by Kait Nolan
“You’re applying for a job here?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.”
“How interesting. I thought you were a waitress now.” Her expression said she took great delight in the idea of it.
“I’ve been working at Dinner Belles while I finished nursing school.”
“I see.” What she saw was clearly that Corinne was nothing more than a bug to be squashed.
“I understand Jana is a human rights lobbyist on Capitol Hill.” There. Proof I know she’s made something of herself, while I stand here and humble myself before you.
Neva’s smile spread. The cat who knew the canary was caught and was enjoying the game before it went in for the kill. “She is. Why just last week she attended a black-tie fund-raiser with the good Senator.”
There was no telling which senator she meant, and Corinne didn’t actually care. “I’m sure she’s doing worlds of good.” And she probably was. Jana Coffman would’ve made a far better student body president than Corinne had. She’d been civic-minded and interested in making things better for the school. And Corinne had toppled her with a few well-placed rumors about the sex life Jana hadn’t had.
Nausea roiled in her stomach.
The curious receptionist handed over a couple of clipboards without a word.
Corinne murmured thanks and started to turn toward one of the vacant chairs in the reception area.
“There’s going to be a lot of competition for these jobs,” Neva continued. “If you landed it, you’d be stuck at the bottom of the totem pole, emptying bedpans and giving sponge baths. I’d advise you to look elsewhere.”
In her position, Neva could easily make that happen. Should she so choose, she could make Corinne’s prospective work life here a misery. But instead of bowing to the pressure, Corinne looked the woman right in the eye. “If I were so fortunate as to get the job, I’d be blessed with the honor to serve others. There’s no higher calling than that.”
Neva blinked.
Corinne did her best to keep her expression neutral and pleasant. “Please give Jana my sincerest congratulations on her success. She absolutely deserves it.”
With that, she turned her attention to filling out the application. But even as Neva went on about her business, all hope she’d held about landing the job evaporated. Her past was coming back to bite her in the ass yet again. She was starting to think she might never overcome it. At least not in Wishful. The truth of it made her heart break just a little bit more.
One step at a time, she reminded herself. One step at a time.
Chapter 4
“So Kurt, have you ever played HORSE?” Tucker draped his suit jacket over the bleachers in the community center. He added his tie and began rolling up his shirt sleeves.
“Sure. But my grandma got mad at me for knocking over some stuff with the broom handle.”
A kid with an imagination. He liked that. “Not that kind of horse, my little man. The game with a basketball.”
The boy shook his head.
“Ever shot a basketball?” He grabbed one off the rack at the side of the gym.
Again with the head shake.
Was Kurt too young for this? Bringing him here for some low-key b-ball was the only thing Tucker could think of to do on a weekday morning in August when it was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. He needed the AC to ensure he was at least moderately presentable for Judge Carpenter later. Other than the two of them, the place was nearly deserted. A handful of blue-hairs moseyed on the second floor track surrounding the basketball court.
Taking his position at the free throw line, Tucker lined up the shot and tossed. The ball swished neatly through the net.
“Whoa.” Kurt dragged out the exclamation to three syllables, his eyes going gratifyingly wide. “I wanna learn how to do that.”
Tucker retrieved the ball and motioned for the boy to join him on the free throw line. He showed Kurt how to hold the ball and described the motion.
“Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Kurt heaved the ball into the air. It fell short of the basket by at least ten feet.
“That’s okay,” Tucker said, jogging after the ball. “Everybody’s gotta start somewhere. You’ve got short people problems.”
“Mommy says I’m growing like a weed.”
“And one day you won’t be short. Meanwhile, let’s scoot a bit closer to the basket.” Tucker snagged the rack of balls and rolled it out onto the court. Might as well have a bunch to start with.
The kid threw himself into the process with little finesse and a lot of enthusiasm. Best Tucker could tell, he had as much fun chasing the balls as he did trying to hit the basket. But nothing beat the celebration dance when he managed to sink one by flinging it double-handed granny style up from his knees. Laughing, Tucker joined in the boogie, which they finished out with an epic, multi-step high five.
“That was fun!” Kurt declared.
“It was. Wanna do it again?”
“Yeah!”
Since the double handed had worked, Tucker helped him refine his method. Then even that degenerated into silly attempts at trick shots that mostly consisted of flinging the ball as high in the air as they could manage. Tucker had a blast.
Scooping his charge up, he made a sprint forward, boy, ball, and all, dancing around imaginary opponents. “He dodges left, dodges right, making it past the center.” He lifted Kurt high so the kid was only a few feet from the basket. “He shoots—” The ball swished through the hoop. “He scores! And the crowd goes wild!”
Tucker boosted him up on one shoulder and they both mimed cheering.
“That was awesome! I wish Mommy could have been here.”
Tucker checked his watch. “She ought to be back soon.”
“Yeah, but then it’ll be back to work.”
Not wanting Kurt to lose his happy mood, Tucker flipped him over and held him upside down, giggling.
“Put me down!” Kurt laughed.
Tucker righted him, tugging his t-shirt back in place. “Your mom works a lot, huh?”
Kurt looked at him with an air of imparting Very Serious Information. “A. Lot. I know it’s for me and stuff, so we don’t always have to live with Grandma, but I just wish she could have some fun.”
Out of the mouths of babes. “I’d like to help her with that.”
The big dark eyes turned on him like a laser beam. “Why?”
“Because I’ve seen how hard she works, too, and I think she deserves a chance to play.”
“Not everybody gets that luxury.”
They both turned to see Corinne in the doorway, subtle lines of strain bracketing her mouth.
How much had she heard?
“Mommy!” Kurt rocketed across the gym, launching himself at her.
She fielded his hug like a pro and only took one step back from the impact. Some of the strain melted away as she wrapped her arms around her son.
“Mommy, you have to see what I can do!” The kid was already dragging her back to the court.
While Kurt showed off his new skills, Tucker went back to the bleachers to retrieve his coat and tie.
“That’s great!”
“Can I get a basketball goal?”
“We’ll have to see about that.”
Tucker knew she wasn’t in the kind of financial place for such frivolities.
“In the meantime, I’m sure we can come back here sometime for you to practice.”
Slipping the tie under his collar, Tucker crossed over to the two of them. “Got your application in okay?”
“For whatever good it will do.”
He arched his brow in question, his fingers fumbling with the tie. Hell, he’d have to wait until he got to a mirror to redo it.
“Some of the board members making the decision are not my biggest fans.” She was looking at him in a way she never had before. As if he were some mystery she wasn’t sure she wanted to solve. “I…Malika told me what you did with Jeff. Thank you for de
fending me.”
Tucker shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise when he’d accomplished next to nothing. “I wish I could’ve done more. The guy’s a tool.”
Corinne sighed with faint exasperation and stepped into him. “Here, let me.” She gripped the ends of his tie. “He always was a tool.”
Her body was close enough to his that Tucker could feel the heat of her. He had to fight not to reach out and grip her hips. Her fingers moved with a swift surety that left him a bit stunned. He knew next to nothing about her marriage except it was over, but he wondered now what kind of life she’d led away from Wishful.
“But you’re not. You never were. Thanks for that.” She smoothly slid the freshly-tied knot into place, not too tight, not too loose. Perfect. Her gaze lifted to his and caught.
Those blue eyes weren’t wounded now. They were wide and startled, and as Tucker lifted his hand to trace the perfectly shaped Windsor knot, an awareness slid into them that had him wanting to prolong this strange little domestic interlude.
“Thanks.”
A faint wash of color stained her cheeks as she realized she still had her hands on him. A pang of regret shot through him as she stepped away. For a second there, it seemed like they’d had a moment.
Corinne shifted behind her son and squeezed his shoulders. “And thanks for this. I hope he wasn’t too much trouble.”
“Not a bit. We bonded over basketball.” Tucker offered his fist for a bump.
Kurt’s enthusiastic return teased an almost smile from his mother.
“Afraid it’s time for us to go, kiddo,” she said.
“Aw man. Tucker, can we play HORSE again sometime?”
“Absolutely.”
Corinne seemed surprised at his lack of hesitation. Well, he was just gonna keep racking up the points on the surprise-o-meter.
Tucker slid his jacket back on. “So I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Corinne paused, half turned toward the exit. “Tomorrow?”
“The orientation meeting for the competition.”
“Right.” She didn’t look entirely pleased at the reminder. “I’m sorry about the substitution.”
“I’m not.” He let his own lips curve because he’d gotten what he wanted. “It’ll be fun.”
~*~
At the end of her shift, Corinne could no longer put off thinking about the situation she’d landed in. The only thing she’d wanted since she came home was to quietly claw herself out of debt and make a life for her son, while staying as under the radar as possible. She got plenty of looks and snide remarks from people while she worked at the diner. Nobody expected the student body president to wind up a divorced college drop out with a child. She’d been planning on going places, doing things—albeit as part of the fruitless pursuit of her parents’ approval. She’d done considerable travel with Lance, but she wasn’t about to tell people that. They might think she was bragging or looking for some kind of sympathy for her current lowered circumstances.
And now she was partnered up with one of the town’s golden boys, about to be put on display for all to see. How could she possibly get through that? Corinne wanted out. She wanted to find the nearest rock to crawl under, so she could quietly go back to putting one foot in front of the other on the path she’d set for herself.
But she wouldn’t let Mama Pearl down. Her boss had given her a job and, more importantly, made her a part of the Dinner Belles family, offering up as much sassy caretaking as she provided her own six children. In the past year and a half, she’d been more of a real mother to Corinne than her own had ever been. So Corinne wouldn’t repay her kindness by bailing. No matter how much she wanted to.
But how on Earth was she going to manage to juggle rehearsals for the competition along with work, Kurt, and studying for the NCLEX? The truth was she couldn’t. Not without asking for more help from her mother. Marianne would give it, but there’d be a cost. There was always a cost with her. Whatever it was, Corinne resigned herself to paying it.
As she stepped into the house, she put the whole thing out of her mind, calling out for Kurt.
He came rocketing into the kitchen. “Mommy!” His sturdy little body torpedoed into her legs, almost knocking her over as he threw his arms around her.
“There’s the droid I was looking for.” Corinne scooped him up. Dear God, he’d grown over the summer.
“Do you know what kind of tools a ninja has?” he demanded.
Ninjas were his latest obsession. Because according to Kurt, ninjas were like Jedis. “What kind?”
“They use a gapple hook, a sword, a rope, and a zip line. That’s how they fly.”
“I believe that’s grappling hook.”
He looked up at her with eyes as dark as polished walnut. “Will you play ninjas with me, Mommy?”
Corinne’s heart simply melted. “Well, we could do that, but I thought we might go to the pool this afternoon.”
“Pool! Yay!”
“It’s too hot and too bright for the pool,” Marianne announced, coming into the room.
Corinne repressed a surge of annoyance as she looked at her nut brown son. “We’ve got high SPF sunscreen and it’s after three. He’ll be fine for an hour. He needs to burn off some energy.” She set him down and patted him on the butt. “Go put on your swim trunks and a t-shirt.”
With a double fist pump, he raced upstairs. Too bad she couldn’t bottle some of that energy and mainline it. It’d make those days she pulled double shifts a lot more doable.
“I figured you’d appreciate some quiet alone time,” Corinne said, trying for unperturbed.
“Well, and I won’t turn it down. But don’t you be blaming me when he gets burned.”
“Why would I blame you when I’m the one making the decision?”
Marianne grumbled something unintelligible. Whatever it was, Corinne let it pass.
“I’m going to pick up something to fix for supper tonight, too, since I’m off. Is there anything in particular you’d like?” Might as well play nice.
“Something for the grill. But nothing too heavy.”
“I can do that.” Corinne started toward the hall, thinking to put off the asking, then changed her mind, opting to get it over with. “Mom, there’s something I need to ask you.”
With a beleaguered sigh, Marianne settled at the kitchen table with a Diet Coke. “Figured there must be something with all this buttering up.”
As if Corinne had never said thank you or done what she could to help around the house, with the cooking, with her son. As if all she ever did was take and never give back. She closed her eyes for a couple of breaths until she had her temper under control again. “Have you heard about the fundraiser Norah Burke has organized for the women’s shelter? Dancing With Wishful?”
“Saw something about it in the paper this morning. Why? Were you wanting to go?”
“Well, no. Mama Pearl has asked me to represent the diner as one of the dancers. It wasn’t the original plan, but she had a fall at work today and sprained her ankle pretty badly.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“I’m going to need someone to watch Kurt in the evenings while I rehearse.”
“Rehearse,” Marianne repeated, arching a skeptical brow.
“It’ll probably only be for the first week,” she rushed to add. “I expect we’ll end up cut after the first round.” Even if they were technically perfect, and even if Tucker was a town favorite, it wouldn’t be enough to override the stigma that stuck to her like stink on a skunk.
Her mother heaved another of those over-dramatic sighs. “I just don’t know, Corinne. I’m already doing so much.”
“I know. I know, Mama, and I’m so grateful. I wouldn’t have chosen this on my own. But Mama Pearl asked, and she’s been good to me since I came back. I don’t want to let her down.”
“And who, exactly, is your partner? That Brody Jensen you wasted all those years chasing after? Because he’s getting married.”
Shame heated Corinne’s cheeks. “Yes, Mama, I know Brody’s getting married.” She’d been the one to give him the verbal ass kicking he needed to fix things with Tyler when he’d messed up their second chance. “I’m dancing with Tucker McGee.”
“Tucker McGee,” Marianne drawled. The speculative gleam in her eye had Corinne wanting to take a step back. “That’d be the one who took Kurt to play basketball this morning. Boy’s been chattering about it like a magpie since I picked him up.”
“He was helping out so I could get my application in at the hospital ahead of the crowd. The dancing is just business,” she warned.
“Might start that way. Doesn’t mean it has to finish that way.”
“There’s nothing between me and Tucker, Mama.”
“Won’t be with that attitude.”
For the love of— She wasn’t in this for a man. And she certainly wasn’t going to use one of the few people who’d been kind to her since she came back. But it wasn’t worth the fight to argue about it.
“Are you willing to watch Kurt so I can rehearse for the competition?”
“I expect the boy and I can keep ourselves occupied. It’s for a good cause, after all.”
“Thank you, Mama.” But as she headed upstairs to change clothes, Corinne had the sense that the fundraiser wasn’t the cause her mother was talking about.
Chapter 5
“Thanks for springing me,” Piper said. “I swear, since he found out I was pregnant, Myles has about tried to wrap me in cotton and stuff me in a bubble. I had to practically promise to call every five minutes and keep my locater app running on my phone to get him to go on in to the paper to deal with some emergency and let me come out tonight.”
Tucker looked over at the now visible baby bump, made more pronounced by the weight she’d dropped the last few months. “You can’t blame the guy. You’ve barely kept any solid food down for the past four months. He’s just worried about you. We all have been.”
“I’m fine. And I’m stir crazy. Which is why Tyler and Brody are having this cookout. Bless them. Myles is terrified I’ll catch something to make me even sicker if I’m out in public.”