The Grand Opening

by Ava Miles

  “When they get here,” she replied with little imagination.

  Of all the nights, of course tonight was the monthly dinner with her new family. It would be a smaller crew than usual because Arthur had called at the last minute, saying he needed to stay at the newspaper and finish a story and couldn’t bring the bread, and Meredith and Jill’s parents were heading back to town late after a day–long shopping trip to Denver. She’d asked Brian to bring the bread, since nothing was better than his fresh baguettes. She prayed to God he wouldn’t wince when he tasted the chicken she’d made. All she’d done was dump Italian dressing on it and pop it in the oven. Cooking for a chef intimidated her, and she didn’t intimidate easily. Tanner and Meredith were bringing the green stuff, and Jill and Brian were bringing the dessert, in addition to the bread. God, please let it be chocolate.

  A knock on the door made Keith squeal and run for it, reminding her of the Road Runner. She squared her shoulders and tried out a smile. She was so not giving anyone so much as a whiff that something was off with her. What had happened with Maven would stay in that office of his. She refused to indulge in any traitorous mental replays of his mouth and hands on her. Her body was still crying from the interruption to their…what the hell should she call it anyway? Madness? Hormonal attack? No, that sounded too much like PMS.

  The logical Peggy had been relieved by his sister’s interruption. The sex–starved woman inside her still wanted to howl at the moon or do something crazy—like roll around in Keith’s kiddie pool to cool off.

  The front foyer sounded like a group booking at the sheriff’s office, so she headed over to greet her guests.

  “Hey,” she cried as she was given as many hugs and kisses as a newborn coming home from the hospital. It still felt weird after growing up in such a non–demonstrative home.

  “Brian made double chocolate cake with triple chocolate macadamia nut ice cream just for me,” Jill announced.

  “It’s her theme.” Brian rolled his eyes. “Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Any form, any time, any way.”

  “Stop bitc—complaining,” Jill said in a good save. They’d agreed on no bad words around Keith.

  “You read my mind. And I see you have a shelf for the food,” Peggy commented wryly. Jill was balancing the cake and ice cream on her bump, with the baguette at a jaunty angle on top. “I think you’re even bigger than you were last weekend.”

  “Twins,” she cried, linking her arm with Meredith’s. “It’s like having two small trees in here. Seedlings growing into oaks. Just you wait, sis, twins run in the family.”

  “Trees? Jillie, I thought you were having girls.” Keith stared at her stomach as if it might contain aliens.

  “She is having girls. She’s only using a simile.” Tanner gave him a high five. “Your teacher taught you about those in English class, remember?”

  Meredith jerked her arm free. “Your scare tactics won’t work. I’m not having twins when we finally decide to get pregnant. Right, hon?”

  Tanner picked Keith up and threw him in the air, making him squeal like a banshee. “Exactly. It’s all about the power of the mind.”

  Jill thrust the food at Peggy, snorting. “Things don’t always go the way we plan, but sometimes they turn out perfect all the same.” She waddled over to Brian and gave him a smacking kiss on the lips. “Right, babe?”

  Brian’s grin could have graced a bridal magazine showing a newly married guy doped up on the love drug. Had her ex ever looked at her like that? Peggy didn’t think so. Even Tanner had walked around with that look on his face after his wedding to Meredith. Her intense, serious brother couldn’t have surprised her more.

  “Let’s eat,” Jill announced.

  “Another theme of the past few months,” Brian interjected.

  “I’m eating for three,” she reminded him.

  “Dinner’s that–a–way,” Peggy announced, although everyone knew it.

  They chowed down, passing the food back and forth. The guys had a couple of helpings apiece. Peggy’s smiles grew easier over the course of the meal. She nearly managed to block out the images of Maven. Then they had dessert, and as soon as the dark chocolate cake hit her mouth, she had a flash of his tongue melting over hers like the frosting. Her face heated. God, she was losing it.

  Jill grabbed her napkin and fanned Peggy. “You’ve got my problem. It’s like the babies take all the cold and leave me with the heat. Let me help.” She reached into her drink for an ice cube and leaned over to put it down Peggy’s collar.

  “Don’t you dare! I will so take a pregnant woman down,” Peggy warned her, laughing in loud gusts as she tried to evade her friend’s slippery hands.

  Using her new weight, Jill leveraged Peggy against the chair. She got a grip on her collar and popped the ice cube in. The arctic streak actually felt like nirvana against Peggy’s heated skin, but she protested to keep up appearances.

  Jill’s face contorted for a moment, making Peggy think the babies had given her liver a swift kick or something.

  “God, Peg, you got bit by some gigantor mosquito.” She tugged on Peggy’s collar again. Her mouth formed an O. “Is that a hic—” Her face froze. She shot a sheepish grin as Keith zoomed over.

  “Let me see!” her son begged. “We’ve got huge bugs in the backyard. Mom says the mountains make them mutant.”

  “It’s a…hiccup,” Jill recovered terribly. “I’ve got hiccups.”

  Brian nudged her. “Sure you do. Nice one, Red. Hey Keith, let’s go throw the ball around in the backyard. Leave the womenfolk alone. Tanner?”

  Peggy didn’t know what was worse. The shock of actually having a hickey—jeez, was she fifteen?—or having her friends know. Oh, and lying to her son. Maven was dead meat.

  Her hand yanked her collar up as Brian led Keith outside, taking his attention away from her, thank God.

  Frowning, Tanner rose slowly to his feet. Great, big brother syndrome never seemed to go away.

  “Take care of those hic…ups, Jill,” he said, following Brian and Keith onto the deck.

  Peggy lurched from her seat and bolted to the bathroom. Mirrors never lied. The big, red mark on her neck couldn’t have been more obvious.

  Mosquito bite, her ass. Maven had bit her? She couldn’t recall when. Somewhere between insane and really crazy. What in the hell had he been thinking? What in the hell had she been thinking? Had she bit him? She hoped he had a “mosquito” bite the size of a big country like…Greenland or something.

  Her gaze strayed from the mark to the Hale sisters. They stood in the open doorway with their arms crossed like identical twins.

  Meredith’s eyebrow rose. “Tell, tell.”

  “There’s only one man in town big and strong enough to bite Peggy and not be dead,” Jill mused in a terrible John Wayne voice, “and I didn’t hear about her killing anyone today on the news.”

  “Oh, shut up.” Since Jill had zero control over her mouth—and worse, she worked for Maven—Peggy had to make something up, and quickly. She turned from the mirror and leaned back against the vanity. “It’s not what you think.”

  “This girlfriend cries, bullshit,” Jill sang. “You and Mac finally went at each other. It’s about time.”

  “Seriously, Jill, shut up.” Peggy ducked her head, mortified by the heat in her cheeks. She never blushed.

  “Look, don’t feel bad. It’s like you two were in a pressure cooker. Everyone knew the top would finally blow off.”

  “A pressure cooker? What am I? A pot roast?”

  Jill snickered.

  “Everyone knew?”

  Meredith shrugged. “You two are positively flammable around each other. There should be a warning sticker.”

  “But we never say anything—”

  “Exactly!” Jill rested her hands on her protruding stomach. “You two have ignored each other for months. It had to stop sometime. The whole moose thing changed the status quo. You were fighting for your lives together—”

/>   “It was a moose, Jill. Not a serial killer.”

  “Whatever. There’s way too much attraction between you two for it not to explode. You’re like Vesuvius!”

  “This is crazy,” Peggy muttered, trying to brush past them.

  In silent agreement, the sisters blocked her way. “You hurt him, so he got all silent on you,” Jill said. “You’re scared of how he makes you feel, so you ignored him right back. Don’t you think it’s time to try something else?”

  “I think they just did,” Meredith mused. “Seems like it got pretty heated if he marked you. Did you…” She gestured with her hands.

  “Give each other the bird?” Peggy asked drolly.

  “That was supposed to be that banging–a–chick sign guys always give each other.”

  Jill’s laughter exploded. “Oh, Mere. It’s like this.” She made a fist and banged it into the air in a pretty lewd way.

  “I cannot believe we’re standing in my bathroom talking about hickeys and making male banging signs. I feel like I’m at the sheriff’s office.”

  Jill and Meredith started laughing. Peggy couldn’t help herself. She finally joined them.

  “So how was it really?” Meredith asked when the laughter died.

  “Crazy,” she replied honestly. “And it’s never going to happen again.”

  “A hundred bucks says it will,” Jill replied.

  Peggy crossed her arms. “See, that’s what happens when you start working at a casino. You start betting on every confounded thing… This topic is closed. I’m going to join the guys.”

  “Tanner’s going to be weird about this. I could see it on his face,” Jill commented as they all stepped out of the bathroom.

  “He’s her big brother.” Meredith slid the patio door open.

  Sure enough, Tanner gave her a look as soon as they emerged from the house. She felt like she was a teenager again, coming in a few minutes past curfew. Dammit, he’d always waited up for her when she was on a date. After their father split, Tanner had been more to her than her big brother. He’d raised her and David. Too bad he’d been little more than a kid himself. Kinda like Mac and his sister, the thought of which only made her want to snarl. Stop invading my thoughts, she silently yelled in her head.

  “Hey, Jill!” her son called. “Come play with us. Brian taught me how to do a thumb ball.”

  “It’s a knuckle ball, Keith,” Tanner corrected.

  “Sorry, I can’t,” Jill announced, dropping into a chair. “Someone knocked me up.” She wagged her finger at Brian.

  Keith dashed over to join them. “Are you telling a knock–knock joke, Jillie?

  “Gosh no, I hate those. Never tell a knock–knock joke, Keith. It’s like being in the Humor Torture Squad. Brian and I will have to take you out.”

  “Not if you can’t catch me.”

  He streaked off.

  “Fat chance. Literally. I could out–waddle a duck maybe. I hate this part of pregnancy. It’s like aliens have taken over my body. I miss seeing my feet.”

  “Well, at least you can’t complain about how big they are,” Meredith mused.

  “When did I do that?”

  “Like all the time when they hit size eleven in seventh grade. Bri, back me up.”

  “You did, babe.” He darted away when he said it, like he was worried Jill would throw something.

  She waved her fist. “I’ll get you my pretty. Later.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  “I’ll roll over and squash that trim body.”

  “Good one, Red.” He darted up the deck and kissed her smack on the mouth.

  “Don’t leave a mark.” She looked pointedly at Peggy. “Wouldn’t that be cute? A preggers chick with a huge hickey.”

  Peggy expected her cheeks could have been an ad for Red Lobster. “Okay, enough. Seriously. I will kill you.”

  “Don’t hurt my bride. Enough talk, Jill. Come play with us, Peggy.”

  She jogged into the yard, catching the ball Brian winged her way. She executed the whole pitcher motion and hurled it into his mitt with a smack.

  “Got some heat on that one.” He rubbed his hand.

  No kidding. She had more heat than they had baseballs.

  Chapter 10

  When Peggy heard the knock on the front door, she frowned. Was Tanner picking Keith up early for the baseball game? It wasn’t even six o’clock yet. He hadn’t eaten.

  “Keith,” Peggy called as she dredged chicken pieces in flour. “Will you answer that?”

  Enraptured by his favorite TV program, it took him a moment to acknowledge her request. Peggy called it the Cartoon Delay—something about imaginary worlds, color, and music altered the synapses in the brain. Her kid usually moved at light speed, his brain processing a heck of a lot faster than hers. But not when he was in what she referred to as Tube Thrall.

  He turned to her with glassy, unblinking eyes. “Sure, Mom.” His sneakers squeaked when he crossed the linoleum.

  “Be right there,” Peggy called, speeding up her “dunk and dredge” motion. The pan popped grease as she arranged the chicken strips in the pan. Nothing said summer like fried chicken. The gunk on her hands always required some serious scrubbing. She cocked an ear to hear who it was while she lathered up her hands.

  “Hi, Mr. Maven,” Keith piped. “Mom! It’s Mr. Maven and some other people. Come on in.”

  Usually his good manners and welcoming spirit would have pleased her. But the name made her frown. She touched a wet hand to her hickey, carefully hidden by a high–neck shirt. Damn if the man’s mark hadn’t forced her to cover herself up like a nun in this heat. Her own internal fire rose—not from lust this time, but pure, pissed–off rage.

  She strode into the hall, ready to send Keith back to his cartoons and then rip Maven a new one for showing up at their home. The sight of his companions stopped her in her tracks. His eyebrow rose like he knew she was raring for battle.

  “Peggy, I was just introducing Keith to my sister and nephew. You’ve already met them—unfortunately under less than desirable circumstances.”

  They all looked like a bunch of panther people, all of them with the same jet–black hair and stoplight green eyes.

  “Hello again,” Abbie said like they were meeting after church. “Dustin, you remember Deputy McBride.”

  The hunched shoulders conveyed the fact that he’d rather be anywhere but her house, but he met her gaze without flinching. “Deputy McBride, I want to apologize for what happened the other day.”

  Since no sixteen–year–old talked like that, she suspected he’d had help.

  “We came to make amends for putting you in…” Maven smiled at Keith. “A challenging position.”

  Abbie grabbed her son’s hand. “Dustin, please tell Deputy McBride how you’d like to make it up to her.”

  He toed his red sneaker into her carpet. “I’d like to mow your yard for the summer and do any other yard work you might need.”

  “Awesome!” Keith all but yelled. “Mom hates mowing the yard. I told her I’d do it, but she says I need to eat more spinach first. I’ve told her Popeye is so not cool.”

  Keith’s pandering for attention gave her a moment to process the situation. Maven watched her with somber eyes, never looking away. The middle of her back suddenly itched. She ignored it.

  “It’s really not necessary.” She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her shorts, suddenly unsure of what to do with them. “I’ve already spoken to the…right people.” Discussing sheriff matters in front of Keith was something she never did.

  “Thank you for that.” Abbie strode forward. “But we want to do something for you. I’m a single mom, too, and I know how much it means to have one less chore around the house. Plus, Mac’s right. Dustin put you in a difficult situation. He should make amends.”

  She cast a glance at Keith, whose smile had faded. He was studying all the adults, clearly trying to process the subtext. Little ears had a way of understanding things th
ey didn’t need to know about yet.

  “Keith, why don’t you go back and watch your show?”

  “I’m fine here,” he replied.

  “Keith.”

  His face fell. “Okay, Mom.” His slow gait back to the kitchen magnified the silence in the hallway.

  “Dustin, maybe you should wait outside too,” Peggy said.

  Abbie gave her son a forced smile. He lowered his head and headed out the front door.

  Peggy crossed her arms. “I didn’t want to say this in front of him, but I’m not sure I want my son spending time around a kid who’s stealing cars and taking them out for joy rides.”

  Abbie’s body tensed as if she had used a whip on her. Peggy had a moment of regret—not for speaking the truth, but for hurting another mother.

  Maven put a hand on his sister’s shoulders and squeezed. With that one touch, Peggy knew how close they were—a team—and that anything affecting Dustin twisted their guts. Her back itched something fierce. Dammit, she didn’t want to see this side of him.

  “This is the first time he’s ever done anything like that. To make sure it never happens again, we want him to understand that there are consequences for his behavior—personal and legal.” Mac ran a hand through his hair. “Either Abbie or I will come over with him to mow. If you want to keep Keith out of the way, that’s fine.”

  Abbie wrung her hands. “He’s a good kid. I know you don’t think much of us, but…please let us do this. This is our home now. We want to be…neighborly.”

  Peggy caught the edge in her voice. She suspected Abbie knew what she’d done at the city council meeting. Still, she was trying to do the right thing. Peggy admired that.

  “Does he know how to mow?”

  Mac snorted. “Of course. He doesn’t have a PhD in it. Would you like him to go through advanced training?”

  His razor–sharp tone made her want to snarl, but his sister didn’t need to witness their…banter.

  She crossed her arms so she wouldn’t fidget with her T–shirt’s hem. It felt weird to be around him without her uniform on. “You might think it’s funny, but I had a heck of a time starting the mower when I first tried. I wanted to run it over with my car.”