by Kim Law
There was no question. Both in bed and out.
“How do I make it happen?” Nick asked.
“First, you don’t go off half-cocked when the girl is working through some heavy stuff.”
“I probably need to call her back and apologize.”
“No,” Cody stated. “Let her be, man. Whatever you say right now doesn’t matter. She’s messed up. She’s scared. And she’s seeing herself in everything her mother has done. She’s trying to figure out if she can trust who she is, as well as you. Hopefully she’ll see what she has and make a commitment for once.”
“To me?”
“To you. Her store.” He turned off the truck and pulled out his keys. “She’s run scared her whole life. Pushing isn’t what she needs right now.”
Nick sat there silent. He knew that, he just couldn’t seem to help himself. He could make her see that what they had was real.
“It’s not what you need, either,” Cody added.
Nick looked at him.
“You want it to be good, right?”
Nick nodded. “Of course.”
“Then you need her full commitment. Not just because you’re pushing so hard she has no time to think about it.”
What his brother said made sense, though Nick found the idea hard to put into action.
“You and I worked because when you barged into my life, I’d just figured out I was looking for the same thing. She’s different. She’s not there yet. Give her time or you’ll lose her for good.”
This was a part of brotherhood he’d always wanted but had never expected to get. He nodded, knowing Cody was right. Joanie was on the cusp of walking and there wasn’t a thing he could do to alter her decision. She had to work through what she wanted, and hopefully come to him at the end. He had to let her go to see what happened.
“Love is shit,” he muttered.
Cody laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “That it is, man. That it is.”
They stepped from the truck and Nick eyed the high-rise across the street, taking in the many floors. They hadn’t attempted to contact him before coming down, deciding instead to approach him cold to get a more honest reaction. It was how Nick had met Cody, and that had turned out okay.
“Looks like our brother is some sort of big shot.” Nick spoke first.
Cody stood beside him. “I’m beginning to think we should have called. What are the chances he’ll actually be here?”
“What are the chances we’ll be able to get through security, much less up to his condo?”
They hurried across the busy side street and made their way to the building. The first entrance merely dumped them into a wide, circular driveway with a gazing pool and fountain in the center. Valets waited by the doors. It was a different world than Nick was used to.
Nick nodded at the attendant as the man whisked open the wood-framed door for them, and they entered the lobby. What they found inside confirmed what had only been hinted at from the street. Their brother was loaded.
Elegant, rich leather seats and bronzed side tables dotted the marble-floored lobby. Heavy molding covered the walls, framing muted light fixtures and abstract art. It was ten on a Saturday morning and people were coming and going, but everyone remained silent or spoke in hushed tones, the elegance of the space overshadowing everything else.
Nick and Cody headed to a curved desk where a concierge waited to help, and Nick whistled under his breath. “Never wanted to live in a condo like this but I’ve got to admit, it’s impressive.”
The investigator had revealed their brother’s name to be Zachary Winston, adopted by Janet and Randolph Winston. The couple had been nearing forty, childless, and had paid a hefty sum to be parents. Late father a doctor, mother still alive. The mother lived in a suburb outside Atlanta where Zack paid her bills and provided for every imaginable need.
Zack had grown up to be a fast-talking, big-client, climbing-the-ladder defense attorney for one of Atlanta’s largest firms. He seemed as far removed from Nick and Cody as Nick could imagine.
“May I help you, sir?”
Nick hung back, contemplating the differences in all their lives as Cody took the lead. One adopted by a well-to-do family, another bounced around from foster family to foster family, and the third growing up in a bug-laden apartment with a drunk for a mother.
Yet in the end, all of them—seemingly—had turned out okay. Funny how that worked.
Cody turned to Nick, a humorous look in his eyes. “He says Mr. Winston doesn’t like being disturbed before two on Saturdays. For any reason.”
Nick peered around his brother to take in the slight man behind the desk. He wasn’t the type Nick would want guarding him or his property, but he imagined the cameras dotting the lobby hid much larger guys who could easily stop two crazed men making a run for the elevators. Nick stepped beside Cody. “Two, huh? Must have a heck of a Friday night regimen.”
The man touched the brim of his hat. “He does, sir.”
“Hmmm.” Well hell, what did they do now? Nick took in the man’s name tag. “Frank?” he said.
“Sir?”
“We have a little problem here. You see, we drove in from out of town, and it’s very important that we see him.”
Frank nodded as if understanding.
“We’re his brothers.” Cody added. “Brothers he doesn’t know about.”
“Wouldn’t you think if Mr. Winston knew he had two long-lost brothers stop by, he’d be a bit upset you hadn’t woken him?” Nick finished.
The nodding stopped as a puzzled expression covered the man’s face. “He and his date were out very late last night, sir.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I was told they didn’t make it in until daylight.”
Nick glanced at Cody. “Going to bed about the time we left? Definitely a different lifestyle.”
“If he has a woman up there, they probably didn’t get right to sleep.” Cody grinned at both Nick and Frank. “If we’re lucky, he hasn’t even been to bed. Call him up, won’t you, Frank? See if he’s got a few minutes.”
“Oh no.” A firm shake of Frank’s head followed up his words. “I value my job, sir.”
Nick sighed and held up his cell phone. “Fine. We have his number. We’ll call.”
The man’s eyes bulged. “You have his number? It’s private.”
“Yep.” Nick was finished playing by the rules. They hadn’t driven this far to be turned away at the door. He pulled up the number the detective had given them and placed the call. It went immediately to voice mail. Nick hung up. “Voice mail.”
Frank shrugged as if he’d known that would be the case. Before any of them had time to speak again, a woman’s voice yelled from near the elevators, shattering the peaceful morning. “Frank! Get me a cab!”
Frank hurried toward the woman. She wore an expensive cream-colored turtleneck and matching pants. Her jewelry was chunky but pricey, and her boots reminded Nick of something Joanie might wear. Sky-high heels. He tilted his head and took in her legs. Nice, but no match for Joanie.
“Frank!”
“Right here, ma’am.” Frank reached her and relieved her of a heavy-looking bag. Nick didn’t know if it was a purse or luggage, but it didn’t seem to matter. “I have your cab waiting, ma’am.”
“What do you mean ‘waiting’? You didn’t know I was leaving so soon.” Her voice was half-slurred, and half an octave only dogs should hear. “Are you trying to imply something, Frank? I can have your job, you know?”
“No, ma’am.” Frank hurried her toward the doors, seeming frantic to get her out of the building. “Not implying anything. We routinely have cabs waiting around the clock.”
“Hmph.” She calmed enough to shut up, but as she reached the door, she lasered her gaze on Nick and Cody. Her eyes widened a fraction and then narrowed to beady, black orbs. “Assholes!”
She marched outside and let Frank put her in a cab. When he returned, the man’s shoulders slumped in exhaustion. He didn�
�t immediately make eye contact.
“Should we know her, or does she call everyone that?” Cody asked.
Frank gave them a genuine smile. “You two look a lot like your brother.”
“Ah, the infamous girlfriend.”
Frank looked embarrassed, but nodded in acknowledgment. “I don’t know how he puts up with her.”
“Let me ask you something, Frank.” Nick leaned on the granite slab of the high desk. “Do you keep cabs here around the clock?”
Frank’s cheeks pinkened. “No, sir. Call for one about four hours after Ms. Claudia comes in.”
“Does she come in often?”
“Often enough.”
“Hmmm…” Nick considered their options. They could continue pushing the concierge—Nick was certain between the two of them they would get the man to help—or they could come back later. Given the fact Zack dated someone like Ms. Claudia, and fairly certain he hadn’t had any sleep, Nick made a decision. He looked at Cody. “How about we check out the sights and come back around two?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
A soft exhale sounded from Frank.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Joanie checked the time on the Barn’s new kitchen stove as she paced. Ten minutes until five o’clock. The open house would be over soon. She grabbed a fresh-baked cookie off the platter Jane had kept continuously filled throughout the afternoon and turned, taking steady strides to the other side of the room, the heels of the boots she wore clicking on the floor. There were two couples still upstairs looking around.
It had seemed as if everyone she knew, and some she didn’t, had shown up there today. Most just wanted to see what had been done to the place, but several, Joanie had noticed, were interested. Very interested.
Which had given her a headache.
Someone else was going to want her house and she would have to sell it to them.
Or worse, Grace would sell it to them.
Joanie clenched her free hand into a fist as she thought about the woman. Rumor was that she’d been traipsing about town earlier in the day, causing trouble any way she could, stooping so low as to stop in at the salon and mock Linda Sue’s work. And to top it off, Grace had apparently not even bothered to visit GiGi’s grave.
At least, the rumor was she hadn’t been seen out there. Though Joanie had no idea who was keeping tabs on the Memorial Grounds just to see if Grace showed up.
Bert Wheeler and his wife, Betty, came down the stairs, smiling and nodding their heads. When Bert saw her, he turned in her direction.
“You weren’t lying,” he said, giving an appreciative whistle. “Nick did a bang-up job here. Me and Betty have been thinking about closing in our porch to make a nice den. We’re thinking we might see if he can work us in.”
Bert picked up one of Nick’s business cards sitting out on the counter as Joanie nodded and smiled. She made the appropriate chitchat until they left, but honestly, she had no desire to talk up Nick’s work today.
First, it could speak for itself. He was highly skilled and it showed.
Second, she was annoyed with him.
How dare he scream he loved her and then hang up? She just wanted a little break. They’d moved so fast, she had no clue what she wanted.
Then her mother had shown up.
Now Joanie was going to lose the house and owe a boatload of money.
Add to that, she’d started thinking she was the type to toss her life away and chase Nick back to Nashville.
It was all just too much.
She wanted to think about nothing until she met with her mother at the lawyer’s office Monday. And she certainly didn’t want to see Grace or Nick before then.
As for what she was going to do about Nick in the long run, she was backing off. They needed space. And he had to quit pushing. She wasn’t the same person she’d been six weeks before, and honestly, she had no idea what she thought about that.
But she did know enough to know that she needed time to think.
If she went with her mother’s experience, she should run from Nick. Push him as far away as she could. That way she wouldn’t get hurt.
But she also wouldn’t have Nick.
He’d been good for her. And she kind of liked the changes he’d inspired over the last few weeks. She had a cat she adored. She loved her job, loved that she’d created a business that represented both her and her grandmother. And she’d come closer than she’d ever imagined to reconciling with her grandmother before she’d passed.
Best of all, she wasn’t going to sell Cakes.
Cakes made her happy. Life made her happy. And she hadn’t even known she’d been unhappy.
She was also dating. Real dating. Which she kind of liked.
If they continued, she just had to make sure she didn’t do things so wrong that it went from dating to stupid Bigbee behavior and everything would be fine.
She paced across the room again, anxious for the last couple to come down with Jane, and for all of them to get out of her house.
When they did finally make it down, Joanie was polite, smiling and speaking when necessary, but practically shoving them out of the house. The minute they set foot onto the porch, Cat zipped in from outside, and she threw the deadbolt, then turned to collapse against the heavy wood. Cat came over for some loving and she scratched him on the back of the neck.
She liked her life.
And she liked Nick.
She sighed, thinking about that. It was more than “like,” and she knew it. But she wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Nick right now. It was a Nick-free weekend.
Only, she had no idea how to spend the remainder of the evening.
Lee Ann had invited her over, letting her know that the boys wouldn’t be back from Atlanta until tomorrow, but she wasn’t in the mood for company. She thought about the boxes sitting on her living room floor.
She could go through those.
But what if she found something that made things even worse?
Or proved even more how unhappy GiGi had been?
Joanie didn’t know what she expected to find, but that unknown had kept her from going through everything. She just didn’t want to know that GiGi had been more miserable than Joanie already thought she had been. Today, however, seemed the time for facing it all. No one else was going to do it for her.
Making a decision, she nodded and grabbed her car keys. Nick wouldn’t be around tonight, so she’d pack everything up and haul it back out here. It might be the last night she had the opportunity to spend the night in the house. It would also be the only time she’d ever spent there alone.
Other than that fateful weekend when she’d lost her virginity.
Stupid boys. She still couldn’t believe she’d given in to him back then, but it had quit bothering her long ago. Life was all about lessons learned.
She hurried home, then dragged the boxes out to her car, muttering about the absurdity of wagging these same three boxes all over the place. Once she’d loaded them in her car, she grabbed Bob and an overnight bag, then locked her door and headed back out to GiGi’s. Bob had learned from Cat that it was fun to sit on the dash, so that’s where he immediately went. Joanie couldn’t help but feel a lump in her throat as she looked at him. She missed Nick.
She got to the house and unloaded the boxes yet again, but only made it so far as the porch. The swing was inviting, and seeing it made her feel good. She’d dig through the boxes there.
When she went back to the car for her overnight bag, she noticed the handle of a canvas tote poking out from under her passenger seat. Pulling it out, she found the metal box she’d retrieved from the cabinets the first night she’d been here with Nick, its small lock still in place. She’d taken the box to her last visit with GiGi, but after the emotional exchange between the two of them, she hadn’t asked her grandmother about the key.
If she didn’t find it in everything stashed on the porch, she would figure out a way to cut the lock off. She had
a feeling some of Pepaw’s possessions that he hadn’t taken when he’d left were stashed inside. Maybe things that had meant something to GiGi. Joanie wanted to know what they were.
She settled onto the swing and dragged the first box over to her.
Three hours later, more than tipsy and heading toward drunk on the bottle of whiskey she’d remembered was still in GiGi’s kitchen, she moved to the final box. She’d turned the outside light on a while ago and felt like she was in the spotlight every time a car passed, but she couldn’t say she cared. It was turning out to be one heck of a relaxing night, and she was enjoying it.
Most of what she’d worked through so far had been the owls that GiGi had kept in her room, or random paperwork Joanie hadn’t run across at the house. Such as the deed to the house.
There was the original title to the car GiGi had owned thirty years ago. Joanie had sold it for junk two years before, just to get it out of the way. There had been a handful of other important documents located in the piles of paper as well, but most of it had just been junk: notes from nurses at the home, weekly menus, randomly scribbled notes in GiGi’s unsteady handwriting.
The last box, from what she could tell, held GiGi’s clothes and bathroom supplies. As Joanie dug through it, she found one lone box under all the clothes. It was about five inches deep, and bulging at the seams. She pulled it out and moved a rocker over in front of the swing to prop her feet as she went through it.
She poured herself more whiskey and wondered why she’d been so worried about going through this stuff. She hadn’t found anything that had come close to upsetting her. It was just GiGi’s small world that she’d had at the nursing home. Nothing whatsoever that showed anything Joanie hadn’t already known about her.
Until she removed the lid of that last box.
She stared down at the newspaper clippings, seeing article after article of herself. Some were from her teenage years, or even before, but many were from the last fifteen years after Joanie had moved out. There was the ribbon cutting at the first business she’d opened. That had been a small gift shop that still thrived on the square today. There was even one from her inaugural trip with the cupcake van.