Change of Heart (Edilean 9)

“I see,” the sheriff said. “You want to know who is who. Eli’s the pretty one. His assistant, Jeff, is the skinny one who makes everybody laugh. That answer your question?”

“Oh, yes. But please don’t mention to either of them that I asked.”

“I wouldn’t think of it,” he said and went into the store.

Eli had a wheelbarrow full of gardening tools and was using the loppers to cut away a big shrub at the corner of the house. He’d bought the place completely furnished. A couple had built it about twenty years ago, thinking they’d live there forever. But as they got older, the two acres of grounds had been more than they’d wanted to handle, so they’d bought a condo in Florida. As always, Jeff had befriended them and ended up buying everything in the house—which is why the garage was full of old garden tools and inside was worn, but comfortable, furniture.

It was early in the season but it was a warm day so Eli had removed his shirt. He should have been inside at his computer but he was too nervous to sit still.

Chelsea would be here soon and he needed time to think about what he wanted to say to her. Originally, first on his list was to ask why she’d stopped writing him.

But Jeff had vetoed that. “You cannot start an interrogation of her the second she gets out of the car!” he’d nearly yelled.

“I would just like to know—”

Jeff had thrown up his hands in frustration. “She was sixteen and beautiful and rich. That’s all the excuse she needed not to keep up some deep, philosophical letter-writing campaign with the kid she used to ride a bike with.”

“We did more than that!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jeff said. “I’ve heard all about it. But it was a different time back then. If you illegally used corporate letterhead today, you’d be facing charges. You two were white-collar juvenile delinquents.”

“I guess we were.” Eli said. “Robin and Marian Les Jeunes.”

“I want you to swear that you will not question her. Just have fun.”

“Fun?” Eli asked.

“Tell me you’ve heard of it.”

“Of course. Chelsea and I always had a good time together.”

“Figuring out about a kid’s dental health care is not a ‘good time.’ ” Jeff was glaring at his boss. In the last months he’d done a lot of research on Chelsea Hamilton. It hadn’t taken much to learn about her penchant for polo players, race-car drivers, and Olympic skiers. Lots of excitement. Not a computer nerd anywhere to be seen.

He looked at Eli, standing in his jeans and T-shirt, and thought that he certainly looked the part of the man Chelsea would like—except for his expression. He was scowling in a way that was almost scary. “Too bad you couldn’t be me on the inside,” Jeff mumbled.

“What?” Eli asked.

“I said it was a shame you and I couldn’t do one of those Freaky Friday exchanges. If I had your looks and body along with my humor and way with women, I’d have a harem in minutes.”

Eli grimaced. “Then you’d have a dozen women complaining that you never pay any attention to them.”

“No,” Jeff said. “You have heard women say that, but not one of them has said it to me.”

Eli smiled. “Then I wish we could trade. I’d do most anything to get Chelsea to stay, even if it’s only for a few days.”

Jeff shook his head. “You do have it bad, don’t you? Okay, my advice is to lighten up. Act like you haven’t compared every girl you’ve ever met to her and found her to be lacking. Pretend that seeing Chelsea is nice but not some monumental event that you hope will change your entire life.” His head came up. “You haven’t bought her a ring, have you?”

“I thought we’d go together to look at—”

Again, Jeff threw up his hands. “That poor girl. If I were her, I’d never get near you again. I wonder why she agreed to this visit?”

Eli frowned. “Maybe she wants to see me as much as I do her.”

“I doubt it,” Jeff said and was glad when his phone rang. “It’s Pilar and she says she needs to talk to you.”

“Tell her I’ll call her back later.”

Jeff relayed the message, but after he hung up, he said, “You ought to be nicer to Pilar. If Chelsea falls through, your secretary is a great backup. I don’t know why she stays around you.”