by Scott, Lisa
That made Tonya pause. “One hundred thousand?”
“Yep,” he said.
“Could you give me a minute?” She snatched a pad off the stack of magazines on the coffee table in front of a big orange couch. She dashed to the bathroom and locked the door, bracing herself against the sink. “Fifty-thousand dollars,” she whispered.
She could think of five different ways to spend that amount of cash, and she jotted down the possibilities on her pad. 1. Buy the salon building. 2. Money toward a house. 3. Designer shoes—a bunch of ‘em. 4. Caribbean cruise. 5. A new car.
Enticing, but… Tonya shook her head. It didn’t feel right. Looking for love on a TV show was not her style. Right, hooking up with an ex in a meaningless relationship is more my speed. Besides, there were plenty of people from her past she wouldn’t want tracking her down in Willowdale—exes and a lousy mother included.
She slipped out of the bathroom. “I’m going to pass. Just doesn’t seem right to go searching for something so special while the whole world watches.”
“Don’t you think looking for love is more effective than waiting for it to come to you?” Vinny asked.
“I think true love happens. If you’re looking for it, you’re forcing it. I want love to find me.” And begging for dates will remind me of what I don’t have, so that’ll be a blast, too. She sighed. “All of Willowdale’s going to be star-struck. It’ll be worse than watching home dye-jobs walk by.”
Vinny smirked. “You’ll get used to us. We’ll be here for six weeks.”
“When does it start?”
“We begin shooting next week. As we speak, crews are staging the O’Hara mansion for the contestants to stay in. Auditions are tomorrow.”
“That soon?” Tonya asked.
“We lost a show at the last minute for the summer lineup, so we’re scrambling to get this on the air. We didn’t even have a pilot to pitch the network with. It’s a bit risky, but we sold it to the network based on the proven strength of dating shows and Teague’s popularity. He found love here in Willowdale with Kate, maybe other stars can, too. That’s what people will be tuning in to see.” He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of Tonya.
“What was that for?” Tonya asked.
“The higher-ups want to see pictures of the locals.”
“I said I didn’t want to be part of the show.”
He grinned at her. “I know what you said.” He left the shop and Teague followed, leaving Tonya with Kate.
“I don’t like him,” Tonya said.
“Don’t worry. You wouldn’t be dating him,” Kate said. “Dang, if I was still single, I’d give this a try for sure.”
Tonya glanced around her shop. “Where’s Marge?”
“At the Jelly Jar I’m sure, spreading the news. She said she’d bring the perm rollers back later.”
Tonya groaned. “And what’s left of her hair. If it’s on too long, it’s going to fry right off.” She shook her head. “See? This show is causing problems already. I’ve got a real bad feeling about this. Things are never going to be the same in Willowdale after this.”
For once, Kate didn’t argue.
Chapter 2
Tommy walked into the police station. Dolly fluttered her fingers at him from behind the reception desk. She whistled. “Your hair sure looks nice.”
Damn. Her friend Marge had either texted or tweeted the news that he’d been at Tonya’s for an early appointment. Dolly was sharp enough to know his hair looked no different from the day before.
“Don’t forget about that meeting over at Town Hall at nine.” She lowered her voice. “Must be with the Hollywood people. Bet they’re going to have a nice spread of goodies. Bring some back for me, won’t you?”
“If I do, will you stop talking about my hair?”
Dolly pretended to zip her lip. Then she said. “I love those little mini éclairs.” She estimated the size with two chubby fingers.
“Yes, I’ll bring you some goodies in exchange for your blessed silence.”
Dolly clapped while he closed his office door behind him. He flopped into his chair and stared at the ceiling. What the hell was he doing with Tonya? He hadn’t meant for this to happen—to have feelings for her again. Three months ago, after a late night at The Hideaway, he’d ended up at her place and got a good reminder how fantastic it always was with her.
At six the next morning as the sun was coming up he suggested they get together semi-regularly for sex, since they’d perfected that part of the relationship.
Tonya had laughed and said it would probably always have to be first thing in the morning since she didn’t have any other time to fit him in. When he showed up at her salon door a week later at six a.m., she’d laughed, but she let him in for another go-round. And that’s how it all started.
Neither of them had given a thought as to how it would end.
Grumbling about his dumb luck with women, Tommy headed over to Town Hall. The meeting room was filled with every town official you could think of, from the mayor and the council members, to the fire chief and the water authority. A few people he didn’t recognize sat at the table. With their golden tans and gleaming white teeth, Tommy assumed those were the Hollywood folks.
And sure enough, a huge spread of goodies had been placed in the middle of the table.
The mayor stood up when Tommy sat down. “Good, everyone’s here now. We’ll get started. When we approved this show for our small town of Willowdale, we didn’t realize the production company wanted to get started so soon.” The mayor paused and glared at the producers for a moment. “But turns out they need to hustle this into production and we sure could use the extra tax dollars and fees, so this town is going to be bustling tomorrow when they hold auditions over at the school. It’s the only place big enough to accommodate the crowd, now that the movie theater’s shut down.”
One of the Hollywoods stood up. “We thank you so much for hosting Small town, Big Love. This is going to put Willowdale on the map.”
A council member raised his hand. “Willowdale was already on the map, thanks to Teague Reynolds marrying our Katie Riley.”
Heads around the table nodded in agreement, and Tommy was pleased to realize he was truly happy for Kate. Years ago, before she was married, Tommy had tried to console her after it seemed Teague had dumped her. Racy paparazzi shots of the two of them frolicking under a Hawaiian waterfall had cost her the school nurse job she’d held. Fool that he was, Tommy had proposed to her, trying to come to her rescue.
Thank God she’d had the sense to turn him down. Trying to make things right—it was a bad habit of his. Never seemed to work out, either.
The mayor continued. “In any event, the fees and permits these folks are paying will boost the bottom line and help out with all the overtime our employees will be putting in. Chief, your folks should be expecting to pull a lot of extra shifts. The production company is hiring some back-up security teams for the bigger events, and we can call on the Lake County Sheriff’s Department when needed, but we should expect to be busy the next six weeks or so.”
Tommy nodded, refraining from adding his critical comments about this ridiculous show. He’d gotten a memo about it a week ago and had hoped it was a joke. The town clerk was known to send out fake meeting agendas and press releases from time to time. At first Tommy had suspected it was a late April Fool’s Day joke because the clerk didn’t always have her dates straight, but not this time.
The mayor continued, “And I’m excited to announce that the producers have agreed to pay for a willow tree planting ceremony as part of their events. The whole town is invited to the park to participate.”
A few hands shot up. “Willow trees don’t grow here,” someone said.
The mayor looked at the ceiling and sighed. “Maybe this time they will. That’s the point.”
“They’ll be dead in three months, mark my words,” said Randy, the fire chief.
Tommy held back a chuckle. It
was true, willows no longer grew in Willowdale, thanks to ‘The Curse’ so many townsfolk believed in. He rolled his eyes, thinking about it.
“There will be several public events for residents to participate in, and we’ll be airing the first show on a giant screen in the park,” the mayor said. “All in all, it should be a fun spring in Willowdale.”
The meeting wrapped up, and Tommy grabbed a plate of goodies for Dolly. As he drove past Tonya’s salon, he thought about stopping in to give her a few of the treats he’d snagged. It was a divine spectacle watching that woman eat. She packed away everything with such gusto—and incredible orgasmic sounds—it felt almost wrong watching her. And one of these mini-éclairs? Dang. He could imagine her eyes lighting up, her teeth sinking into the sweetness her arms sliding around his neck as she gave him a kiss in thanks, the taste of cream still on her tongue.
But he shifted in his seat and kept heading towards the station. Stopping in with a few sweets was something you did in a relationship. And they were not in a relationship.
Instead, he set the whole plate in front of Dolly when he got back to the station. She squealed in delight. “You are a fine, fine man.”
“An opinion shared by few.” He went to his office and closed the door. Watching Dolly eat did not have the same effect as watching Tonya.
***
Tommy woke early with the sun—a nasty habit of his. It was six-thirty. Yesterday at this time, he was on his way to Tonya’s. He never did get that trim or cup of coffee. They hadn’t had time to talk either. While he dreamed of his hookups with Tonya, he truly enjoyed their conversations, too. She always made him laugh. Days that started with Tonya were good days. Could he push his luck seeing her again? Won’t know unless you try, he thought.
After a quick shower, he raced over in his cruiser and rapped on her salon door. It took a few moments for her to answer. She wasn’t expecting him.
Her eyes went wide when she pulled him inside the salon. A robe hung over her silky pink nightgown. “People are going to start talking after seeing you here two days in a row.”
“Let them.” He slid his hands over her hips and pulled her to him. “We were interrupted yesterday. I want that coffee, and I do need a trim.” He kissed her. “More of this, too.” He kissed her again, and what he felt wasn’t just lust. Despite his best intentions, he was falling for her again. Not that he’d ever stopped wanting her, but now his heart was getting involved, too. Could they ever make things work again? Probably not, since he’d blown things so monumentally their first go-round more than four years ago. Was the word ‘fool’ stamped on his forehead in invisible ink? And if he told her how he really felt, would he lose what they did have? She’d call off their get-togethers for sure. Maybe she wouldn’t stay friends with him if she knew he was thinking about something more after all these years. Plus, she’d said she was fine with what they had. If she wanted more, wouldn’t she have said so?
Tonya kissed him back, nipping at his lip.
He groaned.
“I guess two days in a row is fine,” she said.
He smirked. “Just fine?”
“Maybe more than fine.” She kissed him back. “So, did you hear about that ridiculous dating show coming to town?”
“Sure did.” He sighed. “My job is about to get difficult, I can tell you that. But town officials thought it was a great opportunity to increase tourism and rake in some cash from all the permits and fees the production company will be paying.”
“I think it’s a fool idea. Kate and Teague want me to be a contestant.” She paused, like she was waiting for his reaction.
His eyebrows shot up. Hell no, he thought. He was about to say something but was interrupted by the jangling door. Tommy spun around to see his new officer, Marty Hicks, standing in the doorway, hat in hands.
Tonya tugged her robe closed and rolled her eyes. “So, yes, Tommy. Please make an appointment next time,” she mumbled. “I was just making coffee. Want some, Marty?”
“No thanks, ma’am.” Officer Hicks looked at the floor. “Sorry, Chief. It’s an emergency and you weren’t answering your phone. I stopped by your place. When I saw you were gone, I thought you’d be here.”
Tonya grumbled something unintelligible in the background. Probably just as well he couldn’t make it out.
Tommy patted his pockets. “Must’ve left my phone at home.” He closed his eyes and forced a smile. “So you found me. What is it?” If Burt Conroy had left his tractor idling in the middle of Main Street again, Tommy vowed to keep him locked up for a week this time.
Marty grimaced. “It’s your daughter.”
Tommy’s heart dropped. “What?”
“Your ex-wife called the station when she couldn’t reach you. I guess Jane fell down the stairs when she was getting ready for school. Ellen’s driving her in to Whitesville General right now. Thinks her leg might be broken.”
Tommy looked back at Tonya as he dashed out the door. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Hope she’s okay,” Tonya said. “Be careful driving.”
***
Tommy sped to the hospital in Whitesville. The forty-minute drive took twenty-five minutes. How in hell had he left his phone at home? He’d been in such a rush to see Tonya, he wasn’t thinking straight. Something had to change between the two of them. Their hookups were having an effect on him. It was clear they either had to end things or move them to the next level.
After a hasty parking job, he ran to the emergency waiting room.
Ellen rushed to him, trembling. “It’s broken.” Her voice was thick, and her face was pale.
He curled his fingers around her arms. “She’s going to be okay.”
“The doctor’s fixing her up right now, she’ll have to wear a cast for a few months.” Ellen pressed her head against Tommy’s chest and sobbed.
He patted her back while scanning the room for a box of tissues. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get there in time and take her to the hospital.” He felt like the worst father in the world. He pulled away and snatched a box of tissues perched on the edge of a table. Holding it out to her, he added, “I don’t know how you got her into the car yourself.”
She took one and blew her nose. “It was tough. Why didn’t you answer your phone? Weren’t you home?”
No, I was too busy canoodling to be there for my daughter. He cleared his throat. “I was getting a trim before work. Left my phone at home by mistake.”
She looked down and nodded.
Hesitantly, Tommy stroked her head. “She’s going to be okay. These things happen. Brad and I had a running bet to see who’d break more bones when we were kids. In the end, I won.” He rubbed her back with his other hand. How was he going to make this up to Jane and Ellen?
Ellen sniffed and looked up. Her green eyes were red-rimmed from crying. “It’s going to be real hard for her to climb the stairs. I could set up a bed downstairs, but we’ve only got the one bathroom and that’s on the second floor.” She stepped back out of his embrace.
Tommy frowned. When they were married, he’d promised Ellen he’d build a second bathroom on the first floor. Their marriage had been so short, he’d never gotten around to it. “I’ll have someone work on a bathroom downstairs right away.”
“Really? You’d do that?”
“Jane needs it, right?”
Ellen nodded.
“And until then, I can stop by at night and carry her upstairs for bed, and come by in the morning to bring her down if she can’t manage it.”
Ellen crossed her arms and looked away. “Tommy, you don’t have to.”
“Are you going to carry her? You had a hard time getting her to the car.” he said. Ellen was five feet tall when she stood up straight and maybe weighed one hundred pounds—after a big meal and dessert. Jane, at age nine and taking after his side of the family, would be the same size soon enough.
Ellen sniffed. “I’ll figure something out.”
“No you won’t.
You don’t have to. I’m her father; I’ll take care of it. Anytime you need me, you call.” Tommy sank into a chair and patted the seat next to him.
They shared bad coffee and leafed through magazines until a doctor came out and told them Jane was ready to go home. He led them to her room.
“Oh, baby. Are you ok?” Ellen said, rushing to her.
Jane nodded. Her face was ghostly white, and her nose was red. “Daddy!”
He squatted beside her bed and brushed the hair off her forehead. “I’m here, Pumpkin. You’re going to be fine.”
She gripped his hand and squeezed. “Did you ever break a bone?”
“Lots of ‘em,” Tommy said, smiling instead of wincing at the memory of a nasty tumble out of a tree. “I’m perfectly fine now, and you will be too.”
“Can you stay with me today? At Mama’s house?”
Tommy caught Ellen’s gaze. She nodded. “Of course, I will,” he said. “We’ll get you home and I’ll carry you around.”
“Can you stay and carry me to bed tonight?” Jane asked.
He kissed her silky blond hair. “I’ll call the office and let them know I won’t be in today. I’ll spend the whole day with you.”
Jane beamed at him until his heart threatened to burst.
***
Tommy followed Ellen and Jane home. Thinking of Jane’s pale, scared face in that hospital bed tore at his heart, and he marveled how he’d ever been able to leave his family. They’d only been married for two years when Ellen asked him for a divorce. Somehow she’d known he didn’t really love her, and she didn’t want to settle for that. As he pulled up to the tiny brick colonial that had once been their home, he wondered what would have happened if he’d stayed. Would they have had more children? Could they have found happiness? Or would they eventually have split up anyway? And he was a fool who could never get that fact to sink into his thick skull.
He parked his cruiser and scooped Jane out of Ellen’s car and into his arms. Her little hands laced around his neck. The warm spring breeze blew a flurry of petals off a tree in the front yard. Seemed like too nice of a day for something bad to happen.