by Curry, Edna
“Cal!” Linda exclaimed. “That wasn’t very nice. Tami’s here because she’s a class officer, too. Besides, I wrote and asked her to come help us plan this reunion.”
“She swore when she left she’d never come back,” Cal said, knowing he sounded stubborn and rude. But he wished she hadn’t come back. He didn’t want to deal with his runaway emotions. He’d thought he’d healed from the pain of their break-up, but now she’d reopened that old wound.
She wouldn’t stay, so that pain served no useful purpose. He didn’t need this. He watched Tami’s face, wanting to know her answer.
“It’s all right, Linda,” Tami said. She winced at his anger, remembering the bitter quarrel when she’d said those hot-tempered words. She’d been so sure she’d love the city and want to stay there always. And she did love it, most of the time. “I did say I’d never return, Cal. And I meant it at the time.”
“But..?”
“But my editor assigned me to cover this reunion. You’d have to know Mr. Edwards to understand the situation. It’s either take the assignments he hands out or find another job.”
“You’re a newspaper reporter in Minneapolis?”
“Yes.” So, he hadn’t kept track of her very well, either.
“Isn’t that exciting, Cal?” Linda put in. “Imagine our reunion representing all high school reunions in the variety section of the Sunday paper. Our little town’s dinner dance pictures making a Minneapolis paper! Who’d have thought it?”
“Yeah,” Cal said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “Who’d have thought it?”
Her job choice seemed to irritate him. Or was it the assignment? Maybe he didn’t like their class getting publicity? Or was he afraid of local gossip? Cal was as stubborn as ever, and could irritate her as fast as ever. He was even more attractive than before, too. All those bulging biceps and hard muscles. She wondered how he kept those biceps now if he sold farm machinery in a store. Didn’t that mostly involve talking to people and doing paperwork at a desk?
Back in high school, he’d bragged to her he got those muscles from tossing hay bales around. She’d gone out to his parents’ farm once, and he’d been unloading a flat-rack of square hay bales. She closed her eyes against the remembered sight. Bare-chested and tanned, his muscles had gleamed with sweat as he lifted the heavy bales as though they weighed nothing. Later, when they’d been alone, she’d run her hands over those bare muscles and traced their lines with her tongue…
She pulled her thoughts back to the present. Opening her eyes, she caught Cal regarding her thoughtfully. She looked quickly away, feeling her cheeks heat up. Yikes. Sweat beaded her lip. He looked as though he knew what she was thinking. Reaching for the carafe, she poured herself more coffee, then refilled his and Linda’s cups.
Thankfully the waitress appeared at that moment with their food. She set a plate in front of each of them with a quick slap on the table and asked if she could get them anything else.
Tami hesitated, then pulled out her digital camera and asked the waitress to take a picture of the three of them at lunch. The waitress looked surprised, but complied, glancing self-consciously at the other diners who threw odd looks their way.
Tami reviewed the picture, thanked her and tucked the camera back into her purse. The waitress told them to enjoy their dinner and hurried back to the kitchen.
Tami ignored the incredulous look on Cal’s face. “I might need some pictures of the planning for the article,” she explained, and turned her attention to their food.
She stared in surprise at Cal's plate. It held a huge pile of beef on a slice of bread, topped with big scoops of mashed potatoes and then smothered in brown gravy. He dug into it with evident relish. She’d forgotten what kind of food the restaurants here served. Her own plate was covered in half a chicken, with very overdone carrot coins and mashed potatoes with a pat of butter.
“I thought you said the baked chicken dinner was low calorie?”
Linda smiled wryly. “Well, lower than his, anyway.”
Tami groaned. “I’ll have to go on a diet when I get back home.”
Cal sent her a questioning glance. “You’re skinny enough already. Wouldn’t hurt to put a little meat on your bones.”
Tears welled in her eyes at the unexpected criticism. She worked out and walked regularly to stay trim. Knowing he thought her efforts unnecessary and even unattractive was a low blow. Why the hell should she care what he thought? She’d do this assignment and be out of here.
Cal concentrated on his food, giving them only an occasional yes or no, when Linda talked them through her mental list of their classmates and their current whereabouts.
“Wait until I can type this into my computer as we go,” Tami said.
“You mean you aren’t taping this?” Cal asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“You’re right. I should have brought my tape recorder,” she said, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice. She wanted to kick his shin under the table. “I left it at Aunt Cora’s house. It would have saved a lot of time.”
“I’m in no hurry,” Linda said. “The lunch crowd is starting to clear out now, so the restaurant won’t care if we stay awhile and talk.”
“Good. What about music for the dance?”
“Henry’s getting one of the bands that play there on a regular basis. I’m not sure which one. We can’t get too fussy, you know. If everything gets wildly expensive, some people won’t come.”
“That’s right,” Cal put in, sending Tami a challenging look. “And I’d rather see everyone show up than have things too fancy.”
“Okay,” Tami agreed, recalling that Cal had never liked extravagance. He’d always been uncomfortable when he’d come to her house. Her mother, Louise, was the opposite, loving to ‘put on the dog’ as her father had called it. Her father had been uncomfortable with it, too, though he’d always indulged her whims. Louise had always gone to extremes with whatever was her interest at the moment, whether it was redecorating their living room or preparing lavish food for dinner guests. All that had changed after her father died, of course. Tami pushed the painful memory away.
Leaving half her food uneaten, she set her plate aside. She brought out her laptop, opened a database and began putting in their classmates’ names.
“You can borrow my address book for the ones I’ve kept track of,” Linda said, taking a little red leather book from her purse and handing it to Tami.
“Thanks. I’ll enter those later, so we don’t waste meeting time on them.”
She put in the names as Linda read them to her, marking those on the list whose addresses Linda already had. The rest they discussed one by one, making notes about family members to call or other possible contacts who might know their addresses or married names.
“What about the invitations themselves?” Tami asked. “Are you having them printed by someone? Or are you doing those yourselves?”
Cal said, “Sally’s doing them. She’s great at graphics on their Macintosh. We forgot to show them to you, didn’t we? She has them about ready to print. We’re waiting for the okay on the date from Henry’s Place. Did you call him again, Linda?”
“I will when I get home this afternoon. He had a wedding reception tentatively scheduled for that weekend, but the groom wasn’t sure of the date.”
“Typical man,” Tami said with a laugh.
Cal glared at her snide comment on the members of his gender. He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to get back to work,” he said, reaching for the check.
“Let me pay for it.” Tami grabbed it from his reach. “Or rather, let my boss. I’ll put it on my expense account.”
“No, thanks,” Cal said, holding out his hand, his dark brows dipping. “I’ll pay my own way.”
“Suit yourself.” She knew that stubborn look. She’d seen it too many times in the past. Cal did things his own way, especially if his pride was at stake. She handed him his check, keeping hers and Linda’s. He took the check. Heat singed her finge
rs where he touched her. Their gazes met and held for a long moment before he turned away. Embarrassed at her strong reaction, she stared after him as he strode out between the tables.
“There’s still some sizzle between you and Cal, isn’t there?” Linda commented, satisfaction in her voice. “I thought so.”
“There is not!”
Linda’s laughter bubbled. “Whatever you say, dear.”
Tami cringed at the disbelief in Linda’s voice. No way was she telling Linda she’d like it to go somewhere, if only temporarily to get Cal out of her system. “Well, even if there is still some sizzle, he’s obviously too angry with me for it to go anywhere.”
“Maybe.” Linda gave a little shrug. “But ask yourself this: Why is he still angry after ten years? Doesn’t that prove he still cares?”
Was Linda right? Did Cal still care? “Maybe. Maybe not. Who can figure men out anyway?”
“You’re right about that,” Linda agreed. “Let’s get back to work on this list. This reunion dinner is only two months away. We have to get these in the mail, pronto.”
~*~
When Tami returned to her aunt’s farmhouse, she found Cora out on the large sun porch where she conducted her home decorating business. Swatches of fabric and paint color strips were spread out on the table in front of her.
“Busy day?” Tami asked.
“Yes. Mary Johnson wants me to redo her house before her daughter’s wedding in July.” Cora sighed. “Can you imagine trying to redecorate that huge place in only three months? Why, it’ll take me almost a month just to get all the right colors of carpet and drapery she wants.”
Tami shrugged and suggested, “She can afford to hire a whole crew of painters and installers to get it done fast. Tell Mary to go with you to Minneapolis and choose what your suppliers have on hand.”
Cora hooted. “You don’t know Mary. No second choices for her. She’ll want just what she’s picked and nothing else. And she won’t be satisfied with less than perfect, either.”
“She certainly can’t expect miracles on short notice.”
“That’s exactly what she expects,” Cora said with a sigh. “But let’s forget it for now. I need a break. Let’s have a cup of tea.”
“That sounds good.” Tami followed Cora to the kitchen and got out cups and saucers while Cora put on the kettle.
“How did your meeting go?” she asked, pouring their tea. She filled a plate with oatmeal cookies, sat at the table and pushed the plate toward Tami.
“I think we have a pretty good idea where to get the addresses for all but three members of the class. We may have to skip sending invitations to them. But that’s a pretty good ratio, don’t you think?” Tami bit into a cookie and sipped her tea.
“Nonsense,” said Cora, frowning as she drank her tea. “Nobody should be left out. Who don’t you have? I’m sure we can track them down.”
“Lars Johns, Kerry Anderson and Ginny Mills,” Tami said. “None of us know where to contact them.”
Cora poured them more tea. “I don’t know where Lars lives now, but he works at the Lumberyard in Sparville. Try calling him there. Kerry married Tom Roth. They live in Mankato and should be in the phone book. Hmm, Ginny, I don’t know. But call her Aunt Elsie. She’ll know.”
Tami laughed. “Honestly, Cora, you’re amazing. Thanks.” She swallowed the last of her tea, rose and dropped a kiss on her aunt’s cheek. “I’ll go work on these. How about going out for supper? My treat. That’ll give you more time to work on your client’s order.”
“All right. I hear there’s a new place in Sparville that serves good Chinese food.”
“Whatever you’d like.”
~*~
The next afternoon, in the middle of a sales pitch to a farmer interested in a new tractor, Cal looked up to see Tami standing off to one side of the parking lot of his implement shop. She smiled at him, and sat on the window ledge of his building, obviously letting him know she was in no hurry.
He swallowed as he met her gaze and her lips quirked. What in hell did she want? She looked delicious in a blue sweater and slacks, which emphasized her honey-blonde hair. The light wind lifted her hair and she reached up to smooth it back into place.
Surprise at seeing her there tangled his tongue and his voice trailed off, even as his pulse sped up. He imagined he could smell her light floral scent over the odors of grass, new paint and oil which surrounded the machinery parked around them. He didn’t want to deal with this. Why couldn’t she have stayed away? He and Bobby were doing great, making a life for themselves after losing MaryAnn. He didn’t need their lives turned upside down again.
“How much did you say?” Ben, his customer asked impatiently, leaning against the rear tire of the large green tractor under discussion.
Cal wet his lips and brought his attention back to the sale in progress. What had he been talking about? Oh, yes, the price of this John Deere. “A hundred and four. It’s almost new. That’s the best I can do.”
“Hmm, that’s quite a wad of cash to come up with this time of the year.”
“I’m sure the bank will finance it for you. The tractor itself would be the collateral.”
“Yeah. Haven’t paid for my seed corn yet. Stuff gets more expensive every spring. Still, I really need more tractor power than I’ve got.”
“This one has plenty of horsepower all right. I’m sure you’ll be very happy with it once you try it.” His gaze swung back to the woman on the ledge. Her slim, long legs were crossed, and her foot bounced in the air as she moved it a bit impatiently, waiting for him to finish talking to his customer. Her arms were crossed against those full, gorgeous breasts he used to cup in his hands—ye gads, what was he thinking?
Ben’s eyes widened as they followed Cal’s to Tami. He grinned. “I see you got other company. So that’s why your mind is wandering. Well, I’ll talk this over with the missus and let you know.”
“Sure thing, Ben.”
The tall farmer strode off to his car, casting another curious glance at Tami. No wonder, Cal thought. She certainly looked out of place here among the farm machinery.
Cal turned and walked over to her, steeling his resolve not to react to her and knowing it was a losing battle. His hormones always acted up when she got within a dozen feet of him. Some things never changed.
But he didn’t have to give in to those feelings. He was older and wiser now. And in control of himself. He had a responsibility to his son not to upset their lives again. Bobby had had enough to deal with already. Tension made his voice harsh. “What are you doing here?”
“Is that a very nice greeting?” Her full bottom lip pursed in a pout.
He sighed impatiently. “I don’t have time to play games. This is a business.”
“I know. What did that man want to buy? Was he really having trouble deciding to spend a hundred and four dollars? He didn’t look poor.”
Cal laughed so hard he almost choked. Finally, he found his voice. “That was a hundred and four thousand dollars. He wants that big tractor.”
Her eyes bugged. “A hundred and four thousand dollars? For one used tractor?”
Was she questioning his prices? Defensively he said, “It’s a big tractor, with only two hundred hours of use on it.”
She stared at the huge green machine in awe. “Good Lord! Talk about inflation!”
Cal relaxed. Obviously she knew nothing about farm machinery and had no idea of the amount of money he handled on a daily basis. “Tractors were never cheap. And how would you know anyway? Your family always lived in town.”
“I guess I didn’t know how much farm things cost.” She eyed him with respect.
Good. So maybe she now realized he wasn’t just a farm hick because he hadn’t wanted to work in Minneapolis? Money talks. Impatiently he repeated, “Why are you here, Tami?”
“I might be a customer.”
“You aren’t,” he said grimly, going back inside his store.
“I might w
ant this lawn and garden tractor,” she teased, following him and indicating the green vehicle on the display floor in front of her. “Or those miniature farm implements for a Christmas present.” She waved a hand at the display of toys on the shelves along one wall.
“You live in an apartment so you don’t have a lawn or garden. And there are no little ones in your family. Cut the bull, Tami.”
She laughed. “I need to use your printer to do the labels for the reunion invitations. You agreed I could the other night, remember? I finished the list of the addresses and Sally has the invitations done.”
“All right,” he said with a sigh. He led the way to his office. “It’s in here.”
Pushing aside the large checkbook and pile of bills, he sat at his desk, turned on his computer monitor and opened the program she needed. He set it up for her, then held out his hand for her data disk.
Raising an eyebrow, she took it from her purse. “I can do it. You don’t have to take the time if you’re busy.”
“It won’t take long. Nobody else uses my computer.”
“Proprietary, aren’t you?”
“No, just cautious. I can’t afford to replace it or redo all the data I have on it.”
Shrugging, she handed the disk to him and stood watching as he opened the program, loaded sheets of labels into the printer and clicked print.
While the printer hummed, Tami said, “Sally said to tell you to plan on staying for supper tonight if you can.”
“Sure,” he said cautiously. Although visiting with her and Sam was a painful reminder of what he’d lost, supper at Sally’s house was always a treat. But now he sensed this invitation had strings attached.
“She wants us all to meet tonight to put these invitations together and get them ready to mail. We’re running short of time.”
He was right, strings. But it would be worth it, wouldn’t it? Besides, he and Tami seemed to be tolerating each other all right. He could make it through seeing her a few more times. Then she’d go back to Minneapolis and be out of his life. Again.
Why was that thought depressing?
She stood beside him, her perfume drifting into his breathing space. He couldn’t avoid noticing her nearness. Awareness prickled along his skin, raising goose-bumps on his arms. He felt her watching him and lifted his eyes to meet hers. He read regret and raw need there, matching his own. Slowly he rose to his feet and stepped closer to her, holding her gaze with his own. When she didn’t move away, he put his arms around her. For a moment she stiffened, then softened and allowed her body to fit into the planes of his. They fit together exactly right, as they always had. It felt like coming home.