Kelly's Rules

by Barbara Miller

  He glanced at the triple chocolate ripple Sue was demolishing. “When was the last time she and the kids had real food?”

  “Lunch at the park,” Sue murmured. “We had wings.”

  Quinn shuddered. Kelly stood back and stared at him while Quinn sprang into action and put together vegetable soup. He’d had to make supper in a flurry many times for his kids when he’d returned to find them alone. Kelly seemed to be mesmerized watching him dice carrots, potatoes, celery and onions. Even Sue in her numb state paused in licking the ice cream off her spoon to gaze at him moving around the kitchen as though she had never seen a man cook before. Soon the smell of vegetables wafted through the air. He added tomatoes and canned corn, peas and green beans.

  When he set the timer for five minutes, Kelly approached with a cup of coffee for him.

  “Makes me wish I had a camcorder,” she said. “You could do a cooking show.”

  “Oh, I did most of the cooking at home. I wanted the boys to have good food. Brenda would have taken them for drive-through every night.”

  “How old are your boys?” Sue asked. She sounded a little funny as though her tongue was numb.

  “Seventeen and twenty-one.”

  “You don’t look that old.”

  Quinn laughed at her blatant compliment.

  Kelly coughed. “Ah, always the diplomat, our Sue.”

  “My family goes gray late in life.” Quinn sipped the coffee and gave the soup a stir.

  “Kelly is going to have to start dying in her forties,” Sue said looking toward her friend. “Blondes like me can put it off another decade.”

  Kelly twitched then laughed. “Thanks for the grim look into the future.”

  When the timer buzzed, Quinn turned off the soup and ladled it into bowls. The boy and girl came to the table eagerly and started to crumble crackers into the hearty soup.

  He remembered when his own kids had been that young, back when he was still holding their lives together, before Paul had turned on him. He might not look like he was on the other side of forty but he felt old.

  They had just finished eating when the phone rang and Kelly jumped to pick it up. “Kelly Barr.” She listened for a moment and said, “We’ll be right over.”

  Quinn insisted on driving when the Beast refused to start. Apparently its compassion went only so far. Kelly grabbed the lock sets and her tool belt and got in. She felt small in his SUV.

  “Sue’s down half a block on the right, where the birdbath is.”

  “Where the birdbath was,” Quinn said and braked beside the police car in the driveway. “Someone’s been doing donuts in her yard.”

  Kelly slid out her side carrying her gear and walked toward Earl.

  “Well, the woman’s gone,” Earl said, “after doing wheelies all over the yard in Joe’s truck, but he’s still locked inside. From the sound of it, he’s royally trashing the place. I have to go get a power tool to get the door open or else a very big deputy. If you care about Sue, don’t let her see this.”

  “Did the woman get away?” Kelly asked.

  “No, she’s in jail. She was outside in the buff, so I arrested her for public drunkenness and indecency, plus vandalism. I had Sammie haul her in.”

  Kelly reached in her pocket. “I have keys.”

  “He’s locked the deadbolt.”

  Quinn flexed his shoulders. “I have enough weight to break the frame if I have permission.”

  Another crash made Earl wince. “You are deputized.”

  Kelly unlocked the front door and Quinn only had to hit it twice to break the frame and let them in. Joe was standing in the middle of the floor in a pair of sweatpants with a can of whipped cream.

  “This is my place too, you know.” He charged Quinn who clipped him on the jaw, laying him back on the messy carpet.

  Kelly felt her heart flutter with admiration. Quinn was hero material.

  “And that was your eviction notice,” Quinn said.

  Earl pulled out handcuffs. “I’ll have to remember that line.”

  When Joe resisted, Quinn held him ’til Earl got the cuffs on him.

  “Thanks much. What was your name again?”

  “Quinn Farrell.”

  “Earl Dobbs. Nice to meet you. Guess I better read Joe his rights on the way to the car.”

  “Why are you arresting me?”

  “Vandalism and resisting arrest.”

  “Cookies tomorrow,” Kelly promised as Earl dragged Joe out. She turned to Quinn. “And you can have a whole cake if you want it.”

  Quinn grinned, then whistled as she stepped around him to regard the wanton destruction carried through to the kitchen and dining alcove.

  Kelly grabbed a broom. “Looks like every bit of food she had in the kitchen is spread over the floors. I’m thinking they were on drugs. When the broad found out this wasn’t his place she threw a tantrum.”

  He shook his head. “Maybe Joe thought Sue would be too embarrassed to call the police.”

  “Joe doesn’t know me very well. As soon as Sue told me, I called the police. Wish I’d brought my camera.”

  “I have mine. I’ll go get it.”

  Kelly went upstairs, found a suitcase and packed clothes for Sue and the kids. At least Joe and company had confined themselves to the downstairs but it was going to be days before they could come back here to live, maybe longer.

  When she came back down Quinn was still snapping with his digital camera. “Do you have a computer we can download these to?”

  “Yes, thanks for taking them. For now we better get busy with the locks. I’ll hire someone to clean up tomorrow.”

  “Any chance her house insurance will cover this?”

  “It’s a thought. Too bad there’s no insurance against a broken heart. She was just telling me today that Joe’s the one.”

  “The one?” Quinn said as he removed a screw from the old lock set.

  “The one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.” Kelly waited as Quinn made short work of dismembering the lock with her power drill. She kept reminding herself she couldn’t judge all men based on Joe or any of the other men Sue had chosen. Her problem was she believed everything they said.

  “Poor woman. How could she have been so deceived?”

  Kelly shrugged and fitted the new lock in place. “He was a good actor.”

  Quinn paused. “How can you tell if someone’s a good actor?”

  “You can’t until something like this happens.” She heard him sigh.

  “My wife was a really good actor.”

  Kelly wondered what that meant. Then she thought about her mother, mostly a victim, but not exactly a stunning example for Kelly who had always promised herself she would never be anything like her mother in terms of mistakes made. Now Kelly knew that in spite of her wisdom, Sue wasn’t the greatest role model either except as a mother. Kelly felt adrift in a way she hadn’t before because the hunk alongside her could be the greatest thing to walk into her life if she gave him the chance. Or he could be like the rest of them, making his share of mistakes but struggling not to sink in them.

  Another hour’s work and they had the house secured. Quinn was yawning when he drove her back home around midnight. He handed her the camera, which she considered a mark of trust between them.

  “Thanks for helping out tonight. Otherwise I’d still be there. I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. I just wish I could make things right for Sue and her kids.” He got out and carried her tools to the door.

  Kelly slid off the seat, which she was starting to like. “You barely know them.”

  “That doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad for them.”

  She smiled at him as he unloaded the suitcases. “You’re sweet. Are you sure you don’t want the garage apartment?”

  “Maybe in the morning. A hot shower is starting to sound pretty good. I’ll see you at seven unless that’s too early.”

  Big sigh of relief. “Seven will be fine
. Come to the house for coffee. I’ll be up early baking.”

  As he started to pull away, Kelly backed up slowly and tripped over her own deck steps, sitting down hard. She was more tired than she’d realized. The kitchen door was locked and Kelly used her key to get in. Sue was still eating. Although she had eaten some soup, she had licked her way through cookies and cream and was tackling a half-gallon of Neapolitan. Kelly wondered how much ice cream one woman could eat before getting sick. Tonight they might find out.

  Kelly parked the suitcases inside the door with her tools, shut off the coffeemaker and poured herself the last cup. “Joe is gone and everything is secured. You should call your insurance company tomorrow.” She got a spoon and started on the strawberry end.

  Sue didn’t answer, so Kelly waved a hand in front of her eyes. Possibly she had dropped into chocolate ketosis and Kelly would have to call an ambulance.

  Finally Sue blinked and looked at her. “You know, I think you’re right. Men, who needs them?”

  “Not you and not me. Ready for bed?”

  Sue put her hands to her face and wept. “I don’t even have a nightgown.”

  “Yes, you do. I packed for you.”

  “You’re an angel, Kelly.”

  “You better reserve judgment until you see what I packed.”

  The kids were asleep on the sofa and recliner so Sue decided to leave them tucked in there with extra blankets. She sobered up from her ice cream coma and used the games computer to check her email and do some shopping while Kelly downloaded the damage pictures on her business PC.

  As she printed them out, she couldn’t help looking at the other pictures; one of a young man, probably Jason and another of a beautiful granite house with columns, the kind you saw in the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh. The Barkley place was a step down, but as Sue said, how important was a house compared to family?

  Her goal had to be to make the Barkley House even more beautiful so that Quinn would want to live there forever.

  Sue took the spare room and Kelly had a long shower while she thought about Quinn crawling into his sleeping blanket in an old house that might even have rats. What a guy. She replayed him decking Joe. Her thoughts were not conducive to sleep.

  He’d already raised his family. It sounded as though he’d been betrayed by his wife more than once. Quinn was probably as shy of a relationship as she was. But he had asked her out. That was something to take to bed with her.

  Chapter Four

  “Rule 4: Never trust a man who’s a good actor, and they are almost all good actors.” — SMFA

  Kelly heard something with a big engine ease down her driveway and opened one eye. The clock said six-thirty. Must be Quinn. She went to the window and saw him striding across the lawn with a backpack slung over his arm. He looked like an explorer headed for a jungle expedition or some other high adventure. Yikes, she could see right into the summer house bathroom from here. She closed her eyes and groped for work clothes, then went down and started the coffee while she looked for her cookie recipes. Earl had no idea how easy these were or he would up the ante. Once she got both trays in the oven, her thoughts turned to nutrition.

  She knew what the average guy would eat for breakfast on an average morning when he was using someone else’s shower. But what would Quinn eat? He was far from average, but she really didn’t know him at all.

  Kelly started scrambled eggs, no bacon. Protein but not rampant carnivorism. English muffins. He drank coffee last night, but was he really a tea person? She had to know. A rap on the screen door caused her to unclench as she waved him inside.

  “That smells good.”

  “Pull up a chair. The others won’t be up for hours. You’re probably smelling Earl’s cookies.”

  He poured two cups of coffee before he sat down to share the food. Wow, he was actually serving her. Odd, how tense and obsessive she got when he wasn’t with her and how she automatically relaxed when he was there. Usually it was the opposite with men. So Quinn was different, but how? Or was it that she reacted to Quinn differently?

  “We have tea.”

  “Only at bedtime. If you have to work on Sue’s place I’ll understand.”

  “We talked. She agreed not to go over there. Last night I called the girls who bought my cleaning service and they stopped for a key already so they can do a rush job, though I may have to be there to tear out the carpet. Sue picked out a new rug on the computer last night and ordered it. Got her mind off Joe Kirby.”

  “Want me to haul the rug? If it’s not wall to wall we can lay it.”

  “Thanks, Quinn. Then we should be able to pick up some lumber and make a dent in your porch today. You mind swinging by the police station so I can drop off the cookies?”

  “Cookies? Oh, for last night. I get it. No problem.”

  “Thanks. You kept last night from overwhelming us. Here’s your camera. I downloaded the pictures.”

  “Anybody would have pitched in.”

  “Not just anybody. That was above and beyond what I’d expect even of a close friend. Thanks again.”

  “Does this mean I can have one of Earl’s cookies?”

  “You may have a handful.”

  * * * * *

  By the time Quinn drove Kelly and the new rug back to Sue’s house, the cleaning crew had done wonders with the floors. Somehow Nina and Patty, neither weighing much more than Kelly, had rolled up the old area rug and dragged it to the curb. They told Quinn just to leave the roll of carpet in the living room and they would place it when they were ready.

  Quinn was used to being ordered around by a woman, his wife Brenda, but in the case of these two and Kelly he didn’t mind playing the muscle rather than the brains. He admired them for their hard work and competence. Brenda never lifted a finger except to get it manicured.

  He’d been raised in a family with a strong work ethic and still wondered why he had been so deceived about his wife. He’d known she was spoiled when he married her, but he just assumed that having children would normalize her somehow, get her to grow up. Boy, had he been wrong.

  Many hours later, Quinn was toe-nailing another board in place on his porch floor when Kelly said, “Guess what?”

  “What?” He glanced at the tongue and groove flooring and it all looked sweet. He hoped he hadn’t done something backwards.

  “We missed lunch.”

  “I’m sorry.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost four. Should we knock off now and grab something to eat or go check on Sue’s house?”

  “Sue’s house first. You know, you’re a good worker, Quinn. You get everything I say and just do it without a dramatic argument like some guys give me.”

  Her smile was genuine and he felt warm inside as he gathered up the excess boards and stored them in the entry while she picked up the tools. “What did you expect from an accountant? We have to be precise and follow directions.”

  “I guess I don’t have much in the way of expectations. But you’ve been great, not just with the work, I mean. You really care about Sue and her kids. You put their interests ahead of your own.”

  “My own boys got a little traumatized by my wife in their youth. A similar situation. She forgot they had a half-day at school one day, and they surprised her in the game room with her lover.”

  Kelly’s eyes grew round. “Wow, that’s a blow. Were they home alone at the time?”

  “Jason called me at the office even though she threatened him with dire punishments for snitching. Jason is the younger one and absolutely loyal to me.”

  “Good for him. You needed to know. But you didn’t divorce her then?”

  “No, though I should have. I forgave her.” He looked toward Kelly who seemed by her knit brow to be dissatisfied with his reply.

  She finally wrenched her pained gaze around to him. “But don’t you see? You gave her permission to do it again.” Then she clapped her hand over her mouth. “I can’t believe I said that.”

  “You’re right, bu
t I didn’t realize it at the time.” He sighed. “Paul, the oldest, couldn’t see she was destroying our family. He always thought it was my fault his mother needed love from someone else, that I had failed her in some way.”

  “Maybe that’s what she told him.”

  Quinn thought back over Paul’s initial outrage at his mother, then later capitulation to her side. “I hadn’t thought of that either. Jason stuck by me, so it’s just the two of us now.”

  Kelly nodded as she loaded her tool batteries into her case. “You stayed with her ’til they were grown.”

  “Divorce is tough on kids.”

  She set the boxes of screws inside the door. “Well, you’ve got endurance.”

  “At least she was discreet after that.”

  “So you’re definitely divorcing now?”

  “Working on it.” So that’s why she didn’t want to go out with him, because he was still married. This Kelly had scruples, something he didn’t expect to find in a woman. He had little experience with them and now realized he underestimated some of them.

  “But emotionally you’ve been separated from her for a long time. You don’t feel anything for her anymore, not even anger?” Kelly picked up her tool bag.

  “You’re right. I feel a little numb when I think of her. But I no longer replay our life to try to see where I went wrong.”

  “It wasn’t you who steered it off course.”

  “Guess that’s some consolation, that it wasn’t my fault.”

  She smiled at him. “Let’s lock up the tools and get moving.”

  Normally Quinn would never have blurted out all that about his private life, but Kelly was so open about everything it didn’t seem odd to share with her. He knew she would never discuss it with anyone else. And he really wanted her to understand why he needed this house so badly.

  As they got into his vehicle, Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. He had confided in her and when she’d made that stupid crack about giving his wife permission to be unfaithful, he hadn’t hit her over the head with his hammer as he should have. He just nodded and said she was right.