Pretend Mom (7 page)

Will took the chair opposite her so he
could see her face. "Would you still like to live here?"

Dixie shrugged, "It's a tempting
thought. I don't think there's any place quite as beautiful or
serene. But, if I marry Ed, no. He could never be happy in a small
rural community. He's a city man. Besides, my career is in New
York."

"Then I hope you don't marry this Ed
character," Will said gruffly. Will had always been blunt. It was a
good balance because Tom used more tact.

"Well listen, if we're going frog
giggin' tonight, I'd better get supper started right away. Mom
left, said something about being down at the church again. Boy, she
really is getting into this social thing. I'm glad she's not
sitting home alone every night." Dixie headed for the
kitchen.

"Me, too." Tom sighed, turning on the
TV. "Hey, I'm starved, and if I know Mom, she'll be gone half the
night. Let's don't wait for her."

Searching the refrigerator, Dixie
smiled. "Okay." She glanced behind her in time to see Will standing
just behind her, watching her. "How about some of Mom's canned
black-eyed peas, with fried pork chops and some cornbread? You
think that will be enough, or do you want potatoes,
too?"

Will headed for the back door, but
yelled over his shoulder at her, "Yeah, fix some potatoes. We're
talkin' high cholesterol, but heck, who cares? A fella needs to
keep up his strength. I'll go pick us some green onions and see if
there's any mush-melons ripe enough to eat. We're pretty hungry. We
just finished a ball game, you know."

Boy, it feels good being home with
these two chow hounds, she thought. "Good, I was hoping you'd do
that for me, Will. Say, while you're out there, you might as well
bring in some of those tomatoes on the porch table and see if there
are any cucumbers in the garden. I peeled the last cold one last
night. You don't know how good it is to have so many fresh
vegetables available to you."

Will stuck his head through the doorway
and gave her a tight-lipped grin. "Want me to bring in the whole
garden, while I'm at it?"

Dixie recognized the old bantering that
had become familiar around the twins. "Cute, really cute, Kincaid."
She tossed a damp dishtowel at him and giggled. He caught it
without a blink and set it on top of the counter as he went out the
door.

Things haven't changed, she thought
with a sigh. Will still liked helping out in the kitchen area,
whereas Tom wouldn't be caught dead doing women's work. Thank God,
the twins would never change, different as night and day, and yet,
so alike in other ways. Twins could be an experience to live with,
Dixie assured herself with another giggle. They were growing up so
fast.

Minutes later, Will helped her prepare
the fresh vegetables and talked quietly to her all the while. If
she didn't know better, she would have sworn he had really missed
her this past few years. It seemed as though he was trying to make
up in one night for three very long years. It was good, being
home!

Sometimes, like now, she wondered why
she ever left, but then she knew why. She couldn't face herself for
what she'd done. Had it really been that bad? Looking back on it,
it almost seemed silly. But a certain man didn't think it
silly!

CHAPTER FOUR

Dixie put the last dish away as Emily
returned from the church. Loaded with parcels of decorative
streamers and balloons for the Charity Bazaar, Emily was huffing
and puffing. Still, Dixie thought she never looked happier or
younger. In fact, Emily seemed to have a glow about her.

"I'm sorry I'm so late. But there was a
lot of work to be done and so little time to do it. My, has
everyone eaten?" She glanced about at the clean kitchen.

Dixie pulled the apron from her waist
and hung it on the hook near the sink. "Afraid so, Mom. The boys
have invited me to go frog gigging, and I wanted to get supper out
of the way early. Besides, they came home from a ball game starved,
as usual." Dixie giggled. "I left you a plate in the oven,
though."

"Land sakes, that was sweet of you,
dear, but you needn't have bothered. I had dinner, thanks to
Bernie. He went out and got chicken for everyone who volunteered to
stay late. I'm glad, because I was starving, myself."

Something in the way she mentioned
Bernie's name caught Dixie's attention. "Bernie?"

Emily's cheeks colored. "Surely you
remember him. He was your father's barber for years."

Not easily duped, Dixie nodded—a silent
understanding dawning. "Oh, yes, of course. And I'm tickled pink to
see you taking an interest in men again, Mom. You aren't the type
to live alone, you know."

Emily's brow puckered. "I was a little
worried how you'd take to me seeing another man. I mean—so soon and
all. I suppose if I'm truthful it's the main reason I wanted you to
come home. That, and the fact that I've missed you so. I guess I
want your approval. Does that sound foolish?"

"Worried? Mind?" Turning to face her,
Dixie smiled when she noticed Emily's fretful brow.

"Yes, because I don't want you to think
I didn't love your father, dear. I did. Very much. But it's been
three years now, and, Bernie is the nicest man. He makes me laugh.
I used to laugh a lot with your father. I hope you have the time to
get to know Bernie better while you're here, dear." She pinked
beautifully, bringing a rose color to her ordinarily pale
cheeks.

Dixie let the soapy water out of the
sink and dried her hands on the towel, her mind already working
overtime. She turned Emily around to face her, noting how her pale
blond hair had more gray than blond, and how her beautiful, gray
eyes sank deeper in her face now. Still, Emily was far from being
an old woman.

"Mom, I know you loved Dad. I'd never
doubt that. And yes, loneliness can eat away at you, can't it? I'm
just glad you have enough sense to go on and live your
life."

Emily eyed Dixie keenly. "And what
would a lovely young woman like you know about
loneliness?"

"Not much, I suppose." Dixie evaded
Emily by escaping from the kitchen as Tom wandered through, heading
for the garage. "And you and I are going to sit and have a long
talk—real soon."

"I'll look forward to it. Now, run
along, the boys can be pretty impatient when they go frog gigging."
Emily said with a chuckle.

In the privacy of her own room, Dixie
rummaged through her dresser drawers for some old clothes. Frog
gigging demanded informal attire, she decided with a giggle. She
changed into a pair of patched jeans, and a loose fitting
comfortable cotton top. Grabbing a pair of thick socks, and an old
pair of faded tennis shoes, she dressed, knowing the boys were
probably already waiting for her.

Oddly enough, they hadn't seemed in too
big a hurry when she bumped into them in the hall, but perhaps they
were merely giving her plenty of time. Not rushing her. She liked
the way they considered her feelings all the time. Thoughtful boys,
they would someday make thoughtful husbands.

She noticed their waders as she caught
them strolling through the hallway later. Will had a large potato
sack thrown over his shoulder as he dashed downstairs.

"We'll have to wait a few minutes. Mike
and Amanda are on their way over," Tom announced with a
smile.

"Mike? And Amanda?" Dixie shrieked in
surprise.

"Sure, sis, you know he always goes
frog giggin' with us. He loves frog legs, and he won't eat them
unless he catches them himself. Ms. Ferris, his housekeeper, cooks
them up for him. Actually, I think he really likes to catch them.
You should see him. He's good at it, too. And Amanda loves to tag
along."

"I'd forgotten you told me he went with
you," she barely mumbled, a wave of panic washing over her. Twice
in one day was asking for trouble.

Will seemed to sense her apprehension.
"I guess you thought we were going by ourselves. It's just that Mom
doesn't usually like us going out so late to the creek bottoms by
ourselves—she worries. So Mike and Amanda started going with us.
But we could call him and un-invite him, if you want us
to."

Both boys stared at her, waiting for an
answer.

"Oh, no, don't be silly," she said,
gaining her composure once more. "Actually, I'm the outsider. Why
don't I stay home?" She saw them looking at her strangely. How
could she get out of this without giving herself away? "I mean, it
really isn't a sport for girls, anyway, is it?" she said
hastily.

"You can't stay home. Don't you know?"
He looked at his sister incredulously. "Mom's havin' Bernie over
tonight. I sorta planned the whole thing. So we'd all be gone, you
know? They don't get much alone time, and I think Bernie is having
a hard time working his way up to askin' her. You've got to go with
us, sis! And that's that! We think Bernie is really getting serious
about Mom and we like the idea."

"You really like this
Bernie?"

"He's not so bad. He sure can tell some
stories. He seems to like us all right. Mom likes him a lot. And we
like the way she lights up when he's around. You know how women
get, all smiles and everything. She's a lot easier to get along
with."

Dixie scolded them with a frown. "Mom's
not hard to get along with, and both of you know it. I think you're
growing up too fast. I can't believe you two are involved in a
matching-making caper."

Will nodded.

If Will and Tom already gave their
approval of Bernie, why did Emily need hers?

She was so absorbed in her thoughts;
she didn't see Mike and Amanda staring up the stairway at her. How
long had he been there?

"Dixie's coming with us," her brothers
chorused down the stairs.

Even Mike seemed to find it odd, from
the look on his face.

Dixie felt challenged. She placed her
hands on her hips and dared Mike to say one word. "Well, I used to
go with them before you came along, you know."

Surprisingly enough, he broke into a
broad, captivating grin. "Really, that's great. Just see you take
care of yourself, and keep up with us," he commanded. "This isn't a
picnic, you know."

"I'm pretty good at frog gigging, I'll
have you know."

"This I've got to see." Mike
laughed.

With one raised brow, she took him on.
My goodness, the way she drooled over Mike Dalton these days,
anyone would think she was interested. Determined not to swoon over
the bulging muscles where he rolled his sleeves, nor the way his
faded jeans hugged his hips, she snubbed him as she walked by him,
winking at Amanda.

"It's a wonder Janet Wilkinson didn't
follow you out here, Mike. Everybody in town knows she's sweet on
you," Tom kidded, eyeing the front door as though he expected the
girl to materialize any moment.

Mike's gaze flew to Dixie as he
chuckled good-naturedly. "I'm afraid Janet wouldn't be caught dead
with a frog in her hand. She's not the tomboy type."

"Daddy, what's a tomboy?" Amanda jerked
on Mike's pants leg.

"It's a girl who—never
mind."

Dixie chuckled. She wasn't about to
reveal her feelings, but the news that Mike apparently had a
girlfriend shocked her. The fact that she cared shocked her even
more. It made sense that a man of his age with his good looks
wouldn't be available long. Janet Wilkinson was pretty high society
in Wylie. Mike was doing well for himself.

Will cast Mike a strange frown. "Janet
doesn't have brothers. Dixie likes bein' with us. She probably
won't be home long, and we want to spend as much time as we can
with her. Besides, it ain't healthy to stay cooped up in the house
all the time!"

Poor Will, Dixie thought, defending his
poor, lonely sister to the end. Boy, did she sound like a recluse.
And obviously Mike thought so, too, by his expression.

"Which gig you want, sis?" Tom
asked.

Glancing at the four gigs in his hand
Dixie reached out and claimed one. "I want the shortest one. I
can't balance the longer ones very well. Unless you're saving it
for Amanda."

"No, she doesn't do any gigging, yet,"
Mike replied, rubbing his daughter's head
affectionately.

The gear was incomplete without caps
and attached headlamps. They looked like a bunch of miners with
waders on.

Not wanting to waste a minute, Dixie
led them to the creek. She held Amanda's hand, enjoying the way the
little girl seemed to be so receptive to her. Amanda chatted for a
long time, then became quiet, all of a sudden. Dixie sensed the
little girl might be afraid of the dark and took her to her
father's side.

The creek just crossed the Tucker
property line. In fact, her father and old man Tucker had argued
for years as to where the line actually ran, or if there even was
one. Dixie heard her brothers lagging behind her, talking to Mike.
The sound of their laughter made her feel content.

After a short while Dixie yelled back
at them, noticing that the lay of the land seemed to have changed.
But there was no reply. Only a dark silence filled the night,
except for the crickets chirping. When she looked behind her, there
was no one there. Where had they gone? Why had they left her? It
was so dark, only a soft blanket of stars lit her way. Yet,
something had changed, something was different about the trail, and
she didn't understand it. Crickets chirped and in the distance she
heard the mighty bullfrogs croaking.