Mandy responded with true interest. “No! Really? No…”
“Most Saturday nights at the Blue Parrot Lounge. Makes a real f-o-o-l out of herself. I’ll take you over there one day soon.”
Mandy glanced at the patronizing gift of a notebook, then at Brett. “I’d like that very much.”
“You’d like my chili if you’d give it a chance,” Della mumbled. “It’s quite unique, a little sweet, a little hot.”
A sudden urge to give Mandy some heat came over Brett. He hadn’t played games with a woman in quite some time. In fact, it almost felt like an out-of-body experience as he scooped up a spoonful of chili from the extra untouched bowl and carried it to the end of the table where Mandy sat among the ceramic ruins.
Waiting until she set down her tweezers, he gently touched her face. “C’mon, now, do it for Della.”
Mandy’s eyes met his. To his delight, she opened her mouth and allowed him to spoon-feed her.
Tess giggled. “Feed her more, Daddy.”
Tess’s voice broke the thread of energy between them. “Never mind,” Mandy said brightly, moving down the table to her reserved chair, which happened to be directly opposite Brett’s.
“You know what they say,” he murmured. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Her green eyes now flickered with unexpected fire. “That goes for both sexes. And all kinds of heat, too.”
The only adult who seemed completely smug after that was Della.
Brett generally went to bed when the other boarders did, around eleven-thirty. There wasn’t much to keep him awake, aside from television or the odd emergency. Parenting and work were his only two passions and both required early morning wakeup calls. Tonight was exceptionally warm for September, so he’d kept his window open an inch to enjoy the fresh air.
Stretched out on his mattress, dressed in cotton lounge pants, he tried to settle into the safe, quieting comfort zone that always led to sleep. The occasional car could be heard outside along Geranium Parkway, the odd bark of a dog. All to the background of the rhythmic creak-creak-creak of the porch swing below.
No one ever sat on that swing at this hour. So it had to be her.
Mandy had mentioned she was the nocturnal kind, active well into the night. Not that her habits would be tested here in Fairlane, where things were buttoned up by ten o’clock during the week.
Creak-creak-creak.
He struggled to banish the image of her seated down there by herself, dressed in that little satin sleep set, swinging gently in the breeze, legs propped up on the seat. At least that bum ankle should be propped up. Perhaps as her physician, he should make quite sure it was.
In record time, Brett was standing in front of the swing with a bottle of beer in each hand.
“Oh, Doc! You startled me.”
“Just thought you’d like a little company.”
“Sure.” She took the bottle he handed her, but her first sip was very tentative, as if beer was something new.
Brett noted with some satisfaction that she was just as he’d envisioned, stretched out on the long swing, dressed in her white satin tap pants and top. She was wearing her hot pink coverup, too, but it lay open, serving, in his opinion, as an enticement rather than a concealment.
“C’mon, pull up a plank.” As she struggled to right herself, he swiftly moved in to stop her.
“You’re fine. I’ll just sit beside you.” He dipped onto the seat and adjusted her feet on his thighs. “There. Perfect.”
They swung gently in the warm stillness, sipping beer. Brett glanced at her profile in the wan glow of the porch light the Scherers kept on all night. He’d never seen her without makeup before. Though a bit faded without color, she was still a beautiful woman.
She continued to stare at the starry sky even as she spoke. “What are you thinking, Doc?”
“That this swing could use some oil.”
She glanced at him then. “Hope the squeaking didn’t wake you.”
“Well, I did find myself counting the squeaks. And it wasn’t proving as soothing as counting sheep might.”
“Think the whole house is bothered?”
“No. I’m the only one who sleeps with a window open at this time of year.”
She turned back to the starry sky, so he did, too. There were so many things about her that intrigued him. If he could just get her talking, he might begin to satisfy his curiosity. But only begin to, as a woman like Mandy Smythe was bound to be a lifelong mystery to mankind.
“When I first picked you up off the boulevard, I didn’t think we had a thing in common,” he said.
Mandy laughed softly. “And what on earth do you now believe we have in common?”
“Well, for starters, we both find Ivy a bit of a pain at times.”
Her laughter grew deeper, sexier. “Sending you home a portrait in polka-dot boxers was pretty sneaky.”
“As was your gift of a steno notebook. Are you really writing a book?”
“I am! I just don’t like to be pushed.”
“You and Ivy were close back in college?”
“Very close. Losing contact with her was a loss and a mistake.”
“Bet you were surprised to find her in a dinky town like this one,” he remarked casually.
“Yes! I—” She stopped cold.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Something, surely.”
“Ivy probably fits in just fine. I can only speak for myself when I say the small-town experience is a new one.”
“Pretty obviously so.”
“Really?”
“Gave yourself away the minute you rode into town in tight pants and golden high heels!”
“I get it. The old fish-out-of-water giveaway.”
“Right. Though a mermaid flapping her tail in the wrong pond sounds nicer.”
She grew defensive. “I do have good reasons for being here, Brett.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“The book is going to happen.”
“Right.”
“Even if there is more to the story, I’m only a threat to myself.”
“Now, there, you are wrong.”
She turned to him with a searching look that made his heart skip.
“You know what I mean. The little sparks flying between us.”
“As if it’s all my fault, Chili Man. Touching my face that way…”
“What way? This way? He reached over and tenderly stroked her cheek as he had in the kitchen.
Kissing her suddenly seemed the most natural thing in the world.
Brett took her empty bottle and his own and set them on the porch. Leaning back, he drew her close and pressed his mouth to hers.
She responded eagerly, softening against him.
Heat rose quickly between them. Soon they were flat out on the long swing with Mandy on top. It had been so long since Brett had felt this sort of sexual charge from a woman. Cupping her face, he kissed her urgently, thoroughly, absorbing her taste, her scent. He thought he’d go mad as she writhed on top of him, soft skin and slippery satin rubbing against his rough chest hairs.
It was with supreme regret that he caught her hand as it began to slip into the elastic band of his lounge pants. She was surprised by his gesture, naturally, as he was in full erection. Ever so gently, he eased them both into a seated position.
Breathing heavily, he tried to explain. “This isn’t right.”
“Don’t you want me?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Then it is right. For both of us.”
Brett’s biggest regrets in life were made on emotional highs like this one. He’d learned to be more cautious. “I didn’t expect a kiss to lead so far so fast. I’m not ready. Sorry.”
She flung a hand in the air. “It’s like this town moves in slow in motion!”
“Which is something I like about this town. What’s your hurry, anyway? Don’t you intend to stay awhile?”
She sighed in resignation. “I do intend to stay, Brett. There is nowhere on earth where I’m truly wanted or needed at the moment.”
“Then be patient. A more practical place and time will happen along.”
“Gotta warn you, I’m not very practical.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
Urging her head to his chest, he stroked her soft mane with a shaky hand. “This is nice too, right? Sitting here talking, swinging?”
“Decompressing so you can stand without my crutches.”
“So, have you begun to make any solid plans, since this morning?”
Lazily, she gazed up at him. “Not really. I rested, unpacked. Fixed a statue. Thought that was enough.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about you all day. It’s clear you don’t have the money to support yourself, with Ivy paying your freight.”
“I will manage.”
“How? Certainly you can’t expect Ivy to support you for any length of time on her meager salary.”
“Ivy insisted on writing that check to Della.”
“I’m sure she did, as a temporary fix for an old friend.”
“Brett, can’t you please just butt out?”
“No. I meant it when I said everyone pulls their own weight around here.” He tapped her nose. “I’m only telling you now so you don’t fall flat on your face. And leave me in a huff.”
“Why do I think you have an answer to my so-called problem?”
“As it happens, we—meaning my partner Jack Graham and I—do have an opening at the clinic, for a receptionist.”
She sat up straight and pressed a finger to her chest. “You want me to work at the clinic?”
“Is the job beneath you?” He fumed as she thought it over. “Honey, you aren’t going to make a dime lying around here all day, scribbling in a steno notebook! I dug through your wallet for an insurance card back at the motel, so I know you have no credit card or real cash. You’re just going to have to do something. At worst, I could absorb your medical treatment, but the Scherers are a different story.”
“Okay, okay. Message received. Loud and clear.”
“So you’ll take the job?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Brett grew anxious. “That sounds like a yes. Is it a yes?”
“Settle down. I’ll give it a shot.”
“We’ll all benefit,” he assured her happily. “And it’ll be nice having you around the office. If you like, I can tell you about the staff right now.”
Her green eyes glazed over with disinterest. “It’s gotta be past your bedtime, Doc.”
He exhaled. “Actually, it is. You need your rest, too.”
“You go along. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
Brett kept the door ajar once he reached his bedroom so he could hear Mandy’s crutches thumping down the hallway. Once satisfied that she navigated her way safely upstairs, he closed his door tight and picked up the telephone. He paused, noting that it was well after midnight, then dialed anyway.
“Hey, Jack. Sorry—”
“Brett! It’s okay. I’m still up reading.”
“About Mandy.”
“Don’t tell me you already found the chance to talk to her.”
“The opportunity came along…rather unexpectedly. And it went like a dream. She is coming to the office with me first thing tomorrow, set to start her training as admissions clerk. If all goes well, we’ll finally be rid of Charlotte’s true confessions tactics at the front desk.”
“Excellent job.”
“Now it’s your turn to act. To explain it all to her before we arrive.”
“Run it all by me again, the logic I’m to use.”
“Charlotte heard Rochelle complaining about the medical services given to Mandy on Sunday without proof of insurance or payment. And she heard me say that it’s likely Mandy can’t afford to pay the clinic at all. So it’s a simple case of telling Charlotte that poor Mandy intends to work off her bill and generate some income. Underneath her bluster Charlotte’s all mushy, has a broken-wing fixation. How can she resist a woman wearing an Ace bandage who is flat broke?”
“You go ahead and make the call, Brett,” Jack urged. “You’re all warmed up on the subject. Charlotte’s always awake till one, watching the soaps she taped.”
“No, partner. I found the perfect pigeon. The rest is up to you.”
Jack groaned. “All this time, we’ve felt that nothing short of dynamite would blast Charlotte out of the office cockpit. And all our small overtures to possible receptionists have sent women running for cover. Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“We have to keep trying, Jack. Patients have always been horrified by the way Charlotte bandies about their ailments and doles out her old wives’ tale remedies to the entire waiting room. But the younger generation is about to riot over it. Mandy’s appearance is pure luck. She doesn’t know a thing about Charlotte or her hold on the office—the town. She’ll dive in without a qualm.”
“But will it be worth our while? This Mandy is just visiting.”
“She claims to be staying put for the time being. I don’t see her flying off anytime soon.”
“I suppose even if she does decide to leave abruptly, we’ll have wrenched the reins out of Charlotte’s hands. It won’t be so impossible anymore to ease in another new receptionist.”
“Sure,” Brett agreed. But he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Not anytime soon.
Chapter Seven
“Look! She’s got the Halloween thing on her face!”
Lying flat on her back in bed, lost in the zone between sleep and awareness, Amanda made out the voice belonging to Tess.
“Remember it, Daddy?”
Brett was here, too? His deep, masculine chuckle confirmed it. His proximity sent a series of quick, sharp, electrical currents down Amanda’s spine as she remembered last night’s intimacy.
“That’s not a Halloween mask, Tess,” he was now chiding gently. “It’s a sleep mask of some kind.”
“What’s that mean? It makes you go to sleep like the apple in Sleeping Beauty?”
“Well, no.” He sounded stymied. “Guess you could say it helps a person relax by keeping the eyes in darkness.”
“You should touch it. It’s all squishy.”
There was slight dip on the mattress and Amanda felt pressure on her right cheekbone. A small finger perhaps?
“See, Daddy? Squishy.”
Reaching up, Amanda awkwardly undid the mask and pulled it off her face. “Hello?” she croaked, slowly opening her eyes.
Tess’s nose lovingly grazed her cheek. “Hi, Sleeping Beauty.”
“Yes, good morning, Mandy!” Brett chimed in.
“What time…”
“It’s 6:00 a.m.”
“Again?”
“Comes every morning right about now.”
Tess took hold of the mask and held it up to her own face. “Frank likes the Lone Ranger. But his mask has holes. Can I show this to Frank?”
“Do you mind, Mandy?” Brett asked.
“Go ahead.” Amanda waved Tess off with a jerky motion. She was in the habit of awakening slowly, privately. True, she had made an exception yesterday for Ivy, but she hadn’t seen her in several years. Even her snoopy maid Helga would never barge in this way uninvited.
Rising on her elbows, she struggled to sit up. “Do you want something special, Brett?”
“I figured you’d want a heads up,” he explained. “To perhaps use the bathroom before Beatrice.”
Amanda rubbed her face. “Why would I want to do that?”
“She has quite a routine with her makeup. And you wouldn’t want to be late for your first day of work.”
“You expect me to start right away?”
Brett looked perplexed. “Naturally.”
She absorbed the news in discontent. “Like today?”
“Like yes. We had a firm agreement last night.”
They had a lot of things
last night. A beer. A nuzzle. She had been so into him she would have promised him just about anything. And apparently had.
So now it was payback time. He hovered like a thundercloud about to burst open. “Don’t tell me you’re reneging.”
“Ah, no.” She hedged. “I mean, not exactly.”
“You can’t expect Ivy to go on paying your rent.”
“Of course not—”
“And you can’t expect to run a tab with Della.”
“But there is my book project,” she croaked feebly.
“We covered this ground last night. You won’t be making money anytime soon with a steno notebook full of romantic scribbles about a big-city girl wronged.”
She set her chin stubbornly. “Still, you gotta admit, the plot is a compelling one.”
He leaned over, placing one hand on a bedpost, the other on the mattress. “Very lifelike. Still, we must all pay our dues one way or the other.”
The Pierponts hired people to pay their dues for them whenever possible. There were the accountants who personally wrote out checks for all the bills. There were the representatives who walked dogs, bought groceries, made appointments—even kept them whenever feasible.
Working at an entry-level clerk’s job when she had a few thousand dollars in her suitcase seemed especially ludicrous now, at this jaw-jarring hour of the morning. But the reality was clear. Staying hidden from the world was going to take some real effort. All it would take would be one Fairlane resident getting too nosy about her situation, taking the trouble to put the pieces together.
“About those dues, Mandy,” Brett pressed. “Going to pay up or not?”
“You always so concerned about everyone doing their fair share?”
“Yes. Stay here long enough and you’ll find duty to community contagious.”
Amanda gazed into Brett’s dark blue eyes. It was always her first impulse to decide how best to manipulate her sparring partner, seize the upper hand. But Brett was different than all the others, challenging her to be good, responding to her coy tactics with strength and wisdom. There was something quite masterful about the way he handled his affairs—handled her.
“Okay, Doc. You win.”
Quite amazingly, all traces of thunder vanished from his face. Suddenly he was bright and sunny, positively adorable. “That’s my girl!” With a tap to her nose, he was gone.
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