Authors: Loree Lough
This was a family place, just the kind her father would have loved. Her dad, a solid, do-the-right-thing kind of guy who’d lived a down-to-earth life.
Was this place the reason Kasey felt completely and totally at ease…or was it her companion?
She looked across at Adam, prepared to thank him for introducing her to Mi Casa when their waitress returned, balancing a tray laden with mugs of steaming coffee and tall tumblers of iced tea. “You guys ready to order?” she asked, placing a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa in the center of the Formica-topped table.
“The lady will have the taco salad,” Adam said, “and I’ll take the beef
chimichanga.
”
After scribbling their order on a blue-lined pad, the waitress nodded and moved to chat with the patrons at the next table.
He frowned suddenly, then grabbed her hand. “What have you done to yourself?” he asked, inspecting her forefinger.
“It’s just a knick, one of the hazards of the trade, I’m afraid.”
“I should have asked for a tour when I was at your house the other evening.”
“Of the workshop, you mean?”
“I think what you do is fascinating. You’re—”
She held up a hand to forestall yet another compliment. “It’s a living,” she said, reminding him of what he’d replied when Aleesha enquired about his profession. “You should stop by some time.” Kasey paused, then added, “You know, other than Mom and Aleesha, I don’t think anyone has ever seen it. Well, except for Buddy.”
It surprised her that his cheeks reddened. In response to her invitation? Or because she’d said “Buddy”?
“Did someone mention my name?”
The suddenness of the loud voice made Kasey jump, and she nearly upset her glass. “Buddy! You nearly scared me out of my shoes!”
“Sorry, sweet cheeks,” he said, bending to plant a kiss on Kasey’s forehead. “Didn’t mean to startle you, but it surprised me, seeing your pretty face when I came in, and—”
Either he hadn’t noticed Adam earlier, or he had just now recognized him. “Thorne.” He all but spat out the name. “I didn’t know rich, successful doctors frequented places like this.” Buddy’s tone made it clear what he thought of “places like this.”
“I like it,” Kasey defended. “It’s quaint. Charming, even.”
Adam shot her a look that was either gratitude or amazement, then wrapped his big hand around his iced tea glass.
“Long time no see,” Buddy said to Adam. “Didn’t know you and Kasey were, uh…acquainted.”
Anger sparked from Adam’s usually gentle brown eyes. “Yeah. We’re, uh…acquainted.” He let a moment of silence punctuate his statement. “I’d invite you to join us,
Buddy,
but I know how busy you are.”
Buddy’s glare darkened his entire face. “Thanks,” he all but snarled, “but you’re right. I
am
busy.”
Adam chuckled. “So what brings you to a ‘place like this’?” he asked, drawing quote marks in the air. “Delivering jukeboxes? Picking up bets made at Pimlico?” He looked at Kasey, as if to underscore his blatant accusation that Buddy had more twists and turns than the Mississippi River.
Buddy’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing that concerns you.”
He turned his heated stare on Kasey. “I called your workshop, and the answering machine picked up. I figured you were out delivering one of your little flower arrangements.” The glare riveted on Adam once more.
Kasey stiffened. She’d always hated it when Buddy referred to her work as “little arrangements,” but out of gratitude to him for his generosity, she’d never told him so.
One hand on the back of her chair, the other on the table’s edge, he leaned in and whispered, “In the future, you might want to check with me before…” Moving closer still, he said through clenched teeth, “You want to be more careful who you’re seen with in public.” He cleared his throat and stood up straight. “We’ll talk, later.”
Clearly, it was an order, one Kasey not only resented but intended to confront. She couldn’t help but notice that Buddy’s presence had commanded the attention of nearby diners; adding to their entertainment didn’t appeal to her.
“You bet we’ll talk later,” she said in a quiet, matter-of-fact voice.
Whatever business had brought Buddy to Mi Casa never got concluded, because he stormed out the door, got into his sleek roadster and pealed out of the parking lot.
“Sorry,” Adam said.
“
You’re
sorry? For what?”
“For not taking you seriously the other night.”
The waitress came to deliver their food. “Anything else, folks?” she asked.
Adam nodded. “Couple glasses of water would be nice.”
“What do you mean?” Kasey asked when the waitress left.
“You said he’d asked you to marry him, that you hadn’t given him an answer yet.” Fiddling with his paper-encased drinking straw, he added, “Guess I misinterpreted our…
your…” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize… If I had, I never would’ve…”
That night in his cabin, Kasey had asked Adam for information about Buddy, saying she needed to find out everything she could about him. “He’s asked me to marry him,” she’d said, “and I haven’t given him an answer yet.” Though he hadn’t provided that information, she’d let him kiss her when he saved her from falling into the fire. Correction—she’d
wanted
him to kiss her. Evidently, Adam also counted that demonstration of affection when she’d tenderly kissed his forehead after their lasagna dinner, and summed up that she hadn’t taken Buddy’s proposal seriously.
What he must think of her now!
She reached across the table, gripped his wrist with both hands. “Adam, let me explain. This thing with Buddy and me, it isn’t what it seems.”
He picked up his fork. “Yeah, well, not that it’s any of my business, but whatever ‘it’ is solves a lot of problems for me.” He poked at his meal.
She’d known Buddy for years, had met Adam days ago. Buddy’s outrageous behavior had sent the wrong message, one Kasey felt obliged to dispel. For a reason she couldn’t explain, Adam’s feelings—and his opinion of her—mattered…mattered very much.
“Better eat,” he said, “before your food gets cold.”
Maybe the best way to downplay Buddy’s proprietary actions was to ignore them. As Adam took a drink of iced tea, she feigned a smile. “Taco salad is supposed to be cold.”
But Adam never saw it, didn’t react to her well-intentioned joke. Instead, he pulled back his shirtsleeve and glanced at his watch. “Wow. Look at the time. I’d better get back, before Dorothy sends a posse out after me.”
He stood, slid his wallet from his back pocket and absently tossed a twenty and a five onto the table. “That should cover the tab.” Finally, he met her eyes. “See ya around, Kase.” And without another word, he dug his hands into his pockets and walked purposefully toward the door, shoving it open with one shoulder.
Kasey stared at the money, at his barely touched food, at her own uneaten lunch, then looked out at the parking lot. A familiar flash of silver caught her eye. Buddy’s car? Of course it was—he’d special-ordered it from France, and there wasn’t another vehicle like it in the tristate area.
She should have known he hadn’t coincidentally run into her while conducting business at Mi Casa. Lovely as it was, the restaurant wasn’t the kind of place Buddy—or his cronies—frequented. No, he’d
followed
her here with every intention of making Adam believe there was a wedding on the calendar.
Kasey rose slowly, and, trembling with anger, walked to the door. If Buddy’s car was still in the lot when she stepped outside, she intended to have a word or two with him.
B
uddy didn’t seem surprised when she opened the passenger door and slid onto the buttery leather seat.
“Hey, cutie,” he said, leaning across the console for a kiss.
Kasey backed away. “What was all that about?”
“All what?”
“That…
scene
in the restaurant, that’s what.”
His pucker became a pout as he ran a hand through his dark hair. “Just lookin’ out for my girl,” he said, “makin’ sure she’s safe and sound.”
She studied his olive-skinned face. If the spark in his eyes and his smile was any indication, his words had been sincere. Her attitude softened. “Buddy, I’m perfectly safe with Adam, and—”
“If you’re smart,” he interrupted, “you’ll keep your distance from him.”
How quickly his expression had turned from warm and protective to cold and uncaring! Instinct made her recoil. “Did you mean that to sound like a threat?”
One well-arched brow quirked as a corner of his mouth lifted in a wily grin. “You know me better than that.”
She knew he was smooth. Kasey had known Buddy a long time, to be sure. He’d lived across the street for as long as she could remember. But what did she really know about this man sitting beside her? He’d never explained what he did for a living, never told her how his name had ended up on every Who’s Who guest list from New York to Richmond, or why he seemed to have the ear of every politician in the Baltimore–Washington, D.C. area. In fact, Kasey realized, Buddy hadn’t ever given her a straight answer to anything relating to his life, business
or
personal. She didn’t know him “better than that.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
He reached out, tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “Sorry,” he said, his smirk becoming an impish smile, “but I don’t remember the question.”
Kasey fought the urge to swat his hand away. She’d never liked games, not the kind that came in boxes, and certainly not the type that tampered with people’s lives. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t give her all…
if
she’d decided to play.
“Well, then, Buddy, let me refresh your memory.” She matched his innocent smile, tooth for tooth. “You said if I was smart, I’d keep away from Adam.” She lifted her chin. “And I asked if you intended it to sound like a threat.”
His expression gentled as he grasped her hand. “Kasey, sweetie,” he said quietly, stroking her fingers, “of course it wasn’t a threat. I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
She remembered enough from her college English class to know it was a simple declarative sentence. Strangely, it came out sounding more like a plea. Kasey sighed, because if it had been Buddy who’d delivered money-filled enve
lopes, if
he
was her champion, how hardhearted and cold to accuse him of threatening her!
She was about to apologize for snapping at him, when he added, “Besides, what reason would I have to threaten you?”
It wasn’t his follow-up so much as the instantaneous flash of fury that burned in his eyes that made her neck hairs bristle. Swallowing the lump of fear that now blocked her words, Kasey reached for the door handle. “I don’t have time for this,” she said, hoping he hadn’t heard the flutter in her voice. “I have work to do.”
“Don’t go,” Buddy implored, tightening his hold on her hand. “If I scared you, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, honest.”
Stiff as a statue, she stared straight ahead.
Please, God,
she prayed,
tell me what to do.
Holding her breath, Kasey waited, believing if she truly was in any danger, the Almighty would give her a sign of some kind.
A moment passed.
Two.
Nothing.
Exhaling, she shook her head. “I have to go,” she said, opening the door. “My car’s in the parking lot right down the street. I have two more…” The way he’d always called her work “little arrangements” echoed in Kasey’s mind, but she refused to give in to feelings of petty resentment. Especially considering that Buddy was probably the man who’d made her business possible. “I have two more deliveries to make before I head home. And once I get there, I have to start working on the flowers for the Lauffer wedding. It’s next weekend, you know.” She was rambling and knew it, but seemed powerless to stop the rapid-fire flow of words.
“Close the door, Kasey.”
Was she losing her mind? Paranoid? Because even that
simple request sounded hard-edged and icy…like a command. She looked at his face, searching for proof that he hadn’t turned into a bullying brute.
Or had he always been exactly that, and gratitude had blinded her to it?
What she saw now was the plastic facade Buddy usually reserved for newspaper and TV cameramen, for glad-handing politicians and their always-nodding spouses.
“You know me better than that,”
he’d said a moment ago—but it wasn’t true.
“Kasey?” He snapped his fingers. “You okay?”
She’d be fine, just fine, the minute she got out of this car, put some distance between herself and Buddy. Kasey gave the car door a push, swung her legs toward the opening, intending to do just that, when Buddy reached over her. One hand brought her knees back into the passenger seat as the other closed the door.
“Where’s your car?” he asked, depressing the lock. “I’ll drive you to it…when we’re finished here.”
Her cheeks and ears burned with humiliation. Her dad had taught her never to take any guff from anybody, for any reason. Yet here she sat, trembling like a frightened fawn, allowing Buddy to hold her against her will.
“You know very well where I parked,” she snapped. “You followed me here, after all.”
Buddy’s narrowed eyes blazed into hers for a millisecond. Then, just like that, he laughed. He was near enough that she felt a burst of air when he did.
“You’re such a li’l spitfire,” he said, kissing the end of her nose. “Just one of the reasons I love ya t’death.”
He hadn’t denied her accusation, she noted while he leaned back in the driver’s seat.
The diamond pinky ring on his right hand glittered in the afternoon sunlight as he turned the key in the ignition.
Instantly, the roadster’s motor began to purr. After adjusting the rearview mirror, he slid a CD into a slot on the dash. “Buckle up,” Buddy instructed. And in his reserved-for-public-speaking voice, he quoted the drivers’ safety manual: “‘It’s a law we can live with.”’ He put the car into drive, but kept his foot on the brake. Thumbs tapping the steering wheel in time to the music, he stared through the windshield and hummed under his breath, waiting, she knew, for her to obey.
Obey, indeed.
Dad would turn over in his grave!
Gritting her teeth, Kasey unlocked and reopened her door, not minding at all when a look of shock widened his dark eyes. And knowing how he babied the car, she slammed the door and walked away.
It was a true test of her willpower to keep from looking over her shoulder; something told her that if she opened her compact, she’d see Buddy’s startled image in its round mirror.
A twinge of guilt pricked her conscience.
That was a mean-spirited thing to think about the guy who likely saved your bacon.
And on the heels of that thought came a question: Would a man who’d do something that generous and kind want to intimidate and control her, even in subtle ways?
Kasey didn’t think so.
She stepped up her pace. Clearly, she had a lot to pray about.
“Good ole Buddy called while you were out,” Aleesha said, the moment Kasey walked into the kitchen.
“Really.” She tried not to let on about the altercation she’d had with him after lunch at Mi Casa several days earlier. Tried too, to ignore the sarcasm in Aleesha’s voice. “Did he say what he wanted?”
The girl’s thick, black cornrows bobbed as she shook her head. “Said he might stop by tonight, lucky us….” She pressed a fingertip to the end of her nose and, in a haughty British accent, added, “…
if
he isn’t too awfully busy, that is.”
Smiling, Kasey hugged her. “So what’re you working on? Your Biology term paper?”
“Yeah, and I think I’m gonna ace this one. Nobody in class is doin’ anything like it.”
“Is that so?” Kasey asked, sliding a package of pork chops from the freezer. “What’s the topic?”
“The human heart.”
Distracted by supper preparations, Kasey only nodded.
“Dr. Thorne is helpin’ me.”
“Is that so?”
“Uh-huh. I called him,” Aleesha announced, “to ask for his advice.”
Wait. Had she heard correctly? Aleesha had called Adam? Stunned, Kasey froze. “Y-you called Dr. Thorne? When?”
“Day before yesterday,” she said, hunched over her work.
Kasey hadn’t seen or heard from Adam since their lunch, and that had been over a week ago.
“He said he’d be glad to help me.” She riffled through the stack of papers next to her textbook. “He dropped this stuff by yesterday afternoon. Ain’t it neat?”
Kasey put the chops on the counter and stood beside her daughter.
“See? He made me full-color slides to use on the overhead projector, and these color photocopies are to hand out to the rest of the class. Plus,” she said, voice rising with enthusiasm, “he brought me—”
“He delivered all this? In person?”
“Yup. He called, and when I told him you were delivering that wedding stuff, he said he’d come right over.”
“Where was Gramma?”
“In the family room, I guess, watchin’
Oprah
like always.”
Kasey wondered why neither of them had mentioned that Adam had stopped by.
Aleesha opened a cardboard box and carefully removed a life-size reproduction of the human heart. “It opens up, see, to show all the arteries and stuff inside. Ain’t it great?”
“Great. Yes.” Several times since her lunch with Adam, she’d considered calling him. But Buddy had made her look like a mealymouthed little twit—and she’d let him. Embarrassed, she hadn’t called.
Besides, the way he’d hotfooted it out of the restaurant made it pretty clear what Adam thought of her relationship with Buddy. Since then, she’d been hoping that in time she could figure out a way to explain, so he’d understand how things really were between her and Buddy.
The memory of the way he’d left the restaurant, looking stunned and hurt and confused, came to her mind. Well, she could try to explain things.
“…such a nice thing to do,” Aleesha was saying.
Kasey blinked herself back into the present and focused on her daughter’s words.
“I bet
Buddy
would never do anything like this for me.”
Kasey felt it was her duty as a mother, as a
Christian
mother, to defend him. “Now, Aleesha. You don’t know that. Have you ever asked him to do anything for you?”
“Well, no,” Aleesha answered, returning the heart to its box. “Even if I liked him—which I do
not
—what could
he
do for me? What stuff could a guy like
that
teach me?” Grinning, she mimicked an anchorwoman’s voice: “‘And now a word from Buddy Mauvais on How to Tell Believ
able Lies.’ No, wait!” she said, giggling. “‘I’m proud to introduce the author of
Con Jobs Made Easy.
”’
Suddenly, Aleesha was all business. She shook her head and said, “Really, Mom, I don’t know what you see in that guy.”
Rather than plumb the depths of explanations and excuses, Kasey relied on an age-old lecture. “Remember what I’ve always told you….”
Aleesha sighed heavily. “I know, I know” came her bored monotone. “The Golden Rule.” She met Kasey’s eyes. “But I remember another rule you taught me, too.”
“Which is?”
“Respect is a two-way street. How am I supposed to respect a jerk like Buddy?”
“Aleesha! You know better than to say things like that. So be fair. Buddy has never been anything but nice to you.”
Aleesha pouted. “That ain’t true, exactly. He always talks like he thinks I’m stupid, like he thinks he’s better’n me. Talks to Gramma and you the very same way, an’ you know it’s true.” She folded her arms over her chest. “He
ain’t
better’n us, ain’t better’n most folks, if you ask me.” And huffing, she added, “Ain’t smarter’n us, either.”
The memory of the way Buddy had spoken to her in Mi Casa, and in his car afterward, echoed in her memory. There was some truth in Aleesha’s words, more truth than Kasey cared to admit. “We’ll talk more about this after supper. Right now,” she said, taking a baking dish out of the cabinet, “I think you should concentrate on your report.” She put the pork chops into the pan, poured half a cup of water over them.
“You know what?”
“What?” Kasey asked, sliding the pan into the oven.
“Dr. Thorne told me I could call him Adam if I wanted to.”
Kasey adjusted the temperature dial. “You don’t want to?”
“’Course I do. But I’m hopin’ if I call him Dr. Thorne, like I respect him—and I
do
—he’ll want to spend more time around here.”
She was about to ask why Aleesha wanted to spend more time with a man she’d so recently met, when the girl said, “Maybe if Dr. Thorne was here
more,
Buddy would be here
less.
”
Wiping her hands on a kitchen towel, Kasey cleared her throat. Even if she hadn’t thought Buddy had been helping the family all these years, she’d have treated him with basic human kindness, as any good Christian would. Had her behavior been misinterpreted…as requited love?
Aleesha stood, limped over to the sink, and wrapped Kasey in a warm hug, saying, “I know I’m not as smart as the other kids. But I’m not so dumb that I don’t understand grown-up things, like love and stuff.”
Kasey prayed for a way to explain how she felt, but ended up relying on a cliché: “You’re smart as a whip,” she argued, kissing the top of her daughter’s head.
The girl tightened her embrace. “I know some things. Like, for example, I don’t know
why,
but you act like you owe Buddy something. And like, I know you have feelings for Dr. Thorne—like, maybe you’re falling in love with him.”
The word
love
reverberated in her mind. Kasey’s heart thudded. Had her budding, confusing feelings about Adam been that easy to read?