Okay, so he was a gentle giant but he wasn’t a pushover.
Chapter 12
Mitch saw Minnie, her stepfather, and oldest child park in the lot and head into the building. Usually Katie was smiling, today her air was . . . petulant, to say the least. It was only a half an hour before he saw them leave again.
At least Minnie had gotten them there. It was wrong how badly he wanted to go and check on her. Then again, wasn’t that what a good neighbor did? Cheryl was holed up in her room pouting, so he snuck down the hall and tapped on her door. She took a while to come to the door, and when she did, her hair was up in a messy bun and she was wrapped in a towel, clearly in the time he’d taken to decide whether to go see her she’d taken a shower. He wondered what on earth he had ever done to deserve such exquisite torture. The sight of her creamy shoulders and long lean legs was too much, and good grief that small towel was leaving not much to the imagination.
“Oh,” she said, clearly surprised to see him. “Ah, come in, I guess.”
He managed to respond, his voice a husky growl. “I can come back.”
“No, don’t be silly. Grab a seat. I’ll be two minutes.”
She padded across the room, leaving small wet footprints behind her on the shiny wood. He wondered who she’d been expecting.
He paced. Pacing was good; it was distracting. Not distracting enough because there was just a thin wall between him and a naked woman he had serious feelings and a whole lot of desire for, a woman he couldn’t have. He’d be needing his own shower. It was probably rude to ask to borrow hers.
She appeared in black workout pants and a thin pink T-shirt that he could see covered a very sweet pink lacy bra. Her hair was still up and her feet were still wet and she still looked like heaven to him.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
“Don’t be. It’s nice to have company.”
“Didn’t you just have company?” he asked.
She flopped down on one end of the sofa, curling her legs underneath her. “Well, the difference is you’re here by choice, I assume, not under duress.”
“Definitely by choice.” He took the far end of the sofa. “Katie?”
“Let’s just say she is not the founding member of my fan club.”
“Ah. And how was work?”
“Work was great. Then, I took dinner to the kids. I think Sophie is going to train with you.”
“That’s good.”
“Also, the whole town, including my mother, thinks we’re having an affair, just so you know.”
“They do, huh?” The idea did appeal to him more than it ought to.
“Yeah, apparently so.” She looked sad.
“Do you care what they think?” He was kind of hurt she thought the idea was so repugnant.
“I care what my kids think.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “I left them to chase after a man, not a good choice as it turned out, so my being back in town and supposedly carrying on with you just feeds into everything they believe about me, every notion I’m trying to dispel.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I should go, then.”
“No. It’s fine. I don’t think anyone is outside with binoculars to the window checking. It’s just frustrating.”
“Especially as you are very definitely not having an affair with me, for the kids.”
“Exactly,” she said, dramatically flailing her arms out palms up.
“That all makes a bit more sense to me now.”
“How I could resist you, you mean? Because of how irresistible you are?”
“Yeah, well kind of. When you put it like that I sound like a bit of a tool.”
She laughed. “Look, this is the classic ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ except it’s real. It really is me.”
“Obviously, what with me being so irresistible and all,” he teased. “It’s fine. We can be friends, but maybe we shouldn’t be seen out in public if it’s bad for you.”
“Yeah, that time we had a cup of coffee was apparently enough for the rumor mill to start.”
He hated that. Then again, maybe what had been seen was the obvious chemistry between them.
Then, a thought occurred to him. “Cheryl is still here. Maybe that will help, people will presume we’re together even if we’re not.”
She shook her head. “You can’t use Cheryl as your beard.”
“Well, Cheryl is using me right now, but no, I wouldn’t do anything like that, but people will probably form opinions and that might not be a bad thing. If people want to think she and I are together, I can’t stop them.”
“Maybe.” She didn’t look convinced. “Anyway, I hope no one says anything to you or penalizes you.”
“Seriously? Anyone who thinks I’m dating you would think I was the luckiest guy in the world.”
A pink the color of her T-shirt crept up her neck and across her cheeks. “That’s very sweet.”
He stood to go. “Yeah, I’m not that sweet. I had a lot of thoughts in my head when you answered your door in that towel and none of them were sweet, honey.”
And with that, he went back down the hall to Cheryl and her shut door and wondered how his life had gotten so complicated that he couldn’t date the woman he wanted, but everyone still thought he was and the woman he didn’t want at all was holed up in his apartment, ready and willing. On that note, he went and took a very long shower.
The next few days were a blur of work, visiting the kids with varying degrees of interaction, and morning meetings. Life had a rhythm, and while it wasn’t perfect by any means, Minnie felt herself settling into it with reasonable ease.
When Janet called to say she had Thursday night off and would love to catch up, she couldn’t think of a reason to say no. The only other thing she’d be doing was her laundry. So, she offered to host and after visiting the kids raced home to make a salad and grill some salmon fillets for them. Sophie had asked her to training the next day; there was no meet, so it would be her first session with Mitch instead. Naturally, she’d said yes, and she would be sure to continue to keep her distance from him as she had since Monday.
Not that she hadn’t played the look on his face when she’d open the door in her towel on a loop in her head. It was nice to be desired and that was exactly what she’d been, and the conversation that followed hadn’t left any doubt in her mind about how he felt, or how he believed he felt. Still, she had to keep her distance. She had no idea what, if any, rumors had reached her kids, and she certainly didn’t want to fuel any of them. The fact that he was a decent and upstanding guy wouldn’t make a scrap of difference to the kids.
Janet came in the door in a cloud of perfume and conversation. She was a tall woman with wild black hair and an open face. She was quick to laugh and slow to anger as a child and it seemed not much had changed.
“Look at you! Still completely gorgeous. It’s not even fair. Aren’t people who go through what you have supposed to look like rubbish?”
Minnie laughed. “I’m not sure if it’s a universal truth exactly. Also, I spent three months in rehab, that’s lots of time to revive.”
“Yeah, well, still don’t think it’s fair you look better than me.”
“You look great.”
“Well, you have to say that now. I brought ice cream.”
“Thanks.” She took it and headed to stash it in the freezer. “Sorry I don’t have wine. What’s your non-alcoholic poison?”
Minnie poured two cokes, and they went to sit and nibble some chips and salsa.
“So, how are you doing really?”
“You know, I’m doing okay. I’m frustrated that I’m not making inroads with the kids, but it’s only been a couple of weeks so really I have no right to be.”
“You’re still their mom. You’ve forgiven your mom, right?”
“Yeah, well, I had no choice. Hard to hate the woman who took your kids in, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know, I’d be kind of annoyed she waited so long to turn her life around still.
”
“Yeah. There’s that.”
She wondered how Lucy felt about that. She’d have to ask her when they next spoke on the phone.
Two hours later, they were stuffed full of ice cream and lounging on the couches like sloths. Minnie was up-to-date on Janet’s divorce and all the other highs and lows of the last decade since they’d lost touch.
“So, what made you run off with that guy, then?” Janet asked. “He doesn’t sound like he was too savory.”
If by that she meant he was a drunk, a user, and mildly abusive, then he definitely wasn’t. “I don’t know exactly. I think I was lonely. I missed Nick, and I guess I hadn’t been single since I was eighteen and I wasn’t very good at it. Earl said what I wanted to hear, and I believed that he’d magically make all my problems disappear, except the only thing that disappeared was me.”
“That’s kind of sad,” her friend said in sympathy.
“It’s kind of pathetic.” She sighed. “And you’d think I’d have known better?”
“As Oprah says, when you know better you do better.”
“Yeah. I hope so.” She’d already turned Mitch away, that was something.
“Of course, you will. I have utter faith in you,” Janet said, her voice warm and sincere.
“Well, I’m glad someone does.”
“Honey, lots of people do. Chase obviously, and Moose or you wouldn’t have the job, and Marissa or she wouldn’t have loaned you this awesome condo, and that’s just for starters.”
She was right. “Thanks. I’m so glad you’re back in town.”
“Me too. And on that note, I had better go home. My shift starts in eight hours. I better get some sleep.”
After she hugged her friend good-bye, she loaded the dishwasher, and then remembered she had to take baked goods for the senior citizens meeting as she’d promised Marissa she would. So, she hopped to it and made a batch of blueberry muffins and some chocolate brownies, which she would leave at the community center when she went in for her morning meeting. Minnie headed off to bed thinking about how much support she really had and she had the best night’s sleep she’d had in recent memory.
Friday lunchtime and the bar was hopping. To stop the moping and moaning, Mitch had changed his tune and had put Cheryl to work. She was acting as hostess and taking basic drink orders because Mitch knew she had no actual waitressing experience, but she was friendly and happy to flirt with the male customers who often came for Friday lunch.
It was also a good opportunity to have them seen together and dispel any rumors about him and Minnie. He wasn’t going to outright lie and tell people he and Cheryl were an item, but if people wanted to draw that conclusion, he couldn’t stop them.
When Todd came up and sat at the bar to have a burger, he asked him.
“Really, Cheryl?”
“She’s just helping me out, or rather I’m helping her out.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“It’s probably not what you think, buddy,” he said, placing a beer in front of him.
“Well, I think you’re a moron,” he joked.
“Okay, then it is what you think.” He chuckled.
“Are you going over to the old Post Office later to help launch the Inn?”
“I am. I’m training a couple of the kids over at the oval first.”
“Is one of those Minnie’s girl Sophie?”
“Yep, she’s got so much potential.” He wiped down the bar top.
“The mother or the daughter?” Todd asked. Mitch admired his forthright approach.
“I was talking about Sophie but I’d say both.”
“Yeah, don’t play with fire, buddy.”
“I’m teaching a kid to run. Nothing else to see here.” He held his hands up in surrender.
“Yeah, well, you keep telling yourself that because you and I know you have about as much interest in Cheryl as I do.”
“Got to go, very busy.”
And he walked away to the other end of the bar to serve a new group who had just come in.
The lunch rush died down, and Cheryl decided she’d accompany him to the track meet. He wasn’t entirely sure that was necessary.
“What else do I have to do, Mitch? I’ll come and watch you work your magic. Try and see what it is about small-town life that you love so much.”
“You don’t like my bar?” he asked.
“Sure, but I’d like it more if it were in LA or New York or maybe Miami.”
He had no doubt that was true. “And yet here you are.”
Sophie was waiting for him with an older kid called Russ. Russ had shaggy hair like an old English sheepdog, an eager smile, and legs that went forever. He had the look of an athlete, and he wanted a track scholarship to college. He was motivated. Sophie was that much younger, but she was bouncing on her heels ready to go. Mitch remembered that feeling.
“Hey, guys. You ready to work?”
They both nodded and grinned. “Definitely.”
Cheryl planted herself under a tree on the far side of the field, which was good because it certainly hadn’t escaped his attention that Minnie was in the top row of the bleachers, long legs stretched out before her. Nope, he’d noticed her before he’d noticed the kids waiting for him or the rest of the track team running the circuit or the cheerleaders out in the field chanting and performing elaborate acrobatics. No, the first thing he noticed in the crowd was the one person he was supposed to be ignoring.
Minnie gave Mitch a small wave, and then returned her focus to Sophie. Of the three kids, she was the most forgiving. And the most like her father. Generous, open, honest, quick to smile. She’d never suffered from middle-child syndrome either.
She watched her daughter’s focus and intensity while Mitch explained a few things. She couldn’t hear what was being said and it didn’t matter. Her phone rang.
“Hey, Min.”
“Hey, Lucy. I’m just watching Sophie train.”
“Don’t you have work?”
“Yep, I’m having a late lunch.” Not that she needed to explain herself. “I’m heading back shortly to help with the cocktail reception, where, do not worry, I will not be having any cocktails.”
“Good.” She heard the smile in her sister’s voice. “How’s our girl looking out there?”
“Good, I think they’re getting some sort of pep talk. I can’t hear from the bleachers.”
“Remember that time I caught you making out with Johnny Nordstrom under the bleachers?” She couldn’t help but smile. She’d been sixteen, and Johnny had been her first serious boyfriend.
“Yeah, you sure killed the mood.”
“The job of younger siblings since time began.”
“Yeah, well, you were kind of a pest at the time, but you’ve sure made up for it in adulthood.”
“You and me against the world,” she said.
“Sorry I let you down, really. You know that, right? If I could have a do-over.”
“I should have done more to stop you from spiraling. I guess I never really did learn how to stop my loved ones from spinning out of control.”
“Good grief, this is not on you. Do not even say that. I don’t want to hear that.” Did Lucy blame herself? She hoped not.
“Okay. I’m glad you’re doing so well now. “
“How’s the wedding planning going?” She watched her daughter run as she listened to her sister talk of bouquets and boutonnieres; this was what life was supposed to be like. Sunny days and family. She was ever so grateful to have found her way back, and she would not be risking it on the guy down on the track who kept glancing at her furtively. She could see Cheryl was watching him train, too. She had a feeling Cheryl wasn’t going anywhere come the weekend. She’d be staying put.
She probably shouldn’t have been surprised when that same guy walked into the courtyard at the Inn where the reception was being held. Nor should she have started a little at the sight of Cheryl hanging off his arm, laughing and flirting. F
irst of all, she had no claim on the man, in fact, she’d as good as sent him packing, and secondly, he had said he would try and be seen with Cheryl to make the town believe they were not a thing.
And yet she was. She was surprised and more than a little jealous.
The Inn had its first guests as well as some local reporters and dignitaries in, and Moose was holding a small reception to celebrate the soft-opening as he called it. His idea of a small reception was fifty people, it turned out. The big guy did nothing small.
Minnie was mingling and keeping her eye on things. Yes, there were enough cups, yes, the food was circulating quickly enough, and yes, Mitch did look extra sharp in his sportscoat and white shirt, which showed off his tan.
“Hey, Chloe.” She hip-checked her as she rearranged some paper napkins on the buffet table. “This is all going well.”
“It sure is. Great crowd. Good energy.”
“I’m so proud of him.” She didn’t need to say it, her tone said it all. Sarah came and joined them.
“This is so great.” She smiled. “So good for the town.”
“Absolutely.” Minnie agreed.
“So, who is the chick with Mitch?” Sarah asked. No segue required apparently. Mitch and Cheryl were talking with Todd across the other side of the crowd.
“That’s Cheryl, his ex. She’s staying with him. And she’s working for him, too, I guess,” Chloe informed her.
“Is she now? How do we feel about that?” She turned her attention to Minnie.
“We do not feel anything.” That was the line she had to go with.
“We are not a very good liar,” Sarah said. “You like him, he likes you.”
“No, we’re just neighbors, and I am not in a position to like anyone.”
Sarah furrowed her brow. “I get it, and yet, you can’t fight nature.”
“Nature always wins,” Chloe agreed solemnly.
“Not in this case. I need to kick nature’s butt if I want to get back to something like a normal relationship with my kids. Katie is still barely acknowledging my existence; Sophie and Olly are slowly coming around. That’s my focus.”
Any Way You Spin It: An Upper Crust Novel (The Upper Crust Series Book 7) Page 11