Teresa Watson Read online

  “Fine. Name the time and place. I’ll be there.”

  “Tonight, my house, six p.m. Let’s get this out in the open and over with, so we can focus on work.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “While this is wildly entertaining,” Ellen interrupted, “and as much as I would love to know more, could we focus on work right now? I have a few questions I would like answered first, before you two kill each other.”

  “As you are in such capable hands, I am going home,” I said. “I’ll check in with you later, Ellen. Call me if you have any problems.”

  “Seems to me the only problem she has is keeping a boss around here that won’t run away at the first sign of trouble,” Jake replied.

  I glared at him. “If he gets too bossy, Ellen, just remind him that everyone is allowed to express their opinions. Women were given the right to vote almost a hundred years ago. Some people just need to learn to give everyone a chance to speak before jumping to conclusions.”

  “Some people need to learn to say something when they aren’t comfortable,” he said. “Leaving someone in a lurch…”

  “That’s enough!” Ellen said, holding up her hands. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to know what is going on between the two of you. Jake, go to Dale’s office, straight back and to the left. Lizzie, go home. I’ll call you if I need you.”

  Embarrassed, I glanced at Jake one more time before I left. As I drove off, I mentally kicked myself for falling into the same old trap whenever I was around him.

  I had met Jake in college. I was a naïve, small town girl, and he was a guy from the big city. He had big plans for his life: he wanted to become an award-winning journalist, reporting from war-torn countries about the atrocities plaguing them because of dictator-like rulers. All of his plans included me going with him. But he never stopped to ask me what my hopes and dreams were. He just assumed I was going to drop everything and come with him.

  I tried many times to talk to him about the things I wanted from my life, but he repeatedly told me that his way was the best. He didn’t want to hear anything that was going to deviate from his plan. I got tired of the endless arguments, so whenever the subject came up, I foolishly stayed silent, which he took to mean that I had finally seen things his way.

  It was his best friend who told me Jake was planning to propose the night of graduation, and I realized that if I didn’t do something, I was going to be stuck living a life I wasn’t sure I wanted to lead. I had already sent most of my things home, so as soon as I finished walking across the stage, I slipped out a side door, ran back to my dorm room, packed up the last remaining things, threw it in the car, and left. No note, nothing.

  I wisely did not go straight home, knowing that would be the first place Jake would look. Instead, I went to stay with a friend on her family’s avocado ranch in California. Between working on their ranch and a receptionist’s job for a dentist, I managed to keep a low profile for two years. By then, Jake had followed his dreams, reporting from the front lines when the Iraq war started, and I decided it was safe to go home. And now, home wasn’t so safe anymore.

  There is only one cure for what ails you in times like this: pecan pie…or cheesecake. Ok, two things. I turned the car around and headed for the café.

  Maddie, the owner of the Eat it or Starve café, took one look at me and pointed to a corner table. “I’ll be right there,” she told me as I went to sit down. She came over with a large piece of pecan pie and a glass of sweet tea. “Ok, what did T.J. do this time?” she said as she sat down across from me.

  “What’s the matter, Lizzie? Trouble in paradise?” Gladys Norwell said from her center table. “Has T.J. finally come to his senses and dumped you for a woman who won’t embarrass him in public?”

  “Hush up,” Charlene Sims replied. “T.J. is a very nice young man. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”

  “He’s been acting mighty strange lately,” Gladys continued, ignoring Charlene. “I thought I saw him at a restaurant in Red Oak yesterday.

  “You think?” Maddie said. “Don’t mention it unless you know it is true, Gladys.”

  “Why do you think it was T.J.?” I said.

  “Because whoever it was had on that tacky brown sheriff’s uniform that Owen makes his deputies wear.”

  “That could be anybody, Gladys,” I pointed out. “Lots of the counties around here use those brown uniforms.”

  “Do they have Brookdale police on their shoulder patches?” she retorted.

  “That still doesn’t prove it was T.J.,” Charlene pointed out.

  “He was meeting with that FBI agent that was here a couple of months ago, what’s his name…I can’t remember.”

  “Hopkins,” I said.

  She nodded. “Bingo! Anyway, they were having a pretty intense conversation…”

  “You think every conversation is intense, Gladys,” her husband, Harold, replied.

  She glared at him. “Just before Hopkins left, the other person handed him an envelope. Sounds a bit cloak and dagger to me.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Maddie said. “You need to stop watching that James Bond marathon on television. You don’t have the figure to be a Bond girl.”

  “If it was T.J., he was probably getting some information about a potential client,” I told her after the laughter died down. “He told me he’s been looking for security work to supplement his salary.”

  “Dang council’s fault,” Sam Martin, the butcher, said. “Roger Tinsdall needs to make the other members realize we need to give our police force a raise. Our little town is being invaded by people from Dallas who want to live in a quiet place. They are bringing their crime rate with them.”

  “And where do you propose the money come from?” Walter Simmons said. “You can’t squeeze money from a dried up turnip.”

  “The point I am trying to make is,” Gladys said, taking control of the conversation, “that T.J. has been acting funny ever since that Coogan fellow was killed. Personally, I think it’s Lizzie’s fault. In my day, most young men wanted a woman who stayed home and took care of their family. Lizzie has been spending all her time at the newspaper since Dale left, and she doesn’t have any time for T.J. Even Babe has become depressed because Lizzie is neglecting her. Besides, she’s never been good at picking boyfriends. They’ve all been losers.”

  I got up and walked over to Gladys’ table. “Let me tell you something, you nosy old busybody. T.J. hasn’t broken up with me, and whatever is wrong with Babe is none of your business. Dale left me in charge of his newspaper, and I intend to do the best job I can do so I don’t disappoint him. T.J. understands this, and has been very supportive. Just because you have turned into a dried up old prune does not give you the right to speculate about someone’s life and spread rumors just to make yourself look important. One of these days, it will come back and bite you on the butt, and I hope I’m standing right there watching when it does. Keep your nose out of my business and my name off your lips.”

  I walked back to my table, paid Maddie and headed for the door, only to find my path blocked by Jake. “Nice to know you can be passionate about something,” he said, holding the door open for me.

  “Shut up, Jake,” I said as I left, knowing I had just given Gladys more gossip to spread around. By the time I got home, she will have told everyone I was a two-timing hussy who should be run out of town.

  I wondered if my friend had another job opening on her family’s avocado ranch.

  Chapter Five

  How had this day gone so wrong so fast? It wasn’t even noon yet!

  I knew I was going to get an earful from my mother as soon as she found out what I had said to Gladys, so going to her house was out of the question. I couldn’t go back to the office, because Ellen would corner me and want an explanation, which I wasn’t prepared to give right now.

  Wait a minute…I knew where to go and no one would expect me to be there.

  Five minutes later, I parked
near the side entrance to the Gentleman’s Club. Trixie Greene’s black Porsche was already there. I had only been there two times, but just to pick her up. This time, I was actually going in.

  No one, except for the men who went there all the time, knew what it looked like inside. There was plenty of speculation, of course, but nothing concrete. I’m sure you can guess how Gladys described it. Her opinion didn’t count.

  I opened the door and walked inside, waiting a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. To my right was a long mahogany bar with leather bar stools. There were tables and chairs on the main part of the floor, with a few leather covered booths lining the walls to the left. Music softly played over the speaker system.

  “What are you doing here?” Trixie said as she came around the end of the bar. “I’m not open for business, and I’m not looking to hire any new girls. What did T.J. do this time?”

  “Who says he did anything?” I said defensively.

  “Because you have that look on your face that says a guy has totally ticked you off. So if it isn’t T.J., it must have been my brother.”

  “We did have a heated exchange this morning, but nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Ok, I give up. Why are you here?”

  “Jake.”

  “Oh boy,” Trixie said. She went behind the bar, pulled down a couple of glasses, filled them with ice, and poured a couple of Cokes. She slid one across the bar as I sat down on a stool. “Why are we talking about him after all these years?”

  I took a drink. “Because he is the guy Dale hired to help me at the newspaper.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope. He walked in about an hour ago.”

  “How does he look?”

  A mental picture of Jake popped into my head: blond hair, those deep blue eyes, Oxford shirt, slacks, and loafers. The sleeves of his shirt couldn’t hide his muscles and…I shook my head to make the image go away. “About the same.”

  “Apparently so. Your eyes glazed over for a minute.”

  “Oh, stop it. Jake is my past, T.J. is my present.”

  “Yes, but is he your future?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”

  “You should,” Trixie said, taking a drink. “You aren’t getting any younger.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “So what did you say to Jake when he showed up?”

  “The usual. He’s still a bit too dominating, acts like a jerk, blah blah blah. Not those exact words, but the meaning was clear.”

  “Ah,” she nodded. “So he made some comments about how you couldn’t be counted on, and how you bolted at the first sign of trouble, yada yada yada.”

  I shrugged. “It’s possible.”

  “So you ran away…again…and came here.”

  “No, I went to the café first.”

  “Ah, to drown your sorrows in pecan pie. So how did you end up here?”

  “Gladys Norwell made some snarky comments about T.J. acting strange ever since Oliver Coogan’s death. She says he’s acting that way because I’m spending too much time at work, and how he should dump me.”

  “T.J. dumped you?”

  “No, he didn’t. Just wishful thinking on Gladys’ part. She’s only happy when everyone around her is miserable. Needless to say, I told her off and left. Jake was standing in the door as I tried to leave, and made some comment about me being passionate about something. I told him to shut up and left.”

  “Which is how you got here.”

  I nodded. “I definitely couldn’t go to Mother’s house. By now, she knows what happened, knows Jake is in town, and that we are meeting at my house later tonight.”

  “You aren’t!” I nodded again. “Are you crazy? What about T.J.?”

  “What about him? Jake is here to help me with the newspaper. We are going to have to talk at some point.”

  “You know that you two are going to end up talking about what happened all those years ago.”

  “I know.”

  “T.J. is going to find out about your connection to Jake. This is a small town. Word travels fast. I suggest you get together with him before you meet with Jake tonight.”

  “I can’t, he’s working. Oh my gosh…”

  “What?”

  “He’s supposed to come over tonight for supper.”

  “Who?”

  “T.J.”

  “And Jake is coming to the house, too?” She started laughing. “Girl, you are in one big mess.”

  I put my head in my hands. “What am I going to do? I can’t have both of them over there at the same time!”

  “Why not?” Trixie said. “They are going to find out about each other soon enough. You might as well get it over with tonight.”

  “This has disaster written all over it,” I groaned.

  “Look, sweetie, you aren’t the same person you were nine years ago, and neither is Jake, I’m sure. You need to prove to him that you can handle this situation. It is going to be uncomfortable at first, but it will work out, as long as you confront the problem head on and don’t run away from it. This is your turf; stand your ground!”

  “You make it sound like I’m going out to do battle or something.”

  “A current boyfriend meeting a previous boyfriend is never pleasant. They are going to be sizing each other up, thumping their chests, and trying to prove they are the better man. The only thing that would keep that from happening is if there is a Mrs. Mathias in the picture. Do you happen to know if he is married?”

  “No clue. I didn’t exactly want to spend time catching up. I was too busy…”

  “…running out the door as fast as your legs could carry you,” Trixie finished. “I suggest you do some research on him before he shows up tonight.”

  “I guess,” I said. “Wouldn’t it be better if he told me himself? I mean, if I go in spouting off all the things he’s been doing the last nine years, it will sound like I’ve been keeping up with him. He’ll think I’ve been regretting my decision to leave.”

  “Good point. It would make you sound desperate, which you aren’t. Are you?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Then I only have one other suggestion for you: cook a good meal and stock up on snacks. You are in for a long night.”

  “Why don’t you come over?”

  “Hm, it’s a tempting offer. I mean, who wouldn’t want a front row seat to the fireworks show of the year? Ok, I’m in. I’ll even bring some dessert.”

  “Thank you,” I said, squeezing her hand.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” she warned. “If you don’t ask questions, I will, and I won’t be nice about it.”

  I slid off the stool. “I know, and I don’t care right now. Try to come over around five if you can. We can get things set up before they get there.” I headed for the door.

  “One question.”

  “What?”

  “Were there sparks flying when you saw Jake again?”

  Luckily for me, the dim lighting made it impossible for her to see my face. She would have known the answer right away.

  Chapter Six

  When I walked outside, Jake was leaning against my car with his arms crossed. “Moonlighting?” he said with a smile.

  “Very funny. What are you doing here? Are you following me?”

  He shrugged. “It’s possible.”

  I walked around him, unlocked the car, and threw my stuff in the back seat. “Is there something specific you want, or are you just going to follow me to the next place I go?”

  “I thought we could have brunch, so we could discuss some business.”

  “Just business?”

  “You’ve made it clear you don’t want to air our dirty laundry in public, so it’s only business.”

  The only place that would even consider serving brunch was the café. It was a no-win situation, and I knew it. “Fine, we’ll go back to the café. Maddie serves excellent food. I should call Ellen and Bruce to
include them in this discussion.” I figured if they were there, the fewer questions people would ask.

  I’ve been wrong before.

  Ten minutes later, we were sitting in a back booth. “So, who is this handsome guy?” Maddie asked as she handed Jake a menu.

  He stood up and shook her hand. “Jake Mathias, ma’am. Dale hired me to help out at the newspaper.”

  “Oh, so you’re the one they’ve been waiting for? Pleased to meet you,” she said, smiling.

  “Ellen told me the food here is excellent,” he said, sitting down. “What do you recommend? I haven’t had a good home cooked meal in a long time.”

  “You just leave it to me,” she told him, taking the menu from him. “You want your usual, Lizzie?”

  “Sure, why not?” Maddie nodded and walked away. “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”

  “No. Ellen did tell me the food here was excellent, and I haven’t been home in months.”

  Maddie came back with two glasses of sweet tea. “Food will be ready in a few minutes.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Jake said.

  “Please, just call me Maddie.” For a second, I thought I saw her blush as she left to take someone else’s order.

  “Nice little town,” he said, taking a drink. “This is what you settled for?”

  “We aren’t going to talk about anything personal, remember? Strictly business.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I did talk to Ellen for a few minutes, and took a quick look at the layout. I see several areas that need some improvement, but overall, you and the staff have done a pretty good job, considering this isn’t really your area of expertise.”

  “Thank you. The staff has done a lot of the work, and they have been very patient with me.”

  “Who was the woman you told off earlier?”

  “Gladys Norwell, the town gossip. There isn’t anything that goes on around here that she doesn’t know about.”

  “Have you considered asking her to do a column once a week?”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “You need to up your subscriptions. Who doesn’t like to read about everyone else’s dirty laundry? She couldn’t use any names, and she could even put in a teaser about a juicy item in the next week’s column.”