you were. We don’t have many sleeping accommodations in town, and sometimes I have to recommend a lodging place to college visitors. I’ve made it my business to know what’s available.”

      “Then you know what an interesting apartment it is.”

      “Interesting, and comfortable, I believe.”

      Perry drove a new blue sedan. Remembering the days when he’d used a bicycle for transportation around campus, Lorene was pleased that the years had brought him prosperity.

      “What kind of food do you prefer tonight?” he asked as they left Woodston’s city limits. “I’m going across the river to Indiana, where there’s a choice of fine eating places.” His lips curved in an infectious smile. “Always before when we ate out, I couldn’t afford anything except pizza and burgers. I’d like to buy something better for you tonight.”

      Was this going to be a night of recalling what they’d once shared? Lorene wondered.

      “I still like pizza and burgers,” Lorene assured him, grinning. “But you choose. I enjoy most foods.”

      “Then we’ll go to a family restaurant with a wide selection of entrées. Now, tell me about yourself. What have you been up to since we were together? You’re apparently doing all right, since you have your own business.”

      “I finished college in New Jersey, and I worked in several PR agencies around the country for a few years. I couldn’t find any town that suited me until I settled in Pittsburgh eight years ago. I went into partnership with an elderly man, and when he retired, I was able to buy the business at a reasonable price.”

      “Are your parents well?”

      “Yes. They live in Philadelphia, and I don’t see them often. That’s another reason I was disgruntled over having to come to Woodston. Our whole family gets together once a year when we vacation at the same place, and we had reservations in Atlantic City for the next two weeks. I had to cancel.”

      “I’m sorry about that. You could have delayed coming to Woodston.”

      Lorene shook her head. “That’s business for you. When you’re the boss, you have to be the troubleshooter, too. And it looks like I’ll have to stay in Woodston. I made several phone calls and no one else will be available for a few weeks. I don’t like to be away from the business for such a long period, but I have a reliable office manager.”

      Her words both delighted and disturbed Perry. How much togetherness could they experience without being swept headlong into their previous relationship? He struggled with an overwhelming desire to pull her close to him, and he didn’t believe Lorene was insensitive to his presence, either. Her body was tense and her well-formed hands were clenched in her lap. He sensed she was fighting to maintain her composure, but her face was unyielding, as if she had no intention of allowing herself to surrender to the past.

      Earlier today, he knew her determination had crumbled in her surprise at seeing him. For a moment she’d been lost in her emotions and her heart had bonded with his as eagerly as it had in their youth. He believed if he’d taken her in his arms then, she wouldn’t have resisted. But she was in control now. With an inward sigh he realized that was just as well. Her willpower would encourage him to stifle yearnings he couldn’t indulge.

      “I’m sorry you have to stay when you don’t want to.”

      She waved an expressive hand, and her body seemed to relax as they talked of impersonal matters.

      “It’s all in a day’s work,” she said, “but I feel as if I’m coming to Woodston in the dark. I picked up that file from Alma as I left your office, but I haven’t looked at it yet. I’ll try to study through it tomorrow.”

      The restaurant was located one block from a busy highway. Perry asked for a corner booth, so they were fairly well isolated. Soft music filtered through the room as they ate, muting their conversation from those around them. They spent almost two hours in the restaurant discussing their respective jobs, talking as friends. Lorene didn’t want to open old wounds. Still, she couldn’t help wonder if Perry no longer cared for her.

      When they’d finished their dessert, Lorene said, “Since I’ll have to take on the bicentennial project, are we going to admit that we used to know each other?”

      Perry lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Why not? It must have been obvious to Alma that we aren’t strangers.”

      Lorene’s СКАЧАТЬ