Sing Me Back Home

by Eve Gaddy

  Chapter Eleven

  Maya had gone to buy candy during halftime. Candy was a crutch, she admitted, but she only allowed herself to have it for certain very good reasons. Heartache made the top five. Maybe it was because she was thinking about him, wondering if he was at the game that she knew who had walked up behind her, before she turned around. Of course, it was Jack. Who else would it be among the hundreds of people attending the game? She turned around, smiled at him and said, “Hi.”

  He looked surprised, then relieved. “Hi.” He hesitated then added, “How are you?”

  “Good.” I’ve been a lot better, she thought. “How about you?” How about that for inane conversation?

  “Good.” He cleared his throat and repeated, “Good.”

  It was small of her, but it made her happy to see him so uncomfortable. She launched into her plan. Clearly, waiting for Jack to make a move wasn’t working, so she’d decided to prod him a little. “I wanted to tell you, I’m not angry anymore.”

  “You’re not?” He didn’t look as if he believed her. “So . . . we’re okay?”

  No, you idiot, we’re not okay. Fortunately, she had to tell the person behind the counter of the concession stand what she wanted. It gave her time to remember her plan. Kicking him wasn’t included in it. Darn it. Maya took her drink and M&Ms—she deserved chocolate, lots of chocolate, after this encounter—and waited for him to place his order and receive it. They walked away together and when she judged there wasn’t anyone too close by, she said, “Of course we’re okay.”

  In the process of opening his candy bar, he shot her a sharp glance. “You still want to talk, don’t you?” He took a big bite of his candy, irritation written all over his annoyingly handsome face.

  “No. I changed my mind.”

  His hand stopped halfway to his mouth and he stared at her for a moment. “You changed your mind.” It wasn’t a question. “I thought you were pissed because we weren’t talking and now you’re saying you’re fine with that. Why don’t I believe you?”

  Maya shrugged. “I have no idea. Obviously, I misread the situation.” Jack was looking at her as if she had two heads. She began to cheer up.

  “What does that mean?”

  She hadn’t opened her M&Ms yet, so she transferred the bag to the same hand holding her drink. Patting his arm, she said, “We had a fling. It was fun and now it’s over. No biggie. It’s time to move on.”

  “But you said—”

  She interrupted him, managing to give an amused chuckle. “Oh, Jack.” She shook her head in a pitying manner. “Haven’t you ever heard of heat of the moment? I got caught up in the”—she gave him a limpid look and finished—“passion. I didn’t mean it. It’s just something people say.” She lifted a shoulder and gave a tinkle of laughter. “I’m sure you know how it is.”

  His eyes had narrowed and his jawline hardened. “No, I can’t say that I do. And I didn’t think you did either.”

  “Come on, Jack. We’re both adults here.” Though she hadn’t relied on that person in years, she summoned up the woman, who could work underneath high power lights all day, change enough outfits to go through an entire wardrobe, and live through the chaos of fashion week, all without breaking a sweat. The woman who could smile through hunger, through her feet killing her, through aches and pains that wouldn’t quit, through heat, cold, illness and exhaustion. The woman who, whatever happened, smiled for the camera.

  She regarded him with her most indulgent glance and laughed. A laugh that said, “You poor, deluded thing,” and she could tell he knew it. “I suppose I should tell you, I’ve been dating someone else.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “You’re dating? We haven’t even broken up and you’re seeing someone else?”

  “Did I misunderstand again?” she asked innocently. “I know we didn’t come right out and say it, but I thought after Monday night we were both on the same page. But then, I’m known to be stupid at times.”

  “I didn’t call you stupid,” he ground out.

  “Again, my mistake. But yes, I’ve been dating someone. I met him when I was in Los Angeles, but since you and I were still . . . involved I only talked to him briefly. He gave me his number and said to call him if anything changed. So that’s what I did. After you and I had our little spat and decided to call it quits, I called him and let him know I was free.” She stressed the word free, loving the incredulous expression on his face.

  “We never decided to call it quits,” he said grimly.

  “Of course we did. You made it clear you weren’t looking for anything complicated, or God forbid, permanent. Obviously, we broke up Monday night.” She could tell he was getting madder by the minute, but she was careful to keep her expression mild and clueless.

  “And in the what, three days since, you’ve started dating another man.”

  Maya looked at him blankly. “Yes. Why not?”

  “Who is he? What’s his name?” he asked suspiciously.

  She gave an airy wave of her hand—the one holding the M&Ms. “Rolf. Rolf Siegrist.” A name she’d conjured out of thin air. She uttered a happy sigh. “He flew out to see me that very day.”

  “Do tell,” Jack said.

  “Isn’t it funny how everything happens for a reason?” she asked him.

  “Hilarious.”

  Broken up my ass, Jack thought, watching Maya walk away. That was so not what he’d intended and Maya damn well knew it. Maybe she was right, though. Even though he didn’t believe for a minute she’d begun dating already, she seemed serious about the fact they’d broken up. If they had, Jack didn’t have to worry about dealing with messy emotions, conflicted feelings, guilt, or anything else. No, he could be alone the rest of his life, wondering why the hell he’d let Maya walk out of it.

  She’d told him she loved him. And she’d meant it. He didn’t believe one word of what she had said just now. She wanted to stick it to him, and she’d figured out a great way to do it.

  Face it, he told himself. Maya might not be dating anyone right now, but she wouldn’t be alone for long.

  His head hurt. It hurt because he couldn’t sleep, and he couldn’t sleep because he missed Maya, and he missed her like crazy, even though they’d only been together a couple of weeks, and every time he shut his eyes he realized what a fool he’d been, and if he could have reached it, he would have kicked himself in the ass.

  And yet, something still held him back. Something stopped him from going to her, from groveling, from admitting he’d made a terrible mistake and he didn’t want to let her go. Was it pride? Maybe, but if so, that wasn’t the only reason.

  Was he in love with Maya? Could he really have fallen in love with her—again—so quickly? Is that why he’d panicked when she said she loved him? He remembered how she’d looked. Naked. Beautiful. All that smooth, creamy, silky skin. Gray eyes, dark and slumberous. Her lips swollen from his kisses, her hair tousled from his hands. Her heart in those dark, passionate eyes.

  Like hell it was heat of the moment.

  Saturday morning started off badly and it only got worse. Maya had thought she would be able to sleep in that morning. Since she was short on sleep from her Jack Gallagher induced insomnia, she’d hoped to make up some of it by sleeping late. Instead Carmen—Carmen, the girl who never voluntarily woke before noon—woke her up at the crack of dawn, or what seemed like it anyway.

  “Mom, why aren’t you awake? We need to leave in twenty minutes and I need you to help me. I can’t find my new jeans.”

  Maya buried her head in her pillow. “Go ’way.”

  Carmen plopped down beside her, making the mattress bounce with her enthusiasm. “C’mom, Mom. You’ve only got twenty minutes to get ready and it takes you that long to drink your coffee. We’re supposed to be at the gym at nine.”

  Maya groaned, rolled over and cracked open her eyes. There sat her daughter all bright-eyed and annoyingly chipper. “Coffee,” she croaked. “I need coffee.”

  Carmen
ignored her desperate plea. “You didn’t forget did you? It’s the White Elephant drive.”

  White Elephant? What in the world was Carmen talking about?

  “You did forget,” she accused. “The Spirit Club, well, mostly their parents, are starting pick up this morning. You said you’d go with one of the drivers to pick up stuff and help sort it for us to sell or take to charity.”

  Maya sat up and rubbed her eyes. “I did no such thing.”

  “Sure you did. They asked for volunteers, and I said you would. We had the meeting the night you went out of town.” Carmen frowned. “I know I told you about it.”

  “No,” she said grimly. “You did not.”

  “Oh. Maybe I didn’t. But you have to go, Mom!”

  Of course, I do, she thought darkly. “Fine.” Maya threw back the covers and got out of bed. Fixing Carmen with the evil eye, she pointed her index finger at her and said, “Go make my coffee.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t tell me you don’t know how. It’s time you learned. Six cups of water, five scoops of coffee. And find a to-go mug and pour some in there when it’s ready.”

  She stumbled into the bathroom, knowing she barely had time to shower, much less wash her hair. In record time she’d showered and dressed, pulling on her oldest, most comfortable pair of jeans, running shoes, a white T-shirt, and a cream-colored loose knit cable sweater she loved, though she didn’t wear it often anymore, because it was almost as old as her jeans. She ran a brush through her hair and decided in favor of coffee over makeup. Driving around picking up other people’s junk did not, in her opinion, require makeup. The driver would have to take her as she was. They could call it a White Elephant sale all they wanted, but those ominous words “or give it to charity” sent a chill through her bones. She knew what they’d get. Anything and everything people wanted to get rid of. In other words, junk.

  Minutes later, they were out the door, with Carmen still whining over her lost pair of jeans.

  “If you’d clean up your room once in a while, you might be able to find things,” Maya snapped, her head aching from lack of caffeine.

  “I did clean it up! I cleaned it up, like Monday.”

  “Guess again.”

  “Well, it was sometime not too long ago.” Carmen relapsed into injured silence, which was just fine with Maya.

  She grabbed for the to-go mug and swore when the top came off. Carmen giggled, since she’d said a word she tried not to use around her daughter. Maya glared at her, daring her to say anything. After putting the top on firmly, she backed up and into the street. Sighing with relief, she downed a big gulp of coffee. And nearly gagged trying to swallow it.

  “What in the h—world did you do to this coffee?”

  “Nothing. I did just like you told me.”

  Cautiously she tried another sip. Oh, good Lord. “Did you use a filter?”

  “You didn’t tell me to. I did just like you said,” Carmen repeated smugly. “You never said anything about a filter.”

  Technically, she hadn’t. She still wanted to bang her head against the steering wheel, but since her head already ached, she refrained.

  “What are you doing?” Carmen asked a couple of minutes later. “This isn’t the way to school.”

  “It is if you go to the Java Cafe first.”

  “But Mom—”

  “Don’t even. I. Am. Getting. Coffee. Period.”

  “You don’t have to be mean,” Carmen said, and her voice wavered.

  Maya felt like a worm. As she should. She reached over and patted her daughter’s knee. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m tired and I really do need coffee, but I shouldn’t have been short with you.”

  Carmen shrugged. “That’s okay. I guess it’s kinda sorta my fault, since you said I forgot to tell you.” She shot Maya a mischievous glance. “Except, I did tell you,” she added, sotto voce.

  Maya laughed. “Whatever you say, honey.”

  The day could only get better, right?

  Chapter Twelve

  “All right, everybody. Listen up,” Tamara Casey said.

  They had gathered in the gym, but the custodian had forgotten, or never known, to pull out any stands to sit on, so everyone at the meeting was standing around. By the time it occurred to anyone that they could pull out the bleachers themselves, the meeting was halfway over.

  At least, Maya hoped it was.

  “There are still donuts and coffee,” Tamara continued, waving a hand at a table set up along the wall. “Be sure to get all you want before you leave. We still don’t have a firm date for the sale, since we want to collect as much inventory as possible to make as much money as possible. As you know, this money will have a dual purpose. It’s earmarked in part for sports uniforms. Not football uniforms, but uniforms for some of the other sports.” She smiled. “Yes, we do play other sports at Marietta High.” Everyone laughed and she went on. “The other part of the money will be used to start a fund to help critically ill Marietta High School students and their families. It will be an emergency fund to be accessed according to need and how much we have in it, of course. It’s going to take several weekends to organize it for maximum benefit.”

  A woman raised her hand. “Where are we keeping all this stuff?”

  “The sale will be in the gym and the high school has given us a couple of empty rooms to utilize.”

  Tamara was good at this sort of thing, Maya thought. Now she was glad Carmen had volunteered her services, since it was for such a good cause. Someone else asked another question and Maya allowed her mind to wander.

  Not for long, though. Her gaze settled on Jack, who she thought looked ridiculously good for this early on a Saturday morning. But he was used to early rising. When he had patients in the hospital, he made rounds daily and from what she gathered, they were often early. He wore a dark tan and brown plaid shirt, along with jeans and running shoes. He should have just looked like a normal guy. Unfortunately, he looked good enough to eat.

  But that was sure as shooting not in her plans.

  Thinking about those plans, Maya only half heard the rest of Tamara’s spiel about how to categorize the donations. She started paying attention again just in time to hear hers and Jack’s names read off, as one of the pairs picking up items. Anxious to see how he was taking it, she glanced at him to see him giving her that damn sexy smile she kept dreaming about.

  Remember the plan, she told herself. Throwing yourself at him is not part of it.

  Jack glanced at Maya, sitting beside him on the passenger side of his SUV. While she wasn’t hugging the window, neither was she leaning toward him. She looked different from her usual persona. Whether it was her hair hanging straight down her back, her obvious lack of make up, or her clothes, he wasn’t sure. She often wore jeans but these jeans had seen better days, and he didn’t think the holes in them were a fashion statement. Ditto her sweater, which while it was pretty, was not exactly new. But the kicker was that instead of a pair of those man killer boots she liked to wear, or even a good pair of cowboy boots, she wore running shoes. Running shoes with a hole in one toe.

  Today, Maya looked nothing like a model. Not that she looked bad. Being Maya, she couldn’t look bad if she tried, but she wasn’t the usual put-together professional he was accustomed to seeing.

  He liked her this way. She was a woman of many moods, and recently, she’d ranged from mad as hell, to totally indifferent, to maddeningly offhand. He had discovered that her moods fascinated him. With the exception of the ‘mad at him and wanted to kick his ass’ one, that is. As far as he could tell, her current mood was a cross between grumpy and grumpier.

  He made a couple of comments to make sure he was gauging her mood correctly. Judging by her responses—a grunt, nothing, and another grunt—grumpy was spot on.

  He gave her space and tried to decide what his next move should be.

  After a mostly sleepless night, he’d known that he had to do something to put things right wi
th Maya. His feelings for her weren’t a fluke, and the way he felt wasn’t because of her undeniable beauty, or even the great sex. In the pre-dawn hours of the morning, he had finally admitted he loved her. He still felt uneasy about the two of them. But not uneasy enough to “talk” about it.

  Unfortunately, she wouldn’t go for anything less.

  “What a coincidence, huh?” he said, breaking the long silence.

  She gave him a look that would have withered a lesser man. “I’m tired, I’ve had too much coffee and I don’t want to be here. Must you talk?”

  “How about that Tamara putting the two of us together?” he continued, ignoring her complaints. The two of them being together was in no way a coincidence. Early that morning, long before the meeting started, Jack had called Tamara and asked her to make sure he and Maya worked together for the pick up detail. After worming part of the story of their break up out of him, she’d agreed. Needless to say, he hadn’t told her much, but he’d thrown himself on her mercy, and softhearted Tamara had quickly approved.

  When Maya didn’t respond he said, “I was surprised when she called our names. I guess Tamara hasn’t heard about your new man.”

  “What new”—Maya broke off, catching herself, though not in time.

  Jack smiled. Too late, sweetheart, he thought. You gave yourself away with that one. “Ralph, wasn’t it?”

  “No, it was Rolf.”

  “Ah, yes. Rolf. How are things going with him?”

  “Not too well. I’m not sure we’re going to work out,” she said airily.

  “That makes sense. With him being imaginary and all.”

  “He’s not imaginary,” she said indignantly. “Whatever gave you that idea? He’s quite real.”

  “Oh? My mistake.”

  He said no more until after they’d finished at the next house. “Isn’t it funny how things happen for a reason?” he said, chuckling. “You and I breaking things off, you and Rolf getting together, and now you and I working together.”

  “I’d hardly call it working together,” she said to the window. “We’re driving around picking up other people’s junk.”