by Claire Adams
Stepping into the parlor, I spotted Mama. She sat at her Sevier table sipping tea, a plate filled with apple slices in front of her. She looked up at me and smiled.
The look sent shivers through my body. A frown, a glare, or even a cold look I could take, but Mama smiling after I got wasted at a society party? I couldn’t begin to guess what sort of harshness she was about to visit on me. I wondered what my pastor would say if I prayed to God to protect me from Mama’s wrath.
I slipped into a chair and poured myself a glass of lemonade. Mama didn’t say anything. Instead, she just watched me, that strangely warm smile on her face like I was the most delightful thing she’d seen all morning.
One didn’t try to understand the mind of Sally Jolie. A Southern society lady like herself was not to be trifled with. She combined the tenacity of a shark with the elegance of a flower.
“I’m sorry, Mama,” I said. Might as well get it over with. I was in the wrong, no reason to dance around it.
“You’re sorry?”
“Yes, I’m sorry?”
“Whatever for, dear?”
“For getting drunk at your fundraiser and ruining it.”
“Oh, you didn’t ruin a thing.” She laughed quietly. “And lots of people get drunk at fundraisers.” She winked. “It’s part of the plan, really. Drunk donors are generous donors. Every fundraiser we run that doesn’t have alcohol, oh, I think we make half as much.”
I blinked. Had I not a made fool of myself?
“So, you’re not mad at me? At all?”
Mama looked at me like I’d gone insane. “Emily, now why on Earth would I be mad at you?”
I sipped more lemonade and shrugged. “I figured you’d be mad about what I did last night.”
“A few people talked about it, but it was mostly Amelia and a couple of others who saw. I made sure they didn’t go around talking too much.”
I winced. Okay, so I had done something. “And you’re not mad about having to tell them that?”
“No, no, no. I’m positively delighted.” She punctuated her thought with a nod. “Especially since it’s exactly what I wanted. Well, maybe not exactly, but it points in the right direction.”
I swallowed, and my palms grew sweaty. I suspected Mama was setting me up for some sort of emotional ambush. Even though I knew it was coming, I couldn’t figure out from what direction. I nibbled on my lip, trying to fight the building panic.
“Why are you so happy?” I asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be happy?” She let out a happy sigh. I was officially creeped out. “You have to understand, dear, you didn’t call me on Thursday, so I worried your date with Logan had gone poorly, and you were only waiting because you were too afraid to tell me.”
That was exactly what had happened. Did she see through that? I didn’t understand what she meant and what this had to do with whatever had happened the night before.
“Um…” was my brilliant response, “and?”
An infectious grin spread across her face. “But you obviously had hit it off even more than I expected.” She winked and chuckled. “Or was that all just from last night?” She nodded. “I didn’t think of that. It was probably all too rushed on Thursday. You needed more time to relax.” She frowned. “It’s my fault for trying to rush things, but it doesn’t matter, I suppose, because of last night.”
“Last night?” My pulse pounded in my ears, each beat sending a jolt of pain through my head. “You’re happy about what happened last night?”
“I’m not going to lie, dear. I’d prefer if you maybe hadn’t had nearly as many glasses of champagne, but I’m not going to quibble with the results, especially since it got you Logan Hawkins.” She picked up an apple slice and took a bite, watching me.
My mind raced. Logan had come to the fundraiser? If he had, I didn’t remember it. The last Logan-related memory I could pull out of my throbbing head was us hugging and parting at the café.
I picked up an apple slice and put in my mouth, wanting a little food and an excuse not to talk for a few moments. I wondered if Logan had lied to his mother about how our date went.
That didn’t seem right. Mama was acting like we were together last night. I gobbled down a few more apple slices trying to buy more time and considered my options. Asking Mama directly would be beyond embarrassing, and I liked how happy she seemed.
“Are you feeling hungry, dear?” she said. “I can have Bella get something going.”
“I think I need to go get a little cleaned up before breakfast,” I said, rising. This was good. A shower would give me more time to sober up and figure out what the heck was going on.
“You do that, dear,” Mama said. “There are some dresses in the closet you can wear.”
“Thank you, Mama.”
“No, thank you.” That frightening grin returned.
I made my way back to my room. Juniper still dozed on the bed. I decided to let her sleep. Chances were she’d been up way past her bedtime and needed the rest.
My purse sat on top of a dresser, along with my coat. I reached into my purse to pull out my phone, wondering if it held any answers to the mysteries of the previous night.
I had a single alert for a voice message. I swiped the phone open and listened to the message.
“Hello, Emily,” Logan’s recorded voice said over the phone. I could hear the slightest hint of slurred words. Mama was right. I wasn’t the only one who’d gotten drunk. “I had a great time last night, even if it was a bit wilder than I’m used to. After our date at the café, I didn’t think you were interested, but I’m glad we’ll be able to see each other again, and I think we proved we’re more than a little compatible.” He paused and sucked in a breath. “I’d really like to see you again. I think we can both agree we have great chemistry and a lot in common. How about Tuesday night? See you then.”
Wow. He was already setting up dates with me. Something spectacular must have happened the night before.
Great chemistry? I tossed my phone back into my purse and tried to figure out what that even meant. What had we done the night before? Maybe I hit on him, loudly and publicly. I didn’t want to ask Mama for more details. The last thing I needed was her thinking she needed to stick her nose even more into this business.
I sat down on the edge of the bed. Juniper stirred and rolled to her side but didn’t awaken.
Groaning, I lay back on the bed. I thought about calling Logan and telling him I wasn’t interested, but everyone seemed happy. Mama and Logan. We’d obviously connected somehow the night before.
He was handsome. A woman would have to be blind not to see that, and I might have had a hangover, but I wasn’t blind.
A woodsy scent filled my memory. Why was I remembering that now? And when had I been close enough to smell him like that?
Maybe a single date wouldn’t hurt. I mean if he could find the time, I could find the time. He’d just have to wait until I could figure out something with Juniper. Mama would probably be happy to watch her if it didn’t mess with one of her meetings.
I blinked. I’d gone from all but running away from Logan to trying to plan out how I could see him again, and all based on some mysterious conversation we had when I was drunk on champagne the night before.
Lord, help me, this was crazy.
Chapter Eight
LOGAN
I thanked the waitress as she departed after taking our order. My mother sat across from me, still in her Sunday best from church, sipping on her sweet tea. Suspicion colored her face.
She’d been fine all through church and on her way to the restaurant, so I didn’t understand why she was now looking at me like I was Bernie Madoff.
I thought back to the sermon, which mostly focused on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I wasn’t sure why that might kindle irritation in my mother, especially since even if I didn’t attend a lot of her events, I was extremely generous when it came to charity. Sure, I can’t say I’ve come across random beaten travel
ers on the road to help, but I doubted that was what my mother was worrying about.
My stomach tightened. How could I have forgotten? Maybe all the alcohol had wiped some of the details of Friday night out, but the highlights remained: Emily’s wonderful mouth and body, not to mention my mother discovering us. Somehow, I’d managed to not worry about it, and she hadn’t brought it up before, so I was hoping she wouldn’t.
I wasn’t naïve, and my mother had been involved in society events for longer than I’d been alive. A little alcohol and an indiscretion had led to much worse things than getting caught kissing a woman in Nashville high society.
Maybe I’d get lucky, and this was about something else entirely. A man could hope. Still, I didn’t like the idea of her being upset with me.
“Mother,” I began. “Do you have something you want to say?”
“Do you have another date with Emily?”
“Not yet,” I said, deciding it would best not to mention the voicemail.
“I see.” She pursed her lips and sighed. “I blame myself.” She clucked her tongue.
“Blame yourself?”
“For pushing you, and then, well, it was all for nothing. I wanted you to go out with Sally Jolie’s daughter and hit off, but I didn’t want you to…” She gestured toward the window with her hand.
Sarcasm warred with shame. Sarcasm won. “Didn’t want us to go outside? But it’s been such nice spring weather.”
As if God wanted to play a joke of His own, rain started falling outside. I chuckled at the thought.
My mother leveled a harsh gaze at me. “You’re a grown man, and I know you have needs. I’m not going to judge you for that, but you were kissing Emily in the middle of a party, and people found you. What could have possibly possessed you to do something so reckless?”
I glanced around as if there’d be a bunch of people from the party listening in. Rubbing the back of my neck, I said, “You have to understand, that was kind of the point.”
“What?” She narrowed her eyes to thin slits.
“The point was to kiss where someone might see us. That was intentional.”
My mother blinked several times. “What are you saying? Do you like that sort of thing?” A look of disgust crossed her face.
This time the shame did win, and I waved my hands in a placating manner. “Not really. It’s just that Emily was trying to get back at Lionel.”
“I see. Not that it was appropriate, but I suppose it’s more understandable in that case.”
“You did see who he showed up with?”
She sniffed disdainfully. “That man probably can’t even spell shame. I swear he must have swung by a cotillion to pick up that girl.” The irritation drifted off her face. “So, Emily was just doing that to get back at her ex-husband?”
I nodded.
My mother laughed. “This is perfect, then.”
Her mood whiplash pushed me off balance. Somehow, I’d lost control or even basic understanding of the conversation. “What? Perfect how?”
“If she was willing to kiss you, that proves she’s attracted to you, and there had to be some chemistry there.” She nodded several times. “You can use this to get another date.”
Watching the undisguised glee in my mother’s eye, I bit back a retort. I loved my mother, and she did have my best interests at heart, but if I wanted to have any chance at a future with Emily, I couldn’t do it under the shadow of my mother attempting to manipulate the situation. If I could run a Fortune 500 company, I could handle my own relationships.
Lying might not be good, but sometimes a little white lie is necessary. Or at least a little omission of the truth. She didn’t need to know I was already trying to set up another date.
“You need to let it go, Mother,” I said. “You can’t force these things.”
“But you obviously are meant to be together.”
“Then if we are, then we don’t need any little games.” I shrugged.
The corners of her mouth turned down into a frown. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the waitress arrived.
The food provided a reprieve for the moment. Now, I needed to make sure Emily followed through. She hadn’t called me back yet about Tuesday.
* * *
A couple hours later, I unlocked the doors to my house. I didn’t bother to call out, as I didn’t expect anyone to be home. My housekeeper didn’t work on Sundays.
Sudden movement down the hallway caught my attention, and I turned to look at the source.
Two slobbering masses of black fur charged at me, barking. The dogs skidded to a halt in front of me.
“Hey, Joe and Dean,” I said to my two black labs. They both sat down in front of me, their tails wagging furiously.
The dogs barked.
“You want to go out, boys?”
They barked again.
I glanced down at the suit I’d worn for church. “Just give me a second.”
They whimpered but then barked.
I wasn’t about to go wandering the woods behind my house in my suit, but I also knew my boys could be impatient. I hurried upstairs to change into sweats and a T-shirt. Given how worked up my boys were, I didn’t think I’d get away with a simple walk around the block.
After heading back downstairs, I led the dogs to the back door. They didn’t even wait for me to open the entire sliding glass door before rushing through into the backyard, barking all the way.
I shook my head, chuckling. It was hard not to find their energy infectious.
There was a purity to dogs that I’ve always liked. They were almost better than humans. Maybe just better period. You treat a man well, and he may or may not betray you, but you treat a dog well, he’ll be loyal to death. If only there was some way I could staff my company with dogs. They’d probably do a better job than a lot of guys I’d worked with over the course of my career.
The dogs barked happily from outside, trying to lead me to the backyard. I finished sliding the door open and followed.
I didn’t so much have a backyard as a patch of backyard surrounded by untamed wilderness. I owned much of the backlot acreage in the neighborhood, but I allowed the neighborhood free use of most of the area. Mostly, I’d bought it up so it wouldn’t be more developed, and I could still maintain a connection to nature that I could reach on foot.
Sure, I had a decent-sized yard and landscapers keeping my trees and hedges looking nice, but most of the area directly behind my house was filled by a small forest surrounding a large stream that ran behind several of the houses and eventually fed into the Cumberland River.
My boys loved running and splashing in the stream or just wandering the woods. Occasionally, I’d run into some of my neighbors, and we’d have a pleasant chat.
Stepping into the backyard, I was glad I changed out of my suit. Water droplets marked the blades of grass, and the earthy scent of mud hung in the air. It’d been raining on and off when we were at church and the restaurant, but I wasn’t sure until then if the rain had come down as hard in my part of the city.
No big deal. I wasn’t worried much about my tennis shoes and sweatpants getting dirty. The ground sank beneath my feet with each step, coating my shoes with mud.
Joe and Dean ran back and forth, barking at me, their dog way of telling me to hurry up.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I said, and chuckled.
A few minutes of hiking brought us into the darkened woods. The swollen, bubbling stream ran right through the middle. Joe and Dean rushed right into the stream to bark and splash.
I laughed and found a stick.
“You want to impress me? Get this.” I tossed the strength with all my might, giving in a nice arc so my boys would have time to snatch it out of the air if they hurried.
Both dogs barreled out of the water to rush for the stick. Joe leaped into the air and snatched it in his teeth. He landed and spun around to charge right back at me, Dean right on his tail.
My boys cou
ld never build up much speed inside. Just too many walls and doors, but outside, they didn’t have the same problem.
“Wait!” I said, raising my hands.
Too late. Both labs slammed into me, sending all three of us sprawling to the muddy stream bank. I laughed and rolled to my side. The dogs rolled, too, then barked happily. Joe dropped the stick and shoved it with his nose.
I pushed off the ground and glanced down. Mud caked my clothes. A quick glance at my boys showed they hadn’t fared much better.
A strangled yelp sounded nearby. My head snapped in the direction of the sound.
A young boy stood about forty feet away. I recognized him as one of the neighbor’s kids.
“Swamp monsters!” he screamed. With that, he spun and ran off shrieking.
My dogs barked.
“Hush now,” I said. “It’s just Bobby.”
The boy’s shrieking grew distant, and I couldn’t help bursting out laughing.
“Come on, boys,” I said, stomping through the mud toward my house. “We need to hose you off before I let you back in my house.”
* * *
After hosing off the boys and doing a quick spray on myself, I needed to get myself a little better cleaned up. I headed up to my en-suite bathroom off my master bedroom and pulled off my dirty clothes.
A quick turn of the handle brought the five jets of my shower to life, their warm water hitting my body and pulling the grime down into the drain. I grabbed some body wash and started lathering it over my muscles.
I burst out laughing again at the scared neighborhood kid. I’d go and apologize to his parents later. I didn’t want the little guy to have any nightmares.
A wistful sigh escaped. There was also something to be said for the kind of innocence that still believed in things like swamp monsters.
The water at my feet grew steadily clearer, less mud and dirt left on my body.
Inhaling the warm steam, I could feel the tightness in my muscles loosen. It hadn’t been a tense or bad day, but it hadn’t been all that relaxing, either.