скачать книгу бесплатно
“Yes.” It’s in the file, Deanna silently replied as her chest tightened. Everything was in the records, including her hotel management degree and her five-year marriage to a man fifteen years her senior.
“I’m not sure where Eagle Ridge is.” He raised a questioning dark brown eyebrow. “I guess you know I’m new to Colorado. I’m determined to take some time and enjoy these magnificent mountains.”
“Eagle Ridge is northwest of Denver, about fifty miles. It’s a small mountain town that survives on tourist dollars winter and summer. I inherited a small resort hotel from my late husband. Of course, if you’ve read Penny’s case history, you know all of that.”
“Sounds like a wonderful place to raise children,” he said, ignoring the slight edge to her voice.
“I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” she admitted, and then added quickly, “But I’d move in a minute if I thought it would help Penny.”
“Those are my sentiments as a parent exactly,” he agreed. “That’s why I left California. I wanted something better for my son, Travis. I’m also a single parent. I lost my wife when Travis was less than two years old. His grandmother helped raise him, but she passed away last year, so it’s just the two of us.”
So the handsome Dr. Sherman was a widower, thought Deanna. Why they were spending time on his personal life, she didn’t know, but the fact that he also had a child was, in a way, reassuring. “How old is your son?”
“Travis is seven. I’m hoping he’ll really take to Colorado. I’ve promised to take him hiking and fishing this summer, and next winter we’ll hit the ski slopes.” He grinned at Penny. “He’s never thrown a snowball. And he wants me to buy him a sled. He’s always singing that song about Frosty—you know the one I mean, Penny?”
The little girl’s eyes flickered slightly with interest, but she didn’t answer. Deanna silently fumed. Where was he going with all of this chitchat? Since her father’s murder, Penny seldom interacted with anyone or anything.
“Do you want me to sing it for you?” he asked with a grin. The change in the little girl’s stare was almost imperceptible, but Steve’s trained eyes caught it. So far, so good. Penny Drake is bright and receptive. He leaned toward her and whispered in a confidential tone, “I don’t know all the words. Do you?”
Her mouth remained closed.
Deanna watched them both. Steve didn’t seem to notice Penny’s silence or feel rebuffed by it. He carefully broke his cookie into tiny bite-size chunks before eating each piece with delighted exaggeration. “Mmm, good.” He winked at her, but Penny’s expression remained guarded, and she continued to sit rigidly without touching cookie or milk.
Deanna deliberately looked at her watch, a pointed reminder that Dr. Sherman was using up time for which she was paying. She was impatient with the psychologist’s apparent lack of direction and his total disregard for the gravity of the situation. Disappointment created a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
At that moment, there were three short knocks at an inner door and Steve smiled as if he’d been expecting someone. He called out, “Come in, Travis.”
As a small boy poked his head into the room, Steve motioned him over to the table. “Come on in, Travis. I want you to meet Penny and her mother, Mrs. Drake.”
Travis had the same wide grin as his father, and the same wayward russet hair that had a will of its own. His face was lightly freckled, and dark eyelashes and eyebrows framed an alert pair of brown eyes.
“Hi,” the boy said brightly.
“Would you like some cookies and milk, Travis?”
“Sure,” he said as he plopped down on a pillow next to Penny. Then he eagerly reached into the pile of stuffed animals in the center of the table, and drew out two puppets, Kermit the Frog and Cookie Monster. “Here”, he said, thrusting the blue puppet into Penny’s hands. “You can feed Cookie Monster. See, he’s got a pocket for cookies. Take one for him, and one for you.” Leaning toward her, he said in a conspirator’s whisper, “That way you get to eat two.”
Penny took the puppet, and her expression changed to one of wonder as she watched Travis put a cookie in Kermit the Frog’s lap and pop one in his own mouth. “Peanut butter cookies are the best!” he announced happily.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Steve chided gently, silently patting himself on the back. Good move, Steve, old boy. Using Travis to help diagnose the little girl’s social patterns looks like a winner. Penny still didn’t eat a cookie or feed the puppet, but her listless manner had been replaced by a notable flicker of interest as she watched Travis.
“Son, remember the pictures of those huge Colorado mountains?” Steve asked casually. “That’s where Penny lives.”
Travis’s brown eyes widened. “Really? Wow!”
“I bet Penny would like to see those clay mountains you made for our train set.”
“Sure.” He put down his puppet and took the one back he’d given Penny. He grabbed one of her hands and urged her to her feet. “You can be the engineer, Penny. I’ll show you how.”
Deanna stiffened. In the last four months, Penny had never willingly had anything to do with other children. Numerous attempts to get her to socialize with girls and boys her age had failed. She always hung back, guarded and silent, taking in everything with those candid eyes of hers, but never participating. Deanna couldn’t believe it when Penny didn’t even look in her direction for reassurance, but followed the boy over to a large train set on a sawhorse table.
Unable to hide her surprise, Deanna murmured, “I don’t believe it.”
“Believe what?” Steve casually took a sip of chocolate milk, but Deanna detected a gleam of satisfaction as his gaze locked with hers over the rim of his glass.
She didn’t know how he had subtly managed to create a safe atmosphere for Penny, but she did know it was time to let go of the reins. “All right, Dr. Sherman. Tell me about play therapy.”
“The technique is really very simple,” he said, wiping off a chocolate-milk mustache. “Children are encouraged to use toys and other materials to reveal what is being repressed or controlled. Once they reveal those inner workings, we can answer the fears that have been responsible for changes in personality and behavior.”
“But Penny has a roomful of toys,” Deanna protested. “She has people willing to play all kinds of games with her.”
“And they allow Penny her own space—just to be?”
“We don’t push her to do anything.”
“Isn’t it true that for four months you’ve been pushing her to be the little girl she once was?” he asked frankly.
Deanna’s spine stiffened. How dare he question her loving concern for her daughter? “It’s true that I’ve been searching for a way to heal my child’s emotional wounds and return her to normalcy.”
“Pushing too hard?” he suggested quietly. “I know how hard it is for parents to relax and be patient when there’s so much at stake. I’m afraid there aren’t any quick fixes for deep emotional traumas. It takes time, patience and love.”
Deanna looked at the two children, their heads together, one yellow as corn silk, the other the russet brown of autumn leaves. Her eyes suddenly misted, and she lowered them quickly, blinking rapidly to hold back the tears. She was startled when he reached across the table and laid his hand on hers.
He didn’t say anything, and for a brief moment she drew in the warmth of the unexpected touch. Then she took her hand away. Life had not been easy, and she knew that she could be stiff-necked about a lot of things, but she prided herself on being willing to concede when she’d been mistaken. She didn’t need to understand why and how this man dealt so successfully with children. She took a deep breath to steady her voice as she asked, “Will you work with my daughter, Dr. Sherman?”
“There are no guarantees.”
“I know, but you can try. You don’t impress me as someone who runs away from challenges.”
He chuckled. “Are you trying to turn my own psychology back on me, Mrs. Drake?”
“Deanna,” she corrected with a smile. “Yes, I am. What do you say? Just tell me what’s involved—the number of weekly sessions—and I’ll have Penny here. I can arrange to stay in town two or three days in a row. Luckily, I have a good hotel manager who can handle things in my absence. Can we start right away?”
“Whoa.” He smiled as he held up his hand in a stopping fashion. “I’ll need time just getting acquainted before we have serious sessions. Slower is often better when working with children.”
“I understand.” Nodding, she forced herself to curb her impatience. “You set the pace and we’ll hold to it.”
“Unfortunately, I’m clearing my schedule for the month of June. I won’t be back in the office until the first of July.”
Her heart took a familiar plunge. Another frustrating delay. Another heartbreaking marking of time.
“I am sorry,” he apologized. “You see, I’ve promised Travis a summer vacation in the mountains. I couldn’t break my word.”
“Where are you going?” Deanna asked evenly as her mind instantly started racing like a runaway truck on one of Colorado’s mountain passes.
“We haven’t quite decided.”
“May I make a suggestion? You and Travis could be guests at my resort hotel for part of your vacation.” She smiled at him. “Eagle Ridge has beautiful scenery, a river for rafting, a lake for fishing and dozens of other mountain activities. You could stay at the hotel for as much of your vacation as you like. In exchange for my hospitality, you could spend some time with Penny. What better place for your getting-acquainted sessions?”
Her smooth, take-charge manner amused Steve, and he liked the way her eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed pink with excitement. Deanna Drake had been attractive before, but now her face glowed.
He had to admit, her suggestion certainly had its merits, but there was only one thing wrong with it—he couldn’t treat children in a vacuum. The play therapy room and everything in it was carefully selected and engineered to allow the child free expression of inner feelings. Without the proper setting, Penny wouldn’t release her habitual responses, but would keep on repeating the old ones instead of forming new ones.
He tried to explain this to Deanna. “In order to make meaningful use of toys, or play therapy, the therapist must control all the variables that can possibly be controlled. Any extraneous factors can confuse what the child is revealing, or be so distracting that nothing is accomplished in the sessions. It’s important to have a consistent environment and one that provides everything for the child and therapist to interact.”
Deanna looked around the room, “I don’t see anything in here that isn’t replaceable. If you make me a list, I’ll have a playroom ready that will meet your needs.”
“The expense—” he began.
“Won’t be close to what I’m willing to spend on Penny,” she countered swiftly. “I can easily provide a nice private room in the hotel for your exclusive use. As often as it’s convenient for you to have a session with Penny, the room will be ready and furnished as well as this one. That way, we could begin Penny’s sessions while you and Travis enjoy an extended vacation in the mountains.”
The decision was not an easy one to make. He could have insisted that the idea wasn’t workable. A warning was there that he might become too emotionally involved.
There were other considerations, too. The killer of Deanna Drake’s husband was still at large. As far as he knew, the case was still open, and from what he could learn, there were no real suspects and no definite motive. Since Penny’s trauma was tied to the night her father was killed, Steve knew that the child’s withdrawal was a way of protecting herself. If he successfully helped Penny retrieve a memory that would be a threat to whoever shot her father, what would be the consequences?
What would be the consequences if he didn’t?
Later he wondered exactly what it was that made him put aside his reservations and agree. He seemed to have no choice as he looked into Deanna’s hopeful face, but to smile and say, “All right. It’s a deal.”
Chapter Two
Deanna couldn’t have been more anxious if the governor had been expected the day that Steve Sherman and Travis were due to check into the Drake Resort Hotel. Her heartbeat quickened with anticipation as she took the back stairs up to the third floor. Ever since final arrangements had been made for him and his son to spend the month of June at the hotel, her time had been filled with preparations for their visit.
Deanna had chosen a large airy room to be used as the play therapy room. Everything on the list that Dr. Sherman had given her was ready and waiting: sandbox, dollhouse, small plastic animals, cars, trucks, rubber gun and knife, easel, paints, paper, clay, play telephone, chalk, crayons, books and puzzles. In addition to the play materials, she had provided a low round table, floor cushions and a soft easy chair as faded and lumpy as the one in Dr. Sherman’s therapy room. The only thing that was missing was an electric train, and he had decided that would be too tempting for Travis to leave alone.
Steve had warned Deanna not to let Penny play in the room, or even see it before her first session. “I don’t want her to have any preconceived feelings about the playroom or the toys.” He impressed upon Deanna the need to keep the room separate from the rest of the child’s normal life. “The time spent in that room will be an experience apart from her normal activities.”
“I understand,” she had readily agreed.
He also had warned her that what happened during play therapy was between him and her daughter.
She frowned. “But how will I know how she’s doing?”
He smiled. “It’s my job to know how she’s doing, not yours. I’ll share with you anything that will help me do my job. All right?”
As she gave the room one last look, she breathed a prayer that somehow, within these walls, the dark psyche that lived within her daughter would be released, and she would have her normal little daughter back again. She was just locking the playroom door when she heard footsteps on the stairs, and swung around to face Bob Henderson, her trusted hotel manager.
“Oh, Bob, it’s you,” she said, letting out her breath when she saw the thirty-year old, sandy-haired man. “I thought…I thought maybe they’d come already.”
“Nope, not yet. Hey, girl, you’re as jumpy as a cat dancing on a live wire.” His round face creased in a frown. “What gives? Don’t you think that city doctor’s going to approve of your efforts? God knows you’ve been knocking yourself out making sure that room is exactly like he wants it. He better not give you a bad time or I’ll deal with him in short order.” He fell in step with Deanna as she walked back down to the reception area.
Deanna laughed at his fierce expression and the way he straightened his thick shoulders as if ready to do battle. A childhood friend of hers, Bob had been her protective knight ever since high school. He had been a star football player, and still maintained a hard, muscular physique. He was already working in the hotel for her husband before the tragedy. Now he practically ran the place, and she didn’t know how she’d manage without him.
“Down, boy, down,” Deanna teased in a laughing fashion. “No need to show your teeth. I’m sure Dr. Sherman is going to be pleased.”
“Well, he better be. Sounds to me like all the guy does is play with kid stuff and charge big bucks for it.” Bob shook his head. “Are you sure he’s not taking you for a ride? Giving him a free room, while dishing out good money for him to play with Penny? Sounds like a real scam to me.”
“It’ll be worth every cent if he can make some progress with her. Besides, I’m at my wit’s end. I don’t know what else to try. Nothing has worked.”
Bob touched her arm. “Honey, you can’t keep tearing yourself up like this. Ben wouldn’t want it. You’ve got to get on with your life.”
She knew what Bob meant by getting on with her life. He wanted to marry her. Heaven knows, he’d asked her often enough in the last four months, but the answer was always the same. She didn’t want to marry Bob Henderson, or anybody else. Marriage hadn’t been that terrific the first time around. The only good thing that had come out of it was Penny. Deanna wasn’t about to lose her freedom again, even to someone as nice and loyal as Bob Henderson.
Bob disappeared into the office while Deanna lingered a moment in the lobby, looking around, trying to get a detached perspective on the furnishings. She wondered what the California doctor would think about the decor: unpretentious western-style furniture, colorful Indian rugs scattered on the polished oak floor, and walls of rough logs that matched an open-beam ceiling.
The hotel had been completely renovated and modernized in the last few years without losing its original Old West charm. So far, it had survived the encroaching Colorado ski country development, a sprawl of condominiums and lodges. She didn’t know how much longer it would turn a profit. Thank goodness, there were loyal guests who returned every year to Eagle Ridge, and more and more small conferences and seminars were choosing the hotel for their meetings. The hotel’s thirty-five rooms were filled every night from May to October.
She had reserved a double room for Steve and his son on the second floor, overlooking the lake. A small balcony gave a panoramic view of the green-carpeted foothills and jagged, snow-tipped peaks. She was certain that he’d find the surroundings spectacular, even if he found the accommodations wanting.
Relax, she schooled herself, her palms moist from nervousness. Even if the attractive doctor preferred more luxurious accommodations, she was almost certain he wouldn’t go back on their agreement. During the next four weeks Dr. Sherman would be in and out of the hotel, enjoying a mountain vacation with his son, and at the same time scheduling treatments with Penny. If her daughter made any progress at all, Deanna was determined to arrange for continued sessions with the psychologist when the month was over and he returned to Denver.
Don’t expect miracles, she cautioned herself, but germinating hope was there just the same.
IT WAS ALMOST dinnertime when Susan, Penny and an overgrown mutt they called Hobo came bounding into the office. Deanna had hired Susan Whitcomb, a husky seventeen-year-old with a round face and a long ponytail dangling down her back, to be Penny’s companion for the summer. From the beginning, Susan seemed to readily understand Penny’s silent communications, and enthusiastically did all the talking for both of them. Deanna sometimes wondered if Susan was making it too easy for Penny not to talk.
Maybe I should ask Dr. Sherman to evaluate the situation, Deanna thought. He would see the interaction between Penny and Susan. Yes, he would be able to suggest ways for Susan to help her. A ripple of relief went through Deanna. How weary she’d become of carrying the full load of Penny’s condition by herself. Now she would have a professional on the spot to share her concerns.
“They’re here. At the front desk,” Susan bubbled. “Wow, what a hunk! When the guy told Mr. Henderson that he was Steve Sherman, I couldn’t believe he was the doctor you’ve been talking about. More like a model for Sports Illustrated magazine, if you ask me. And he’s going to be here for a whole month?”
Deanna nodded “He and his son, Travis, will be our guests, and I want everyone to treat them like guests.” She landed a little heavy on the last word.
“Oh, sure, no problem. Hey, the boy seems like a nice kid. When he patted Hobo, the dog wagged his tail like an egg beater gone berserk. Penny thought it was funny, didn’t you, hon?” She laughed down at the little girl who was stroking the dog’s shaggy coat of brown fur.
Deanna was relieved to see her daughter’s blue eyes were bright and clear, and devoid of the dark shadows that sometimes deepened them to almost black. A good sign.
Deanna stood up, smoothing the folds of her lavender-blue dress, which was fashioned in straight, simple lines that complemented her trim figure. Her legs were firm and shapely, and on impulse, she’d decided to wear high heels just for the smug feeling they gave her. “Well, I guess I’d better say hello.”
Susan’s eyes sparkled as she took in Deanna’s dress and shoes. “Wow, look at you. Gold earrings and everything. You ought to turn a few heads in that out-fit…or maybe one in particular. If you know what I mean.”
Deanna tried to ignore Susan’s broad grin, but she suddenly felt terribly self-conscious. Why on earth had she put on a dress instead of her usual trim slacks and tailored blouse? She shoved aside the glaring truth that her feminine side wanted to impress the California doctor.
“Susan, why don’t you take Penny into the dining room, and see what the cook has on the menu for dinner,” Deanna said. “You go ahead and order. If Dr. Sherman and Travis haven’t eaten, we’ll join you in a few minutes.”
“Okay, but I tried to see what Maude was preparing and she chased me out before I could find out.”
Deanna silently crossed her fingers that the stocky, gray-haired Maude Beaker was as good a cook as she claimed she was. Keeping good help was a constant headache because the resorts nearer the ski areas paid higher wages, and her last cook had quit without notice. Luckily, Maude, apparently an old maid, had come to Red Eagle to live with her nephew, Roy Beaker. She’d told Deanna that Roy was gone all the time, so she’d decided to find work. Deanna couldn’t imagine the two of them living together. Roy was as testy as his aunt, and if they ever argued, Deanna feared Maude might decide to move on, leaving Deanna without a cook again. So far, the meals Maude had prepared had been tasty, but nothing fancy. Deanna hoped Steve Sherman wasn’t so spoiled by the offerings of chic California hotels and restaurants that his palate rejected plain cooking.
Leaving the dog in the office, Susan and Penny headed for the dining room, and Deanna walked down the hall to the lobby. When she caught sight of Steve standing at the front desk, she knew what had stimulated Susan’s adolescent approval. His formfitting jeans and knit shirt could have been on a television commercial showing what sexy men were wearing. He was boyishly handsome with his chestnut hair all windblown, his face tanned from a day in the sun.
“Hi, Mrs. Drake,” Travis called before she reached them. He ran over to her and exclaimed, “We’re here.”
“So you are,” she laughed at his exuberance. “Did you have a good trip from Denver?” She really wanted to ask why they were late getting here. She had been anxiously expecting them all day, fearful that something might have gone wrong.
“We saw some big, big elk. A whole bunch. Horns like this.” He spread out his arms as far as they would go. “Dad took pictures. We’ll show you,” he bubbled.
Deanna smiled, “I’d love to see them.”
“We even stopped and talked to a bunch of guys who were fishing. They had a whole string of spotted pink fish.” He held out his little arms wide to show Deanna how many. “Dad says we’re going fishing to catch a bunch of them.”
