by Gina Wilkins
Leslie had loved Fayetteville from the time she’d first come here as a student at the University of Arkansas, and had eagerly accepted a job with a local law firm upon her graduation from law school. She deeply regretted now that she’d allowed her head to be turned by the enticements of the bigger and more prosperous firm in Chicago. She winced as she remembered the way the people there, influenced by the hard-nosed senior partners, had treated her during her family crisis. She strongly suspected that everything would have been different had she remained with the small, laid-back firm here.
Leaving here was only one of the many mistakes she’d made in the past eighteen months.
Turning to his mother after the Havertys drove away, Tom said, “Well, since we’re all dressed up, there’s no need to rush home. Why don’t we go out for a wedding dinner?”
Nina smiled and shook her head. “Thank you, dear, but I have things I must do this evening.”
Tom nodded and glanced at Leslie with a faint smile. “Looks like it’ll be just the three of us, then.”
Leslie pulled Kenny’s exploring fingers out of the neckline of her suit jacket. “Better pick a place that’s baby-friendly,” she warned lightly. “Kenny’s not quite ready for quiet elegance.”
A smile lighting his eyes, Tom wrinkled his nose, and for a moment he looked exactly as Leslie had remembered him. Her heart twisted at the reminder of how much he had changed.
“I’m not really into quiet elegance myself,” he commented. “I think Kenny and I will be able to choose a place we both like.”
To Leslie’s surprise, he reached out and took the baby from her arms. “Come on, kid, I’ll strap you into your seat,” Tom said to the baby. “Guess I’d better get some practice at this sort of thing.”
Judging from his dimpled grin, Kenny seemed perfectly content to be practiced upon by Tom.
“He’s going to be such a good father,” Nina murmured, stepping to Leslie’s side as they watched Tom carefully deposit Kenny in the car seat he’d transferred from Nina’s car to his own vehicle.
Leslie’s breath hitched.
Nina patted Leslie’s hand. “I know I’ve said this before, but you made the right decision to come to Tom for help, Leslie. I have a very good feeling about this custody battle. I know you’ll win, especially now that you have my Tommy on your side.”
“Tom’s been very kind,” Leslie said, just a bit stiffly. “I’ll never be able to repay him for helping me this way. And I’m grateful to you, as well. You’ve been so supportive, and it must have been difficult for you to watch Tom make this sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?” Nina glanced from Leslie to Tom, who was laughing as Kenny kicked happily in his seat, hampering Tom’s efforts to strap him in. “I don’t think you realize that Tom needs you and Kenny every bit as badly as the two of you need him now,” she murmured. “Trust me, dear, I am pleased with this marriage for many reasons.”
Leslie turned impulsively to face Nina. “What’s happened to Tom?” she asked quietly, urgently. “Why has he changed so much since I left?”
“You’ll have to ask him that.”
“But I’m not imagining things, am I? He has changed.”
Nina shook her head sadly. “No, you aren’t imagining things. He hasn’t been the same since...”
She bit her lip, then brightened when Tom’s laughter drifted their way again. “But everything’s different now. He has you and Kenny, and I can see that he’s taking this commitment very seriously. He needs you, Leslie,” she repeated. “That’s how you can repay him. Just be there for him, as he has been for you.”
Leslie wanted to reply that she didn’t know how she could help Tom when she didn’t even know what had happened to him. But before she could speak, Tom rejoined them, making a production of breathing heavily and wiping his brow. “Wow. That was like trying to stuff an octopus into a leotard,” he said. “Takes quick reflexes, doesn’t it?”
Leslie laughed at his analogy, thinking that it, too, sounded like something the “old Tom” would have said. Maybe Nina was right, she thought. Maybe Tom did need Kenny to bring the joy back into his life. Kenny had certainly brought joy to Leslie.
Whether Tom needed her—well, that remained to be seen.
Nina had to stop at a service station on her way home to fill the tank of her little economy car. Truth was, she had nothing pressing to do that evening, but she’d thought Tom and Leslie should spend some time alone after their wedding.
Their wedding. Nina sighed and shook her head, her ash-blond bob brushing softly against her cheeks. Hard to believe her son was a married man now.
Nina wished, of course, that the wedding had taken place under different circumstances. That she could be certain Tom had found true love and happiness. And yet, something told her that this marriage was right. That Leslie and Kenny would be good for Tom. That they would be able to slip through the cracks in that protective, invisible wall Tom had built around himself. He’d allowed Nina inside only briefly during the past months, and she believed she was the only one who’d had that privilege. She suspected that all Tom’s friends—even Zach—had been politely, but firmly, shut out.
She unscrewed the cap from her gas tank, then fumbled with the nozzle of the hose. She truly disliked filling her tank, but years of necessary economizing had left her almost incapable of being frivolous with her money. She simply refused to pay extra to have someone do something she was perfectly capable of doing for herself.
She had just slid the nozzle into place in her tank, when a man spoke from behind her.
“Would you like some help with that?”
Looking over her shoulder, she saw Steve Pendleton watching her, a bit uncertain of her reaction to his offer.
“I just filled my own tank,” he explained, waving toward a luxury car parked out of the way of the other customers. “I was about to drive away, when I recognized you.”
“Oh. Well, thank you for your offer, but I can handle this. I do it all the time.” She squeezed the handle to start the flow of gasoline. The fumes rose around her, making her sneeze. “I always sneeze when I smell gasoline,” she said ruefully.
Steve smiled. “It’s not my favorite odor, either.”
Studying that very attractive smile, Nina swallowed a sigh. He seemed like such a nice man. But Nina couldn’t help remembering the fear in Leslie’s eyes when she’d worried that she might lose the baby she’d come to love as her own. Steve Pendleton had driven Leslie into a desperate marriage of convenience—which meant that Leslie was Nina’s daughter-in-law now, and Nina’s full allegiance was with her.
“Mrs. Lowery—”
She didn’t bother to correct him about her marital status. “Yes?”
“I wonder if I might buy you a cup of coffee.”
Her fingers fumbled on the handle. She kept her eyes on what she was doing as she asked, “When?”
“Now. If it’s a convenient time for you, of course. I notice there’s a little diner just down the road. It looks like a decent place.”
Nina glanced down the street toward the Red Hog Diner, a popular hangout for the firefighters who worked at the station nearby—the station to which her son had once been assigned. The owner and most of the customers knew Nina there. She wasn’t at all sure she wanted them watching her have coffee with a man they didn’t know.
The gas pump clicked to signal that the tank was full, and she took her time replacing the nozzle and the gas cap.
Only then did she turn to look up at Steve Pendleton. Way up. He was a full foot taller than her own five feet, and while she wasn’t physically intimidated by him, she felt a definite disadvantage. “Why would you want to have coffee with me, Mr. Pendleton?”
“ ‘Steve,’ ” he corrected her. “And I just want to talk.”
“Talk about what?” she asked suspiciously.
He shrugged, looking a bit lost. “Your son claims that he’s going to marry the woman who has my nephew. I guess I just want to kn
ow that little Kenny is in good hands for now.”
“I think you should know that Tom and Leslie were married this afternoon,” she informed him. “I’ve just come from the wedding.”
She watched as some of the color drained from his face. “They’re married?”
“Yes. A judge who is a close friend of my son’s performed the ceremony.”
Steve’s mouth twisted, his expression bitter. “I suppose your son has a lot of close friends in the legal system here.”
“A few,” she agreed evenly. “But your custody dispute will be a fair one, Mr. Pendleton. Tom and Leslie will have no trouble convincing a judge that they can provide a very good home for Kenny.”
He sighed, and there was a dispirited, unhappy look in his eyes that touched her, despite her best intentions. Nina had always been too softhearted for her own good. It was a trait she acknowledged, and occasionally regretted, but it was definitely interfering now. She should be sending Steve Pendleton on his way, refusing to have anything to do with the man who was causing Leslie so much stress and anxiety. But he looked so lonely...
Maybe, she thought, knowing she was reaching for rationalizations, she could actually be of help to Leslie and Tom if she had coffee with Steve. Perhaps he would listen to her and consider dropping the custody case. Maybe this entire situation could be settled amicably.
Nina bit her lip, considered that angle for a moment, then slowly nodded. “All right, Mr. Pendleton. Steve,” she corrected herself when he frowned. “I’ll have coffee with you. We need to talk. But not at the diner. I know too many people there and we wouldn’t be able to speak without interruptions.”
“I’ll go anywhere you want,” he said, sounding a bit weary. “Just give me directions. I don’t know this town very well.”
“You can just follow me,” she answered, taking her courage in both hands. “We’ll have coffee at my place. There are quite a few things I want to say to you.”
Tom and Leslie chose a popular Italian chain restaurant on busy Highway 71 for their wedding dinner. It was early for the dinner crowd, so they didn’t have to wait long for a table. A perky young college student brought an infant high chair for Kenny, and commented that they certainly had a beautiful baby. Tom merely smiled and thanked her, then picked up his menu.
A portly man in a police officer’s uniform passed the table, paused and greeted Tom. “Hey, Tom.”
Tom glanced up and smiled. “Hey, Bill. How’s it going?”
“Can’t complain. What about you? You look good. Feeling okay?”
Leslie was a bit surprised at the solicitousness in the older man’s voice, but Tom only shrugged.
“Doing great. Thanks,” he said.
The officer glanced at Leslie, open curiosity in his faded blue eyes, then nodded. “I’ve got to be going. Enjoy your meal.”
Tom made no effort to detain the man or to introduce Leslie. As she pretended to study her menu, she wondered how he would act when they ran into someone who knew them both. Tom had lived in Fayetteville all his life, knew an amazing number of people here. She’d met many of them when they’d dated. What would Tom say to those who would be surprised to see them together again? How would he possibly explain?
“What about you, Les?”
Hearing him say her name, she lowered her menu. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
He gave her a look that chided her for her inattention. “I said the lasagna sounds good to me tonight. What would you like?”
“Oh. The cannelloni, I think.”
“You seem very far away. Second thoughts?”
He spoke lightly, but she knew he meant the question seriously. She glanced at Kenny, who was dozing in his seat, his pacifier in his mouth. “No,” she said. “No second thoughts.”
“Good.” He set his menu aside. “Did I mention that you look beautiful today?”
She surprised herself with a blush. “No. And thank you.”
“I should have said it earlier.”
The young server came to take their orders. She smiled at Kenny and said, “Is your baby always this good?”
“Yes,” Tom said.
“Not always,” Leslie answered at the same time.
Their server laughed and walked away.
“You haven’t seen Kenny on one of his bad days yet,” Leslie informed Tom. “He can be a real little grouch.”
Tom shrugged. “How difficult can a little guy like this be?”
Leslie winced. Tom had a lot to learn about babies yet. She’d learned quite a bit herself during the past four months.
“Tell me about your life in Chicago,” Tom said when their meals were in front of them.
Leslie tilted her head in question. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” he said simply.
She laughed, then realized he was serious. She began tentatively, not wanting to bore him with minor details...but it quickly became obvious that he wanted even those, for some reason. So she told him about her early, insecure days at the law firm. How difficult it had been to make friends in a tense and competitive atmosphere. The teasing—some good-natured, some cruel—about her Southern accent. She told him about the time she got lost in a particularly bad neighborhood of Chicago and worried about getting out alive. And she told him some of the good things—the very nice people she’d encountered away from the office, the museums, the food. Pizza and chocolates.
With his encouragement, she talked more about Crystal’s illness. About the hours spent in medical waiting rooms. About the long nights she’d stayed awake to talk to Crystal to distract her from her pain and fear, and had then tried to work the next day on less than four hours’ sleep. She talked about Kenny’s birth and the concern that he would be too small or that something would be wrong with him. About the first time she’d held him in her arms, and had tumbled hopelessly into love. About the night he’d come home from the hospital and had cried all night, until finally Leslie and Crystal had cried with him. About his first smile.
And then she described Crystal’s last days. The pleasure Crystal had taken in having her tiny son nearby, even though she’d been too weak to even hold him for more than a few minutes at a time. Her last words had been to Leslie. “Take care of Kenny.”
Because Tom listened with interest and understanding, Leslie was able to tell the story without tears. She was even able to smile when she talked about her panic at the staggering moment of awareness that she was suddenly wholly responsible for a tiny baby. Her smile died when she talked about Steve Pendleton’s arrival in Chicago only two weeks after Crystal’s death, and his cold demand that Leslie turn over his nephew immediately.
“You, of course, told him to go to hell,” Tom remarked with a slight smile.
“Among other things.”
“And then you thought of me.”
She drew a deep breath. “Then I thought of you.”
Tom swirled the last drop of wine in the bottom of his glass. “For the first time since you left here?”
Leslie dropped her hands to her lap and twisted her fingers tightly together. “No.”
A taut silence stretched between them for a moment, and then Kenny began to squirm in his seat. The pacifier fell out of his mouth, and he puckered to fuss. Avoiding Tom’s eyes, Leslie reached for the baby. “He’s probably getting hungry.”
“Do you have a bottle with you?”
“Yes, in the diaper bag.” She lifted the baby from the high chair and set him in her lap. Tom dug in the small blue vinyl bag Leslie carried everywhere and pulled out a disposable bottle. He removed the sanitary plastic covering from the nipple before handing the bottle to Leslie. Kenny spotted the bottle, gave a demanding squawk and reached out with chubby little hands.
“You’re so impatient,” Leslie chided playfully as she poked the nipple into the baby’s mouth. His hands closed around the bottle, which Leslie supported for him as he began to nurse with noisy enthusiasm.
“When will he start t
o eat real food?” Tom asked, watching the process from across the table.
“He should start with some cereal pretty soon. He seems to be getting hungrier between bottles.”
“We’ll have to find him a pediatrician here,” Tom said. “I’ll ask Sherm to recommend someone. He and Sami checked out dozens of them before their baby was born last month.”
Leslie looked up in surprise. “Sherm and Sami have a baby?”
“Yeah. A little girl. Katiya. Katie, for short.”
“Sherm must be very proud.”
“Oh, yeah. He—”
“Tom?” A young woman who’d been passing the table behind a hostess practically skidded to a stop. “Hi. I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”
During the months Leslie had dated Tom, she’d grown accustomed to having women pay a great deal of attention to him. Tom and Zach had been the local golden boys, very eligible bachelors. This woman, who was probably in her mid-twenties, wasn’t as stunning or glamorous as some of the ones Leslie had seen come on to Tom before, but she was pretty in a wholesome, girl-next-door way. Her brown hair tumbled softly around a heart-shaped face dominated by big brown eyes, and her mouth was full and curved into an engaging smile. Leslie could see how Tom could be attracted to the woman.
She glanced surreptitiously across the table, and fought a frown when she saw that Tom was smiling at the woman in a way that told Leslie that this was someone special to him. She told herself that it was ridiculous to be jealous. It wasn’t as if their marriage was a traditional union. She had fought jealousy the entire time she’d been with Tom before, probably due to the insecurity she’d felt because he had never really shared his feelings with her.
She looked down at Kenny, though her attention was focused on Tom and this woman.
Tom seemed to have frozen for a moment. And then he started to rise. “Hello, Kim.”
“Don’t get up,” she urged him quickly, waving him back down. “I won’t interrupt your dinner.” Her voice rose just a bit at the end of the sentence, changing it into a subtle question.