“I
hope you don’t mind my barging over like this without calling first, but—I’ve been dying to meet you!”
Ruby Jean was a bundle of beautiful blond ringlets bouncing around a face that belonged on a forties’ pinup calendar, complete with rose bud lips and sparkling blue eyes. Her smile was bright, her laugh infectious, and she was basically impossible not to like on sight. Which made the whole phone call thing a bit more challenging to confront.
“No, no, not at all,” Lauren said, scrambling to figure out just how she wanted this surprise meeting to go. What to say, what to reveal. Maybe it was best to focus on meeting her as Jake’s sister, first, then see how things progressed from there. “Come on in.”
“Oh,” Ruby Jean said, noting the computer bag on her shoulder. “You were just heading out, weren’t you?”
“I—” Lauren looked at her bag and slid it from her shoulder. “Nothing pressing, really.” She propped the bag next to the sliding closet door. “I wish I had something to offer you, but—”
“No, not necessary.” She laughed. “I’d ask you out to have a drink and a bite, but then we’d be on the six o’clock news.”
“You have a local news station?”
Ruby Jean laid her hand on Lauren’s arms and squeezed as she laughed again. “No, no, I was just kidding. But, wow, you should have seen your face just now. Have we truly been that awful?”
It was really, really hard not to like her. In fact, had they met under any other circumstances, despite the obvious difference in their ages, Lauren would have bonded with her instantly. “Well…” She let the word trail off, but smiled herself—it was impossible not to—and shrugged.
“I’m really sorry. I officially apologize for every man, woman, and dog in Cedar Springs. Twice for the women, because they’re the ones probably talking the most. We’re really not that bad.” She sighed. “Okay, we’re totally that bad. Worse, probably. But to know us is to love us…warts, gossip mongering, and all. We’re not close minded, and if it makes you feel any better, everything I’ve heard about you has been positive. Well, except perhaps for a few of the singles who were holding out hope that Jake might still look in their direction.”
“Ruby Jean, I—”
“Don’t you even think about apologizing for snatching my brother from the jaws of bachelorhood. If they could have pulled that off, they’d have done it by now.”
Lauren smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way, because I wasn’t going to say I’m sorry. He’s about the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I was going to say I hope you can get used to him dating an outsider, since I’m pretty sure neither one of us is interested in stopping.” Her smile grew to a grin. “And I’d hate to come between a guy and his sister.”
Ruby Jean took a step back and sized her up and down. “Damn, but I like you. Thank God my blind brother finally opened his eyes. I guess now that I’ve met you I can see why he’s waited all this time.”
Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. “And I’m really glad you’re okay with it, because he loves you more than anything and I’m pretty sure nothing is ever going to come between that bond. Nor should it.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” she said, a considering note still in her tone but approval still on her face. “Hopefully we won’t ever have to find out.”
“Hopefully not, no.”
Now that the pleasantries were out of the way, Lauren wasn’t really sure where to lead the conversation. She’d just gained favor with the person most important to Jake and so it seemed foolish to jeopardize that, but…she had to know eventually, so might as well ask now. “Can I ask you something? And I hope you take it in the spirit it’s intended, which is just pure curiosity.”
Ruby Jean looked intrigued. “Sure, anything.”
“If you love your brother even half as much as he loves you, and I can see the bond is tight both ways, then it makes sense that you’d want to make sure anyone he’s seeing is on the up and up…”
Ruby Jean’s smile faded, but her expression was simply one of open curiosity. “Go on.”
“So…by any chance, have you been doing any, well…background checks on me? Or, you know, just fact-finding kind of stuff?”
Now she frowned. “No. Do you have some reason to think I did?”
Lauren looked at her perfect Kewpie doll face, but wasn’t fooled into thinking there wasn’t a razor-sharp mind behind the blond curls and perfectly applied lip liner. Lauren was a pretty good read on people and, as far as she could tell, Ruby Jean had no idea what she was talking about. “Well, someone has been calling my office and asking questions about me. As I said, I understand, I just—”
“It wasn’t me, but…you know it was someone from Cedar Springs?”
Lauren nodded. “The phone number is local.”
“Do you have the number? I mean, maybe I recognize it.”
“I don’t want to put you in any kind of awkward situation.”
“I can’t see how it would. By the way, I was the one who bugged Jake to take you out on a date. I already knew what I needed to know from what Arlen and your mother told me about you before you got here. Although, I have to say, you’re a bit different than I expected.”
Now it was Lauren’s turn to lift an eyebrow. “Really? How?”
“Don’t worry. Different in a good way. It’s just, Arlen told me who you worked for and your mom told me how dedicated you were to your job, and I guess I sensed that she worried you didn’t take much time off.”
Lauren fought a smile. “And you knew my mom and I were having problems and thought your brother might be able to smooth out a few of my uptight, Washington woman, workaholic tendencies?”
Ruby Jean flushed a little, but her smile was undaunted. “Something like that.”
Lauren grinned. “Good call.”
Ruby Jean’s rich laughter filled the room and Lauren couldn’t help but join in. “Well, maybe it was the glasses and the tight ponytail, but I thought you might be a bit…”
“Prudish? Stiff?”
“Washington D.C.-ish,” she said. “Which is a lot different than Colorado.”
“That is true.” Lauren leaned in closer. “Can I ask you all what the secret is?”
“Secret?”
“There is enough vitality and energy in this town alone to single-handedly fix the energy crisis if we could find a way to channel it. It’s like you’re all—”
“High?” she said on a laugh.
“No. Well, not loopy high.”
They both laughed again. “I don’t know,” Ruby Jean said. “We have stresses and things we worry about, just like the next person, but the air is cleaner up here, and when you look out on that view every day…”
Lauren sighed a little. “Yeah, I know. It’s already grown on me. And my mother is acting like she’s found the fountain of youth.” She glanced out the big picture window looking out the back of her motel room toward the river and peaks that loomed beyond. “Maybe she has,” she added, more to herself than Ruby Jean.
“I like your mom. She’s really so accomplished and just so…well, graceful and elegant. But down to earth, too. I’m not sure what she sees in Arlen,” she added with a laugh, “but I’m sure glad she did, because we all love her a lot. We’re all glad you came out.”
Lauren turned back to Ruby Jean, wondering if she’d meant that comment about Arlen as the kind of toss-off thing that someone says, being self-deprecating, or if she really meant it. She knew Ruby Jean worked for him, so she had to think before she spoke out of turn. It was one thing for her to be honest with her mother about her feelings, but she didn’t have to make things awkward or difficult for her mother, either, by allowing word to get back to Arlen about her continued concerns.
“What did I say?” Ruby Jean asked, her tone sincere.
Good thing Lauren didn’t have plans on a new future playing poker. “No, it was nothing.”
“Just…you really don’t know what your mother sees in Arlen?” she asked gently. “It’s okay, you can be honest with me. I’m loyal as the sky is blue, but I choose my loyalties wisely. I work for Arlen and I do a good job. But I have a much stronger duty to my brother, and by extension to those he cares for. He cares a great deal for you.”
Lauren glanced up at her then, unable to hide her curiosity, wondering what Jake had said to his only family member about her. He’d made it clear, as had Ruby Jean in their short acquaintance, that he wasn’t apparently the settling kind.
Ruby Jean smiled quickly and reached out once again to squeeze Lauren’s arm. “Don’t worry, it’s all good. He’s totally head over heels. I’m loving every minute of it. Heck, the whole town is. We’ve all waited a long time to finally see him fall. And it’s turning out to be well worth the wait.”
“I’m relieved you all feel that way.” And she was. Instead of feeling pressured or trapped, she was truly thankful. It was a nice thing to know. “I’m not sure how I’d hold up otherwise. You’re a pretty formidable lot.”
“We take care of our own. Your mom is one of our own now. Not just because she’s the mayor’s wife, but because we’ve all genuinely come to like her. I don’t think I’ve heard a single soul say an unkind thing. That’s not to say we didn’t do our share of gossiping and wondering when word came back that our long-divorced mayor was coming back from the conference with a wife. I mean, you can imagine.”
“I’m not sure I want to,” Lauren said wryly.
Ruby Jean laughed. “Oh, we did our research and quick. And naturally, when we found out she was all but East Coast political blue blood, we were…even more curious.”
“You’re being polite.”
“Yes,” she said bluntly, but smiling, “I am. As I said, we can be pretty awful, but we hadn’t met her yet. We honestly didn’t know what to expect. But given Arlen’s past two wives—” She immediately stopped.
“It’s okay,” Lauren told her, then leaned in again. “I’m from Washington. We dig dirt better than anybody. I did my homework, too.”
Ruby Jean sighed in relief. “Good. And he’s been widowed and divorced a long, long time. In fact, we all sort of thought he’d kind of put himself out to pasture, more or less. Either that or he was having a very discreet relationship with someone in some other town. And there aren’t any around here, so that would take some doing. Still, it circled the rumor mills more than once.”
“Was it? Just a rumor?”
“I know the schedule the man keeps because I’m the one who books it. Trust me, if he was having a relationship of any kind with anyone, anywhere, no way would I not know about it. Or at least suspect it.”
“I didn’t think that, either.” Lauren looked away, certain she wasn’t doing any better a job in hiding her real feelings now than before.
“Hey, don’t worry. If you did your homework then you know that Arlen is from the West Coast, originally, and while his pedigree isn’t quite like yours or your mother’s, it’s not country bumpkin politics, either.”
“Oh, I never meant to infer—”
“No, I know. But, I’m just saying, Arlen married the bluest of blue bloods Cedar Springs could claim with his first marriage, and his second…well, no one knew Paula all that well from what I’ve gathered, but she did come from a privileged background, as well. So your mother and Arlen might have more in common than you think. We certainly weren’t surprised to learn that was who he’d fallen for. We just weren’t sure what to expect. According to the older members of our community, Cindy, his first wife, was very social, very outgoing, and though a bit of a princess, she truly enjoyed her role as the mayor’s wife, and not just for the luncheons. She was a good volunteer and had her causes, as well. But she was raised here and had the core, small town values we’d all been raised with, so it made it hard for her to be too high and mighty.”
“And Paula?”
“Total opposite on that score. More what you’d probably expect from someone with wealth. And she wasn’t from here, either, and kept to herself rather than try to connect with the townspeople, so that didn’t help her cause. She was a lot younger than the mayor, but smart, independent in her own right from what I know.”
“I read she had several degrees and sat on a national board or two, which was impressive at her age.”
“Family related, I think, but yes. She was reputed to be very…focused. But the word was what she was focused on was having a baby.”
“I heard. Which never happened. It led to their divorce?”
“I’m sure it was part of it. I was too young to remember it directly, but Arlen marrying your mom brought all the old stories to the surface, so I’ve heard my fair share recently and that’s pretty much the general conclusion. The divorce was quick and quiet. She left the area, he stayed, and that was the end of that.” She smiled. “Until he runs off umpty-ump years later and elopes with your mom. Pretty romantic is how I see it.”
“Do you?” Lauren heard herself ask before thinking better of it.
“Well, maybe not in the traditional “swept off her feet” kind of way, but they are an older generation and it’s clear they have great respect for one another.”
“Having seen them together over time now, would you say you can see them as the eloping kind of couple?” Ruby Jean got a sort of deer in headlights kind of look on her face and Lauren felt instantly contrite. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t put you in the middle like that. Forget I said that.”
“No, you just caught me off guard.” She gave Lauren a considering look. “You want an honest answer?”
“Not if you’ll feel awkward or uncomfortable giving it.”
“No, but this is just between you and me.”
“Agreed.”
“For most of my adult life, Arlen has been a bachelor. He definitely appreciates a pretty face, as do most men as far as I can tell, but he’s never been what you’d call a ladies’ man. Hard to do in a small town.”
“A small town with a large tourism base.”
“True. And, to be honest, though I do control his schedule, it’s hard to say what he does—or did—with his personal time. He might very well have enjoyed the company of women passing through. But if he did, he was very, very discreet about it because I’ve never once heard about it. All I’m saying is that while he’s definitely a man’s man, he doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who puts that as a high priority.”
“That meaning romance, or sex?”
“However you want to define it, yes. He has always been pretty focused on his work, on getting things done. That seems to be where he derives most of his satisfaction. Some men are like that. Workaholics to the extent where the personal life is always secondary.”