Last of the Red-Hot Mammas

by Dianne Castell

  “Are you okay?” Dacey asked. “You just walked into the trophy case and apologized to it. How many cups of coffee did you have this morning, Mom?”

  “Not enough.” They headed for the cafeteria. Should she go to Magnolia House, find Blue Eyes, and straighten out this whole mess? Give the experience some closure, put it behind her. Except . . . except Blue Eyes was standing right in front of her, just like he had been yesterday, but this time with clothes on. “You!”

  His eyes bulged, his jaw dropped, the tray of cookies in his hands crashing to the floor, the clatter drawing the kids’ attention. Oh, terrific, an audience!

  Dacey looked from one to the other. “You two know each other?”

  “Uh . . .” Gloria managed and Dacey continued, “Yesterday was Mr. Langley’s first day as principal and he just moved here from Atlanta.”

  Gloria swallowed. “We met at Magnolia House. I was giving a quote for a catering job, got into the wrong room and we sort of collided over—”

  “Over a birthday present from my sister,” Rab rushed on, trying to keep his head from whirling right off his shoulders. “A bottle of champagne. What a . . . surprise.” It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to blush over what he had done with what he thought was his birthday present. “Seems we both have interfering sisters.” Least that’s the best explanation he could come up with.

  He glanced at the crowd of kids staring at him and Dream Cake. He had to do something or this would get real embarrassing real fast. “So, would you have dinner with me tonight? ”

  “Excuse me?”

  Rab grabbed her dish before it joined his on the floor. “Since we didn’t have time to talk yesterday when we met.”

  “A . . . date?”

  “As in going out together.” He needed to do something respectable in front of all these kids since the meeting between him and Dream Cake was out in the open and there was obviously something going on between them that was a little out of the ordinary. “You can choose the restaurant. I’m new in town.”

  She took a step back, sliding on cookie shrapnel. “No.” She shook her head and held up her hands. “I can’t because . . .”

  “If you say you have to wash your hair I’m going to look really pathetic here.” He tried a smile and glanced at the kids, hoping she’d get the message as to why he was doing this here and now.

  “I have to walk the dog.”

  “We don’t have a dog,” her daughter protested.

  “We’re getting one. I’ve got to go. Right now.” Dream Cake hustled out of the cafeteria as if her hair were on fire.

  “Well,” one of the senior boys said as he put his hand on Rab’s shoulder. “You have officially been shot down, Mr. Langley. ”

  “Crashed and burned,” added another boy with a look that suggested he knew all too well what it felt like, the other boys nodding in agreement. The bell for first period rang and the kids headed off, some patting him on the back, looks of sympathy in their eyes. At least he had made a connection with the kids, but now what? He tried to ask her out and it flopped. He could walk away now and everything would settle down and no one would think anything of them knowing each other now. He’d done the respectable bit, except . . . except he suddenly didn’t want settled. He thought he did when he left Atlanta and his ex-fiancée, who ran off with the rich used-car salesman. But suddenly there was a note and a hotel room and one big misunderstanding and excitement and passion and a very pretty and electrifying woman.

  Rab caught up with Dacey before she got into the hall. “Can I talk to you a minute?”

  She stopped and they waited till the others left, the cafeteria door closing. “This is a little awkward, but are you okay with me asking your mother on a date? If not, just say the word and I’ll back off. I don’t want to be a problem.”

  Dacey gave a little shrug. “My mom dating the principal is not exactly my dream come true, that’s for sure. If I could have my choice you’d own a big boat out on Thunderbolt or the Bebe store on Boughton.”

  His smile met hers. “Sorry, no boats or boutique.”

  “I can deal.” She giggled. “You really seem to have shaken Mom up, and she needs that. She needs something besides work. And if she focuses on you for a while maybe I can get her to let me go on spring break to the Bahamas with my friends.”

  “So, I’m a decoy?”

  “Sort of.” Dacey wrinkled her nose. “She’s a great mom. Be nice to her.”

  He watched Dacey leave and headed off to find a broom. He’d heard that Savannah was a hospitable old Southern town and now he believed it. He just had to figure out how to get one terrific Savannah Dream Cake to go out with him. The first step was to find out her name!

  —

  Thank God the day was over, Gloria thought as she collapsed onto the couch and plopped a plastic bag filled with ice on her forehead and took a bite of the MoonPie in her left hand. That the bag leaked and a trickle of cold water slid down her temple underscored just what kind of day it had been. What had Blue Eyes been thinking asking her out on a date in front of half the student body? Not that it mattered because she was never going near that high school, or him, again, no matter how good looking he was or how great a kisser or how fine in the sack. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about this guy! She took another bite, marshmallow sticking to her upper lip, the music that invaded the house not helping her pain at all. She yelled upstairs to Dacey, “Turn your stereo down, honey, I can hear it all over the house, even outside.”

  Dacey yelled back. “Stereos don’t exist anymore except in the Smithsonian. Music’s coming from outside.”

  And it was getting louder . . . like a chorus of some sort and— The doorbell bonged. “Go away. Take your music with you.”

  It bonged again. Door-to-door CD salesperson?

  “I’ll get it,” Dacey called as she trotted down the stairs and opened the door to louder music and . . . “Uh, Mom, the school show choir’s standing in front of our house. I think they’re here for you.”

  “I’ve been out of high school for twenty-five years.”

  “Mr. Langley’s here with yellow roses and I’m willing to bet those aren’t for me unless it’s the newest way to deliver a detention slip.”

  Gloria bolted upright, ice sliding into her lap. Her gaze met Blue Eyes’s as the singers started in on “I’ve Got a Crush on You” and Dacey gave her a get-your-fanny-over-here look.

  “I know the Dream Cakes are good,” she said when she stepped out onto the porch. “But this is a little over the top.”

  Blue Eyes grinned and handed her the flowers as the song morphed into “Pretty Woman.” Yeah, that’s what she was, all right . . . in her purple sweats and flattened hair, one side wet. She waved to the choir and they waved back.

  “What do I do?” she asked Dacey.

  “Smile.”

  She plastered one on her face as the choir started down the street singing “Don’t Be Cruel,” leaving her alone with Blue Eyes on the porch. And just where was Dacey now? Daughters were never around when you needed them. Bet if there was a plane reservation to the Bahamas she’d be there.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Courting you.”

  “Courting? I think that belongs in the Smithsonian with my stereo.”

  “I’m not sure what that means but I am sure I want to see you and I don’t want to sneak around to do it. I have kids watching my every move, so I decided to use them and have a little fun.”

  “I think that makes me a school project.”

  “I want the boys to know how to ask a woman for a date, not give up when she turns you down, and to try again. And to be respectful and mannerly and show a woman that she matters and is important to him. So, do I pass?”

  Did he have to be so charming and responsible and really care about the kids . . . and her? “Every woman should be so lucky, but—”

  “Does there have to be a but? We got our priorities out of order . . . Magnolia
House first, dating second . . . and now I want to catch up. We get along and have a real connection, and not just of a carnal nature. It’s only dinner, Gloria,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Got your name from school records.”

  “I . . . I went through a rotten divorce and it took me two years to pull myself together, start a business, and feel whole again after my lumpectomy.”

  His eyes widened a fraction and she rushed on because he needed to know. “I had breast cancer three years ago. Didn’t you notice the scar?” She touched the side of her breast.

  “I wasn’t looking. I had other things on my mind, like you.”

  She took his warm, strong hand. He needed to understand. “It could come back.”

  “I could get run over by a bus.” His forefinger slid under her chin and he tipped her head so her gaze met his and she wasn’t just staring at his nose. “I had my life all planned out. Knew exactly where I’d be ten years from now. Married, two kids, a tan Volvo. Then I got left at the altar. Plans are good for about a week and after that it’s all a crapshoot.”

  She put her face an inch from his. “Read my lips, can-cer. Not pretty.”

  “But you are. In fact, you’re dynamite.”

  “I have a scar to prove it.”

  He pulled up his right pant leg. “Motorcycle accident five years ago.”

  “Oh, good grief. It’s not the same.”

  “I know.” He kissed her on the cheek, his lips lingering a breath longer than the kiss required, nearly sending her into a swoon right there on her own front porch. “I want to give us a chance and I’m not giving up because of what might be. I like you, and I think you like me. We’re good together, and not just at Magnolia House. We have a connection. I can feel it and I know you do too or you wouldn’t be so concerned over a simple dinner.”

  He strolled down the walk and pulled something from his pocket. Was that a harmonica? He winked back at her as “I’ll Be Seeing You” filled the air. He was pretty good, had probably done his share of talent shows in schools.

  “This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen,” Dacey said beside her, her eyes dreamy. “I get a text message from Jake asking me to meet him for pizza and you get yellow roses and a moonlight serenade. I’m totally jealous.”

  Dacey gave Gloria’s hand a quick squeeze. “Go for it, Mom. You deserve it and he might just be the one who deserves you.” She headed for the stairs, the harmonica music fading.

  Okay, Dacey was right, this was pretty romantic stuff. But just because some guy made her feel all warm and gushy inside didn’t mean it would last. What if things fell apart and if the cancer came back and what if he freaked like Lovell had and left her?

  Nope, she’d sworn to never get involved with a man again, and getting her heart broken for the second time was not worth with the risk.

  —

  “It is worth the risk,” Sue Ellen declared as she served up a bowl of crab bisque and pecan chicken salad to a customer standing in front of the white counter at Scrumptious. Sue Ellen adjusted her yellow-and-blue-checked apron that matched the curtains and tablecloths covering the little bistro tables.

  “That’s because you’re married and in love,” Gloria said, packing up quiche, sweet potato soup, and praline cheese-cake for Miss Jenkins’s afternoon card party.

  “You need to get yourself out there, girl, and . . .” Both stopped dead as a line of teens, each holding a flower, entered the shop. The line stretched out the door and a girl in front cleared her throat and said, “This is a special and personal delivery from Mr. Langley, hoping it will brighten your day.”

  She set a vase on the counter and put in a daisy, the boy behind her added a tulip, the next adding a daffodil, the next a sprig of peach blossoms. The kids streamed into the shop in single file, adding flowers and vases as needed until bouquets filled the counter and all the tables, the place looking more like a conservatory than a tearoom. Customers sat in wonder, others crowded in from outside, and at the end of the line was Rab Langley. “Pretty flowers for a pretty lady.” He handed her another bunch of yellow roses.

  Everyone applauded and the teens sang a quiet version of “Gentle On My Mind.” Langley did a low bow. “Will you have dinner with me?”

  “This is so romantic,” a lady sitting at a table purred, clasping her hands to her breast and looking all moony-eyed. “The only thing my husband brings me is fish to fry up for him for dinner.”

  “My husband wouldn’t know a rose from a rat,” another groused. “I should bring him here for lessons.”

  Gloria smiled sweetly. “This is dirty pool, Mr. Langley. You’re putting on the pressure.”

  “Because he really likes you,” a lady in a pink sundress added. “If you don’t do dinner with the man, I sure will.”

  Gloria resisted the urge to grind her teeth and Blue Eyes continued, “This is my last offer. Take me now or lose me forever.” He said it lightly but she knew he meant it.

  Okay, this was good news, right? She’d tell him to hit the road and then get on with her life. Customers and students looked on. Waiting. Drat! She hated to turn Blue Eyes down in front of everyone. “I think you’re a great guy—”

  “Ah, there’s another but coming, I can feel it.”

  “But I’m not up for dating or even dinner. I’m a single woman and I’m happy that way.”

  “And you’re sure?” he said with a half smile.

  “I am. And if I wasn’t, you’d be the first guy I’d run after.”

  Customers shook their heads in disappointment and someone muttered stupid, stupid woman. Blue Eyes kissed the back of her hand then turned and left, the teens trailing behind.

  “Have you lost your ever-loving mind,” Sue Ellen wailed. “Women wait all their lives for someone like Sweet-stuff here to come along, and what do you go and do? Throw him back like some runt fish caught on your line. I’m here to tell you that man is no runt.”

  “I think that’s my cue,” said pink sundress. She headed for the door. “I’m coming, honey,” she called down the street. “You wait up for me now, you hear.” She ran out, skirt flapping, purse still on the table.

  Gloria’s stomach flipped and Sue Ellen took the purse for safe keeping. “You’re not looking too good, Gloria. Could it be that even though you don’t want Blue Eyes, you can’t stand the thought of someone else having him? You can’t have it both ways, you know.”

  “Well maybe I can.” Gloria slid off her apron and cut through the back alley, finally spotting Blue Eyes making his way to the high school. The kids were out for the day but the principal’s day was probably far from over. As he went by she snagged his jacket and yanked him into the alley behind a purple azalea big enough to conceal an army tank. She flattened him against the wall as his eyes rounded, a smile slowly forming on his great kissable lips, the heat from his body mixing with hers.

  “Changed your mind, did you?” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Where do you want to have dinner?”

  “Here. I mean I don’t want dinner exactly, more like I want you . . . like this.”

  “Behind a bush?” He paused, his blue eyes dark now, and he shook his head slowly. “And I want a commitment . . . at least a one-date commitment that has the potential to develop into something more. I think it would, if you’d give it a chance.”

  “Since my divorce all I’ve done is take chances.”

  “Except you’re not willing to take a chance on the one thing that matters most—your heart. Don’t you want to share your life with someone who cares? You’ve got to take that leap of faith and believe in me, believe in us.”

  “I leaped once and splat. I can’t go through that again.”

  “Then that’s your decision and I’m sorry for both of us.” He kissed her gently on the mouth then walked off.

  “Wait.”

  He didn’t even turn back. Blast the man! She ran after him. Taking his arm, she turned him around. “All right, all right. You win, I lose. I’ll change, just
like you want.”

  “This isn’t about winning and losing.”

  “Then could we make it about sex? I think I definitely got the sex part down.” She kissed him, throwing in some tongue of her own and groin-to-groin grinding that left nothing to the imagination.

  He gently shoved her away. “That doesn’t work for me.”

  “Worked pretty good last time and felt like it was doing fine this time, too.” She grinned; he didn’t.

  “It’s either the right way or no way. I’m the high school principal, and you’re a mom and a respected woman in the community. We’re both too old to be sneaking around and playing games.”

  “You’re turning me down?”

  “Flat as a pancake, sweetheart.”

  Her lips pursed. “Well, fine!”

  “Actually, it’s not, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not afraid of your cancer, Gloria.”

  “But I am!”

  “I won’t run if the going gets tough. I’d never do that to you.” He rounded the corner and left her alone, all alone, standing on the sidewalk. The rat!

  “Well, heck.” She stomped her way back to the tearoom, the azaleas looking blah now, the sky more clouds than blue.

  Sue Ellen arched an accusing brow as she entered and Gloria said, “Do not say a word. You got me into this, you know.”

  Sue Ellen gave her an evil look and Gloria recanted. “Okay, I got myself into this. Not that it matters. I mean, we . . . I have issues. Baggage problems. And I don’t even know the man’s name.”

  Everyone in the room shouted, “Rab!” and a man at the corner table added, “And we all have baggage, every one of us.”

  She held up her hands in surrender. “I get it.” Or did she? Gloria peered at the older couple at the table by the window who’d been married so many years they looked alike. Always together, always sharing, and always there for each other. The young newly-married twosome in the corner with shiny rings and mesmerizing looks that rendered them the only people on earth. The mom, dad, and three kids having lunch, laughing and talking about the day.