by Teresa Hill
Jane felt like a worm, like one of the lowest creatures on earth and wished she could just crawl away right now.
“Uncle Leo?” Wyatt said none too softly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jane saw Amy startle, heard the pan clatter on the stove like she’d lost control of it for a moment.
She was expecting the worst.
“Just sayin’, you feeling better, girly?” Leo inquired.
“Now you’re just trying to be annoying,” Wyatt complained. “Let the lady explain why she’s here.”
“Mr. Gray,” Jane began. “I am so very sorry about everything I did the other day, and I’ve come to humbly beg for your forgiveness. My behavior was completely unacceptable, and I am both shocked and humiliated that I resorted to violence as a way of settling our disagreement.”
Leo grimaced, then shook his head. “Kathleen and Gladdy said you were kind of prissy.”
Jane winced. Had they told him that she was a prude, too?
Because if he brought that up in front of Wyatt, she would happily just sink into the floor and try to disappear into the crevasses in the stone tile.
Wyatt shot his uncle a hard look. He might have even stepped on Leo’s toe or something, because Leo gave a little yelp and eased away from both of them.
“Tell her you accept her apology,” Wyatt insisted.
Leo turned to his nephew, chuckling as he asked. “She give you that shiner, boy?”
“Leo!”
“Okay, fine. I accept,” he said, not looking either sincere or happy about being forced into saying it.
Wyatt didn’t take his gaze off of his uncle. “Jane, would you excuse us, please? I’d like a moment alone with Leo.”
“Of course,” Jane conceded, eager to escape as fast as she could.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” Wyatt practically roared the moment Jane disappeared from sight.
“She is a prissy little thing. I still can’t believe she hit me.”
“She didn’t hit you,” Wyatt reminded him.
“But she meant to. The only thing that stopped her was you. And then she hit you.”
Wyatt sighed, feeling a headache coming on, as it often did when he had to deal with Leo. “Did your doctor change your medication or something? Because you seem…particularly outrageous lately, even for you.”
“I’m just enjoying myself here,” Leo claimed, slapping his hands to his chest. “Life was meant to be enjoyed, boy.”
“God help me,” Wyatt muttered. “Are you trying to get kicked out of this place?”
“No, I love it here. This is the best old folks’ home I’ve ever been in. Best-looking women, the friendliest, the fittest. I think this place is God’s gift to Leo Gray.”
“I doubt God sees it that way, and I know for a fact that Ms. Steele doesn’t. She sees it as you potentially ruining this place, and she’s this close to kicking you out.” Wyatt held his thumb and his first finger an inch apart. “One more thing, and I swear, you’re gone.”
Leo made a disgusted, dismissive sound. “We done? ’Cause I’m supposed to meet someone in thirty minutes, and I need to spruce up a bit. A man can’t just let himself go.”
“Please tell me it’s not one of Jane’s relatives.” Wyatt said, then wondered, would it be better or worse if it wasn’t Kathleen or Gladdy?
“You gonna start policing my social calendar, boy?” Leo challenged.
Wyatt sighed. “There aren’t enough hours in the day for me to control you.”
Leo looked particularly pleased with himself. “Didn’t think so.”
“But I’m telling you, you’re going to get kicked out of here, and Ms. Steele’s going to blackball you with every retirement home administrator she knows, and she claims that will cover the entire state of Maryland. Think about it, Leo.”
Jane found Gram and Gladdy in Gram’s room whispering urgently to each other. They clammed up the minute they saw Jane.
That was odd.
“What are you two up to?” she asked.
Gram got a sad, disapproving look on her face. “Talking about you, my girl.”
“We can’t believe the things we’re hearing, Jane. You attacked that sweet Leo Gray?”
“He is not sweet! He’s trouble! How can you both not see that?”
“He is sweet as can be and just delightful to be around,” Gram insisted. “Do you have any idea how boring most men in their eighties are? Sad and grumpy and complaining about one thing after another. Their backs, their head, their eyes. It’s really disheartening what you have to choose from in men at our age, Jane.”
“You could just give up on men altogether,” Jane suggested.
Gram and Gladdy groaned, then looked at each other like it was too horrible an idea to even think about.
“Surely you’ve both had enough men by now,” she tried.
“I hope to have a man in my life for as long as I’m breathing,” Gram said.
Gladdy nodded her head, obviously agreeing. “You’ve just never learned how to truly enjoy a man, Jane. If you had, you’d understand.”
“Enjoy a man?” She winced, remembering being called a prude and Gram and Gladdy feeling sorry for her, just because she didn’t turn her life upside down for every man who showed the slightest interest in her. “I’ve had enjoyable men in my life before.”
“Name one,” Gladdy challenged her.
“I…uhhh…” She had to think, then came up with, “Andy Scovol. He was great fun. We did all sorts of things together, and I still miss him since he moved away.”
“He was your best friend in fifth grade. That was eighteen years ago, and he wasn’t a man. He was a boy. I bet you never even kissed him,” Gram complained.
“Of course I didn’t kiss him. He was my friend. It’s okay to be friends with men, isn’t it? Surely it’s not all about sex.”
Gladdy sighed. “Jane, we worry about you.”
“And I worry about the two of you, too.”
“Well, don’t. We’re fine.”
“Fine,” Gram agreed.
“But you won’t be if you both keep running around with that man, Leo.”
Gram gave a dismissive huff. “We told you. He’s so much fun to have around.”
“Well, you should know he’s been having fun with both of you.” There, she’d just blurted it out.
“Of course he has,” Gram said. “We’ve had dinner together every day this week. We played doubles today in tennis, and we’re going dancing downtown Saturday night.”
“That’s not all he’s been doing.” It had to be said, Jane knew. “I’m sorry, but it’s not. His nephew says he’s incapable of being faithful to any woman or of making any kind of long-term commitment.”
Gladdy laughed. “Honey, we’re both in our…seventies. How can a long-term commitment even apply at our age?”
Jane let the lying about their ages go. It wasn’t the issue.
“He’s been romancing you both. Gram, you think you’re in love with him, and he was here, in this room…doing things with Gladdy yesterday.”
Gladdy looked outraged.
“I’m sorry,” Jane told her. “But he was.”
“Doing…things?” Gram asked.
“Oh, pooh. I had something in my eye, and he was helping me get it out. I’ve already told Kathleen about it, and she understands perfectly. Don’t you, Kathleen?”
“Of course I do.” She patted Gladdy’s hand with lifelong affection. “Gladdy and I would never let a man come between us.”
“But…but you said you were in love with him.” Jane tried.
“I’m quite sure I am. It’s so exciting! Love at my age.” She smiled like she didn’t have a care in the world.
“See? I told you,” Jane said to Gladdy. “Love. She thinks she’s in love with that…cad!”
Gladdy rolled her eyes and said, “So what? Half the women at Remington Park are in love with Leo Gray. Jane, he’s a wonderful man. I wish you could see tha
t, and if I ever hear about you assaulting him again…Well, let’s just say Kathleen and I are both greatly disappointed in you, Jane. Would you care to explain yourself?”
Jane frowned, her brow furrowing. Everyone was in love with Leo? That was it? That was their explanation?
Could she have completely misread the situation and thought Gram cared more about him than she actually did? Was no one’s heart or lifelong friendship at risk here?
Jane sighed. It was hard work, taking proper care of two women in their eighties, especially two active, stubborn women who didn’t want to be taken care of. “I just…I worry about the two of you.”
“Well, we worry about you, too, Jane, darling,” Gram said gently. “But we try not to overreact and let you live your own life, even if you’re doing so in a way we disagree with at times.”
“I’m…I’m sorry,” Jane apologized, feeling ridiculous and so relieved.
Everything was okay. Nothing really bad was happening. She could relax, back off, never have to deal with Leo Gray again and maybe never see Wyatt again.
That was a good thing, wasn’t it?
She felt vaguely disappointed and just…out of sorts. Which was silly, because this had to be a good thing.
Gladdy got up, came over to Jane, smiled down at her and gave her a little kiss on her forehead, like she used to do when Jane was little. “You’re so sweet to fuss over us like this, but we’re fine. Honestly. And I hate to rush off, but I made plans to meet a friend for bridge. Bye, darling. Bye, Kathleen.”
“Bye,” Jane whispered.
Gladdy left, and Jane for once relaxed that rigid posture of hers and fell back against her chair. “I’m so glad we got that cleared up.”
But then she looked at Gram, and it appeared as if nothing at all had been cleared up, Gram’s expression suggested that she had to tell Jane something and she was dreading it.
“What?” Jane asked.
Gram gave a shrug and a smile, then a sigh. “I just…Don’t get upset, all right? You get upset over everything, Jane.”
“Upset? Why would I get upset? You two said you’re not fighting, that you haven’t gone nuts over Leo Gray and that everything is fine. There’s nothing upsetting about that. That’s all good news. I’m happy. See? Happy Jane.”
“The thing is, that isn’t…entirely true,” Gram confessed. “We haven’t told Gladdy yet, although honestly, I don’t believe it’s going to be such a problem. I mean, I know she really likes Leo, but she hasn’t said anything about being in love with him, and you know Gladdy. She doesn’t do love.”
“Neither do you,” Jane said.
“Still…there’s nothing official yet, but Leo and I’ve been talking, and…I’m fairly certain he’s going to ask me to marry him! Jane, I’m just so happy, darling. Isn’t it fabulous!”
Chapter Seven
“You can’t do that,” Jane said, after a long moment of stunned silence.
“Of course, we can. We can do anything we want.”
“But…why would you want to?” Jane tried.
“Because that’s what people in love do!” Gram gave her a huge, glowing smile.
Jane winced. Her head hurt. Her ears hurt. She could not listen to this anymore. She had no calm reasoning abilities left in her where Leo Gray was concerned.
“People in love do a lot of things,” Jane said. A lot of really stupid things. “And you’ve only known him for two weeks, Gram.”
“I know, but when it’s right, Jane, you just know. This is right, and honestly, he’s eighty-one—”
“No, honestly, he’s eighty-six. He’s lying about being eighty-one.”
Gram laughed. “Well, I’m lying about being seventy-six, so I’d say we’re even on that score.”
“He was in Gladdy’s room, necking with her just yesterday! That’s what made me so mad! That’s why I stormed off after him! Because he acted like it was nothing, to be messing around with you and her, like he could hurt you both and laugh about it.”
“She said she had something in her eye, and I believe her, of course,” Gram said sternly. “Now she may like him and enjoy spending time with him but she’s not in love with him, and we’ll all just sit down, talk this out and everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
“I don’t think so, and I don’t trust that man. You shouldn’t, either.”
“Things will be fine. Leo’s going to tell her everything. Just wait and see.”
Gladdy, just as Jane feared, was with Leo Gray!
When she finished with Gram, Jane went to the card room, where Gladdy wasn’t, and then kept asking if anyone had seen her or Leo. She eventually tracked them down to a secluded bench near the tennis courts. Someone said it was a particularly favorite spot of Leo’s to take his lady-friends.
Jane contemplated strangling him with her bare hands when she saw him and Gladdy sitting there, laughing hilariously, Gladdy’s hand on his knee, Leo toying with a bit of Gladdy’s long, pretty white hair.
Was the man on some new combination of Viagra and steroids?
This was ridiculous.
Jane crouched down behind a bush and tried to figure out what to do next. It was like both Gram and Gladdy had completely lost all sense. Granted, they’d never been the most sensible women, but they hadn’t been crazy, either.
Marry Leo Gray?
Gram would be safer jumping off a cliff.
He was like those wackos who founded cults and could get people to do anything he wanted, no matter how illogical or inherently dangerous.
Drink the Kook-Aid for Leo Gray.
And here was Jane, the only sensible one in the group. Well, maybe Wyatt was, too.
She had to see Wyatt again—and firmly ignored a little happy feeling that came along with that thought. There was simply no choice. He at least would help her.
She was getting ready to creep away from her hiding place behind the bush when Leo got up, kissed Gladdy on the cheek and headed Jane’s way.
She gave a little yelp, fell to her knees and tried to crawl into the midst of the bushes. It was all the cover she could find that quickly, but it just wasn’t big enough for hiding purposes. She was sure her butt was sticking out, and the stupid bush scratched her cheek, her arms, maybe even her ear and was likely ruining her pretty-yet-sensible, low-heeled pumps she’d just bought on sale.
Jane waited there, cuts stinging, knees sinking into the dirt, wondering how her life had been reduced to this—hiding in bushes—until she heard a man’s voice.
“I’m telling you, there’s something wrong with that little girl.”
Leo, of course.
Groaning, even swearing under her breath in the bushes, Jane couldn’t bring herself to crawl out of there. It was too much. She had no dignity left, and Jane Carlton placed a great deal of value on her own sense of dignity. Every woman should, she believed. And hers was simply gone, all because of that man!
“You can come out now. He’s gone,” Gladdy said, sounding sad and worried herself.
Jane backed out on her hands and knees, then sat back on her heels, simply unable to look Gladdy in the eye.
“Honestly, Jane. Is there something going on that you’re not telling us? Because you just aren’t acting like yourself lately,” Gladdy said.
“Of course I’m not acting like myself. I’m trying to save you and Gram from that man!”
“And we keep telling you, we don’t need saving.”
“Oh, yes, you do. Did he tell you what’s really going on? What he did? What he and Gram are talking about?”
“Oh, please! What is going on? We’re all going dancing together. We have dinner together. We just told you this. You remember, don’t you, darling?”
“Of course I remember! There’s nothing wrong with my memory! It’s just…he’s…I knew he wouldn’t tell you. I just knew it.”
“Tell me what?”
“About what’s really going on here!” Jane was just all done in. She had dirt all over her knees
and her new shoes, scratches on her face. She’d been caught hiding in a bunch of bushes, spying on her aunt, and two days ago, she’d nearly attacked an old man.
“Jane, everything’s going to be fine. I’m sure of it. Kathleen and I are as happy as we’ve ever been. Life is very, very good.”
“You’re both crazy about the same man. This cannot end well!”
“Well, Leo will just have to pick one of us. Or…maybe not.”
“Maybe not? What do you mean, maybe not?”
Gladdy hesitated, looking uneasy for once in the whole Leo Gray situation. “Jane, are you really sure you want me to answer that question? Because you have to think, before you ask some things, whether you really want to know the answers.”
Jane shook her head. “What? What could I possibly not want to know?”
“Well…it wouldn’t exactly be the first time Kathleen and I have…shared.”
Jane got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Shared?”
Gladdy nodded.
“Shared…a man?”
“Yes,” Gladdy whispered, a tiny smile on her pretty face.
When he got back to his office that afternoon, Wyatt got Leo’s doctor on the phone. Wyatt was mostly getting the runaround about patient confidentiality and privacy laws, a thoroughly frustrating exchange.
“Look, he’s just acting…funny,” Wyatt finally said.
“Funny-sad or funny-odd?”
“He’s definitely not sad, just…more stubborn about things,” Wyatt explained. “And a little reckless.”
“Ignoring what seem like perfectly reasonable requests?”
“Yes.”
“And good advice from people trying to take care of him?”
“Exactly. What is that?”
“The most common complaint I hear from people trying to take care of older relatives,” the doctor replied. “And unfortunately not a disease, as far as the medical profession has been able to identify.”
Wyatt wanted to beat his head against his desk. “He’s driving me crazy!”
“Me too, most of the time,” the doctor admitted. “I can’t get him to listen to a thing I say.”