A Change of Heart (25 page)

Attending the Monday morning meetings had become a regular thing for her ever since she and Paige had discussed it. “The Perfect Diner is on board, along with Offermeyer’s Meats, the local hardware store, the real estate office, and just about every independently owned business in town.” She sat back down, relieved and pleased with the progress she’d made. Despite her lack of sleep, she’d managed to pull things together in time for this meeting.

“We’ve formed a committee with representatives from each business to study the bids once we start taking them. The committee will narrow it down to three possible providers with a variety of tiers to choose from, and then we’ll present it to the stakeholders for a vote.” She looked around the room. “As you can see, we have substantially increased our numbers, which will help keep the costs down. We’ve also talked about starting a hardship fund that each business and member can contribute to voluntarily. It’ll help defray costs in case some kind of disaster hits a particular family. Have you given any thought to how much L&L is willing to contribute to employee premiums?”

“I guess we have to take a look at what the costs are going to be first. Once the committee has actual figures, we’ll discuss it.” Noah leaned forward. “I can tell you this, though. We’re all grateful for the way you’ve taken on the insurance project. Thank you, Cory.”

Pride straightened her spine and infused her with energy. “I’m glad to do it. Everyone I talked to was eager to get going on this. I think we need something legal drafted to form an actual group for this. Don’t we?” She glanced at Ted. “I don’t really know how these things work. Mostly what I’ve done is contact employers and gathered numbers, and that was easy.”

“My brother Roger is a lawyer,” Ted said. “I’ll talk to him today and find out what we need to do, especially if we intend to move forward with the hardship fund. I’m sure he’d be willing to take care of the legal stuff for us.”

A surge of gratitude and warmth for him filled her. Their gazes locked, and she smiled. “Thank you. That would be great.”

Ted stood up abruptly. “We done here?”

Noah blinked at his sudden movement. “I believe so. Why?”

“Got stuff to do.” Ted left just as abruptly as he’d stood.

The echo of his footsteps in the hall worked on her nerves. “Me too. We have a shipment almost ready to go, and I have to get transport set up.” Why had Ted left so suddenly? He’d seemed fine, courteous and politely distant as usual one minute, and desperate to get away the next. Cory gathered her things and headed for her office. She’d just settled into her chair when Paige entered.

“I feel
soooo
guilty.” Paige plopped down at her desk.

“Why?” Cory frowned in confusion. “About what?”

“Two reasons.” She grimaced. “One, I let the ball drop on the insurance stuff. It was originally my project, and it should’ve been done a few years ago. Two, because my dad pays for our insurance coverage through his company. Noah’s family is on the Langford Plumbing Supplies insurance rolls as well.”

“Don’t feel guilty about your good fortune. With a baby coming, I’m just glad to hear you’re all covered. You’ve had more than your share of work to do here. You didn’t have the time to follow
up on this project. Everybody knows that. Besides, I’m glad it fell into my lap. It’s given me a chance to get to know more people in Perfect, and that’s a good thing.”

“Does that mean you’re ready to join the monthly poker games?” Paige waggled her eyebrows.

The poker night consisted of couples, most of them married. “Hmm, I’ll think about it. What about starting a bowling league?”

“Bowling? That sounds like fun. I’ve never bowled. Maybe Ryan and I will join.”

“I’ll look into it.” It would be fun. They could compete against other local leagues. “I’m surprised you guys don’t have a—” A voice raised in anger reverberated down the hall. Ted’s voice. A minute later a door slammed.

“Oh, boy.” Paige looked from the door to her. “What do you suppose that’s about?”

“I don’t know.” Or maybe she did. She hadn’t meant to hurt Ted, but her rejection had to sting. It had certainly affected her.

Ryan strode into their office, a perplexed expression on his face. “Man, I thought things were settling down on the Teddy score.” He ran his palm over the back of his neck. “Seems like he’s more agitated than ever.” His eyes connected with hers. “You spend a lot of time with him, Cory. What’s eating him now? He seemed so much better for a while there.”

Her face filled with heat, and anxiety gnawed away at her ragged edges. She didn’t want to admit she might be partly to blame. Regardless, he’d shared enough with her that she had a pretty good handle on what bothered him, and this was her chance to speak up. “Did you call him kid, by any chance?”

“Well, sure. We all do. He’s the youngest guy here.”

“No. Noah, Wesley, and I don’t. Neither does Paige.”

He scowled. “What are you getting at?”

She shot a quick glance at Paige, who gave her a slight nod. Sucking in a breath for courage, she met Ryan’s gaze. “If it weren’t for Ted, you and I wouldn’t have this job. L&L was his idea, and he’s worked around the clock to make it a success, getting his undergrad and master’s all the while. He signs our paychecks.”

“Your point being?” Ryan picked up a rubber band from the corner of Paige’s desk, leaned against the wall and turned his attention to stretching and twisting the strip of rubber.

“Don’t you think he deserves our respect?”

“I do respect him. He knows that.” He pushed off from the wall, his posture stiff. “It’s an affectionate nickname.”

Her eyes widened. “I’ve heard him ask you repeatedly not to call him kid. We’ve
all
heard him ask. Knowing it bothers him, hurts him, even, but you continue to do so. And because you call him that, the production and finishing crews do too. That’s your idea of affection? That’s how you show him respect?”

Cory studied the desk in front of her. “It doesn’t take spending a lot of time with him to see what’s going on. All it takes is being an outsider looking in. From where I sit, what you’re doing has nothing to do with affection or respect and everything to do with one-upmanship. You’ve done a great job of undermining his position and his authority with the guys, and you’ve managed to keep him feeling like an outsider. Year after year, that kind of put-down would be difficult for anyone to bear.”

“She’s right, Ryan,” Paige murmured, glancing at her husband.

“Shit.” He strode out of the room as quickly as he’d appeared.

Cory kept her attention focused on her computer screen, afraid to see the expression on Paige’s face. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He needed to hear that from someone other than me. And believe me, I’ve tried to get through to him. It’s residual
baggage. Ted made it pretty clear he resented Ryan’s presence here from the start. Their issues run deep, and when I arrived, it threw a whole new monkey wrench into the mix.”

“I overstepped.” Cory rubbed her tired eyes with both hands. “How long will Ryan be angry with me, do you think?”

Paige chuckled. “He’s not mad at you. If I know my husband at all, I’d say he’s angry with himself right about now. You said what needed to be said, and I for one am grateful.”

Paige’s desk phone rang, and she answered, leaving Cory to her own thoughts—which centered around Ted. He deserved so much better at L&L. If nothing else, she hoped her conversation with Ryan would have an impact, changing things for the better for the man who meant so much to her—the man she’d pushed away. Her heart protested the decision, while her head tried to convince her she’d done the right thing. The battle left her unsettled and edgy.

Ted worked on entering used vacation days into their system, moving the ruler down the list of employees as he went. Embarrassment about the way he’d left this morning’s meeting still soured his gut. Cory’s smile had been a dead-center hit to his soul. Frustration, anger and overwhelming helplessness at his current situation had swamped him in the wake of that smile. Was he doomed to always fall for women who were unavailable to him?

This misery was too close to what he’d gone through when he’d lost Paige to Ryan. Dammit, he didn’t want to come out on the short end of the stick again. Not with everyone he saw every day witnessing his defeat yet again. He’d had no choice but to leave.

Should he have argued with Cory, fought a little harder to keep her by his side? He needed to come up with a way to help her separate the mental association between him and her attacker. If he held her in his arms long enough, maybe she’d have a breakthrough. Maybe not.

Selfish much?

Clenching his molars together, he forced himself to concentrate on his work. Once he completed the tedious task, he could head downstairs and work in production. Thank God for that. Working with his hands helped him clear his mind and settle his nerves. It had always been that way for him, which was why he’d been convinced early on that college wasn’t for him.

He glanced at the two diplomas hanging on his wall, glad once again for Noah’s insistence that he get a degree. With his credentials and experience, he could go anywhere, move on and start something new if need be. Was that what he wanted to do? He propped his elbows on his desk and raked his fingers through his hair.

“Hey.”

Stifling a groan, he raised his head and met Ryan’s eyes. “What now?”

Ryan took the chair in front of his desk. “I don’t drink.”

“No kidding.” Ted went back to entering data into the program. “You came in here just to give me this news flash?”

“If I did drink, I’d ask you to go have a few beers with me sometime. But since I don’t, maybe we could go grab a coffee?”

“Um, how about we head down to my aunt’s diner for lunch today? Like we do almost every day of the week.” What the hell was Malloy up to now?

“Yeah, I get it. You’re pissed, and I don’t blame you.” Ryan’s palms were on his knees, which were bouncing up and down at a frantic pace. “I owe you an apology, man.”

“Huh?”
Man, not kid?
The guy had Ted’s complete attention now.

“I won’t call you kid anymore. You have my word.”

“What brought this on?”

“Cory just read me the riot act, and it—”

“Say what?” His heart took a leap for his throat. “Cory did what?”

“She said some things that got me thinking.” Ryan’s knees kept up their frantic bouncing. “I guess I’ve always kind of worried that one of these days Paige would come to her senses and dump me for you, and so I—”

Ted chuffed out a laugh. “First of all, I got over my infatuation with your wife years ago, and she never had any interest in me in the first place. Second, you two have been married for more than three years now. You’re about to become parents. Really, Ryan?”

“I know. Lame, huh?” Ryan’s crooked grin was back, and his knees stilled. “We should hang out more.”

“Sure.”
Or not.
He gestured to the spreadsheet on his desk. “I’ve got to get this done.”

“Say, you ever been to the rodeo?”

“Once or twice when I was a kid. Why?” Resigned, he leaned back in his chair.

“There’s a big one coming to the Ford Center in Evansville next weekend. It’s PRCA sanctioned with sizable payouts, so it’ll be a good one to see. My uncle raises rodeo bulls, and he and a few of my cousins will be there with their livestock. Why don’t we go as a foursome? Uncle Shawn already sent us four prime tickets in the VIP section. You and Cory can be our guests.”

If he could finagle time with Cory, maybe he could convince her to see things his way—without the seduction piece, of course. That could wait. He’d even be willing to participate in the therapy
with her if it would help. “You or Paige would have to ask her. If I do, Cory will think it’s too much like a date. She’ll say no for sure.”

“You two aren’t dating?” Ryan’s brow creased. “I thought—”

“We were heading that way, but I guess being near me stirs up her PTSD symptoms.” He shrugged. “She cut me loose.”

“Sorry to hear that. It’s not really you; that’s just how PTSD works. You might think you’re getting better for brief periods, but if you don’t get help, the problems escalate. She hasn’t caught on yet, is all. You’re good for her, Ted. She’s just not in a place to see it right now.” Ryan stood up. “I think we should give it a shot anyway. She and my wife get along really well, and I know Paige would like to get to know her better. You in if we can convince her?”

“Sure, why not? Sounds like fun.”
Absolutely.
He did his best to appear only marginally interested, while his pulse shot off the charts.

“Good. I’ll let you know. We also have the get-together at our house coming up. You coming?”

“I’ve got it down.” He gestured to the calendar hanging on the wall beside his desk. The last weekend in July had
Malloys’ housewarming
penciled in. “Is Cory coming?”

“She said she is.”

“Great. Later.”

“Later, bro.”

Ryan left, leaving Ted to think about what had just happened. A pleasurable thrill spread through him. Cory had come to his defense. A good sign. “Wish I could’ve been there to see it.” He swiveled his chair around to look out the window overlooking Main Street, smiling for the first time all morning. Her image limned in starlight sprang to mind. Memories of the kiss they’d shared brought a tender ache to his heart. They were meant for
each other. He was sure of it. Convincing her presented a challenge. Was he up to it?