Gemma was acutely aware of Colin next to her, and when she had to pass a bowl to him, she avoided his eyes.
“How can I apologize and redeem my name?” he asked while Ramsey was telling a story about a fight at his law firm.
“I told him that if he sued and Don sued him back, then he sued again, that the only person who was going to win would be me,” Ramsey said.
“And that scary thought made them settle out of court,” Tess said, and they all laughed.
“There’s no need to apologize,” Gemma said to Colin under the cover of the laughter. “I just think it’s better if we don’t see each other.”
“We’re not seeing one another. We’re—” He stopped when everyone grew silent. “Sorry, what was that?”
“We all want to know about the Heartwishes Stone. Have you found out any more about it?” Sara asked Gemma.
“No, nothing new.” She told them of Tamsen’s letter. “She said she’d written down the story and put it somewhere ‘safe’ but I don’t know where that could be.”
“With her lawyer?” Ramsey said, and everyone groaned. “No, I’m not kidding. There’s always been a law firm in Edilean, so maybe she left something with them. There’s a warehouse full of old documents. I don’t think anyone knows what’s in there.”
“How do I—?” Gemma began, but Tess cut her off.
“You don’t. I’ll put one of the girls in the office on it and see what we can find.” She looked at Colin. “Have you had any wishes that have come true?”
“I could make one now,” he said in such a pathetic way that everyone had to stifle laughter.
“Okay, Gemma,” Ramsey said, “you have to tell us what Colin did to make you so angry at him.”
Gemma felt the blood rush to her face. “I, uh . . . I . . .”
“Let up on her,” Luke said. “She’s new here and she’s not used to being asked to tell everything about her life.”
“It’s something I will never get used to,” Mike said with such feeling that the others laughed.
“Speaking of which,” Gemma said loudly, “I’d love to hear the inside view of finding the paintings and I want to see the secret room.” As she’d hoped, everyone started at once, and within seconds they were retelling a long, complicated story that made no sense to her. There was something about a woman named Mitzi who was convicted of murder.
“Good save,” Colin said under his breath to her. “Do you think you could spare me five minutes to talk about whatever I’ve done to you? I certainly didn’t mean to be naked in your house.”
Everyone had stopped talking and heard the last sentence.
Colin didn’t even try to explain as he stood up. “Anyone want another beer?” He left the room to get more beer but came back with a baby in each arm. “They were getting bored.”
“Colin, I do believe you’re ready to be a father,” Sara said. “Decided on the mother yet?”
Colin shook his head. “Today is not my day for women. Any of you men know the cause when a woman gets mad at you?”
“No idea,” Mike said.
“None,” Ramsey said.
“I just apologize and take the blame,” Luke said.
“You poor things,” Joce said. “Why don’t you underappreciated dears go outside and enjoy yourselves while we controlling woman clean up?”
“Sounds good to me,” Ramsey said as he took a baby from Colin. Two minutes later all four men and the two babies were outside.
Gemma knew what was coming: an interrogation. She held her breath as she waited for the women to pounce on her with questions. They’d want to know what lovable, saintly Colin could possibly have done to make anyone angry.
But to Gemma’s relief, the three women said nothing to her. Even Tess was quiet. They quickly started clearing the table in that way that showed they’d known each other a long time. Gemma took two bowls into the kitchen and Sara handed her a roll of plastic wrap. Gemma covered containers and Joce put them in the refrigerator.
“What would you wish for?” Sara asked Gemma as she put dirty plates in the dishwasher.
“You mean from the Heartwishes Stone?” The truth was that after hearing Tris’s story she was almost afraid to say, but then she reminded herself that she wasn’t a Frazier. “I guess it would be to get a good job at a great university. It feels like I’ve spent most of my life working toward that.”
“Sara is disappointed that you aren’t wishing for True Love. She’s a serious romantic,” Tess said.
“Did Mike court you with kickboxing?” Gemma asked Sara.
The three women looked at one another as though there was some great secret in Sara and Mike’s courtship.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” Gemma said.
“Don’t mind them,” Sara said. “They’re just laughing at me. You guys ready to join the men?”
“Sure,” Tess said. “Even being able to smell the beer cheers me up.” She was rubbing her big stomach. “Gemma, you have any more boyfriends besides Tris and Colin?”
“You have a lover outside your husband?” Gemma shot back.
All the women laughed.
“She was the same way with me when we first met,” Joce whispered as they went out the door. “She’ll quit after a while.”
“Actually, I’m beginning to like it,” Gemma said.
Colin was waiting for her outside the door, and as soon as they were alone, he said, “If you’d just tell me what I’ve done, maybe we could fix the problem.”
Gemma didn’t want to look in his eyes for fear that he’d see everything. “I told you that I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my job. I think it’s better if you and I stay apart.”
“Because of Jean,” he said. “If you want to know the truth about her and me, why didn’t you ask me?”
“Would you have answered me?” she asked.
He hesitated, as though considering his answer. “Yes. I believe I would have.” For a moment, he stared at her, seeming not to know what else to say.
Gemma walked away to join the group sitting in the shade and took a chair near Mike. They stayed outside for an hour, sitting on big chairs and talking amicably. Gemma didn’t drink for fear that she’d get too relaxed and blab about what happened between her and Colin. The babies were on a blanket and everyone took turns playing with them.
Gemma was quiet as she listened to them talk about people they’d known for years, had even grown up with. She liked what they were talking about. Luke wanted Mike to help him with a plot idea for a book. Sara was talking to Joce about one of the old buildings around them, while Tess and Rams—as he was called—talked with Colin about the man Tris had mentioned, Mr. Lang.
They know each other so well, Gemma thought. The group knew each other so thoroughly that they easily slid from one topic to another. This is it, she thought. This is what I’d like to have, to belong to. I’d like to be part of this easy camaraderie where I know people and we care about each other.
To Gemma, the only downside to the day was Colin. Whenever he spoke, she looked away.
“Gemma,” Sara said, “we’re leaving you out.”
“No, it’s nice. I spend so much time alone that it’s great to hear other people talk.”
Mike got up. “Gemma, could I see you inside for a moment?”
Gemma wanted to run around the house to the road and keep going. Was her ignoring of Colin going to get her a “talking to”? She followed Mike into the house and shut the door behind her. “Look, I’m sorry about Colin, but—”
“You thought I invited you in here about him?” Mike asked as he opened the lid of an old wooden trunk. “Colin can handle his own problems. Besides, I’m sure he deserves whatever you dish out to him.” He pulled out a pair of boxing gloves. “I thought you might like to do something familiar.”
“I would,” she said, but glanced down at her jeans and flowered shirt. It would be difficult to move in them.
“I thought about that, so
we got you a welcome gift.” Mike handed her a paper bag. “Sara guessed at your size.”
Inside the bag was a new workout outfit of shorts and T-shirt, even a sports bra, and in the bottom was a pair of soft shoes, the kind worn in a boxing ring.
“I can’t accept these,” Gemma began. “It’s too much.”
“It’s nothing. I hear you think you can take me.”
Gemma grinned. “Luke has a big mouth.”
“Go on, get dressed.”
She hurried to a powder room off the kitchen and put on the skimpy gym clothes. She wasn’t used to working out dressed in so little, but she reminded herself that today she wasn’t around a bunch of boys with rampant hormones and little impulse control.
When she was ready, she went through the house in search of Mike and saw him outside. He had on a pair of hand pads, and Luke was taking some half-hearted, bare-knuckle punches at them.
She started toward the door when she saw a flash of something in the sunlight. It was a bracelet and it was on Jean’s arm. It looked like she had arrived, and she’d taken a chair close to Colin. If possible, Jean was better-looking than Gemma remembered. Not as beautiful as Tess, but then Jean was older. That thought startled her. She’d not realized it before, but Jean was older than Colin by at least six or seven years. If she’d had anything done to her face, it might be more.
Jean was laughing about something Rams was saying, and she reached out to pat Colin on the thigh. “Bet she wishes he were Tris,” Gemma mumbled, then felt a surge of guilt run through her. Jean was the innocent party in all this. Gemma opened the door and went outside.
She was glad that the sight of her in the skimpy clothes brought the conversation to a halt. Her years of sweating were worth it if for just this moment! She kept her eyes on Mike and walked toward him.
When Mike lowered his pads, Luke stopped hitting and turned to look Gemma up and down. “If this is what boxing does to a body, sign me up for lessons.” He took a breath. “I mean—” He turned to his wife. “I meant—”
“We all know what you meant,” Joce said as her husband took the seat next to her. “Come on, Gemma, let’s see you knock Mike out.”
“I have five on my brother,” Tess said.
“I put fifty on Gemma,” Luke said.
Mike smiled at Gemma as he helped her on with the big gloves. Instantly, they were trainer and student, and that special bond of trust mixed with teaching flowed between them. A trainer might have no sympathy when a boxer complains about a hard hit, but if he’s knocked out, it’s the trainer who’s the first on the scene.
“Just show me some punches,” Mike said softly. “I want to see your form. You kick?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I brought the side pad.” He leaned his head near hers. “Show Colin what he’s missing—and what he doesn’t remember.”
Startled, she looked at him.
“I’m a detective. I figured it out.”
“Do they all know?”
Mike was lacing her glove about her wrist. “I doubt it. No one’s said anything to me. Ready?”
At her nod, Mike picked up the heavy pads and slipped his hands inside.
“Two left jabs, right cross, left hook, dip, right, left, dip, repeat. Got it?”
She nodded again, and slowly, she punched at Mike’s gloves. Correct form had been drilled into her. What most people didn’t know was that the lower half of a woman’s body could be as strong as a man’s upper body. The average woman would never be able to beat a fit man on arm strength alone, but the trick was to throw the muscle of her lower body into her arm punches. It had taken months of repetition for Gemma to learn how to do this. Like a marionette on a string, when her arm shot out, her hip and leg went with it. If she made a punch correctly, she felt it in her glutes—where so many women held so much muscle.
“Good girl,” Mike said when she’d finished the slow round, and she knew he was complimenting her on her technique.
“Squash the bug,” she said, referring to the way a fighter twisted on his toes to put power behind his fist.
Mike stepped back from her. “So I hear you think you’re faster than me,” he said loudly.
She’d already seen enough to know that she wasn’t, but it would be good to pretend she thought she was. “I sure am, old man,” she said just as loudly.
Mike winked at her and put his hands up again. “Luke! Time us. Three minutes.”
Gemma knew that three minutes of flat-out, no-holds-barred punching was hard. She hadn’t worked out for weeks, but she was determined to do it.
Mike raised the pads, Luke yelled, “Go!” and there followed three minutes of a lightning fast drill. Gemma kept her eyes on Mike’s face, keeping his hands in her peripheral vision. He’d decided that her technique was good enough that she could also take some random punches. He didn’t tell her when he’d be coming at her head and she needed to duck to miss him. Sometimes he lifted a left hand pad, sometimes a right—and sometimes his hand shot out, aimed directly for her face. She had to drop straight down, then come up with a left uppercut. If she leaned forward, which was bad technique, he reminded her by clipping her on the chin with his mitt.
When Luke called time, sweat was running off Gemma’s face. She made a swipe at it with her glove, but it didn’t help.
Mike picked up the big leather pad that was leaning against the tree and said, “Colin?”
For the first time, Gemma looked at the others. They were all still seated and watching her with varied expressions on their faces. Sara looked as though she was worried Gemma would be hurt; Joce was frowning; and Tess was smiling in approval. As for Jean, she seemed to have no expression at all.
All the men were grinning—except for Colin. He walked toward them and buckled the big pad over Mike’s ribs.
“She hurt her side,” Colin said. “I’m not sure this is good for her.”
“I think it’s exactly what she needs,” Mike said.
Colin looked at Gemma. “If you don’t want to do this—”
“You think I can’t?” she said belligerently. “But then, even you said that I’m ‘smart and brave.’”
Colin looked puzzled for a moment, then his face showed that he remembered. “Holy crap!” he said under his breath. “It wasn’t a dream. It was you.”
“You want to get back?” Mike said.
“Gemma,” Colin said. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
Mike stepped between them. His hands wore the pads and his ribs were protected from her kicks. “Three minutes,” he said to Luke. Gemma gave more punches to Mike’s raised hands and when he turned to the left, she slammed her right shin into his side. The resounding smack echoed off the trees and made everyone gasp.
Colin had stepped back, closer to the tree, but he was directly behind Mike and she couldn’t help but see him.
When Rams yelled, “Come on, Gemma, show him up,” her kicks increased in speed and force. She knew Rams was referring to Mike, but in Gemma’s mind she was hitting Colin. How dare he forget her? Like she didn’t exist! But then he was a Frazier and rich, while she was—
Her punches were frantic, getting harder and harder. When Luke called time, she didn’t hear but kept kicking and hitting.
She stopped when Mike threw his arms around her and pinned hers to her side.
“That’s enough,” he said into her ear in that special voice that trainers use. It was half dictator, half guardian angel.
She buried her face in his sweaty neck so no one could see her. “Did I make a fool of myself?”
“Far from it. Even my sister is looking at you in awe, and Sara wants to adopt you.”
“Yeah?” Gemma asked as she pulled away from him.
The audience started clapping in appreciation of the show, and they came forward.
“You were great,” Joce said.
Tess said, “Mike tried to teach me to do that but I wasn’t any good at it.”
“See you in the
gym next week?” Luke asked Gemma, then he elbowed Rams. “Maybe if you show up, Gemma will go a few rounds with you.”
“No thanks,” Rams said and there was such sincerity in his voice that everyone laughed.
Gemma enjoyed the accolades, but when she looked past them, she saw Jean still seated and watching all of them. When Jean stood up, she looked like she wasn’t sure what to say or do. As for Colin, he was still standing by the tree.
Sara pulled a clean towel from Mike’s bag of equipment and handed it to Gemma. “Who wants some watermelon?” Sara asked. “Luke, will you help me with it?”
In the next minute everyone had left, leaving Gemma standing alone with Colin. She still had on her gloves and she couldn’t get them off by herself. She looked for Mike, but he was talking to Sara.
Colin took Gemma’s hand and began untying the laces. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “Really, really sorry. If you want to bring charges against me, I’ll understand.”
“Charges? What for?” A lot of her anger was gone, worked out in sweat and exertion.
“Rape,” he said, his face serious. “If I pulled you to me, you wouldn’t have been able to get away. Even if I was asleep and dreaming, that’s no excuse. Legally, it’s still rape.”
Gemma shook her head. “It wasn’t forced. If it was, I was the one who did the . . . You know.”
“Yeah?” he asked, his eyebrows raised. “If you . . . ? Then why are you angry at me?”
“Because you forgot!”
Colin looked like he wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. “Only partially. My dreams have been haunted by you. Maybe we could—”
“Colin,” Jean said as she walked close to him and slid her arm through his. “I think you should let Gemma clean up now, don’t you?” She looked at Gemma. “You were really impressive and you look great in those shorts. Doesn’t she, Colin?”
“Yes, she does.” He looked like he was trying to remember seeing her out of them. “Jean,” he said, “I need to talk to Gemma. In private.”
“Of course,” she said as she backed away. “How about if I meet you at your apartment later?”
“Fine,” he said. As Jean left to go to her car, Colin kept his eyes on Gemma. When they were alone, he said, “I’d like to talk with you.”