Kiki blinked once, slowly. “Do you love him?”
No one had asked me that up until now. Any prevaricating I might’ve done felt wrong here, in this place with these women. I dropped my gaze to the table. “I thought I did. I think I still do. But I’m not sure I can trust him. He left me in Florida without telling me why. He didn’t give me any warning.” Tears sprung to my eyes again.
“That happens sometimes.” Kiki laid an arm around my shoulder. “But sometimes we have to lose something—or someone—temporarily to realize how much we need him.”
“Maybe.” My head was spinning. Between the aftermath of hitting that poor dog and the calming effects of the tea and cookies, I felt like I could lay down and sleep for a week.
“I’m beginning to feel like I stepped into the middle of a counseling session here.” Maureen’s teasing broke the silence. “And as fascinating as I find it, Elizabeth and I need to get back to the clinic. Smith’s going to think I abandoned him, leaving him with an emergency on his hands.”
Kiki took hold of my hand as I stood up to leave. “I’ll see you here on Saturday. Wear comfortable shoes.” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “And give your husband this kiss from me.”
“I will,” I promised, and suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get home to do just that.
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, I never thought about having a career. In my world, men had jobs—jobs they tolerated for ten or twelve hours a day, five days a week, so they could earn the right to sit at the bar on Friday nights and bitch about their bosses or their co-workers. The only exception was my Uncle Nolan, whose passion about his Christmas tree farm was a different animal altogether. But I saw Nolan rarely in my childhood; he was only around if my mother needed some kind of help, or if he and the family were passing through town on their way to one of their infrequent Florida vacations.
When I’d begun working as a teenager, I was willing to take any job that would pay me the most for doing the least. In Burton, that meant manual labor, and it didn’t end after I graduated high school. Once I’d turned eighteen, I began spending my summers out at Benningers’ farm, working the fields. Grady Benninger had one of the largest operations in the area, and every year he hired on a few guys as hands. At first, it had felt grown-up and kind of exciting; he had a bunk house, just like I’d seen in old movies, where the hired guys lived. Room and board were part of our salary, and for a kid who wasn’t always sure where his next meal was coming from—or when—three squares a day, a comfortable bed and three months of stability were pure heaven.
I’d managed to hold onto the gig for a long time. During the off-months, I’d move back to town and find something temporary to do. Working at the hardware store had been my favorite winter job, and I thought I was good at it. That, and then working for Nolan, had been the high point of my working life so far.
But after my first few weeks at the Road Block, I realized I had a new favorite. I thought I’d enjoy working there, for Mason, but I hadn’t known I’d flat out love it.
Part of it was the atmosphere. Mason was a good boss, who treated all of us like gold. There was a spirit of cooperation among Darcy, Rocky and me. I’d worried they might be resentful of me, a know-nothing who was coming in to help run the place. But there’d been none of that. Rocky told me privately that knowing Mason was hiring help took a big load off his shoulders.
“I love the guy, you know? So if he asks me to do something, I do it. I told him, though, I like my job now. I don’t want to be here any more than my regular hours. But I’d feel bad if I knew he’d been working extra and needed some help. Now I don’t have to feel guilty.”
Later that same day, Darcy had said something similar. “Hey, you know, I never signed up to help run this joint. All I want to do is serve up drinks and bar food. I don’t want to mess with schedules and all that other shit. You being here means I can do what I like best.”
The wait staff were pretty cool, too. They were patient when I asked a million questions about how and why they did things. They didn’t freak out when I got in the way, which I did, even though I tried not to. And they told me what was especially good to eat, since Mason had made it clear I was welcome to all the food I liked.
After I’d been training for a week, Mason had called me into his office. I didn’t have time to get nervous about why, since he started speaking as soon as I closed the door.
“So I think things are going well. You catch on quick, you’re fitting in great with everyone else, and you take it seriously. If you’re good, I’m ready to make this permanent.”
I was more than willing, but I only nodded. “I’m good. I like what you’ve got here, and I think I can handle what you need me to do.”
“Excellent.” Mason leaned back in his chair and laced his hands together behind his head. “And Elizabeth’s cool with you working here? The hours and everything?”
“Yeah.” I thought about the past week. Elizabeth had been preoccupied the day I’d gotten home from the first day at the Road Block. I’d been excited to come back to the apartment and tell her all about it, but she’d been in her room, in bed. When I’d knocked on the door, she’d stuck her head out.
“I’m sorry.” Her blonde hair was tousled and her eyes were swollen. “I had a shitty day. Well, some of it was. Most of it, although . . . well. I’m sorry I didn’t make dinner. Your mother is sulking in her room again, because I wouldn’t go out and get her a bottle of scotch. If you don’t mind, I’m going to sleep now.”
My mood had immediately deflated. After our time together the night before, especially the kiss, I’d been hoping things between us would be better, but she was shutting me out—both literally and figuratively.
“Hey, what happened today?” I’d risked reaching out to brush a strand of hair out of her face. “Do you want to talk about it?” I was clueless when it came to women. I knew that. But from our time together in the Cove, I’d learned that Elizabeth always felt better after she’d dumped on me about a bad day—and I didn’t mind it when it was my wife doing the dumping.
She hadn’t shied away from my touch—that was good—but she’d shaken her head. “Thanks, but right now, I just want to hibernate and forget this day happened. Work was horrible, your mother—ack.” Elizabeth had rolled her eyes. “And I hit a dog.” Her eyes welled up. “He’s going to be okay, but Maureen and Smith can’t find the owner, and I was so freaked out.” She’d drawn in a ragged breath. “Like I said, bad day. Tomorrow’ll be better, right?”
“Gotta be.” Since she hadn’t dinged me for touching her hair, I got cocky and cupped her face with my hand. “Sorry about my mom. It’s not you. She’s mad, and she’s sick. You’re just a handy target.”
She’d closed her eyes and leaned into my palm. “I know. Still not my idea of a good way to be welcomed home. Anyway.” She stood back a little, away from me, and then her lips curved just a little. “I’m going to bed, but first, I need to deliver this.” She’d risen onto her toes and kissed my cheek. “That’s from Kiki.”
I wasn’t sure if the warmth spreading over my face was from Elizabeth’s kiss or her words. “You met Kiki?” There were a few people in town who stood out in my memories of growing up. They were always the ones who reached out to me, who paid me a kindness or stood up for me against others. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Kiki; I knew she owned the bakery, and sometimes, if I was particularly hungry or frightened, I’d go in and just breathe the air. Kiki never made a big deal about me being there, but I always left with something to eat and one of her oddly accurate encouraging words.
“I did. Long story, and I’m too tired to tell it now.” She began to back into her room but then paused again. “She said you were wearing your wedding ring.”
My thumb immediately went to rub the third finger on my left hand, the one that still felt bare even though I’d only worn the gold band for a few months. I’d kept it on even after I’d left, only tucking it into my pocket for safety’s sake wh
en I was working at Grainger’s. I was sure Elizabeth hadn’t noticed it had been on my finger the night I’d picked her up at the Road Block. But when I’d seen her ringless finger, I’d left mine off, too.
Elizabeth hadn’t really asked a question, and I hadn’t wanted to dive into that kind of talk when she was clearly dealing with other crap. So I only nodded and stepped back. “I’m going to get something to eat. Let me know if you need anything.”
She’d apologized a few days later for not making a bigger deal over the first day at my new job, but I’d shrugged it off. And since then, we hadn’t seen much of each other, since I’d been working hard, and she’d been busy, too. I had a vaguely uneasy feeling that something was going on, since she’d asked me if Mrs. Price would be watching out for my mother on Saturday while I was at the bar. She’d only say that she was going to be out most of the day, which did nothing to help ease the knot in my stomach or silence the voice in my head. The one that suggested maybe my wife had already found someone better than me.
Now, as Mason waited for me to elaborate, I just shrugged. “She doesn’t really care as long as she doesn’t get stuck watching my mother.”
“Hmmm.” Mason’s brows knit together. “You should bring her in here. Elizabeth, not your mom.”
I gave a flicker of a smile. “I figured that’s who you meant.”
“Like we talked about. I can see if Rilla could get a sitter for the kiddos. Sometimes Millie—” He broke off, and I understood why. Millie was Jenna’s mother. Didn’t seem likely that she’d want to babysit so that Rilla could come double date with the man responsible for her daughter’s attempted suicide. “Well, we could work it out. Maybe Meghan and Sam could watch them.”
I shook my head. “Can’t do it right now. I need to be home at night to keep an eye on my mom. She’s been a handful lately.”
Mason sighed. “Forgot about her. That can’t be easy.”
“Right now, it’s more of a pain in the ass than anything else. The first few weeks, when she was detoxing physically?” I shuddered. “That was nasty. And a little scary. Now she’s just mean. And demanding. It’s like having a two-year old.”
Mason whistled. “I said it before, man—what you’re doing here is above and beyond. How much longer until she qualifies for the rehab deal?”
“About four weeks.” I was mentally marking off the days. “And then things should get a little easier for me.” Maybe. It would be a huge relief to not be constantly worried about my mother, where she was and what she was saying. But my initial plan to move out of Burton and find a place closer to the facility wasn’t very appealing anymore. I liked this job, and I didn’t want to walk away from the commitment I’d made to Mason. And even though everything was iffy and uncertain with Elizabeth, I found I didn’t want to walk away again. Not without maybe giving the idea of us another try.
I was thinking about that possibility as I drove home that afternoon. If I could just get Elizabeth to hang in here with me for the next four weeks, then maybe I could work on proving to her—and to myself—that I was worthy of her. It was an unfamiliar thought; I’d never set out to win a girl’s heart. Before Elizabeth, I hadn’t cared, and back in the Cove, she’d been mine from the minute our lips had touched. It hadn’t been a matter of convincing her we were meant to be. But then I’d been an idiot and thrown all that away, which meant I had to work double time to get her back for good.
I knew I could do it. Or I hoped I could. I was feeling more optimistic these days than I’d been in a very long time.
But all that feeling evaporated when I turned the corner to the apartment and saw at the curb an unfamiliar dark blue car with the crest of the county justice system on its side.
Shit. What had she done now? What had someone heard? To my knowledge, my mother hadn’t left the apartment unsupervised since the night I’d bailed her out of jail. I’d taken her with me to the Laundromat and the grocery store now and again, but even there, she’d been in my sight the entire time.
I trusted Mrs. Price—I’d gone to great lengths to impress on the elderly lady how important it was to watch my front door. But still . . . people had needs, and it was possible that my mother had managed to sneak out while our neighbor was taking a bathroom break.
Pulling my truck behind the car, I climbed out slowly, dreading what was coming next. I couldn’t see through the tinted windows, so I was surprised when the driver’s side door opened and Judge Roony stepped out.
“Afternoon, son.” He held out a hand, and automatically I reached to shake it. “Glad I timed this right. I wanted to catch you before you went inside the house.”
I nodded. “Everything okay, sir? I’ve been doing exactly what you said. As far as I know, my mother’s kept out of trouble. I can’t watch her twenty-four/seven and still support us, but I’ve got a lady watching her—”
“Whoa there, Trent.” The judge held up one hand. “I’m not here to rap your knuckles.” He pointed to the cement stoop, the same one where I’d sat with Elizabeth the afternoon after she’d come to Burton. “Can we talk a minute?”
“Of course.” I followed him to the step and sat down after he settled himself on the concrete. Glancing up at the house, I wondered if my mother or Elizabeth knew we were there.
“First of all, son, I want to say I’m impressed. When Jock Reiner and I made you that proposition for keeping your mother out of jail, I never thought you’d be able to make it work. Not because of you,” he hastened to add. “But because I know people like your mom. They’re cunning. They work the system. They manipulate, and when they want something, nothing and no one stands in their way. I knew you had, uh, limited resources, having to make this happen in a town where you don’t have much support, and I figured we’d be seeing your mother back in my court in a few weeks.”
He turned to face me more fully. “But you proved me wrong. I’ve lived in Burton my whole life, and I have a lot of people who keep their eyes on things for me. Everything I’ve been hearing about you is exemplary. You’ve done a bang-up job.”
“Thank you, sir.” I still felt a little unsettled. People like Judge Roony didn’t just stop by to give out a pat on the back and an attaboy. The other shoe was probably about to drop.
“Now I know you’re a busy man, so I’ll get to my reason for being here. When Jock and I made you that offer, we may have padded the time required just a little. We weren’t trying to mislead you, but I knew before I could give you that referral, I had to know if you were serious about making the commitment. But you didn’t even blink. And since you’ve stuck to the letter of the deal, I’m here to give you this.” He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a long white envelope, handing it to me.
I took the envelope and turned it over in my hands. “What’s this?”
He smiled. “It’s confirmation of your mother’s reservation and paid-in-full status at the rehab facility in Devlin. They expect you—well, her—there tomorrow.”
My head felt fuzzy, and nothing quite made sense. “I don’t understand, sir. I thought . . . I didn’t expect this for another month or more.”
“I understand. Look at this as parole for good behavior.” He winked at me. “Yours, not hers.” With a groan, Judge Roony stood up and gripped my shoulder. “You be okay to get her there? Think your truck can make the trip?”
“Um, yes, sir. She doesn’t look like much, but I keep her tuned up.”
“Good man. Well, best of luck.” He fished into his pocket and produced a business card. “This is my personal phone number. If you need anything, you give me a call, you hear? If you have any questions or . . .” He lifted his gaze to the apartment. “If she won’t go quietly, you know. We can make this happen even if she gives you a hard time. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
“Yes, sir.”
He put his hand on the car door handle and paused. “Like I said, I hear a lot of things. One of the things I hear is that you’ve got a woman living here with you. The to
wn’s new lady lawyer.”
Discomfort prickled my backbone. “Yes, sir. Well, sir—”
“I looked her up. So she’s your wife, huh? And she’s been living here with you and Donna?”
“She has, sir. It hasn’t been easy on her.”
“And y’all just got married on New Year’s Eve. Hell of a honeymoon, to move into a small apartment with your new mother-in-law.” Especially when she’s a belligerent dry drunk. The judge didn’t say the words, but I knew he was thinking them. “She must be quite a gal. I’ll look forward to seeing her in my court one of these days.”
“I’ll pass that on, sir.”
He grinned. “You do that. Travel safe, Trent. Keep in touch.”
“I will, sir. And Judge Roony—”
He turned just as he was about to get into his car.
“Thank you, sir. For everything. And please tell Mr. Reiner thanks, too.”
He gave me another wink and a nod before he pulled away. I sat where I was for a few minutes, just absorbing everything. I felt like I’d just gotten my get-out-of-jail-free card. It was a lot to take in, considering I’d been primed and ready for another four weeks of warden duty.
An unfamiliar sense of excitement and anticipation bubbled up inside me. Once my mother was safely at the rehab place, I could start working on convincing Elizabeth to stay married to me. I could take her on a date to the Road Block, like Mason had suggested.
That reminded me that I’d have to call up my boss and ask him for the day off tomorrow, so I could drive my mother to Devlin. I didn’t think he’d give me any problem with it, especially since I’d have a lot more time to give him once I didn’t have to be on Ma duty at nights. I could spell him during early evenings if he wanted dinner with his family.
But first things first. I had to go inside and tell the women the good news. Well . . . I was pretty sure at least one of them would think it was good; as to the other, right now I didn’t really give a damn what she thought.
Always My Own (Always Love Trilogy #2) Page 14