Sugar Springs

by Kim Law

  Holly was fun and outgoing, the exact opposite of Lee Ann, and always upbeat, refusing to let anyone or anything bring her down. She was also the center of attention wherever she went.

  Lee Ann was a boring, in-bed-by-nine mother-of-two.

  It only made sense that Cody would be impressed. Still, his speed shocked her. First, he’d gotten to know Larissa well enough for her to save him one of her award-winning cakes, and now he was being even more friendly with Holly. How did the man move so fast?

  Holly leaned back and peeked behind Cody to surreptitiously check out Tucker Brown, the sixth-grade math teacher. The smile fell from her face when Tucker laughed with the good-looking fourth-grade teacher who’d moved to town four months earlier. That was when Lee Ann remembered Holly had been after Tucker’s attention for some time now. She was playing Cody. The thought brought a smile to Lee Ann’s heart. Not that Cody deserved to be played. Well, maybe just a little. But it meant Holly and Cody weren’t really involved.

  Pulling her attention back to the table in front of her, she realized that as the girls collected money and made change, most of the buyers eyed her.

  She’d just spent several minutes chatting with an old flame, and now she’d been caught staring at him across the room. No doubt they were all already wondering if a reconciliation was in the works. At least they didn’t know that the kids were his. The rumor mill would be on full blast if that were the case.

  When the last of the customers cleared, Kendra pivoted to Lee Ann. “We promised Grandma we’d come back and help her pick out what else we need.” As if they needed anything else. She turned to go but looked back over her shoulder. “But Candy’s right. Everyone deserves a second chance. You’ve always taught us that.”

  As they hurried away, Lee Ann rubbed both temples with one hand spread wide over her forehead but couldn’t contain a slight smile. No matter the circumstances that made her a mother, she loved her girls and couldn’t imagine life without them. Even when they said things that drove her crazy.

  She rose from the chair and straightened the items on the table, then once again found herself seeking out Cody. He and Holly stood near the door, but his eyes were locked on her. He glanced again at Candy and Kendra, then with one last pointed look in her direction, left the building, Holly following close behind.

  Great. His parting shot had been more like a glare, and it caused anxiety to settle in for a stay. Probably a very long one. She didn’t understand exactly what had happened there today but didn’t doubt him for a second when he said he intended to seek her out. Likely sooner rather than later.

  She already dreaded her Monday-morning shift.

  “I skipped out early on breakfast again this morning. To avoid Cody.” Lee Ann dipped her bare feet into the swirling warm water of the footbath, dropped her head against the back of the vibrating massage chair and let out a low moan. “The Marshalls are going to fire me if I keep doing that.”

  Joanie Bigbee, Lee Ann’s best friend since elementary school, plopped into the vacant seat beside her, knocking several bottles of polish off the attached tray as she did so. They were in Joanie’s salon on late Monday afternoon, completely alone. Joanie reserved Mondays for errands, administrative tasks, and much-needed girl talks. “You know that isn’t true. They love you. But you are going to eventually have to quit avoiding him.” She jabbed a button and the rollers started. “Ahhh...that’s better. Now, fill me in. I heard he showed up at the bake sale Saturday. What did he want?”

  Lee Ann forced open one eye and peeked at her. “He says he wants to talk.”

  “About darned time. Did he go there specifically to find you?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.” She shrugged. “I don’t think so. Keri had talked him into bringing her back some cinnamon rolls, and then I saw him leaving with Holly as if they’d come together.”

  Joanie let out a little snort. “She’s probably hoping he’ll rescue her from what she considers a town she’s outgrown.”

  “She deserves better than him,” Lee Ann grumbled, aware she sounded petulant. The thought of him and Holly did not sit well with her. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself hiking through the mountains with nothing but her camera, wildlife, and solitude. And zero stress. She loved people, but sometimes she needed to decompress. “The worst part was he met the girls and acted like any stranger they might run into. Passed along a message from Keri, and then he was gone. There was no recognition, no shock, no...nothing. Simply nothing.”

  Silence from the other chair finally pulled her attention back from her fantasy of escaping. Joanie sat very still, a line pulling at her brows. “You think he didn’t realize they were his?”

  “How could he not know, Jo? Who else would be raising them? Plus, how many sets of twins could he possibly think we’d have in our family? Heck, twins don’t even run in our family.”

  “So then, he’s still a coldhearted jerk, same as he was when he left.”

  Lee Ann looked away from her friend and focused on the waning light outside the building. It would be dark soon, but she could still make out everyone outside on the streets. Locals and tourists, all going about their day, their lives seemingly perfect. Whereas her life was on the cusp of ripping open and bleeding in a way it hadn’t in over thirteen years.

  She nodded, sadness creeping into the movement as she realized she’d hoped to find that he had changed. “Seems like it.”

  Joanie was silent for a moment, seeming to decipher Lee Ann and what she really thought about the matter. Finally, Joanie reached over and squeezed her hand. “That sucks.”

  “Yeah.”

  They sat in silence for a few more minutes until the sight of a very large black-and-white dog got their attention. Behind him at the end of a leash was Cody. Tall, strong, and perfect in profile. He wore another skullcap today, this one black and pulled down low over his ears. His hair curled out the back beneath the fleece. His leather jacket was zipped against the wind, and today’s jeans and boots matched the rest of his attire, all black. Like Lee Ann’s mood.

  As he made his way down the sidewalk on the other side of the street, both women watched, lost in their own thoughts.

  Finally Joanie uttered, “He may be an ass, but you can’t ever say your kids didn’t come from some really fine genes.”

  Wasn’t that the God’s honest truth?

  The massage rollers came to a stop, and Lee Ann fiddled with the controller to start the vibrations again. It was definitely a two-cycle day.

  They watched as man and dog moved on down the sidewalk, different people stopping him along the way to chat or pet the four-legged beauty on the head, until the pair disappeared from view.

  “I heard he ended up helping finish up the Christmas decorations yesterday afternoon,” Joanie said. “They had a couple of cancellations and Holly ran down to his apartment to talk him into helping.”

  “And he came just like that?”

  “Apparently so.” Joanie’s shoulders lifted slightly. She was clearly having the same thoughts as Lee Ann. “I don’t get it, either. He doesn’t strike me as someone who would easily join in, yet there he was. Staying until the last string of lights was hung, from what I heard.”

  A sigh escaped as Joanie pushed herself out of the chair and straddled the rolling stool in front of Lee Ann. “Give me your feet. The least I can do is give you an awesome set of toes. It won’t make up for the crap going on in your life, but maybe it’ll make the day a bit brighter.”

  Lee Ann lifted her feet onto the footstool and frowned down at the inch-thick, bright red strip of hair edging Joanie’s dark, trendy cut. She couldn’t imagine Joanie ever being as unsure as she felt. The woman made a decision and went after it with the force of nature. And she never failed. “What am I going to do, Jo?”

  Joanie shrugged, keeping her voice low as she began cleaning off the old polish. “You can’t avoid him forever. He says he wants to talk. I’d say start with that. Speaking to the man doesn’t mean an
ything about your life has to change, it’s purely one conversation.”

  She moved to the other foot.

  “And I’d be justified keeping him from the girls if I determine he is the jerk I suspect him to be?” Lee Ann asked.

  Joanie nodded. “You’d be justified.”

  Yet something about that didn’t sit well, either. Why couldn’t life ever be easy?

  “It is a shame, though,” Joanie continued. “The girls could use a father.”

  Long-ago worry flared to life, setting a flurry loose in her stomach. “Why do you think that? Have they said something? I thought I was doing okay.”

  Joanie sat back and peered up at her friend, her face the definition of support. “You’re a perfect mother and you know it. But if anyone understands the frustrations of going through life without a father, it’s both of us. Neither of us ever had anyone around, and I’m sure you can admit that sometimes a girl just needs someone other than her mother to talk to.”

  “I know.” She tucked one hand beneath her thigh to keep from doing something childish like chewing on her nails, then she used the other to pick at a loose thread in the seam of her jeans. “But they have you. Don’t they come talk to you all the time? And I don’t butt in there. I give them the space I know they need.”

  “I know you do, sweetie.” Joanie reached up and tapped Lee Ann’s hand, stilling her movements. “You are the best mother I’ve ever seen. Honestly. I’m simply saying that sometimes...” She gave Lee Ann an “I’m sorry” look. “Sometimes having a male around would be good. They’d see the world from both sides of the coin.”

  Lee Ann hated when Joanie made sense. Lee Ann was the practical one. The one everybody sought out in a crisis. Joanie was...well, the flake. She was the one who jumped between businesses more often than most people did cars, and who had the audacity to name her latest venture Curl Up ’N Dye. But she had always been a pillar for Lee Ann when she needed one.

  They lapsed into more silence, each lost in her own thoughts, until a sound at the door got their attention several minutes later. Both women looked up to find Cody’s dog sitting on his haunches, staring in through the glass. His owner stood directly behind him.

  Crap.

  Though the “Closed” sign hung over the bar across the middle of the door, it was easy enough to see the place wasn’t empty.

  “What do you think he wants?” Lee Ann asked.

  Joanie swung back around to her, one corner of her mouth lifting in distaste. “My guess? To have that conversation.”

  The door wasn’t locked, so neither of them rose to let him in. Instead, they waited to see what he would do next. It didn’t take him long to decide. With a couple quick moves, he produced a portable bowl and a bottle of water from the inside of his jacket. He then set the dog up with a drink and wrapped his leash around the top of the wrought-iron fencing surrounding the sidewalk grate—as if that would stop the animal if he decided he wanted to go.

  Cody entered the salon, and Joanie started to move away, but Lee Ann pointed to her toes. “Finish.”

  As Joanie sunk back to the stool, Cody stopped behind her. “Hello, Joanie. Good to see you.”

  Joanie mumbled a hello and ducked her head as if wishing she were anywhere but there, while Lee Ann shot the man a scowl. “Have trouble reading the ‘Closed’ sign on the door? We’re trying to have a few moments of peace here. Uninterrupted.”

  A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have avoided me again,” he replied.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Something came up.”

  “Right.” He sat in the chair beside her and stretched out his long legs. “Yet you seem to have plenty of time now.”

  He’d stepped around her to choose the seat that wasn’t visible to the front door as if hoping to keep the fact he was there a secret. The dog currently guarding the doorway, however, was a dead giveaway.

  “I’m in the middle of something,” she stated.

  “I’ll wait.”

  God, he was irritating. She gritted her teeth together. He reminded her of Candy when she got something stuck in her mind.

  “Fine.” She looked everywhere but at him. “Then talk.”

  While Joanie worked as quickly as humanly possible to get the bright orange applied to Lee Ann’s toes, Cody watched the movements in fascination. “It’s good to see another part of the old you still around,” he mumbled.

  Joanie paused with the polish brush hovering in the air. She peeked up when neither of them said anything. “Were you talking to me?”

  A smile cracked the corners of Cody’s mouth. “No, but it’s good to see you haven’t changed, either, Joanie. I like your hair.” He motioned to Lee Ann. “I was referring to the color you’re applying to Mommy of the Year, here. She always had a bit of flair to her, but these days she seems to keep it more under wraps.”

  He shifted his attention back to Lee Ann and lifted a hand, catching a short piece of her hair between his thumb and forefinger. “Of course, this hair screams flair, too. It’s the rest that’s different.”

  Lee Ann swatted his hand away and shot him a look that should have burned the skin off the tips of his fingers. “I’m no different than the last time you saw me, just a little older.”

  That was actually true. She had always been the good girl, the one taking care of everybody else. The one everyone relied on. Only, she’d wanted to be different. At least for a while. She’d yearned for college and a bit of living before she settled into her final role as wife and mother. He and Joanie had been the only ones who truly understood this about her.

  Eyebrows arched over his dark eyes as he continued to study her. “And the twins?” His tone was harder than she expected. “Did you have them hidden away somewhere fourteen years ago, too?”

  He always had gotten right to the point. It used to be one of the things she liked about him. “I thought you wanted to apologize.”

  “I wanted to do that alone.” He nodded at Joanie. “You seem to have a problem being alone with me. I figured we’d get the other issue out of the way.”

  Indignation flared, heating her from the chest up. “Candy and Kendra are not issues.”

  “Whoa.” He held his hands out in front of him. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to hit on a sore spot. And I didn’t mean to imply they are issues per se. I was merely wondering about them. They’ve got to be, what? Twelve at least? You must have gotten pregnant soon after I left.”

  Both she and Joanie turned their heads to gape at the man. Literally, jaws hanging open, eyes bulging. He really did not know they were his kids. How could that be possible?

  “What?” he asked.

  Instead of answering, she and Joanie faced each other. Oh, geez, this meant she was going to have to tell him. Didn’t change the fact he was still the jerk who hadn’t wanted his kids, but she had to at least let him know who they were. Didn’t she?

  The slight tinkling of a bell indicated that someone else had opened the front door.

  “Did ya’ll know there’s a giant dog on the sidewalk out here?” Melinda O’Neil, heir to half the property within the city limits, asked before gingerly stepping over the animal and entering the salon.

  Under her breath Lee Ann murmured, “Does no one understand what a ‘Closed’ sign means these days?”

  “I think he belongs to Cody Dalton,” Melinda continued. “But I don’t see him out there anywhere.”

  Joanie snared both Lee Ann and Cody in a look before motioning to the door in the corner. “Feel free to use my office for your conversation. It’s a few years overdue.” She rose. “I’ll see what Melinda needs.”

  Before they could make their escape, Melinda sauntered toward the back, where Lee Ann remained seated. “I knew I’d find you here today, Lee Ann. You always head this way when you’re stressed. And with Cody back, looking hotter than ever, I knew you’d be stressed. I wanted...”

  When she finally caught sight of Cody sitting there, her enti
re posture changed. Shoulders pulled back, stomach sucked in, and breasts lifted. What was it about the entire population of single women in this town? A fresh face showed up and they immediately went into man-hunting mode.

  Cody stood and held out a hand. “Cody Dalton.” He dipped his head as he introduced himself, brushing his lips across the back of her hand as if he were some honorable cowboy.

  Melinda giggled. “I know who you are, Mr. Dalton. The infamous bad boy of Sugar Springs.” Melinda batted her fake eyelashes at him, and he graced her with one of his purely evil grins. “I may have been three years younger than you the last time you were here, but I wasn’t too young to pay attention. I had one of the biggest crushes of anybody.”

  Lee Ann wanted to jam her finger down her throat and throw up on the both of them. She sidled out of her chair and duckwalked to the office as Cody and Melinda continued oohing and aahing over each other. “I’ll be back here whenever you can pull yourself away.”

  Before Lee Ann fully stepped into the other room, Melinda waved a hand in her direction but didn’t shift her gaze from Cody. “I just needed to tell you, Lee Ann, the central unit finally went out at the Fish and Game Club, and Daddy isn’t replacing it until spring.”

  “Not replacing it?” That was where the twins’ big “I’m a teenager now” birthday bash was going to be held. “It’ll be too cold in there without it.”

  Melinda shook her head and finally focused on Lee Ann. “He refuses to pay jacked-up seasonal prices for a new unit when there’s a perfectly good stove and a whole stack of wood to keep the place warm. You’ve still got almost four weeks before the girls’ birthday, so I thought I should warn you in case you prefer to find another location for their party.”