Coming Unglued

by Rebeca Seitz

  “Do you wish he had?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Silence reigned again, and she took deep breaths, eyeing the off-ramp, waiting on him to slow down.

  “Careful.”

  “What?”

  “You need to slow down.” She pointed to the off-ramp.

  “Oh.” He slowed the car in time to make the off-ramp, and her heart hit her toes. He really was turning around. A part of her had hoped—stupid, stupid girl—that he would want her anyway. Even after he found out she was no better than his ex-wife.

  He pulled into a gas station parking lot and killed the engine.

  “Go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

  She looked at him, daring to meet his eyes, her forehead wrinkling. “What?”

  “You need a bathroom?”

  “No.”

  “Then why did you—”

  “I thought you would want to turn around.”

  His brow creased. “Why would I do that?”

  “So you could take me home?” The hopeful part of her sprang to life again.

  “Kendra, I’m not taking you home.” His eyes were those of an older man, and she wondered at the amount of pain he’d had to bear the past few years. Funny how she hadn’t thought of that since getting involved with Harrison again. “You thought I’d leave you when I found out?”

  She bobbed her head, feeling like an idiot. A miserable idiot.

  “I’ve known for a while.”

  “What?”

  He shrugged, not meeting her eyes but not letting go of her hand either. “I knew something had changed with you, and I thought it was probably somebody else. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me and hoping you’d end things with him.”

  “You knew?” Why did she feel so betrayed by that? She had no right to feel anything other than remorse right now. Which didn’t make the feeling go away but did stop her from speaking the angry words on her lips. Instead she just studied him. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t ready to deal with being cheated on again.” Defeat filled his voice, and she reached out to him, desperate to stem the flow of hurt from his voice.

  “I am so sorry, Darin. I didn’t want to hurt you. I knew him before you, if that matters. Not that anything makes this right, but you need to know that I knew him before I met you.”

  “Were you seeing him when we met?”

  She shook her head, needing him to understand. “No. We had ended things.” Her mind skittered past why, unwilling to tell Darin the depth of her betrayal. “He called me up a couple of months after you and I started seeing each other. I wasn’t sure if you were serious about me, and we hadn’t said we were only seeing each other, so I agreed to see him again. I should have told you, but I couldn’t figure out how.”

  She watched his bald head bob up and down and hoped he wouldn’t ask more questions. Questions that would force her to reveal that she was no better than his first wife. No more deserving of his affections.

  “I guess I can’t much blame you,” he finally said. “We never said we weren’t going to see other people, and I know better than to make assumptions.” He raised his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The way I see it, I know now, and you’re not dating him anymore, and that’s gonna have to be enough.”

  Not a complete acceptance, but not a rejection either.

  “Okay.” Her voice revealed the uncertainty that strangled her heart. She waited a few beats. Did he have more? The silence accused her, ridiculed her for Sylvia’s past. “Where do we go from here?” The hated question had to be asked.

  His eyes, now red from the emotion of the moment, met hers. “Where do you want to go?”

  “I think, given the situation, that’s entirely your call.”

  “Let’s pretend I don’t have a say. What do you want, Kendra?”

  To turn back the hands of time. To pretend I never met Harrison. To be born to a different woman, born into the loving home I eventually grew up in. To be a woman who feels entitled to a man like you.

  “Oh, Darin. I want things I shouldn’t.”

  The grin that stopped her heart on a routine basis began to spark. “Don’t we all.” He maneuvered the gearshift into reverse and backed them out of the gas station. “For now, though, this is what we’ve got.” He jabbed the power button of the radio, and she let the easy jazz fill the silence. Sometimes music was just a better idea than words.

  They drove the rest of the way to Leiper’s Fork in silence, their heads moving in time with the beat, and Kendra wished they could ride like this forever, hand in hand. All too soon, Darin pulled off the highway again and drove down a two-lane country highway.

  She stared out her window. Giant tobacco leaves waved in the breeze, their field broken up by tall stalks of corn with golden tassels on top. A blue sky hung like a canopy over it all, granting sunshine to the hungry crops. A smile crossed her face as she noted the line of blue on the horizon, saw the dark green bleed into it. That would be a beautiful line in a painting. Giant white wisps of clouds moved lazily, nowhere to rush, nowhere to be but here.

  Her shoulders inched down, tension unwelcome in this tranquil place, and she noted from the corner of her eye that Darin was affected by the setting as well. His neck lost its stiffness. The lines around his mouth softened into a small smile.

  He slowed the car to a crawl, and she rolled her window down just to feel the breeze against her skin, cooling the boil of residual shame, washing her clean, and lifting her hopes again for the day.

  “Are we close to the site?”

  Darin nodded. “It’s about half a mile ahead. Close enough to the interstate for an easy commute, far enough away not to hear the highway traffic.” He allowed the car to coast down the slight incline.

  Morning sun dappled the leaves of a stand of oak trees along the back of the property. It had to be at least a hundred acres, just lying there. No crops, just bright green grass blanketing the ground like a green wave.

  “That’s beautiful,” she breathed.

  “Mmm,” Darin agreed. He pulled the car to a stop beside a slick white Lexus, and Kendra turned to see a short blonde sitting in the driver’s seat, talking on her cell phone.

  “Who’s that?”

  “That’s Lorena.” Darin opened his car door, and Kendra followed suit. “She’s the realtor we’re working with on this project.”

  Kendra assessed Lorena as the realtor held up one red-lacquered nail to signal she’d be with them in a minute. Pretty. Could stand to lose a few pounds. A ready smile, but sadness lurked beneath the surface.

  Kendra trailed behind Darin as he stood on a rise looking over the property.

  “Picture five to ten acre lots, two- and three-level brick homes, circular driveways, fountains, roundabouts. This will be the place to live if we do things right.”

  A part of Kendra wished the land could just stay the way it looked right now. But somebody was bound to come along and develop it. Might as well be Darin because he’d make sure those oak trees were still standing after the bulldozers left.

  “Darin, hi.” The blonde toddled toward them, hand outstretched. Aigner loafers bearing the signature brass A wrapped around tiny feet. Wide-leg ivory pants made the woman dumpier than she had to be. A matching jacket, cut right at the hip as if the designer intended to emphasize the woman’s widest point, was buttoned snugly around her waist. Pearl studs completed the dowager image. How had this woman made it in the cutthroat world of south

  Nashville real estate?

  “Hi, Lorena. This is my friend Kendra.”

  Kendra shook the woman’s hand, noting the slight pudge of skin around her wedding ring. Ah, so she’d gained all that weight since the wedding.

  Lorena flipped her hair—at least it was a natural blonde—and swept her hand across the view. “Breathtaking, isn’t it?”

  Darin’s eyes were razor sharp as he looked at Lorena, and for the first time Kendra saw the b
usiness side of the man.

  “It’s a beauty.” He slid one hand into a pocket and gestured up the road with the other hand. “Just like a lot of other tracts up and down this road.”

  “True, true. But the farther we get down there, the longer your residents must drive to the interstate, right?” Lorena tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and her hand trembled a bit. Was she nervous? New to the real estate game?

  “Oh, I agree.” Where had that come from? Kendra’s eyes widened at the sound of her own voice. “This is the perfect distance from the highway.” Lorena’s hand stopped shaking, and Kendra felt better about opening her mouth.

  Darin watched the two women, shared a look of understanding with Kendra, and held out his hand. “Thanks for meeting us out here, Lorena. I’ve got a couple of calls to make Monday.” He shook the realtor’s hand. “We’ll be in touch.”

  He strode back toward the car, and Kendra quickly followed while Lorena scrambled to keep up.

  “Um, do you have any questions?” The tremor in Lorena’s voice made Kendra glance back. The woman looked panicked. “I’ve got plenty of information here on the property if you’d like to see it.”

  “Darin, we just got here.” There she went again, butting in. Hadn’t Darin just brought her along for the ride? It’s not like the man’s ability to pick properties wasn’t proven. “Don’t you want to walk the property? Get a feel for the place?”

  Darin swung around to her, his easy smile in place. “I’ve been all over it and, thanks, Lorena, but I have the information you faxed to the office.” He leaned toward the woman, who by now was all but shaking. Kendra’s heart went out to her. She had to be new.

  Extending his hand, he took Lorena’s small one in his and bent lower to her level. “I wasn’t kidding. I’ll call you on Monday for details about the contract.”

  Kendra blinked. He was buying the property? That fast? Lorena recovered more quickly than Kendra. “Oh! Oh, that sounds fine. I’ll wait for your call, then. You two have a lovely afternoon!” She wiggled her fingers in the air and plodded off to her car.

  Kendra waited until they were ensconced in the relatively soundproof Barracuda before turning to Darin. “What was that?”

  “That was me buying a new property.” He started the car, his air of nonchalance at odds with what had just happened.

  “You knew you were buying it before we got here.”

  “Yep.”

  “Then why make that poor woman schlep all the way out here?”

  He maneuvered the car back onto the road and waved good-bye to Lorena, who was now talking with great animation into her wireless ear piece. “I wanted to make sure the realtor had enough hunger to get the deal done fast. I’ve worked with a lot of them who act like they’re doing me a favor by selling the property. I’d never met this woman, and I just made sure she wouldn’t give me any grief in the process.”

  Kendra sat back in her seat, a fresh wave of appreciation going through her. “You’re good at this.”

  Darin’s eyes cut to her, then back to the road. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “So now that business is out of the way, how about lunch?”

  “Good idea.”

  Ten minutes later they walked into Puckett’s Grocery, and Kendra looked around, expecting to see Andy Griffith.

  “Mr. Spenser?”

  Kendra and Darin turned at the same time. “Why, you’re going to think I’m stalking you or something!” Lorena adjusted her jacket and smoothed the front of her pants.

  “Leiper’s Fork is a small town.” Darin winked. “Guess it was inevitable we’d run into you during the lunch hour.”

  “Well, don’t let me interrupt your lunch.”

  “Oh, join us.” What was it about this woman that made Kendra want to reach out and take care of her? She spotted Darin’s confused look but didn’t see a way out of the invitation now. “We’d love to hear more about the real estate up here.”

  Lorena smiled, and Kendra stared. That was a killer smile when the woman let it go. “Now that I can tell you a ton about. But are you sure you two want to spend your whole lunch listening to me prattle on?”

  Kendra nodded, eager to give the woman confidence in what was so obviously a new career. “You bet. Come and tell me everything I’ve ever wanted to know about Leiper’s Fork.

  * * *

  FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER Kendra pushed back from the table and groaned. “Ugh, Lorena, I’m holding you personally responsible for letting me eat all that food.”

  The realtor giggled—a sound like little bells chiming— and pointed across the table. “I can’t take credit for that. You’re the one that asked for the pie menu even after I warned you about the expanding dumplings.”

  Kendra moaned. “You weren’t kidding. I’m going to have dumpling hangover tomorrow.”

  Darin chuckled and picked the check up from the corner of the table. “And you’ll have nobody to blame but yourself.”

  The lunch had been better than Kendra would have guessed up front. Lorena was a delightful, if inexplicably sad, woman. Married for three years, she had yet to have any children and had decided to focus on a career in real estate until a baby came along. Darin would be her first major sale—major being something in seven figures, Darin had whispered when Lorena excused herself for the restroom.

  “You’re right, you’re right.” Kendra pulled herself upright. “I’ll be good tomorrow.”

  Mischief crinkled Lorena’s eyes. “You sound like me. Except that tomorrow comes, and somebody puts cookies or peanut brittle or pie in front of you, and you think, I’ll be good tomorrow.” She patted her pants, visible now that she’d unbuttoned that tight jacket. “Pretty soon, you’re wondering who shrunk your pants.”

  “You’re a nut.” Kendra laughed. “Honey, that’s why God made kimonos.”

  Lorena scrunched up her nose. “Do you see me in a kimono? I don’t think so.”

  The women joined in laughter while Darin pulled bills out of his wallet and laid the money under their check on the corner of the table. “Lorena, I’m glad we ran into you here. It’s going to be a pleasure doing business with you.”

  “Oh, phooey on you, Mr. Businessman.” Kendra shoved his shoulder. “Lorena, don’t you let him get all stuffy on you. You let me know the next time you’re near Stars Hill, and we’ll go have some fun together. I know a certain diner whose burgers are to die for.”

  Lorena pointed a finger at Kendra. “You’ve got yourself a deal.” She picked up her purse and stood up. “Well, I think I’ve taken enough of y’all’s day, and I’ve got another appointment to get to. Thank you very much for lunch, Mr. Spenser.”

  “My pleasure. Anybody who keeps this lady smiling,” he hugged Kendra to his side, “is always welcome at my table.”

  “Aww, you two are so sweet.” Lorena’s eyes turned down, and Kendra wondered again at the sadness that entered the lovely blonde’s face every time talk of relationships arose. “Bye now.”

  As Lorena wandered off to her next meeting, Kendra turned to Darin. “Do you think she’s in a bad relationship?”

  Darin rose one eyebrow. “Who? Lorena?”

  “No, dummy, the other blonde we just had lunch with. Of course Lorena!”

  “How’d you pick that up? We talked about real estate for forty-five minutes.”

  “Not the whole time. And besides, every time you smiled at me or said something nice about me, she got this sad look on her face. I think her marriage is on the rocks.”

  “Sure, Psychic Madame, you read her perfectly.”

  “Hey, don’t make fun. I’m serious here.”

  Darin rolled his eyes and stood up. “Come on, woman. Let’s get over to the art museum before you line up a marriage counselor for my realtor.”

  Kendra beamed and followed him out the door, happy to have made a new friend.

  Fourteen

  Joy slumped on the toilet seat, staring at another negative tes
t as thunder rumbled outside. Did a quest exist that could be more degrading than trying to get pregnant? What other pursuits in life required the adventurous one to pee on a stick every month and watch the clock’s slow second hand sweep, dread and hope building as one, until the answer became obvious?

  She sighed, then straightened. Another month down the drain. After twelve months of the same answer, the time had come to try a different tack.

  Throwing the offending test in the trash, she stomped out of the bathroom in search of her husband.

  “Scott!” Her voice bounced off the marble floor of the foyer as she passed through on the way to the kitchen. Lightning slashed the dark sky outside, sending eerie blue light flashing through the front windows. The gong of the grandfather clock started, reverberating off stone and making it hard to count out nine separate tones.

  “Scott! Where are you?” She raised her voice above the clock’s sound. When were they going to get that intercom fixed?

  “In here, Princess.”

  Joy turned off into the library. Scott clung halfway up the bookcase ladder, about ten feet in the air. “What are you looking for?”

  “I had a hankering to read some Roethke.” He reached out from the ladder and plucked a leather-bound volume from the shelf, then gingerly made his way back down. Thunder rumbled outside.

  “Roethke, hmm?” Joy hated to disappoint him when he was in such an amorous mood. Roethke was for newlyweds, lovers full of passion. Not couples trying to conceive a child only to confront failure every thirty-one days.

  Scott reached the bottom step and sauntered toward her, a confident man unperturbed by the months of faulty tests. She ignored the spurt of anger at that.

  “Yes. I watched you lying in bed this morning, and a Roethke line popped in my head. All day long I’ve been trying to remember the rest of the piece, but I finally gave up and came in here to find the book.”

  “What line?”

  “‘Lovely in her bones.’ You looked lovely this morning, Princess.” He kissed her lightly, assured of her response before making the gesture.

  “I took another test.” Dial down the harshness.

  “I take it we didn’t get the answer for which we hoped?”