Fire Goddess

by Crystal Inman

  “I like this one.”

  Kelly arched an eyebrow. “Oh, you do?” She stood slowly and brought her breakfast plate to her mother. “It must be his repeated offer to take you away with him.”

  “Kelly.” Christine stopped her daughter in her tracks. “I think you like him, too.”

  “He’s annoying. Persistent. Bossy.” Kelly rolled her eyes. “Not much to like.”

  Christine snickered. “You’ve just described your father.”

  Both women looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  “You may be right, Mama. But I don’t know. Sloan and I seem to clash quite a bit.”

  Christine winked at her daughter. “The best ones do.”

  Chapter 11

  Christine and Kelly left the house around nine o’clock and drove straight for town. Kelly was wrapped up in her own thoughts and didn’t even notice the glances her mother kept shooting over to her.

  They arrived in town, and Christine parked at the water department. “I need to pay the bill, and then you and I will go to Hickory’s and the grocery store. Sound all right?”

  “Fine, Mama.” Kelly smiled as she watched her mama step inside the little tin building. Quite a few people lined the sidewalks, and they bustled to the various buildings up and down Main Street.

  She saw someone she thought she recognized and rolled down the window. “Hey, Rhonda!”

  The leggy brunette turned toward the sound of her voice with a puzzled expression. When she saw who the voice belonged to, she hurried over to the truck. Kelly hopped out and embraced her.

  “What are you doing back in town?” Rhonda’s green gaze took in Kelly with a grin. “Those big shots in California decide to give you a little break?”

  “Working vacation.” Kelly rolled her eyes and then grinned. “Where’s the hubby?”

  Rhonda shook her head. “He’s out with Dad buying some cattle. I think they’ll be back by the end of the week. But with those two, you never know.” She hugged Kelly again. “It’s so good to see you. How long are you staying?”

  “Not long. We’ll leave Saturday.”

  “We’ll?” Rhonda’s eyes danced. “Who is this ‘we’ you’re referring to?”

  “Hell,” Kelly muttered. She bit her lip. “You must keep this a secret. The kind of secret like I kept for you and Mark. Understand?”

  “Perfectly.” Rhonda nodded. “You can trust me.”

  Kelly smiled. She knew she could. She had met Rhonda a year out of high school. Her boyfriend, now husband, had worked for Kelly’s dad. A little twinge set in, but she ignored it. If I can’t trust Rhonda, who can I trust?

  “It’s a working vacation.” Kelly sighed. “I was ordered to bring the set designer back to my hometown and help him design a set for the show. It’s supposed to be the biggest storyline of the year.”

  “Wow!” Rhonda’s green eyes grew large. “Enough of the set. Is the set designer attractive?”

  “Moderately.” Kelly tried to keep her voice as bland as possible.

  “Odds of me finagling an invitation to meet set designer?”

  “Not very good.”

  Rhonda sighed. “The only exciting person in this town, and I am relegated to the back forty. No one at home. All by myself. You would think a friendship like ours would count for something.”

  Kelly laughed aloud. “You should be acting. That was pretty good.”

  “Really?” Rhonda preened. “I was going for guilt. Did you feel any?”

  “Perhaps a little,” Kelly admitted.

  “Enough to get an invitation?”

  Kelly sighed. “Be at the house for dinner at five o’clock. And be nice! I don’t want you to scare away the company.”

  Rhonda smiled and hugged Kelly again. “On my best behavior. Take care. Tell your mama I’ll be by.”

  Kelly watched Rhonda walk off and climbed back into the truck. Small butterflies started in her stomach. She may have been a little shortsighted. Rhonda knew things about her life after high school Sloan really didn’t need to know. She made a mental note to talk to her friend before dinner. There was such a thing as too much information.

  Christine walked back outside and hopped in the truck. She glanced over at Kelly and smiled. “You look happy.”

  “I ran into Rhonda and I invited her to dinner. Is that okay?”

  “Sure, honey. Is Mark coming, too?”

  “No. Business trip.”

  Christine nodded and pulled out of the parking spot. She turned back toward the middle of town and stopped at Hickory’s. She turned to her daughter and smiled.

  “Some people don’t change. Good or bad. Remember that, Kelly.”

  “Yes.” Kelly tried to smile as she climbed out of the truck. The parking lot was moderately full, and that meant a lot of people would be packed in the only retail store for forty miles.

  She followed her mother into the store and immediately grabbed a cart. It gave her an opportunity to look busy and avoid eye contact with those who would insist on waylaying her.

  Christine glanced back at her daughter and sighed. Kelly was trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, which was having just the opposite affect. Her daughter didn’t realize how striking she was.

  The first delay was in the detergent aisle. A teenage girl, picking up dryer sheets, looked at Kelly and screamed. She promptly dropped the box and came rushing over.

  “You’re Kelly Marshall, aren’t you?”

  Kelly chuckled. “I am.”

  “Oh my God.” The girl rustled around in her purse and brought out a paper and pen with trembling hands. “Can I please have your autograph?” She held out both with hope in her eyes.

  “Of course,” Kelly said smoothly. “Your name?”

  “Jane.”

  Kelly signed the paper and handed the pen back to the girl. She watched as the girl clutched it to her chest and promptly ran from the aisle.

  Christine looked at her watch. “I give us about twenty minutes before the whole town descends upon this store.”

  “Fifteen.” Kelly sighed and walked faster.

  * * * *

  They had only finished loading up the truck when the parking lot began to fill at an alarming rate. Christine jerked her head toward the truck. “Get in.”

  Kelly ducked inside and waited for her mother to park the cart. Christine jumped in, gunned the engine, and took off at a rapid rate of speed. She grinned as she passed the townspeople as she zoomed away.

  “Enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

  “I don’t ever get the chance to get up and go with your Father. He thinks I’m a little scary.”

  Kelly chuckled. “I wonder why.”

  “Be nice. I rescued you from the crazed masses.”

  “Crazed masses?” Kelly snickered and looked at her mother. “What have you been reading?”

  Christine looked slightly ashamed. “One of those magazines at the checkout. There was a rather unflattering headline about your soap. I decided to check it out.”

  “And what did you find out?”

  She shrugged. “Not much. I didn’t really care for the reporter. He seemed to delight in making you sound like a slut.”

  “Mama!” Kelly’s jaw dropped.

  “What?” Christine patted her daughter’s hand. “I know you’re not.”

  “Um…thanks.” Kelly shook her head. “I cannot believe we’re having this conversation,” she mumbled.

  “Do you want me to skip the grocery store?”

  “No.” Kelly shook her head. “We’ll swing by there and then back home. You will let me pay for the groceries, right?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Mama!”

  “Yes, dear?”

  Kelly recognized the stubborn look on her mother’s face. She saw it in the mirror all the time. She sighed. “Never mind.”

  Christine pulled into the parking lot and turned the truck off. “I have a list so hopefully this won’t take long.”

  �
�Okay.” Kelly hopped out and followed her mother into the store. She held her head high and smiled at those who made eye contact.

  “I’ll be right back. I’m going to put in an order at the deli.”

  Kelly nodded and stopped in the magazine aisle. The small store didn’t have a large selection, but there were still gossip magazines and newspapers. She picked one up and winced. There she was in full make-up with her mouth open, scowling. Someone had taken the shot from the set.

  “Lost?” The snide voice interrupted her thoughts.

  She peered up over the magazine and inwardly groaned. Sandy Myers stood there with her hand on her hip. Sandy wasn’t just a ghost from her past. She was a nightmare from it. She and her friends were the ones who spread the rumors about her.

  “Finding anything interesting?” Sandy picked up a copy of the same magazine and snickered. “Or do you miss being Felicia so much that you have to read the magazines?”

  “Sandy. What an unpleasant surprise.”

  Sandy’s blue eyes iced over, and her mouth flattened into a straight line. “Quite the bitch off-screen as well, aren’t you?”

  “Only when jealous twits such as yourself provoke me.” Kelly watched her calmly.

  “Still screwing your way to the top?” Her tone could have cut glass.

  Kelly looked her in the eye. “If that were true, you’d be mayor of this town.” She leaned in further. “Is there anyone here you haven’t spread your legs for?”

  Sandy’s hands curled into claws. “You’re not the high-and-mighty bitch you think you are. These people will get sick of you just like my boyfriend did.”

  “I never screwed Jack.” Kelly shook her head sadly. “The stupid ass made it up because he thought it would make you jealous. He knew you had slept with Keith.” She looked at Sandy with pity. “You’re pathetic.” Kelly turned on her heel and went to look for her mother.

  Her hands were shaking, and she stuffed them into her pockets. She would take a high-strung teenage girl over a bitter bitch of a woman from her past any day. A headache began at the base of her neck.

  Christine caught a glimpse of her daughter wincing and looked around to see the source. She watched as Sandy Myers strode briskly from the store. That girl had been trouble since the age of thirteen. She walked over to Kelly and smiled.

  “I’m ready to go.”

  “Me, too.”

  * * * *

  Both women were quiet as they drove back to the farm. Kelly was absorbed in her past while Christine tried to find the right words to assure her daughter that Sandy was and always would be jealous.

  They pulled into the driveway, and Kelly hopped out quickly. She unloaded groceries while her mother put them up. Rufus tried to tangle himself up in her feet, and she scooted him along with her toe.

  “I know what you want, boy. And you’d better talk to your mama. She’s in charge here.”

  He looked up at her soulfully, and she chuckled. Reaching down deep, she pulled out a beef bone and tossed it to him.

  “You better hide that before we both get in trouble.”

  The women finished with the bags and shut the door behind them.

  Kelly sat at the table and looked up at her mother. “What’s wrong with Daddy?”

  Christine turned toward her daughter and rested her hip against the kitchen sink. “He thinks he’s a thirty-year old man. Won’t rest. Won’t ask for help. Stubborn as the day is long. And his body won’t keep up like it used to.”

  “Mama. He can hire anyone he wants.”

  “I know, child. I know. But he won’t. Even Doctor Stahl has advised him to take it a little easier.”

  Kelly cocked her head to the side. “Is it about money?”

  “Not a bit.” Christine blew out a breath. “We have enough money to hire a couple of people on. The farm is paid for. We have our own meat and vegetables. It’s simply getting your father to realize he needs to take better care of himself.” She looked at her daughter. “I was thinking perhaps Sloan could talk to him.”

  Kelly choked on the drink of diet soda she took. When she could breathe again, she looked at her mother. “Are you kidding? Daddy won’t listen to us, but he’ll listen to a total stranger? I don’t see it happening.”

  “Please?” Christine’s eyes pleaded with her daughter.

  “I’ll talk to Sloan,” Kelly promised. “But I’m not making any guarantees.”

  * * * *

  The two men prepared to eat lunch in the big barn on the far side of the property. They had inspected all the smaller buildings and decided two of them needed the roofs patched. One of them needed a new door. And several small areas of fence could stand to be repaired.

  Sloan took out a sandwich and a soda. He handed the cooler to George, and they both reclined against a hay bale.

  “This is a large farm, Mr. Marshall.”

  “Call me George.”

  “George.” Sloan nodded. “What kind of help do you have?”

  “Local boys in the spring and summer. I tend to the fall and winter myself.” He took a swig of tea and looked around.

  “You could use some full-time help.”

  “You think I can’t handle it, son?” George’s head swiveled around, and his blue eyes flashed.

  “No, sir.” Sloan shook his head. “I’m simply thinking your hands must be full with that wife of yours.”

  George slapped his knee and chuckled. “You couldn’t be more right. Hard-headed woman, that one.”

  “I was wondering if it was hereditary.”

  “It is.”

  Sloan took a bite of his sandwich and looked around. He knew George would need help with the repairs they had seen. Now he had to convince George to hire some.

  “I have a small company that specializes in buildings. And even though I want to do it all myself, I can’t. That’s the blessing and curse of being boss. You can’t.”

  George measured Sloan. “I’ve done well enough.”

  “So you have.” Sloan chewed his sandwich thoughtfully and motioned to the beams of the barn. “That’s beautiful. Precise. I’d give my eyeteeth for craftsmanship like that.” He swallowed and met George’s eyes. “I’m not saying you can’t do it all. I’m saying you shouldn’t have to.”

  “Fair enough.” George finished his sandwich and put his trash back in the cooler. “I’ll take those words into consideration. But for now, how about we get started on the patch jobs?”

  Sloan jumped up and grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  * * * *

  Christine and Kelly had started making dinner when Rhonda showed up on the doorstep. She hugged Christine and then Kelly.

  “I know I’m early, but I was bored. Pitiful, huh?” She grinned at the two women.

  Christine laughed in sympathy. “I remember what it was like when George went on the cattle-buying trips. Good thing I had Kelly to keep me company.”

  Rhonda grinned and patted her stomach. “The next trip he takes, I’ll have someone to keep me company, too.”

  Kelly’s jaw dropped. “You’re pregnant?”

  “Yep.”

  Kelly squealed and hugged Rhonda tight. “Congratulations!”

  Christine kissed her softly on the cheek. “What does Mark say?”

  Rhonda rolled her eyes. “He said he wasn’t going on this trip. You know how men are.”

  Christine nodded her head. “Yes. I seem to recall the fact George thought I was completely incapable of doing anything.”

  “He did?” Kelly looked at her mother in shock.

  “Oh, darling, you don’t know the half of it.”

  Both women ushered Rhonda into the kitchen and sat her down at the table.

  “Do you know what you’re having yet?” Kelly looked down at Rhonda’s stomach.

  “Not yet. Doc said another couple of months. I’ll tell your mom, and she can pass it on to you.”

  Christine started making supper, and Kelly helped her. They put the roast in the
oven and the potatoes in the skillet. Rhonda insisted on helping, and they let her make the salad.

  Rhonda was pulling apart the lettuce when she looked up at Kelly and grinned. “Where’s your set designer?”

  Christine chuckled. “He’s out with George on the farm somewhere. If my husband doesn’t come back with him, then we’ll start to worry.”

  “Mama. You are awful.” Kelly laughed and winked at Rhonda.

  Rhonda opened her mouth to reply when the women heard the front door open. Her mouth snapped shut, and she looked expectantly toward the doorway.

  George showed up first and grinned down at Rhonda.

  “Hello, girl! Where’s that worthless husband of yours?” He bent down to give her a hug.

  “Out and about, Mr. Marshall. Buying cattle with my dad.”

  George nodded and stepped aside. He jerked his head back toward the door. “We’ve got some more company. Did Kelly tell you about him?”

  “A little,” Rhonda admitted.

  “Tolerable,” George commented.

  “Thanks, George.” Sloan stepped in the doorway and smiled at the three women. Kelly caught her breath at the sight of him. The sudden rush to her system caught her unaware. He waved at the women and grinned.

  “I’d shake your hand, but I’m a little dirty. Let me go clean up, and I’ll meet everyone back here in the kitchen.” He waved again and disappeared up the stairs.

  George nodded to the women and hid his grin at his daughter’s expression. “Believe I’ll clean up a bit myself.”

  He left the kitchen also, and Rhonda turned to Kelly.

  “Wow.” Her green eyes twinkled. “He’s easy on the eyes, isn’t he?”

  Kelly turned back to the stove and tried to calm her frantically beating heart. “Hadn’t noticed,” she muttered.

  “Bullshit,” Christine said.

  “Mama!” Kelly turned to her mother and looked at her in shock. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  Rhonda turned her head quickly, but her shoulders were shaking.

  “You are evil women.” Kelly’s voice was short. She pointed to both of them. “I know what you’re thinking, and you can just quit it.”

  “Kelly.” Rhonda grinned. “If you knew what I was thinking, you’d be blushing.” She winked at Christine and started pulling apart the lettuce again.