CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
K
YLIE SIPPED HOT GREEN TEA
and willed her leg to stop bouncing. Even a short session of meditation in her Zen Garden hadn’t helped. The morning hadn’t gone exactly as planned. After a late and exhausting night, they’d been jarred awake by Jack’s ringing cell. Kylie had sensed an emergency right away. She told herself not to take offense because Jack had taken off like a blur—no explanation. Obviously, his sister was in trouble. God knew she’d go running if Spenser ever needed her, not that that was likely, still…
Whatever the trouble, she hoped it wasn’t serious. She hoped the woman was exaggerating her situation as she was prone to do. Jessica Lynn had a way of stealing, no,
demanding
the spotlight. On the other hand, it was hard to think ungracious thoughts about a person who’d saved her from an uncomfortable discussion with Max and gang. A person who’d tried to make up for past bad behavior.
Kylie sipped tea, ate granola cereal and thought positive. Whatever the problem, Jack would solve it. She had complete faith in the man’s abilities to save the day. She’d witnessed many incidents, heard many stories. The more she reflected on his stellar character and impressive accomplishments, the more she wondered what he saw in her. She wasn’t worldly or exciting or jaw-droppingly gorgeous. She was Kylie McGraw, manager of a shoe store. A woman whose ambition stopped at carrying on her family’s legacy. Fitting the needs of those in need of shoes.
“No promises. No expectations. Just live for now and see where it takes us.”
Right.
She repeated that notion three times, declaring it today’s affirmation. No matter what, she’d always have last night. But she sure as heck wanted more.
If it weren’t for the leftover Chinese takeout in her fridge and her achy muscles, she would have chalked up the evening to a fantastic dream. She’d known Jack all her life, but as her brother’s best friend and the hunky fantasy man she lusted after. Last night she’d gotten to know him as a real person and a lover. Their dynamics had shifted, and even though she was thrilled, she wasn’t secure in her new reality. She kept thinking about how everything she’d “changed” of late had gone wrong. Except for the renovations to the store. Thanks to Travis, those had turned out better than she’d hoped. Of course, that could still bomb, too. What if she ran off McGraw’s regulars because they thought the store was too trendy? What if she couldn’t woo the Garden Club elite with the designer heels she’d ordered? What if the kids and tourists snubbed her
Bada-Bling!
imports?
Travis would tell her to relax and have faith. She was really looking forward to seeing him this afternoon. She knew his work was pretty much done, but she still needed to write him a check and she’d bought a special thank-you card. She hoped their new friendship wouldn’t fizzle when he went back to work at Hank’s Hardware. Even though she knew so little about Travis, she knew enough to peg him as a good soul. A hurting soul. Maybe she could help him through the pain of losing his wife and chase away whatever demons haunted him. She suspected he’d do the same for her. Now, if only Jack and Faye would warm to him. She’d have to work on that.
Kylie glanced at the phone, sighed. “As if staring will make that thing ring.” Jack had promised to call. She was on pins and needles. Was he all right? Was Jessica all right?
Needing a distraction, she fired up her laptop. She sipped tea, willed her bouncing leg still…again. She weeded out junk mail, checked the status of orders. Mostly everything was in. The
Bada-Bling!
sneakers would arrive tomorrow. The designer heels had arrived yesterday, just before she’d locked up to prepare for her date with Jack. She’d spend today hauling out the previous stock she’d stashed in the storeroom and arranging it on her new shelves alongside special displays for the new shipment of quirky shoes and sophisticated heels. But she didn’t want to leave until Jack called.
She could hear him now.
“If you had a cell phone you wouldn’t be stuck at home at the mercy of your landline.”
Last night they’d gone a round about that. He’d stated several reasons why she needed one, sounding very much like her brother. She’d always considered cell phones a luxury. She still wasn’t sure it was a necessity, but she’d
“yessed”
Jack just so they could move on to something else, like kissing each other into a blissful coma.
Again, she glanced at the phone. She’d call Faye, since she owed her details about the date (not that Kylie would tell
all
), but it was Sunday. Faye was at church with Stan and the kids. Most everyone in Eden was at church. Since discovering Buddhism, Kylie had marched to her own spiritual drum.
She checked more e-mails, drank more tea.
The phone jangled. Kylie tripped in her haste, stubbing her toe.
Ow
. “Hello?”
“Have something you want to tell me, Kitten?”
Spenser.
Surprised and wary, Kylie sat on her futon, wondering how to answer. Was he talking about the store? The water tower? Or the fact that she’d slept with his best friend? “Where are you?”
“Still on Pitcairn, though I’m wondering if I should abandon the shoot and come home.”
“Why?”
“Mayor Wilson contacted me through the studio. Said you’re having a crisis, stirring up trouble. He’s worried you’re going to sabotage the Apple Festival.”
“What?” Furious, Kylie stood and paced. “That’s insane. Why would I… Oh. Because I promised to shake things up. Well, believe it or not, I can add a little zing to this town without sabotaging the blessed Apple Festival.”
“Zing, huh? Like painting the front of McGraw’s pink?”
“Not
pink
. Moroccan spice. Not that it matters. I’m not altering the storefront. The HPS cited some legal mumbo-jumbo and squashed my plan.”
“Except you told the HPS this wasn’t over.”
Kylie swallowed a squeal of outrage. “I can’t believe the mayor tracked you down on a remote island to tattle on me!”
“Neither can I. That’s why I called.
Are
you having a crisis, Kylie? If you need me, say the word. I’ll drop everything and come home.”
Her heart swelled, her eyes stung. Great. Now she was angry
and
weepy. “I appreciate that, Spenser,” she said in a calmer tone. “But I’m fine. Honest.” A few days earlier she’d been disappointed when he said he was extending his filming schedule. Now she cringed at the thought of him coming home. Spenser would have something to say about her hooking up with Jack. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it. She needed more time, more freedom to explore this relationship without her brother’s interference. “I had the birthday blues, that’s all. I was bored. I wanted to make some changes.”
“So make changes. The HPS doesn’t control what we do with the interior of the store.”
She blinked. “Are you telling me to redecorate, because I already sort of did.”
“I know. Wilson told me. Am I going to hate it?”
“Probably,” she grumbled, wondering what other beans the mayor had spilled.
Spenser just laughed. “It’s always the quiet ones. Give ’em hell, Kitten. Just don’t scare away the tourists.”
“My intention, believe it or not, is to attract more business, not drive it away.”
“You always were the sensible one.”
It was the exact wrong thing to say. “I have to go, Spenser.” Jack could be trying to call, and she didn’t have call waiting. “Things to do. People to see.”
“A town to shake up. Got it,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Hey, how’s Jack doing as the new police chief?”
“Great,” she said, keeping it short and light. “You know Jack.”
“Excels at everything he does.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Kylie blurted, thinking about Jack’s magic touch. Face burning, she cleared her throat. “I really need to go, and this call has to be costing you a fortune.”
“Small price to know you’re okay.”
“I’m better than okay. I’m taking charge of my destiny.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
“I love you, Spenser.”
“Love you, too, Kitten.”
They disconnected, and Kylie stood in the center of her living room, feeling dumbstruck. She’d expected Spenser to blast her for renovating without discussing it with him first. Then again, it reaffirmed how little interest he had in McGraw’s Shoe Store—make that McGraw’s Shoe
Shoppe
.
The phone rang. This time when she lunged, she banged her knee.
Ow
. “Hello?”
“Hey, Kylie. It’s me.”
“Oh.”
Rats.
“Hi, Faye.
“You sound disappointed.”
“Sorry. I was just…Jack had to leave in a hurry to investigate something. I’ve been waiting for a call to let me know he’s okay.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. We’re talking about supercop Jack Reynolds. Listen, I only have a second. I snuck out of the sermon because the anticipation was killing me. How did it go last night?”
Kylie smiled and rubbed her bruised knee. “Since you only have a second, I’ll sum it up in one word.
Amazing. Romantic. Exciting—
”
“That’s three words and going strong,” Faye said. “I take it he slept over. Was it everything you hoped for?”
Kylie’s heart bloomed. “More than I dreamed.”
Faye sighed. “We
so
have to talk. I need details. Unfortunately, my day is jammed with family matters.”
Kylie envied that…except…what if those family matters were at the root of Faye’s unhappiness? “This thing with Stan, the issue you’re sorting out—”
“Still sorting. I’ve gotta get back inside, Kylie.”
“Okay.”
Crud
. “Call me when you can. Bye.” No sooner did she hang up than the phone rang again. She half expected Travis or her grandmother, or maybe Mayor Wilson. The obnoxious tattletale. “What?”
“That’s some greeting, Tiger.”
Jack!
“Sorry, I thought you were…never mind. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“What about Jessica and Madeline?”
“Also fine.”
“Shy?” Maybe something awful had happened to the dog-that-was-now-his.
“Shy’s fine. There was an incident at Jessie’s house. I need to clear it up. Between that and last-minute preparations for the Apple Festival, I’m swamped.”
Kylie wanted to know specifics about the “incident,” but didn’t want to snoop. Besides, maybe Jack wasn’t free to talk just now. Surely he’d tell her when he could. “That’s okay. I’ll be busy at the store preparing for the festival.”
There was an awkward pause. “Listen, hon. I know we had plans for tonight, but I don’t feel good about leaving Jessie alone.”
She heard the honest regret in his voice as well as the concern for his sister. It cooled the initial disappointment and warmed her heart. “Why don’t you invite Jessica and Madeline to join us for dinner? After, maybe we could rent a movie from Mac’s Video Circus. Then we can play it by ear.”
“You’re a good woman, Kylie McGraw.”
“Don’t say that. Good girls finish last.”
“Not in my book.”
Kylie smiled. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Be careful on that bike.”
Self-conscious, she smoothed a hand down her denim-clad thigh, thinking about the bruise beneath. “Always.”
K
YLIE SOAKED IN THE FRESH
country air and brilliant sunshine as she cruised Route 50 on her Kawasaki sport bike. She was still miffed about the mayor’s call to her brother, but her anxiety had eased somewhat after speaking with Jack. He was okay. His family was okay—relatively speaking. Jessica Lynn was going through a rough time. Kylie couldn’t imagine being horribly betrayed by your husband. An affair was bad enough, but Frank Cortez had seduced a teenager. The “ick” factor was off the scale.
She thought about how Jessica had come to her rescue yesterday, then apologized for an ancient slight. That alone was amazing, but the fact that she’d taken a job at Boone’s was a mindblower. Beauty queen turned beer schlepper. When Kylie had asked Jack about it, all he’d said was that Jessica wanted to earn her own way. You had to sympathize with her plight. Kylie promised herself she’d make an effort to befriend Jack’s sister. Having dinner together tonight would be a good start.
The tails of her red trench coat whipping behind her, Kylie smiled as her heart bloomed. Bonding with Jack’s family gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling and helped her to feel less insecure about their budding romance.
If only she could channel that optimism into the grand reopening of McGraw’s.
On a whim, just past Max’s place, Kylie cornered onto a narrow dirt road. Instead of her usual straight shot into town, she’d go the long way round, stopping first for a self-pep talk. She wasn’t on a set schedule today, and she wanted to walk into the store filled with confidence, not riddled with self-doubt. Whenever she communed with nature, she always got a positive charge. A stroll along the lake seemed the perfect solution.
She eased off the gas as she spied her destination. Across the way hailed Frances Slocum State Forest and Mississinewa Lake. She rolled across the deserted road and parked her bike near a strategic lookout intended for amateur birdwatchers. Rather than view the beauty from afar, she walked a path that led a short distance through the woods and straight to the lake’s edge.
Her silver helmet dangling from her right hand, Kylie breathed in the woodsy scents and serenity as she navigated the unmarked trail. Though she was surrounded by green, she was thinking
caliente
and
starburst
. “Travis struck gold with those chosen shades of paint,” she murmured to herself. Thinking positive, she imagined the vintage, funky decor of McGraw’s Shoe Shoppe.
Change is exciting. Change is good.
Her blissful musing was shattered at the sound of angry voices followed by a muffled pop. Cheeks burning, she froze in her tracks.
“
Fuck!
What are you,
oobotz?
How are we supposed to get money out of a dead guy?”
“He fuckin’ spit on my shoe!”