by Molly Cannon
“Oh, sure. The great and wondrous Jake Jacobson. I remember how you worshipped him. The first time I saw him walking down the street I nearly fainted. From a distance he looks so much like you.” She remembered how her heart started beating like a frantic, trapped bird when she thought Theo was standing down the street. And she remembered how it slowed to a wounded, dull ache when she realized it wasn’t him.
“But you didn’t say anything?” He grabbed his seat belt as she braked suddenly.
She turned to stare at him. “It wasn’t my place, was it?” And at the time, standing in the middle of the sidewalk, she could barely breathe, much less talk.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. You could have introduced yourself.”
“And said what? I’m your brother’s ex-fiancée? The one he never bothered to mention?” The car behind them honked.
“The light’s green, Ree.”
She gritted her teeth and then pressed on the accelerator making a jackrabbit start. “I didn’t think it was my place if you didn’t want him to know.”
He grabbed the armrest again. “Why is our past relationship so hush-hush, anyway?”
She laughed. “That’s a good one. We are rushing through the night to tell your big brother our secret before he hears it from someone else, and you’re asking me that? I was merely following your lead.”
“Don’t blame me. First I was Jake’s secret brother, and now I’m your secret ex-fiancé. Maybe I’m tired of being the person no one wants to acknowledge.”
She turned into Jake and Marla Jean’s driveway and made her way down the winding lane. “Believe me, by tomorrow that will no longer be something you have to worry about.”
He sighed. “Ree, listen. If we can pretend to get along for the next week or so, I’ll bet you a million bucks this will blow over like nothing ever happened. I don’t want any old animosity between us to ruin Jake and Marla Jean’s wedding.”
“Neither do I.” She stopped in front of the big white house and twisted in the driver’s seat to face him. “They are paying handsomely for me to provide a fairy-tale wedding with peace and love abounding.”
“Exactly. I’m just here to do my best man duties. That’s it.”
“And I’m the wedding planner. That’s it.”
He held out his hand. “So, can we call a truce, for Jake and Marla Jean’s sake?”
She held out her hand and cursed the shivers that raced up her arm as he shook her hand. “For Jake and Marla Jean’s sake.”
He opened his door and got out. She opened the driver’s door and climbed out, too. Once he’d come around the car to join her, she started up the front steps. “Let’s get this over with, honey.”
“I’m right behind you, sweetie.”
His words rang in her ears as she knocked on the front door and waited for an answer.
Chapter Five
The front door opened and Sadie bounded out onto the screened porch before Jake could stop her. The dog made a beeline for Theo and started howling like she’d found her long lost friend. Theo knelt down wrestling with her like a little kid. Since he’d been back in town, she’d acted the same way every time he’d been to the house. They’d bonded when she’d been an abandoned puppy rescued by Jake and Marla Jean. He had no idea she would remember him, but he was glad she did. At least someone was glad to see him again.
“Come on in,” Marla Jean said. She was wearing bunny rabbit slippers and a robe thrown over shorts and an old hockey jersey.
“Did we wake you up?” Irene asked. “I told Theo this could wait until morning.”
Jake got everyone inside and shut the front door. “We were awake. What’s this about? Does it have something to do with the wedding?”
Marla Jean directed them to a couch in the living room. They sat down and waited while Jake and Marla Jean settled into side chairs. Sadie stuck her head in Theo’s lap, wagging her tail while he scratched her head.
Theo smiled tentatively. “It’s not about the wedding. At least not your wedding, anyway.”
“Whose then?” Jake asked.
Theo jumped off the couch and paced around. He wanted some distance from Irene when he revealed the truth. “Ours.”
Marla Jean looked like he’d spoken a foreign language. “What do you mean, yours?”
Irene stood up, too. “He doesn’t mean ours, not exactly. But he’s talking about the two of us, as in me and him.”
Jake joined the standing ranks and asked, “You and Theo?”
She nodded. “Well—”
Marla Jean jumped up and interrupted her before she finished explaining. “You mean you eloped tonight? I could tell there was something between you two. Oh my goodness, that’s so romantic. Isn’t it, Jake? Crazy but romantic.” She was beaming at them like she’d just been given an early Christmas present.
Horrified, Theo stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. “Good God, no. It’s nothing like that.”
“Oh.” Marla Jean seemed majorly disappointed and sat back down.
Jake crossed his arms over his chest. “So, let’s try this from the start. What’s so important that both of you felt the need to drive all the way out here in the middle of the night if it doesn’t involve our wedding.”
“It’s only nine, Jake, and like you said, we were awake,” Marla Jean scolded him and then turned to Theo. “We’re listening, Theo. What is it you need to tell us?”
Theo stopped pacing and sat back down on the couch. “Okay. You already suspected that besides working together at the grocery store, Irene and I knew each other when we lived in Dallas, too.”
“That seemed like a good guess,” Jake said.
“We were both going to community college. I had a partial scholarship, and Ree was waitressing at the golf club. But you know how it is. We were young and broke, both barely scraping by. So, we decided to share an apartment to save on expenses, and one thing led to another. After a while I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.” He’d compressed a lot of their history, saying the last part in a rush like it wouldn’t count if he blurted it out fast enough.
Irene decided to add something to the account. “We were both so young, and it turned out to be a mistake.”
Theo glanced at her, trying to hide his reaction. It wasn’t like he disagreed, and it was certainly no surprise she felt that way. He supposed in hindsight the idea to get married had been an ill-thought-out, impulsive, youthful mistake. But at the time he’d been deeply in love with her. And he’d thought she loved him, too. It hurt to finally hear Irene bluntly say otherwise.
Jake finally sat back down, too. “And you never bothered to tell me? I know we didn’t see each other as much when you lived in Dallas, but you still had a phone. Something that important? Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“I would have, but Ree got cold feet and called it off. I joined the Navy. She married someone else. All in all, in the scheme of things it turned out not to be important. Besides, I had no way of knowing you two would end up living in the same town.”
Irene crossed her arms across her chest and gave Theo a hard look. “That’s not exactly how it happened, but for now I won’t bore you with details. You get the gist of it.”
Marla Jean got up and moved to the couch to sit by Irene. “So, does that mean you knew Jake was Theo’s brother the whole time?”
“It wasn’t hard to figure out. Theo talked about him all the time back then. And look at them. Two peas in a pod. But I figured Theo should be the one to share our secret, and he never did so I kept quiet, too.”
“Now it seems sort of silly,” Theo admitted.
“So, why the urgent need to tell us now?”
Irene crossed her legs and started swinging her foot. “Theo was trying to impress Nell Harcourt tonight, and he told her we used to be engaged.”
Theo put his hands on his hips. “I wasn’t trying to impress her.”
“Whatever. The point is everyone in town will have heard the news by morning.”
Theo sighed. “Jake, I thought you should hear it from me. I’m sorry I never told you before. But it was a long time ago.”
Irene nodded. “Ancient history.”
Jake blew out a deep breath. “Well, I appreciate the heads-up. We’ll be prepared to deal with any remarks we hear. If we all react casually, I don’t know why this shouldn’t all blow over in no time. It’s still hard for me to believe. You and Irene. But so what? The two of you had a thing a million years ago. What’s the big deal? Right?”
“Right.” Theo smiled at his big brother. Jake always kept things in perspective. And this was the time to celebrate the future. Marla Jean and Jake’s future. Not dwell on his unhappy past.
Irene sat on the couch, chewing on her thumbnail and looking worried. She didn’t seem to share Jake’s optimism. She grabbed her purse and stood up. “Well, now that everything is out in the open, we should leave. Come on, Theo, I’ll take you back to your car.”
Marla Jean and Jake walked them out to the front porch. Marla Jean said, “Instead of coffee, we should all have breakfast together at the diner tomorrow morning just to get an idea of what everyone is saying.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jake said. Then he added as if it just occurred to him, “Will it be a problem for the two of you to work together while we’re gone?”
“Of course not,” Theo said quickly. He didn’t want them to worry about a thing back home while they were off on their honeymoon.
“Not at all,” Irene said, too, but Theo thought she sounded like she’d rather enter the lion’s den with a raw steak hung around her neck.
After they got in the car, she turned to him and said glumly, “Are you happy now?”
He tried to stretch out his long legs in the small car. “Are you asking in general? My life’s pretty good, so sure, I’d say I’m happy. How about you, Ree? How’s life treating you these days?”
“Until you showed up my life was just peachy.” She started the car and started down the driveway. “Now I’m not so sure.”
“Maybe we should talk about that.” They’d never hashed anything out, never discussed how it all fell apart.
“There’s nothing to talk about, Theo. Let’s just get through this, okay? I promised to be civil for the sake of Jake’s wedding, and that’s all I promised.”
It seemed to him there was a lot to talk about, but he could feel her pulling down a curtain, shutting him out. “Fine. If that’s the way you want it. I’ll try to stay out of your way as much as possible.”
The rest of the ride was tense and the silence thick with unasked questions and unresolved emotions. She pulled into Lu Lu’s parking lot, and he got out, climbing into the Jeep without saying good night. Watching her taillights disappear as she pulled out onto the road, he kicked himself up one side and down the other. He didn’t know why he’d felt the need to take up for her tonight with Nell. He’d only opened a can of worms, and Irene certainly wasn’t thanking him for it. In fact, it looked like her only plan was to tolerate him—just barely.
Irene tossed and turned, trying to sleep. It was no use. Listening to Theo spout his version of their past to Jake had made her furious. She’d gotten cold feet? He had some nerve blaming her for everything that had gone wrong.
Growing up poor with no parents to support her, Irene’s guiding goal early in her life was finding and holding on to security. Like the gold ring on the merry-go-round, she wanted to grab it with both hands and never let go. She hadn’t apologized for putting it at the top of her list back in those days. As a young girl, she’d bounced around between different relatives. No one really wanted her, much less could afford to take her in, but eventually she ended up with her aunt Jo and uncle Ed. It hadn’t been terrible. Aunt Jo did her best to make Irene feel welcome, but she had been painfully aware of the burden she placed on their family. They already had two girls to raise, and her cousins resented having to share a bedroom because of her too. She vowed when she got older she would never have to worry about having the simple basics that any kid should be able to expect. Enough to eat, a place to sleep that was all her own, and decent clothes to wear. Not ever again.
Love hadn’t been anywhere on her radar. At least not the romantic kind. Back then she was pragmatic, focused, and told herself she didn’t have room in her life for that kind of complication. But then she met Theo, and everything changed. Their slow, steady, dependable friendship exploded into a love so passionate, so deep, that she thought she might die from wanting him. When he asked her to marry him, all of her old resolve faded away. She said yes, realizing with a bone-aching need that the other thing she’d never had in her life was someone to really care about her. Theo cared. In fact, he loved her wholeheartedly, and it was a balm to her battered soul.
Even when they’d worked together at Piggly Wiggly, she’d liked him more than she wanted to admit. For hours he would listen to her talk about her dreams, and on top of that, he seemed to be as anxious as she was to get out of Derbyville and make something of himself. Tackling the future with Theo by her side made her feel brave and strong. She’d had to be strong all of her life, but suddenly with Theo she didn’t have to do it alone. And she did love him. It was scary, but loving Theo, trusting him, almost felt like the same thing as security. It was such a relief to lower the tall walls she’d built around her heart and let him inside. When she’d accepted his proposal, he hadn’t seemed to realize how much courage that had taken. And she should have known better. Without a second thought he left and joined the Navy, and she was alone all over again. So when it came to an honest recounting of the story of their past, it seemed to her he was the one who’d gotten cold feet.
Theo was glad Lincoln had insisted on this bachelor party. Even if it was only pool and pitchers of beer in Lu Lu’s back room. It wasn’t a wild orgy, like some he’d attended, and that was fine by him. Jake wasn’t the wild orgy kind of guy even before he became an engaged man. But he was kicking back, blowing off a little steam, and relaxing before the big day. And he was grinning like a fool. Nonstop. The man didn’t have a single doubt that he was doing the right thing by marrying Marla Jean, and it made Theo grin, too, seeing his big brother so content with his lot in life.
Jake was listening to Linc tell a story about some prank they’d pulled back in high school, something about stealing another school’s mascot and hiding it before the big game. A goat named Annabelle, Linc said. Jake corrected him, saying no, the goat was named Butthead. The cheerleader that dumped Linc was named Annabelle. They corrected each other every other sentence and cracked up the way two friends do when they know where the story is going but love reliving it anyway.
Theo’s attention was drawn to an older, frail-looking woman who wandered inside looking like she was lost. “Excuse me,” she called out. “I’m looking for the groom-to-be. My name’s Ethel, and I’m the entertainment for the night.”
Jake looked alarmed while all the guys whooped it up. Lincoln stood up and guided her into the room. “Right over here, ma’am.” He was grinning from ear to ear, and Theo was pretty certain he was up to no good.
Donny Joe Ledbetter pulled up a chair and sat down beside him just as the old lady pulled an iPod out from her baggy shirt. Donny Joe cackled. “She must be one of those strippers disguised as an old lady. This should be good.”
Theo shot Donny Joe a sharp look. “I thought there weren’t supposed to be any strippers.”
She hit the play button and music poured out into the room. The woman started gyrating to the drumbeat of the song. Her hands were in the air, and her hips bounced around like basketballs being dribbled double-time. Theo didn’t know whether to laugh or cover his eyes.
Donny Joe shrugged and tipped his hat back, enjoying the show. “Don’t look at me. This is all on Linc.”
Theo wanted to see how Jake was reacting. His brother looked horrified and amused and like he might kill his best friend. Just when it couldn’t get any weirder, Ethel stunned them all by pul
ling off her short gray wig to reveal long strands of salt-and-pepper hair underneath. Without her disguise the woman was still at least sixty-five if she was a day.
First her blouse came off, and she flung it toward Jake. He put up his hands in an attempt to ward off her flying blouse just as her skirt landed on his head. Now dressed only in a blue polka-dot one-piece skirted bathing suit, she winked while going into a shimmy, moving directly in front of Jake, her honored victim. The guys hooted and hollered while Jake remained still as a statue. As the song came to an end, she spread her arms wide and attempted to do the splits, which never made it all the way to the floor. With her legs spread in an awkward wobbly V, she yelled, “And many more!”
Lincoln was doubled over laughing. “And many more?” Theo was afraid he was going to bust a gut. “And many more?”
Ethel staggered to her feet, panting and out of breath. “I usually do birthdays.” She stopped in front of Jake and kissed him on the cheek. “Congratulations, young man.”
Jake managed a courtly response. “Thank you, Ethel. You’ve made the night one I won’t forget.”
She gathered her clothes and started handing out business cards. “Tell all your friends, and have fun, boys.” Theo, along with everyone else, stood and clapped. With a final wave she scampered out of the room.
As soon as she was gone, Jake grabbed Lincoln. “I’m going to kill you.”
Linc didn’t seem worried. “Aw, come on, young man. What’s a bachelor party without a stripper?”
Jake shook his head. “That stripper might have broken a hip doing those splits. I hope you paid her enough money to cover medical bills.”
Linc caught him in a bear hug. “Nothing’s too good for you, buddy.”
Theo was listening to their good-natured ribbing when Donny Joe said, “So, I hear you used to be engaged to Irene Cornwell.” Donny Joe was smiling as they settled back into their chairs, but there was an edge to his words, a warning that he hadn’t decided if he approved of the situation.