Passions of Chelsea Kane Part 24

"I'll take a look," Nolan said, "but it may take me a while."

"That's okay. Just go." He ran back to the Blazer to find Hunter brus.h.i.+ng snow from the hood of the car and the headlights, which made a small improvement where visibility was concerned. It also made a broader statement. Hunter usually welcomed danger, but he was nervous now. Judd wondered if he was worried about Chelsea. On and on they went, slowing to a crawl at times when the road disappeared. They encountered few other cars, which was lucky. Judd was driving down the middle of the road, going as fast as the Blazer and the snow under its tires would allow. He was only marginally relieved when he hit the center of Norwich Notch, and he drove right on through without a thought to dropping off Hunter. Nolan's cruiser was just emerging from the Boulderbrook road when they reached it. Judd came alongside and rolled down his window.

"Can't get in," Nolan called through the wind-driven snow. "Tree down across the road. Took most of her wires with it. I tried to haul it aside, but I don't have the power. We need a truck."

"Can you get one?"

Judd called back. "Phone lines are screwed up all over, or I'd use my unit. The nearest truck is at Willem Dunleavy's place. I'll be back."

506 Judd rolled up his window and gave the car gas. didn't have to go far to encounter the fallen tree. ' going in on foot," he told Hunter.

Tugging up collar, he took a flashlight from the glove comment an set off. The good news was that the snow was drifting as fell, leaving six inches on the road rather than ten. e bad news was that the wind that caused the rifting was fierce. Judd jogged when he could, ked when he had to, leaned into the wind with o progress at all at the times of the strongest gusts. He hadn't gone more than a hundred yards when nter materialized beside him. "Drive yourself ome," he yelled through the storm. "A temptation," Hunter yelled back, "but not wise. ntil that tree's up, the Blazer is your only way back to town." Judd hadn't thought of that. Vowing to replace Jiunter's boots if they were ruined, he plowed on as last as the wind and the snow would allow. The farmhouse finally materialized like a large, lumpy animal in the beam of his flashlight. A bit nearer, he , the faint glow of a light in the window. The sight of it gave him the strength to pick up his pace. Head bowed against the wind, he loped up the drive, then the front steps and across the porch. He barged through the front door in time to see Chelsea writhing on the sofa. "Oh, G.o.d!" she cried in a burst of breath when the contraction finally subsided. She held a shaky hand out to Judd. "The baby's comingl" He was fast discarding snowy outer things-half of them falling on Buck, who ran around him excitedly-on his way to -the sofa. "I knew it. I knew it. 1 Bwtwu Deunshy me Paswons of Chefs" Jume had a feeling." He hunkered down- and took her hand.

"When did it start?"

"Three hours ago." She spoke in short spurts, still breathless from the last contraction. "It wasn't supposed to happen so fast. The pains are coming every two minutes." She held his hand to her throat and started to laugh and cry at the same time. "I didn't think you'd make it, Judd! I was sure I'd be alone!" Slipping an arm under her, he held her to his chest. "I'm here." He smoothed a tangle of hair from her cheek. "Jesus, I knew. The minute it started snowing, I knew."

"You were right about the manual. I should have read it. I tried to before, but I couldn't." She caught in a breath. Her stomach was tightening again. "Oh, h.e.l.l. Another one." Judd laid her back on the sofa and put a hand on her stomach. "What can I do?"

"Be calm."

"I am calm!"

"Be confident."

"I am confident!"

"I knew you would be. You read the book." She broke off and went with the pain, which rose and rose and crested at last, leaving her breathing in huge gulps and damp with sweat. Through a blur, she saw Hunter lean in. "I'm going back for Neil," he told Judd. She grabbed his arm before he could move. Her eyes went wide in pleading. "Don't! Stay here! I want both of you here!"

Incredibly, he touched her head. "You need Neil."

"There isn't time!

Stay here, Hunter! Please!" Hunter looked at Judd. "She needs Neil." 508 Judd nodded. "Get the Blazer and go to Dunleavy's. , Nolan if you can. He'll get Neil. Then come back."

"Don't leave!" Chelsea cried, but he was already , his way. "He won't get back in time, Judd!"

"He'll get back."

"I want him to see the baby born. -I want you to deliver it and him to see it." Now that the terror of being alone was gone, things were s.h.i.+fting in her mind. Survival was no longer the issue-Judd had read the manual. So she began feeling excitement. ' the first time since starting labor, she felt the adventure of what was happening. The next contraction was longer and stronger. Through it, Judd held her gaze, spoke softly, mas- 1 saged the rigid wall of her stomach. "That's it. - You're doing just fine." She wasn't sure about that. The contraction didn't want, to end. It waned, then picked up again. She was feeling exhausted by the time it finally allowed her to rest. Gently he said, "I'm going into the other room to get some stuff, okay?" She didn't like the idea of his leaving for a minute, but she knew he was thinking that it was now or never, the delivery was so advanced. "Okay," she whispered, and touched his face. "Thank G.o.d you're here, Judd. Thank G.o.d you're here. This baby is more yours than Carl's, you know that, don't you?"

"I know," he whispered back. "I love you."

"Me too-" She scrunched up her face. "d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it." She tried to breathe evenly, but the pain was insidious. It circled her belly, pulling at every other part of her body, forcing the baby lower, then 509 Bobwa Deunshy lower still. "I have to push."

"Don't pus.h.!.+" Judd shouted, and lowered his voice. "Not yet. Not until I look and see what's happening, and I can't do that until I get somthing spread on the floor. I need some G.o.dd.a.m.ned sheets." He was stroking the lower band of her belly, breathing right along with her until her body relaxed. "Are you okay now?"

"Go.

Quickly." He left the room at a lope, Buck at his heels. She was at the tail end of another contraction when the front door opened. "Hunter?" He dropped his jacket and gloves and kicked off his boots. "Nolan was back at the tree. Willem and his son are moving it, while he goes for Neil.

Where's the big guy?"

"Getting things from the other room." She reached for his hand. He let her take it. "Another one?"

"The same one, another one, they're starting to blur." She squeezed her eyes shut. Through the pain radiating around her middle, she said, "Piercing my ears was nothing compared to this." He made a sound that might have been a laugh.

Judd returned. "Hangin' in there, babe?" he asked. She was exhaling in short, shallow puffs. "Hangin' in there," he mumbled. His arms were loaded. He looked at the rug. "Can't do it on this."

"Why not?" Chelsea cried. "It's an Oriental." She laughed. She was in such incredible pain, but more excited than she'd ever been in her life. Her baby was about to be born, her own flesh and blood. She could feel it coming. Soon, so soon, she 510 The Pawiom Of CANdmn Ame uld see it, hold it. "On the Oriental," she ordered. It was Mom's favorite. She would have wanted it." he started to cry. "Nothing's too good for my by!" Her hand tightened around Hunter's. She let out agonized groan. The pain was low, intense, and ndless. When it finally eased, Judd lifted her and set her n the bed of sheets on Abby's Oriental rug before ihe fire. He put a pillow under her head and raised her nightgown. "Ah, Christ, it's here.

Where the h.e.l.l's Neil?" Chelsea laughed. She couldn't help it. "I'm pus.h.i.+ng."

"Don't."

"Do you see the head?"

"It's got hair."

"I'm pus.h.i.+ng." She did just that with the next contraction. She felt the baby move lower. Judd must. have seen it and accepted that Neil ,'t make it; he suddenly regained command. "Get behind her, Hunter. Lift her, that's it. Brace her back. Gravity will help." She panted when the contraction eased, then, clutching both of Hunter's hands at her shoulders, bore down and pushed when a new spasm began. "That's it, babe," Judd coaxed. "That's it, a little more, it's coming." The contraction ended. She gasped, wiped her temple with the back of Hunter's hand, braced herself, and began pus.h.i.+ng again. "Here we go," Judd said. "Push a little more, babe, just a little, Jeez, here it is."

Chelsea knew the instant the baby's head cleared the birth ca.n.a.l, like the popping of a cork, felt an immediate sense of relief. There was a low, deep 511 Maws Demkohy slide inside her, then a tiny cry, then a louder wail, then Judd's proud, "You got a little girl, hon. She's teeny, but perfect." Tears slipped down Chelsea's cheeks. She held out her arms, curving them around the tiny bundle Judd placed on her stomach. A baby girl. Chelsea's own. She laughed and cried and touched her daughter, so that her fingers got in the way of Judd's as he tried to towel her clean. And she was teeny all right. She was dark-haired and pink-skinned beneath all sorts of cheesy slime, but she was without doubt the most beautiful thing Chelsea had ever seen in her life. 512 twenty-three n, IL ARRIVED IN TIME TO CLEAN THINGS UP and p.r.o.nounce the baby as perfect as Chelsea already knew she was. By morning the snow had stopped and the road had been cleared and plowed, and though the lights wouldn't be restored until the next day, Chelsea didn't miss them. She had just about everything she wanted-a little girl to one day wear her mother's ruby ring, Judd, even a steady stream of well-wis.h.i.+ng Notchers who braved the still-slippery roads to bring food and drink and admire the baby. Hunter hung around with a subtly proprietary air that Chelsea enjoyed. Donna hung around, too, alternately holding the baby and busying herself in the kitchen, often with Nolan. To Chelsea's surprise, Oliver dropped by with Margaret, who stared and stared at the baby until Oliver led her off. Judd was the best. From the start he gave baths and changed diapers and jumped out of bed at the baby's first cry to bring her to Chelsea, and then he would sit and watch Chelsea nurse. Sometimes he asked questions, but often he watched in silence, at 513 Awbam Definww times such a somber silence that Chelsea would laugh. "You look like you've lost your best friend," she said once. "No. It's just beautiful. The closeness. That's all." She leaned forward and kissed him over the baby's warm head. As far as she was concerned, the beauty and the closeness included him. Much as she adored the baby, she wouldn't be feeling such peace if it weren't for Judd. For however long it lasted, he was her family, because Kevin still wouldn't come. She called him the instant her phone was fixed, and although she sensed he was pleased-and touched by the name she had chosen-he refused to commit to a trip north.

She was hurt all over again, until Judd pointed out the progress she'd made. Kevin was talking to her. He had given her a powerful lead for work. And he hadn't ruled out a future trip. All he asked for was time.

After a month, Chelsea returned to the office. Judd set up a small cradle there, so that the baby could sleep while she worked. Cydra, who had visited when the baby was two weeks old, had called little Abby's birth a sign of good things to come, and Chelsea came to believe it. For starters, the Notch's resistance to her seemed to have broken. With the baby as a conversation piece, people who might otherwise have felt at a loss for what to say suddenly had plenty. Then the hospital project came through. Chelsea couldn't have been more thrilled, for along with it came a lucrative contract for granite. 514 The Pa.s.sions of chefima Kaw Then, at her six-week postpartum checkup, Neil gave her the go-ahead to make love. She had been waiting for it, but it wasn't until that night, until she and Judd knelt naked with each other before the fire, on the same Oriental rug on which Chelsea had given birth, that the deepest meaning of it hit her. She looped her arms around his neck and raised her face to his. "This is the first time." He manipulated her waist so that her b.r.e.a.s.t.s moved against his chest. They were still large and full, though her stomach had returned to its earlier flatness. Slipping a hand between them, he covered that flatness, then lowered his fingers to the curly hair between her legs. His breathing was slow, deep but unsteady in the way that would have told her of his arousal even if she hadn't felt his erection. "We've made love," he said in the gritty voice that was so male, so needy. "But with the baby between us."

"Since the baby."

"Not inside." They had done it with their hands and their mouths, but this was the ultimate for her. "It'll be the first time inside, just you and me. The first time with me not pregnant. The very first time."

Judd was gentle as could be. He kissed her, touched her, and when she was hot and wet, entered her carefully. She let out a sigh of satisfaction to echo his groan and let herself stretch to feel him, just feel the power of him inside her. She was full to overflowing. She savored the moment. Life had never been as rich or as grand. Town Meeting was an inst.i.tution in Norwich Notch. It always began on the second Tuesday evening in 515 Harbam Definalky March and continued until the last of the town warrant articles had been addressed, preferably before mud season set in. As far as Chelsea could tell, there were no weighty decisions to be made this year. Town Meeting was, more than anything, a social event signaling the end of winter's isolation.

This was her first and, in that, an initiation of sorts. She looked forward to it far more than she had either the Fourth of July or Labor Day, because now she had friends. And indeed it was great fun. Chelsea held Abby, who slept quietly. On her right was Donna, who quilted.

Beside Donna was her sister Janet, who was doing the crossword puzzle from the Sunday Times. Ginny Biden was on Chelsea's left with her own twelve-month-old, also asleep. Farther down the row, and in front and behind, there were other mothers with babies, other quilters, embroiderers, or knitters, women from town, women from the Corner, women from in between. The men were across the aisle In a seidst split that would have irked Chelsea once but didn't bother her now. She was comfortable sitting with the women. If she wanted to speak up in response to a proposed article, she could do so as easily from one side of the room as the other. Yes, there was something archaic about the arrangement, but it wasn't without its humor. While the men paid diligent attention to Emery, who orchestrated such momentous happenings as his own renomination as moderator, the appropriation of three hundred dollars for new shovels for the Norwich Notch Sanitation Department, and the inst.i.tution of a fine for those allowing their dogs to soil the town green prior to dances there, the women were more discriminatory. They chatted softly, kept busy with their hands, and generally put the 516 The rawwons Of Owsen KMW Importance of the subject matter into perspective. Moreover, sitting with the women, Chelsea didn't bat an eyelash when Abby woke up wanting to be fed. That didn't mean she whipped out her breast, simply that she could play with the baby a littlewith the help of those around her-until the crying became disruptive, at which point she sought the privacy of the town clerk's office. Abby was tucked warmly against her, suckling to her little heart's content, when Hunter came through the door. He hadn't been as distant since the baby's birth. Chelsea liked to think that was because he had witnessed it. He had returned to his usual touch-me-not manner, and he held his hands off when she offered him the baby, but he looked at Abby plenty, with a quiet and intent curiosity. Now he put both elbows -on the counter and studied her. "She's getting bigger." Chelsea smiled and traced a perfect sh.e.l.l of an ear. Abby was still pet.i.te, but more beautiful by the day. She had large, wide-s.p.a.ced eyes that were Carl's hazel brown, a tiny turned-up nose, and, in place of the hair she'd been born with, a headful of soft auburn fuzz. Chelsea had managed to tie the thinnest pink ribbon in a tiny tuft at the top of her head.

What with that, and her ruffled playsuit, she looked adorable. "You like her?" Hunter asked. "I love her. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Besides Judd, Chelsea thought. "Because she's family."

"Yeah." . straightened, dug into his pocket, and pulled out a small envelope, which he tossed onto the 517 MArbam Dethway desk where she sat. "This is for you. Happy Birthday." Chelsea blinked. "For me?"

Smiling a bit self-consciously, she looked at the envelope, then at Hunter. "How did you know it was my birthday?"

"Your driver's license.

The date was easy to remember."

"Because you're a March birthday, too?"

He didn't answer, just hitched his chin toward the envelope. "Take a look." She was tempted to tell him he'd have to hold the baby while she did, then took pity on him. He was uncomfortable with that idea.

Besides, Abby was drinking away, her little cheeks flexing hungrily, her fingers doll-like on Chelsea's breast. Chelsea wasn't about to dislodge her. She took the envelope with her free hand, opened the flap, and let its contents slide out. One look at the folded tissue paper and her heart skipped a beat. it skipped more than that when she unfolded the tissue, for lying there, slightly tarnished but otherwise intact, was her silver key. Her eyes flew to Hunter's. Excitedly she asked, "Where did you find it?" He shrugged. "I found it."

"Where? Who took it?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?"

"Word went around that I was looking for the key. It probably pa.s.sed through dozens of hands before I got it back.- "Who gave it to you?" She could work backward, tracking those dozens of hands. "it just showed up in my mailbox," he said, which meant she had nowhere to start. 518 The pa.s.sions Of cjwhwa KMW She felt the old familiar frustration, another , of hope lost to another dead end. Taking Abby from her breast, she put her to her ,'shoulder and gently rubbed her back. In a discouraged murmur, she said, "Just showed up in your '." She gave a growl of disappointment, ,,which frightened the baby, who started to cry. "I'm sorry," she crooned, kissing her sweet-smelling head and rocking her gently, "19m sorry."

Abby forgave her with a delicate burp, which made Chelsea smile in spite of herself. A key was only a key. People were what counted. Abby was what counted most. "Anyway," Hunter said, "I just wanted you to have it."

"Thank you," Chelsea said sincerely. "I'm glad it's back. And you were good to remember my birthday." He shrugged. "Did you celebrate?"

"Not with Town Meeting.' "Maybe we'll do it together next week."

"Is that when your birthday is?" "No." Negligently he said, "Mine is today, too." Before she could express proper astonishment, he was out the door.

Chelsea took the stairs to Zee's barber shop with determination. She entered and closed the door behind her, and when four faces turned her way in surprise, she met them without a qualm. George and Emery were at the window overlooking the green. Oliver was lying on the cracked leather chair, surrendering his stubble to Zee's straight blade. George looked at Emery. "You invite a guest?" 519 Deungby 7he Pagslow of "Not me. Musta been Ollie. They both looked back toward the chair. "Don't look at me," Oliver grunted, and gestured for Zee to resume his work. Chelsea took a minute to look around. The barber shop was clean and bright. It smelled of shave cream and coffee, a not unpleasant combination. "This is a nice meeting place. I can understand why you come here every morning."

"Fact is," George said, "we come here for privacy. Don't get much of that later in the day. We're busy men." Busy men indeed. She smiled. "Then I won't take much of your time. There's something I've been wanting to know, and since I don't seem to be getting answers on my own, I thought perhaps you gentlemen might be able to help me. You're the town fathers. If anyone knows, you should." "Knows what?" Emery asked. "Who my parents are. You'all know I was born here. I turned thirty-eight last Tuesday." George gave her a once-over. "Didn't think you were so old."

"Lord sakes," Emery muttered before saying to Chelsea, "So?"

"So thirty-eight years ago, someone in this town had a baby and gave it up for adoption. The town's not so big that word wouldn't get around. Someone knows something and isn't talking. As I figure it, when people are afraid to talk it means that someone Important is involved."

Emery shook out a handkerchief and took off his gla.s.ses. George slid his hands under his suspenders. Chelsea looked from one face to the next.

She 520 Idn't imagine that Emery was her father. Town eting moderator, postmaster, proprietor of the neral store-he was a pompous and shallow man. He was also the father of Matthew and Monti, a dou- black mark against him. She couldn't imagine George as her father, either. he was a businessman and not a bad one at at, but he had a mean streak. And he was a lecher. Of the three, Oliver was the least offensive, which *asn't saying much. He was ill-tempered and stub- .. He had a feel for granite, but none for busi- ,.ness. He was narrow-minded when it came to women, and unfeeling when it came to Donna, and , he'd done to Hunter was indefensible. Then n, he had sent Hunter to college. He had bought him a house. He had given him a comfortable salary and seen that his material needs were met. And if Ahe issue was half siblings, Chelsea would choose ."Hunter and Donna any day. "Okay," she said to the three, "let's try this. Hunter Love was born on the same day as me. Same day, same town, same year. From what I understand, his mother's pregnancy created a stir. Didn't my mother's?" Emery polished his gla.s.ses. George patted his stomach in time with an imaginary tune. Zee sc.r.a.ped the, stubble from Oliver's jaw. "If another woman was also pregnant, wouldn't people have noticed?" Chelsea prodded. "Eight hundred in population at that time, and no one noticed that two women were pregnant, out of wedlock, at the very same time?" The out-of-wedlock part had been a recent conclusion. If everything had been on the up and up and her parents had been married, 521 awbam Definsky The pa.s.sions of cbels" her birth wouldn't be such a closely guarded secret. Emery slipped his spectacles onto his nose. George rocked back on his heels. Oliver remained silent. "Two odd situations," Chelsea tried a final time, "one baby whisked away hours after a birth that no one, no one, can remember, the other kept hidden away for five years before anyone even knew it existed. People thought Katie Love was giving her baby up for adoption, but she tricked everyone. Was there baby swapping here? Why won't anyone talk about it?" Silence. Actually, she hadn't expected anything else.

Emery, Oliver, and George were a tight threesome, reinforcing each other through thick and thin. She hadn't been so naive as to think that confronting them personally would make a difference. She had intruded on their sacred morning ritual for the sole purpose of making a statement.

With care, she unfastened the front of her large parka. "Lord sakes, she's got the baby here," Emery called. - "Modern women," Oliver grunted from the barber's chair. Abby, who was strapped into a snug-fitting sling against Chelsea's front, slept on. Chelsea proceeded to unfasten the top two b.u.t.tons of her blouse. George's eyes widened. "What's she doin'?" Emery asked. "Don't know," George said, "but whatever it is is a far sight more interesting than what she was sayin' before." Chelsea removed the silver key, newly polished 522 and suspended from a chain as delicate as the frayed red ribbon had been. Holding the key prominently, she approached the men. "Has either of you ever seen this before?"

"Not me," Emery said. "Me neither," George said. She went to the barber's chair. "Oliver?" Oliver slitted open an annoyed eye. "What is it now?"

"Have you ever seen this key before?- "'Course I have. Nolan's been showing pictures of it round town for weeks."

"The key itself. Have you ever seen it before?"

"No," he said, and closed his eyes. "Zee?" she prompted. Zee, who was taking care with the straight blade on Oliver's throat, shook his head. She tucked the key back inside her blouse, b.u.t.toned the blouse, and had started to refasten her jacket when the wall clock clicked. As she watched, two cymbalists; emerged from tiny houses on either side, clapped their cymbals four times, and returned to their houses. "That's wonderful," she told Zee. "The children like to wind it," Zee said in a heavily accented voice. She approached the clock, which hung at eye level, and looked for a key. She felt Emery and George watching, guessed that Oliver was, too. When no key sat in clear sight, she ran her hand over the top, then the bottom, of the clock. She hit pay dirt when her fingers moved behind one of the cymbalists' houses. After removing the key from its hook, she held it in the palm of her hand. Its bow was a pair of cym- 523 Barbara Definsw bals clamped together, its blade as devoid of serrations as that of her own key. Her key was silver, this one bra.s.s, but there was no mistaking that both had been crafted, if not by the same artist, of the same school. Zee had seen her key before. Whether or not the other men had, he was taking his lead from them. Further questioning at this time was pointless. It was enough that he knew that she knew. With reverence, almost as though by winding Zee's clock she was putting her own key to use, she slipped the smooth blade into the hole on the side of the clock. She had to turn it before it fit in all the way, but then it was easy. She pushed the bow around once, twice, a third time. She removed the key, spent another minute in admiration of the craftsmans.h.i.+p that had made it, then carefully slipped it back onto its hook behind the cymbalist's house.

She went to the door. With her hand on the doork.n.o.b, she looked back.

"Next time I'll bring doughnuts. So long." Judd and Chelsea talked through the possibilities, but it was hard to concentrate for long on who Chelsea's parents might be when their time was filled to br.i.m.m.i.n.g with work, the baby, and each other. I It struck Judd that he was happier than he had ever been. The pain of Leo's death was fading, leav 11 ing memories of Leo in his prime, and filling the s.p.a.ce that Leo had taken for so many years were Chelsea and the baby. Judd adored the baby.

Having children had 524 The faawonx of cbeawa k.u.mmm always been a vague goal of his, but he hadn't antic.i.p.ated the actual pleasure of it. At first he attributed it to his having helped bring Abby into the world, but as the weeks pa.s.sed he changed his mind. Caring for a baby was hard work. If his devotion was related solely to one snowy night's adventure, it would have been long since exhausted, but the reverse was true. The bigger Abby grew, the more he enjoyed her. She was a beautiful child with delicate features and auburn fuzz that was fast turning to silk.

From the start she'd been a good sleeper. From the start she'd had a sweet temperament. Now she recognized him. She smiled when he came to her crib-not at all the ga.s.sy, Oliver-type smile that she sometimes gave, but a real, honest-to-goodness, sweet, gummy smile. He knew how to quiet her when she was upset, knew how to play with her and make her laugh. She was holding her head well and looking around at will. She looked at him second to ,, even when there were other people in sight. He loved that. It made him feel as though he belonged. Chelsea made him feel that way, too. She loved him. It was obvious in everything she did, and he loved her right back, more than he had ever loved another woman. A here-and-now sentiment, she had called it. Increasingly he wanted it to be more, but therein lay the dilemma. At the end of the year there would be changes. He didn't know where those changes would lead, whether he and Chelsea would be together or separate and whether, if the latter were true, their love could survive. The irony of it was that now that he was finally free to leave, he was enjoying his work at the granite company more than he ever had. What with the 525 Bartam Dehnsky business Chelsea brought in, there were constant challenges.

There were detailed contracts to negotiate, more materials to order, more manpower to balance, delivery schedules to set, and public relations to do. He was increasingly spending his time in the office, which suited him just fine, since Chelsea and Abby were directly overhead. Hunter was the one s.h.i.+fting from site to site now, overseeing things just as Judd always had. Hunter was also the one who drove Oliver around during the day. "You gotta be kidding," Hunter said when Judd first suggested it. "it makes sense. I'm in town. You're the one with Oliver when he wants to go places. For me to come all the way out and pick him up when you can do it in half the time is [email protected] "He won't want me."

"He won't have any choice." The alliance wasn't an easy one.

Stories came back to Judd about arguments the two men had, some so petty they were amusing. Judd figured that simply to keep from killing each other, they would eventually reach a truce. What he was hoping for was the development of a little mutual respect. Oliver knew his granite; Hunter knew his men. Each had something to offer the other, with a little bending. Unfortunately, bending didn't come easily toeither one.

Of the two, Hunter had the legitimate gripe. He was convinced that Oliver was his father and was bothered that the man wouldn't admit it.

Lately it bothered him even more, if the stories coming back from Crocker's were true. Once upon a time Judd would have been at 526 The Pa.s.sfimm of Cbelaw KMW Crocker's himself, listening to Hunter's slurred threats and accusations. Since he'd been with Chelsea, he rarely made it there more than once or twice a week, and then only to catch up with friends and keep tabs on his team. Crocker knew where to reach him, though, and reach him he did that night in mid-Aprfl. Judd had just brought the baby to Chelsea for the last feeding i of the night, the most quiet and intimate one, the one he liked best, when the phone rang.

Twenty minutes later he found himself sliding onto a booth across from Hunter. "I hear there was a little trouble." There had been more than a little, if the splintered gla.s.s being swept up by Crocker's broom meant anything. Hunter, who had been staring fixedly at the beer stein between his hands, raised nothing but his eyes. They were glazed. "Not my fault," he said, and lowered his eyes again. Judd gestured for a beer.

"Who's fault?"

"Flickett's." According to Crocker, Ned Flickett had gone home with a broken nose, Jasper Campbell with a cracked rib, Johnny Jones with a fat lip. Hunter had a bruise on his cheekbone, but no more.

"Sonofab.i.t.c.h," Hunter muttered. "Said I kiss up to th'old man." He snorted. "f.u.c.k him." Judd sat back in the booth. Ned Flickett must have had plenty to drink to say that. A sober man would know better. "Like I'd kiss up," Hunter went on in the same private muttering that always accompanied his binges. Once the underlying anger was released through fists or hurled furniture, he was a harmless drunk. "Don't need to kiss up. Job's my birth-r-r-right." 527 Rnbarn Deunsky Judd nodded his thanks when Crocker delivered his beer, and took an easy drink. "Not'at he'd ever say it. b.a.s.t.a.r.d keeps his ol' eye on me. Juss waitin' for me to trip up. Gotta be better'n anyone else at all the stink'n quarries combined." He brooded over that for a minute. "Gonna blow up the place someday. Gonna blow up all of 4em." Judd had heard that before. It was one of Hunter's favorite threats. "I could do it," Hunter muttered. "Got the stuff. Know jus' where to set it. What'd th'ole man say to that?

Huh?" One eye drifted shut, then came open again. "Prob'ly say the same thing he alw'ys does." His voice rose in a mocking rendition of the refrain that even Judd knew by heart. "You're no good, Hun'er Love. Got no brains at all. Don't know why I even bother'a keep y'around." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and leaned toward Judd.

"He keeps me around ' of my mom. Set "er up in a shack, gave her music, an' left ' '." Judd knew about Hunter's love of music. He knew where it had come from. As he watched, though, he felt a twinge of unease when he saw what looked liked tears. He'd seen many a man crying drunk, but never Hunter. "She lost '. Broke her heart, losin"er did."

Judd frowned. "Lost who?" Hunter sat back. "She'd cry ' it at night, an' when I was bad. Wanted to trade us, only it was-s-s too late." Judd was thinking about Chelsea's theory, the one about Katie making a deal with another woman in town to give that woman's child up for adoption so that Katie could keep her own. At the time Judd 528 The Pa.s.sions of Cbchmr A4=w had thought it was off the wall. Now he wondered. "Wanted to trade who?" he asked, but Hunter was in a world of his own. "Sh'used to cry ' it when I had a birthday. She'd remember her most then. Two.

Two. Alw'ys two candles. An' I'd have to blow'm out. I didn't want to. I hated '. But I did it, ' if I didn't I'd go in the hole." He raised his eyes to Judd. "I ever tell you ' the hole?" Judd felt a chill. "You told me." "Not'bout the "You told me."

"Wors'n a closet. Dark an' long an' nothin' but dirt. Musta hid hundreds a run'ways down there. I alw'ys thought there'd be bones, only I never found any." He made a sputtering sound. "Couldn't find any ' I couldn't see nothin' in the dark. Ve-r-rry dark. An'.Iong. Very, ver-r-ry long." He studied his beer. Judd knew he would take no more than another swallow or two before he nodded off. Then it would be up to Judd to get him home. Hunter looked at him. "You ever wanted a sister?" Judd shrugged. "Never thought about it much."

"She'd be a good sister."

"Who?"

"Chels-sea." Judd chuckled. The last thing he wanted Chelsea to be was his sister. Hunter wagged a finger. "Dirty thoughts. Shame on you."

"Yeah, well, it's that time of night."

"The baby looks jus' like her." Judd could see resemblances-the coloring, the 529 fair skin, the wide-set eyes-but more and more he saw Abby in Abby, no one else. At three months she was developing her own little personality. Even Chelsea, who had a thing with resemblances because she had grown up without, agreed. Hunter pointed to his chin. His finger landed twice, once on his cheek, once on his jaw, before it hit its mark. "Here. She looks jus' like her here."

"Her chin?" That was the last place Judd would have said. Hunter nodded. His eyes drifted shut, then opened again, but barely. Sounding groggy, he said, "I got pi'tures." Judd took a final swallow of his beer and set it aside. He pushed himself from the booth and reached for Hunter's arm. "I'll bet you do," he said. He tugged just enough to get Hunter moving and held on just enough to keep him walking. "You think I'm s-s-soused," Hunter said. "It's occurred to me."

"I'll show you pi'tures," he promised, but it was a promise destined to be broken, because by the time they reached his house, he was sleeping, and by the time he woke up in the morning, the events of the night before had been left behind in a blind beer blur. May arrived, and there was something in the air along with the scent of flowers on the green. Since nearly everyone in town was touched by Plum Granite, nearly everyone in town knew that in one more month the fate of the company would be decided. Nearly everyone knew about the contracts that had come in. Nearly everyone knew that another 530 The Pa.s.sions of CIMISCR JLWW ozen more men had been added to the payroll. The cutting and polis.h.i.+ng shed was operational round the clock now. Life was so busy at the quarries that the granite dust never quite seemed to settle. It was Chelsea versus the natives in what had evolved into a friendly rivalry, what with so many allegiances blurred. Judd was a native, yet he was living with Chelsea. Hunter was a native, yet he was a frequent guest at Boulderbrook. Wendell Hovey was a fan of Chelsea's, as were all his closest friends, and if it were put to a vote, though their husbands spent their days keeping production up with demand, the female half of Cutters Corner would have elected Chelsea selectman hands down. Chelsea didn't aspire to holding political office, but she was thoroughly enjoying being part of the Notch. When she drove down the street, people waved. Doors opened when she pa.s.sed. Friendly greetings were exchanged.

She tasted the charm of the Notch to its utmost and-totally aside from her feelings for Judd-couldn't begin to envision leaving town and never returning. She liked the land, the air, the people. She even liked the parochialism, which seemed more habit than anything else. The people of Norwich Notch were, on the whole, surprisingly modern. She was comfortable in their midst. This particular day was bright and sunny enough to lure Chelsea to the town green for a midmorning break. Abby was in the carriage, little arms and legs waving, eyes wide on the pa.s.sing scenery. Several other mothers were there with young children.

They made room for Chelsea on a bench in the sun. Had Cydra seen Chelsea basking there with a glowing smile and a sense of contentment, she 531 Owbam Dehnsky would have called it a sign that she had found her niche in life. Chelsea didn't go quite that far, but she was confident enough with what she'd found that she didn't think twice about taking one of those other mothers up on her offer to watch Abby when Margaret came hurrying down. Margaret was filling in for Fern, who was visiting her sister in West Virginia for the week. It seemed that Hunter had called, wanting Chelsea to join him at Huckins Ravine, a piece of land that Plum Granite was considering buying. Liz Willis, the woman who offered to watch Abby while Chelsea drove out, was the innkeeper's daughter-in4aw.

Chelsea had met her when she had first come to the Notch and stayed at the inn, but it wasn't until Abby had been born that the two had become friends. Liz had a toddler playing on the gra.s.s and claimed it would be a treat to watch a baby again. Since Abby had just nursed and would be falling asleep, Chelsea guessed that she could make the twenty-minute ride to and from the ravine with time to spare. She drove with the windows down and the radio tuned to soft rock. Judd liked soft rock. So did Abby, or so Chelsea imagined because she laughed when Chelsea held her hands and clapped. It didn't matter that the clapping wasn't in time with the music, or that when Chelsea sang along, she sang off key. For all Chelsea knew, Abby was as tone deaf as she was, but if so, it didn't spoil her delight any. Chelsea sang now. It was that kind of day. She was feeling on top of the world. She drove up the narrow, winding road to the head of the Ravine, where previous meetings had been held, but the place was deserted. She drove 532 The Paswons Of Chels" KOM back down and around the base road, thinking Hunter might be waiting for her at another spot, but she saw no sign of either the Kawasaki or a grayand-white Plum Granite truck. a.s.suming she'd misunderstood Margaret's message, she drove to Pequod, the nearest of the quarries to the ravine, and used the phone in the site office to call into town.