Like he told her, he was pretty busy. Busy trying to get Cassie to fall in love with him.
Cassie stared at him, concern written all over her face. He frowned and shook his head. “False alarm. These texts are from a friend of mine who lives in Chicago.” She wasn't in Chicago at the moment, but she lived there.
The next text had been sent an hour later.
I'm at the hotel. Is there anything better than a one-star around here?
A short time later she'd sent another.
Call me when you get a break.
The next text was in all caps.
CALL ME.
Then,
I got out of my meeting early. I'm driving up to Shawano right now. We can meet up after your shift.
He felt like a fly that had just met the flat end of a flyswatter. Would Blair really be so bold as to drive up here? When she didn't find him at his apartment, would she stalk him at the hospital? What would she do when she didn't find him at the hospital?
With growing dread, he listened to his messages.
“Z, I'm driving around Shawano looking for decent places to eat. Call me. How long are your shifts at the hospital?”
“I'm going to ask for you at the hospital. Will they let me see you if I tell them I've got poison ivy? I'm not paying for an office visit. Ha ha.”
Listening to her last message tied every muscle in his body into knots.
“The nurses here are very nice. Stacey says I might be able to find you at a place called Huckleberry Hill. I hope I don't drive into some redneck backwater and get kidnapped, or worse, lose cell service. Call me as soon as you get this message.”
“Is everything okay?” Cassie asked, knitting her brows together.
Zach worked hard to unclench his jaw so he could speak. “Everything's okay. Nothing about Austin. Just that friend trying to reach me.” If he ignored Blair, would she go away? He could take Cassie deeper into the woods until Blair gave up and went back to Stevens Point.
Titus, with bright eyes and red cheeks, came crunching through the snow. He'd lost his toothpick. “Dr. Reynolds, there's a girl looking for you. She says she's your girlfriend, but I told her she has the wrong Dr. Reynolds, because our Dr. Reynolds doesn't have a girlfriend. She told me to come get you anyway. What do you think? She acted sort of crazy.”
Zach glanced at Cassie. She didn't move a muscle as she stared at his face. “She used to be my girlfriend, Titus.” He gazed pointedly at Cassie. “We broke up almost a year ago.”
Cassie pursed her lips and nodded.
“If I don't bring you back with me,” Titus said, “she might get angry. She's testy, like Norman, and she's got long red fingernails like a cat.”
Zach's lips curled upward. Had Titus ever seen red claws on a cat? He kept his eyes on Cassie. “She closed a big deal and bought a new car. She wants to show it to me. Will you come?”
Cassie seemed genuinely surprised by his invitation. “You want me to come with you?”
“It might be good to have backup in case she uses those fingernails.”
“I'll come,” Titus said. “I've seen the fingernails. I'm prepared for anything.”
They left their buckets in a stack, with the drill and hammer stuffed inside the top one, and trudged through the half-melted snow to the lane in front of Anna and Felty's house. Blair sat in her car, avoiding contact with the natives no doubt, while Felty stood next to the driver's side window and tried to talk to her through the one-inch slit in her window.
As they got closer, Zach realized that Felty was singing.
“And the Death Angel whispers, it's time to come home. Then it's good-bye to everyone I've met in my day. I'll see you soon on that reunion day.”
Through the windshield Zach could see the polite but mortified smile Blair had pasted on her face as if she were debating whether to drive down the hill as fast as her new Lexus would go. She stared straight ahead, probably fearing the Death Angel would swoop down and scoop her out of her car.
Zach, flanked by a suspicious Titus and a wary Cassie, walked around the back of the car to the driver's side door and knocked on the window.
Blair nearly jumped out of her skin. When she saw who had knocked, she unlocked her door, leaped out of the car, and threw her arms around Zach's neck as if he'd rescued her from a burning building. “Z, am I glad to see you. I was starting to wonder if I'd gotten caught in one of those weird made-for-TV movies.”
Zach let her cling for a minute without hugging back. He wasn't happy to see her, but Blair was more of a nuisance than anything else.
He looked at his companions. Titus seemed positively terrified by Blair's long fingernails and crimson lipstick. Cassie's face was a mask of indifference, but her arms were clamped tightly around her waist and she seemed to labor slightly for air.
“These are my Amish friends,” Zach said, nudging Blair away from him. “Nothing to be afraid of.”
Blair swept her long raven hair over her shoulders and tugged her tailored coat over the top of her skintight blue jeans. She looked as if she'd been personally dressed by a designer. “I wasn't afraid, just annoyed that you hadn't returned my calls. Do you even get service up here? Whoa. What happened to your eyes?”
Zach waved away her question. “I broke my nose. Nothing serious. Blair, I'd like you to meet Felty Helmuth and his grandson Titus. They're Amish. Do you know about the Amish?”
Blair batted her eyes. “Of course I know about the Amish. They make those quilts.”
Felty leaned close to Zach's ear. “She seemed a little tense. Singing usually calms people right down.” He stroked his beard. “Didn't seem to help this one.”
Blair gave Titus a fake smile. “I hope I wasn't rude. I felt a little uptight that I couldn't find Zach. I didn't mean to snap at you like that.”
“No harm done,” said Titus, rocking back and forth on his heels. “I've had lots worse from Norman.”
Felty raised his finger in the air. “I've got just the thing for you.” He turned around, walked up the steps and into the house.
Cassie seemed to be drifting backward. Zach cupped his fingers around her elbow and nudged her forward. Even though Cassie was dressed in Plain clothes, Zach could practically see alarms going off in Blair's head when she laid eyes on Cassie. Girls seemed to instinctively know when someone threatened their territory. Her eyes turned icy, and that fake smile she'd used on Titus spread across her face as if it had been ironed there.
“This is Cassie Coblenz,” Zach said, sidling closer to Cassie so as to leave no doubt in Blair's mind.
“Nice to meet you,” Cassie said, in that mousy voice she used whenever Norman picked on her.
“You Amish too?” Blair asked, her voice pitched so high she sounded like a chicken.
“Cassie used to be Amish,” Zach said. “She's visiting her family for a few months. She graduated in December.”
“Oh, that's nice,” Blair said, the apathy evident in her voice. “I thought you were Amish. The bonnet is really sweet.”
“Thank you,” Cassie said, even though she surely knew it wasn't a compliment.
Blair reached over and fingered the edge of Zach's scarf. “You and Zach have matching scarves. How cute.”
Zach flashed Cassie an apologetic smile. She didn't move a muscle.
Blair dismissed everybody with a turn of her head and a swish of her hair. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope we see each other again very soon.” She'd apparently learned all she wanted to know about one of the most fascinating cultures and peoples in the country. That was Blair. If she didn't see any benefit to her or her career, she didn't bother to make an effort.
“I promised Zach I'd take him for a spin in my new car.” She reached out, grabbed Zach's hand, and pulled him toward her. “You wanna drive?”
“No, that's okay.” He slipped his hand from her grasp. He'd rather wrestle Elmer Lee and the entire Notre Dame soccer team all at the same time than get in that car with Blair. But as annoyed as he felt, he couldn't embarrass her in front of everybody
.
A short drive around Shawano wouldn't hurt. The good news was that Shawano wasn't all that big. Even if they drove all the way around the lake, they'd be back within the hour.
That thought cheered him considerably.
Blair made her voice low and sexy. She must have thought that still worked on him. “I know you're dying to drive, Zach.”
Zach finally let himself really look at Blair's new car. It was a beauty, with smooth lines and shiny chrome. He could practically feel the steering wheel in his hands and the powerful engine beneath the hood. Of course he wanted to drive it, but if he wanted it that bad, he'd find a dealership where the most obnoxious car salesman wouldn't be near as annoying as Blair at this very minute.
Blair nibbled on the tip of her finger. “Don't you want to see how it handles?”
“You drive, Blair.”
Blair seemed disappointed but undeterred. “Okay, then. Get in.”
Zach opened the driver's side door for her. His mom had taught him to be a gentleman, no matter how abrasive the lady proved to be. Blair flashed him a flirty smile and slid into her seat.
He closed the door and leaned his head to one side to get Cassie to look at him. She stared faithfully at her feet.
“Cassie,” he said.
Her feet couldn't have been that interesting. “Yes?”
“I'll be back soon to help finish the trees.”
She finally looked at him and smiled, but the light had gone out of her eyes. “Of course.”
“She seems like a real nice girlfriend,” Titus said.
“She's not my girlfriend,” Zach said. “Just a friend.”
Titus nodded. “If you say so. How long will you be gone?”
Blair started the car. The engine purred just like Zach knew it would. She rolled down her window. “I'm taking Zach to dinner,” she said. “Any good restaurants in town?”
“I won't have time for dinner,” Zach said.
“I don't mind,” Blair said. “I drove all this way to see you. The least I can do is take you out.” She rolled up the window before he could argue, although she'd get plenty of argument when he got in the car.
Felty came out of the house and bounced down the steps. He knocked on Blair's window. “I have a gift for you,” he yelled.
Blair pursed her lips and reluctantly rolled down her window.
Felty pulled a pair of pot holders from his pocket. One lime green and one baby pink. “Anna said there's nothing that comforts a nervous condition like homemade pot holders. She wants you to have these.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks,” Blair said, more perplexed than grateful. She took them from Felty and stuffed them into her purse.
Zach went around to the passenger side of the car. “I'll see you soon,” he said, making sure Cassie made eye contact with him.
“Have fun,” she said, smiling as if she'd just been kicked in the shins.
Blair pulled forward and back, making a three-point turn to get the car pointed down the hill. A grin played at her lips until they got all the way down the hill, when the dam seemed to burst and she laughed as if she'd been holding it in for weeks.
“You want to let me in on the joke?” Zach said.
She snatched the two pot holders from her purse. “Pot holders. He gave me pot holders. Have you ever seen anything so bizarre?”
Those pot holders were lovingly knitted by Anna Helmuth, the sweetest little mammi in Wisconsin. She'd given them as a gesture of friendship. If Blair had ever met Anna, she never would have poked fun at her pot holders.
“Where did you find those hayseeds?” Blair said, her voice charged with amused disbelief.
Zach rolled his eyes. “Anna is one of my patients. They're my friends.”
“What is it with the beard on the old guy?”
“All married Amish men grow beards. It's part of their tradition.”
Her eyes grew wide. “If my husband had to grow one of those, I think I'd kill myself. Of course, if all the wives are as homely as that girl, maybe they don't mind the beard so much.”
Zach stiffened. He couldn't let that slight go unchallenged, even though he knew what Blair's reaction would be. “Cassie is the prettiest girl I've ever laid eyes on.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really? That granola is the prettiest girl you've ever laid eyes on? Come on, Zach. I can do better than that in a ponytail and an old sweatshirt. I've seen bag ladies more attractive.”
Zach folded his arms and stared out the window at the bare trees and empty pastures. He was done talking about Cassie. It wouldn't change Blair's mind about anything, and her insults only served to make him ferociously angry. No matter what, he would
not
challenge Blair to a wrestling match.
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “What do you think of my car? Do you like the leather seats? They're heated. And a V-6 turbo engine.”
“It's really nice, Blair.”
“Really nice? I drive all the way up here for âreally nice'? I think you can do better than that. You should drive it. See what it's got.”
Driving it wasn't such a bad idea. That way he could control how far they went and how soon he got back to Huckleberry Hill. “Okay,” he said. “Pull over.”
She flashed a delighted smile. “Whatever you want.”
She pulled to the side of the road, and they traded places. He put it into drive and headed for the highway. The steering was so smooth, it almost felt like they were floating.