Gilt by Association (3 page)

“Are you sure you don't mind?”

“No, I don't mind. I'll take Lady home with me. You can pick her up when you're through at Bella's. Let's go get her crate so I'll have that, too.”

Since Grant had adopted Patches, he mostly worked from home. He'd insisted that once Patches was less exuberant, he'd work out of his office in Vince's law business downtown and take Patches to work with him. But for now, this arrangement seemed to suit him. She realized the qualities she admired in him when dealing with Patches were qualities he'd probably gained as a dad. Only, he never talked about that because being a father had ended in tragedy. Losing a child had led to his divorce. However, that divorce and a change in lifestyle had also encouraged him to set up practice with Vince in Kismet.

Yes, she could entrust Lady's care to Grant. She was sure of it.

 

 

Forty-five minutes later, Caprice held Benny while Bella set up the cool mist humidifier in the master bedroom. That's where they'd placed his crib for now.

Caprice lowered her lips to the baby's head and smelled baby shampoo. His warm little body in her arms, she felt protective as she walked him around the room, crooning to him, rocking him a little. A twinge of something that didn't often nudge her felt almost painful now. What was that? A desire to be a mother? Was that why she took in strays? Because she had the need to nurture? Nevertheless, being a mother meant more than nurturing. She was aware of
that
.

Unbidden, she thought of Seth Randolph—the doctor she'd dated last summer and now e-mailed with more infrequency than she'd like—in the role of husband and father. Next, her focus switched to thoughts of Grant. Neither man was ready for married life or babies, but that didn't mean
she
wasn't. If she reached a certain age and still wasn't married, she could consider adopting a baby. Marriage was complicated. Two people had to compromise. They should be real partners, had to have the same values, even think alike most of the time. Maybe raising a child would be better if she did it on her own.

After Bella set up the humidifier and it was running, she took little Benedict from Caprice's arms. Caprice felt that wistful longing still remained.

“I'm going to change him and see if I can get him to fall asleep. He likes the swing you and Nikki gave him. Maybe he'll fall asleep in that.”

“So he likes motion.”

“He always falls asleep in the car, but with it so cold and icy out, I don't want to take him for a drive.”

“I can understand that.”

Bella glanced at her. “You're good with him.”

“You sound surprised.”

“You weren't that interested when Megan and Timmy were little.”

“Maybe I'm older and wiser.”

Bella laughed. “Aren't we all.”

Bella was two years younger than Caprice, Nikki two years older. But since Bella had married when she was young, sometimes
she
seemed like the big sister. She was certainly always ready to give advice, not so ready to take it. But that was Isabella Santini.

Expertly fastening the diaper, she said, “Joe went online and registered a domain name for me.”

“Really? What did you get?”

“CostumesByBella.com. What else?”

Bella sewed Halloween costumes for kids and had sold a few to friends, as well as to parents at Megan and Timmy's school. Now she was going to go at it in a more businesslike way.

She went on. “Joe found this place we could set up a free Web site, but it will serve our purposes for now.”

“Our?”

Bella shrugged. “I don't know if Joe's going to want to have much to do with my business or not. He sees how tired I am at the end of the day and he's being helpful. Dana at the Cupcake House wants me to make a bunny costume for one of the employees for Easter. I said I would.”

“You could have a real specialty business.”

“I don't know about that, but the extra income would be nice, at least until I go back to work at Roz's boutique. Joe's not too thrilled with that idea.”

Caprice hoped they could figure it out and Bella's working wouldn't cause dissention in their marriage.

“So you have an open house this coming weekend?” Bella asked as she settled Benny in the swing and wound up the mechanism.

“I do. At Chet and Louise Downing's.”

“Louise and Mom have been friends forever,” Bella acknowledged, watching her son with a mother's affectionate eye.

“I'm just hoping the weather cooperates.” That was Caprice's main concern. “I don't need a blizzard on Saturday.”

“Have you checked the extended forecast?”

“So far, so good. But you know how that goes. Maybe weathermen have better tools than they used to have, but one inch of snow could turn into six, and rain could change to sleet if the temperature drops just a degree.”

So Caprice wouldn't take a relaxed breath until Saturday morning came with no precipitation or sign of it.

Suddenly there was the sound of voices in the living room. Bella and Joe's bedroom was located at the back of the house, so they hadn't heard the garage door go up. Seconds later, Joe was in the doorway, his coat still on.

After a look at Benny and the humidifier, he asked, “What's wrong?”

“A fever and a stuffy nose. I'm trying to make him more comfortable,” Bella told him. “Caprice stopped for the humidifier for me.”

“I'll pay you,” Joe said.

“You don't have to,” Caprice started but then stopped. Joe was a proud man, and he and Bella were trying to get their finances back in order after a big upheaval last summer.

“If you want, you can. I have the receipt in my purse.”

Joe called to Timmy and Megan, “Climb into your pj's, kids, then you can have a cookie and say goodnight to your mom and Aunt Caprice.”

“I'll get that receipt,” Caprice said as she headed for the living room. She passed the kids in the hall and gave both of them hugs, asked them about the movie, and listened while they chattered for a few minutes. She noticed Joe was watching her, and she wondered if he was eager for her to leave.

After Megan and Timmy went to their rooms, she headed for the living room. To her surprise, Joe followed.

Out of earshot of the bedroom, he said, “I've got to make this quick so Bella doesn't suspect anything.”

Puzzled, Caprice asked, “Make what quick?”

“I want to do something special for Bella for Valentine's Day. I can't afford expensive jewelry, and do you know what a dozen roses cost right now?”

Caprice had to smile. “I do, because I order them for home-stagings.”

He shook his head. “One rose in a vase looks feeble. I want to do more than that. Do you have any suggestions?”

Joe asking for suggestions from her had to be a first. She gave it serious thought.

“My guess is, right now Bella might like something that makes her feel good rather than something she could hold in her hand. I mean, I'm sure she'd appreciate a romantic card, but I was thinking along the lines of a gift certificate to get her hair done at Curls R Us, or maybe a massage at Green Tea Spa.”

“Green Tea Spa. Your doctor got your mom a spa day there for her birthday, didn't he? That place is pretty expensive.”

Seth had indeed gifted her mother with a spa day at Green Tea. He was thoughtful that way, just as he'd been thoughtful when he'd sent her a dozen roses after their first date.

Pushing that thought aside, she said, “You can buy a gift certificate for just a massage. They even run coupons in the
Kismet Crier
. You can check their site online.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“I do have them once in a while,” she kidded him.

But Joe's expression turned serious. “Bella and I have talked about putting the house up for sale now that the market's picking up. I'm looking for a bigger house. Now might be a good time to clinch a deal. There are bargains out there, I've heard. You'd know about that, wouldn't you?”

She mostly signed on high-end clients now, but she did, of course, have contacts in the real estate business. “I can keep an ear out if you tell me what you're looking for.”

“The big thing is four bedrooms, and maybe a basement we can make into a playroom. We're bursting at the seams here. We've talked to Father Gregory about it and he thinks we all need a little more room, a little privacy. I mean, the baby's in
our
room.”

Again Caprice had to smile. That certainly didn't lend to a couple's intimacy.

“Bella's on the alert with every breath he takes. That's another reason she's not getting enough sleep.”

So Joe wasn't only concerned about himself and his needs. He was concerned about Bella. Maybe, just maybe, this couple was going to have a happy Valentine's Day this year.

 

 

Fifteen minutes later, Grant answered the door with a serious expression on his face after Caprice rang his doorbell.

“Is everything all right?” she asked before stepping inside.

The corner of Grant's lip quirked a little. “Lady didn't even miss you.”

He pointed inside his living room where a sports channel was playing. Both dogs lay side by side with the requisite chew toys tossed haphazardly nearby. They didn't even look up when Caprice walked in.

“A sports channel. Not even HGTV!” she said with mock outrage.

“I'm raising a male.”

“And I'm raising a female to go beyond her gender boundaries. She's heard of the Ravens and the Orioles.”

“What about the Pirates and the Steelers?” he countered.

Caprice waved her hand in front of her. “Too many sports teams will just confuse her.”

Grant gave a chuckle, then sobered. “How did it go with your sister?”

“I don't think she's going to get much sleep tonight. Joe either. It's that way with a sick baby.”

She said it thinking about Grant's life now, not his life as it used to be. These days, he seemed like a bachelor with no cares besides work . . . and Patches. When she gazed into his eyes, though, there was still pain there.

“I remember how it was with a baby,” he said evenly.

His child had drowned in a pool, and nothing had been the same after that. Maybe sometime he'd talk to her about it. She had the feeling that until he did, they'd never really get close.

Is close what she wanted, when Seth Randolph was still on the fringes of her mind?

Moving closer to the dogs, he said, “I can switch channels if you want a beer. No wine in the house. Vince hasn't brought any over lately.”

Her brother thought of himself as a wine connoisseur of sorts. When they had their family dinners once a month, she and Bella and Nikki, her mom and nana, even her dad sometimes, cooked and Vince usually brought the wine. But that was okay. Everyone contributed something.

She hadn't been in Grant's town house before. Usually they met at her place or the dog park. His living room was furnished in black leather and gray suede. Somehow, sitting here with him in his dim living room with the dogs lazily resting close by, just didn't seem like a good idea. Maybe
she
was the one who was skittish. Maybe
she
was the one who wasn't sure of what she wanted. At age thirty-two, she certainly should be sure. But her experiences since last May—meeting Seth, solving two murders—had shaken up her life a bit.

“I'd better get going,” she murmured.

But Grant was never easy. He never let anything just pass by. “Come to think of it, I don't know if I've ever seen you drink a beer.”

“Of course, I drink beer. I'm not a wine snob. You know Rolling Rock? I like Rolling Rock.”

He laughed out loud. “Well, if you know Rolling Rock, then you really must know beer.”

“Actually, it's what my grandpop used to drink.”

“Nana Celia's husband?”

“Yep. He'd slip me a quarter of an inch in a glass when no one was looking.”

While there was still peace between them, and still an easy atmosphere, Caprice went to pick up Lady's leash, fuchsia in color, which was lying over the coffee table. She'd just looped it over her arm, ready to wake Lady, when her cell phone vibrated, then played.

The caller couldn't be Bella. She'd just left there. Taking it from her blazer pocket, she saw it was her mom.

She held the phone to her ear. “Hi, Mom.”

“Something awful has happened,” her mother said, sounding close to tears. “Louise was taken to the hospital.”

Chapter Three

Caprice felt as if she'd had the air knocked out of her. “What happened? Louise was perfectly fine on Saturday. Did she catch the flu? Was she in an accident?”

Louise and her mom were best friends, so she could only imagine what her mother was feeling.

“No one's exactly sure what happened,” her mom explained. “Rachel was out. When she came home, she found her. It was some kind of stomach upset and then her heart condition factored in, so Rachel called nine-one-one and that's all I know. Chet called me, beside himself. He's pacing the emergency room while they do tests on her. He thinks they're going to admit her. I asked if he wanted me to come down there and he said that would be useless tonight. But if they do admit her, of course, she'd want me to visit tomorrow. I'd take a personal day, but we have midterm exams.”

Louise was one of those mavens of Kismet who had tons of friends. She belonged to the Garden Club and was involved in a multitude of charities. But how many
close
friends did she have? She and her mom went way back and that made a difference in friendship.

Caprice thought about Roz Winslow, the high school friend who'd gotten caught up in a murder investigation. She and Caprice had reinvigorated their friendship, and now were almost as close as sisters again. Good friends were so important.

“Mom, I know you want to be with Louise, but it might be useless to take the day off without knowing her condition, and how long she'll be there. I'll call the hospital in the morning and if I can, I'll go in and visit.”

“I'd go during lunch if I could, but I wouldn't have enough time to make it to York and back.”

Kismet wasn't large enough to have its own hospital. They had doctors and an urgent care center where Seth had worked. But for a hospital, Kismet residents had to travel to York, about twenty minutes away.

“If Louise is there and can have visitors, I'll tell her you'll be there as soon as school dismisses.”

“I don't want to let her down,” her mother said. “There were many times she backed me up when I needed someone to stay with you kids. Remember when Nikki was in that biking accident when she was sixteen? Your father was on a job site and I couldn't reach him. Louise was with me when I got the call, and she didn't hesitate to drive me to the hospital and stay with me and Nikki until she was taken care of . . . until your father arrived. I haven't seen her as much as I'd like over the past few years. She seemed to grow a little distant. But we're still good friends, and friends help each other in the rough times.”

“I understand, Mom, I really do. I'll check things out and text you or leave a message on your phone. Then you'll know how she is, and when she's going to be discharged. They don't keep anyone in the hospital very long anymore. She could be sent home before you even think about visiting her. Nikki was going to come over tomorrow morning. We have a couple more open houses to plan for. Maybe she can stay with Lady, and I can keep Louise company as long as she needs me there.”

“Thank you, honey. I really appreciate this.”

Lady and Patches were now awake and had decided a bit of romping was a good idea. Grant was standing by, ready to referee if he had to, but suddenly Patches barked and Lady barked back.

Her mother asked, “Are you at home?”

Caprice hesitated, then finally responded, “No, I'm at Grant's. Bella called me while I was at puppy training class. She needed a cool mist humidifier because Benny is sick.”

“How sick?”

“He had a temperature of a hundred and a stuffy nose, but Joe was there when I left, and they'll be fine. Really.”

“And you and Grant?”

Her mother often asked her this question, and Caprice didn't particularly like the probing. However, she answered patiently, “He brought Lady home so she wouldn't miss the rest of the class.”

“Are you staying a while?” Her mother's voice sounded as if it had a bit of hope in it.

“No. I still have work to do tonight.”

“Caprice.”

Caprice knew what was coming. “Mom, don't.”

“I wouldn't be your mother, a mother who loves you very much, if I didn't remind you, you have to try to forget about Seth and move on.”

“Mom, I can't have this conversation now.”

“No, I suppose not, but you know it's true.”

Caprice wasn't sure it
was
true. Where men were concerned, she wasn't sure about anything.

“In between classes in the morning, watch for texts,” Caprice reminded her. “And try not to worry about Louise.”

“Try not to worry about Louise?” her mom asked rhetorically. “That's like saying your father shouldn't worry about his brother Dominic who he has loaned money to more than once.”

“So Dad's talked to him recently?”

Her uncle Dominic lived near Baltimore. She remembered a tall, thin man who'd swept her up in his arms when she was little. But she also remembered raised voices between him and her father, between Dominic and Nana Celia and her grandpa when she'd been home from college. After that, they didn't see him very much. Her father checked in with him now and then, and sometimes drove down to Baltimore on his own to visit. But no one talked about those visits. No one brought up her uncle's name very much anymore.

Caprice and her brother and sisters, raised in a Catholic family, going to parochial schools, had been taught to respect their elders. Although their family was fairly open as families go, they all had sensitivity as to what made each other uncomfortable. The subject of Uncle Dominic made everyone uncomfortable.

Maybe sometime she'd talk to Nana Celia about it, but the time had to be just right.

“Your father visited your uncle,” her mother responded to her question. “In spite of that new snow, he drove down there yesterday. But Maryland's roads are always better than ours.”

“Was the visit . . . worthwhile?”

“Your father didn't say a lot about it, just that since his divorce, Dominic might not be able to hold on to the house, and that's not to spread around.”

“Of course not.”

“It's probably better if you don't say anything to your brother and sisters about your dad's visit to Dom. It just sort of slipped out when I got upset.”

“I understand, Mom.”

Her mother sighed. “I know you don't keep secrets from Nikki. Just forget about what I said. If you want to tell her, that's fine.”

“Are you and Dad thinking about helping Uncle Dominic?”

“That could be a bone of contention with Nana Celia. It's all very complicated.”

Caprice and her brother and sisters had understood that. Maybe that's why they'd never asked questions about it.

“Try to get a good night's sleep, Mom.”

After saying good-bye, she ended the call.

Grant was eyeing her speculatively. “Not that I meant to listen in, but it sounds as if a lot's going on.”

That was the understatement of the night.

The following morning, Caprice parked in the multilevel parking garage at York Hospital. Then she made her way to the main entrance. She already had the information she needed—Louise was in one of the rooms on the cardiac floor. Since she was still here, Caprice guessed they were watching her carefully. All she could get from the nurses' desk was her room number. HIPAA laws, and all that. Doctors and hospitals were becoming more paranoid about privacy, yet there were multiple systems of computer networks within the healthcare system, and none of those seemed to talk to each other. You could go for a lab test at one facility that would be hooked into the specialist's computer. But if you went to your family doctor, she might not be able to even access those records. Caprice had the feeling that a good hacker could get anybody's medical records if he wanted and no one would even know.

She realized she was distracting herself with those thoughts because she was concerned about Louise. Nikki had assured her she'd take Lady for a walk even in this cold weather, give her lots of praise when she succeeded at a doggie task, and she wouldn't forget to give Sophia half a dropperful of omega-3 fatty acids with wild anchovy and sardine oil in her lunch. As long as Sophia didn't know she was eating something good for her, she was fine with it. Again, not so different from humans.

Caprice passed the gift shop where she'd often found unique presents for friends and members of her family. Then she wended her way to the elevator.

It didn't take her long to find Louise's room. She peeked in the door and saw that Louise had company. Jamie Bergman was there. Caprice noted the plant on the windowsill, greenery mixed with mums. It stood beside a bouquet of tulips and daisies that was probably from Chet.

Louise caught sight of Caprice right away. She was looking pale and weak, but she was wearing a smile. “Come here, my dear. Chet will be back in a minute. He just went to check with the nurse about something.”

Caprice hugged Louise and saw that the monitor above her bed was recording her heart rhythms and pulse rate. As Chet had said, she was still being monitored carefully.

After she leaned away from Louise, she nodded at Jamie. “It's good to see you again, only not under these circumstances.”

“I'll say not,” Jamie agreed.

Jamie Bergman might be in her fifties, with no gray showing in her hair. But that didn't mean much these days. A good hairdresser could take care of that. A brunette, Jamie had dark brows, a long nose, and dark rimmed glasses that she often wore on top of her head. Caprice was about ten pounds overweight, and she guessed Jamie was probably twenty pounds overweight. She was wearing jeans that were more snug than Caprice would wear them, and a short striped sweater, with the stripes going the wrong way for a person who might be trying to look thinner. But that was really none of Caprice's concern. Jamie knew her plants, and over the past year had been a big help when Caprice needed greenery to enhance a home-staging.

“Do the doctors know yet what caused this?” Caprice asked Louise.

Chet answered her from the doorway. “The doctors don't know. But this stomach flu, or whatever it was, disrupted her heart's rhythm. Even her usual medication couldn't control it. The cardiologist adjusted it and now she seems to be more stable. But I think we should cancel the open house on Saturday.”

“Saturday is five days away,” Louise protested. “I don't want to cancel it. If I'm not feeling well, I don't have to be there for it. I can visit with a friend for the afternoon. I'm not going to let a little stomach episode throw off our schedule or Caprice's.”

Often, when someone thought they had the stomach flu or a virus, it was really food poisoning. Maybe Louise had eaten some bad fish or something. The cause really didn't matter as long as Louise was okay.

Jamie motioned to Chet's flowers. “The bouquet you gave Louise is beautiful, even if it did come from Posies rather than Garden Glory.”

Posies and Garden Glory weren't exactly rival businesses. Posies' main product was a bouquet like Chet had bought. They were known for their unique flower arrangements and their gift baskets. Garden Glory, on the other hand, was a nursery that specialized in landscaping plants, yet they also arranged planters for gifts and decorated them with flowers.

“When Jamie called the house this morning to arrange the delivery of the plants for the open house,” Chet explained, “I told her Louise was in the hospital and that I'd already put my order in to Posies.”

“I'm just teasing,” Jamie said amiably. She picked up her tote bag purse. “I'd better be going now. I don't want to be late for my shift.”

After there were good-byes all around and Jamie left, Caprice sat by Louise's bed and patted her hand. “My mom's worried about you.”

“So you came to check up on me by proxy?” Louise asked.

Caprice chuckled. “Something like that. I'm supposed to text her or call and give her a full report. She'll be here as soon as she can get away from school.”

“Your mother has been a good friend. Even with her life as busy as it always has been, she's made time for me.”

“You make time for
her,
too.”

“Oh, my dear, it's not the same. I've never had children and a job to juggle. Yes, I have commitments, charity work, the Garden Club, friends I play bridge with. But that's not at all the same as teaching teenagers English like your mom does, and taking care of all of you at the same time.”

Caprice thought about Bella, how tired she looked, how sleep-deprived she was. She considered her own mother being a young mom, a wife, and a teacher, and handling all of it. Maybe kids never gave their parents enough credit. Maybe she could find a present down in the gift shop for her mom for Valentine's Day, just to show her appreciation. Sometimes a card just wasn't quite enough. She was sure her dad would send her mom flowers. Nikki might cook her something special.