Curiouser (Girls of Wonder Lane Book 3)

by Coryell, Christina

  My eyes immediately dart to his face, partially shaded under the hat but still recognizable in an instant. His hair isn’t falling over his collar anymore, but those eyes are the same.

  “Cody?”

  “You’re a ways from home, aren’t you Alexis?” He peers at me, his eyes sweeping the interior of my car. I can’t help but notice that they come to rest on Bailey’s place in the back seat.

  “Just a mile or two,” I say, watching as his eyes slowly move back to me. “I live here now.”

  “I think I knew that,” he casually comments, his forearm resting against the top of the door. “Your sister told some of the guys back home.”

  That simple statement makes me wonder exactly how much Cody knows.

  “So, you have a kid?” he asks, gesturing to the car seat behind me. Absolutely no beating around the bush, but I guess it’s better to throw it all out in the open anyway.

  “Yes, a daughter. She’s four.”

  “And you’re not married?” He straightens a bit after asking the question, clearing his throat. “I didn’t see a ring. And your last name’s the same.”

  Instinct causes me to glance at my left hand, even though I already know there’s absolutely no jewelry there.

  “Not married,” I confirm.

  “Divorced?”

  “No.”

  My face heats a little. A complete and utter betrayal by my nervous system.

  “Huh.” He trains those hazel eyes on me, barely staying in the shadows of his hat, and I force myself to look at him. “Guess things change, don’t they?”

  “Yes, they do,” I answer without skipping a beat. “Who would have thought you’d become a law enforcement officer? You never could pass a test without help.”

  He smiles, and I’m hopeful that it’s just enough of a push to get past the uncomfortable topic of a few seconds ago.

  “Still willing to point out that you’re smarter than me,” he jokes, tapping his fist on the top of the car. His laugh isn’t as easy as I remember, but it still sounds familiar. As he pauses to take a breath, he sobers a little. “What happened that night? You were supposed to wait for me.”

  Unconsciously, I focus on the cars whizzing by. Red, white, another white.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I told you to wait for me and I’d be right back. I had to take Mindy to her brother’s house because she didn’t have another ride. By the time I got there, you were gone.”

  “You came back?”

  “You honestly thought I wouldn’t?” He glances back at the road behind him, as though he’s realizing there are still cars speeding past us. “No sense wasting time, right? You seeing anybody?”

  It’s just a normal breath entering my throat, but the impact of his words makes me choke on it. I cough three times, and he actually sticks his hand in the car and pats me on the back. So abjectly humiliating.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, his hand settling on my left shoulder and sitting there, impossible to ignore even though I force myself to pretend that I don’t notice.

  “Sure, I’m okay. And no, not seeing anybody.”

  He pulls a pen from his pocket and makes a show of clicking it in front of my face before he holds it out to me. “Here. I just need you to autograph this. And make sure you write your phone number.”

  “Are you giving me a ticket?”

  “Do you want me to?” He offers that familiar crooked grin, and I feel a small smile tugging at my own lips.

  “Of course not.” Placing the pen against the pad of paper he handed me, I hold the tip to the page and can’t seem to make my fingers move. Sadie’s voice rings in my ears. Don’t be plumb stupid, Alexis.

  But she doesn’t know what I know, right? He just admitted that he didn’t leave with Mindy after all. He came back, but I was already gone because I’d jumped to conclusions. I was with Jake. It was me. I was the one who didn’t wait.

  Except it’s not even about that, Sadie’s voice taunts. He already proved he wasn’t worthy of you, remember?

  The pen sits stone-still on the paper, my mind warring as Cody waits. It tastes of revenge, making Cody wait a little. The vindictive part of me wants to tell him that he had his chance a long time ago. The self-preserving part of me tells me that I should hand the pen back and tell him politely to have a nice life. But there’s still that teenage girl living somewhere inside who prayed so hard for Cody. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that he pulled me over today, when the girls of Wonder Lane just convinced me that I might be able to see myself dating someone. Maybe this is the answer to my prayer, just a decade too late.

  Better late than never, right?

  The good looking ones don’t ask twice, Heather’s voice sounds in my head.

  So the pen starts moving, even while I have trouble deciding, and I find myself handing my number to the hope of a second chance.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jake

  The wide open room is fairly empty this early in the morning, which I sort of expected. Normally I show up with Annie, Harley and Ryan, but this morning I needed to be alone. I sit three rows from the back, not in a pew like the church my granny used to attend, but in a gray metal folding chair. It’s not particularly comfortable, but I didn’t come here because I’m looking for comfort. There’s really no good explanation for why I’m here, at least that I can think of at the moment.

  Alexis came back from spending time with Annie and her friends yesterday, and I could tell something changed. Bailey rattled on about what we did at the park, and something about her mom’s face told me that she was a little distracted. She was in some sort of mood, but not a happy or sad mood. Just off.

  Last night, after we ate dinner and Bailey fell asleep, I was hoping to spend some time with Alexis. Maybe even get into some tough subjects and sort out how she felt about certain things. Then the phone rang, and everything changed.

  She has a date with Cody next Friday night.

  Alexis has a date with Cody, and I said of course I could watch Bailey. I usually come over anyway, right?

  Not what I wanted to say. My instinct was to question his motives, worry about her judgment in going out with the guy, and tell her he shouldn’t get a second chance. How could I say that, though? Sure, the guy treated her like dirt in the past, but no worse than I have. Since I don’t want to condemn myself, I try to remind myself not to be too harsh on him.

  Still, I can’t stand that guy.

  Leaning forward, I place my elbows against my knees and drop my head to my hands. It shouldn’t come as such a surprise, really. Things were going too well. Somehow I convinced myself that it didn’t matter if Alexis is too good for me. As long as she didn’t realize it, I could live with that. But she’s too good for Cody, too, and that fact is going to drive me flat crazy.

  A hand touches my shoulder, and I twist my head to the right, glancing up to see Duke. His graying beard stretches a good six inches past the neck of his T-shirt, and as I look back down I notice dust on the toes of his chunky black boots.

  I move over to the next seat, making room for him beside me. While he plants himself next to me, I cross my leg and place my right foot on my left knee, trying to appear a little nonchalant. Probably too late, since he felt the need to single me out.

  “How’s Jake today?” he asks, bringing a small smile to my lips.

  “I’m good. You?”

  “Right as rain, but I don’t believe you. Usually guys who are having good days don’t crash church early just to hang out alone.”

  “That obvious?”

  He chuckles as he crosses his arms over his midsection. “I could guess the main offenders, I suppose.” He grabs the end of his beard like it’s going to help his train of thought. “Money trouble, work problems, or the most likely culprit, which is a doozy.”

  His guessing game strikes me as funny. “What’s that?”

  “A woman.”

  It’s impossible to stop the laugh from echoing a
cross the room as I shake my head. I glance around, just to make sure no one’s tuned into our conversation. “Just for argument’s sake, let’s say there’s a girl.”

  He nods slowly but doesn’t look in my direction. “Okay. What’s she like?”

  “She’s one of those who never does anything wrong. Probably been reciting Bible verses since she was ‘knee high to a grasshopper’, as my granny used to say. Beautiful, inside and out.” I pause as something starts to click inside my head, and I feel the guilt clutch at my chest.

  “She has no idea,” I mutter, trying to process the thoughts rolling through my mind. “She doesn’t realize how fantastic she is, and it’s my fault.” Duke looks over like he’s going to correct me, but I continue before he has a chance. “That’s why her going out with Cody bugs me, right? Because he reminds me of myself? I want to protect her from a guy like me?”

  “Are you really so bad?”

  A simple question, which my ego silently answers with a resounding “no.” My conscience isn’t quite so hasty to answer.

  “It seemed like we were talking about something similar last week, weren’t we?” Duke clamps his hand on my shoulder so he can obtain my full attention. He’s just intimidating enough that he earns it. “Mistakes and failures and flat-out wrong choices. The cross was the punishment for all of it. Well, except that one thing. What was it again? That thing it didn’t cover?”

  It’s impossible not to recognize his trick question, since I well remember last week. The topic resonated with me enough that Ryan and I had a two-hour conversation when it was finished, after which I called Cole to get his take on the subject. I ended the day reading that Gideon Bible in my hotel room until my eyes wouldn’t focus.

  “It covered everything,” I tell him quietly. “All of it.”

  He squeezes my shoulder before removing his hand. “Yeah, that’s right. Seems to me, in that case, it would make more sense to thank Him than to try to work off debts that are already paid.”

  Rather than driving his point home, he stands and gives a simple nod of his head as he walks away.

  A couple scoots into the row of chairs in front of me, talking to one another, and music begins playing from the speakers in front.

  Something makes me think about my granny again. I can almost picture her face while I tell her that I’ve been reading the “good book,” as she called it. Embracing the cross and everything it represents.

  Honey, my heart’s done tickled pink, I hear her voice in my head.

  It’s enough to keep me sitting here silently as people mill about me. A few of them pause to tell me hi, and I return their smiles and then go back to my thoughts. Eventually Annie taps me on the shoulder, and as I rise to prepare to greet Harley and Ryan, instead I stop in my tracks.

  “Alex,” I say, taking in the sight of her glowing skin and her hair falling softly over her shoulders. She looks light and happy, a fact that both encourages and disheartens me at the same time.

  “Jake? I’m surprised to see you here.”

  “Jake’s been coming with us for a while,” Annie pipes up, moving over to make space for Alexis. She moves past me and sits in the chair next to mine, balancing Bailey on her knee.

  “The two people church doesn’t like,” Alexis says, offering a rather shy smile from mere inches away. It would be easy to wrap my arm around the back of her chair. Maybe rest my fingers on her shoulder.

  “Don’t be nutty,” Annie tells her, poking her in the arm. “We love you guys.”

  Bailey lowers herself to the floor and climbs up onto my lap, smoothing her blue dress over her knees. “Can you take me to someplace fun soon?”

  “Sure,” I say as she wraps her arms around my neck. “How about Friday night? I’ll take you somewhere nice. Maybe you can wear one of your dresses.”

  “Really?” The top of her head rests just under my chin, and I hold her a little tighter. “Thank you, Daddy.”

  My throat constricts, and I focus on the stage, knowing I can’t look at Alexis. Bailey’s words caused instant emotion, and I’m afraid to see her reaction.

  I know my own, though. Instinctively I look upward, knowing I have much more to thank God for than I ever thought possible.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Alexis

  She looks far more prepared for this than I am. Makeup expertly applied, with the liner extending just to the corner of her eyes and her lashes curling up to make dark frames. Glowing skin with a delicate blush to her cheeks and a touch of crimson on her lips. Navy blue dress with a scoop neck and sequin detailing at both the hem and the bottoms of the sheer sleeves. No, never mind. There go the goose bumps over her arms. Now spreading to her bare legs. I watch as she bends to rub her shins, trying to force the telltale signs of nervousness to abate.

  “Mommy?”

  Averting my gaze from the mirror, I hastily stop rubbing my leg and rise to my full height.

  “Bailey. You need help?”

  “Uh huh.” She turns around so I can button the back of her Cinderella-style light blue dress, and as I lower myself carefully so I don’t twist my ankle in my strappy gold high-heeled sandals, I feel the familiar prick of tears stinging the inside corners of my eyes. I’ve been battling them all week, it seems. Every time I think about Bailey crawling onto Jake’s lap in church and calling him Daddy.

  The timing of that was almost unfair. Each night since then I’ve caught myself staring at him, wondering how me trying to move on with my life is going to affect his relationship with Bailey. If I do start seriously dating someone, he’s going to come out on the short end. How can I have him over here all the time?

  Then I remind myself that I could allow Bailey to spend time with him separately from me, and my heart constricts. Losing even five minutes of my precious time each night with Bailey seems like a terrible option. If it came down to that, I’d have to sacrifice my love life for my daughter. Not even a question.

  As I struggle to rise on my heels, I begin wondering all over again why I’m going through this charade.

  “Pretty pretty?” Bailey asks, spinning in a circle.

  I sniff as I shake my head to try to bring myself back to the present. “The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

  “Where’s Daddy taking me?”

  There it is again, an exclamation point on all my insecurities.

  “He said it was a surprise,” I choke out, forcing a deep breath into my lungs. So deep, I can actually feel the fabric of the fitted dress compressing my chest. Why did I let Annie talk me into this outfit? Just because I have a friend with access to fashionable clothes doesn’t mean I have to wear them. And a good three inches above my knees, practically alerting Cody to the fact that I’m trying desperately to get his attention.

  “I like prizes,” Bailey tells me matter-of-factly, oblivious to the fact that I’m having a mini-meltdown. Inwardly, anyway.

  A knock on the door sends my attention scurrying back to the mirror. Why did I let Annie put those strategically-placed-to-look-random waves in my hair? They’re so predictably ridiculous. I might as well announce to the world that I’m trying to be one of those chair occupiers for the Oscars. Oh, Julia Roberts needs to use the restroom? Bring in the girl who’s overdressed for no practical reason.

  The knock sounds again, sending me into a new level of panic. Jake doesn’t stand out there and knock like that. He knocks twice, fairly loudly, and then lets himself in. It has to be Cody.

  My knees feel like they’re disconnected as I make my way to the door, moving slowly in the heels. With my legs slightly wobbly, I run the risk of breaking an ankle. That thought and the sheer hesitation I feel toward greeting Cody war within me as I think about letting him in. But I have to, don’t I? I turn my back to the door and raise my shoulders as I take a calming breath, twisting the doorknob before I lose my nerve. Slowly facing the door, I halt as I see a huge bouquet of pink daisies, and then my eyes move higher to lock not on those hazel eyes I remember from
math class, but on the blue eyes I’ve become familiar with lately. The ones that fade from aquamarine in the center to cobalt blue on the edges, hedged in by that brown border that sprinkles into the blue here and there.

  The flowers move down to his side, and something within me shrinks. It’s awkward meeting him like this, and his silence is telling.

  “I know,” I offer preemptively. “Annie helped me get ready, and I look—”

  “Beautiful,” he finishes, surprisingly sober. No hint of a smirk or that flirtatious tone. It’s just enough to halt my justification, and to cause me to fully see him instead of worrying about myself.

  Jake McAuliffe, standing on my doorstep wearing a fitted black suit with a tie. Looking irresistibly perfect, with the exception of his tie being a little crooked. My fingers reach out to straighten it before I manage to order them to stop. The slow smile that creeps onto his face is all I need to set me at ease.

  “I’m impressed,” I say quietly, finishing with the tie and running my palm against it to smooth it out. “Do you always start your dates this way? In a suit and bringing flowers?”

  “Never. But I am pretty crazy about this girl.”

  He offers a wink right before Bailey squeals behind me. I move out of the way so she can see him, and he steps inside to offer her the flowers. The way her face beams, I’m not sure I can take much more without starting over on my makeup.

  “Mommy, can my flowers get a drink?” She cradles them in her arms as she carries them to the kitchen, so I follow her to grab a tall glass to place the stems inside. We don’t have any vases in the house. I’ve never had a use for one before.

  “Bailey Nicole, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier girl in all my life,” Jake states from somewhere behind me. She responds by carrying her shiny black shoes over to where he’s standing, and he kneels so he can help her slide them on. I can’t seem to make myself move from the kitchen, simply watching the two of them bond without me. The thought is such a sweet ache that it has me shaking my head again to try to avoid crying before my date even starts.