Kelly's Rules

by Barbara Miller

  “In a way you’re lucky he never trusted you enough to make you a VP or something. Or to put it another way, he knew you were too upright to put up with his sleight of hand, so he kept you at a safe level.”

  “Small blessings. I was in auditing not investments. Still, when the story breaks, I’ll have to testify.”

  “Not to put too fine a point on it, Quinn, but when were you going to tell the dean that you will end up in court?” Kelly knew that was what bothered him now.

  “I didn’t think I’d have to, that I’d be working there a year or so before it came to court. There’s an investigation to get through first, then the lawyers talk.”

  “But if someone breaks the story early. Someone like Brenda…”

  “Why would she? It’s her own father’s neck.”

  “Has she ever been considerate of him before?” Kelly was feeling antsy, like she wanted Quinn to handle this now before the worst happened.

  “She’s considerate of the money he gives her.”

  “But is she rational enough to add that all up?”

  He stared at Kelly and slowly shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Jason poked his head into the room. “Are you two finished keeping secrets? I’m getting hungry.”

  “You need to hear this from me as well, Jason. The reason I left your grandpa’s firm is they were trampling all over the new accounting laws, and I…”

  “You went to the police, of course.”

  “Well, the proper authorities.”

  “So why is that news?”

  Kelly smiled. “The point is we hope it doesn’t get to be news.”

  “Oh, it could mess up your new job.”

  “I don’t know.” Quinn turned to her. “What would you do?”

  “Hah, you’re asking your contractor about accounting policy. You are in trouble.”

  Quinn laughed. “No, I’m asking my very good friend about ethics. I feel you have a great deal of experience in that realm.”

  “I’d level with the dean.”

  He nodded.

  “You want more than a three-year contract. You want a long-term relationship. That is built on trust. If you tell them everything up front, they may decide to ride it out with you. After all, publicity isn’t always bad. Maybe you’ll be sort of like a hero for doing the right thing.”

  “Or they may use it as an excuse to break my contract.”

  “Either way it puts you in control. If they know about it from your lips, no one can use it against you.”

  Quinn glanced at Jason.

  “Dad, you have to tell the truth. If I don’t get to go to school this fall, I have a feeling I’ll be learning just as much helping you and Kelly.”

  “Okay, I should have realized you two would be in accord on this. So what do we have planned for dinner tonight?”

  “I happen to have loaded the Crockpot with what I hope will be an appetizing meal by now,” Kelly said, “but I’ve been wrong before.”

  “You always plan ahead, don’t you?”

  “At least as far as the next meal.”

  * * * * *

  They drove home and the smell from the kitchen exceeded expectations. They decided to eat on the picnic table because food always tastes better outside. The pork roast, potatoes and carrots settled well on their stomachs. Kelly was just meditating on what would be best for dessert when the slam of car doors, many car doors, announced company. Nicky and Daf launched themselves into the yard, each carrying a gallon tub of ice cream. Sue followed up with the cake and Devin and Ray bore a cooler between them.

  “Hey, it looks like a party. I know you didn’t get the house finished.”

  Sue grinned. “No, silly, it’s your birthday.”

  “What?” Kelly almost dropped the plates she was carrying.

  “The tenth of August, right?”

  Kelly nodded numbly. “Gads, I’m another year older. And I was trying so hard to forget.”

  Sue made introductions while Jason went for matches. Before Kelly knew it she was wearing a silly party hat and being sung to.

  “You need help with the candles, Aunt Kelly?” Daf asked.

  “Yeah, you two better help me blow out this forest fire before the wax gets all over the frosting.”

  She could feel herself soaring into sugar shock from the whipped cream, sugar and cherry vanilla combo. Wow, Sue had bought her favorite flavor. How could a chocolate fanatic and a cherry vanilla person have gotten to be such close friends?

  High caloric intake was quickly followed by a game of wiffle ball. A cab arrived in the middle of the festivities and dropped Bea at the curb. She looked a little uncertain, and a lot depressed, so Kelly went to pay the cabbie, which she thought must be the difficulty. But he left, so Kelly picked up her tote.

  “You’re just in time for birthday cake.”

  “Whose birthday is it?”

  “Mine.” Kelly cast her a sideways look, waiting for a reaction.

  Bea looked a little concerned over that.

  “At least this is the birthday I always celebrated. Isn’t it the right one?”

  To Kelly’s surprise tears rolled out of Bea’s eyes.

  “Yes. This is your first birthday party. I never managed it before.”

  “It’s okay…Mom.”

  “Don’t call me—well, maybe just this once.”

  “Come and have cake. We’ll talk later. You’re safe. Nothing else matters.”

  To Kelly’s surprise Bea volunteered to ref the game and she was good. At least no one argued with her. It was almost dark by the time everyone flopped on the picnic table and pulled sodas out of the cooler.

  “So you found paint?” Kelly asked Sue.

  “Actually we’re doing wallpaper in the hall and living/dining room.” Sue showed her samples and Kelly could see this meant a lot to her, taking possession of her house. But this time Sue was doing it for herself. There was no sleazy boyfriend insisting he liked blue. This was what she wanted. Sue had finally gained her independence. And here Kelly was wanting Quinn and willing to give hers up. But she had a feeling joining with Quinn would not amount to a loss of identity. She’d still be herself, he’d be him. But they’d be a couple besides that, just as they’d be a family with Jason.

  “These are great. Quinn, you might want one like this for your dining room.”

  “I guess I have to do something. Patching the cracks in the plaster sort of reminded me the wallpaper is ruined.”

  “You bought the old Barkley House,” Ray said. “Boy I would love to decorate that place.”

  Quinn smiled. “Talk to my general contractor.”

  Kelly put up her hands. “Hey, I can wield a paintbrush, but I do not touch wallpaper. It requires a degree of patience I do not have.”

  “I’d be willing to do it for cost of materials if you’d let me show it.”

  “Wow,” Quinn said. “I couldn’t let you do that. Your time is worth a lot. Let me get settled, make sure I have a job and we’ll talk.”

  “Sure, here’s my card.”

  Jason had lit a fire in the yard pit and broken out the marshmallows when another car pulled up. It gleamed red in the streetlight.

  “Brenda,” Quinn whispered. “How does she know where you live?”

  Kelly leaned toward him. “I live in a fish bowl. She could have asked anyone in town.”

  “Jason, want to say hi to your mom?”

  “Ah, I’m kinda busy with something really important.” He held up a flaming marshmallow.

  Quinn walked toward the white-shorted and tank-topped figure. Her arms and face were so tan they didn’t stand out except for the slash of red lipstick that must have been her mouth and the five dark claws Kelly could see on her skin as she crossed her arms. Kelly shivered.

  “Did I look like that?” Sue asked.

  Kelly snorted. “No, I could still recognize you under the war paint, but you did scare me a little.”

  “I sort of scared myself fr
om time to time over the last few years. What’s the big deal about having a man? Friends are more important.”

  “Right. Who wants to be that vulnerable?”

  Even though Kelly was trying not to listen, she was picking up a word now and then, mostly silence from Quinn and “Why can’t we…” from Brenda. The man had nearly infinite patience. Clearly Brenda still wanted him back.

  Neither of them had made reference to the pending financial scandal at his old company. That was good. Eventually Brenda wept and left. Crying was better than anger, right?

  Quinn came walking back. “I better get up to the house. She’s in the weepy stage, which usually precedes the ‘I’m going to do something desperate’ stage.”

  “Be careful,” Kelly said.

  Quinn nodded. “Thanks. And it might be a good idea to make sure this house is never unguarded since she knows where it is now.”

  “Bea’s back. No problem. And Quinn?”

  “Yes?”

  “I fixed your hot water tank. The water may be rusty, but it should be hot.”

  “You’re an angel.”

  “No, but you’re better off with a plumber.”

  “Never have I had such respect for the practical skills.”

  About then she remembered she had promised to have a heart to heart with her mother. Yeah, right. How was that going to work out? Jason yawned his way to the summer house and the company went home leaving half a birthday cake on the kitchen table. Kelly thought she could see a string of ants making a beeline for the leg.

  Bea was sitting on the other side of the cake eating the frosting off with a spoon.

  “Want some real food?”Kelly asked.

  “No. I saw him.”

  “Him who?”

  “Your father.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, he’s hard to forget.”

  “Why did you want to talk to him after all these years?”

  “I wanted—I don’t know—I guess I wanted to see if he was like I remembered.”

  “And he was?” Kelly grabbed another spoon and started on the icing on the other side. She got an instant sugar jolt to the brain, but it wasn’t so bad this time.

  “He stiffed me for the drinks.”

  Kelly leaned back and laughed. “That happens to me all the time. At least I know I’m your daughter.”

  “You-you seem different somehow, not so outraged at me.”

  “Bea, I have come to realize that the past is the past. Yeah, I missed a few things by not having a dad, but look at what I learned.”

  “I never gave you anything you should have had.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. Remember when we were in the cottage by the creek? All the furniture we had was a bed and a rocking chair. But I sure looked forward to that rocking every night. No TV or radio, just you singing. But it’s the best memory I have from that time.”

  “It was hard to sing. I was so sad and desperate all the time.”

  “You never let it show.”

  “I couldn’t, could I? I had to make you think I could take care of you even if it was all a sham.”

  Kelly put the spoon down and reached across to cup her mother’s cheek. “You have been a lot of things, Bea, but never a sham.”

  Bea sucked in a breath. “I decided to quit smoking.”

  “Well…good.”

  “I mean it this time.”

  “I’m happy for you, Mom–oops, it slipped out again.”

  “Well, it’s okay if you call me that when we’re alone, but watch it when we have company.”

  “We? Then you’re going to stay this time?”

  “Not if you don’t want me.”

  “Mom, I want you to stay.”

  She really started crying then but swatted Kelly away when she tried to hug her. “Okay, I won’t get mushy, but I have to make some coffee to cut this frosting. You want some?”

  “Only if it’s decaf.”

  “Whoa, another new leaf.”

  “Well, I have trouble sleeping now that I don’t drink.”

  “Mom, I’m not even going to know you soon.” Kelly hopped up to get the coffee started.

  “They say it’s never too late to change.”

  “I truly believe that. What are you changing into?”

  “A grandmother, I hope. When are you going to sleep with Quinn?”

  “Ha, not ’til his divorce is final and I marry him.”

  “Yes, I guess that’s best, though I think he’s more reliable than most men I’ve known.”

  “He’s more reliable than most men, period. I used to have all these rules about men, but what I found out is that they don’t apply to all of them, only the worse of them.”

  “And that women can be just as bad.” Bea hung her head.

  “The only woman I know in that category is his almost ex-wife, Brenda, so don’t feel bad about your life.” Kelly was desperate to make her mother feel happy, to lift her out of the despondency that must have caused some of her bad habits anyway.

  “I wasted a lot of time looking for a man who doesn’t really exist. Your father was a one-night stand and now that he knows he has a grown daughter he doesn’t even care.”

  “You told him?”

  “Yes, and he thought I was shaking him down.”

  Kelly nodded her head. “Too late for child support.”

  “He thought I wanted him to pay me not to say anything about you.”

  “Oh, not good.” She got mugs from the cupboard, trying to think what to say.

  “And I didn’t like it. You’re not a dirty little secret. You’re the one thing in my life that I’m proud of.” Bea looked militant.

  Kelly reached down and hugged her mom. “So all these years, all those weekend trips. You were looking for my dad for me.”

  “Yes, what a crappy waste of time.”

  “No, what a sweet thing to do. But you don’t have to anymore.” It was amazing how the past became crystal clear when you actually sat down and talked about it.

  “Let’s have that coffee before we both start bawling.”

  As they sat quietly and enjoyed their release from the sugar binge, Kelly wished she had tried to understand her mother sooner, or hadn’t been so hard on her. It turned out Sue had been right. They’d just needed to drop their guards and really talk. She wondered how many parents and children never discussed things as adults.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Rule 13: Just when you start to trust a man, he may show you how bad your judgment is.” — SMFA

  Quinn was gone by the time Kelly and Jason unloaded supplies at the house. The project for the day was to glue down the loose pieces of parquet and seal the wood floors. Kelly assumed Quinn had headed for the college. Around eleven she had to go for more supplies and asked Jason what he wanted her to pick up for lunch. He voted for pizza so she called for that before she left. The pizza place was in the same strip mall as the paint store.

  When she came out with the pizza, Quinn was just getting into his wife’s sports car…with her. His own SUV sat at the curb in front of the upscale restaurant. What did that mean? If they found his body in a ditch tomorrow morning, she would know whom to point the finger at. But he had been smiling. Oh, well, story of my life. Just when you start to trust a man, he shows you how bad your judgment is. She sat for a minute without starting her Jeep, trying to get a grip on her feelings.

  Betrayal was such a familiar emotion that it settled into her heart like a foot into a worn shoe. It pinched and ached, but it didn’t destroy her. She was so used to it that she could say she had been expecting it. But Quinn had actually made plans for them, promises, and everything she knew about him pointed toward those being sincere.

  He couldn’t possibly be considering going back to Brenda because it wouldn’t work. All the things that had turned him away before were still wrong with her. Was the dinner for old time’s sake? Maybe he was being charming so she would go easier on him during the div
orce. Brenda would be satisfied with nothing less than getting him back under her thumb. And if he went for that, then Kelly wanted nothing to do with him.

  She shook her head. Quinn was too smart to think that buttering up Brenda would do any good. But going back to her or making the divorce less contentious seemed to be the only reasons for what Kelly had just witnessed. How could he forget her most recent tryst at the hotel? Even Paul had taken exception to that.

  Would she still give Quinn a job if he needed one? Probably for Jason’s sake. Certainly she would hire Jason who was turning out to be adept at carpentry. But maybe she shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Quinn was smart, so maybe he was working some other angle she didn’t know about.

  She was going to have to reserve judgment on Quinn until he explained himself…if he thought he could. Above all she would not say anything to Jason about it. Quinn was a hero to his son and she would never destroy that. If only she’d had a father hero instead of a just a sperm. But hey, at least she was here, so the sperm donation meant something. But she wanted more than that for her child if she ever had one.

  Never again would she consider raising a child alone. It took two adults to bring a kid up right. She had some missing pieces in her life because she’d been without a father, and she could see some scars in Jason’s heart because his mother had been a totally self-focused person except for doting on Paul, her son Paul. She couldn’t mention that suspicion to Quinn because she might be wrong.

  She started the Jeep, and it did start on the first try. She owed Quinn that much, but he had to be more than a mechanic to win her over. When she got back to the house, she found Jason moving some of his stuff into one of the upstairs bedrooms. She was happy to see him staking a claim on the house, trying to make it into a home.

  “Pepperoni?” he asked as he came down to the dining room with her.

  “Of course. I got large sodas. We need the caffeine.” She had spread the feast out on a piece of plywood between sawhorses. They made a dent in the pizza, Kelly eating two slices and Jason four, when they heard the door.

  “Don’t open the front door, Quinn, we just sealed the floor,” she yelled. Secretly she liked making him go to the side entrance on his own house. It wasn’t much punishment for consorting with Brenda and it made her feel powerful. He came in wearing the golf shirt and chinos she’d seen him in earlier.