Back for Seconds (4 page)

Neither Nash nor Kari seemed overly excited about it, but they knew better than to argue. They both excused themselves from the table and headed off toward the living room. Joely turned to Xander. “What’s all that about?” she wanted to know.

“What’s what about?” he asked as he popped another huge bite into his mouth. His dark eyes watched her closely.

“Playing buddy-buddy with my kids,” she replied as she took his plate and headed back toward the sink. The chair scraped against the tile as he stood and walked over to join her.

His mouth was still full when he said, “It’s called being nice.”

Her look was skeptical. “Look. They’re going through a difficult time right now,” she said.

He swallowed his last mouthful. His eyes kept hers captive as he ran his tongue around the corner of his mouth to capture any leftover frosting. “I know,” he finally said. “Your mother told me.”

Inwardly Joely groaned. That explained everything. “Great.”

He leaned against the counter. “It’s no big deal. Lillian thought maybe I could connect with Nash. He’s alone in a house full of women now. She thinks he could use a man to talk to.”

From where they stood nearly a foot apart, she could see his broad shoulders straining against the navy blue shirt he wore. His legs were long, crossed casually at the ankle, as he linked his hands and rested his elbow on the counter. Her nose filled with the scent of his cologne, a mixture of wood and spice. There was no doubt about it. He most definitely was a man. And the look in his eyes wouldn’t let her forget it. “I just,” she started but then found herself flustered and stammering. “I don’t know how long I’ll be here and I don’t want them to get attached to anything temporary. I appreciate the thought, but it’s not necessary.”

He towered over her 5’5-inch frame, studying her long brown hair and her deep brown eyes. The longer he stood without saying anything, the more nervous she got. When the tip of his thumb brushed the side of her mouth, she nearly jumped right out of her skin. Her doe eyes opened even wider as she watched him lick his thumb. “Missed a spot,” he murmured.

She was still sputtering behind him as he walked from the kitchen.

Joely and the kids didn’t go to the restaurant that night. In fact, she was so discombobulated over Xander’s behavior in the kitchen that she ended up cooking more food than her brood could eat. She was putting most of it away by the time her mother returned that evening, after the dinner rush had ended.

“I should have stayed here for dinner,” her mother teased as she dipped her finger into a bowl, wiping away some residual sauce.

Joely turned to her mother. “What’s the deal with Xander Davy?”

Lillian’s eyebrow arched. “What do you mean?”

“I mean explain him to me. Why is he there?”

Lillian chuckled as she helped Joely clean up the mess. “He’s here because he’s brilliant. He’s worked at some of the best restaurants all over the world. London, New York, Miami, San Francisco.”

“And he just decided to slum it in Abilene, Texas?”

Lillian was instantly indignant. “What’s wrong with Abilene?” she questioned. “It’s done very well for you, thank you very much.”

Joely rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I mean.”

“According to Xander, he’s always had a touch of wanderlust. He stays a couple of years in each place, gets whatever he needs from it, learns whatever he can from it, and then moves on. Since he’s always loved westerns ever since he was a little boy, he thought he’d give West Texas a shot. His wild hair turned out to be a real blessing for us. He’s only been my manager for four months and already he’s increased profits by 23 percent. I’ll be sad to see him go, to be honest with you. I originally hired him so Granny Faye and I could spend more time at home. By the time we’re able to do that, he’ll probably hit the road for something new.”

“Even more reason to keep him away from the kids,” Joely decided.

Lillian laughed. “Don’t be silly. He’s great with kids. His philosophy is that if you can get the kids into the restaurant, you can get the parents into the restaurant. He always goes out of his way to make every kid that comes through our doors feel like a star. I think he even got through to Kari a little bit, to be honest with you. That was the first time I’d seen her laugh in a month.”

Joely thought about the look in his eyes as he licked frosting from his thumb and shivered in spite of herself. That was certainly a feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long, long time. “Still. It’s weird. Some strange man, traveling through town, chummy with kids. I don’t like it.”

Again Lillian laughed. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. He’s perfectly harmless. Unless you’re a single woman anyway,” she amended with a wink.

“What does that mean?”

Lillian shrugged. “He loves the ladies and the ladies love him. Believe me he’s not hurting for attention. And by the way, I’m a little offended that you believe I’d ever put my grandkids in harm’s way. I did a thorough background check, you know. He’s never been asked to leave any job. They always begged him to stay. Clean criminal record, no distasteful vices. He’s just a very ambitious man who wants to do what he can for the people he works with. Right now that means casting a little sunshine our way.”

“Beware Greek gods bearing gifts,” Joely retorted.

Lillian leaned against the counter to study her daughter. “When did you become so cynical, Joely?”

Her answer was immediate. “When I caught my husband cheating on me.”

Lillian pulled Joely’s hands out of the soap dishwater, a clear indication that she was trying to do anything in the world but think about her current situation. She had been that way since she was a child. She had to keep busy, or else she’d remember how sad she really was. Lillian grasped her daughter’s hands tightly as she forced her to look her in the eye. “Not all men are like that, honey. You got hurt. It happens when you fall in love. There are no guarantees in this life, sweetheart. Bad things are going to happen. Sorrow may endure for the night,” she said softly as she wiped a tear from Joely’s cheek. “But joy comes in the morning.”

“I want to believe that,” Joely said as she pulled away to reach for a towel. “But how can I trust anything, or anyone, anymore?”

“Trust me,” her mother said. “I’ve been where you are. Sure, my husband didn’t cheat, but he left me all the same. You just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep moving forward. You never know where you’re going to end up. And sometimes that’s the best part.”

Joely wasn’t so sure about that. There was a big ol’ question mark over her future path now. And it didn’t get any better that Monday morning, most of which was spent registering her children in their new schools.

The schools themselves were familiar. Joely had once attended all three of the schools her children were now enrolled. She was surprised to see that some of the teachers who taught her would be teaching Nash and Kari, which made her feel a little better about some of the new changes. The kids themselves were extremely uncomfortable as they walked through the doors of these strange new places. Since Russell’s timing could not have been worse, having his unfortunate fling discovered just weeks after the start of the new year, that meant all her kids were now starting somewhere new after all the classes had been established. Their collective discomfort of being “the new kid” was palpable. Joely empathized, doing her best to compensate with all the hugs and kisses that they’d tolerate. For Hannah, this was quite a bit. For Nash and Kari, who had shaded her into the villain of their story, uprooting them from their comfortable, privileged lives, it was none at all.

They were even surlier when she picked them up that afternoon, but by then Joely was in no mood to overcompensate. Her frustrating day had been spent putting in applications all over town. She’d lucked out with a couple of interviews, but it only showed how ill-prepared she was to re-enter the workplace. She was awkward and uncertain, which brought both interviews to a close about ten minutes after they started. Even though they smiled and shook her hand, telling her they’d make a decision after they met with all the other applicants, she knew they had forgotten her name the minute she walked out the door.

She had earned an Associate’s degree, but her major had never really been specified. She had no clue what she wanted to do with her future after she graduated. She had spent many of her college days working for her mom, waiting for inspiration to hit. It ended up walking through the door in the shape of Russell Morgan, a handsome hometown boy who was working towards his doctorate at Baylor in Houston. He dazzled her right from the beginning. They began a long distance courtship and two years later she was married, heading off for the big city to be with her love. She worked as an administrative assistant during his residency. When they returned to Abilene three years later, she was pregnant with their second child, Nash. She juggled work and motherhood until Russell opened his own practice in 2002. After that, she decided she’d rather be a homemaker. She had enough to handle with two small children at home. She’d leave taking over the world to other women who had the stamina.

She just wanted to be a wife and a mom.

Now her only job experience was administrative, but things had changed a little bit since 1997. She knew how to work basic computer programs, but most of her skills were archaic. Technology had advanced quite a bit while she was wiping noses and cleaning toilets. She knew from every receptionist she encountered that her age might also present a problem. Entry-level jobs were best suited for younger applicants, who were expected to live off of the meager pay.

Joely realized with a sinking gut that was her fate now. Days of living in hundred-thousand dollar homes with nice padded savings accounts were things of the past.

It depressed her so much that she ended up making a dozens of cupcakes that night – all gooey, fudgy double chocolate, because the occasion rightfully called for it.

She was frosting her last one when Lillian and Granny Faye returned home that evening. “Are you trying to get me fat?” Granny Faye accused with a playful glare, right before she sank her teeth into the decadent treat.

Joely just smiled. “What’s the matter with that, Granny Faye? You always told me that there was nothing wrong with a woman with a little meat on her bones.”

Granny Faye chuckled. “True, true. But really. If you’re going to keep cooking like this I may have to get my blood sugar checked.” She glanced at the table where Joely worked. It was covered with cupcakes that had been individually decorated, like mini cakes. “You really do have a knack for this, honey. These are gorgeous.”

“Thanks,” Joely said as she finished her last one. “I just do it to take my mind off of things. I get to make yummy things pretty and perfect. It’s like therapy I guess.”

Granny Faye planted a kiss on top of her granddaughter’s head. “Then stay sick,” she teased.

The next morning Joely hit the pavement again. She stopped at two employment agencies to sign up for any temp work they might have. Though they advertised several jobs that paid around what Joely figured she needed to survive, they, too, dismissed her with a form answer that basically boiled down to “Don’t call us. We’ll call you.”

She started to wonder if her expectations were too high. But she had done her research and crunched the numbers. Even with Russell’s support, she needed to make much more than the going wage for the jobs for which she was qualified. A three-bedroom apartment in a moderately safe part of town would take up 80% of her income if she had to work for minimum wage, which meant she had to look for something that paid better or they’d never get back on their feet. Unfortunately, those better paying jobs required skills and experience that she didn’t have.

She had a momentary and perverse thought that she should just divorce Russell and claim the alimony, but she rejected it almost the second it pierced her brain. She didn’t want to depend on anyone else for anything. She was going to make it on her own. It was the only way she’d ever feel secure again.

By the end of the week her spirits were low, and her sullen children were not making it any easier. Hannah had a much easier time transitioning to the new school; she had at least four new best friends by the time she left school on Friday.

But Kari and Nash were even more miserable by Friday than they were on Monday. They missed their friends and their teachers; they missed their dad. Russell called them every night, giving each of the kids ten whole minutes each of undivided attention. It struck Joely as ironic. That was more time than they used to get when they lived in the same house.

Fortunately Lillian and Granny Faye knew how to keep them occupied. When they weren’t all at the restaurant, they were playing games like dominoes, checkers or – Granny Faye’s personal favorite – gin rummy. Between them they owed her $27.63 by week’s end.

Joely wasn’t any happier than the kids. In the week she’d been on her own, she’d applied for twenty-two jobs, had five interviews and only one call-back. The bank where she had her second interview had held the most promise. The first supervisor seemed to take to her right away. Then she went upstairs to meet with the guy on the next rung on the ladder. She had met him at parties at the country club, but he didn’t even remember her name. That interview didn’t last as long, and they parted ways with the usual, “We’re still interviewing. We’ll let you know by next Friday.”

She was feeling so low that Granny Faye bought her a little gift to boost her spirits. It was a decorating kit for cookies, with icing and decorations galore so she could get started. “I can’t keep eating your cakes and pastries, girl. I didn’t live to be seventy-four just so you could kill me with ten pounds of sugar in a week.”

“And you think cookies are the answer?” Joely queried with an arched eyebrow.

Her computer-savvy grandma showed her some videos of artisan cookies, where bakers painted each cookie by hand. Some looked like lace, others looked embroidered, and some even looked jeweled. They would take time to precisely execute, which meant her output would be substantially lower. This had been the genius of Granny Faye’s plan. Since she hadn’t found anyone to pay her to pass the time, Joely threw herself into this new project.

Granny Faye’s brilliant idea to cut down on Joely’s output backfired. There were many failed attempts at first, ending up in the communal cookie jars as irregulars. She spent the entire Saturday baking dozens of cookies, dissatisfied first with the taste, then with the designs she attempted to replicate.

Lillian stopped by the house to pick up the kids for dinner at the restaurant. The kitchen was a wreck and Joely sat hunched over a heart-shaped cookie, trying to steady her hand to create the flawless designs she’d found online. “Still nothing?”

Joely barely shook her head. “Close though.” Just as she said it, she went a hair out of line with the lacy trim she was looping around the edges of the cookies. “Dammit!”

Lillian chuckled as she patted Joely on the shoulder, leaning in to kiss her hair. Her dark tresses were powdered white from the residual powder. “You’ll get it, honey. Just keep trying.”

“Is that for the cookies or life in general?” she asked.

Lillian shrugged her shoulder. “Who says they aren’t one in the same?”

Sunday came and went and she still wasn’t satisfied. She could spot all the tiny little imperfections in each and every cookie, which made her grandmother’s and her mother’s praises ring hollow. Out of sheer frustration, she ended up throwing all the misshapen, imperfect cookies right in the trash and called it an early night.