by Rae Davies
Dwayne sat up. “You think?”
This time Will laughed out loud. “Yeah, I do think.”
Dwayne removed his cap and studied the Busch emblem. “Maybe you can give Patsy a job too.”
Will’s head snapped to the side. “I thought she had a job.”
“Not anymore. I talked to Mom last night. Hadn’t talked to her in a while, been busy working on logistics and all.”
Even intent on what Dwayne had learned about Patsy, Will had to smile at his use of “logistics.”
“Patsy quit. Mom didn’t have details, but she’s coming back today. Probably already there.” Dwayne bent the bill of his cap and tugged it back into place.
Patsy was in Daisy Creek? A warmth filled Will’s chest. Patsy was back in Daisy Creek. He couldn’t wait to see her. They’d get this all straightened out. They could work together on DaisyGal.com. They could be friends—or more. He wouldn’t push her either way. It would be enough to just see her again. He pressed the accelerator, nudging the Beamer’s speed from seventy to seventy-five.
Dwayne interrupted his thoughts. “You never told me what was going on at your house. That Mercedes. It belong to your folks?”
The Mercedes. Patsy was back in town, but so were his family and… Cindy.
o0o
Patsy gaped at the perky brunette staring at her from inside Will’s house.
“May I help you?” The woman’s gaze slid to Patsy’s basket. “Are you selling something?” Unnaturally bright green eyes looked at her quizzically. The woman brushed an auburn lock away from her face and smoothed the skirt of her sixties-style sundress.
Staring at the psychedelic swirls, Patsy felt sick.
“Who is it, Cindy?” Will’s sister popped into view. “Hello, Patsy. What are you doing here?”
Still holding the basket in front of her, Patsy stuttered out a reply. “I brought something by for Will.”
“Hmm, what is it?” Lisa reached for the basket.
“Pies.” Without thinking, Patsy released her grip on the handle.
“How nice. We’ll be sure to give them to him.” The brunette smiled as she flipped off the napkin.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Patsy, did I introduce you to Cindy?” Lisa looked from Patsy to the brunette, who still stared into the basket. “Cindy is Will’s fiancée.”
The porch shifted under Patsy’s feet. Fiancée?
“We’ll be sure to give Will your little gift.” Lisa gestured to the pies, stopping when her gaze fixed on the pastries. “Oh, my. They’re green.”
Wishing for a quick exit, like a tornado to swoosh her away, Patsy turned on her heel and concentrated on walking in a dignified manner to her car.
With no job, no place of her own, and no Will, she’d have plenty of time for falling apart later. Why treat Will’s family to the sight?
o0o
The Mercedes was still in his drive, meaning his family and Cindy were still camped out in his house. A morose-looking Ralph greeted Will as he snuck in the back door.
“What’s wrong, boy? Dad lecturing you on the proper way to manage your life? Don’t want to bury your bones all in one hole, you know.”
“Your dog would probably do a better job than you have lately.” Lisa leaned against the granite countertop.
Assuming she meant at life management and not bone storage, Will retorted, “Doesn’t sound like your life’s exactly on the fast track.” He yanked open the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. At Lisa’s elevated brow, he popped it open.
“Better not let Dad see you drinking beer in the middle of the afternoon.”
“Like he doesn’t have a three-Scotch lunch a few times a week.”
“That’s different. That’s business. This—” She gestured to the can in his hand. “—is just tacky and with your history...”
Will flicked her a look meant to singe. “I’ve paid for my mistakes. How about you?”
“Speaking of tacky,” she continued. “You had a visitor earlier.”
On his way back out the door, Will paused.
“Patsy Lee Clark. She brought you a gift.”
Will ignored Lisa’s snicker. “Patsy stopped by?” Had she seen Cindy? Did his father say anything to her?
“Shore ‘nuff did,” Lisa mimicked.
Will ignored her immature act.
“It’s over there.” She pointed to the kitchen island. “I thought we should throw them out. There’s obviously something wrong with them, but Cindy insisted we keep them for you.”
Already at the island, Will flipped back the yellow-checked cloth. Pies. And not just any pies. Green pies. Not pausing to think, he picked one up and bit into it. Sweet vanilla pudding flooded his mouth. Oh, my God. She made him Ninja Turtle pies.
“I guess Cindy was right.” Lisa eyed the pudding oozing from his mouth with disgust.
Lost in heaven, Will almost missed her comment. “What about Cindy?”
“The pies. I thought we should throw them out, but Cindy insisted we keep them.”
“Cindy met Patsy?” Please say no.
His sister sauntered over to the island and peered inside the basket. “She did. I have to say Patsy seemed a bit, shall we say, disturbed.”
Will’s world swerved from heaven to hell. “What did you tell her?”
Handing him a paper napkin, she replied, “This town seems to have a questionable effect on your judgment. What exactly have you been up to, big brother?”
“What did you tell her?”
“Tell her? Tell who? Cindy saw as much as I did. There wasn’t anything for me to tell her.”
Had Lisa always been this dense? “No, Patsy. What did you tell Patsy?”
“Oh, her.” Lisa folded the dirty napkin and tossed it into the trash. “Not much. She didn’t stay long. As soon as I introduced Cindy, she turned and stomped off.” The eyebrow rose again. “Are you going to tell me what you’ve been up to?”
Pudding ran down Will’s fingers. He didn’t bother to wipe it off. “How did you introduce her?”
Her arms crossed over her chest, Lisa answered, “As your fiancée, of course.”
What was he going to do now? Looking at the basket of pies, he knew. He was going after her. This had gone on long enough. It was time they had a talk.
He was halfway to the door when his father’s voice stopped him. “I think it’s time we had a talk. Don’t you?”
o0o
Patsy had run away—again. She’d thought she was stronger now, but she wasn’t. It hurt just as much the second time—more, really. She’d had a chance at everything—career, new beginning, Australia even—and she’d given it all up for Will. Only to be betrayed again. Why had he led her on? Sent her those gifts? Had she misread everything?
She had to talk to someone, but couldn’t believe she was making the choice she was. Still, she needed to face old demons before she could battle the new ones. Turning the brass knob on Jessica’s office door, she stepped inside.
Her nemesis sat behind a sleek glass and chrome desk, writing in a journal. “Patsy, I didn’t know you were back.” Her voice trembled as she glanced from Patsy to the door.
Patsy wasn’t in the mood for niceties. “Why’d you do it? Why’d you go after Johnny?”
Jessica wet her lips, but for once there was nothing sexy in the gesture, just nerves and maybe a touch of fear.
Let her be afraid.
Patsy continued, “I know we weren’t friends before that, but I never did anything to hurt you. You lived your life winning crowns and breaking hearts, and I lived mine. Why go after the one man I loved?” Patsy took a step closer.
Jessica dropped her pen. Her nail polish was chipped and her cuticles ragged. “I… I know.”
“Then Will. You were doing it again, weren’t you? Do you even care about Will, care about anything?” Patsy leaned over the desk. “Well, the joke’s on you this time. He doesn’t want either one of us. Turns out he’s got a fiancée.”
Patsy whack
ed the pen Jessica had dropped off the desk, sending it spinning into the wall. “Yeah, the joke’s on you.” She wasn’t going to cry. She didn’t cry the last time. She wouldn’t cry now. Pushing away from the desk, she turned to leave.
“Patsy,” Jessica’s voice shook. “I know it doesn’t mean much now, but...”
Patsy paused.
“I… I’m sorry. I was wrong. You’re right. I didn’t want Johnny, not really. I wanted what you had. Everyone respected you, not me. Everyone liked you.”
Patsy felt herself softening.
“I just won crowns. That didn’t mean much, just that I’m prettier.”
Patsy rolled her eyes. So much for warm fuzzies.
“Then...” Jessica took a deep breath and stared at the journal open in front of her. “You won Sweetheart Princess.”
“What are you talking about? I never won anything. You won every piddly prize handed out from here to Wisconsin, from Sweetheart Princess to Dairy Queen.”
“Dairy Duchess.” A spark of the old Jessica appeared.
“Whatever, you won them all.”
Jessica tugged on her heart-shaped locket. “Not really. You won Sweetheart Princess. I...” She paused, then continued in a rush. “I cheated. I trashed all the ballots and made sure I won.”
Well, hot damn, Patsy was royalty. She laughed. “Where’s my crown?”
Jessica, eyes filled with distrust, answered, “At home, in a box. I couldn’t stand to look at it so I put it under my bed, not in the showcase. Every time I vacuum, I see it, but I’ve never opened that box. Not once in all these years.”
Despite her dismal day, Patsy grinned. Jessica had her own personal Tell-Tale Heart.
“You want it?” Jessica sounded eager to be rid of the thing.
“No, you keep it, put it with the others. It’d just be lonely at my house.” Lonely, like Patsy. “So, that’s why you went after Johnny, because of a stupid crown?”
“It wasn’t stupid. The Sweetheart Princess is almost as big as Prom Queen. Everybody knows the most popular girl wins.”
Now she was pouting? “But you didn’t?”
Jessica shook her head, her gaze on her desk.
She was pathetic. Patsy couldn’t even be mad anymore. What felt like a lifetime of hard feelings drained out of her. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”
“Really? For everything? I mean the crown and...”
Patsy nodded. “And Johnny, everything.”
“How about Will? I went after him too.”
Didn’t the woman know when to shut up? “He doesn’t count. There was nothing between us.”
Jessica retrieved her pen from the floor and tapped it against her desk. “I’m not Ruthann, you know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re not fooling me. I may not be an expert in a lot of things, but I know when something is going on between a man and a woman, and you, Patsy Clark, had something going on with that man.” She returned to her journal and made a note. Looking up, she said, “Something hot.”
Patsy felt her cheeks flush. Was she that obvious? That pathetic?
“Of course, that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have taken him.” Glancing at Patsy’s face, Jessica backpedaled. “But I didn’t. I told him a week ago I couldn’t see him. Right after I realized I had to make a change.”
“That so?” Man, this woman was arrogant.
“He took it real well. I was proud of him.”
Patsy wasn’t sure whether to gag or scream.
“You see, I met someone. Someone special.” Jessica clasped the journal to her chest. “Finally, really loving someone and having them love you, it makes you look at everything differently.”
“Glad to hear you’re happy.”
Jessica beamed. “Oh, I am. I’ve never been so happy.”
Patsy escaped twenty minutes later. She thought she liked Jessica better bitter and unloved.
Chapter 22
Will faced his father. Perfectly groomed as always, he looked as if he’d just left the golf club. His lemon-yellow pants and tangerine shirt reminded Will of expensive sorbet. Except the image wasn’t cleansing, it just left a bad taste in Will’s mouth.
“Yeah, Dad, I do.”
After Lisa scooted out of the room, Will and his father slid into the breakfast nook. The same nook he’d shared with Patsy just before they…
“Are you listening to me?” His father frowned.
Would the polite thing be to say no, he was thinking about having sex with a woman his father wouldn’t let sort his golf tees?
“Will.” The stern expression on his father’s face said he was losing patience, fast. Nothing new there.
“I appreciate that you’ve made what sound like some promising investments here, but I don’t understand why it was necessary to sell your business and purchase this.” He gestured at the room. “You have to know this house is not going to be easy to resell, and if you manage to unload it at all, you definitely won’t get back the money you’ve poured into it.”
“I don’t plan to resell.”
His father paused, his mouth open in surprise. “Not resell? Why on earth would you want to own a house in this hell-hole of a town when you and your wife will be living in Chicago? This isn’t exactly the best place for a vacation home. Have you discussed this with Cindy?”
So his father still thought he was marrying Cindy. “As a matter of fact, I did discuss it with Cindy, right before I broke our engagement.”
“You what?” His father’s face took on a distinct reddish hue.
“I’m not marrying Cindy. I’m not going back to Chicago. I live here now. And, so you know, I have no intention of making money on the property I may be selling to Sunrise. It’s more of a brokerage deal on my part. I’m simply negotiating the best price for the local landowners.”
His father, always one to concentrate more on business than love, said, “But you bought the land. It’s yours. Any profit is yours.”
“Not if I give it back.”
“Give it back? Have you lost your mind?”
“No, in fact, I think I’ve just begun to discover it.” And his heart.
Will walked to an open box of Dwayne’s carvings. Pulling out a figure of two coon dogs baying at the moon, he said, “I haven’t completely given up on business though. This is the basis of my newest company—DaisyGal.com.” He set the figurine on the table in front of his father.
“This? This is your idea of a good investment?” His father poked the wooden statue with his finger.
Digging in another box, Will ignored him.
“You cannot be serious. Selling these...” His dad was dangerously close to sputtering. Will’d never heard his dad sputter before—it was kind of amusing. “...trinkets is going to suck every bit of capital you have right down the toilet.”
Will lined up a miniature basket, a bar of lavender soap, and a cornhusk doll on the island. “It’s my money, Dad, and my life.”
“You cannot stay in this town. How can you even think of it after what this place did to you last time?” The sputtering was transforming into blustering.
Taking a deep breath, Will looked at his father. For the first time in years, he saw emotion in his eyes—pain touched with desperation. “This place didn’t do anything to me. At least, not what you think it did.”
“You were young, I realize that. But this place is no good. The people are no good.” He glanced at Will’s beer can. “It’s starting again, isn’t it? You’re hanging around the same losers you did in high school. That’s why we left here last time, and it still wasn’t enough. Have you forgotten the time you spent in jail?”
Will sighed. “Juvie, Dad. It was juvenile hall, not quite the state penitentiary.”
“Might as well have been. It was that humiliating, but it did seem to straighten you out. Good thing too. Even my connections wouldn’t have gotten you where you are now, not if you’d kept heading the direction you were going.” H
e thumped his fist on the table. “You know how many favors I called in to get your consulting business off the ground? And now you say you’re throwing it all away? For what? To live in a town of drunks and druggies?”
Struggling to stay calm, Will took a deep breath. “Daisy Creek is not a town of drunks and druggies.” Will paused. “It is a town of hard-working people I care about. I’m not leaving.”
“Then I’m not helping you.”
Will smiled. “Good.”
His father stared at him blankly.
Will took mercy on him. “Listen, I don’t need your help. I’m doing what I want. I like it here. I belong here.”
“You don’t.”
“No, you don’t, but I’m not you. I belong here.” His father looked like he was going to argue some more, so Will kept talking. “Yes, I screwed up when I was sixteen, but it wasn’t because of Daisy Creek. It was because I didn’t know what was important. Didn’t know how to please you and be me at the same time. Now I know that being me will have to be enough. If that doesn’t please you, nothing ever will.”
Will left his father to recover from meeting his son for the first time. Will had one more piece of his past to say goodbye to before he could move forward. He didn’t know why Cindy had made the trip south with his family, but she deserved one last explanation.
She was outside, sitting on an old metal bench near the carriage house.
“You’re going to have to get rid of that, you know.” She pointed to his Beamer. “No one here drives a BMW; besides, you need something with room to haul all those boxes.”
He settled onto the seat next to her. The sun glinted off her hair, reminding him why he found her attractive in the first place. “You know I’m staying?”
“I know.” She reached down and plucked a daisy from the ground. “It’s nice here. Not settle-down-and-raise-a-family nice, but nice.”
“Yeah, it is.” A bluebird landed on the birdbath that sat a few feet away. It dipped its beak in the water and looked up at them, as if listening.
They sat for minute in silence.
Cindy dragged the daisy down her lap, brushing the petals against her skirt. “You going to marry her?”