Chapter 3

 

Harvey glanced up from his computer screen, toward Eddie’s desk. Several times in the last hour his eyes had been drawn that way. Eddie had sat unmoving for a very long time. More than two weeks had passed since his rift with Leeanne. Harvey got up and walked across the room to stand beside his friend.

“You okay, Ed?”

Eddie nodded mechanically.

“I thought things would be settled before this,” Harvey said. “I’m really sorry.”

Eddie sighed and picked up a folder from his desktop. “I’m down to reports, Harv. I need a new case. Something very demanding.”

“You did a good job closing this one out. It’s up to the D.A. now.” Harvey glanced across the office. “Why don’t you see if Nate needs any help for the next few hours? I’m working on the schedule for that Labor Day weekend thing, but I’ll get you something new for tomorrow.”

“Will she call from Hawaii?” Eddie asked.

“I think so. Jenny read her the riot act about that. She has to let us know she’s okay.”

Eddie nodded.

“If it helps,” Harvey said quietly, “she was still wearing the ring when she got on the plane.”

“If she wants to wear the ring, why won’t she talk to me?”

“I don’t know, buddy. Jenny said she almost slapped her this morning.”

“I can relate to that.” Eddie stared at his screen saver.

Harvey started to turn away, but Eddie said suddenly, “How long?”

“Huh?”

“How long would you wait?”

“For Leeanne? Or for Jennifer?”

Eddie sighed and clicked his mouse. “She was so innocent and sweet a few months ago. Did I do this to her?”

“No, Eddie.”

“I just don’t get it. I mean, she is a Christian, right?”

Harvey winced. “Yes. I believe she is.”

“Then how can she—” Eddie broke off, shaking his head.

 

*****

“Jenn, you left me a message earlier?” Leeanne sounded very young and eager.

Jennifer sighed with relief. “Yes, honey, where’ve you been? It’s nearly midnight.”

“Not in Honolulu. It’s only six. Our last session just ended. Oh, Jenn, this week has been very rewarding. I’ve learned so much!”

“We’ve been praying for you.” Jennifer’s throat tightened.

“Thanks. I’ll be home Sunday. Are you meeting me?”

Jennifer hesitated. “Sure, unless there’s someone you’d rather see first thing when you step off the plane.”

“Like who?”

“Oh, Leeanne,” Jennifer wailed, “I don’t understand how you can do this to him! He loves you so much. Honey, tonight should have been your wedding rehearsal. Tomorrow is your wedding day. Do you have any idea how depressed Eddie is? Baby, come home! You are driving him insane.”

There was a silence.

“Leeanne?”

“Eddie and I talked about this,” she said stiffly. “We agreed to postpone the wedding.”

“No. No, I do not believe that. Eddie never agreed to anything. You made a decree, not a covenant.”

There was another pause, then Leeanne said, “Do you hate me?”

Jennifer swallowed hard. “No! Of course not. I love you so much it hurts. It hurts awfully, Leeanne! Call him. Please, honey, just call him.”

“A group of us are going out to dinner.”

Harvey came from the sunroom with Connor drowsing on his shoulder and stood watching Jennifer intently.

“Leeanne, honey, where is your heart?” Jennifer moaned.

Harvey lowered the baby carefully into his crib.

“Did you ever once in all this stop to consider how I feel?” Leeanne gasped. “You guys just assume I’m cruel and heartless. Did you ever think I might be hurting, too?”

“No, I guess not,” Jennifer admitted. “See, you’re the one who’s hopping around the globe enjoying herself. And Eddie—remember Eddie? He’s the good-looking detective who can barely keep from crying when anyone mentions your name. You told him last spring that nothing would stop you from becoming Madame Thibodeau on August twelfth, Leeanne. Those were your exact words. Well, tomorrow’s the twelfth, and no, I don’t hear the pain in your voice.”

 

*****

Connor was crying. Harvey sat at his computer in the study, checking his stocks, but the baby’s wail became louder, and he got up and went out to the sunroom.

“Jenny?”

He glanced out the patio door. Jennifer sat listlessly on the chair swing, staring off toward Jeff and Beth’s house. He went to the bedroom and took the baby from his crib.

“Hey, Connor. You’re awake. You want Daddy to change you?” He took him to the changing table for a fresh diaper, then carried him out to the swing.

“The little guy’s awake. He wants Mommy.”

Jennifer held out her arms. “We ought to do something for Eddie. He shouldn’t be alone today.”

Harvey sank onto the seat beside her and glanced at his watch. “Maybe I’ll walk down to his house.”

“I think that would be good. I worry about him.”

“We got any Pepsi?” Harvey asked.

“Check the utility room.”

 

*****

“Well, well, well. Harvey Larson on my doorstep with a six pack,” Eddie said ten minutes later.

Harvey grinned. “Just like old times.”

“Not quite. Come on in.” Eddie led the way to the compact kitchen. “Want a glass?”

“This stuff is warm. We need ice.” Harvey set the cluster of Pepsi bottles on the table.

“I suppose Jennifer sent you over.”

“Well, she mentioned it, but I felt like I needed to be here, anyway.”

Eddie dropped ice cubes into two glasses and handed one to Harvey. “I thought about leaving town today. My mother’s been on the phone, and Monique and even Leeanne’s mother.”

“I’m sorry, Eddie. I didn’t think she’d drag it out this long. I don’t understand it, and I feel sort of responsible.”

“How could it be your fault?”

Harvey shrugged. “She was staying with us for a while. I thought everything was good. She seemed sure about you and earnest about her spiritual life. I just can’t figure out what happened.”

“Russell waved a brilliant future under her nose.”

“Do you think that’s it? She’s tempted by fame and fortune?”

“The idea of having a name as a writer, being respected for her work. It’s very attractive to her.”

Harvey nodded. “Since she’s moved over to Jeff and Beth’s, we hardly see her. She comes to church and leaves right after. She hasn’t eaten two meals at our house in the last month.”

“It’s not your fault, Harv,” Eddie said dully. He poured Pepsi slowly into his glass.

Harvey sipped his drink. “At least we’ve learned to handle stress better than we used to.”

Eddie nodded, then looked sharply at Harvey. “You didn’t expect to come over here and find me passed out on the sofa, did you?”

“No, nothing like that. And I’m proud of you. We ought to call Jeff and Peter and see if they want to come over and shoot some hoops or something.”

“Is Jeff off today?”

“He got off for the wedding,” Harvey said apologetically.

“Oh, right.” Eddie took a deep swallow of Pepsi. “Sure, let’s do it. Give him a call.”

As Harvey hung up from his second call, he told Eddie, “Peter and Jeff will be at my house in twenty minutes.”

“Great. I’ll go change.”

He headed for the bedroom, and Harvey wandered slowly around the dining room and living room. The house looked a lot different since Mrs. Harder and her niece had moved out. Eddie wasn’t too sloppy, as bachelors went, but the place needed a feminine influence.

The doorbell chimed.

“Can you get that?” Eddie called.

Harvey went briskly into the entry and opened the door. Tony Winfield, Jimmy Cook, and Nate Miller stood on the steps. Jimmy was holding two square pizza boxes.

“Hey, Harvey,” Nate said. “Is Eddie okay?”

“Yeah, come on in, guys.” Harvey stepped aside, and they filed into the living room.

“Nice place,” Jimmy said, looking around.

“Eddie’s getting changed. We were going to play basketball. You guys feel like it?”

“Sure,” said Nate, “but we brought pizza.”

Tony grimaced. “We weren’t sure if Eddie would want to celebrate his narrow escape or hold a wake for his relationship, but we sort of felt like his groomsmen oughta be with him this afternoon.”

“Well, bring the pizza over to my house. My brothers-in-law are coming. We’ll have a good game.”

“I’ve got beer in the car, but Nate said Eddie wouldn’t want it, so I didn’t bring it in,” Tony confided.

“I told you, he’s on the wagon.” Nate’s exasperation showed.

“Who, me?” Eddie asked, emerging from the bedroom in cutoffs and a worn Montreal T-shirt. “Nate’s right.”

“Well, how was I to know you didn’t fall off it?” Tony asked. “You start getting tied up with women and you lose your equilibrium.”

“It’s okay, Eddie,” said Jimmy. “I don’t drink anymore, either. Shelly’s really happy about it, too.”

“Well, I’m just plain not getting married,” Tony said. “In fact, I’m not even getting engaged. As far as I can see, it’s not worth it.”

Eddie looked hard at Tony. “You’re wrong. It was worth it.”

“Hey, fellas,” Harvey said with a smile, “Leeanne and Eddie are still engaged. We’ll all get to wear the tuxedoes one of these days. Let’s move this party up the street. What do you say?”

 

*****

Jennifer went to where Harvey stood at the patio door, looking out over the back lawn in the moonlight.

“You’ve got to quit brooding, sweetheart.”

He turned to face her and pulled her close. “I’m just wondering if Eddie will sleep tonight.”

“Don’t call him,” she advised. “The guys gave him a good workout, and he’s probably tuckered out. If he is sleeping, you’ll wake him up, and then he’ll start thinking about it again.”

Harvey sighed. “I should have done more. Before she left, I mean. Can she really have changed that much?”

Jennifer slid her hands up to his neck. “She loves us, and she respects you, I know that. I don’t know why she won’t take your advice on this. If she really loves him—”

“Exactly. I’m thinking there’s a stronger influence. I almost thought she was coming around last week. It’s John Russell, I think. He has her mesmerized with a vision of her illustrious future.”

“Maybe.”

Harvey stroked her hair. “I encouraged her in this. I recommended her to John. Then I bought her the computer and set her up with a home office upstairs.”

Jennifer nodded. “I know, and we gave her room and board, and you fed her material for a couple of very impressive exclusives.”

“I shouldn’t have done it. She should have had to struggle more.”

“We tried to help her every way we could.”

“I don’t know. I wish I knew if she’s reading her Bible.”

Jennifer pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Harvey, listen to me. I have two things to say.”

He met her gaze, his blue eyes somber. “What is it, gorgeous?”

“Number one, this is not your fault.”

He shrugged a little. “I can’t help it.”

“I know. It’s your nature. You want to help everyone, and when you can’t, you blame yourself. Second—”

“What?”

She hesitated. No sense raking up the past, but his eyes were so full of sorrow. She pulled his head down and kissed his cheek, then whispered, “I will never leave you.”

He exhaled slowly. “I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“Weren’t you, just a little?”

“Maybe. But it’s been ages since I thought that way. I trust you implicitly, Jenny.”

She clung to him and rubbed his back gently, wishing she could take away all the pain for him and for Eddie. And for Leeanne. She must be hurting, too.

“She’s a sweet girl,” she choked.

“She’s always been the sweetest,” Harvey agreed.

“She hasn’t even asked to take the computer,” Jennifer noted.

“I thought maybe she felt guilty.”

“I hope so.”

He squeezed her. “Eddie wants to meet her at the airport tomorrow night.”

“Do you think that’s wise?”

“I don’t know.”

“Harvey, what if God doesn’t want them together? Are we wrong to try so hard to fix this?”

Confusion seemed to hit him. “They were so sure.”

“I know, but—remember Abraham? He tried to come up with his own plan, and it wasn’t God’s way. Maybe we should back off and pray harder, and see what happens.”

 

*****

Eddie caught his breath when he saw her. She was more beautiful than ever, more mature somehow, more sophisticated. She looked independent, walking across the tarmac pulling her carry-on. That was it. She was self-sufficient now.

Her eyes met his, and she checked for a moment, then came on toward him.

“Hi.” She stopped four feet from him. “I thought Jennifer was coming.”

“I asked her to let me.”

“You didn’t need to.”

“I wanted to.” He tried to see something, anything positive, in her eyes. “Look, can we talk?”

She hesitated. “Can you listen?”

“What do you mean?”

“Everybody wants to talk to me lately. Nobody wants to listen. You, Jennifer, Harvey, Jeff, Abby, my mother, even meek little Beth. Nobody wants to hear how Leeanne feels. Everyone just wants to dump on me about how bad you feel.”

Eddie took a deep, slow breath. “I would listen. I would do anything just to sit down with you for a few minutes.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Well, I guess you’re stuck with me for the ride home, anyway. I can’t see getting a cab.”

Eddie’s stomach lurched. She might do that, even now. “Please, Leeanne. Give me a chance here.”

She nodded. “I need to get my luggage.”

They stood in silence, waiting for the baggage carousel to begin moving. Other travelers hovered in a circle around it, chatting with relatives. Eddie couldn’t think of anything he wanted to say to her in public.

Leeanne didn’t look at him. He tried not to stare, but kept sneaking glances her way. She was tanned. It took real effort to tan in Maine, but a week in Hawaii had done the trick, even during a seminar. He didn’t recognize the outfit she was wearing, a moss green cotton skirt and a bright, flowered blouse. Maybe she had done some shopping in Honolulu. He ached to reach for her hand, but he was afraid she would pull away.

At last her suitcase came up, and he pulled it across to the parking garage. He unlocked the passenger door of his truck for her, then slung the bags into the back.

He sat with the key ring in his hand, not wanting to start the engine.

“Hey, cheri, it’s late, and I have jet lag,” she said softly.

He felt the tears spring into his eyes. He hated that. This was not the time to show weakness. “Talk to me,” he whispered. “I’m listening.”

She sat still for a moment, then turned sideways on the seat. “My feelings for you haven’t changed. But a lot of other things have. I’m sorry about that in a way, but in another way, I’m not. I’m excited about it.”

Eddie took a deep, slow breath. “I can’t make sense out of that. Last month you couldn’t wait to see me every day. Now you go out of your way to avoid me. How can you say you feel the same?”

“I do,” she insisted. “I didn’t intend to hurt you, Eddie. I just—need more time. I need to see where my career is headed, and when I know that—” She broke off as Eddie shifted in his seat. “I know, you can’t see why I need a career. I’m sorry, I just—do. That’s all.”

Eddie shook his head. “Would you do one thing for me?”

“What?” Leeanne cocked her head to one side.

She doesn’t know how enslaved I am to her, he thought. I would do anything, anything to have things back the way they were.

He pulled in a deep breath. “Go see Pastor Rowland with me.”

She frowned. “What for?”

“Are we still engaged, or aren’t we?” He tried to keep the edge out of his voice.

“Well—yes, aren’t we?”

“I hoped so.”

“Well, we are, then.”

“Good.” Eddie reached slowly toward her. She didn’t move when his fingers touched her hand. “Go to the counseling with me. We were supposed to start a month ago. Let’s start now. Please.”

Her hand stirred, and her fingers clasped his lightly. “All right. I guess we can do that.”

Eddie sighed. “Thank you. I’ll set it up.”

He sat looking at her, wondering if he dared to kiss her.

“We really ought to get going. I have to be up in six hours.” Leeanne opened her purse and shoved her baggage claims inside.

Eddie started the engine.

 

*****

What if she doesn’t show up?

Eddie glanced nervously across the desk. Pastor Rowland sat patiently, cleaning his glasses. Eddie stood and walked to the window.

Dear Lord, please make her come. He looked at his watch. She was only a minute late. Lord, let me restate that. Please make her want to come.

Leeanne’s car turned into the parking lot outside, and he was shocked by the intensity of his relief.

“She’s here,” he said softly.

“Great.” The pastor sounded jovial, as if everything was perfect now.

“I—I guess I’ll go meet her.” Eddie walked irresolutely toward the door, then quickened his steps down the hallway to the front door of the church.

“Hi! Am I late?” she asked. “Sorry.”

“I—no. No, it’s okay.” He wanted to say so much, but he couldn’t. He leaned forward and touched her shoulder lightly. She didn’t move away, and he bent down and brushed her cheek with the softest of kisses.

“Is the pastor waiting?” she asked.

“Yes, in his study.”

They walked down the carpeted hallway, and he realized his pulse was as fast as it was when he and Harvey finished their morning run.

They sat side by side, facing the pastor.

“Leeanne, glad you could be here.”

“Thank you,” she smiled.

“I understand you two have had a bit of a disagreement over your plans,” the pastor said tentatively.

Eddie looked down at his hands. He wanted to crack his knuckles or something, but she might find that annoying.

She spoke up. “Well, we still want to get married, Pastor. We’re just not sure when. I’ve had this new offer from the Press Herald, and I wanted to wait until I knew what they expect of me after I graduate in December.”

Mr. Rowland nodded. “Eddie?”

He looked up. “What?”

“The wedding was to have been last Saturday. How do you feel about the postponement?”

“I hate it.” Immediately he sensed that he’d said the wrong thing. Leeanne stiffened and stared at the bookshelves on the other side of the room.

“If it were up to you, what would happen now?” Pastor Rowland asked.

Eddie hesitated. “If you want the truth, if it were up to me, we’d be on our honeymoon now. I didn’t want to change the date. Leeanne knows that. I didn’t want her to go to Hawaii last week, and I didn’t want her to quit speaking to me for a month.”

He jumped up and paced to the window and back.

“Sorry, Pastor.” He sat down again, careful not to look at Leeanne.

Mr. Rowland cleared his throat. “Leeanne, it’s too late to adhere to the original schedule, but are you willing to talk about this, perhaps settle on a mutually agreeable alternative?”

“I—I’d need to talk to my boss before I make any decisions,” she faltered.

“You’re not marrying your editor,” Eddie snapped.

Leeanne winced, and he wished he’d kept his lips closed.

“Sorry,” he said humbly.

The pastor leaned back in his chair and studied them. “This isn’t the way premarital counseling usually starts,” he said at last. “To be frank, this reminds me more of a marriage counseling session. Are you two certain you want to be married?”

Leeanne turned her head slowly and looked at Eddie.

Say yes, he pleaded silently.

“We’ve always disagreed on my working,” she ventured. She turned toward the pastor. “Eddie didn’t want me to finish school.”

“I never said that. I just—well, I wasn’t sure you needed a degree. But you transferred down here, and I agreed you would finish up this fall. I promised your father you would finish after we got married. I know it’s important to your folks.”

“You’re so defensive.” A tear trickled down Leeanne’s cheek, and she swiped it away with the back of her hand. “You know you wanted me to quit school. And you hated it when they came to interview me after the Carleton Fuller case.”

Eddie shrugged helplessly. “Yes, I admit it, I hated sharing you with all of America. I want a wife of my own, not some public figure. I happen to think being a housewife is a big deal, not a dirty word. I don’t want to marry a woman who’s going to end up a news anchor in some New York studio and only comes home every other weekend.”

Leeanne’s hurt was plain on her face. “You know I don’t plan to go into broadcast journalism.”

“Well, now, let’s talk about the role of the wife,” Pastor Rowland said soothingly. “Leeanne, have you considered the biblical model?”

“I—I’m not sure what you mean.”

“What does the Bible say about the role of a wife?”

“Well, I guess—” She stopped and glanced at Eddie, then the pastor. “I would love him and—and try to make a nice home for him. And we’d want to have children eventually.”

The pastor nodded. “Let’s look at some Scripture together.” He reached for his Bible.

Leeanne shot Eddie a glance. “It’s just that I have new possibilities in my life now. Things I never dreamed I’d be able to do.”

“Have you asked the Lord to show you His will as far as your work goes?” the pastor asked.

“Well, yes, when I first started my internship—”

“What about now? Today?”

She looked away.

Eddie felt impatience surging up in him. “I still can’t believe you went to Hawaii the week of our wedding.”

She stared at him. “We settled that.”

“No, we did not.”

Pastor Rowland said smoothly, “Perhaps we can—”

“We did,” Leeanne insisted.

“No, you told me you were going, just like that, and when I tried to talk you out of it, you wouldn’t speak to me.” Things weren’t going the way they were supposed to. Eddie’s feelings bubbled out of control. He wanted to be sure the pastor understood how deeply she had hurt him.

Leeanne blinked, and he caught the gleam on moisture on her lashes. “Eddie, you have to understand how huge that seminar was. If I told my boss no, I would never, ever have another opportunity like that. It’s like—well, imagine they suddenly called you and offered to make you head of the Secret Service for the President.”

“I wouldn’t go.”

Leeanne frowned. “Maybe that wasn’t the best analogy. It’s like this: I’ve always dreamed of being a writer, but I never really thought I could do it. Now I’m finding out I can, and I’m good at it. People who know these things are telling me I have talent. I—I can’t just walk away from that.”

“So, this is a lifelong career you’re looking at, not just a summer internship.”

“That’s not fair. I don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life, but so what if I want to work? It’s not a sin for women to work, is it?” Leeanne turned toward the pastor.

“There are situations where women have to work,” Rowland said carefully. “There are also women who choose to work, although it’s not necessary.”

“But it’s not a sin, is it?”

The pastor spread his hands. “Well, Leeanne, if we can just take time to go through this together, I think you’ll find that, when it comes right down to it, the wife should ultimately do what her husband feels is best, whether it’s her first choice or not.”

Leeanne stared at him, her mouth open slightly.

Eddie hardly dared to breathe. He’d felt that way, but he hadn’t been certain God was on his side of the argument.

Leeanne raised her chin a fraction of an inch. “But Eddie’s not my husband.”

He stood up quickly. She was playing the trump card, after all, and he couldn’t sit still and hear her reason her way out of the engagement.

“I’m sorry, Pastor, I can’t do this anymore.” He looked fleetingly at Leeanne, then looked away. “You can keep the ring.” He turned on his heel and walked out.