Flirting With Trouble

by Leandra Logan

  As they rounded the corner of the building to enter, Amanda noted Rochelle’s car parked in the side lot. When she remarked on it, Ivy was quick to reply that Rochelle was a regular, along with most everyone between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-five.

  “She’s got such a crush on Brett. It’s a wonder she doesn’t find someone else at a place like this,” Amanda said.

  “She has to be on the lookout first,” Ivy retorted. She pushed open the heavy wooden door to a dark smoky room thumping with an instrumental beat.

  Amanda followed closely behind, taking in the bar to the left, the tables to the right and the large stage dominating the far wall. Small blue parrots were on display everywhere: wall murals, glowing centerpieces on the tables, wood carvings above the bar.

  Ivy leaned close to speak above the din. “I’ll get us a drink. What do you want?”

  “A vodka martini, straight up with a twist.”

  “How about something simpler, like a gin and tonic on the rocks?”

  “Think they can manage at least a wedge of lime with that?”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Amanda stood near the wall, scanning the crowded tables. She caught sight of a group from the clinic seated together not ten feet away. Her heart hammered a bit faster as she took an inventory of the patrons. Nurses Rochelle and Kaitlyn, nurse’s aide Sarah, and Doc Jack Graham. But no Brett. Ivy had whisked her out of the house before Amanda could quiz Della on any plans Brett might have for the evening. But she had hoped that he might show up here, so she could at the very least give him some static for stalking off on her.

  It was the cheery blond Doc Jack who spotted her first and hailed her. She held up a hand as if to stall him. She didn’t want to make a move without Ivy’s approval. As it turned out, Ivy was more than happy to join their table. She was grinning as she handed Amanda a tall, cool glass.

  “Don’t tell me you’re interested in Jack?” Amanda queried with new understanding.

  “I just might be.” Ivy nudged her along with an elbow. “Never considered him until lately, as he was tied up more often than not with Faith Barton. It was never very serious, but Faith taught at the school and I didn’t want to damage our friendship over a man. But Faith has since moved to Kansas, making Jack a totally free man. Wouldn’t hurt for you to sing the praises of young attractive schoolteachers, if the opportunity arises.”

  “You do realize you’d have his grandma Charlotte in the deal.”

  “I admit the lineage has driven off some fairly resilient contenders so far. But there are advantages. Charlotte would pound to the ground anyone who tried to hassle Mrs. Jack Graham and there would be an endless pipeline to the town’s most tantalizing gossip.”

  “All I can say is, he’d have to be really good in bed to make up for her.”

  Ivy slanted Amanda an old familiar smile from their wildest times. “He can audition for me anytime he likes.”

  Together they burst into schoolgirl giggles.

  The jolly crowd welcomed the pair. Rochelle even slid over a seat to open up two adjoining chairs. Amanda had to admit that even she seemed okay with their arrival. She suspected this might be due to the fact that she wasn’t Brett’s date for the evening, either.

  “Welcome!” Jack lifted his beer glass in toast. “Everyone ends up here eventually.”

  Amanda smiled. “I just had to find out what people were talking about. According to Ivy, this place is jammed with American Idol hopefuls.”

  Her remark brought a round of delighted laughter.

  “Rochelle’s husky voice is like liquid velvet,” Jack said. “The closest thing we have to Elvis.”

  The feisty redhead gasped and slugged his arm. “If you weren’t my boss, I’d—I’d—”

  “Snip his stethoscope?” Kaitlyn Miner peeped from behind her bottle of wine cooler.

  Jack reared in mocking affront as he became a figure of fun. “I believe I’ll have a talk with your husband, Kaitlyn. You shouldn’t be allowed out on your own with ideas like that!”

  “My husband is coming later on,” she announced. “To do his weekly gig of Beach Boy faves.”

  Groans greeted this news.

  “So where is my learned partner tonight?” Jack asked Mandy.

  She shrugged with forced gaiety. “I haven’t spoken to him today.”

  Rochelle cleared her throat. “There’s a rumor that you tore up the town with Tess yesterday after school, got her a big-city makeover.”

  “I didn’t say it that way,” Sarah Draper, the shy nurse’s aide, protested. She turned to Amanda. “I’m sorry, Mandy. I overheard Doc Hanson on the phone with Della and got the impression that he was unhappy with the way Tess turned out. Please believe me, I meant you no harm by repeating it. I was merely complaining to the gang here because he was so grumpy all day.”

  Amanda, in the business of reporting just that sort of reliable gossip on a larger scale with the nation’s most prominent celebrities, suddenly felt rather magnanimous about the mild betrayal. “No harm done, Sarah. What you say is absolutely right. Brett was annoyed with me for taking Tess to the salon. But in my own defense, I must say her hairstyle is darling and her little red toenails the cutest imaginable.”

  Tensions ’round the table subsided as quickly as they’d swelled.

  “So, Mandy, how is your novel coming along?” Rochelle asked.

  “Slow but sure. I’ve gotten Beatrice Flaherty involved and she’s been a great help.”

  Rochelle expressed surprise, then offered a rather begrudging smile. “That’s very kind of you. Beatrice is my cousin and I’m very fond of her. A project like this could give her a lot of joy.”

  Jack nodded approvingly. “She spent a lot of years nursing frail parents. Once they died, within months of one another, she couldn’t bear to be alone, so she sold the family home and moved into the Scherers’ boarding house. Never once in all the years did she ever take a risk of any kind, follow a dream.” He glanced at Rochelle. “This could indeed be her big chance.”

  Amanda gulped her drink, almost choking on the lime wedge. Beatrice’s joy? Her big break? She didn’t want that kind of responsibility. But in small towns, apparently people never stopped looking out for one another. And through her own action, she’d sort of adopted Fairlane’s spinster librarian!

  A short while later a man hopped up on stage and announced that karaoke time was about to begin. With a round of applause, the boarding house’s mailman, Mr. Stokes, grabbed the microphone and the melody for Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” burst through the sound system as the lyrics popped up on a giant screen over Mr. Stokes’s head.

  Ivy signaled Amanda that it was time for another round, then went to get it. The next tune was a soulful one.

  Jack leaned over the table to get Amanda’s attention. “Thanks for all you did this past week.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Putting up with Charlotte, filing all those forms in that tiny room.”

  “That tiny airless, windowless room?” she teased.

  Jack grinned. “It’ll all be different on Monday. You have both feet back on the ground and a new uniform all your own. Definitely prepared to represent us at the front desk.” He extended his hand over the table and she shook it.

  Ivy appeared moments later with two gin and tonics and slid into her chair beside Amanda. “So, were you making a fool of yourself gushing about me?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, why not?” Ivy took a sip of her drink, then stood again. “Guess I’m up next.”

  Rochelle smiled. “She always sings Cher tunes. The kick-ass ones.”

  Amanda nodded. “I can’t tell you how many of our college friends would like to be here for this.”

  “I suppose the kindergarten class would enjoy it, too.”

  Ivy took the stage and the mike. “I am doing Cher, of course. But I’m going to slow it down tonight with a tune called, ‘After All.’ It’s dedicated to two
of my closest friends.”

  Amanda’s first clue that something was happening was the change in Rochelle’s expression. As she stared over Amanda’s shoulder, her smile quickly began to fade.

  A hand touched Amanda’s shoulder. Slowly she turned on her chair to find Brett, dressed in a white polo and jeans, standing over her.

  “Care to dance?” he asked tentatively. “I suspect that dedication was meant for us.”

  Silently, Amanda stood and allowed Brett to take her hand and guide her to the dance floor.

  Gathering her close, he tipped his forehead into hers. “Hi, there.”

  “So you are talking to me again.”

  He lifted his chin. “Thanks for not letting on to the others that we have a problem.”

  “Oh, they already know. But not through me. The last thing I want to do is make things uncomfortable for you, Brett.” She paused. “Well, let’s just say that the last thing I want to do is tamper with your work situation.”

  Chuckling, he steered her slowly across the dance floor. “I saw you with Jack. Is he already cutting in on my territory?”

  “Yes. But it’s strictly business. He likes the way I handle Charlotte.”

  “You have been patient with her all week long.”

  Brett guided her along in a gentle sway. Amanda stayed silent, forcing herself to just stare at him. Long silences had always been a great way to prompt the celebrities she interviewed to talk.

  “What?” he finally demanded.

  “I’m just surprised that you’re here, I guess, even though you did sort of unofficially invite me the other night.”

  “I’m a bit surprised myself. The clinic was busier than most Saturdays. And then I returned home to find that Della had allowed Tess to go a friend’s house without my knowledge. It’s been one of those rough days a guy usually would just like to see end.”

  “Work, I understand. But is there something wrong with Tess going to a friend’s house?”

  “Don’t start in. Della already convinced me it’s a good thing.”

  “It is. I never got to do it much at her age, either. And when I aged enough to realize what I had missed, I wasn’t happy about it.”

  “Hey, she’s even staying overnight. I stopped there on my way with her things. I’m still a father in training,” he added. “Five years in and still learning as I go along.”

  “So have you come to realize that more likely than not I had good intentions with Tess yesterday?”

  “I never doubted you had good intentions. I just have trouble with your impetuosity.”

  “That’s part of my charm, running with my feelings. And Tess, being a little girl without a mommy, has really hit me where I live. I saw myself mirrored in her eyes as she pleaded for some attention, some female bonding. I was determined to go overboard pampering her, not only for her sake, but to prove I was worthy of your trust.” She paused expectantly, hoping that he would understand.

  His expression softened. “I still feel that you should have called ahead and checked things out with me.”

  “Oh, Brett…”

  “And I’d like to believe you’d have been gracious enough to accept my answer of no.”

  “For Pete’s sake!”

  He pressed a finger to her lips. “Never mind. The issue isn’t even negotiable. But I do realize that I overreacted and for that I’m sorry.”

  Plainly he wasn’t prepared to draw her closer. It was disappointing.

  He hesitated. “It’s just that I want to make decisions about Tess’s appearance. I figure if she gets used to that arrangement, she won’t go off and do anything radical later, like hair colors and piercings.”

  She chuckled. “That is so lame, Doc. Considering you’ve had twenty-four hours to prepare something.”

  “It’s the best I can do right now.”

  “So don’t tell me the truth.”

  He held her closer and twirled them deeper into the crowd. “The bottom line is, I realize I need to allow Tess more space to grow and I intend to follow through.”

  “Tess is doing fine. You’re the one who needs to grow,” she protested. “My guess is that no one in this town is out to hurt you. So the walls you’ve built up around yourself seem so unnecessary.”

  He smiled. “Okay, Mandy. Let’s have the whole thing out tonight. I’ll tell you all my secrets after you tell me yours.”

  She tensed in his arms. “On second thought, I realize I’m being greedy. You’re speaking to me again and that’s reward enough.”

  His mouth crooked sexily. “Don’t be so hasty. There are a lot of rewards that require very little talking.”

  By ten-thirty their table was jammed, chair locked against chair. Kaitlyn Miner’s husband Justin had shown up as well as Ivy’s landlord Oliver Pratt. Stories were being bandied about by all the clinic staff about nurses gallantly covering for a couple of prankster docs, and the docs were fighting back with tales of nurses hiding paperbacks every place. It was all exaggerated but in the best of fun.

  Amanda couldn’t help but note that Rochelle had grown extremely quiet since Brett’s arrival but she felt helpless against the other woman’s jealousy. Apparently, Brett felt her negative energy, as well, for he tried at length to get the nurse to laugh over office buffoonery.

  Finally, when Jack Graham took the microphone to belt out a jazzy rendition of a Bob Seger classic, Amanda suggested that Brett ask Rochelle to dance. Rochelle froze briefly at the offer, but stiffly followed him out to the dance floor full of gyrating adults.

  Ivy, seated at Amanda’s right, expressed doubt over the act of kindness. “Rochelle has no right to complain about not having her chance with Brett. She’s lived here all her life. She was one of the clinic’s original staff members when Jack took over three years ago and therefore has been available to Brett since he arrived two years ago.”

  “We will have to have some kind of working relationship,” Amanda reasoned. “Especially now that I’m being sprung from the file room to work out front. I figure it’s all about communication—with everyone on staff.”

  “Well, even if you weren’t having a thing, it’s high time Rochelle laid off him.”

  “I only wish he and I could get away from here, to make things up properly.” As the song wound down, Amanda stood. “I think I’ll go to the ladies’ room. Be right back.”

  Amanda wended her way back to the bar area and discovered the rest rooms in a corner just to the right of the entrance. She was reapplying her makeup several minutes later when the door popped open and a redhead charged inside. Amanda winced. It was Rochelle.

  “You were really tearing it up on the floor,” Amanda said pleasantly.

  “You actually told him to dance with me, didn’t you?” Rochelle’s enraged image appeared beside hers in the long mirror above the row of sinks. Her pale freckled face was full of angry red splotches.

  “No—”

  Rochelle smacked the vanity top. “Oh, knock it off. I’m not some pity case, Miss City Airhead.”

  Amanda flushed with anger. “You had a huge head start on me, Rochelle. If Brett wanted you, he had plenty of opportunity to show it.”

  “Oh, is that what you think? Well, we’ve had a good relationship for quite some time.”

  “He hasn’t been really dating you, has he?”

  “Not the way you probably mean. But a man doesn’t have to take a woman to bed to prove he cares deeply for her.”

  “No, but it sure is fun.”

  Rochelle shook a clenched fist, which bore her high school class ring in an honored place on her left ring finger. “It’s not fair the way you are distracting him. I am hardworking, stable. I can provide him a nice home and children.” She shook her head ruefully. “Your ditzy type is liable to toss him aside once the fun wears off.”

  “You’re wrong!” Despite Amanda’s cry of denial, she was stricken by the thought that someone like Rochelle might be better for a practical man like Brett in the long run.

/>   As if sensing her rival’s uncertainty, Rochelle forged ahead. “Brett hasn’t dated anyone regularly for heaven knows how long. He’s found his comfort in hanging out with the work crowd. We dance often, without prodding from the likes of you. We’re good together. We understand one another, in a deep way you can’t begin to understand.” Rochelle leveled a finger in her face. “Think about everything I’ve said. Maybe the best thing you can do for Brett during your little visit here is to stay out of the sack!” With that she spun on her heel, flung open the door and charged out.

  Amanda slowly returned her cosmetics to her purse as her mind whirled with clashing suppositions. If Brett was fond of Rochelle, he would have made love to her by now, in the privacy of her own home. Why, he had made love to Amanda at the boarding house, even though he felt it was inappropriate due to the gossip it might stir up. On the other hand, Rochelle and Brett did share their dedication to medicine. After a hard day at the office, he could share his troubles with her and she would understand.

  But was professional understanding what Brett needed most? She’d never once heard Rochelle laugh in a lighthearted way or make light of any situation. Some considered laughter the best medicine, which was something Amanda could provide in high doses.

  Amanda found this internal war most enlightening. She’d seriously begun to imagine a long-term future with Brett, wondering if she was worthy of the job.

  It was the first time in her life she’d ever wondered if she measured up, rather than vice versa.

  She emerged from the rest room to find Brett pacing in the dark alcove at the entrance. She collided with him as he strode forward.

  “Everything all right?” he asked.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Rochelle just about mowed me over a minute ago.”

  “That’s what you get for loitering near the ladies’ room. Didn’t they teach you caution in junior high?”

  “Okay, don’t tell me what went on.”

  “I think you already know what went on. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t get that infuriating twinkle in your eye at the very idea of two women in the heat of battle.”