Where the Heart Is by Patricia Keelyn

CHAPTER TEN

“Anna!”

Tammy’s voice stopped Anna’s headlong flight down the stairs. Resigned to the upcoming interrogation, she sighed and took the last few steps at a slower pace before turning to face her mother. “Yeah, Mom?”

“Where are you going?”

“Over to Jon’s.”

“That makes the third time this week.”

Anna hiked her book bag over one shoulder. “He’s helping me with my algebra.”

“Are you sure that’s what you’re doing over there?” Her mother wore her “I’m trying to be a good parent” expression. Unfortunately it usually preceded one of her “I’m doing this for your own good” speeches.

“We sit at his kitchen table and do math,” Anna said with all the patience she could manage. She knew when her mom was a fraction away from telling her she couldn’t do something. “He’s really helping me a lot, Mom. I might even be able to pull off a B in the course.”

Frowning, her mother crossed her arms. “Why don’t the two of you come over here and work?”

“Because the little monsters make too much noise.”

“Don’t call your brothers names.”

“Come on, Mom. It’s okay. I promise. Ask Selba. She’s always in the house with us.”

Her mother hesitated, and then sighed. “All right.” Her tone indicated she was doing this against her better judgment. “But be home by seven.”

“Sure thing.” Anna leaned over and kissed her mom on the cheek. Her mom ate it up when Anna got mushy. “Love you.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Anna grinned and scurried out the door.

For nearly three weeks now, Jon had been helping her with algebra. Not only did he understand math, but he was a surprisingly good teacher. Her grades had improved immediately. She’d actually gotten a B on the first test he’d helped her prepare for. It had been the first decent grade she’d gotten in math all term. Now the final was coming up, and if she could ace it, she just might squeak through with a B for the course.

But algebra wasn’t the only reason she was going over to Jon’s this afternoon. She’d heard something at school she needed to tell him. When she got to his house, she went around to the back door, knocked once, and let herself in. She no longer bothered with the front door.

“Hi, Selba,” she said as she dumped her bag on the kitchen table. “Where’s the teach?”

“Hi, honey. He’ll be down in a minute.” Selba pulled something from the oven, and the room instantly filled with the aroma of freshly baked cookies. “I made you all a special treat today. Tollhouse.”

Anna walked over to take a deep breath of the tempting aroma. “Oh, Selba, I’m trying to watch my weight.”

Selba gave her a knowing smile, but shook her head. “You’re already thin enough to blow away in a strong breeze. You can afford a cookie or two.” Selba took a spatula, filled a plate with the warm cookies, and offered it to Anna.

“Okay. But just one.” Anna took a cookie from the plate and then grabbed a second.

Selba smiled and set the plate on the table. “I’ll just leave these here. I know Jon will want some when he gets down.”

Jon showed up a few minutes later, and he and Anna sat down at the table and began working. But Anna’s mind kept wandering. She wanted to talk about what she’d heard at school today but didn’t know where to start. The two of them had been getting along pretty well, at least as long as they talked about algebra, which, to Anna’s dismay, was all they did. She thought of her mother’s concern about her studying with Jon every afternoon and had to smile. If only her mom knew just how safe she was with Jon Ryan.

“What’s with you this afternoon?” Jon said, evidently noticing her distraction.

Anna shrugged, still hesitant to bring up what was bothering her. “Nothing.”

“Well, how about paying attention here, then?”

His attitude irritated her. “You’re not my teacher, Jon Ryan,” she snapped. “So, lay off.”

“Well, excuse me.” Jon slammed the book shut. “But I thought you wanted an A on your final.”

Anna immediately regretted her sharp words. After all, Jon was spending his own time trying to help her. “Yeah, I do.” She smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

Jon seemed to consider her apology for a moment and then shrugged. “So, what’s bugging you?”

“I saw Roc today. He’s back at school.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Anna was silent a moment. As far as she knew, she was Jon’s only friend. And from what she’d heard about the knife fight, the audience had been rooting for Roc. She couldn’t imagine anybody bothering to warn Jon about Roc’s return to school.

“So, what are you going to do?” she asked at last.

“What do you mean?” Jon glanced back to the math book on the table. Flipping it open, he started to look for the section they’d been working on. “I’m not going to do anything. Do you want to get back to work or what?”

“Forget the math.” Anna reached over and closed the book again. “You don’t really believe Roc’s going to let it go, do you?” Hadn’t Jon learned anything about Roc in the past couple of months? “He thinks you told my dad about the knife. He’s going to come after you.”

Jon glared at her. “I didn’t tell the sheriff anything.”

“But Roc doesn’t know that. He’s been lying low for the past four weeks, waiting to get back at you.”

“I can’t help what Roc thinks.” Jon angled his chair back to rest on its hind legs.

“Jon. Talk to my dad.”

Jon brought his chair down hard on all four legs. “No way.”

“Then let me talk to him,” Anna pleaded. “Tell him—”

“Forget it, Anna.” Jon deserted his chair, his dark eyes flashing. “I’m not going to hide behind you or your father. I’m not afraid of Roc.”

“Well, you should be!” Anna stood and took a step toward him, poking his chest with her finger. “You know, Jon Ryan, for a smart guy, you can be pretty stupid sometimes. This isn’t Atlanta, and Roc isn’t some city boy. When he comes after you again, he’s going to leave more than that little cut above one eye.”

Anna gathered her books and stormed out of Jon’s house, thinking her earlier assessment of him had been correct. He was about the dumbest boy she’d ever met.

Nick sat on the deck nursing his second cup of coffee, wishing it was any other day of the week. The clinic was closed on Sundays, and unless there was an emergency, he had nothing to do. And that left too much time to think.

He considered going out to work on the house. It had been several weeks since he’d been there. He wondered if he could interest Jon in helping. Then he heard the glass doors open behind him and was surprised to see Jon come outside. He hadn’t joined Nick for Sunday breakfast since Diana’s death.

“You’re up early,” Nick said as he watched the boy cross the deck, juggling a bowl, a cereal box, and a large glass of milk.

Jon claimed a seat across from his father. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Nick nodded. Sleeplessness was something he understood. He wondered what ghosts kept Jon awake. “Exams coming up?”

“In a couple of weeks.”

“Worried?”

“Nope.” Jon filled his bowl with cereal and added half the glass of milk. “School’s easier here.”

Nick wondered if that was really true. It was hard to tell with Jon. The boy had always gotten good grades. Nick had been considering moving back to Atlanta for weeks now. Maybe this was another reason to do so.

“I was thinking about going out to work on the house today.” Nick took a sip of his coffee and winced. It was tepid. “Want to come?”

“Can’t,” Jon answered between mouthfuls of Cheerios. “Got plans.”

Nick fought down a wave of disappointment. He and Jon had made a little progress in the past few weeks. Nick had hoped they could spend the day together. “What are you doing?”

“Maddie’s picking me up in a little while.”

Nick sat a little straighter in his chair. “Maddie?”

Jon nodded but kept his eyes focused on the bowl in front of him. “She’s been giving me a ride out to the cemetery on Sundays.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You’ve been at the hospital.”

Nick had considered himself fortunate to occupy his past couple of Sundays by filling in for other doctors at the small local hospital. Now he wished he’d stayed home. “I’d have taken you out to visit your mother’s grave if I’d known that’s what you wanted.”

Jon shrugged and finished the last of his cereal. “It’s okay. Maddie goes, anyway.”

Nick sat motionless as his son finished his breakfast and then carried his dishes back into the house, closing the door behind him. How many Sundays had Nick gone with Maddie to the cemetery when they’d been Jon’s age? Dozens? Maybe a hundred? Enough that he should have known that Jon would want the same thing. “Damn.”

“Hungry?” Maddie asked as Jon climbed into her car and slammed the door behind him.

“Always.”

“Great.” Maddie pulled away from the house. “I’m in the mood for a greasy sausage-and-egg something.”

Jon grinned. “I thought adults never ate that stuff.”

Maddie shot him a sideways glance. “Are you kidding?”

“Mom never did.”

“Well, your mom wasn’t pregnant. My figure is a lost cause right now. So I may as well enjoy myself.”

Jon laughed. “You’re going to regret it.”

“Spoken like a true doctor’s son.”

Jon rested his head back against the seat. “He was acting really weird this morning.”

“Your dad? How so?” She couldn’t help her curiosity. She might not have seen Nick for several weeks, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t thought about him. Endlessly.

“I don’t know. Kind of sad?”

“You know, Jon,” Maddie glanced over at the teenager in her passenger seat, “your dad’s been through a lot in the past couple of years.”

“I guess.”

“You might try cutting him a little slack.”

Jon shifted sideways in his seat. “I thought maybe you guys had a fight or something.”

Maddie shot him a surprised look. The last thing she wanted to discuss with Jon was her relationship with his father. “How about if we eat out at the cemetery?” she said, turning into the nearest fast-food restaurant.

Jon nodded his agreement, and Maddie pulled up to the drive-through window, grateful for a break from the fifteen-year-old’s prying. But she only managed to stall Jon for a few minutes.

“So did you?” he asked as they left the restaurant behind and headed west.

“Did I what?”

Jon sighed loudly. “Have a fight with my dad.”

“No.” She put a warning in her voice. “And it’s none of your business if I did.”

“I was just asking.”

Maddie kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead. “Your dad and I are old friends. That’s all.”

“He told me you used to date.”

“Did he?” That surprised her—although maybe Nick had done the right thing. There were a lot of people in Felton who would be more than willing to tell Jon the truth. “Well, it was a long time ago.”

Fortunately the cemetery came into view at that moment, its entrance marked by a monstrous set of concrete columns supporting a stone archway. A piece of ironwork spanned the arch, fashioned in a flower motif.

“Here we are,” she said a little too brightly.

Jon seemed to take the hint. She’d brought a blanket, and he carried everything up the hill to a tree near his mother’s grave. They sat under the tree together, eating in silence.

Even after finishing her meal, Maddie lingered for a few minutes, resting her back against the tree trunk. Again the peace of the place stole over her—the only sounds those of birds chattering overhead and an occasional insect making a pass at a patch of wildflowers.

Jon, too, seemed reluctant to move. He’d stretched out on the blanket, his hands under his head, his eyes closed. She shifted slightly to study him. He was a good-looking boy. Like his father in some ways, and yet so different from Nick in others.

“What’s the notebook for?” she asked quietly. She’d considered asking him about it before, but had always decided against it.

Jon kept his eyes closed. “Just stuff.”

“Like a journal.” She tried to sound matter-of-fact.

“Yeah, sort of.”

“I used to write a lot when I was a girl.”

Jon turned his head sideways to look at her. “What did you write?”

Maddie pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “I started out writing ‘Star Trek’ stories.”

Jon burst out laughing and rolled onto his side. “You’re kidding.”

“Don’t laugh. I absolutely loved ‘Star Trek.’”

“Did you ever let anyone read them?”

“Of course. I’d write a chapter at a time and then pass it around to my friends. It was a continuing saga. And I was always the yeoman who made Spock forget his logic.”

“Never happen.”

“It did in my stories.”

Jon laughed again and lowered his gaze. “I used to try to write fiction.”

“Not ‘Star Trek’ I hope,” Maddie teased.

“Almost as bad.” Jon looked back at her, a mischievous gleam in his eye. “I’m a real Stephen King fan.”

“Oh, no. You don’t write the really gruesome stuff, do you?”

“Sometimes.”

“How about letting me read some?”

Jon laughed nervously and shook his head. “It’s not very good.”

“You’re just chicken.” Maddie smiled temptingly. “I’ll let you read my ‘Star Trek’ saga.”

Jon scrunched his forehead into a frown. “I’ll pass.”

“Okay. Well, if you change your mind …” Maddie glanced at her watch. “I think it’s time for me to head back down the hill. How about if we meet at the car in about an hour? Does that give you enough time?”

“Sure.” Jon climbed to his feet.

Maddie reached out her hand, and Jon helped her up. “It’s getting harder and harder all the time,” she said, pressing her hands to her swollen belly.

Jon grinned. “Sounds like an excuse to me. You’re just getting old.”

Maddie punched him playfully on the shoulder and set off toward the path leading down the hill. “Just for that, you bring the stuff.”

“I always end up carrying it, anyway,” Jon called after her.

Maddie spent the next hour sitting peacefully next to her father’s grave. Every now and then, she glanced back at Jon. She could just make him out, sitting on the grass near where she’d left him. He’d be writing in his notebook. She imagined she could see him scribbling away furiously.

When the hour had passed, she walked back to her car and found Jon waiting for her. In silent agreement, they climbed into her car and headed back toward town.

When they reached Jon’s house, he took his time getting out, searching his pockets, evidently looking for something. “I can’t seem to find my keys,” he said after shoving his hands in all his pockets two or three times. “Do you mind hanging around for a minute while I make sure Dad’s home?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

Jon took off up the walk, trying the door when he got there. Then he rang the bell and pounded. If Nick was home, he’d have to be comatose not to hear the racket his son was making. Then, throwing her an apologetic smile, Jon headed around the side of the house.

“I’m just going to see if Dad’s out back,” he called. He returned a few minutes later, looking woefully contrite. “He’s not here, and the house is locked up tighter than a bank.”

“Get in.” Maddie motioned toward the passenger side of the car. “Where can I take you? How about your grandfather’s?”

Jon shook his head and climbed into the car. “Gramps is up at his cabin this weekend.”

“Well,” she said, trying to think what she could do with him. “You’re welcome to wait at my house until your dad gets home. It’s pretty torn up right now, and I have to go over to my mother’s for dinner. But if you don’t mind, I don’t.”

“Actually, would you mind taking me out to where my dad’s working?”

“He’s at the clinic today?”

“No.” Jon gave her another apologetic smile. “He said he was going up to the house. You know, the one he’s building outside town. He wanted me to help, but you and I had already made plans.”

Maddie was beginning to think Jon was more like his father then she’d given him credit for. “I see.”

“I could help him if you’d take me out there.”

“Are you sure you forgot your keys?”

Jon looked wounded, and Maddie could barely keep from laughing. “Okay, I’ll take you. But I need to stop at Mother’s first and tell her I’m going to be late.”

“Can’t you just call her?”

“You have a lot to learn about my mother. Phoning in an excuse would not go over well.”

Jon grinned, then turned a little too serious. “I really appreciate this, Maddie. I know it’s a lot of trouble.”

“Well, don’t be too thankful yet, kiddo. You get to meet Adelia.”

“Adelia?”

“Yeah. The Ice Queen.”

Nick wondered why he’d put off coming out here for so long. One thing his old man had taught him: when the world gets you down, there’s no better cure than working with your hands. The hard wood, the tools, the feel of fresh air and sun on his back, all of it eased the tension in his body. And every now and then, as he made a particularly difficult cut or worked a joint so it fit just so, he was able to forget.

Then he’d remember his disappointment that Jon hadn’t come out with him. And thoughts of Jon brought thoughts of Maddie and the two of them driving off in that spunky little red car of hers. There was a certain irony to the whole thing. Diana’s son becoming close to Maddie, the woman who should have been Nick’s wife. But somehow he didn’t find it all that amusing.

Then he heard a car pull up outside, and he put down his tools to go investigate. He stepped onto the porch just as Jon and Maddie climbed out of her car.

“Hey, Dad,” Jon called. “Boy, you sure are making a lot of progress out here. The place looks great.”

Nick eyed his son suspiciously. “Yeah?”

“I forgot my keys,” Jon explained. “And Maddie agreed to bring me out here so I could give you a hand.”

Nick stared at his son, his smile, the gibberish coming out of his mouth, and wondered what the boy was up to. “That was nice of her,” he said as he shifted his gaze to Maddie, who shook her head, letting him know she didn’t get it, either.

Then, zeroing in on Jon again, he said, “Pretty careless of you to forget your keys. Again.” Jon never forgot anything. Diana always said he’d been born the most responsible person she’d ever known. “What is this? The third time this week? Or the fourth?”

Jon shifted uncomfortably and ignored the question. “Since Maddie’s already out here, why not give her a tour of the house?”

“I have to get back, Jon.” Maddie took a step toward her car. “Mother’s waiting.”

“But she said to take your time.”

“You met Adelia?” Nick asked in astonishment.

Jon smiled—an innocent smile the likes of which Nick hadn’t seen on his son’s face in a long time. “We stopped by to tell her Maddie was going to be late. She’s cool.”

“They hit it off,” Maddie added, a quality of disbelief in her voice. “Perfectly.”

Nick leveled another curious stare at his son. He remembered a time when Jon could charm a bird out of a tree. That, too, had been a long time ago. Nick wasn’t sure what the boy was up to now, but he had an idea. And it amazed the hell out of him.

Turning back to Maddie, Nick said, “Well, I guess you do have time for a tour, then.” He held out a hand to her. “Come on.”

She hesitated a moment, but finally nodded and took his hand. As they started for the unfinished house, Nick glanced back at Jon just in time to catch the grin on the boy’s face.

It was both difficult and easy spending time with Maddie. Holding her hand. Showing her the house. Leading her from room to room. Telling her his plans. Her hand felt right in his. Natural. But he knew that when he’d finished the tour, he’d have to let go. Again.

As for the house, Nick had made little progress on it in the past few months. He’d only been out here a few times, and in truth, he’d lost interest in the project. At first, he’d been building the house for Diana, hoping it would make her happy. Then, after her death, he’d seen it as a way to bring him and his son back together. That had been a disaster from the beginning. Now, building the house was little more than something for Nick to do, something to occasionally help work the kinks out of his muscles or take his mind off other things.

“Have you decided whether you’re going to live here when it’s finished?” Maddie asked as they completed the tour.

“Actually I don’t think I will finish it.”

“Too many memories?”

“No. Lack of interest.”

Maddie nodded and fell silent. After a few moments, she glanced back at the partially completed structure and said, “What a waste.”

“I won’t just leave it. I’ll sell it to someone who wants to finish it.”

“Hey, Maddie!” Jon approached from the back of the house, where he’d disappeared about the time Maddie and Nick had gone inside. “How’d you like it?”

Maddie smiled. “It’s great. But I think I’d better get going. Adelia’s waiting. And I think your father has some work for you.” She threw a glance at Nick. “Isn’t that right?”

“Absolutely.” Nick gave his son a smile as innocent as the one the boy had used earlier. “I’ve been saving up a special chore or two all afternoon.”

Jon’s expression became wary, and Maddie laughed and turned toward her car. “Next Sunday, Jon?” she asked over her shoulder.

Jon partially recovered his smile. “Yeah. See you.”

Nick watched as she got in her car and drove away, feeling as if the sun went with her. For a brief time, he’d felt whole again as he’d led her around this place he’d built with his own hands. Now it seemed empty again.

He glanced at Jon and realized the boy had been watching him. Suddenly, Nick was certain his son thought that he and Maddie belonged together. Nick couldn’t begin to figure out how Jon knew this, but glancing down the road where Maddie had disappeared in her flashy red car, Nick had to agree. He and Maddie did belong together, and he wondered how long he could keep his promise to stay out of her life.