Fool's Gold

Amos' Turn

"Afternoon, Beverly. The Doc in?"

"He is. You can go on back, Sheriff. He's not with a patient."

"Oh, good." Amos nodded and headed back to Seth's office.

Beverly watched him thoughtfully. He was twisting his hat, always a sign of nerves. It was all over town, anyway, how that handsome treasure hunter was an old high school beau of Jessica's and how he'd grabbed her up and kissed her right in the street. Right in front of the Sheriff and the doc. It hadn't escaped Beverly's attention that the doc had been downright testy for the past few days. And Jessica hadn't popped by like usual. And Amos must've noticed, too. And the lord knew he wasn't the most observant. Poor doc, she thought. He had to know everyone in town saw how crazy he was over Jessica. And Jessica! Flitting all over the country like a butterfly when she'd be better off here at home with the doc. Beverly could see it plain as day. Oh, she knew Jessica and Frank had had a loving marriage. That man was foolish over her till the day he died. But Beverly was a realist. Frank was dead, and Jessica was alive, and another man was foolish over her now. A good man. Beverly herself should be so was a tidy man, clean habits, steadfast, loyal. Sure, he could stand to lose a few pounds, but what man in his 60s couldn't? And he was smart. That counted for a lot, especially in Jessica's books. Beverly sighed and turned her attention back to filing. She'd give Amos a chance to sort this out. Couldn't hurt, and it might even help.

"S'pose you heard already?"

"Heard what, Amos?"

"About the murderer. That young wife did it. Shame. I expect Miz Fletcher already filled you in."

"She's been busy," said Seth tightly.

"That fella's gone." Seth looked up quickly. "A-yuh. Pulled anchor yesterday."

Seth cleared his throat. "That so?"

"A-yuh. Caleb said Miz Fletcher biked over before he left. Didn't stay long."

Seth picked up a stack of papers from his desk and began flipping through them. "Why tell me?"

Amos shifted from one foot to another. "Just thought you oughta know. Thought you'd wanna know," he said quietly.

Seth fixed him with a steely glare. "Just exactly what are you getting at Amos?"

"Aww, doc. I just came by because I thought you oughta know. That's all." Seth stared at him, calm, expressionless, waiting. "I saw you when that fella kissed her," Amos finally blurted. "I saw the look on your face, Doc."

Seth struggled to keep hold of his temper. Amos had come here to try to help him, to give him a nudge. Seth knew he was more embarrassed than angry, and, what was worse, he knew Amos was right. And if Amos knew, then Jessica had to know. Had to have known all this time. How could he face her now?

"The way I see it, Doc." He almost faltered at the look Seth gave him, but he'd come here to do a job, and by golly he'd finish it, for both their sakes. He was awful fond of Miz Fletcher, and Doc was a friend, no matter how ornery he could be. "The way I see it," he repeated. "Miz Fletcher was taken aback. She's too friendly for her own good." Amos threw up his hands at the look Seth was giving him now. "I mean she's kind-hearted. Trusting. She'd give you the shirt off her back." He regretted those words as soon as they came out of his mouth. "I mean she's generous to a fault. That's why she had Everett staying at her place." Amos's mouth formed a moue of disapproval. "Although a bigger drifter and conman I don't think I've come across in all my days. And that includes my brother-in-law."

Seth leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. Maybe if he just let Amos run out of steam, this painful conversation would be over soon.

Amos forged on. "But don't you see? She said goodbye to him down t' the dock. It wasn't a long goodbye, either. She could've run off with that scoundrel, could've hopped right on that boat without so much as a fare-thee-well, and she didn't. She went right back home."

"And how do you know that?"

Amos shifted on his feet, nearly twisting the brim of his hat right off. "I was just out on patrol, that's all. I saw her bike back over to her house. She couldn't 'a been there more than ten minutes. Not if Caleb timed it out right. "I mean she loves it here in Cabot Cove. She could go anywhere, and she chooses to stay here. I just think you oughta think about why that is."

Seth sat up stiffly in his chair. "It's nought to do with me, Amos."

"Well," said Amos as he put on his hat. "I think you're wrong, Doc. Be seein' ya."

He turned with a wave and let himself out of Seth's office before Seth could recover his wits.

Beverly came bustling in with a handful of folders. "You're done for the day, Doc. No more appointments."

Seth glanced at the clock. 3:15. "How's that, Beverly? I thought I had a full schedule today."

Beverly looked him square in the eye. "You must have your days mixed up, Doc. You've got a full day on Monday, but you're free this afternoon. And you don't have anything on your schedule till about lunchtime tomorrow."

Seth eyed her critically. "That seldom happens, Beverly. What's going on?"

She'd never tell him she spent the last twenty minutes canceling everyone's appointments and promising to call them back tomorrow and reschedule. It was a lot of work, and the doc'd furious if he ever found out, but she deemed it worthwhile. There wasn't a body among those patients who couldn't wait another 24 hours to see the doc. She watched the conflicting emotions play across his face and hoped he made the right choice.

He pushed his chair back from his desk and slapped his thighs. "An afternoon off's an unexpected treat, Beverly."

Beverly swallowed a sigh."Indeed it is, Doc! I'm just going to file these away, then get on home myself. Have a good evening."

"I will, Beverly. And thank you," he said quietly.

"Anytime, Doc," she said as she closed the door to his office behind her.

Jessica spent most of her day furiously cleaning the house, the spare room in particular. As she worked, she studiously tried to avoid comparing David to Seth. What would be the point? They were chalk and cheese. One exciting, thrilling, even a bit dangerous. The other steady, reliable, honest. It wasn't fair to compare the two, and she knew Seth thought he'd come out the loser in a contest between them. But he'd be wrong. And admitting it was both liberating and terrifying. She knew Seth loved her, was in love with her. She loved him, and David had helped her to realize that she was in love with Seth. But what if they couldn't make a go of it? Seth was rather set in his ways; it was one of the things she loved about him. She knew he wasn't keen on all the traveling her publisher asked of her, and she suspected that money might be an issue. It was a sensitive subject for him.

But what if they could make it work? Physically, Seth was nothing like Frank. Frank was tall and lean, where Seth was…not. But his character was very like Frank's. He was a little older, and little less understanding than Frank was about people's foibles. Seth had very decided opinions, and fortunately she shared most of them. The few differences between them were so minor as to make almost no difference at all. Almost.

She heard the dryer's timer from upstairs. She ran her cloth along the final section of baseboard she'd been dusting, then headed downstairs to gather up the linens so she could remake the beds. She saw Seth on the landing, carrying the bundle of linens up the stairs.

"Seth! What are you doing here?"

Seth rearranged his hold on the bed linens and tread carefully on the stairs. "Beverly gave me the afternoon off, and I thought I'd come by and check on you."

"Check on me?" she repeated as she straightened the bandana she'd tied up her hair with. Of all the times for him to drop by. She looked a mess.

"A-yuh," he said. "Haven't seen you in a few days."

"I've been busy," she said, deploring the note of defensiveness that crept into her tone.

"A-yuh," he said, careful not to sound too winded as he reached the top of the stairs. "Amos said you solved the murder." He rounded the banister to stand in front of her. "Where are we headed first?"

"The spare room," she said weakly. Seth wouldn't let her take any linens from him so she turned and headed toward the guest room and he followed obediently. She gestured for him to drop the linens on the stripped bed. She began sorting them, feeling her face flush and trying not to look at him.

Seth waited patiently while she pulled the linens apart, then placed her bedroom linens back in the laundry basket. He began putting the fitted sheet on the mattress. "Amos said David left town."

"He did," she said quietly.

"He said you went down to the dock?" Jessica nodded. "That must have been hard," said Seth quietly. Jessica looked up indignantly, but Seth was fiddling with the corners of the fitted sheet, tucking them firmly between the mattress and box spring. Well, two can play at that game, she thought, and she began arranging the corners on her side of the bed. Seth looked up at her, but now she was preoccupied with the bedsheet. He took the flat sheet and snapped it once, crisply. Jessica looked up, startled, then backed away from the bed as Seth snapped it again and let it flutter down to the mattress. He smoothed his hands along the sheet, eliminating any wrinkles, then he began making an expert hospital corner. Jessica watched, berating herself for being so tongue-tied. "David say where he was going?"

"Sri Lanka, if he can be believed."

Seth looked up from his hospital corner. "Can he?"

Jessica shook her head. "I don't think he can."

Seth moved to her side of the bed and began folding the second corner. "So you made your goodbyes."

"I did."

"And were you sorry to see him go?"

The air in the room went still and quiet. "In a way, I suppose." She saw Seth's back tighten. "He reminded me of the girl I was. He made me think."

"Oh?" Seth hoped he sounded casual. He heard her step closer to him.

"He did."

"And what did he make you think about?" She was so close he could smell the light perfume she always wore.

She put a gentle hand to his back, and Seth flinched, then straightened quickly. "You," she said softly.

"Jessica, I—"

She put a soft hand to his cheek. "He made me admit something to myself, something I've spent far too long trying to ignore." Seth felt his mouth open and shut. He probably looked like a fish out of water. He was trying to form words, but his tongue wouldn't unstick from the roof of his mouth. "This isn't exactly the way I wanted to tell you," she murmured. "I look a fright."

"You look lovely," he managed to grind out.

She smiled and eased in that much closer. He felt her arms slide around his neck, and he looked into her eyes for a long moment, then he gathered her in his arms and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. He broke the kiss and started to pull away from her so he could gauge her reaction, but she just pulled him to her and deepened their kiss.

He lost himself in the warmth of her mouth and the delicate scent of her perfume, the feel of her soft body clasped tightly to him. It had been such a long time since he'd held a woman he loved in his arms. He'd almost forgotten how good it could feel.

At last they drew apart, and Seth rested his forehead against Jessica's.

"I love you," they said simultaneously, then laughed.

"I love you, Jessica. I should have told you ages ago."

"No more than I ought to have done," said Jessica, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I love you," she murmured, and placed soft kisses along his neck and jaw.

Seth didn't want to stop her, but he didn't want to let himself get carried away. He made to loosen his grasp, but Jessica clung to him all the more tightly.

"We're here now," she murmured, then drew back to look at him. "We're here. Now. We love each other." She fixed him with a steely gaze. "There isn't another man for me, Seth."

"There's no other woman for me," rumbled Seth. "But, Jessica, what I think you're suggesting." She nodded. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I know we have a few things to work out." Seth raised his eyebrows. "Money, travel, my schedule, but" and Jessica blew out a breath. "Those are just logistics. I want to be with you. Do you want to be with me?" Seth nodded. "For the rest of our lives?" He nodded again, and Jessica kissed him lightly on the lips. "We will be married, Seth. Someday. Is that alright with you?" She smiled as he grinned and nodded his head vigorously. "In the meantime," she said as her hands moved to the buttons of his shirt. "How would you feel about staying over, indefinitely?"

Seth stilled her hands in his. "Jessica, are you sure?" She nodded. "I only mean that you deserve—"

Jessica put a gentle hand against his lips. "I believe I'm getting more than I deserve."

Seth shook his head decisively. "Not likely, Jess. I know what I see in the mirror. But I love you," he said hastily, "and I'll love you as well as I can for as long as I can." Seth placed a gentle kiss on her lips, then he leaned down to pick up the laundry basket with one hand and grasped her hand in his free one. "Would you mind terribly if we made up the bed in your room?"

Jessica squeezed his hand. "Not at all, darling."

Epilogue

Amos took the long way into work the next morning. Most folks, he knew, thought he was dumb. Kind, but dumb. Miz Fletcher didn't think he was dumb, exactly, but she did try to point him in the right direction on some of these cases, and he appreciated it. He certainly did. But he wasn't as unobservant as people liked to think. He took a left down Candlewood Lane and smiled briefly to himself. Doc's car was parked right where he thought it'd be. A-yuh, he thought, he knew enough to get along, and even more, every now and again.

A/N: I'm afraid to make such a bold prediction that this will be the last version of Fool's Gold. I appreciate all your reviews. Helen, I'm definitely pondering your suggestion! Thanks!