“Is that what it is? I just know I’ve developed an affinity for it recently.”
“Tom, you have to stop saying things like that,” she said.
“Why? It’s the truth.”
“You’re very big on truth and honesty, aren’t you?”
“I try to be.”
“Which is why you warned me last night that your stay in Serenity is just temporary.”
He blinked at the accusatory note in her voice. “Is that what sent you flying out of there?” he asked incredulously. She nodded. “For once in my life I have no intention of starting something that can only end badly.”
“It might not end at all,” he said. “We won’t know unless we spend some time together.”
“We do know!” she countered. “You’ve already said you’re leaving. Maybe not tomorrow or next week, but someday.”
“And if that time comes, what’s to prevent you from coming with me?” he asked, perplexed by her attitude.
“It won’t work that way,” she said. “You know it won’t.”
He held up his hand. “Slow down, sweetheart. We’re getting way ahead of ourselves here. How about we go on an actual date before we start discussing breaking up?”
“Because I can already see down the road and it’s not one I want to take,” she said stubbornly. “You want to be friends, I can handle that. Anything more, forget it.”
“I think those kisses we’ve shared prove there’s something more than friendship between us.”
“Come on, Tom. We’re both adults. We both understand how chemistry works. Maybe we can light up the night sky for a few weeks, but eventually it’ll die down. And one of us will get burned, more than likely me.”
“You are, without doubt, the most pessimistic woman I’ve ever tried to date.”
“With good reason.”
“So I take the blame for whoever’s mistreated you in the past?”
“Not at all. Just think of me as a woman who’s finally learned her lesson.”
He sat back. “You’re not going to bend on this, are you?”
“Nope,” she said, sounding proud of herself. “For once, I’m not.”
He wondered if she had any idea how seductive it was to hear her make such a claim. “That sounds an awful lot like a challenge,” he told her, then winked. “I’ve warned you about this before, but I’ll do it again. I have never turned down a challenge. I’ll be in touch, darlin’.”
He saw the quick flare of alarm in her eyes right before he stood up and walked away. Good, he thought. She was on notice. Changing her mind had just become his personal mission. He had a hunch it was going to be more fun than anything he’d done in years.
9
Jeanette listened as Mary Vaughn recited the list of attempts she’d made to get the town manager to notice her, all to no avail. Jeanette couldn’t help but be gratified that he wasn’t succumbing to the woman’s considerable charms. Maybe his interest in her was serious, after all. She’d have to give that some more thought, she decided as she laid warm towels on Mary Vaughn’s face at the conclusion of a treatment.
“Do you suppose he’s gay?” Mary Vaughn said, her voice muffled a bit by the towels. “That would explain a lot, wouldn’t it?”
Even though Mary Vaughn couldn’t see her face, Jeanette had to turn away to stifle a laugh. Tom might not be right for her, but he was all male. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind about that. Those remarkable kisses they’d shared confirmed it. Maybe she should describe them in detail to put Mary Vaughn’s mind at rest. Bad idea, she told herself at once. That news could feed the rumor mill in Serenity for a week.
Apparently, though, her silence had gone on too long, because Mary Vaughn took it for agreement. “You think so, too, don’t you?”
“No, not at all,” Jeanette replied. “In fact, I’m trying to figure out how you could come up with such a crazy idea. You can’t go around saying things like that about the man, Mary Vaughn. Who knows what kind of trouble you might stir up for him. This is a pretty traditional town.”
“Oh, hogwash!” Mary Vaughn retorted. “It’s not as if there’s anything wrong with being gay.”
“Some people might not feel that way, including Tom. My point is, you’ve jumped to this conclusion based on very little. You hardly know him.”
“I have good instincts when it comes to men,” Mary Vaughn insisted. “Besides, like I just told you, I’ve asked him out for lunch or for coffee or a drink a couple of times now and he keeps turning me down. Always has an excuse.”
She pulled aside the towel and met Jeanette’s gaze in the mirror. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I know women are supposed to wait for men to make the first move, but if we did that, we’d spend way too many nights at home alone. I didn’t ask the man to marry me, for heaven’s sake.”
“Do you even know if he’s available?”
“Well, of course I do. I had a friend in the clerk’s office look at the paperwork he submitted his first day on the job. He’s definitely not married now, and as far as I can tell from asking around, he’s never been married.”
“He might have a fiancée or a girlfriend in Charleston or in the last place he worked,” Jeanette improvised, not wanting to suggest he might be interested in someone else right here in Serenity. “For all you know he takes off every Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with a woman he’s planning to marry.”
“I suppose that’s possible,” Mary Vaughn conceded, her expression thoughtful. Then she waved the suggestion aside. “Come on, Jeanette, he’s in his midthirties and he’s never been married. Don’t you think that’s strange?”
“I’ve never been married,” Jeanette responded. “Is that strange?”
Mary Vaughn dismissed that idea, too. “Heavens no, sugar. I can tell you’re just choosy. You’re not going to settle for any ol’ man who comes along, and why should you? With your looks, you can have any man you want.”
“If only that were true,” Jeanette commented dryly. Not a single one of her supposedly serious relationships had led to marriage. She’d played second best to other women, to sports, to a career, and in one disastrous instance, to the man’s mama. She’d finally resolved to break that pattern and never be anyone’s second best again. If a man couldn’t put her first, she didn’t want him. And based on Tom’s declaration about his own plans to move on, to say nothing of his unfortunate tie to a woman who’d tried to ruin her, a relationship with him didn’t seem like a good route to go.
Determined to change the subject, she replaced the warm towel over Mary Vaughn’s face. “Leave that there,” she instructed. “I’ll be right back. Try to relax and let those moisturizers do their thing.”
Mary Vaughn murmured something Jeanette couldn’t understand, which was probably just as well. She liked Mary Vaughn well enough most of the time, but one of these days the woman was going to make some nasty comment about someone Jeanette liked and she was going to lose control and stuff that towel right down her throat!
* * *
Tom looked up from the pile of requisitions on his desk to find his mother standing in the doorway, her expression uncertain, her arms laden with fabric samples.
“Mother, what on earth are you doing here?” he asked as he rushed to relieve her of her burden.
“I told you I was going to buy new drapes for your office,” she said with a touch of impatience. “I brought a few samples so you can choose what you like.”
Tom had forgotten all about the offer and his promise to make sure that no one in town would object. “I’m afraid you’ve wasted a trip,” he told her, dumping the fabric onto a chair. “I haven’t even spoken to the mayor about whether it would be appropriate for you to do this.”
“Well, where is he? Let’s ask him right now. Surely no one can object to your own mother paying for drapes.”
Truthfully, they probably wouldn’t, but Tom didn’t give two hoots about what kind of material hung by the windows in his office. Ironically, he wasn’t entirely convinced his mother did, either, despite her apparent enthusiasm for the project.
“Sit down,” he said. “Talk to me. What’s this really about? Normally you’re so busy I don’t even hear from you for weeks on end. Suddenly all you can focus on are my drapes. I don’t get it. Are you bored, Mother?”
“Heavens, no. I have so many obligations, sometimes I can’t fit them all in.” Despite her convincing words, she avoided his gaze as she spoke.
“Then why are you wasting time choosing drapes for my office?”
She squirmed uncomfortably. “Because you’re never around and I miss you,” she admitted finally. “I know you want to avoid your father and his constant criticism, but that means you don’t spend any time with me, either. You’re my youngest, and my only son.”
He grinned at her. “And your favorite,” he teased.
“Don’t start that with me, young man. Mothers don’t have favorites.”
“Then why isn’t it enough for you that my sisters and their families are all right there underfoot?”
“Because they’re older and they’re settled. They’ve made good marriages and are filling their homes with children. You’re all alone. I worry about you. I won’t be around forever. You need someone in your life, a woman of substance who will challenge you and see to your needs.”
Tom barely contained a sigh. “Not this again, Mother. I’ll marry when I find the right woman.” Then he thought about her offhand comment about not being around forever.
“You’re not ill, are you?”
“Of course not,” she said at once. “It’s just that you said something in Charleston to suggest that you might have met her,” she reminded him. “But when your father and I came over here hoping for at least a glimpse of her, the only woman we saw was the one who scooted off before we could even be introduced.”
“I told you—”
“I know, she’s on some committee with you,” his mother interrupted, clearly exasperated with him. “But is she the one?”
“Mother, you’re getting way ahead of yourself. I swear to you that if I get serious about anyone, you’ll be the first to know.” He walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“And no more talk about you not being around forever.
You’re not even sixty, for goodness’ sakes. You’ll be pestering us all for years to come.”
She gave him a wan smile. “I hope so.”
He bent and picked up the samples. “Why don’t I haul all this fabric back to your car and then take you to lunch at Sullivan’s.”
Her eyes lit up. “Do you have the time? The meal we had there was surprisingly good. I’ve mentioned it to several of my friends.”
“I’m sure Dana Sue will appreciate that,” he said wryly, knowing that the restaurant was already booked to capacity most evenings.
They took his mother’s silver Cadillac over to Sullivan’s, where the parking lot was already jammed with cars. Dana Sue greeted them at the door, looking frazzled.
“Obviously, you’re not part of this invasion by the Red Hat Society,” she said to Tom. “Hello again, Mrs. McDonald. It’s nice to have you back. We’re a bit crowded, but if you’ll give me two minutes I’ll get a table set up for you in the bar area. Will that be okay?”
“It’ll be fine,” Tom assured her. “Thanks, Dana Sue.”
His mother was gazing around the packed room. “I’ve heard about these Red Hat women,” she said. “They look as if they’re having fun, don’t they? And I love all those red hats and purple accessories. They’re a bit garish, but very lively.”
“They sound lively, too,” Tom said, listening to the roars of laughter.
“I’ve spotted several groups like this around Charleston at various restaurants,” his mother commented. “Most of the women seem to be my age or older. I wonder what they do.”
“Maybe Dana Sue can tell you that,” he suggested just as she returned to lead them to a table as far from the commotion as possible. “Dana Sue, do you know anything about what these Red Hatters do?”
“I don’t know that they do anything in particular,” Dana Sue said. “I just know they come in once a month for lunch and seem to have a wonderful time. I’ve always thought everyone should take that kind of break from their hectic lives, get together with friends just to catch up and laugh. Helen, Maddie, Jeanette and I do that from time to time, but not nearly enough these days.”
A young waitress rushed up. “Dana Sue, crisis in the kitchen!”
“I’m on my way,” Dana Sue assured her. “You’ll have to excuse me. Someone will be over to take your order in a minute.”
“Go, we’re in no hurry,” Tom said.
He glanced up then and saw Jeanette rushing through the front door. She smiled when she saw him, but the instant she spotted his mother, dismay flashed in her eyes and she bolted.
“Mother, I’ll be right back,” he said, hurrying after Jeanette as she sped toward the kitchen. He entered the kitchen right on her heels to find chaos as Dana Sue, Erik and their sous chef tried to keep up with the rush of orders. Dana Sue spotted Jeanette first, then Tom.
“If you two need a quiet corner to talk, this isn’t it,” she said as she dished up chicken salad with walnuts and grapes on a row of plates. “Go in my office.”
“I’m just here to pick up Maddie’s order for the café,”
Jeanette said, ignoring him. “She’s tied up with a vendor.”
“Five minutes,” Dana Sue said. “And out of my kitchen, both of you.”
Tom exited at once, then held the door for Jeanette.
“Since you have to wait, now’s the perfect time for you to say hello to my mother. Perhaps you can both put that unfortunate incident behind you once and for all.”
Jeanette frowned. “Unfortunate incident?” she said, her voice low. “Please. I won’t let you try to minimize what happened, Tom. Your mother tried to ruin me. If I’d worked for a boss other than Bella, she might have succeeded.”
He was about to tell her not to be so dramatic when his mother stepped up beside him.
“Is everything all right?” she said, her words directed at him, but her gaze locked on Jeanette.
Tom saw the precise instant recognition dawned. His mother looked as if she’d just tasted a sour lemon.
“You!” she said, practically quivering with indignation.
“I’m not entirely surprised to find you in this nothing little town. I imagine Bella ran you out of Charleston.”
Bright patches of color darkened Jeanette’s cheeks. She shot an apologetic look at Tom, then drew herself up to face down his mother. This wasn’t going to go well. He could tell even before she opened her mouth. Since he couldn’t decide which of them to drag away, he was forced to let it play out.
“Actually, Bella supported me one hundred percent,”
Jeanette told his mother. “I’m in Serenity because I had the opportunity to manage spa services at an exceptional new spa. I’ve been here for three years. We’ve gotten rave reviews from the media and our customers.” She fixed her gaze on his mother. “And you know the most amazing part, not one single customer has ever complained about her skin care here. Do you know what that tells me? It tells me I’m darn good at what I do and that if someone had a problem with a treatment, just maybe it was because she never told me she was allergic to certain ingredients.”
Undaunted by Jeanette’s suggestion, Tom’s mother gave Jeanette her haughtiest glare. “You are a very rude young woman,” she declared. “And incompetent, as well. I have half a mind to call your current boss and report exactly what you did to me.”
“Mother,” Tom protested, “you’ve known about your allergies for years.”
“That’s not the point!” his mother huffed.
“It’s exactly the point,” Jeanette said. “You knew you were in the wrong, but you tried to get me fired anyway. What gives you the right to toy with someone’s life that way? Is it just because you’re rich and you think you can get away with it? People like you make me sick.”
Tom winced. Jeanette was obviously out of patience and way beyond thinking about the consequences of her words. He was tempted to clamp a hand over her mouth, but in her present mood, she was likely to bite it.
“Forget about trying to make trouble for me again,”
Jeanette continued. “My current boss has heard all about you and, believe me, none of it was flattering. For another thing, you spreading these lies amounts to defamation of character and my attorney has already advised me I should sue.”
His mother regarded her with shock. “You wouldn’t dare!”
Jeanette’s eyes blazed with righteous indignation. “Try me,” she said, not backing down an inch. His mother blinked rapidly, then turned on her heel.
“Tom, suddenly I’m not at all hungry. We should go.”