by Laina Turner
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’m done this time. I can’t handle any more of his excuses, and that’s all they are. Excuses. I’m an idiot for giving him this many chances. If he’s like this now, this early in a relationship, I don’t see him changing further on down the road, and I’m not waiting around just to see if it happens.”
“You’re doing the right thing, Cora,” Sally said. “Take it from someone who was married to a man full of excuses. They don’t stop. They just get better at what they make up, and making you feel like the crazy one.”
“Unfortunately, she’s right,” I said. “If he can’t be trusted the first few months into a relationship, then it’s probably not going to get any better.”
“Why are men such a pain?” Cora asked. “Why do we even bother?”
“Because when we find the right one, it makes it all worth it,” I replied. “At least, that’s what I’ve been told.”
“God, I sure hope so. I don’t want to be alone the rest of my life, but the thought of another almost twenty years with someone just to find out I’d wasted my time . . .” Sally shuddered. “Not high on my list of priorities.”
“Just think of it this way, Sally,” I said, “you have a lot of experience in knowing how to spot the scum.”
“I guess that’s something. If only it hadn’t taken me so long to do it.” “So back to this Tom thing,” I said. “Do you think he has regrets?” “First, pour me another glass of wine. I need it.”
“Of course. I can’t believe I was so remiss.” I grabbed another bottle of Moscato and the wine opener, then poured us all a glass, making short work of the bottle. Luckily, I still had two more as backup, just in case this took a long time, and then I still had backup to the backup. “Here you go. Now, spill it.”
“I don’t necessarily think it’s regrets about the marriage ending that he has. What I just don’t get is why he needs to bother me when he has the bimbo?”
“Bother you how?” asked Cora. “For sex?”
Sally rolled her eyes. “Yes! Can you believe it? I stopped in his office after I calmed down over him wanting to change our divorce agreement at the last-minute again. By the way, did you know he’s hired some twenty-year-old, who I doubt even knows how to type, to be his new receptionist?”
“Wonder how that got past Sylvia?” I asked.
“She must not know yet. Anyways, I went into his office and closed the door so they couldn’t hear how loud I was going to yell—don’t need people gossiping more than they already do—and in the middle of my yelling, he walked around his desk to me and tried to hug me, then kiss me on the neck, telling me to calm down. As if his actions were really going to calm me down. Apparently, angry got him all hot and bothered.”
Cora laughed. “What did you do?”
“After I got over my initial shock, I slapped him. You should have seen the look on his face. In all our years together, I have never hit him, though sometimes I sure wanted to. He was so shocked I just burst out laughing, and I think that pissed him off more than my slapping him. But man, it felt good.”
I laughed until the tears started rolling down my face. “What I’m picturing right now in my mind is just hilarious. I bet Tom couldn’t believe it.”
“I think he’s very clear now where I stand.”
“Good for you, Sally,” Cora said. “He needs to know his place.”
“I’m tired of talking about history. So, Trixie,” Sally said with a teasing glint. “Tell us about that handsome man you’re dating.”
“Yes, how is Jack?” Cora asked.
“I’m not sure what we’re doing besides having a great time together. I don’t want to rush things.”
“If you get tired of him, I would love to take him for a spin,” Cora joked.
I teased back, “I’ll tell him you said that when I see him tomorrow.
Chapter 4
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“You’re supposed to be the sheriff. Why are you asking me if I am sure I want to press charges?” I said, glaring at Clive. I went to high school with Clive too. There were many of us who never left our small town, so I didn’t have a problem yelling at him, though I normally wouldn’t give attitude to the law. “Just because you guys are friends doesn’t mean he should get away with breaking the law and cleaning me out.”
“Now, now. Calm down,” he said in a somewhat patronizing tone, making me want to throw something at him.
“Really, Clive? You think telling me to calm down is going to help me do that? You’re married. You should know better.” I leaned forward in my chair. We were in his office, which was tiny. I was close enough to smack him, and boy, I sure was tempted. By the look in his eyes, I could tell he was afraid I might.
“All I’m saying is, think about what bringing charges against him will entail. How it will affect Cody. Surely there’s another way to handle it. And let’s be honest, it’s not like he still has the money. So what point would it serve, other than temporarily making you feel better?”
He had a good point there. I didn’t want to do anything that would hurt Cody. There would be time enough when he was older for him to find out what his dad was like, and despite Jared’s downfalls, he did love his son. “But I can’t just let him get away with it. He needs consequences. What do you recommend I do?”
“Maybe make a repayment agreement with him. Hold him accountable, at least in a small way. But a way that’s better for everyone.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Clive was probably right. I didn’t want more drama with Jared, and that’s all that pressing charges would bring.
“Fine!” I said, giving in. “I’ll talk to him, but I swear, if he ever does anything like this again—”
Clive put his hands up. “I do understand. In fact, I’ll talk to him too. This is something he could be in serious trouble for. It’s a felony, and if he does do it again, I’ll be right by your side going to the DA.”
“Thanks.”
We said our goodbyes, and I walked out of the police station, still angry, but resigned to the fact I needed to deal with it in the best way possible for everyone, especially my son, and move on. Being angry wasn’t going to get me anywhere. If only I had a fairy godmother to drop a few bucks on me. How nice would that be?
As mad as I was at Jared, I was also worried. For Cody’s sake, I’d hoped Jared would stop gambling and running with the wrong sort of people. Jared might one day get himself in trouble so deep he couldn’t get out. I didn’t want Cody to lose his father. No matter how angry he made me.
As I drove through town, I passed by Jack’s office. I thought about stopping in to say ‘hi,’ even though we had a date scheduled for tonight. I looked in my rearview mirror to make sure no one was in the lane next to me, and I put on my right turn signal so I could get over and make the turn into the parking lot of Jack’s building. As I started to slow down, I saw Jack out in the
parking lot, talking to a blonde woman standing next to a gray Mercedes. I briefly wondered who it was and started to pull in when I saw him lean over and hug her. I jerked the steering wheel back to the left, not wanting to stop now, but wondering more than ever who that woman was.
Jack and I hadn’t had the exclusive talk yet, so if that was someone else he was dating he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
The thought made me sick, though. I didn’t want him dating other people, and had just assumed there wasn’t anyone else.
We had a date in a few hours. Maybe by then I’d work up the nerve to come out and ask about her.
The doorbell rang. Crap. I’m not ready yet, I thought. I ran to the door to let Jack in. I’d almost called and canceled, not knowing what to think about what I had seen earlier, but I wanted the chance to ask him about it. If he was dating her, I wondered how I hadn’t heard about it. This kind of thing didn’t stay secret for long in a town like ours. I opened the door to find him looking handsome as ever, which just made
me melt and feel even more nervous about what I had seen earlier. What if he was seeing someone else? Could I be okay with that? Jack was my age—well, a few months younger, which made me the older woman. He liked to tease me about being a cougar. He had a great sense of humor, he was a little over six feet tall and lean, but what made him absolutely gorgeous were his beautiful green eyes. Until I met Jack, I’d only seen this shade of green in colored contacts, and it was the first thing I had noticed when we were introduced.
Jack was a lawyer. A boring one, as he called it, his specialty being estate planning, but Jack was far from boring in my opinion. He was one of the most interesting people I had ever met. Funny, smart, and, of course, those beautiful green eyes didn’t hurt.
“Hi, babe,” I said, giving him a quick kiss, trying to put what I’d seen earlier out of my mind until the right time to ask him. Whenever that would be. “Just give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.”
“It’s always five minutes with you,” he said, joking.
“Whatever. I’m worth it,” I shot back, enjoying the teasing, but I still had a knot in my stomach thinking about him dating other women.
He was right. I was always running just a few minutes late. Sometimes it seemed like my life was five minutes behind. I went back in my bathroom to finish putting on my makeup, and after what was a few more than five minutes, I finally felt I looked passable.
When I wasn’t being overly critical about my looks, I thought I wasn’t too bad for a thirty-eight-year-old. I was the same size eight I had been for years. My hair was the same dark brown—though I had a little help from a bottle to hide the grays, I could truthfully say I had my original hair color. I had noticed in the last year a few laugh lines that stayed put even after I stopped laughing, but all in all, it wasn’t anything horrible. I had seen a lot worse. In fact, I had met this lady in my Zumba class the other day who told me she was only thirty-six, but I would have sworn she was fifty. Although, the fact she had a tan that looked like she had been baking since it was fashionable in the eighties, was probably a factor in why her skin was leathery and wrinkled.
“I hate to rush perfection, babe, but we have reservations at Spagaino’s at seven, and you know how that hostess gives away your table after five minutes,” Jack called out.
“Coming!” I sprayed myself with my Donna Karen Apple perfume and gave a final glance in the mirror. This was as good as it was going to get. I walked to the front door, slipped on my black heels, and grabbed my coat. “I’m ready.”
“You look as beautiful as always,” Jack said. Complimenting me was another thing he was good at, and something I had come to like. A little appreciation went a long way in making a girl feel good.
“I love that red dress on you.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. “Now let’s go before we lose our table.”
We made it to the restaurant with a few minutes to spare, and I was soon enjoying a glass of the house Chianti, hoping it would relax me a little. I was keyed up. Even without my mind swimming with thoughts of the woman I had seen Jack with earlier, it had been a stressful couple of days.
“So, fill me in on this business idea you and the girls have,” Jack said after we ordered. I’d briefly mentioned it on the phone the other day, but hadn’t had the chance to give him all the details.
“Oh, God. I don’t even know if I want to think about that right now.”
“Why?” he asked, his forehead wrinkling with concern. “You were so excited about it on the phone yesterday, and couldn’t wait to tell me about it.”
“That was yesterday. A lot can happen in twenty-four hours,” I said, and proceeded to tell him the full story.
“What an ass you were married to,” he said when I finished. “I hope you’re going to press charges.”
“I was going to, but then Clive talked me out of it.” “What? Why?”
“Because, what would it solve? I could put Cody’s dad in jail maybe, or just get him in a lot of trouble, but that won’t bring the money back, and it would hurt Cody.”
“I guess that’s true, but he can’t go unpunished for this. From what you’ve told me, that’s how he got to be this person in the first place.”
“My feelings exactly. I was hoping maybe you could draw something up. I don’t know, like a repayment plan. He might have to pay me twenty dollars a week for the rest of his life, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Sure. I’ll do that tomorrow.”
“Okay. Thanks, Jack,” I said, reaching over to pat his hand. I thought maybe now was a good time to ask him. However, I got distracted by what I noticed over his shoulder. Tom was walking in with Sylvia. There weren’t that many nice places to eat in this town, so it wasn’t surprising to run into people you knew. I just hated seeing Tom with that woman.
“What’s wrong?” Jack asked, sensing the shift in my mood. “Tom and Sylvia just walked in,” I whispered.
Jack frowned. “I still don’t know what he sees in her.” Jack and Tom were friends. Jack was the one who had handled Tom and Sally’s estate planning, and one of the partners in his law firm had handled the divorce.
“Some men just like the bimbo look,” I said. “Thankfully for me, you’re not one of them.” “No, I’m not,” he replied with a look that gave me goosebumps. In a good way.
We continued with small talk throughout dinner, and I ended up not being able to resist ordering the Tiramisu. How I loved that stuff.
“Another espresso, ma’am?” the waiter asked, noticing my cup was empty. “No, thanks. I don’t need any more caffeine.”
“Okay, here’s the check,” the waiter said, putting it down in front of Jack. “If you need anything else, let me know.”
“Thanks,” Jack said, then looked at me. “Your house for a nightcap?”
“I’m kind of tired. Rain check?” I said, and he looked surprised. He had stayed over the last few times we’d went out when Cody was at his dad’s. I just didn’t feel comfortable having him stay over under the circumstances.
“Okay,” he said and didn’t press. I should have asked him then about that woman, but something kept me from it. Maybe fear of finding out he wasn’t the guy I thought he was.
Chapter 5
“I completely understand, Derek. I appreciate you doing as much as you could. Talk to you later.” I hung up the phone and leaned back in my office chair.
Grandma used to say everything bad happened in threes, so hopefully that meant I was done with the bad luck for a while. I sighed. It had been one of those days. I was told budgets were cut, and all library employees would have to take a fifteen-percent pay cut or be replaced. I was going to have to let a couple of my part-timers go. I’d known for a while that it might happen, but I had just been hoping the council would find the money somewhere. Reducing my staff would mean reducing the number of programs I’d be able to offer to the public, not to mention it would hurt people’s livelihood. The downside of being in charge was having to tell people this kind of news. But I should be grateful the budget hadn’t been cut last year. Circulation was down. People preferred to read on their electronic devices rather than come to the library and pick up a book.
Derek had called to notify me that the child support check from my ex-husband that I had deposited recently had bounced. That caused my checking account to go into overdraft, which meant the check I had written for Cody’s basketball shoes and the one I had written for Zumba classes wouldn’t clear. Luckily, Derek noticed and called so I could transfer money over from savings. I should have known better than to expect that check to be good before it cleared.
Thank goodness it was time for me to go home. I was ready for this day to be over. I grabbed my stuff, said goodbye to my staff, and headed to my car.
To cheer myself up on the way home, I decided to stop and get a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. I went through the Dairy Queen drive-thru and was enjoying my first few bites, until some idiot stopped short in front of me, and I had no choice but t
o slam on my brakes. That caused the ice cream to slide off the cone into my lap, and then onto the floor of my car. So, no ice cream, and a dry-cleaning bill on top of it. Hopefully the carpet shampooer would get the sticky ice cream out of the carpet at least.
Uh-oh, that was four things. Just great. Was I going to have to wait for two more bad things to happen for the good things to start up?
Cody was at Boy Scouts, and his friend’s mom was bringing him home, so I had about an hour to shake off my crappy mood. I hated being grumpy around him. Being around him for a few minutes usually jolted me out of any bad mood, though. He was such a joy, and definitely the best thing to come out of my marriage. I poured a glass of wine and went into the living room to just veg on the couch for a few. I kicked off my shoes, propped my feet up on the ottoman, and closed my eyes. If I wasn’t careful, I would fall asleep. I had too much to do before Cody got home, but sometimes it was nice to do nothing.
Forcing my eyes open a few minutes later, I looked at the pile of mail I had brought in with me. Might as well open the envelopes and see how many bills I’d have to try to cover without Jared’s money, as I knew I hadn’t a chance in hell of getting him to make good on his check anytime soon. What was I going to do about him? What I had ever seen in that man was beyond me. I was too blinded by his good looks to use common sense, I guess. His good looks and charm had hooked me. By the time I realized he was all surface and no substance, I was pregnant with Cody. Silly me compounded being pregnant with the bad idea of thinking marriage would make everything just fine and we would live happily ever after.
I realized when Cody was born it was never going to work between us. I loved Jared, but it just wasn’t enough to keep our family together. Jared suffered from the inability to keep a job, paired with an unerring ability to attract every hot-blooded female in a fifty-mile radius to him. Not a good combination. We divorced when Cody was barely a year old, and to my surprise, the subsequent years had proven him to be a good dad. I just couldn’t rely on him to be a grown-up, financially speaking. It could be worse, though. He could be one of those guys who didn’t care about their kids. I was happy he always wanted to spend time with Cody. That’s what was important.