Love is Lovelier

by Donna Simonetta

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I trusted you. I didn’t trust myself. If I spent time with you, even to explain, I knew I would just forget my reasons and get right back together with you. Hell, I was even ready to brave telling your brother! Now that’s got to mean something.”

  She bobbed her head. “He would have seriously kicked your ass.”

  “He would’ve tried.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments. It looked peaceful, but Mick’s mind was whirring. He didn’t want to admit it, not to himself and most certainly not to Heather, but he was nervous about going home for Susan’s wedding. He didn’t want the weekend to be about his homecoming. Susie deserved the focus to be entirely on her for her big day, but he knew his father and Danny would kick up a fuss about him being there. He’d given it a lot of thought this week, and if he brought a date, they would have to dial their antagonism down a notch, and Susan could have her dream wedding without their drama. He never once considered taking another woman, not even Gloria, whom he’d been casually dating. It had to mean something to Heather, but the woman was not going to make it easy for him. For Susie’s sake, he had to give it one more shot, and this time he would speak from his heart.

  “Please, Heather, please come with me to my sister’s wedding. I don’t want to face it alone, and I swear you’re the only woman I want by my side.”

  Her face brightened and she squinted in the sun that bathed her features in light and made the highlights in her brown hair glisten like gold floss. “I love it when you let your accent slip. It used to make me feel like I was back home when we lived in Portland.”

  Sure, she loved his accent, but if he ever let it slip in front of anyone else, they’d assume he was one step away from donning overalls with no shirt, and playing an empty moonshine jug as a musical instrument.

  She searched his eyes, and took a deep breath before saying, “Okay. I’ll go with you.”

  The woman never ceased to surprise him. “What? You will? What changed your mind?”

  “Your accent just now—it reminded me of the boy I fell in l—” She stopped short with a snap of her jaw, then took a breath and continued. “The boy I loved to spend time with, back in the day.”

  Interesting. He’d fallen for her hard back then, but he thought he was just a fun diversion for a homesick Heather. He was so serious, and she was so fun loving. He’d never dreamed she returned his feelings.

  She grinned and waggled her eyebrows. “Plus, I’ll get to take Lola out on the highway to see what she can do. I couldn’t resist.”

  ****

  “Yum. This is delicious. What do you call it again?” Magda smacked her lips after taking another sip of the frozen concoction in her cocktail glass.

  Heather sat in the other tiny, folding chair on the small deck/fire escape off the back of her apartment over the Nosh Pit. The alley between the red brick buildings might not be the most scenic view in town, but she treasured her little bit of outdoor space.

  “It’s a frozen mint julep; I’m trying to perfect the recipe for my mom’s Derby party. Y’all are my guinea pigs—glad you like it!”

  The fire escape rattled as someone climbed up the metal steps. Her sister Deidre’s voice preceded her. “If I had a liquor license at the Nosh Pit, I would hire Heather as my master mixologist.” She stepped onto the deck. “Can I have one of those?”

  “Hi, Dee, sure.” Heather stood and opened the screen door in need of a new spring. The door slammed shut behind her as she entered her tiny kitchen and poured another drink from the blender, before returning to hand it to her older sister, who leaned her backside against the metal railing.

  Deidre shut her eyes as she took her first sip. “Manna from heaven after the day I’ve had. The Nosh Pit was a zoo today.”

  Magda nodded. “The library was crazy busy too.”

  Deidre opened her eyes wide and blinked at Heather with feigned innocence. “I don’t know about the library, Maggie, but there was only one topic of conversation at the Pit today—our girl Heather stealing Mick Evans away from Gloria Peterson, and going home with him to West Virginia this weekend to meet his family.”

  Heather choked on the sip she’d been taking while her sister spoke. She felt her face heat up as she coughed and sputtered, “That’s crazy talk! Mick and I are friends.”

  “So, you’re not going away with him? Because I heard the same thing at the library,” Magda asked. “If it’s not true, I’ll be happy to set people straight about it.”

  Heather felt her cheeks heat up and cursed her fair complexion, with its tendency to blush. “Well…yes…I am going with him to his sister’s wedding this weekend, but just as friends. It’s not a date.”

  “You’re right. I wouldn’t call a weekend away to attend a family wedding a date. It’s more like a sign of serious commitment,” her sister observed.

  Magda nodded and swallowed her drink. “Mrs. Warren agrees. She wanted to know if I was going to be one of your bridesmaids, and asked if Mick and you were going to beat me to the altar since Jeff is dragging his heels about ‘making an honest woman’ out of me. Mrs. W.’s words, not mine.”

  Heather scowled. “Sometimes living in a small town is too much! Everyone is always in your business.”

  Magda shrugged. “It’s because they care. Trust me, I’ve lived in a big city, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I like the way everyone looks out for everyone else here in Rivers Bend.”

  “You two really aren’t an item?” Deidre made a moue of disappointment. “That’s too bad. I like Mick, and he deserves better than Gloria. I’ve seen them in the Pit a couple of times for lunch; he doesn’t look very interested in her, but you can tell she’s ready to book the church and hire the caterer for their wedding. Still, if he needs a date, why isn’t he taking her?”

  “Mick has a”—Heather paused to search for the right word, one that wouldn’t betray Mick’s confidences—“complicated relationship with his family. I know a little bit about it, so he thought I’d be a good support system for him.”

  “He’s right.” Deidre beamed at her. “There’s no one you can count on more than my baby sister.”

  Magda still looked skeptical. “I know Heather is a rock, but it still seems like a pretty relationshippy thing to do to me. Are you sure there’s nothing romantic going on between you two?”

  Heather held up her right hand, as if she were swearing an oath in court. “I swear to you, we are not involved romantically. There are some feelings between us, but we’ve decided to be friends, just friends. And this trip is just as friends, there is no hanky-panky happening. Mick told me he’s getting two motel rooms for us.”

  ****

  Mick held his breath as he hit the last digit on his cell phone and waited for the ring. He’d carefully timed his call so his father and Danny would still be at work in the mine. He wanted to face them in person first, not over the phone.

  “Hello?”

  His mother’s voice came through the phone. He loved his gentle mom, and hated the way her spirit was squashed over the years by his father’s cold, domineering ways.

  “Hi, Mom, it’s me.”

  “Mickey! Oh my stars! It’s wonderful to hear your voice! How are you? Have you moved yet? Where are you? Did you know Susan’s wedding is this weekend? Are you going to be there?”

  He laughed at her stream of questions and answered them in order, “I’m fine. I have moved, and I’m settling in here in Rivers Bend. Yes, I know about the wedding; it’s why I’m calling.”

  His mom giggled. “Oh, you! My, it’s good to hear your laugh. I’m so happy to have you in Virginia. It’s not as good as home, but it’s so much closer than Oregon. Do you like it there?”

  “I like it very much. Rivers Bend is a nice little town, and everyone’s been real welcoming. So, about Susie’s wedding…”

  “Don’t worry; I’ll break it to her gentle.”

  He frowned at the resigned disappointment in his mother’s v
oice. “Break what to her? I’m just calling to see if it’s all right if I bring someone with me to the wedding?”

  “Oh thank heavens! I thought you were calling to say you couldn’t make it. Of course you can bring someone.”

  “Thanks, Ma, I appreciate it; I know it’s short notice.”

  “Who are you bringing?”

  His mother’s hopeful tone made him think maybe Heather was right about his family drawing the wrong conclusion about their status. He better set his mom straight right now. “I’m bringing a friend—Heather Braden.”

  “A girlfriend? This cannot get any better!”

  “Not a girlfriend, Ma, just a friend. I wanted to check with you to see if the Dew Drop Inn was still open. I need to book us a couple of rooms for the weekend.”

  “At the Dew Drop? It’s still open, but don’t you even think about staying there! You and your girl will stay here at the house. We’ve got plenty of room; I won’t hear of you staying at a motel. Folks would talk.”

  They had plenty of room? His family lived in a tiny house—his parents, three brothers, and his sister, who’d be getting ready for her wedding. They most certainly did not have room for Heather and him, but he recognized that tone in his mother’s voice and knew she wouldn’t be budged.

  And, hoo boy, would his father would be several steps below thrilled about Mick staying there.

  But he swallowed hard and lied like a rug, “Sounds good, Ma. We’ll be there Friday in plenty of time for the rehearsal dinner.”

  Chapter 8

  They flew along the highway with the convertible top down and the music cranking. Heather’s ponytail danced in the air behind her. She laughed, and it sounded like pure joy to Mick. Unfortunately, he wasn’t feeling quite so joyful.

  She glanced over at him, and took one hand off the wheel to point at his feet. “Will you please stop working the invisible brake pedal? I’m an excellent driver; I’ve never been in an accident. Well, not a serious one.”

  “I feel so much better. Now, please put both hands on the wheel, preferably in the ten and two position,” he shouted over the wind.

  “Don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud! It’s a beautiful day; we’re in a shiny new car. Just relax and let yourself enjoy it.”

  “I’m enjoying this high-speed trip to my gallows very much. What makes you think I’m not?”

  “I can tell. The white knuckles are a dead giveaway, and would you try to grind your teeth a little more quietly? I can’t hear the radio over the noise.”

  “Cute, but I find that hard to believe. I think they can hear our radio in Montana,” he hollered over the blasting rock music pounding out of the speakers.

  The perky, mechanical voice on the GPS notified them of an upcoming exit, and Heather checked the rearview mirror and moved from the left lane to the right. “Is this the exit to our motel?”

  Mick fidgeted in his seat. “No, it’s the exit to my family’s house.”

  “Oh, okay. Are we stopping by there first, before we check in to our rooms?”

  “Um…yeah…about the motel—we’re not going to stay there after all.”

  “We’re not? Where are we staying?”

  She took the exit ramp and stopped at the sign at the bottom of it. Mick loosened his grip on the door and stretched his stiff fingers out, while he avoided her eyes and said, “We’re going to crash with my family.”

  Luckily there were no cars behind them, as Heather didn’t turn onto the street, but kept the car at a dead stop and turned in her seat to gape at him. “We’re staying with your family?”

  “Yep.”

  “In the same house with the father and brother you haven’t seen in years? With the father you parted from under such angry conditions? We’re staying at your family’s house the weekend of your sister’s wedding, which is bound to make for an already emotionally charged atmosphere?”

  “One thing I’ve learned about you since we’ve been working together that I didn’t know before—you have an amazing ability to take a complex problem and sum it up concisely.”

  A horn tooted behind them, and Heather jumped. She waved her apology to the driver waiting for them to move, and took a left turn onto a country road.

  “You could’ve warned me.”

  He turned down the radio, since it was much quieter without the wind caused by Heather’s speeding on the highway. “I know, and I’m sorry. I’ve just been trying to keep my concerns about it in the back of my mind, or I wouldn’t have been able to do my job this week.”

  She reached over and patted his thigh, a sensation that immediately shot a couple of inches higher and to the right. What was wrong with him? She was his friend first, and his employee second. There was no room for this inappropriate physical reaction to her.

  She shot him a cheeky grin. “Everything will be fine. I’m good with parents.”

  He wished he shared her confidence, but no one was good with his father—least of all him.

  ****

  Heather turned in at a mailbox painted like a cow and pulled the car up the driveway to a tidy, but humble, brick rancher. A rusty old muscle car sat on blocks in the front yard.

  “This is it, Casa Evans,” Mick tried to joke, but Heather heard the tightness in his voice, and the muscles in his jaw were working overtime, which she’d learned was a sure sign he was tense.

  Trying to lighten the mood, she beeped the horn cheerfully.

  “What are you doing?” Mick looked appalled.

  “We always beep when we pull up to my family’s farm.”

  “That’s because your family is normal and are always happy to see you. This is a different situation.”

  The front door flew open and a petite woman in a T-shirt and jeans, with an apron tied around her waist ran out of the house. The lines etched on her face made her look older than Heather suspected she was, but her beaming smile lit her up from within.

  “Looks like one person here is happy to see you. Is that your mom?”

  A sappy grin softened Mick’s harsh features. “Yep. That’s my Ma.”

  The woman trotted toward the car, and Mick got out and ran to meet her. He picked her up in his arms and swung her around.

  Heather surreptitiously wiped a tear from her eye as she got out and stretched her long legs. Mick so rarely let his emotions show, and his joy at the sight of his mother touched Heather deeply.

  A tall, thin, pretty girl in a tank top and jeans appeared in the open front door. She held her hands over her mouth and then squealed. Loud.

  Mick hugged his mother to his right side and held open his left arm, and the girl ran to the spot and hugged him around the waist.

  “Look at you, Susie Q, all grown up and getting married.”

  A trio of large, young men, who all reminded Heather a lot of Mick when she first met him, came around the corner of the house from the backyard.

  “What’s all the ruckus?” the youngest looking one asked.

  “Mickey’s home!” their mother cried out. “Your brother Mickey’s come home for Susan’s wedding!”

  “And in a sweet ride,” one brother observed.

  “And with an even sweeter traveling companion,” the oldest one observed with a feral grin.

  Heather glanced out of the corner of her eyes at Mick, who did not look pleased at the observation, but he kept his voice under control as always when he spoke. “Where are my manners? I forgot to introduce Heather to y’all. Mom, this is Heather Braden. Heather, this is my mom, Carol Evans, my sister, Susan, and my three brothers,” he pointed to the oldest one first, “Danny, Billy, and Dave.”

  “Surprised you remembered our names,” sniped Danny.

  “Daniel,” their mother warned. “You will not spoil your sister’s wedding weekend with old grudges.”

  Billy touched Lola reverently and gaped at Mick. “Is this your car?”

  Mick nodded. “Just bought her last weekend.”

  “I decided to call her Lola.” Heather grinned
.

  Mrs. Evans laughed and clapped her hands together. “Like the showgirl in the song?”

  Heather nodded, happy to find a kindred spirit, who got the joke. “Exactly!”

  “Oh, I like her, Mick. She’s fun!” His mother beamed.

  “Lola or Heather?” Mick deadpanned.

  “I bet Heather’s plenty fun,” Danny said sotto voce.

  “You’ll never know,” Mick replied in a low rumble.

  “Now boys,” his mom implored, but she was interrupted by a man’s voice from behind the three brothers.

  “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.”

  Heather looked around them to see a sour-looking older man. His face was weathered and scowling, but she could tell he must have been as handsome as his sons when he was a young man. Now, he just looked pissed.

  Heather watched, as Mrs. Evans seemed to shrink before her eyes. Susan, Billy, and Dave also wilted under their father’s glare. Only Danny puffed out his chest and drawled, “That’s right, Dad, the prodigal son’s returned.”

  The old man snorted. “Let’s hope he’s not looking for a fatted calf, ’cause he ain’t gonna find one here.”

  Heather could see Mick winding up to retort, and she decided to diffuse the situation before he said something to totally ignite this tinder keg. She did it for two reasons: 1) she hated a bully, and Mr. Evans was most definitely one. And 2) Mick would regret it later, and she didn’t want him to have to suffer any more regrets where his family was concerned. If there were a way to reconcile him with his father and Danny, she would try to help it along.

  With that goal in mind, she pasted a bright smile on her face, and walked to the old grump with her hand extended. “Your boys all look just like you, so I know you must be Mr. Evans. I’m Mick’s friend, Heather Braden, glad to meet you.”

  Her innate honesty cringed at the social lie. She couldn’t bring herself to say she was happy to meet him, but she was glad to have the opportunity to see the man who so thoroughly drove his son away, and who played such a strong, albeit negative, role in forming the man Mick had become.

  Mr. Evans frowned at her hand for a moment, and Heather feared Mick was right and she’d finally met the one parent she couldn’t charm, when she realized confusion reined in Mr. Evan’s eyes. He clearly didn’t know what to make of her sunny greeting, in light of his calculatedly unpleasant entrance.