Colby hung up, glad to be spared
Phoebe's inquisition.
Throughout the church service that
morning, her thoughts
kept returning to Friday night.
Despite stil being miffed by
Phoebe's meddling, she had to admit
the night had been
ful of surprises. Ian had certainly
been more than gracious
about the whole thing, considering
that he'd been set up and
al but forced into driving her out
to Pasley's when her truck
broke down. On top of that, he'd
ended up ruining what
must been some very expensive
clothes. She could bake him
a pie as a thank-you. She enjoyed
baking when she had the
99
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time, derived a certain pleasure in
creating something from
scratch. Over the years, she'd
gotten pretty good at it.
Imagining the gleeful look on
Phoebe's face if she
found out, she almost nixed the
idea. But deciding she
would go crazy without occupying her
mind and hands with
something, she went to the pantry
and began pul ing flour and
sugar from the shelves. From the
back porch, she retrieved
some of the Red Delicious apples
she'd bought yesterday
afternoon, and for the next hour,
she got busy putting
together two homemade pies. While
they baked, she sat at the
table and leafed through the
newspaper, asking herself what
was wrong with doing a little
something for someone who'd
done her a favor. Didn't good
neighbors do that?
100
15
olby took the left-hand turnoff onto
the road
C that led to Oak Hil. The driveway
stretched
ahead for a mile or more, lined with
enormous oak
trees, most of which were nearly a
hundred years old.
Oak Hil had always been one of her
favorite
places. Once one of Virginia's most
prosperous
farms—tobacco and
wheat its mainstays—it became a
wel -known horse farm in the
mid-1950s. In the past
twenty years, the place went downhil
, since the house
sat empty for so long. She could
hardly resent Ian for
beating her to it, but nevertheless,
she wished he
hadn't.
She stopped in the circular driveway
behind a car
with New York license plates. He had
company.
Maybe she should forget delivering
the pie. She didn't
want to interrupt. But it would be
sil y not to leave it
now that she was already here. She
and Lena wouldn't
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be able to eat two pies, even if
they were Lena's
favorite.
She knocked, then stepped back,
holding the dish
in front of her.
The large oak door opened, and a tal
, very
beautiful woman stood in the
entryway. Dressed in
navy pants and a white silk blouse
that somehow
managed to look elegant and casual
al at the same
time, she smiled, her expression
expectant. “May I help
you with something?
Colby glanced down at the pie,
suddenly too
conscious of her own khakis and UVA
sweatshirt “I
just wanted to leave this for the
McKinleys.
The woman stared at her for a
moment, before
smiling again and extending her
right hand. “How nice.
I'm Rachel Montgomery. Ian's
fiancée.
“Oh! Colby
shifted the pie to her left hand,
returning the woman's firm
handshake, noticing that
the proffered hand felt smooth and
manicured against
her own work-roughened skin and
short, unpolished
nails. She took another step back.
“I'm Colby
Williams.
“Ian says the
people here are very nice. It seems
he was right.
“My truck broke
down the other night, and he helped
me out. This is just a little
thank-you. I hope you all enjoy
it.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“Would you like
to speak to Ian? Rachel asked. “He's
in the shower, but he should be out
anytime.
Colby backed down the steps, raising
a hand and
wishing she could grab the darn pie
and run without Ian ever
knowing she'd been here. “No.
Real y. That's al right. Nice
to meet you, Miss Montgomery.
A mile or so down the road, Colby
pulled over and
glanced in the rearview mirror, her
face flushed and hot with
embarrassment.
Way to go,
Williams
. Why had she ever given
in to the impulse to do such a
stupid thing?
She sat back in the seat, feeling
more than a little
foolish. It wasn't at all like her
to have gone to Ian's home.
She, the same woman who told Phoebe
she wouldn't do
the song and dance that came with
the dating scene.
And yet, she'd baked the man a pie.
A pie, of al things! A pie she had
ended up presenting
to the man's fiancée.
Anger with Ian edged its way past
her own
embarrassment. He'd sat through
dinner at Phoebe's and
never bothered to say he was
engaged. And what about the
rest of the evening? He'd had more
than ample opportunity
to do so. But he hadn't.
And Phoebe. Her own best friend, who
supposedly
had her best interests at heart.
Phoebe, who neglected to
mention that one small but critical
detail about Ian
McKinley.
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16
didn't know. I swear.
I“How could you
not have known? Colby asked in
disbelief.
“Mabel never
mentioned it when I cal ed her to ask if
she thought he would like to come to
dinner. I even told
her that you would be there and that
I wanted to introduce
you two.
“Don't tell me
she's in on this, too!
“She said she'd
been hoping you two would get a
chance to meet. How could I know he
was engaged?
Phoebe wailed. “What
was I supposed to do? Ask for a ful
personal history before inviting him
to dinner?
“Yes.
“Next time, I wil
.
“There won't be a
next time.
They were sitting in the wooden
swing attached to two
old maples in Phoebe's backyard, the
day Indian-summer
warm. The shade surrounding them did
little to cool the
heat in Colby's cheeks.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“I can't believe
he's engaged, Phoebe said, still
looking shell-shocked.
“Believe it. I
met her. What more proof do you want?
“Wel , he never
said anything about—
“No, he didn't.
He probably thought it was some grand
joke. And no doubt stil laughing
about it.
“Oh, Colby, I
don't think so. He seems like a nice
guy—
“Then how do you
explain his not bothering to mention
having a fiancée?
“I don't know.
Colby dropped her head back against
the swing and
stared up at the cloudless sky. “I
can't believe I actually
made him a pie. What is it about
attractive men that turns
normal y intel igent women into
noodle brains?
“Now, Colby, that
was a perfectly nice gesture. If I'd
thought of it, I would have
suggested it myself.
Colby sent Phoebe a look out of the
corner of her eye.
“And that's
supposed to make it intel igent?
“Legitimate. It
makes it legitimate.
“Right. I'm
giving you fair warning, Phoebs. No more
setups. That's the last one. My life
is complicated enough
now.
Phoebe let out a long-suffering sigh
and gave the swing
a push. They swung in silence for a
few minutes before she
said, “Everybody
has complications, Colby. Including me. I
think Frank's having a midlife
crisis.
Colby looked up, surprised. “He's
not old enough to
have a midlife crisis.
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“How old do you
have to be? I've known the man since
I was fifteen. He's never had an
ounce of interest in clothes,
and all of a sudden, he goes out and
buys two new suits.
Armani
suits. Do you know how
many mortgage payments
you can make on two
Armani
suits?
Colby had to admit it didn't sound
like Frank. She'd
known him almost as long as Phoebe,
and he'd never shown
a penchant for high fashion.
“Maybe he's trying to impress
you.
“Impress me? He
came downstairs wearing one of the
darn things Friday morning and was
almost. . .I don't know,
embarrassed, when I questioned him
about it.
“I wouldn't make
too much of it, Phoebe. It's probably
just a phase.
Phoebe chewed her lower lip. “A
phase is what
teenagers go through. Adult men
don't have phases.
“Says who?
“Dr. Green. That
lady psychologist who's on the radio
every morning.
“You called her?
Colby asked, staring at her friend in
disbelief.
“After Frank left
Friday. I cal her a lot, she said a little
defensively. “She's
very smart. She said there's always a
reason for the things people do. A
change in behavior means
something is different.
“Oh, Phoebe, for
heaven's sake. The man bought a
couple of new suits. You'l let this
woman convince you
he's having an affair. Frank, of al
people.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“Why not Frank of
al people? Phoebe asked,
sounding offended.
“Because you've
been together since Adam and Eve.
And besides that, he's nuts about
you.
Phoebe slumped back in the swing.
“Used
to be nuts
about me. He's been so distracted
lately, we've done
nothing but sleep in the same bed.
Getting the point, Colby said,
“The two of you need to
talk.
“I've tried. He
thinks I'm being silly.
Colby didn't know what to say. For
as long as she could
remember, Phoebe had been the one
with the rock-solid
relationship. The thought that it
might not be as stable as
she'd assumed was unthinkable. But
then, maybe lasting
relationships real y weren't
possible for people of her
generation.
Colby stopped the swing with her
foot and got up,
shoving her hands into her jeans
pockets. “I'm going home,
Phoebs. Go inside and seduce your
husband. You probably
just need some time alone together.
Since the kids are at your
mom's house, you have the perfect
opportunity. She headed
across the yard, waving over her
shoulder.
“Hey, Colby.
She turned around just short of the
truck. “Yeah?
“He'l come along.
“Who?
“The good guy
you've been waiting for.
Colby rol ed her eyes. “I'm
not waiting for anyone.
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“I'm stil not
convinced it isn't Ian McKinley, Phoebe
said, ignoring her. “Engaged
isn't married, after al .
Deceit was deceit, though, Colby
told herself as she
drove away.
It was real y none of her business
whether he was
engaged or not. So why did she feel
angry with him for not
mentioning it? And why, beneath the
anger, did she feel this
ridiculous sense of hurt?
Maybe because she actual y let her
guard down for a
little while Friday night. Something
she didn't do very often.
Back on the main road, she told
herself to forget about
it. She certainly had better things
to do with her time than
stew over an unavailable guy who had
trouble with the truth.
Colby's father dropped Lena off just
before six that
night. Colby met them outside. Lena
gave her grandfather
a hug and then went inside the house
without so much as a
hello. Trying to keep the hurt from
her expression, Colby
said, “How about
some dinner, Dad?
“I should get
home. His gaze followed Lena and then
rested on Colby, his dismay evident.
“Emma'll have dinner
ready. Don't want to make her wait.
“She's a better
cook, anyway.
Samuel put his arm around her
shoulders, then pul ed
her close. “Don't
be too hard on yourself over this thing
with Lena.
An unexpected surge of emotion swel
ed in Colby's
chest. “Oh, Dad,
I wish I could just wave a magic wand
and make everything like it used to
be.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“That's both the
beauty and the sorrow of life, honey.
Nothing ever stays the same. But
she'll come around with
whatever's bothering her soon
enough. Take my word for
it.
Colby hugged her father, grateful
for his steady
reassurance. She wanted to believe
him. More than
anything, she wanted to believe him.
109
17
pstairs, Lena turned on her stereo,
putting on the
Uheavy metal group she knew her
mother liked
least. She cranked the volume and
flopped down on the
bed, telling herself that she
did
like it. Staring up at the
ceiling, she forced herself not to
think about the hurt look
on her mother's face when she'd
ignored her. She didn't
want to be so mean to her, but she
just couldn't help it. It