This had better be good, Roxie said, standing over Bea with her arms crossed over her chest.
Bea pursed her lips. You wont be disappointed. Sit down, both of you.
Ginger rearranged several stacks of newspapers on Beas desk and made a spot for her latte. Roxie grabbed a chair from one of the sportswriters desks but had to brush off what looked like tortilla chip dust before she took a seat.
We could get in serious trouble for doing private research at the paper, Ginger said, lowering her voice even though the sports department was empty save for the three of them. You know theyre looking for even the tiniest reason to dump us all.
Whats your point? Bea asked.
My point is I hope this doesnt take too long because I have to be somewhere at ten.
Roxie and Bea waited for her to elaborate.
Its nothing. Just a consultation, Ginger said.
Roxies mouth fell open. /Another/ one?
Ginger replied calmly, Lets see how principled you are when its /you/ going through early menopause.
Youre not going through menopause, Bea said, shaking her head and clicking away at the keyboard of her desktop. How many hundreds of people have to tell you that before you believe it?
Ginger made a noise in the back of her throat that conveyed how insulting she found that remark.
Well, its true, Bea said, looking over the tops of the eyeglasses she wore at the computer. Weve gone over this before.
At least a dozen times, Roxie said.
Bea removed her glasses and let them dangle from a chain around her neck. None of your doctorsnot your family physician or your gynecologist or your psychiatrist Psych/ologist,/ Ginger said. Theres a distinct difference.
Okay then, Bea said. Your /shrink/none of these people think youre going through menopause, early or otherwise. You told us they said you have none of the physical symptoms that come with the change of life and that youre a woman in her prime.
I know what their tests show, Ginger said. But its my body and after two kids and seventeen years of marriage, I think I /know/ my body.
Bea shook her head. Fine. This wont take but a minute, Granny Garrison.
She perched the glasses on the bridge of her nose again and went to town on the keyboard. She angled the computer monitor so everyone could see.
Roxie started reading out loud.?Richard Luis Rousseau, D.O.B. October 24, 1973, Newport, Rhode Island. Her eyes scanned down. Graduated from a prep school in Connecticut, business degree from Yale. Whats CPSI of Berkeley, California?
Bea was happy to answer. According to the secretary of states office, CPSI is Celestial Pet Superstores, Incorporated, and Richard Rousseau is listed as the principal.
This guy owns the Celestial Pet stores? Roxie looked impressed. Well, that would explain why he had a driver, I guess.
Isnt that where Josie won the grooming contest? Ginger asked.
Bea nodded.
So /thats/ how they met. Ginger squinted and nodded slowly, piecing it all together.
Yeah, thats Romeo, all right, Roxie said, pointing to the Yale senior portrait displayed on the computer screen. Hes improved with age.
Bea turned the monitor back toward herself. Ill go over the highlightsor lowlightsof our mans biography. Bea cleared her throat. This guy has a couple drug arrests under his belt, including a six-week stay in a Milwaukee jail, and a big ole juicy attempted vehicular homicide charge from 2002.
Jesus! Roxie said. Did it go to trial for homicide? Did he cop a plea?
Bea shook her head. Nocharges were dropped. Just like the drug charges he faced as a nineteen-year-old and then again in Thailand about eight years later. His daddy owned a huge import/export company, made tons of money, and had friends in high and low places. So little Ricky got to forgo the whole pesky justice-system thing.
Gingers eyes went wide. His dad was in the Mafia?
Bea looked over the tops of her spectacles. You watch too much HBO, she said. But, Bea went on, heres the most awful part. In the vehicular homicide incident, this Rousseau guy apparently got wasted at a party and took a girl on a motorcycle ride. They crashed, and the girl went into a coma and she stayed there for seven years!
Ginger brought a hand to her mouth.
She died just a few weeks ago, Bea added. The newspaper coverage was pretty scant, but the girls fathera guy named Bennett Cummingsripped Rousseau a new one right on the front page of the /New York Times/. Take a look.
She turned the monitor so they could read the headline:
RHODE ISLAND MOTORCYCLE TRAGEDY LINKS TWO NEWPORT DYNASTIES
Its a pretty wild storyseems the Rousseaus and the Cummingses were yacht-club types and had known each other forever. The accident basically ruined everyones lives. Rousseau was in the hospital for months. His father died of a stroke while Rick was in rehab. The girl withered away to nothing in a nursing home.
Ginger blinked back tears. God, thats just awful.
Roxie jolted straight up in her chair. And this is the guy whos dating our Josie?
Bea pulled her mouth tight, as if she were going to cry as well. Thats him.
Weve got to warn her! Ginger stood up. This is terrible! This guys worse than that pothead, whats-his-name!
Wayne? Roxie offered.
Ginger shook her head.
Billy? Randy? Spike?
Thats him, she said. So what do we do now?
Bea leaned back in her office chair. Do you guys know where Josie is this weekend?
Roxie and Ginger looked to each other and shook their heads. Ginger sat back down, deflated.
God, I feel awful, Roxie said, dropping her head. Ive been so caught up in my own drama that I havent even called her. Maybe shes at her parents?
Bea shook her head. I called them.
Ginger was aghast. You did?
Bea nodded. Then I called her sister, Beth, and after delivering her version of /Can This Marriage Be Saved?/ she finally got around to telling me she had no idea where Josie was.
I would just die if anything happened to her, Roxie said. Did you try her cell?
Bea rolled her eyes. Of course I did. Shes not picking up.
The three women sat in silence for a moment.
You know, I think I really need to say something at this juncture. Roxie looked at her friends. This Rick Rousseau dude was a lowlife, I got that. But that was seven years ago. Maybe hes changed. Maybe he really regrets what happened and has straightened up. He seemed like a very nice guy the other night in front of her apartment.
Ginger nodded. Hes a corporate CEO now, after all.
Bea winced. News flashlowlife and corporate CEO are not mutually exclusive occupations.
Well, sure, Ginger acknowledged. But nobodys said what were supposed to do with all this information. Do we act on it? Do we warn Josie? Do we wait and see what happens? What?
I think it all boils down to how we see Josie, Roxie offered. If we think shes going into this relationship fully informed and with a level headand that shes capable of taking care of herselfthen we should back off and let her handle it.
They all stared at each other.
Theres always the back-door approach, Bea said, a sparkle in her eye.
Ginger shook her head. Ive got a real bad feeling about this.
I havent said anything yet! Bea protested.
Yeah, but youre going to, and I dont think Im going to like it.
Just hear me out, Ginger. You too, Roxie. Bea leaned forward in her chair and rested her elbows on her knees. She looked like a womans basketball coach dispensing orders in a sideline huddle.
Lets say we bypass Josie and go right to the source of the problemRick Rousseau himself. Lets say we approach himin a nonconfrontational way, of courseand tell him were on to him, that we know who he is and what hes done.
Roxie frowned. Id hate to see what you consider nonconfrontational, Bea.
Maybe we could all go for drinks? Or even dinner? Ginger sounded markedly more enthusiastic.
Oh, right, Roxie said, laughing. We just introduce ourselves as Josies psychotically nosy coworkers and tell him we want to interrogate him to see if hes worthy of our friend. Now thats an offer any man would jump at!
Bea looked up from her crouch, smiling. This is a first, ladies! I do believe were all on the same page.
For a woman whod had precious little sleep the night before, Josie was damn near perky all day Saturday. It was probably the newness of everythingthe staggering beauty of the ranch, the way Rick looked at her and touched her, Rosas food. Honestly, the womans homemade cinnamon rolls made Josie see the face of God, and her chicken enchiladas with mole were nearly as sensual as Ricks bedtime story. Josie decided that before she left on Sunday evening, shed ask Rosa if she had a recipe for eggplant Parmesan.
She and Rick spent the entire day walking and talking their way through the ranch, taking breaks only for lunch and an afternoon snack of lemonade and Rosas fresh-baked oatmeal raisin cookies. Within the first five minutes of her tour, Josie knew the word ranch didnt do justice to the place. The word conjured up images of the old TV show /Dallas/a flat, brown, fenced-in world with big, bleached horns of Texas Longhorns mounted over the fireplace. Ricks place was the Garden of Eden in comparison.
He showed her everything. The tour of the main house began right after breakfast, sixteen rooms on two floors that managed to combine history with modern comfort. All of the guest rooms featured antiques, though none were as spectacular as those in Ricks suite. He told Josie whythose furnishings once belonged to Madame Toulouse herself.
We have a lot to live up to in that bed, Rick said, with a laugh.
The great room on the first floor featured several worn leather couches grouped around a huge stone fireplace. The walls were decorated with bits of the ranchs historyframed pages from Madames diary of household purchases, early sepia-hued photographs of men with handlebar mustaches standing with their horses and carts in front of the house. There were also dozens of oil paintings from Sonomas most respected painters. Josie was particularly intrigued by a painting of two lovers, sneaking a kiss in a vineyard at dusk. Something about the tenderness in the mans embrace made her sigh.
Romantic, huh? Rick stood at Josies side as she studied the painting.
Its one of my favorites.
Josie slowly turned her head to look at Rick. She might as well admit itshe was in love with him. At that moment, he was focused only on her, as if she were all that mattered. She loved that. She wanted more of that.
Its not just the paintingthis whole place screams romance, she said. You should rent it out for weddings.
That suggestion seemed to please Rick. A huge smile spread over his face. You aint seen nothing yet, he said, grabbing her by the hand and taking her outside.
He walked her around the first-floor veranda, where wicker tables, chairs, and rockers were grouped under huge ceiling fans. Ropes of wisteria twisted and tangled their way through the wrought-iron railing.
When Rick took her arm and guided her down the front steps and onto the lawn, Josie was awestruck at the vision. The thick green carpet sloped hundreds of feet in front of the house and ended at a stone wall that divided lawn from vineyard. Beyond the wall was a line of live oaks, and beyond that was nothing but pure Sonoma Valley vistascraggy mountains and green vineyards as far as the eye could see. Samhain Ranch was more than a retreat, it was a world unto itself.
The dogs stayed close, running and wrestling and sniffing. I think Genghis is going to turn up his nose at Dolores Park after being here for a weekend, Josie said.
He can come as often as he likes. Rick looked down at her, smiling.
Those were the same green eyes that had mesmerized Josie from the moment she saw him. But today his eyes seemed deeper, darker. Maybe it was because she knew him now, she knew who he was.
Rick gave her a tour of gardens overflowing with herbs, tomatoes, raspberries, and figs, plus a variety of trees, including apple, lime, and lemon. He showed her the delphiniums, and the hollyhocks, roses, ferns, snapdragons, geraniums, and dozens of plants with names Josie couldnt remember five seconds after Rick told her. He took her hand and pulled her up to stand on the stone wall, then pointed out over the rolling hills of grapes. He explained to Josie how the vineyards were laid out and how each area would yield grapes destined for a particular type of wine. He took her through the olive grove and said she could take home cases of their olive oil if she wanted. He took her on a tour of the pool and pool house, plus the tennis and basketball courts, where they found Teeny shooting hoops and listening to his iPod.
Beautiful morning, Teeny said, removing his earbuds. He stood in place and bounced the basketball, catching his breath. Josie caught the way Teenys eyes flashed with a question when he scanned Ricks face.
The most beautiful in recent memory, Rick said to his friend. Want to take a stroll with us?
Nah, you two dont need me tagging along. Teeny smiled at Josie. So you like the place?
Yes, Josie said simply, knowing superlatives werent needed. I sure do.
Next, they hiked up to the staff housing at the far north edge of the ranch, a line of about a dozen small houses with tiny well-kept yards.
It was where Rosa and her husband and children and their children lived.
It looked like a miniature subdivision, Josie thought.
Rick showed her the charming three-bedroom guest cottage and the newer barna huge structure divided into a section for cars and farm vehicles and a section that had become Ricks custom-made gym. Rick offered to take her through a workout, but with one glance at the free weights, she asked for a rain check.
Next he took her to the horse barn, where she met Tom, the only cat on the ranch who liked people. He rubbed up against her ankle and purred, undeterred even when Genghis sniffed and poked at him with his paw. Then they went out to the pasture to meet the horsesa paint, two Appaloosas, and three quarter horses. Rick saddled up a couple of the mild-mannered geldings and they took an hour-long trail ride, Chen and Tara tagging along happily. Genghis kept his distance from the intimidating beasts.
When evening rolled around, they returned to the suite and took a shower together, kissing and soaping and laughing. Rosa served them dinner on the verandascallops with angel-hair pasta, a baby greens salad with walnuts, and then pears and cheese as dessert.
While Josie sat there in the spacious, comfortable rocker and sipped her tea, it occurred to her that the entire daythrough every glorious moment of that remarkable dayMrs. Needlemans words had echoed through her head: /… you must be brave enough to embrace what youve asked for./ Josie had asked for a lot when she wrote that list, and here he was, sitting next to her in the last golden light of the day. He was a survivor, a seeker, a lover a man whod been through hell and back and decided there had to be a better way.
No wonder Mrs. Needleman had sensed he was in dangerRick had barely made it out of his twenties alive! And Glorias prediction that Rick would need Josies forgiveness? The old lady had been dead-on there, too.
Josie reached over and took Ricks hand. He smiled at her. It was bizarre to think that shed only known him for a couple weeks, because it felt like theyd been in each others company forever.
Did you name this place, or has it always been called Samhain Ranch?
Rick tilted his head. Interestingly, Madame herself named it and it stuck.
Isnt that word associated with witchcraft?
Rick brushed his thumb across the top of her hand.
From what Ive read, the word?Samhain comes from the ancient Celtic word for?summers end, a harvest festival that doubled as their festival of the dead. It eventually became All Hallows Eve, and then Halloween in modern times. Wiccans consider it a Sabbath, so, yes, you are absolutely right.
Its the perfect name for a place so magical.
I think Madame was definitely on to something, Rick said, his smile spreading. He leaned in toward Josie. But Ill tell you a secret.
She moved closer. I love secrets.
Theres another definition of the word that I think is a better fit, and the more time I spend here the more Im convinced its what Madame Toulouse had in mind.
Tell me.
Well. Rick paused to kiss her cheek. Samhain was also the time for ?taking stock of the year gone by and giving thanks for all you have. It was a time when the supernatural world was separated from our world by only a thin veil, and the connectedness of all life was recognized.
Thats how I think this place got its name.
Josie stretched her neck to close the space between them, and left a soft kiss on his lips.
Excuse me.
Teeny stood over them looking sheepish. I seem to have rotten timing and I apologize, he said to Josie. Hey, Rick, can I have a moment?
Rick finished the kiss and patted Josies knee. Be right back.
Josie took a sip of her tea and looked out at the last bit of dying light beyond the hills. There was a restorative energy in this place.
There was a power here, and it was joyful and reassuring, something that filled her with calm.
But she shuddered with a realizationshe could have easily gone her whole life without experiencing this. She could have gone a lifetime without meeting Rick. It would have been so easyand so likely. She would never have known what shed missed, or even that something this wonderful existed.
The thought made her feel quite lonely.
The sound of Ricks agitated whisper caught her attention. She got up from the chair and went to the corner of the veranda, where she could peek around the side of the main house. Teeny and Rick stood near the kitchen door, under a light over the doorway.
Its probably nothing, she heard Rick say.
Teeny shook his head, obviously distressed. We cant take anything for granted, he said. Something about this smells bad, Rick, and Teeny had sensed her spying. Josie pulled her head back around the corner. She closed her eyes hard, silently cursing herself for being so nosy, then tiptoed back to her chair.
Rick was entitled to privacy, she told herself. Hed already bared his soul to her, what more did she want? Besides, it was probably just business.
She heard Ricks footsteps as he returned to the front porch. Sorry, he said, a frown on his face.
Im the one whos sorry! Josie blurted out. I shouldnt have been eavesdropping!
Rick laughed, resting his hands on the arms of her chair and bending toward her. Sweetie, youre in my house and in my bed and in my life, so there is no such thing as eavesdropping. I dont have anything to hide from you, and I never will.
Josie nodded, biting her bottom lip.
Do you trust me, Josie? Please answer me truthfully.
I do. There was no question in her heart. But Teeny wanted to talk in private, and he seemed upset…
Rick stood up and returned to his rocker, moving back and forth a couple times before he spoke. Teeny can be overcautious at times, which isnt a bad thing.
This is about your security?
Yes, it is. Ricks voice sounded weary.
Josie sat up straight. Is something wrong?
Rick rubbed his chin, as if he werent sure how to answer. He studied Josie a long moment. Margot Cummingss father wants revenge for her deaththe eye-for-an-eye kind of revenge. He wants me dead.
Josies jaw dropped.
And Teeny thinks hes already on his way here to kill me.