скачать книгу бесплатно
David shook his head. “Twenty years was long enough. I’ve got my own firm now. Financial adviser.”
“Out of Milwaukee?”
“No, sir. Chicago.” He nodded toward Janice. “I went to college with your daughter. And Kurt, of course.” Janice had taken him to her family home once, but David was certain her father didn’t remember meeting him then.
“Football, right? You played college ball. Pretty good, as I recall.”
So he did remember. A sharp old man. “That was a long time ago.”
Herbert wrinkled his brow as he glanced over at his daughter. “Damn shame about Kurt. A quick heart attack like that—easy on the victim, hell of a thing for the family to handle.”
“Janice looks pretty shaken up.”
“She is, for now,” Herbert went on. “She’s stronger than she looks, though. I’ve been telling her for years to get out of that man’s shadow. Not healthy. Janice has this stubborn streak. But now she’s got no choice.”
David’s gaze took in the crowds of people filling the downstairs. “It looks as if she’s got a lot of supportive friends and relatives.”
Herbert’s shrewd eyes moved to study David. “Always room for one more, son.” He clapped David on the shoulder. “Good to see you again.”
“You, too, Mr. Ingalls.” David watched Janice’s father wander over to a small cluster of people by the door. Was he reading too much into their brief conversation or did Herbert seem less than grief-stricken over his son-in-law’s death? Perhaps the family’s early disapproval of Kurt had lingered through the years. How, he wondered, had Janice coped with all that?
Reaching for his cup, David strolled to the dining room for more coffee. As he poured, someone spoke from behind him.
“Excuse me, sir. Are you David Markus?”
David turned and looked into the dark brown eyes of the young man he recognized as Kurt’s son. He was taller than Kurt had been, his shoulders broad in a dark sport jacket. “Yes, I am. You’re K.J., right? Your father mentioned you to me often. He was very proud of your excellent grades.”
The young man flushed with pride. “Thank you. I’ve wanted to meet you. You’re kind of a legend around school. They’ve never had a running back as big or as fast as you.”
It had been the only sport, the only diversion from work and his studies, that he’d allowed himself. The young man before him seemed as intense as he’d been in those days. “I used to love the game.”
K.J. jammed his hands into his pants pockets. “I sure wish I could have made the team. Dad wanted me to in the worst way. I’m big enough, but I don’t have the feel for it, I guess.”
“Not every guy’s meant to play football.” David sipped his coffee. “What do you like to do?”
His expression became animated. “I’m interested in art. I like to draw. Cartoons, mostly. Political satire, that sort of thing. I’ve had a couple published in the university press. Dad said drawing was okay as a hobby, but that I’d never make a lot of money at it.”
David leaned back against the buffet. “Is that what you want to do—make a lot of money?”
“Well, yeah, that’s important, isn’t it? But I just wish I could make a good living doing what I like to do best.”
“Maybe you can. Are you majoring in art now?”
“No, business administration. Dad thought that would be best. But I take as many extra art courses as I can squeeze in.”
“Well, K.J., I’m not sure I’m the right one to advise you, but it’s been my experience that the most successful men are those who work at doing what they like best. Your dad was a success because he honestly loved business—making deals, beating the competition. However, that may not be for you.”
“I think he wanted me to follow in his footsteps. You know, take over when he was ready to retire and all that.”
David nodded. “My dad owned a butcher shop and loved what he did, cutting the meat, joking with customers. I worked there after school for a lot of years and hated every minute. We’re all different. Maybe you should talk this over with your mother. She might be in favor of a change.”
K.J. cast a hesitant glance through the archway at his mother. “I don’t know. She always went along with my dad.”
David laid a hand on the boy’s arm. “She’s going to have to make several important decisions without him from now on.”
Swallowing, K.J. nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Anyhow, it was good meeting you finally. Dad talked about you a lot, told me he saw you often in Chicago on his business trips. How come you never came to Tyler before?”
David shrugged. “I have a client in Whitewater, and whenever I’m in this vicinity, I usually end up there rather than Tyler.”
“You know my mom, too, don’t you?”
“I did, years ago.” David hoped he didn’t sound as nostalgic as he suddenly felt. Gazing into the eyes of Kurt’s son, he also felt a pang of regret for opportunities lost and things that could never be. “Good luck, whatever you choose to do.”
K.J. smiled at him. “Thanks.”
As the boy walked away, David searched the room, his eyes drawn to Janice, deep in conversation with the buxom woman who’d been introduced as her sister. He vaguely remembered Irene from their college days, though her hair color was different now and she was carrying an extra thirty pounds. Wishing he could take Janice aside for a talk, even a short talk, he carried his coffee over to the window seat and sat down.
* * *
TRAILING A CLOUD of expensive perfume, Irene Ingalls Bryant came up to Janice and hugged her. “I really hate to leave you, but it’s a long drive home and Everett has to stop in at his office.”
Stepping back to rub at a spot above her left eye, Janice nodded. “I understand.”
Not satisfied with the natural reddish highlights in her hair, Irene had gone on to cosmetically enhance them, winding up with a brassy look. She patted the lacquered curls and frowned. “You really should get some rest. You’ve had a terrible shock.”
Janice wanted everyone to leave, everyone. But that would be rude of her and ungrateful. She put on a small smile. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for coming.”
“What is family for?” Irene asked rhetorically. “Hayley wanted to make the trip with us, but I wouldn’t hear of it. Her baby’s due any day. She sends her best.” Irene and Everett’s only daughter was expecting her first child.
Janice nodded again. She’d been nodding all day, it seemed.
“Maybe, after you rest awhile, you should come to Milwaukee for a nice long visit. We can catch up.”
It occurred to Janice that people said a whole lot of things at awkward times like this. She and Irene had never been close and had rarely exchanged long visits, but she supposed her sister’s invitation was heartfelt. Fortunately, she was saved from answering as Everett joined them, already wearing his topcoat and carrying Irene’s mink. Everett was a successful stockbroker in Milwaukee, a big man who liked sailboats, silk ties and smelly cigars.
“You ready to go, Mama?” he asked in the clipped tones of a man with a cigar clamped between his teeth.
Janice could recall few instances when she’d seen Everett without one of his imported cigars. She’d once remarked to Kurt that she wondered if Everett showered with his cigar, slept with it, made love with it in his mouth. They’d laughed over the foolish thought. She swallowed past a lump.
“You’re looking pale, Lady Janice,” Everett went on as he helped his wife into her coat. “Got to take care of yourself better. Those two fine kids, they need you now more than ever.”
Janice ground her teeth and hoped he wouldn’t notice. Everett’s habit of giving everyone a pet name annoyed her suddenly. Had she lost her sense of humor and her level of tolerance, as well as her life partner? Everett was nice enough and she was being unfair. With his florid face and his excess fifty pounds, he seemed a more likely candidate for a heart attack than Kurt. Was she reacting so badly because Kurt was gone and Everett was very much alive?
In a rush of remorse for her thoughts, she placed an apologetic hand on Everett’s arm. “I’m sorry we didn’t have more time to talk today.” Her glance took in Irene. “Perhaps I will drive to Milwaukee soon.”
Irene gave her a smile and another hug. “Take care of yourself and call me if you need anything. Anything.”
“I will.” Janice watched them leave, then paused a moment to catch her breath. The crowd was thinning out at long last. Her father had left some time ago, walking out with his brother, Judson, the two of them deep in conversation. Now if only the others would leave.
She turned to find her cousin Alyssa’s concerned eyes studying her.
“How are you holding up?” Alyssa asked softly, slipping her arm around Janice’s waist.
“All right.” Janice drew in a deep, steadying breath. “It’s odd but I never once pictured this scenario.” Alyssa’s husband had died about ten years ago, and though she’d not given it much thought before, Janice now found herself wondering about many things. “How on earth did you cope after Ronald’s death?”
Alyssa shrugged her slim shoulders, her expression unchanged, though there was a hint of sadness in her blue eyes. “You just do, somehow. One day at a time. You have your private moments, and the nights are very long, very lonely at first. It helps to stay busy.” She smiled then, trying for a lighter note. “I have loads of committees I can use your help on. In time, my dear.”
Charity work and volunteering. She’d done her fair share of all that, Janice thought. More of the same held little appeal. Yet what would she do when there was no one to cook a special meal for, or redecorate a room for, or plan an outing around? She would find something, but this wasn’t the day for decision making.
Janice indicated the dining room table, still laden with food. “The luncheon was lovely. You and Anna did a wonderful job.”
Alyssa shook her head. “You didn’t eat a thing, did you?”
“I’m not hungry, truly.” She squeezed Alyssa’s hand. “I need to say a word to Tom Sikes. Excuse me a moment, please.”
She found him in the dining room at the dessert bar. She’d known Tom, Kurt’s office manager, for years and found him to be earnest and honest, if a shade pedantic. He also seemed to feel a measure of guilt, since he’d invited Kurt to play handball with him at his apartment complex on the outskirts of Tyler on that fateful day, though she’d tried to reassure him that Kurt’s heart attack had been no one’s fault.
Janice touched his arm. “Tom, I’m sorry we haven’t had more time to talk.”
From behind thick, horn-rimmed glasses, he blinked at her. “I want to say again, Janice, how very sorry I am. I’ll really miss Kurt.”
“I know. Thank you.”
“And I want you to know that I’ll be at the office every day, at your disposal, when you’re ready. I know this isn’t the time or place, but...”
Janice frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean. At my disposal for what?”
Tom stroked his thinning blond hair. “To go over the books. Some decisions will need to be made about the business, about who will run things. What about the satellite office Kurt had set up in Chicago, the plans he had for expansion? We have several large policies coming up for renewal soon. We need to work up bids since...well, since Kurt’s gone, some of our clients may not automatically renew with us as they have in the past.”
Rubbing her forehead, Janice felt light-headed. She hadn’t given a thought the past few days to Kurt’s work. “I...we didn’t discuss the business much, Tom. I know very little about how the agency operates.”
Tom nodded understandingly. “It’s all right. I can update you when you’re ready. In the meantime, I hope you’ll trust me to keep things running smoothly.”
Tom had been with the firm almost from the day Kurt had opened Eber Insurance Agency. He and Kurt had also become jogging buddies and had gone skiing together often since Tom’s divorce. Looking at him now, Janice realized she hardly knew the man. But Kurt had trusted him and that was good enough for Janice. “Yes, I do trust you. And I’ll be in as soon as I...well, soon.”
“No hurry. Take your time.”
She watched Tom walk away and turned to get herself a cup of coffee. But when she picked up the cup, her hands were shaking so hard that the cup rattled in its saucer.
“Here, let me help you with that.” David Markus poured coffee for her, then led her to the window seat where he’d been sitting watching her.
Gratefully, Janice took a bracing sip, closing her eyes briefly. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Up close, he saw a light sprinkling of freckles on her nose that he remembered from an earlier time. They gave her a youthful look that touched him. “Rough day. I know you’ll be glad when we all leave.”
She opened her eyes to look into his steady blue gaze. She saw empathy and concern and something else she couldn’t identify. Having David Markus appear at the cemetery after so many years had surprised and unnerved her. He was so big, his shoulders in his pin-striped dark suit so broad, his hand as he took it from her elbow large and tan.
He’d changed from boyishly handsome in his college football days to a deeper, more mature attractiveness. She’d dated David as a freshman, but she’d quickly learned that he had goals, commitments and obligations, and he wasn’t about to let a woman sidetrack him. Yet he was looking at her now with a warmth that she couldn’t help responding to.
“It’s been a very long time, David,” she said.
“Yes, it has.” He indicated the house, the people. “Good years for you, I see.”
“They have been, until now.”
“Your daughter is lovely. She reminds me a great deal of you when we were in college.”
“Oh, she’s far prettier. Stefanie lives in Boston now and just became engaged to a Harvard law graduate. I still miss having her around.”
“I can imagine. I had a talk earlier with your son. Nice young man.”
“I think so.” She paused, trying to remember. “Your wife died some time ago, isn’t that right?”
“Yes, twelve years ago.”
Janice’s expressive eyes reflected sympathy. “An accident, I believe Kurt said.”
David nodded, angling his body on the window seat so he could look at her better. “She lost control of the car on an icy road.” He decided to change the subject, to probe a little, hoping he wasn’t getting too personal. “Will you be all right?” A man who spent his life in the insurance business probably had good coverage on himself. But as a financial adviser, David was well aware that many men had all the trappings of wealth, yet were mortgaged to the hilt. And, although Janice’s family had money, he didn’t know if she had an interest in their holdings.
Janice finished her coffee and set it aside, deciding that his politely worded inquiry was about her financial situation. “I’m embarrassed to tell you that I haven’t any idea. Since you were his friend, you’re probably aware that Kurt was the kind of man who liked to run the show, to take care of everything. And I let him.” She glanced over at Tom Sikes with a worried expression. “Now, I wish I’d at least asked more questions about the business. But I never dreamed...I mean, he was only forty-six.” Her voice ended on a ragged note.
David took her hand, threading his large fingers through her slim ones. “Life takes some funny turns, doesn’t it, Sunshine?”
For the first time in days, she felt a smile tug at her lips. Sunshine. She remembered going on a hayride with David back when she was a starry-eyed freshman thrilled to be asked out by a football hero. They’d all been singing, and one old song, “You Are My Sunshine,” had been given a particularly rousing rendition. After that, David had often called her Sunshine.
“That sure takes me back,” she told him.
“You remember then?”
“Of course. We had some good times together.”
“That we did.”
He was so solid, Janice thought, his presence so calming. For a fleeting moment, she wished she could lay her head on David’s broad chest, to let him comfort her and ease her fears.
Instead, Janice shifted her gaze out the window. The wind had picked up in late afternoon and the sky was gray, the clouds heavy with snow. She felt a chill skitter down her spine, reminding her of the reason they were all gathered together today. “It’s so very hard to accept that he’ll never come home again.” She spoke softly, almost to herself. “Kurt traveled a great deal, but I was seldom lonely because I knew he was coming back. Being alone and knowing there’ll be no one returning ever again is very different.”
David had lived alone most of his adult life, yet there were times he felt the same. “Fortunately, you have your children, family, friends.”
Yes, there were people, plenty of people. But would they be enough? Surprised to find her hand still in his, Janice pulled her fingers free and stood, suddenly uneasy. “I have to talk with a couple of others. David, it’s good seeing you again.”
He did something then that he’d been wanting to do since he’d stood watching her at the cemetery. Rising, he placed a hand at her back and drew her close to his body for the space of a long heartbeat, then pressed his lips to her forehead, finding it cool to the touch.
Her hands rose to his chest in surprise, then lingered a moment. She inhaled the clean scent of soap and smoke mingled with the outdoor smell of a wintry day, a decidedly male combination. Stepping back, she realized she was trembling.
David took a card from his pocket and pressed it into her hand. “If you ever want to discuss a business matter, or if you just need to talk, my office and home numbers are on here. Call me.”
Janice nodded. “Thank you.”
