Chapter 12
The icing on the cookies slid down the sides of the sugared treats when Lesley placed them on the aluminum table. The heat bordered one hundred and two, and the desire to jump in the pool escalated by the second. She longed to put on the bikini she bought at the store, but doubted that particular suit was fit for a six-year-old’s birthday party. Luckily, she bought a one piece as well.
She got into the groove of decorating the table as party guests arrived. Her nervousness about being around so many children eased with every smiling face.
Kids bounced on their toes ready to jump into the pool. A short, chunky toddler, with a milky-white tummy, blazing red hair, and a dinosaur float wrapped around his midsection, waddled to the pool area and flashed her a megawatt grin, his mother close on his tail.
“It’s hotter than a camel’s crotch out here,” commented a lady wearing a flower bathing suit with a matching sarong wrapped around her waist.
“Excuse me?” Lesley placed the cookie containers in an ice chest, hoping to slow the rate of melting, then glanced back at the woman. The bright flowers did little to liven up the older gal’s pale skin.
“Ignore her.” Another woman in a pale blue sundress stepped beside Lesley, placing an arm around her shoulder but cocked her head to the flowered lady. “You know, Linda, for a librarian, you sure do have a way with words.”
“Maybelle, I’m not a librarian anymore. I’m an entrepreneur now, and I’ll say whatever I damn well please.” Linda waved a bottle of sunscreen like a sword toward her friend.
Lesley watched the interaction and prayed the cap didn’t flip up on the sunblock and squirt her in the eye while the pale one continued to thrust the bottle in the air.
“Umm…have we met?” she asked, her gaze flipping between both ladies.
“Nope, sure haven’t.” Sunscreen holder slapped the bottle on the table and extended her hand. “Linda Connors. I own the book store on Main.” Her wrinkled hand showed blue veins and manicured red nails.
“And I’m Maybelle Marie,” the sundress-clad one said and gave Lesley’s shoulders a squeeze. “I own the beauty shop down the sidewalk from Linda. We saw you yesterday at the bakeshop. We’ve been meaning to swing by the manor and introduce ourselves, but Emma told us you would be here today, so we thought we’d just wait. That girl’s muffins are just divine, aren’t they?”
“Uh…yes.” Lesley nodded. “Yes, they are.”
“And we couldn’t happen but notice you rode with John yesterday in his truck, and now, it looks like you’re here helping with his daughter’s birthday party.” Maybelle stepped back on one foot and placed a hand on her hip. Her plucked eyebrows went up in an arch. “Tell us, Lesley, you and John got a little fling going on?”
Who are these people?
“Umm…no.” Lesley shook her head. “I just met him a few days ago.”
“There was hesitation there. I heard it, besides, a few days are long enough to know if you like somebody, don’t you think?” The beauty shop owner wiggled those plucked eyebrows of hers.
“Maybelle, leave the poor girl alone.” Linda squirted a large glob of cream in her hand and applied a generous amount to the top of her chest.
“Hush now, Linda.” Maybelle flicked her manicured hand at her friend. Her nails were pink and matched the soft shade of her lipstick, which was smeared due to the wrinkles around her mouth.
Lesley glanced at her own nails—short with jagged edges—and slid her hands in her pockets.
“’Cause everyone in town knows he needs him a new woman,” the beautician continued. “It ain’t right for a man to go so long without, if you know what I mean.”
Oh, Lord. Yes, she did know what the woman meant, but she didn’t need to know.
“Oh well, that may be the case.” Her cheeks burned as she glanced down and straightened a party hat on the table. “But that’s not me.”
I am not the woman for him. Too soon. Way too soon.
“Poor thing,” Maybelle said.
Lesley glanced back to find the woman’s lips turned down as she shook her big bouffant, bleach blonde hairdo. “He’s looked so sad since Sandra died, and those poor kids,” she added in a whisper. “Lord knows they need a mother figure. It takes all of my self-control not to grab that little Rachel’s hair and run a brush through it. And not one of those quick once overs, I mean really brush the poor girl’s hair. Children need a father and a mother, especially little girls.”
“Oh, Maybelle, can it. That girl’s hair is fine. She’s six for crying out loud. What do you expect? Her to be runway ready?”
Lesley felt an unexplainable need to stick up for her contractor. “I’m sure John is a great father.”
“Oh, honey, no one’s saying he isn’t.” The fake blonde patted her on the shoulder.
This woman sure was touchy-feely.
“I’m just saying kids need a momma and a daddy, and when I saw you two walking out of Emma’s shop yesterday, I had this feeling. More like a premonition.”
That she and John would have sex—why was she thinking about that?
“Oh, Lord, you and your premonitions again.” Linda smirked and closed the cap on the sunscreen with oomph.
“You hush, Linda Lee.” Maybelle wagged a skinny finger. “You know I’m always right.”
Lesley glanced around the swimming area for John or Emma. Anyone who could come save her from the Steel Magnolias that had cornered her by the unfinished party table. She really wanted to get the decorations out before all the guests arrived, not listen to these two go on and on about their interest in her dating life.
“Just like you were right the time you told Donna Malone at the bank you saw her coming into a fortune? Poor girl went out and bought ten lottery tickets on her lunch break, then went home to surprise her husband with a handful of scratch offs. Except she was the one who was surprised, wasn’t she Maybelle?”
“Well, she did come into a fortune. Just not the way she thought she would.”
Despite wanting to get rid of the two women, the new topic had piqued her interest. “What happened?”
“She found her husband with the pool boy. She told me she wondered why her maintenance bill was always so high,” Maybelle added.
Lesley crossed her arms, the story a little too close to home. “I don’t understand. How did she come into money then?”
“You’re not telling the story right,” Linda barked to her friend.
“Well by all means, Ms. Entrepreneur, you tell it then.”
“Fine. I will.” Linda turned her gaze back to Lesley. “Donna’s husband, Ronald Junior, was the sole heir to Ronald Senior’s money. Ronny Senior was the founder of Baker’s Cola, hence the name, Bakersville. Plant closed down years ago. Anyway, when his company went public, he kept sixty percent of the stock shares which went to Ronald Junior after he died.”
“Then if they were already rich, why did she go buy scratch offs?”
“Junior was as stingy as a starving pig with his money. The only money Donna ever got was what she made at the bank, and bank tellers don’t make all that much. She had a kid in college that wasn’t Ronald’s. He wouldn’t help out with any of the student loans.”
“So, what happened?” These women sure were taking their time getting to the point of the story.
“I’ll tell you what happened.” Maybelle crossed her arms and shook her hips. “Donna divorced him faster than he could get his pecker out of that pool boy’s butt. I mean, what is the world coming to these days? Men cheating on their wives with other men?” The beautician shook her head and rolled her eyes.
To each their own. “How did the divorce help her? Did she get half of everything?” She was curious because she herself didn’t want anything from Peter.
“And then some. They didn’t sign a prenup,” Linda continued. “Ol’ Milton made sure she got every bit of what she deserved and then some for ‘Emotional Distress Damages.’ ” The former librarian made air quotes with her fingers. “Shortly after she gained thirty percent of Jr’s stock, it split. She made millions.”
“So see, not only did she come into some money, but I saved her from being married to such a slime.” Maybelle nodded her head, obviously proud that her premonition was somewhat accurate. “It’s like I’m psychic.”
Were there any good men left in this world?
“Oh, seriously, Maybelle,” Linda huffed. “You’re no more psychic than me. Psycho maybe.”
Lesley gazed around the pool area and made eye contact with John. She gave him a pleading glance and mouthed, Help, as the two southern belles continued to disagree with one another. He smiled a crooked grin and shot a wink her way.
An involuntary shiver ran through her body as her pulsed raced.
“Honey, are you okay? Your cheeks look a little red,” Linda said, breaking her concentration.
“What?”
“Your cheeks.” Maybelle pointed.
Lesley placed the palm of her hand on her left cheek. It was hot. She’d blushed more the last three days than she had her whole life.
“Here.” The bookstore owner thrust her SPF 100 toward her. “Use this. You won’t burn a bit. I’ve been using it for years.”
“Yeah. It’ll be less work for the mortician when you die. That stuff helps you look like you’re a stiff. Me,” the blonde said and held up her right arm. “I’m part Native American. I always tan and never burn.”
“Are you knocking my Irish heritage?” Linda ranted.
“No, but everyone needs a little Vitamin D.” Maybelle’s hair and hips shook in the same manor.
Lesley thought her head might explode if she had to listen to another moment of their bickering. Forget being nervous around children. Bring on the kids. Anyone to get her away from these two gossip queens.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” John wrapped both of the older women in a hug.
Thank God. She let out a sigh as her shoulders relaxed.
The ladies’ gazes took on a glossy sheen and their lips curved up as John embraced them. She couldn’t say she blamed them—he did have nice arms.
Linda scooted in even closer, applying her large, flower-covered breasts to John’s stomach.
“I see you’ve met our newest resident, Lesley,” he began, “but if you don’t mind, I need to steal her away from the two of you.”
“Nope, not at all,” Maybelle said.
“Oh,” Linda flustered. “Well, all right.”
“You two go have fun.” The beautician patted John on his biceps. “We’re here if you need us.”
“Yeah.” Linda placed her hand on his chest. “Here if you need us.” Her fingers lingered a little longer than necessary.
“Thanks.” He unwrapped himself from their grasps. “Now, enjoy yourselves. Emma will be here soon with the kids and the cake.” John placed his hand on Lesley’s back and guided her away from the women.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“No problem. I know how the females of this town can be. If you’re not from here, they can take a little getting used to.”
“Did you notice how Linda got all excited when you hugged her?”
“Yeah, unfortunately, I did. I know a thing or two about Linda.” He scratched his head and scrunched his face.
“Like what?”
John leaned closer, and the woodsy, soapy smell she’d come to know as him lingered in the air.
He kept his voice low. “In high school, I found her and Principal Morris kissing in the stacks section of the library.”
“That doesn’t seem so bad,” she said in the same quiet tone he used.
“Except Principal Morris was married, and twenty years her junior.”
“Oh…” She frowned. “So, she’s a home-wrecking cougar?”
“Something like that.” John nodded and glanced around.
She followed his gaze; not many people paid them any attention except Linda. The woman’s stare was fixed on John.
Lesley stared back at him, keeping her voice low. “And now that you’re out of high school, she’s had her eyes on you?”
“Something like that.” He cringed. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Come on, help me blow up these balloons.”
John turned and walked toward a helium tank by the pool steps. Lesley swallowed a laugh as she wrapped her mind around the idea of him and Linda. She couldn’t see it.
“You coming or what?” he called back to her.
“You know…” She ran, catching up to him, swishing around the kids in her path. “If you two start dating, she might be able to extend her senior citizen’s discount at Preppy Pepperoni to you.”
He tossed her a cross stare, and she threw her head back, laughing until her stomach hurt. She’d finally found a way to push his buttons. The princess comments wouldn’t be so bad from now on.
****
John stood by the lifeguard chair, watching the throng of people in the pool. Nearly the whole town had come to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. Some dropped off a gift and left, while others stayed a while to visit and eat a piece of cake.
Lesley swam in the pool, holding Rachel, spinning her in circles. His daughter had her head tipped back, and her long brown hair dipped in the water. Rachel had taken to Lesley like a baseball to a glove, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d say the princess had taken to Rachel, too. For someone who said she had never been around children, she was a natural. She’d helped blow up floats, applied bandages to boo-boos, and made sure every child had sunscreen on and a dry towel. Mothering obviously came natural to her, whether she realized it or not.
His sister had done a fine job playing the role of mom to his kids after his wife died. A wonderful aunt and a lifesaver to him on numerous occasions, Emma had always stepped up and helped whenever he couldn’t get home on time, but she wasn’t Sandra. No one could ever replace the mother of his children.
But now, seeing how happy Rachel acted with Lesley sliced at his gut. While his kids would never get their mom back, they really did need a mother figure in their lives. High time he began to think less about his grief and more about his children.
The sound of feet shuffling on the concrete had John turning his head to see his long-time buddy, Seth Waters, stand by his side.
“Who’s Rachel playing with?” Seth’s blue, buttoned-down shirt had droplets of perspiration, and his hair was gelled and styled. Along with the green shorts and brown leather shoes, he looked ready to hop on a yacht or step off the cover of a fashion magazine.
“That’s the heiress to the manor.”
“So, that’s Myrtle the Recluse’s great niece you told me about? Man, she’s not what I pictured?”
“What do you mean?” He raised a brow. Seth didn’t need to picture anything. He just needed to back off.
“I imagined someone ugly. I only saw Myrtle once, but I don’t recall her being much of a looker. But her niece…” He crossed his arms and tipped his head toward Lesley. “She’s not ugly. No wonder you decided to take the job.” His friend elbowed him in the ribs.
John glanced back to Lesley in the water. “I took the job for the money. Not for the girl.” He sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him how little the pay was. “Besides, she’s getting over a nasty divorce.” He made sure to elongate the word “nasty.”
“So, she’s single then?”
Damn. “Yep.” He nodded, pressed his lips together, and glanced around the pool.
“And y’all aren’t seeing each other.”
John sighed, knowing exactly where this was going. “Nope.”
“Then you won’t mind if I ask her out?”
And there it was. His face tensed like the muscles in his arms and shoulders. He shouldn’t mind, but he did. A lot. He turned to Seth. “What happened to your flavor of the month…Ginger? Or was it Gigi?”
“Oh, you know how it goes. Everything’s going good, then she brought up the marriage word, so I called it off.”
Seth, the perpetual bachelor.
“I thought you liked her. You even told me yourself she could be the one.”
“Maybe, but I’m not ready to settle down.”
Not ready to settle down? John fought a laugh. His friend was thirty-five. If Seth wasn’t ready to settle down now, then when?
He had been ready to settle down with Sandra as soon as they graduated high school. She’d been the love of his life since eighth grade. His buddy, on the other hand…all he wanted to do was remain as unattached as possible.
He focused his gaze straight ahead, trying not to stare at Lesley and Rachel having fun together. “When will you ever be?” John muttered under his breath.
Seth leaned in. “What’s that, man?”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
“Great. So you don’t mind?” His friend slapped him on the back.
“Mind what?”
“If I ask…what’s her name again?”
“Lesley.” John crossed his arms. “Her name is Lesley.”
“Right, Lesley. You don’t mind if I ask her out then, do you bud?
Hell yes, I mind.
He’d be spending a lot of time with her in the next few months, and he didn’t want to be her shoulder to cry on when Seth broke up with her. Because his playboy friend would break up with her, and Lesley would cry. He didn’t want to see that. Besides, all the water works might slow the repairs on the manor.
That was the reason his gut churned at the thought of the two of them dating.
Had to be.
Still, where was it his place to stop two consenting adults from seeing each other?
“Why would I mind?” He shrugged. Lesley was a big girl. She could decide for herself who she wanted to date. Her personal life wasn’t his business.
Seth slapped him on the shoulder again. “Just asking, man. Just asking.”
“Yeah, but like I said. Nasty divorce,” he couldn’t help repeating. “You sure that’s something you want to get involved in?”
Lesley never mentioned the word nasty when it came to her divorce. But maybe if he threw the word around enough, Seth would decide to back off on his own, before the two of them did get involved. After all, he was only looking out for his pal. The princess and the pretty boy. It would never work. They were too much alike.
“I think it’ll be fine.” His friend flashed him a Hollywood smile and strolled over to the ice chest to grab a drink.
Fine. Right. Those two dating would be anything but fine.
“Whatever you say, man,” he called over his shoulder.
Rachel’s giggles grew louder and John averted his gaze back to the pool. Lesley tossed his daughter in the air, splashing water all around them. She really would be a great mother, and the thought of her and Seth dating, and the inevitable fact that his friend would hurt her tightened the muscles in his shoulders all over again.
“Daddy, get in the pool,” Rachel squealed.
He stared at his daughter, happy, smiling, and his own smile erupted from the sight.
“Yeah, John. Get in.” Lesley sloshed water on his feet.
“You splashed me.” He stared down at his soaked jeans.
“I know.” She splashed him again. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Oh, you’re going to get it.” He yanked off his shirt. “I hope you can swim fast.”
“I’m not scared of you.”
Lesley dashed him a smile that was more refreshing than the cool water. A smile he unexpectedly hoped to see many times over.
“You better be.”
He shed his pants, revealing his swim shorts underneath, and then jumped in the pool, chasing her and Rachel to the shallow end. Rach giggled in delight. A happy sound he wanted to hear more of.
The fact Lesley was with them while his daughter appeared so happy didn’t go unnoticed.
****
“I thought you said you had a few loads?” Lesley stood in John’s laundry room, her dirty clothes bag slung over her shoulder. Her damp hair fell down her back, and her face had the slightest touch of color where the sun had peppered her with kisses from their afternoon activities. “This is going to take me all night.”
He sauntered into the tight space, his hands on his hips. The tower of clothes fell and covered the floor. Not an inch of tile remained visible. So, maybe he had fibbed…a little. He’d never admit that. Instead, he shrugged. “It’s not that much.”
“Not that much? When was the last time you did laundry? Last summer?”
“It’s been like forever.” Rachel stood by the doorway. “Daddy’s messy.” His little girl rolled her eyes.
“Okay now, young lady. I don’t need your commentary.”
Lesley placed a hand to his chest and pushed him aside, her body so close he could smell the chlorine still lingering on her skin. He took a step back, pressing himself into the wall, letting her pass.
“You’re right, Rach, he is.” She bent down to his daughter’s level. “What do you say you help me separate the white clothes from the dark clothes? We can make a game of it.”
Lesley called his daughter Rach. A nickname reserved for family. His heart gave a little bounce then sunk as confusion took over. How did he feel with the notion of her being considered part of the family?
John shook the thought away. He’d known the woman all of three days. Three days. Not long enough to form an opinion of someone, much less have such long-term thoughts.
Yet, after spending one afternoon with Lesley, his children had been happier, more comfortable.
They’re just hyped up on sugar. Nothing more to it.
“Yeah, that’ll be fun.” Rachel bounced.
“Can I help?” Matthew crowded the ladies in the doorway, causing Lesley to scoot even closer to him. Her backside nearly hit his front.
Damn, this was all a bad idea.
He should have volunteered to do her laundry for her, or better yet, she could have sat at the laundromat. What a stupid idea this was.
“Sure you can, little man.” Lesley stood. “What do you say, John? You want to play a game with us?”
“What? Huh?” He stepped to the side, trampling his laundry while putting space between them.
“A game with the laundry?” Lesley repeated. “What do you say?”
“I say yes. If we all work together, we can be done faster.” And get her out of his house faster.
“Let’s hope so.” She giggled. “Otherwise, I might be here all night.”
All night? She couldn’t be here all night.
He grabbed a handful of clothes. “Let’s get to work then.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To the kitchen counter. More room to work.”
“Okay, well, don’t try to run off,” she teased.
That’s exactly what he was trying to do.
Run. Far, far away.