Fool's Gold - A third take

Could we sit down just for a minute?

Well, I was hoping that the fresh air might stimulate your brain cells.

Oh, the fresh air is just fine. The trouble is I don't enjoy walking when I'm not going somewhere.

All right, all right, we'll forget Larry.

Now I suppose we'll have to forget David too, won't we? After all, he was in your

guest bedroom all night.

You know, you sound almost disappointed.

He would have made a dandy suspect.

Oh, Seth.

Don't "Oh, Seth" me, woman. He was, he is, one of the partners. Could be there's a whole packet of money involved here.

I don't believe that you're suggesting—

Jess. I want you to get a real perspective on this thing. Now we are talking about a man who has spent his entire adult life...traipsing all over the globe looking for the pot of gold. He was obsessed with it.

Seth, you don't know the first thing about him.

You are thinking with your funny bone and not with your head. This old friend of yours could turn out to be a cold-blooded k*ller.

Seth, I have known David Everett for the past 35 years.

Correction. You knew him 35 years ago. There is a difference, Jess.

Seth turned in his bed and thumped his pillow. Again. He could kick himself. Why had he pushed Jess like that? She relies on you to tell her the truth. "And the truth is that I'm jealous of that Everett character. And he is a shady character." What had he been thinking? Tweaking her about the man staying in her guest room. What business was it of his who stayed the night at Jessica's. It wasn't his business at all. But he was desperate to know. It was eating him up inside. He didn't like Everett, had seen too many of his type, even fallen for a scheme of the kind Everett had roped those kids into. And now one of them was dead. And he knew Jessica wouldn't rest until she knew the truth.

But how long could he keep concealing his own truth from her? He loved her…had done for several years now, much good it did him. Why couldn't he have fallen in love with a less independent, less inquisitive lady? A nice divorcee from Brunswick, for example. He snorted. He'd had enough of those kinds of women. He knew it was his own contrary nature that drew him to Jessica. He'd always wanted what was just out of reach. Hadn't he had to work double-time to get Ruthie to even glance his way? He grinned in the dark. It had been worth it. Worth every tear he'd shed in the end. He'd lost his heart to Ruth almost the moment he saw her. It had been the same with Jessica. But how could he woo her in this town? The curtain-twitchers were already watching him like a hawk.

It hadn't escaped his attention that his friend Wylie had been sniffing around Jessica. He noticed the man stood a little straighter when Jessica was around, even puffed his chest out a bit. He was a bit younger than Seth. And both men were fitter. He'd been meaning to take off a few pounds. More than a few, whispered that 3 AM voice.

He sighed and looked at the clock. Still 3:30. He ought to just get up and get a little work done. He had some paperwork to catch up on. Lying here in bed, ruthlessly going over his last conversation with Jessica was getting him nowhere.

Seth busied himself with work as the days went on, studiously avoiding Jessica unless he absolutely had to see her. Thankfully, nothing else had come up. No sir. He wouldn't drop by the house again until that fellow sailed off on a boat to China. Everett was smooth; Seth had to give him that. He sure made it seem like he and Jessica were…best not to think on that.

Meanwhile, Beverly kept him apprised of all the tastiest morsels of gossip swirling around Jess and her handsome lodger. Loretta's ladies were all a-flutter. Seth listened intently, all the while pretending to be absorbed in some other task. He suspected Beverly knew, but was too considerate to call a spade a spade. Maybe he ought to give her that pay rise he'd been considering.

Seth wished she'd just hurry up and solve the darned thing, and hopefully things would go back to normal around here. He might not cut quite the same figure as David Everett, but he was solid…loyal and dependable, and that counted for something. At least in his book.

Beverly popped her head in Seth's office. "Caleb dropped by earlier, but you were with a patient."

"What'd he need?"

"Nothing. He just stopped in on his way to the diner. I guess you heard."

"Heard what?"

"That boy's wife killed the girl. Tried to make it look like an accident."

Seth leaned back in his chair. "Huh."

Beverly nodded. "And Captain Everett pulled anchor this afternoon."

"Did he?" Seth hoped she couldn't hear the note of hope in his voice.

"He did. Caleb said Jessica rode down to the dock to say goodbye." Seth grunted and busied himself with a few loose papers on his desk. "She didn't stay long. So Caleb said."

"What's that to do with me, Beverly?"

Beverly shrugged. "Just thought you'd like to know. I'm off for the evening, doc. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Beverly."

"Night, doc." Beverly pulled on her sweater and took her purse from her bottom drawer. Well, she'd done what she could. The rest was up to them…at least for now. Two more stubborn, mule-headed people I've never met," she muttered as she walked out the door. She decided not to lock it. Just in case.

Seth was upstairs, heating up a dispirited meal of baked chicken and canned green beans when he heard the door open downstairs. He turned off the oven and the burner and headed downstairs. Why in tarnation hadn't Beverly locked the door?

"Seth?"

He slowed to a crawl on the stairs. "Jessica? What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"I'm alright," she said faintly.

Seth made his way down the stairs carefully. His heart was beating just a tad faster than normal. He should probably get that checked out. "You sure? You don't sound quite right."

"Where are you?"

"I'm here, Jess." She started as he materialized in front of her in the growing gloom. "How did you get here?"

"I rode my bike."

"In the dark?"

"It was twilight when I left."

"Jessica, that's more than rash. You could have been hurt or worse!"

"I wasn't."

"Well, that's a mercy." He wanted to reach for her; he could see she was trembling, but something was in the air. He wasn't sure what to do.

"I suppose you heard."

"A-yuh."

"And David left."

"A-yuh. I'm glad you found the real killer, Jess." His voice sounded awkward and tinny in his ears.

"I've been thinking."

"Oh?"

"Yes. About what you said."

"I say a lot, Jess. You'll have to be more specific."

Jessica laughed, and he felt a pang of relief. "At Spooner's Mill."

"Oh."

"Yes." She twisted her hands. "You've been avoiding me." Seth shuffled on his feet. No use lying, but what could he tell her? "Why?"

"No reason. Just busy."

"You're a dreadful liar, Seth."

"Am I?" he asked weakly.

Jessica nodded and closed the gap between them. He knew she favored Chanel No 5, and she was so close he could smell the faint scent of rose and jasmine. Maybe he'd get her a bottle for her birthday, he thought wildly. "You are," she breathed. "I've been thinking about it." She waited for Seth to speak, but he said nothing. "You were trying to warn me about David, and you were right. But I was right, too, in a way," she said more firmly. "He's fundamentally the same person I knew all those years ago. Affable, charming, easygoing."

Great, thought Seth. Almost the polar opposite of me.

"David is no murderer. He just never grew up."

"A-yuh," said Seth weakly.

"I've been thinking."

"So you said."

She moved imperceptibly closer. "Why have you really been avoiding me?"

He couldn't take his eyes from hers. "You know why," he said.

"Is it because of David?" Seth nodded. "Because he kissed me?" Seth nodded again. "And he stayed in my guest room?"

"What do you want from me, Jess?"

The anguish in his voice pierced her heart. "I want the truth, Seth." She put her warm hands against his chest. "Do you want to kiss me?" Seth nodded, almost against his will. "What's stopping you?" Seth looked at her for a long moment. "You can trust me, Seth. Just like I trust you."

Tears pricked his eyes as he crushed her to him in a fierce embrace and kissed her with all the passionate love he'd been trying so hard to contain. They kissed for a long, lovely moment. When he finally broke their kiss, he rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you, Seth. It's you I love."

The tears fell in earnest now, and Jessica drew back so she could wipe them with her thumbs. "I love you, Jessica," he said in a strangled voice.

She smiled and smoothed her hands along his face. "I do so like being right," she said impishly, and she laughed aloud as Seth pulled her into a bear hug. "You'll have to let me breathe a little," she wheezed, and he released his hold on her. "That's better," she smiled as she kissed the spot just below his ear. "Happy, darling?"

"Yes," he whispered in her ear.

She drew back a little so he could see her face. "And Seth?" He raised his eyebrows. "Just so you know, I'm thinking with my head. And my funny bone."

Jessica shrieked as Seth goosed her, then grabbed her up in another passionate embrace.

Thank you, David Everett, he thought.

A/N: Ok..ok..I really don't think I can come up with a fourth take unless someone suggests an irresistible nugget…Thanks for reading. This has been a fun and much-needed diversion!