Package Deal

by Chris Chegri

  Kelly heard her take a breath.

  “I admit I was stupid to ever go out with him,” Jill continued. “And my tactics to get you to forget about him were pretty naive and ill thought out. God, Kel, I’m so sorry. I only dated him for a month, but Ken had shown his colors long before that night on the phone. I’ve seen the selfish, irresponsible man you told me he was all along, but I thought somehow I might be able to help with this mess between you two. I asked him to leave right after you hung up. I was so disgusted with him. What an ass. I haven’t talked to him since.”

  Kelly remained silent, her emotions vacillating.

  “I didn’t tell him you knew he was there. I didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing we’d hurt you.”

  “I thank you for that much,” Kelly said, her tone cool, betraying none of the emotion she was feeling.

  “Well…even if you choose never to speak to me again, you need to know Ken plans to call you from Jacksonville. He’ll be there on business sometime this weekend. He plans to ask you to meet him for dinner. He’s planning on wooing you into dropping the legal action against him, or worst case, to lower the amount of the suit. Either would satisfy him. He’s the devil, Kelly.”

  “You’re telling me?” Kelly fumed while Jill unveiled all the details of his arrogant plan. Woo her back? Who was he kidding, why the conniving, egotistical bas—

  “Why are you telling me all this?” Kelly snapped to her senses.

  “Because you’re my best friend, and the only honest one I’ve ever had. You mean ten times more to me than anyone in the world. I knew it as soon as I heard you gasp on the phone after hearing Ken’s voice. I don’t want to lose you. You and Lacy are my family, and I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. I’m just asking for a second chance. Maybe we can help each other fix ourselves.”

  Kelly’s heart, although still bruised, softened.

  In a whisper, Jill said, “I love you, Kelly. I’m so sorry.” Her voice took on a conspiratorial tone. “Now listen. Ken is closing a big financial deal in Jacksonville, which is going to make him a tidy little middleman fee. When he’s trying to curl your socks, I’d let him know you’re aware of it. Tell him that if he doesn’t settle with you on your terms soon, you are going to nail him to the wall and walk out of court with a nice fat trust fund for Lacy.”

  “Very shrewd, but I’m not sure I’m capable of pulling off a sting like that.”

  “This is no time to get self-righteous. Ken doesn’t play fair. Well, whatever. It’s up to you,” Jill conceded. “You can use the information or not. Your choice. If you’re still talking to me when this is all over, I’d like to come out this summer, if you and Lacy will have me.”

  Kelly laughed, despite herself. “Yeah, I’ll bet. Check out all the young, tanned beach bodies, right?”

  “No, really. I’m going to change. No more boy toys or married men. Girl Scout’s honor.”

  “You were never a Girl Scout.”

  “But you were, so the promise has meaning, right?”

  Kelly laughed again, the dull ache, which had consumed her since her trip to Tampa, waning.

  “I’m going to find Mr. Right,” Jill vowed. “I may even move to Florida, and you and I can sign up for classes together.”

  “What kind of classes?”

  “Commitment classes. I’m going to learn how to painlessly and fearlessly make a commitment to a man. The right man. I’m going to get married and have a daughter just like Lacy.”

  “O-kay.” Kelly dragged the word out with skepticism. She wasn’t sure she was ready so soon after the McCarthy disaster to even spell the word commitment. She was still nursing her wounds and hadn’t decided yet if she wanted to forgive Jill, despite the apology and heads up about Ken.

  It seemed Jill had taken a hard look into her own somewhat distorted psyche. And honestly, who was Kelly to judge? She remained silent, wavering. Jill had offered her a chance to salvage their relationship, to mend it and watch it grow. If Jill could admit her flaws, Kelly could find it in her heart to forgive her.

  Jill had known nothing about Kelly’s own soul search, which Kelly realized had been disrupted and abandoned after her brutal discovery of her best friend’s secret relationship with Ken. Now, Kelly had misgivings about her own dependability and the way she’d sabotaged her relationship with Steve. Just more unfinished business in Kelly’s life.

  “I’ll call you after my encounter with the other Pearson,” she told Jill. Before she hung up, she said, “Jill. I forgive you.”

  As Jill had predicted, Ken phoned the following morning, wanting to meet Kelly for dinner Saturday night to discuss some kind of settlement rather than duel it out in court. Digging her fingernails into the kitchen countertop, she agreed, ice flowing through her veins when he added before hanging up, “I’ve missed you, Kel.”

  She couldn’t believe her ex-husband was as stupid as he was conceited.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Kelly pulled into Murphy’s and got out of the car. Ken’s gall still unglued her, and her hands had trembled all the way to the school. It was Friday, and she hoped Connie was working this morning. She’d gotten in the habit of having breakfast at Murphy’s and chatting with her. At first she’d thought the waitress was nosey, but now she’d decided Connie was someone who could be her friend. Today, Kelly needed a friend.

  “Hey!” Connie gave Kelly a warm smile and a hug.

  Kelly returned both.

  Connie grabbed a menu and some silverware. “How’s your week going?”

  “I wish I could tell you. This week has been a nightmare and honestly…” Her throat tightened, and her eyes brimmed over with tears. “I need someone to talk to.”

  “Whoa, honey. Hold on there.” Connie rushed back to the cash register counter and grabbed Kelly an extra napkin. “Dry those tears and have a seat. Maybe we can fix whatever needs fixin’.”

  “I don’t know if that’s possible,” she sobbed and wiped her eyes with the napkin.

  Connie grimaced, grabbed the napkin, and dabbed at Kelly’s eyes. “Come on, now. Sit down. I’ll get you some hot tea and honey.”

  “Thanks. You’re an angel.”

  Kelly slid into the booth and sat motionless, bent over the table, head in her hands. Out of the corner of her eyes, she recognized the two old fishermen from the day of the luggage swap. They sat at the counter, on the same stools, swapping stories again, just as they had the first day she’d met Steve. She did a mental eye roll. She’d left San Francisco, hoping to leave ghosts behind, but she’d created new ones here. Well aware of the irony of it all, she knew there was a life lesson to be learned but was too weary to ponder it right now.

  Connie returned with her tea and honey and slid into the booth opposite her. “So, what are all the tears about?”

  “I’ll be okay. Go back to work and don’t worry about me. Just let me sit here for a while.” She liked Connie and didn’t want to get her in trouble with the boss.

  “Betty’s in the back, and it’s almost my break time. I think Betty can handle it. Now what’s going on?”

  “It’s Steve,” Kelly started slowly, refusing to look at Connie. “I was so afraid he was going to hurt me…” She stopped, caught her breath and continued. “I hurt him, Connie. I did the worst thing…” She squeezed honey into her teacup and stirred it with a spoon. “I let him into my life then shut, no slammed the door on him. I feel so terrible, but honestly? I’m just no good at relationships. He’s better off without me.” She sniffled.

  “It sounds to me as if you’re the one missing him.” Connie pulled several more napkins from the chrome dispenser on the table and pushed them toward Kelly.

  “I miss him so much. I do. He was the best thing that ever happened to me and Lacy.” She lifted her head and met Connie’s gaze. “I messed it up. I didn’t trust him.” Hating herself, she admitted, “I called the police on him Tuesday.”

  She sat still as a statue, holding Connie’s gaze, wait
ing for the woman’s shocked response. It never came.

  “I know,” Connie replied in a hushed voice. “Steve’s been in here needing a friend, too.”

  Kelly groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead. “Oh, God. He hates me, and I don’t blame him. Did he tell you everything?”

  “Pretty much. He doesn’t hate you though. The man loves you. You know that, just like you know that’s why your distrust hurt him so badly. So what are you going to do about it?”

  Kelly chewed on her lower lip, not knowing what to do. Tears ran into her mouth. She wiped her nose with the napkin.

  “I’ll be right back.” Connie got up and disappeared into the kitchen, giving Kelly a minute to think.

  What was she going to do? She missed Steve, but he’d be crazy to take her back. Besides, how could either one of them ever be one hundred percent certain she wouldn’t flip out again? Was she even capable of trusting anyone? So far, she’d failed miserably, but she reminded herself she’d forgiven Jill and been willing to give her a second chance. Maybe there was hope for her yet.

  Connie came back with French toast, an egg and a glass pitcher of maple syrup. She set the plate in front of Kelly. “So, honey, it’s time you decided just how you and that baby of yours want to spend the rest of your lives. Trusting or not trusting. Alone or with a man who loves you both.”

  She sat down in the booth across from Kelly, squaring off with her. “The world isn’t a perfect place.” She reached out and took Kelly’s hands in her own. “It can be painful and a lot of work, and we can make a conscious choice to either let it get us or refuse to bow to it. It’s a choice each one of us makes every day. You aren’t alone. Pain and suffering is universal, honey. It isn’t a matter of trust or disappointment. We’ve all got some bad stuff in our past. It’s up to you what you do with it, how you live your life from here on. You gotta be willing to accept life’s ups and downs, good and bad.”

  Connie paused, thinking for a minute. “I’ll tell you though, it’s a whole lot nicer spending your life with someone you love than going through the lows alone.”

  Kelly had listened quietly and now reached out and covered Connie’s hands with her own. “You’re right. Connie, I think you’re one of the smartest women I know.” She sighed, released Connie’s hands and leaned back in the booth, ashamed of all the self-pity she’d allowed herself. For the first time in years, she saw things clearly.

  “Thanks, Connie. You’re the best.” She smiled, rekindling the inner warmth that had been missing since her trip to Tampa.

  Connie smiled. “So, what else can I help you with?”

  “I hate to even ask, but could you baby-sit? I need to cover the shuttle launch at seven thirty in the morning, then I’ve got to go to work, and tomorrow night I’m taking on my ex-husband, something which I hope will help me put a lot of this crap behind me. Unfortunately, I haven’t been here long enough to have a weekend babysitter, or I’d never ask you.”

  “I’d love to.”

  “It would be all day and into the evening. I hate to ask anyone…”

  Connie wrote her phone number and address on a napkin and pushed it across the table to Kelly. “Sure, hon, but only if I get to be one of the bridesmaids.”

  Kelly laughed and reached over and gave her a hug.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The prospect of meeting her ex-husband evoked the same emotions as sitting down with an auditor from the IRS. Kelly pulled into the parking lot of the Groggy Pelican and switched off her headlights. She sat paralyzed behind the wheel, dread gathering in her throat. Four long years had passed since she’d sat down with Ken, and two had passed since they’d even talked. But tonight she’d agreed to do just that, armed with the knowledge of his unscrupulous plan to seduce her into changing her mind about the lawsuit.

  It had been a long day. Up at five, she’d dropped Lacy at Connie’s house and had driven to the Cape where she’d picked up her press package and been herded to the spectator stands to watch the shuttle launch.

  The morning had been glorious. A gentle wind blew inland from the Atlantic, and the azure sky spread out crystal clear above them, perfect for the launch. The air had bristled with anticipation. When the countdown ended, the rocket boosters roared, spewing flames and smoke, thrusting the shuttle skyward in one of the most spectacular propulsions ever witnessed by mankind. The experience left her speechless.

  A hushed silence hovered over the crowd until the fear of failure was no longer a threat. A victorious cheer filled the air. Although brief, the launch was one of the most exhilarating sights Kelly had ever witnessed. It was a shame the space shuttle program was ending.

  During her visit to the Kennedy Space Center, she hadn’t run into Steve, but she had caught herself several times searching the faces in the crowd hoping—and maybe fearing—she might spot him. The distractions around her helped dilute her disappointment however, and she’d driven back to Daytona with Connie’s words of wisdom rattling around in her head.

  Back at the newspaper, she’d hammered out her story of the launch, submitting it an hour before deadline. Now, she wasn’t sure if she had the strength to face Ken’s manipulations, but it was too late for second thoughts. She had agreed to meet him, and she was already fifteen minutes late. No one kept Ken Pearson waiting without hearing about it.

  She spotted him through the soft candlelight and crossed to his table. The tense lines of irritation vanished from his brow, and he plastered a syrupy smile over his gleaming white teeth.

  Incredibly handsome, as always.

  The restaurant’s dim lighting deepened the planes of his angular face and softened the conceited gleam in his gray eyes.

  “Kelly. You look great.” He pulled out the chair across from him.

  She returned a cool, “Hello, Ken,” knowing it was nothing more than nerves and fatigue causing her heart to stutter.

  “No, you look beautiful,” he whispered against her hair as she settled into the chair. He pushed her closer to the table.

  “Cut the crap, Ken,” she said, knowing she sounded more like Jill than herself. She would have a good laugh about it later, but right now she wasn’t amused. “I’m tired. I’ve had a long day. So let’s order and get down to business.”

  Her tone was inflexible, and Ken stiffened but recovered quickly. He sat down and pulled his napkin into his lap, flashing Kelly his most gracious smile.

  She wanted to gag.

  He raised his wineglass to his lips and took a drink. No doubt priming his tongue for the flow of well-rehearsed lines soon to come.

  “Anything you say. Actually, I’ve already ordered for us.”

  “Really?” Kelly lifted one eyebrow.

  “We were man and wife. Do you think a man ever forgets what the woman he loves enjoys?”

  Raw sugar cane couldn’t have been sweeter, or harder to swallow. It was just like Ken to imagine he knew her, or any woman for that matter.

  “Ken, you didn’t know what I liked when we were married, so why would you know what I like now?” It wasn’t a question she expected him to answer. “I think you’d better call the waiter over so I can change my order. I’m tired and hungry, and I’m going to eat what I want.”

  Ken’s grin tightened. “Sure, Kelly. Sorry. It was presumptuous of me.”

  He waved the waiter down, wearing the expression of someone who’d just had a size eleven shoe shoved down his throat. She guessed he’d just realized his plan might not go as well as he’d hoped. Kelly had toughened over the last few years, and she no longer resembled the sweet, eager-to-please wife he remembered.

  The sharp gleam of challenge settled in his eyes. She was no stranger to that look and steeled herself for battle. Jill had told her his deal in Jacksonville would earn him a hefty check, large enough to pay cash for a house overlooking the water at Big Sur, which Jill claimed he wanted bad. Well, Kelly was about to spoil his real estate plans.

  She reordered, ignoring the waiter’s grimace and
meek complaint that the meal had already been prepared. Holding a tight rein on his temper, Ken offered to compensate the waiter for his trouble, slipped him a twenty, and gestured him away from the table, muttering a low curse about the man’s stupidity.

  Kelly observed his dealings with the waiter, comparing the Ken of now to the Ken she’d married. He hadn’t changed. He was no less impatient and critical of others, she realized with little surprise. Only more polished. In a rare flash of insight, Kelly understood how young and naive she had been when they married. Her judgment then had been clouded, but now she saw Ken for who he was. She was finally able to see past the rare and compelling beauty of the man’s face.

  She was wiser now and knew her judgment was sound, contrary to her doubts in the past. Ken was a jerk, and only an eighteen-year-old female with boys and schoolbooks on the brain wouldn’t see it.

  Her appetite vanished. She just wanted to finish this thing, pick Lacy up from Connie’s and go home. Ken hadn’t asked about Lacy, and she hadn’t expected him to.

  “As I said before, Ken, I’m tired, and you said you wanted to discuss the lawsuit.”

  “Business is such a dry subject. I’d hoped we could enjoy dinner together, share some wine, and maybe get to know one another again. You may not believe it, but I’ve missed you and Lacy.”

  Kelly saw red. Blood flooded into her brain, and she almost threw her plate at his thick, egotistical head.

  Ken pressed back into his chair, a smug look riding his handsome features. It was insulting enough that he’d come here thinking he could sway her decision and cheat Lacy out of the only thing he had time to give her—money. But that he dared to include their daughter in his filthy seduction was parental blasphemy, and Kelly wouldn’t sit still and allow it.

  She threw her napkin aside. “I don’t have time for this.” She grabbed her purse and stood up. “I find you as loathsome, arrogant, and overbearing as you were when we were married, only I didn’t have the guts then to tell you. I had some screwy idea it might have been me. You haven’t grown up in the last six years, and you never will.”