Me And Mrs Jones

by Marie Rochelle

“No, thank you. I think I’m just going to take a long drive so I can think about what you just told me. Have a good day, Sheriff.”

  Spinning around on her heel, Renee stormed towards her car and felt a pair of eyes drilling a hole into her back and she didn’t care. The further she got away from Sheriff Arness for the moment the better off the both of them would be.

  ****

  “Have either one of you seen Renee this morning?” Travis asked as he stood next to the table where Dana and Cruz where sitting inside her café. “I woke up this morning and she was gone. I went by the gallery and she wasn’t there so I’m worried about her. She tried telling me she wasn’t upset about the fire, but I know better than to believe her.”

  “No, I haven’t seen her,” Dana said, looking at him.

  “Neither have I,” Cruz added. “I was going to head over to the gallery myself, but I stopped by here first to talk to Dana. We were talking about if we could talk Renee into having a small showing here at the café with the paintings I saved from the fire.”

  Pulling out a chair, Travis took a seat at the table. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, but I’m not sure if Renee will go for it or not. Last night, I brought up helping her find a way to rebuild the gallery and she wasn’t very pleased with my suggestion at all. I believe she thought I was trying to control her like Robert used to but I wasn’t doing that.”

  Cruz nodded at him. “Renee can be very strong-willed when she gets her mind set on something especially when it concerns the gallery, but she has to understand all we want to do is help her. This is a good idea that will help her and the artists’ paintings I saved.”

  “Do you think I should be the one who brings it up to her?” Dana asked. “She might listen more to me than either one of you.”

  “No, let me do it,” Travis said. “I want to donate some more of my paintings for the show and maybe if I get her involved in which ones it should be she would be more receptive about the idea. What do the two of you think?”

  Dana and Cruz both looked at each other then glanced back at him. “You might be right. Renee is a huge fan of your work. She would spend a lot of time at the gallery looking at the paintings you already had given her. So, I do think you might be the right person.”

  “Dana and I can work on the guest list,” Cruz continued. “I have an updated copy on my computer at home that we can work from. I’ll only call the collectors I know who’ll be willing to make the drive here for this surprise show.”

  “I can work with my staff and move some tables and chairs around, so this place will look more like a gallery showing than a café,” Dana said, speaking up. “How soon do you want to have all of this done?”

  “I think it will all depend on Renee’s decision.” A little part of Travis was worried that Renee might shoot down this plan too, but it was worth a shot bringing it up to her. “Like I told you, she wasn’t too fond of my helping her last night. If we can take the money we get from this showing and put it towards the gallery we might be able to change her mind.”

  “I believe she will agree to this more than your earlier suggestion. Our plan now seems more like she’s a part of it instead of her taking a helping hand from us. All you have to do now is find her,” Cruz pointed out. “Do you have any idea at all where she could be?

  Travis shook his head. “I can’t think of any place. I’m getting concerned that she might try to confront Robert about the fire. She believes he is a hundred percent behind it.”

  “I can’t say that I disagree with her,” Dana stated. “Robert is jealous Renee is doing so well without him and I heard some people talking about how his new marriage isn’t going too well. His wife isn’t too happy now that she married him.”

  “Listen, I don’t give a damn about Robert. I hope that I never lay eyes on that son of a bitch because I won’t be able to hold back. However, right now my main concern is Renee. Can’t either one of you think of any place she might have gone to clear her head?”

  “Hey, I know a place she might have gone,” Cruz retorted. “She doesn’t go there all that often, but she does go when things get too stressful at work.”

  “God...tell me so I can go and find her!” Travis listened as Cruz gave him the directions and then jumped up out of his seat and raced for the door.

  ****

  Walking around a couple with a baby stroller inside the art museum, Renee stopped in front of the painting that had caught her eye from across the room. She loved this particular postimpressionism art work by Paul Gauguin. The colors and shadows reminded her of Travis’ abilities as an artist. He used a lot of still lifes and landscapes in his paintings.

  After talking with Sheriff Arness she had hopped in her car and was halfway to Robert’s house before she stopped herself and turned back around. Confronting him wouldn’t have done her any good and probably gotten her in more trouble than it would have her lying ex-husband anyway. So, she decided to come to the place that gave her such a clear head anytime she needed to think about anything.

  She’d found this museum just by chance one day when she drove outside of Wicker Valley to pick up some extra display cases for a show she had a year ago. Once she walked inside this exquisite structure it felt like she was at her second home outside of the gallery.

  The museum showed paintings from Vincent Van Gogh to Leonardo Da Vinci. Some of the showings in here were so valuable that she was stunned they were even out on display to the public like this and not in a collector’s private collection.

  Renee’s attention was so captivated by the display of art in front of her that she didn’t pay any attention when a person came and stood next to her. She was totally lost in the moment of admiring something she loved with every fiber of her being,

  “Renee, I have been looking all over for you. Do you know how worried you had me?” a male voice cut through her thoughts.

  Surprised by the sound of Travis’ voice, Renee turned her head to her left and found him standing right next to her. “Travis, what are you doing here?” she asked completely stunned by his presence. “How did you know where to find me anyway?”

  “I’ve spent the past two hours looking for you. I was astonished when I woke up this morning and found you weren’t in bed next to me. Cruz told me where you might be when I talked to him at Dana’s café. Why didn’t you wake me up?” The hurt was clear in his voice.

  “I knew you would want to go with me when I saw the loss to the gallery in daylight, but I had to see it by myself. While I was there I ran into Sheriff Arness and he told me Robert had an alibi for the fire which I don’t believe at all.”

  “Who was his alibi?” Travis questioned.

  “Shelia, his wife and she would lie for him in a heartbeat. She’s still in love with him despite the marriage being on the rocks. She believes in her wedding vows. She hasn’t seen the light yet about him.”

  “Please tell me that you didn’t go and confront him?”

  Glancing away from Travis, Renee gave her attention back to the painting. Why did he even ask her that question when he probably already knew the answer? Hearing her tell him would only make Travis more upset than he already was and that wouldn’t do either one of them any good.

  “Renee, please look at me.” Touching her on the elbow, Travis slowly turned her back towards him until his eyes connected with hers.

  “When are you going to understand that you don’t have to prove how strong you are to me? I already know you’re tough and self-reliant. But can you let me be there for you a little? It will make me feel like I’m a part of your life more.”

  If she had expected Travis to take a backseat to her, she had underestimated him. She knew there was something special about him from the very beginning but she had been trying to deny what was right in front of her eyes.

  “I know you’re here for me, but it’s just hard for me to admit it. I like being in control now maybe because I never thought I had it much in my marriage. Or rather I lost a lot of indi
vidualism the second I said I do. I can’t determine which one it really is.”

  Her admission was dredged from a place she thought was long gone and buried. It was an awakening experience when she finally admitted the truth out loud and to herself.

  “When are you going to understand that I’m not your ex-husband?” Travis demanded. “In the short period of time we’ve been together I never once thought about controlling anything that you do. All I have done is be there for you.

  “I wanted to lend you a helping hand with rebuilding the gallery and you tossed my idea right back in my face. Why? Because you couldn’t or wouldn’t accept help from anyone or you just like carrying all of your problems on your shoulders.”

  The harder Renee tried to ignore the reality the more it persisted. Travis was telling her the truth. The more he was trying to step up and prove himself to her the harder she was trying to find different ways to push him away from her.

  “Travis, I’m sorry,” Renee said. “I shouldn’t have been placing you into the same category as Robert. You are nothing like him and never will be. I would love for you to help me with the rebuild of my business.”

  He grinned back at her with no trace of his former animosity. It was almost like nothing had happened at all. “Wonderful. I’m so glad to hear you say that because Dana, Cruz and I have an idea for you about getting extra money for the gallery reopening.”

  “What kind of idea?”

  Linking their fingers together, Travis turned their bodies in the direction of the Realism art display at the other side of the room. “How about I tell you while we check out these paintings? Since we’re here why don’t we make a day of it and put everything else behind us for the rest of the afternoon. We can worry about those things later. Nothing is going to change in the next couple of hours.”

  As Renee walked side by side with Travis through the museum, she couldn’t help but admire how easily he flowed with anything that came his way. There was nothing predictable about him in her book.

  Sometimes it seemed like her and Travis was switching the roles of who was the teacher and who was the student. She should be instructing him about life and the way things worked, but lately he had been doing that for her and doing a damn good job of it.

  From the first conversation with Travis everything about him stimulated her mind and kept her wanting to come back for more and more. He definitely sparked her inquisitive side because he showed her there was more to him than painting amazing pictures.

  He didn’t show her everything about him at once, but slowly let things unfold about himself to draw her interest giving her a lot to think about when he wasn’t around. She couldn’t help but anticipate and kind of wonder where their relationship was going next.

  Travis truly kept her wanting more.

  “You’ve been awful quiet. What’s going on in that head of yours?” Travis asked, glancing down at her as they stopped in front of a landscape portrait.

  “I was thinking about how much I’m enjoying just relaxing today with you. I’m glad that you found me,” Renee admitted.

  “Baby, I’m having a great time with you too. How about after we leave here you come back to my house? I would love for you to spend the night.”

  “Oh, so you’re done sleeping in the woods with the moon and stars,” Renee teased.

  “Yeah, I don’t need that as inspiration anymore when I have you.”

  Going to Travis’ place instead of hers tonight would be something new and different. She was very interested in seeing how Travis lived. Without a doubt, it would probably be something fun and exciting to experience.

  “Why not?” Renee answered. “Let’s go for it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Las Vegas, Nevada

  Sitting at the bar inside the casino, Robert Jones turned the gold and diamond wedding rings over and over in the palm of his hands as the bartender poured him another drink. When Sheriff Arness had pulled up in front of his house early this morning, he was sure the Andy Griffith wannabe was coming to arrest him because of Renee’s stolen jewelry.

  Instead Sheriff Arness had questioned him about the fire that practically burned Renee’s beloved gallery down to the ground. Of course, he had lied telling Sheriff Arness that he was at home all night with his wife and of course Sheila had backed up his lie. She didn’t want anyone knowing her dirty little secrets either about how she passed out drunk on the couch every night after work.

  An hour after the sheriff drove away from his house he booked a flight from the tiny Wicker Valley airport to Las Vegas taking Renee’s parents’ rings that he’d stolen from her house after he set the fire.

  He was still surprised his ex-wife hadn’t changed the locks after their divorce, but why would she when she was under the impression that he’d given her back all of the house keys.

  God, she was still so easy to read about certain things. He would bet that she still didn’t even know the rings were missing. A part of him had wanted to stay longer and complete the rest of his plan, but he left out of fear of being caught in the act. It didn’t matter anyway because he was going back there to finish what he started.

  Just thinking about how the gasoline and his cigarette caused all of that destruction to Renee’s beloved work place brought a smile to Robert’s face. He wouldn’t have done it to Renee if she hadn’t tossed him out of there the other day.

  What was wrong with her anyway thinking she was too good to even spare a few minutes to speak with him?

  Didn’t she know her new young lover wasn’t interested in her but only what she and her once amazing gallery could have done for him? Travis Cole was a young punk and not good enough to be with Renee. He was going to teach both of them a lesson. However, the first thing he was going to do was pawn these expensive rings while he was in Las Vegas and get some money to gamble with tonight.

  He could stay here all night long because his stupid wife wasn’t going to miss him as long as she had those two bottles of red wine at the house waiting for her. He was able to do anything he wanted and still have her on his side.

  Since Renee had stopped paying his alimony and he’d lost his job two months ago for insubordination he was flat broke and Sheila wasn’t letting him anywhere near her money. So, what in the hell was he supposed to do for cash but find it any way that he could?

  It wasn’t like he didn’t use to be a part of Renee’s family. These rings were just as much his as they were hers and unlike her, he was going to put them to good use.

  Picking up the drink, Robert tossed it back in one swallow then slammed the shot glass back down onto the bar and got up from his seat. He had to get to the pawn shop he noticed a couple of blocks over before it closed. Robert was hoping the store owner would give him some good gambling money for these babies. One thing was for sure, Renee’s dead parents sure had some good taste when it came to jewelry.

  Hell, if he won enough money at the tables he might be nice enough to go and get them back out of pawn.

  Chapter Thirty

  “Good morning Dana. Have you seen Renee?” Sheriff Arness asked as he took off his hat and joined her at the café. Pushing the calculator to the side along with the stack of sales receipts Dana Clair gave the sheriff her attention. “I went by her place, but no one answered the door.”

  “No, I haven’t. I really haven’t talked to her much since the fire. She’s probably with Travis. He’s trying to convince her to have her gallery showing here at the café.”

  “I found her yesterday walking around inside of the gallery and the devastated look on her face tore at my heart strings. I know how much she loved that business and it was one of the hot spots for the residents and especially for tourists when they came into town. I’m hoping she’ll be able to rebuild after everything is over.”

  “I do too,” Dana agreed watching as Sheriff Arness tossed his cream colored Stetson on the seat next to him then ran his fingers through his thick brown hair. “I think she needs the galle
ry as her lifeline. She’s dating Travis, but she’ll need more than a relationship in her life to keep her going.”

  “What about you?’ Sheriff Arness asked.

  “What about me?” Dana asked taken back by the sudden change in conversation.

  “If Renee needs more than a relationship in her life to keep her going, don’t you think you’re the opposite? When are you going to see that you need more than working long hours at this café? Aren’t you interested in dating?”

  “I haven’t really thought about it,” she said, clearly surprised that Sheriff Arness had asked her such a personal question.

  “Dana, you know that I’m interested in going out on a date with you. You drew my attention the first moment I laid eyes on you,” Sheriff Arness admitted as he slid his chair closer to hers.

  She stared wordlessly as Sheriff Arness placed his hand on her arm. “Why do you keep turning down all of my dinner invitations? Do you have something against dating a white man?”

  As their eyes met, she felt a shock run through her. Dana had never felt this kind of attraction towards the sheriff before. Could it be because he was being more aggressive than usual? She usually thought of him as soft spoken and pretty laid back, but maybe she should be looking at him in a different way.

  “No, I don’t have a problem dating a white man,” Dana answered.

  “So, why do you find ways to laugh off my dinner invitations? Am I not attractive enough for you?”

  Renee was too startled by Sheriff Arness’ question to respond at first. No. Sheriff Arness wasn’t unattractive in any way, shape or form. Being a former football player had kept his body in top shape; she always noticed how his uniform stretched across his powerful well-muscled body.

  His shirt, the top two buttons undone, revealed a muscular chest covered with crisp brown hair and the rich outlines of his shoulders strained against the tan colored fabric.