“I know, but just let her be for now,” Sarah said. “It’ll be easier to talk to her when she’s calmed down.”
“Then I should go talk to Jess. She’s upset too.”
“Mama, no. You know how mad she can get. Let her blow it off.”
Ruth sank into a kitchen chair. “What should we do, then? I feel sorry for your sister after she spent all that money. And I can’t have Christina bein’ so upset. She’s our guest.”
Maddy looked to Sarah. “We should apologize to Christina too. Even though we were laughin’ at Jess, not her.” A giggle popped out of Maddy. “It’s still funny.”
“Yeah, but Christina doesn’t seem to understand our humor.” Sarah gazed toward the east wing. “She’s been so quiet and tryin’ to please everybody. But this sure took her over the edge. What if she goes off on Ben like that?”
Maddy sighed. “Not good.”
“Now wait, you two.” Ruth made eye contact with both her daughters. “You’ve had issues with your own husbands. Remember how hard it was at first? There’s so much to work out between two people. It was the same for your dad and me.”
“Oh, come on, Mama,” Sarah said, “you and Daddy never had a fight in your life.”
“Not for years, maybe, but we did at first.”
They fell silent. Ruth thought of the lobsters. She needed to throw them out before they died and stunk up the whole house. Pogey’s feet couldn’t even compete with that.
She smacked the table. “I’ve been wantin’ new plumbin’ for that washin’ machine for years. We should have a proper drain, not goin’ through that old sink.”
Sarah nodded. “I’m sure a certain bunch of lobsters would agree with you.”
Maddy chortled. Ruth shot her a look, and she cut the laugh short. Putting on a serious expression, Maddy leaned forward, listening. “Do you hear anything from either of ’em?”
Sarah shook her head.
Maddy drummed her fingers on the counter. “I’m gonna listen at the doors, see what’s goin’ on.” She scurried off.
Ruth rubbed her forehead, picturing Ben on the golf course. How long before the men got home?
“Why’s Jess got her knickers in such a twist anyway?” Sarah leaned against the counter. “I mean, I get that the lobsters were expensive, but this is ridiculous.”
Ruth stared at the table. “She was with Tamel this morning. I wonder if somethin’ went wrong.”
“She’s been actin’ terrible toward him. When’s she gonna come off that?”
Ruth shook her head. Her youngest daughter was a complicated woman.
Maddy returned. She shook her head—not good.
Sarah stared at her. “What?”
“Jess is up in her room, bawlin’. She wouldn’t open the door for me. Christina’s in her room, cryin’. I didn’t even try to get her to come out.”
Oh, no. Ruth lowered her head.
“Why is Jess cryin’, you think?” Maddy asked Sarah.
“Maybe Tamel?”
“Oh.” Maddy thought that over. “Maybe.”
Ruth closed her eyes. Lord, send your peace. Help me know what to do here.
She stood up. She had to fix this. “I’m goin’ to talk to Jess.” Her tone said she’d made up her mind. Sarah and Maddy didn’t try to stop her.
Ruth hurried up the stairs and knocked lightly on Jess’s door. “Sweetie, can I come in?”
“Not now, Mama, please.” Jess’s words sounded clogged.
“I’m worried about you. Don’t want you feelin’ bad up here by yourself.”
“I’ll be okay.”
She didn’t sound okay at all. And this was definitely more than a bunch of soapy lobsters. “Please, Jess. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I don’t want to talk right now.” Jess let out a sob. “Just … give me a while, okay?”
Ruth lingered at the door, her heart in knots. Wanting to make everything all right for her daughter, knowing she couldn’t. “Okay, honey. I’ll be downstairs when you need me.”
She descended the steps slowly, hesitated at the top of the east wing hall, then walked toward Christina’s room. At the door, she listened.
No sound.
“Christina?” She knocked.
No answer. Then—“I’m sleeping.”
Christina’s tone clearly said she didn’t want to be bothered.
Ruth winced. “Okay.”
She returned to the kitchen and the questioning gazes of her two older daughters. Sarah raised her eyebrows. “Well?”
Ruth shook her head.
She lowered herself into a kitchen chair and stared out the window. She just couldn’t sit back and do nothing. After a moment she straightened. “I’m gonna call Ben and Tamel. They’re the only two who can straighten this out.”
Sarah looked at her askance. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“You have a better one?”
“Just let them work this out, Mama,” Maddy said. “You can’t fix everything.”
“Well, I can try.” Besides, Ruth knew human nature. Christina and Jess might be mad at first that she’d made the calls. But the sooner these two talked things out with the men in their lives, the better it would be—for the whole family. “I’ll have to do this carefully, though. If Ben lights into Jess for upsetting Christina …”
Maddy pursed her lips. “Oh, boy.”
Ruth got up and reached for the phone.
CHAPTER 18
Tamel hadn’t known what to do with himself ever since he got home. He’d stomped around the house, then the backyard. Fortunately his dad had been taking a nap. When Henry Curd did wake up, he was no help. He gimped out of his room, one hand at his back, working hard to breathe. White hair stuck up on one side of his head. His wrinkles looked deeper than Tamel had ever seen them. Maybe he wouldn’t even last a year.
The thought pierced.
“What’s the matter with you?” Tamel’s dad asked after one look at his face.
Tamel turned away. “I just got things on my mind.”
A moment of silence. “You worried about the business? It’s all right, Son, somebody’ll die soon, you’ll see. We’ll get some money comin’ in.”
Tamel closed his eyes. He’d laugh if it wasn’t so grim. His dad had no business working at all. He could hardly stand long enough to do the embalming anymore. Which Tamel knew nothing about. And his dad had stopped doing the books for the funeral parlor long ago. Tamel had completely taken over the accounting and taxes.
He turned back toward his father, seeing the gray face. “You need to sit down. I’ll get you some water.”
His father shuffled over to his favorite chair in front of the TV. “That’d be good.”
It was the closest to a thank-you Tamel would ever get.
He poured a glass of water over ice and placed it on the table beside his father’s chair. “I’m gonna go out and sit on the porch awhile.”
“Awful hot out there.”
Tamel shrugged.
Seated outside, he stared at the weedy lawn and cracked driveway. What was he doing here? Other than going crazy. He longed for the life he knew, working in the law firm, using the knowledge he’d slaved so long to acquire. Here every day went by like molasses, slow-poured and dark.
Until Jess visited. Those were the few bright moments.
Tamel dropped his head. After tomorrow she’d be gone again. And this time he wasn’t sure if she’d even want to see him when she returned.
Her judgment of him cut deep. Took him all the way back to high school when he thought he’d never measure up to her. He was laid back and easy; she was dynamic and driven. Her personality was far better suited to law than his. Yet he’d found fulfillment in it too. In large part because they were both on parallel roads.
Tamel’s cell rang, jarring him from his thoughts. He pulled it from his back pocket and read the ID. Syton Dearing. His heart lurched. Jess, calling from her parents’ phone?
“Hell
o?” He leaned forward in his chair.
“Tamel, it’s Mama Ruth.”
She sounded upset. That realization chased away his disappointment. His back straightened. “Something wrong?”
“It’s Jess. She’s locked up in her room, cryin’ her eyes out. Won’t come out for anybody.”
Crying? A tinge of hope glimmered inside him. “Why?”
“Well, one reason is soapy lobsters.”
“Huh?”
Mama Ruth told him the “short version” of a crazy tale involving Jess’s lobsters, dirty clothes, and the large sink the washing machine drained into. “I’m afraid supper’s ruined. Jess was so lookin’ forward to cookin’ for us.”
Tamel frowned at the worn wooden floor of the porch. “I see.” Which he didn’t.
“But I don’t think that’s all. I was wonderin’—did somethin’ happen between you two this mornin’?”
He hesitated. “Why?”
“You don’t have to tell me what it was. I just … Jess is cryin’ way too long over a silly thing like lobsters. So if you think it’s got somethin’ to do with you, I wonder if you’d come over. Try to talk to her.”
The hope inside Tamel glowed stronger. He hadn’t dared think Jess was hurting too. If she was hurting she had to care.
But she was also mad as a wet panther. The feeling inside him flickered. His going over there could make things worse.
“Please, Tamel. I’ve got Jess in one room and Christina in another …”
“What’s wrong with Christina?”
“She argued with Jess. But that was after the lobsters, and the apple pie and ice cream, and the broken plate. And Penny.”
Tamel didn’t even want to ask.
“It’s just a total mess over here. Never had such a thing happen durin’ a family reunion—” Her voice caught.
That brought Tamel to his feet. He’d do anything to help Mama Ruth. “I’ll be right there.”
He clicked off the phone and hurried into the house for his car keys.
CHAPTER 19
At twelve-forty Ben and the rest of his foursome were on the green at the thirteenth hole. The afternoon was hotter than a billy goat in a pepper patch. But Ben had been playing great—ahead of the others by five strokes. This game was in the bag.
Ben’s cell phone rang. It was Mama, sounding very worried. “Christina’s all upset and won’t talk to any of us. She’s holed up in her room, just won’t come out. I think you should come home.”
Oh, no. Ben’s nerves prickled. “What happened?”
Dad caught the concern in his voice and shot him a silent question—something wrong?
Mama launched into a long explanation that started with Penny howling and ended with an argument between Christina and Jess. Ben stared down the course toward the fourteenth hole, his mouth open.
“Jess argued with Christina?” After he’d warned his sister? Anger wrapped around his chest. He’d strangle her.
“Well, she did get a little carried away over the lobsters. But actually”—Mama hesitated—“she tried to apologize. Sounds like Christina wouldn’t accept it.”
What? Christina bent over backwards to please everybody. Something was seriously wrong here. “How did all this happen in just a few hours?”
“I’m wonderin’ that myself. It’s partially my fault. Sarah and I went to the store and left Christina with the kids.”
“Where was Maddy?”
“In her room with a headache.”
Ben’s dad still focused on his face. “Sounds like somethin’s goin’ on at home,” Dad said in a low voice to Jake.
Wait. Everybody had scattered, leaving Christina to babysit? She was way too hard on herself to be left like that. One little thing going wrong, and she’d drown in self-blame.
So why had he left her?
The thought hit Ben in the gut. Last night’s conversation with Christina came rushing back. She didn’t want to be expected to serve him. Didn’t want to be taken for granted. He’d promised not to do those things. Promised to take care of her the way she wanted. He’d already failed.
But golf with the men in his family was so important. It was tradition.
“Ben, you there?”
He put a hand over his eyes. “Yeah. We’ll come home. It’ll take about half an hour to get there. We’ll hurry.” He punched off the call.
“What happened?” his dad asked.
“More like what didn’t.” Ben wiped sweat off his temple. Why was it that ever since he and Christina had gotten to Justus, things started going bad? “We need to go right now. I never should have left Christina.” He walked over and yanked up his ball.
This was just terrific, coming after last night’s argument. Christina had been hard enough to deal with then. Now practically the whole family was involved. She was surely thinking they were all against her.
What was he going to have to do to make her happy?
CHAPTER 20
Jess slumped on her bed, spent from crying and thoroughly ticked at herself. What in the world was wrong with her? She couldn’t remember bawling like that in years. Just because she’d probably ruined her brother’s engagement. But so what? Clearly, Ben could do a whole lot better than Christina Day anyway. Jess knew good and well what Granddad Pete would say about their relationship if he was still alive. “That dog won’t hunt.” And Jess was far from ready to forgive Christina for the things she’d said. Like she could just barge into this family and attack one of Ben’s sisters.
As for crying over Tamel, he was hardly worth it.
Jess ran a hand over her face. In a couple days she’d be back in Memphis and at work. Life would cycle back to seventy-hour weeks at the office. She wouldn’t have time to think about Tamel Curd.
A knock sounded on her door. Jess shot a dark look in its direction. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? “What?”
“It’s Tamel.”
Tamel? Jess jerked up straight. Her legs started to bounce her off the bed, toward the door—
Wait a minute. No, no, no. What did he expect—to argue some more on her own turf? Jess’s fingers dug into the bedcovers. “What do you want?”
“Let me in.”
“You’re crazy, Tamel Curd, comin’ here. I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Let me in, Jess.” He rattled the knob.
“Go away.”
“You don’t let me in, I’m breakin’ this door down.”
“Oh, that’ll be real nice. Mama will love the new look.”
“Have it your way.”
Jess heard him back up, like he was ready to take a running leap. He could not be serious. She shot off the bed and flung open the door. Tamel stood there with his arms crossed, as if he knew that’s what she’d do. Jess’s cheeks flushed. “You—” She moved to slam the door, but Tamel pushed his way into her room and shut it behind him.
They faced off a mere two feet apart, Jess breathing hard, Tamel’s jaw tight.
“Get out.” She tried to yank the door open, but his hand pressed against it.
“You know you want me here.”
“Do not.”
“Then why’re you in here cryin’?”
“Do I look like I’m cryin’?
“You look like you have been.”
“You need your eyes fixed.”
Tamel drew back, his fingers flexing. Emotions scuttled across his face like blown sand over wood.
In a split second he closed the space between them, planted his hands on her cheeks, and kissed her. Hard.
Jess stiffened in pure shock. Her palms rose, ready to push him off … not able to do it. She felt his breath on her face, his lips on hers—and her heart shimmied. She didn’t want it to end. Should never have let it begin. She grasped Tamel’s shoulders to shove him away. He wrapped his arms around her. Jess’s muscles locked tighter … then melted. Before she could stop herself her hands had slipped around his back, her mouth responding.
Oh, have mer
cy.
Tamel wound his fingers in her hair. Jess could feel his wild heartbeat against hers. His kiss didn’t get any gentler, and she didn’t want it to.
After forever—or was it mere seconds?—Tamel pulled away, his face still close to hers. He grinned, showing his dimples. “You’re not cryin’ now.”
Jess stepped back, her nerves fiery. What had she done? “Get away from me, Tamel.”
He let his arms fall, his expression turning serious. For a long moment he gazed at her. Jess’s heart flopped over. “Please talk to me.”
How dare he do this, after he’d let her know their lives would never connect? Jess felt her face go hot. “I have nothin’ to say to you.”
He reached for her hands. She yanked them away. He followed their movement and caught her by the wrists. “Jess, I’m not leavin’.”
“This is my room, Tamel. You can just get out.”
“No, I can’t.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I love you.”
The words soared through her. Then stabbed her in the chest. She stared at him, not finding a thing to say. Her throat tightened, and she swallowed hard. Slowly, her spine straightened.
“That’s just great, Tamel, what do you expect me to do about it?”
“Love me back.”
She snorted. “For what? I’m workin’ my tail off as a lawyer in Memphis, remember? You’re lookin’ at stayin’ in Justus the rest of your life.”
“I never said I was stayin’ in Justus forever.”
“You most certainly did.”
“No, I didn’t. ’Cause I’m not. You just assumed I was.”
“I did not assume. You told me so!”
“Think back, Jess, remember our conversation. At what point did I tell you I’m stayin’?”
Her mouth opened, their argument running through her head. “Is that a yes? You’re gonna stay?”
“I’d be the same person.”
Jess’s mouth closed. She pulled her hands away from his grasp. What kind of game was he playing? “Why’d you do that, why didn’t you answer me straight?”
That Dog Won't Hunt (Dearing Family Series) Page 12