Chapter Eight

 

Libby turned the key in the ignition. All that could be heard was a faint click, then nothing.

"Dammit!" she muttered, pounding the steering wheel with her gloved fist. She jumped when she heard a tapping on the window.

Then her heart leaped when she looked up to see Tyler standing by her car door. She rolled down the window.

"I hate to tell you this, but it sounds as if you have a dead battery," he said with the easy grin that never failed to melt her insides. "Do you have any jumper cables? I can give you a jump start then."

"I don't think so," she said hesitantly, trying to remember what was in her trunk.

"Don't worry, I have some." He loped off toward a dark blue 4x4 pickup truck. A moment later he'd driven it toward her, so the hood faced the front of her car. He popped his hood, then gestured for her to do the same. Within minutes, he had the cables connected. Luckily, it didn't take long for her car to start up.

"Let's give it a minute just to be sure," he advised. He braced his crossed arms on the window. "I'm Tyler Barnes." He cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her to tell him her name.

"Libby Douglas," she murmured. She wasn't sure what to think of his bold gaze. She could already see this wasn't the Tyler she knew!

I told you things have changed.

"I sure hope that's Miss Libby Douglas?" He leaned a little closer.

The masculine aroma of male skin with a hint of sweat and soap assailed her senses as he invaded her space. Libby felt that if she hadn't been wearing a heavy coat he surely would have seen through her clothes! She wasn't sure she liked him acting this way.

"You're new in town," he said.

"I'm replacing Bonnie Summers," she explained.

"So you taught rug rats before you came here?"

Libby nodded. "I taught in Webster Falls, but I wanted a change. This position came up at the right time."

"Then it looks like we're the ones who are lucky," he said with a rakish grin. "So tell me,

Libby Douglas. What are you doing Friday night?"

This wasn't the Tyler she knew! At least he would have waited a little longer before asking her out. She remembered Tyler acting bold, but nothing like this!

"Relaxing and looking forward to the weekend when I can finish my unpacking and get settled in."

"I'm real good at unloading boxes." His grin was almost arrogant.

"I'm sure you are, but I don't have anything heavy to worry about. But thank you for the offer."

"Just being neighborly." His grin widened. "After all, we'll be neighbors. I'm working on the new school building." He crooked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the construction site.

"Then all I ask is that you watch the language when the children are outside. There's no sense in teaching them new words too soon." She kept a smile on her lips that was polite but dismissive. She remembered Tyler used to call it her teacher's smile. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Barnes. Thank you for helping me with my car." She pushed the gear stick into reverse and backed up.

Tyler stood there watching her drive off.

"Sorry, honey, but all you've done is prime the fire," he murmured, still watching when the small car turned the comer. "You're not going to get away that easy."

"Tyler Barnes, are you trying to charm one of my teachers into going out with you?" There was no missing Miss Regina's imperious tone.

He turned around to face the teacher, who could intimidate a majority of her former students. Brash as he was, even he would never try to fool her.

"Yes, I am, Miss Regina." He knew it was best to be no less than honest with this woman. "I can't help it when I see a pretty woman."

She smiled. "I'm glad to see you didn't try to lie to me, Tyler. I'm going to make a suggestion and I hope you take it. Leave Libby alone. She hasn't lived here long enough to know what a rake you are."

"Now, Miss Regina, how could you call me that?" He pressed his palms against his chest in mock sorrow. "I'm always the model gentleman, thanks to your teaching."

She arched an eyebrow. "I am very serious, Tyler. Libby isn't your kind of woman. Although I'd hazard a guess she'd be better for you than your usual choice of companions."

If any other woman had said that to him, his hackles would have immediately risen and he would have offered a quick retort. But this was Miss Regina who had literally shaped his first years of life. No other woman in town commanded the respect Regina Parker did. And not just because the Parkers had been one of the town's founding families. She was the epitome of a lady and instilled gracious manners in her students.

"Renee Carter was one of your students here, too," he reminded her.

Miss Regina's lips pursed as if she had eaten a lemon. "Yes, and if I recall correctly, she wasn't one of my stellar students."

Renee had often been caught kissing the boys and playing doctor behind the playhouse.

Tyler knew when to quit. "Do you need any help getting to your car, Miss Regina?"

She looked down her nose at him. "Young man, the day I cannot make it to my own car is the day I'm carried out in a casket to Willow Hills Memorial Park. Now, I suggest you run along and do whatever you boys do on a night like this and let me lock up the school."

He did the only thing he could after the regal dismissal. He left.

 

LIBBY COULDN'T STOP thinking about Tyler during her drive to her apartment.

"All right, Matthias," she said out loud. "It's time for you to explain why Tyler is acting that way."

He's never had you in his life in this alternate world. He wasn't exactly a troublemaker during his school days, but he was known for finding all the wild parties and having fun all weekend.

"Well, there's fun, then there's fun. Right now he thinks he's God's gift to women, and with an attitude like that I wouldn't look twice at him." Her face crumpled. "I want my old Tyler back! This Tyler didn't look at me as if I was a woman, a person. He looked at me as if he was wondering how long it would take him to get me into bed!"

That is Tyler, all right.

Libby wrinkled her nose in distaste. "That is not Tyler! The man I just spoke to was not the man I fell in love with."

Then why don't you show him just how lucky he would be to have you in his life? At the same time, you might discover how lucky you are to have him in yours.

"Your idea of lessons is extremely distressing," she answered, then wished she hadn't used that descriptive word the moment she drove down the driveway and parked in the garage.

The first thing she noticed was a vehicle parked near the back door. It was a blue Explorer. That might not have meant anything to her if she hadn't also seen the tan plush stuffed dog sprawled across the back seat.

She didn't have to peek inside the vehicle to know she'd find a floral eyeglass case lying on the passenger seat and a travel mug in the mug holder. She knew the driver hated leaving the house without coffee. Even if it was for a short drive across town.

Libby walked slowly across the yard and stopped by the utility vehicle. Her fingers brushed against the cold metal. She sought comfort where none was forthcoming.

"Libby, is that you?" Cyn sang out. She pushed open the back door and peered out. "Come in, dear. I want you to meet a good friend of mine."

With her head held high and her back straight, Libby mounted the steps and walked inside. Just as she expected, a woman in her late fifties sat at the table with a teacup in front of her.

"Marie, this is Libby Douglas. She's the teacher replacing Bonnie. Libby, this is Marie Bennett, a very close and dear friend of mine."

"Hello, Libby." Marie smiled warmly. "I've been hearing very good things about you from

Cyn. Would you like to sit down and have some tea with us? On a day like today, it's guaranteed to warm your bones."

"Thank you." Libby fervently prayed her smile wasn't slipping as she politely greeted the woman she had always known as Mother. Now Marie didn't even know her. "It is very cold out there."

"I guess it's too soon to ask you what you think of Willow Hills." Marie picked up the teapot and poured tea into another cup. She handed it to Libby. "Cyn said you've only been here for a few days."

Libby smiled her thanks as she accepted the cup. She sipped the tea, allowing the liquid to warm her.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen much other than the motel I first stayed in, the school and then here," she admitted, taking a cookie off the plate set next to the teapot. She bit into it, finding the familiar taste of oatmeal, chocolate chips and a hint of cinnamon. Her mother had made these cookies--something else that saddened her. "These are very good."

"I'd love to say I baked them, but I'm not a very good baker. Marie brought these over along with some other goodies." Cyn's brilliant fuchsia tunic and top were accented with purple and turquoise jewelry.

"It's better to bring them over here than eat them all myself," Marie said.

Libby took another cookie. "After running after kids all day, I can use the energy." She was prepared to sit there and just enjoy the company even if the older woman didn't realize the importance of this meeting.

When was the last time she'd spent any time with her mother? she wondered. Time the way they used to. Her memory shifted back to the last time they had gone out to lunch and just sat and talked. Or gone shopping. Or even gone to the park and enjoyed a sunny afternoon.

Sorrow filled her as she realized it had to have been before Sara's death. Afterward, Libby had shut herself away from the world so she could grieve. And in the process, she had shut everyone away from her.

"So you bring all these goodies over to Cyn," she said, this time choosing a buttery cookie dusted with colored sugar. How many times had she come home from school as a child and found these cookies lying on a plate?

Marie leaned over as if to impart a secret.

"Cyn's very susceptible to my fudge brownies."

"It's because I don't bake," Cyn confessed. "Any cake I try baking either falls or turns out hard as a rock."

"At last year's Ladies' League picnic we used her cookies for Frisbees," Marie added.

"At least I never have to contribute to bake sales. All they ever want is my money paying for the goodies the others bring."

Libby burst out laughing. As she did, she realized this was one of the very few times she had laughed in the past several months. And it felt good.

"Now tell us about your day," Cyn suggested.

"Did Josh try to flush anything else down the commode?" She quickly filled Marie in on the other Josh episode.

"No, thank goodness. He was actually somewhat well behaved today." Libby poured herself more tea, finding the orange spice brew soothing. "I think he's hoping to throw me off guard before he does something entirely wild."

Cyn nodded. “All the boys in that family are like that."

Marie chuckled. "I have all boys and they used to act just as bad. Thank God they're adults now and out of the house, though I don't think they'll ever grow up."

"No daughters?" Libby whispered. She understood why she didn't exist in Marie's life, but what about Vicky?

Marie's smile was tinged with regret. "No, I'm afraid not. I'd hoped for one or two girls to balance out the household, but I was never that lucky."

Libby didn't stop to think when she reached across the table and covered Marie's hand with her own. "You should have had daughters to pass your baking skills on to."

Marie turned her hand over to gently squeeze Libby's. "Thank you, dear. But you learn to be happy with what you have because children always seem to provide you with a special joy."

"Or a lot of headaches," Cyn murmured with a sly smile.

"This from the woman with four husbands."

Libby's mouth dropped open. "Four?"

Cyn shrugged. "What can I say? None of them could keep up with me."

Libby laughed as Cyn made wry comments about each of her ex-husbands.

"I probably would have remarried Henry if he hadn't gotten himself indicted for insider trading." She shook her head, tsking softly under her breath. "The man just loved playing the market, but he had a bad habit of not playing fair."

Libby found herself alternately laughing and wheezing as the two women went on to amiably bicker about which of them had been the more popular back in high school.

Marie was the first one to look up at the clock on the wall.

"I'd best get home to start dinner," she said, rising to her feet. "Nathan will be home before I know it."

Libby felt pain at the mention of her father-someone else she hadn't spent time with for many months. She wondered if he still had heart trouble. Was he taking his prescribed walks and his medication? Did he stay away from his favorite foods, which only worsened his condition? She hated that she couldn't ask.

"It was very nice meeting you, Libby." Marie said, as she put on her coat and buttoned it up. "When you're ready to meet some nice young men I'll introduce you to two of my boys, Greg and Rick. I'd like to see them with a nice girl."

Libby almost burst out laughing at the idea of dating one of her brothers. "I'd rather settle in first," she murmured.

"You want to fix her up with Greg?" Cyn rolled her eyes. "He may be your son, Marie, but we both know his only love is that new 4x4 pickup of his. Look how he's out there every Saturday washing and waxing it. I heard one of the times he dated Heidi Potter he almost made her get out and walk from the Railroad Tavern since she had some mud on her shoes."

Libby edged her way to the door. ''I'm happy to meet you, too, Marie," she murmured. "Cyn, I'll see you later."

The women were still good-naturedly arguing about Greg's love for his truck as Libby crept out of the kitchen. She didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she was in the blessed silence of her apartment.

What she noticed first when she stepped inside was the temperature; the room was comfortably warm. The second thing she noticed was Matthias seated in the armchair. He held a glass of wine cupped in one hand.

"Do you really enjoy running after those little terrors?" he asked as he took a sip. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you care for a glass?"

"Yes, thank you." She was curious to see how he would conjure up her wine. She should have known better. She blinked and a glass of wine stood on the coffee table. "I suppose the heat was your idea."

"I thoroughly dislike cold weather." He waved his glass to a tune that might have been silent in his head, but was soon heard by Libby. "I've always found Vivaldi relaxing."

Libby dropped her purse on the couch and sat down. She picked up the glass of wine. She slipped off her shoes and stretched her legs out so her feet could rest on the coffee table.

"Why are you here?"

He cast his eyes skyward. "I thought you would have wished to converse further on your seeing Tyler."

"Oh really? What was I supposed to say-'Hello, Tyler. In another dimension, I was your wife'? He would have laughed at me." She sipped the wine, enjoying the inner warmth the alcohol gave her. "Why did he act as if he was God's gift to women? He's not the Tyler I know. Not the Tyler I grew up with. He's too arrogant."

"He didn't have you with him all these years. You were his softening feature, Libby. He always loved you. He wanted to be the perfect man for you and he did everything possible to be that man."

"I didn't want Tyler to be something he's not," she said, distressed. "I always loved him just the way he was."

Matthias cocked his head to one side, watching her with his direct gaze. "And what is so wrong in finding out what this Tyler might offer you?"

His smile should have warned her she was in for a surprise that might be very unwelcome. But she was too distracted by the jaunty knock on the door.

She got up and walked over to the door. A quick peek through the curtains told her what she needed to know.

"I'm perfectly safe:' Tyler announced, holding up his hands. "And I brought dinner." He held up one hand a little higher. It held two white paper bags emblazoned with a popular fast-food franchise logo.

"I'd say this is the perfect time to find out."

Matthias and his wineglass were gone in a blink of an eye.