"Whoa! Whoa, Thea. You okay?"
I saw the bearded face, chestnut hair and kind eyes. Jim. Relief rushed in. I cut off the battle I'd launched with the bald, over-muscled Vince. I'd honestly thought I was looking in those mean little eyes. It had to have been shock: same hallway in Andrea's house, similar circumstances -- and an entirely different person. My thighs had turned to water. I could barely stand.
"Yes, fine," I said. My voice quivered at the identical rate as my legs. "Sorry, wasn't watching where I was going."
He held onto my shoulders. "You sure you're okay, because you just went all pale like you'd seen a ghost."
"No really, I'm fine. Fine."
"You can let her go now, Jim." Paul's tone held a definite threat. Jim dropped me like I'd ignited under his hands.
"Hey, Paul. Guess they ought to put mirrors on the corners around here so you can see who's coming." He forced a chuckle and smiled an apology at me. "Good, glad you're okay. Gotta go pack. Can't stay here all day, as nice as it is."
Paul nodded once, but said nothing. Jim disappeared around the corner, his heavy footsteps receding down the carpeted hallway. Anger and embarrassment over what Paul obviously assumed he'd interrupted broke my control.
"You are beyond rude," I snarled, not caring how white his lips had become.
His chest heaved a couple of times as if he was gearing up to yell, but his voice was over-soft. "I come up here looking for Claudia and Tim to find out what the hell they've been doing for two weeks and find Jim with his hands all over you. What am I supposed to do, slap him on the back and tell him I hope he's enjoying himself?"
Fury had me sputtering my response. "You -- how can you even think -- how can you say …? And, and Claudia and Tim? Are you going to insult them, too? You know damn well they've been working hard."
Now the tightness that had turned his lips pale robbed the color his cheekbones. "The only thing they've been working hard at is each other. They're here because I recommended them. They're getting paid and nothing's been done. I --"
"Don't you dare yell at those kids. You --"
He jabbed a finger at the air in front of my nose. "You are not in charge. I am."
I thought my teeth might break from keeping my jaw still. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't argue that point.
"I thought you were going to be visiting with Andrea," he snarled.
"I've been looking for her," I said, with as much ice in my voice as possible.
"She's in the library. Dave just left. I saw her go in there."
"Fine." I stomped across the marble floor of the upper level of the foyer and down the stairs to the main entry.
Andrea was in the library, as Paul said. She wore dove gray, wool slacks, a multi-shaded blue sweater and held a book in one hand. She wasn't reading it but stood by the window, leaning forward as if in anticipation, her empty hand raised, waiting to wave. I called her name and she glanced, startled, over her shoulder.
"I'm just, just …." She pressed her lips together and swallowed.
"What's wrong?" The tears gathering in her eyes alarmed me. She'd been happy last night at her party -- at least I'd thought so. I knew she'd been in good spirits for weeks.
She gestured weakly toward the window. "He, uh, his smile. It must be his smile …." She took a shaky breath and tried one of her own, but it trembled on the edges. "When he smiles, you feel like it's just for you."
I nodded, knowing she was referring to Dave Ross, but why this trait of his caused her tears baffled me.
She winced. "He, um … I don't think I'll be seeing him again."
"Why not? I thought you liked him."
"I do, but I guess … he said there's no future for us." She blurted the last of her sentence. Immediately, she pressed a hand to her mouth. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
Oh. His decision, not hers. "Oh, Andrea." I hurried to her and we hugged. "I'm so sorry. Why did he say that? I know he likes you." I held her at arm’s length and peered earnestly into her face. "Did he give you any reason at all?"
She shook her head, sniffed, and wiped at her eyes. "It's okay. Better I know now than get my hopes up."
"Did you two …?"
"No, no. He's only ever kissed me, and that was once, before Christmas."
I'd meant fight. I'm not that nosey. Jeez.
"At the time I thought -- he seemed so -- I thought there was something between us. I guess I was wrong." She took a long breath, straightened and looked around. "It's this house. I have to get out of here. The really bad things that have happened to me have happened here. I'm going to move back to Bellevue. Back to my condo. I'll start over. Carmella and I can get the restaurant going. That'll be good."
"If that's what you want. You know I've always liked your condo. I can help you move." That was silly. She could easily hire movers. I could help her do that. I could help her get her life back on track. And when I saw Dave next I'd kick his butt. Mostly, I had to help Andrea. "Once the restaurant gets going will you go back to your law practice? You were really good at it."
"I don't know. Maybe. I don't know. If --"
The door swung wide and Paul strode in, somewhat flushed and scowling. "There you are," he said, his gaze riveted on me.
"Yes. Right where you expected me to be."
"Andrea," he hesitated half a beat, probably noticing her teary expression. However, he charged right ahead. "You're not to pay those kids for the work they haven't been doing this past week." He turned on his heel and strode out.
"Where are you going?" I yelled after him.
He stopped. "I'm packing. We need to get home."
"I changed my mind. I want to spend some time visiting with Andrea. And you were going to work on the fossil collection."
"I'm going home. If you need to stay, find your own ride back."
He was out the door before my jaw had fully dropped.
"Thea, go," Andrea said. "I'll catch up with you later this week. Really. Everyone is so on edge. I'd have gone up to my rooms when Dave left, but I could hear your mother and sister yelling at each other all the way to the staircase."
My shoulders fell. This visit was turning into a disaster on many levels. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I'll survive. And I'll pay the kids. They've been working, but for heaven's sake, it's their vacation."
"Thanks for that. And I suppose I'd better go find out what his problem really is."
I left Andrea in the library intending to go straight to my room and have one or two words with Paul. However, as I closed the library door behind me Claudia, in a baggy T-shirt, blue jean and old sneakers without socks, hurried around the corner from the living room, a tissue clutched in her hand and wiping at her nose. I had a feeling I knew what the problem was -- a certain sharp-tongued professor.
"Claudia, wait."
She cleared her throat before she spoke, tucked the tissue into her fist and painted on a smile that would fool no one. Her fingers made a quick pass through her short curly hair that obviously hadn’t seen a comb since she’d gotten up. "Hi, Thea. Great party last night, wasn't it?"
"It was. Where's Tim?"
"He's in the fossil room. I've got to go help." She made a hasty move to continue her journey.
"Claudia, wait. Is Paul the reason you're upset?"
She stopped and, face averted, dabbed at her nose with the tissue before addressing me. "I'm not upset -- well, I mean I guess we deserved having him yell at us. We've been trying to work this week, and I feel really bad about getting so little done, but … it's just been so hard, and, and I've never heard him yell before. He said he was going to tell Andrea not to pay us --"
"Oh, Claudia, don't --"
"What I'm going to do? I really need the money, and when I told him, he said I should have thought of that, and I guess I should have, but, but…." Her chin was quivering too fast for her to keep talking. Fat tears rolled down her freckled cheeks.
"Don't worry. Andrea's going to pay you. I know you and Tim. I know you've been working hard. And I know Paul will probably apologize later when he realizes how unfair he's been --"
"Oh no, he's not being unfair."
"You don't have to defend --"
"I'm not. It's true. We didn't get the work done we were supposed to. It's just that it was such slow going with showing your parents what to do to help, and answering their ques--"
"My parents helped you?"
"Yeah. They really wanted to, and they're so nice. I couldn't say no, and --"
"My parents helped you?" I wheezed, feeling oxygen deprived.
"You know, Dr. Hudson got that exact look on his face when I mentioned how your parents helped."
I choked back asking the same question for a third time, tried to clear the shock from my expression, and entertained the notion that Paul may possibly have had some basis for his temper. "You should probably see if you can come up with some reason why they shouldn't from now on."
"Dr. Hudson said that, too, only he yelled it."
I cringed.
"Don't worry. They won't be able to help any more, anyway. Your mother said they're going to be leaving for Snohomish today."
"They are?"
"Yeah. Dr. Hudson said that, too. And then he got kind of pale when I said not to worry because they were staying with your aunt and uncle."
They'd be only steps away. They might as well have decided to move in with us. Why didn't they tell me?
Claudia bit her lip. "And somehow I think I just ruined the surprise. I'm really really sorry."
"No, no. It's okay, you didn't know." I forced a smile. "I'll talk to Paul. You and Tim go ahead and do what you need to do. Don't worry about … um … don't worry about getting paid … or anything. It's okay."
She hurried off in the direction of the fossil room. No doubt Tim had beaten a path there the moment Paul took a breath in his tirade.
I turned around at the soft click of the latch on the library door. Andrea walked out, more composed than she had been just a minute earlier. She looked at question at me.
"I was just talking to Claudia," I said. "Paul upset her. Then, apparently she upset him by letting him know my parents were going to be staying with Uncle Henry and Aunt Vi."
"They are?" She sucked in the corner of her lower lip for a moment. "Well, I suppose that makes sense, unless they stay in a hotel."
I gripped the back of my neck, realized Paul did the identical thing when wrestling with his thoughts and released it. "Why didn't they tell me? And for that matter why didn't they tell me they were coming here? When did they get here? All mother would tell me was that she wanted to surprise us."
"They got here two days before New Year’s. Your mom didn't want me to tell you, and I figured you would want the time alone with Paul without worrying about your parents being in town. I know how your mother stresses you out."
"She stresses everyone, Andrea. I'm surprised she didn't drive you over the edge."
"It's a big house, with plenty to do. Besides, I've dealt with worse."
"Too true." I rubbed at the tension tightening my forehead. Now I was going to have to try to talk Paul down from his righteous rage. This was not going to be fun. "Did you know my parents have been trying to help Tim and Claudia with sorting the fossils? Claudia said Paul was a bit unhappy when she mentioned it."
"Oh, my. I sense a war brewing."
"Yeah. I need to somehow convince him they didn't mess up all his careful planning. He may ask for the ring back."
She shook her head and smiled. "I'm really sorry about all of this. It didn't occur to me your mother and dad would amuse themselves that way. I guess I've been kind of busy with Jim and planning the new restaurant with Carmella."
"How could you know? I'd never have anticipated it -- or Paul overreacting like this."
Andrea hugged me briefly. "I need to go play hostess again. Let's talk later and see who's having the most fun. Don't leave without saying goodbye, and don’t let him drive."
I laughed, sort of, and resumed my quest to face the enraged bull formerly known as Paul Hudson.