2 On the Nickel (20 page)

Lexy stared at me through a handful of forks. “Daddy’s coming to dinner? Here? At our house?”

Sunny cheer infused me from head to toe. I was too happy to be mad at Charlie for insisting on dinner. “He asked if
he could come. I said yes. It’s no big deal.”

Lexy shook her head. Her brown
eyes rounded. “It is a big deal. He’ll think you’ve forgiven him. Is that what
happened? You’re going to marry him again?”

“What’s this?” Charla came flying in the kitchen, her curly red hair springing in every direction. “You’re getting
married?”

I stirred the gravy. If you
didn’t pay close attention to gravy making, inedible lumps formed. “I’m not getting married. I invited your father to dinner. That’s all.”

Charla whooped for joy. Then she
hugged me twice. She happily danced around the kitchen. “Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. I knew you and Daddy would get back together.”

I’d been so worried about
Charlie’s reaction that I’d overlooked how the girls would view this. “We’re
not together. I’m dating someone else now, remember?”

“Rafe Golden,” Lexy said, as if
Charla had forgotten.

“But you’re not married to him,”
Charla declared. “Daddy still has a chance.”

Charla’s optimism rubbed me the wrong way. I put down my wooden spoon, moved the gravy pan off the burner, and faced her.
“The chances of me getting back together with your father are zero. He cheated
on me. He slept with another woman while he was married to me. That’s the worst kind of lying there is. I won’t ever forget the pain he caused me.”

“He didn’t mean to hurt anyone,”
Charla said loyally. “He told me so.”

“He’s an adult and he knew what
he was doing. I want you to have a good relationship with him, but you need to
understand that our marriage is over and done with. Once trust is broken, it’s
almost impossible to repair it.”

“You didn’t say it was
impossible,” Charla insisted. “There’s still hope.”

My shoulders slumped. “Charla,
wake up. I’m not the naive woman I used to be.”

“That’s okay, Mom. Daddy’s not
the man he used to be, either. He wants us back.”

I raised my hand in protest. “It’s
not going to happen. You aren’t listening to me. You are setting yourself up
for a major disappointment.”

“Don’t worry about me, Mom.” Charla flashed me a sparkling smile. “Nothing can be more disappointing than my
parents getting divorced. I believe you guys will get back together again.”

God save me from bright-eyed
optimists. “Lexy? Do you understand?”

She grabbed a handful of knives.
She brushed her chin-length dark hair behind her ear. “I understand just fine.
Daddy screwed up. He cheated on you. Now he’s alone, and it sucks to be him.”

I patted her back, reassured I’d
communicated the truth to someone. “Good girl.”

Charla shot us both disapproving
looks. “You spoilsport pessimists are all alike.”

* * * * *

If you didn’t count the seating
arrangements, dinner went well. I’d put the men at opposite ends of the dining
room table, thinking Charla and Lexy would sit beside their father while Mama
and I flanked Bud Flook. Charla had other ideas. She’d snagged the seat by Bud,
leaving the only open seat next to Charlie. Madonna lay next to the far wall
where she could keep an eagle eye on me.

I could have demanded Charla
switch places with me, but I felt so good about today’s progress that I didn’t
want to ruin the occasion by making a scene. I endured Charlie’s smug
satisfaction through the main course. After bowls of mint chocolate chip ice
cream, Charlie surprised Lexy with her digital camera.

Her face lit up like Mama’s last
birthday cake. She dashed over and jumped in his lap with youthful exuberance. “Thank
you, Daddy.”

I couldn’t remember Lexy acting so carefree and happy in recent months. Joy had been conspicuously absent
from her life these last two years. That realization stung. Our divorce had
hurt the kids in ways I hadn’t realized. Tears misted my eyes, blurring my
vision.

Charlie had the gall to smile at me. As if I would fall for that dimple in his cheek. Not hardly. I collected the empty bowls and
headed to the kitchen. Staying busy would keep the past at bay, keep the
present safe.

He followed me. “Would it be so bad, Cleo?”

I shot him a frosty glance as I
opened the dishwasher. “Not going to happen. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

He stepped closer, trapping me between him and the sink and the dishwasher. His familiar scent filled my lungs. “I’m not
giving up.”

Headlights flashed on the kitchen
window as a car pulled into the driveway. I stared him down. “You’re wasting
your time,” I said.

“I saw the longing in your face
when Lexy saw her camera,” he said. “Admit it. For that moment, we were a family again.”

It sucked that he was right. “I
appreciate what you did for Lexy, but you can’t buy your way back into my good
graces. It won’t work.”

He touched my arm, caressing it
lightly. “It will work. You’ll see.”

At the sound of a brisk knock, I
skirted around Charlie to answer the kitchen door. A large bouquet of
wildflowers greeted me. I glanced through the fragrant blossoms to see the man
I loved scowling at me. I reached for the flowers and his hand before he could
turn away. “Rafe. How wonderful to see you. Wow. Flowers.”

“Sorry I’m late. I got hung up at
the course.” Rafe hovered on the stoop, indecision stamped on his angular face.
“I didn’t realize you’d made other plans.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see
Charlie standing right behind me. He wasn’t going to mess this up for me. Not wanting to take a chance on Rafe getting away, I grabbed the front of his golf shirt and
pulled him close for a hello kiss. “Please come in. I’ve got a ton of food.
I’ll fix you a plate in a jiffy.”

The men exchanged last names and eyed each other. The tension in the air escalated as if these two dogs were fighting
over one bone. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Charlie,” I grumbled. “Go see if Lexy
needs any help with the camera you bought her.”

For once, Charlie obeyed.

Rafe stuck his hands in his
pockets while I loaded his plate with food. He sniffed appreciably. “Looks like
someone went all out on dinner. All the food’s the right color.”

“I cooked.” I smiled up at him,
brimming with goodwill and cheerfulness now that we were alone. “We’re
celebrating.”

“Oh?”

I stuck his covered plate in the
microwave and poured him a glass of iced tea. “Charlie came up with a lead that
might clear Mama. It seems that Eleanor—you remember perfect Eleanor?”

Rafe smiled. “Child genius, prom
queen, Virgin Mary–hogging Eleanor?”

“Yeah. That Eleanor. Well, you’re
never going to believe this. She’s broke. More than broke. She’s deeply in
debt. So deep her clinic is gonna fold. We think she killed her mother to get
her mother’s money, only her mother didn’t have any money. Perfect Eleanor
isn’t so perfect after all. I called Britt, and he’s checking it out.”

“Sounds good.” Rafe studied me.

His close scrutiny worried me. Was this about Charlie being here? I thought we’d already cleared the air on that. “Would
you like to eat in here or join the family in the dining room?”

He shrugged. “Here’s fine. Dinner
smells great.”

I joined Rafe at the kitchen
table. “Thanks. I’m glad someone appreciates my boring cooking.”

“Tastes delicious,” Rafe said
between bites. “I love your cooking.”

Warmed by the compliment, I stuck my nose in the flowers and breathed deeply. The fresh scent reminded me of summer sunshine and carefree days. A smile welled up inside me. “I really appreciate the
flowers. I can’t remember the last time anyone brought me flowers.”

“Glad you like them. You look a
lot drier than this morning.”

“Ya think?”

“Good to see you smile, Red.” He
reached across the table for my hand and held it.

I squeezed his hand in
reassurance. “I’m fine. We’re fine.”

“Are we? I keep tripping over
your ex.”

“Charlie wants you to think that,
but there’s nothing there. I’m in love with you, Rafe Golden.”

Rafe’s eyes heated, and he kissed
the underside of my wrist. I shivered in delight. He cared. Boy, did he care.
Joy spiraled through me.

“Mom, have you seen my
cheerleading shorts?” Charla burst into the kitchen at full speed, slowing to a
crawl when she saw Rafe. “Oh. Hello.”

“Hello,” Rafe said. He shoveled
the last of his meal into his mouth.

“My shorts. Mom, have you seen
them?”

If Rafe had come here expecting quiet time with me, he was in for a disappointment. Even so, I wouldn’t
abandon him to search for Charla’s cheering duds. “Sorry, dear. I haven’t seen
your shorts. Did you check the floor of your room?”

“Not yet. Daddy said he’d drop me off at cheerleading practice tonight.”

“Daddy seems to be scoring points
all around today,” I said flippantly.

Beside me, Rafe stiffened. I
chewed my bottom lip. Why had I opened my big mouth? Even though we were
dating, Rafe wasn’t family. That’s what I kept coming back to. Family. Charlie
was scum as a husband, but because of our mutual love for our children, he was
still family. Rafe wasn’t. But I hoped he would become family.

“Daddy’s the greatest,” Charla
said. “He’s getting me a laptop.”

My mouth dropped. “He is?”

“Yeah, but I have to share the
color printer with Lexy.” Charla ran out of the kitchen.

A laptop and a color printer.
Charlie was letting out all the stops. The girls would think every day was
Christmas around here.

The kitchen door opened again.
This time it was Lexy. “Mom, you and Mr. Golden want to play Monopoly with us?”

I glanced at Rafe. He shrugged. I
interpreted his gesture to mean why not. “Sure. We’ll both play. Give me a minute to put the food away.”

“Okay. What piece would you like,
Mr. Golden?”

Rafe bit back a chuckle. “The
car.”

The door swung shut. “I hope it
was all right to say you’d join us. We played a lot of board games . . .” I paused to find the right words. “When the girls were younger.”

“I know Monopoly,” Rafe said,
interlacing his fingers with mine. “It’s the one game my family mastered.”

The dancing lights were back in
his bedroom eyes. I didn’t know if it was because Charlie was leaving any
minute now or because Rafe’s belly was full. Either way, harmony ruled my
household again. I leaned over and kissed him.

Rafe gave the kiss his full
attention. My blood heated, and my thoughts ran wild. Would anyone notice if we
did it in the laundry room? The kitchen door opened. I realized someone was watching us and broke off the kiss.

Mama snorted from the doorway. “Just
as I thought. Smooching in the kitchen. Bud, come in here and help me get this kitchen cleaned up. Otherwise we’ll be waiting all night on these love birds.”

Love birds.

Was that what we were?

I clung to that thought for the
rest of the evening.

Chapter 14

Jonette, Mama, and I stared in rapt fascination at the
Washington Post spread out on the back corner booth of the Tavern. Jonette had
turned up the lights because lunch was over and it was too soon for happy hour.
With Dean away at his bartender convention, Jonette was running the place.
She’d called us as soon as she’d opened the newspaper.

“See what I mean?” Jonette tapped the black-and-white photo. Two men were hauling a gurney full of machines
out of a door. Overhead, the weighty block letters proclaimed CRANDALL BRAIN CLINIC.

“Looks like Britt’s got a new
suspect all right.” I leaned close to read the fine newsprint. James Taylor’s song about friendship faded as I digested the article. According to the reporter,
the prominent Crandall Brain Clinic in Washington, D.C., was kaput. One of the
partners had skipped the country. The remaining partner, Dr. Eleanor Hodges,
couldn’t be reached by press time.

“Hot damn! I might get to see my
grandchildren grow up after all.” Mama raised her arms in a victory salute,
straining the fabric and the buttons of her pink jacket.

“Don’t get too excited, Mama,” I
cautioned. “We still don’t know if Eleanor was in town that night, or if she
would know how to break into your car and start it without a key.”

Mama toyed with her pearl
necklace. “I wasn’t completely honest about this before, but that night I left
the car unlocked with my keys in the ignition. Bud’s house is off by itself. I
didn’t think anyone would even know the keys were in there. Eleanor didn’t need
any criminal skills to borrow my car.”

I was appalled. “Mama, why didn’t
you tell us this before?”

“Because I didn’t want another
lecture from you about leaving my keys in the car. I left them in the car for a
reason. It takes too long to hunt them up in the dark.”

I couldn’t believe she didn’t
grasp the importance of the information she’d withheld. I reached over and
grabbed her by the shoulders. “You would’ve gone to jail rather than tell
anyone you left the keys in your car?”

Mama scooted out of my grip. “I
wouldn’t let it go that far. I’d rather have a lecture from you than serve a
prison term. I didn’t mention the keys before because I didn’t want anyone to
know I’d been over at Bud’s house. Then when I did tell you about Bud, I forgot
to tell you about the keys. I’m a senior. I’m allowed to be forgetful.”

“Don’t move.” I whipped my cell
phone out of my pocket book and dialed Britt. He answered on the first ring. “Radcliff.”

“Did you see the Washington Post?”
I asked.

“Got it here in front of me. Just got off the phone with the reporter who wrote the story. You were right about Eleanor
Hodges. She’s in serious financial trouble.”

“Told you so. And another thing.
Mama just let it slip that her car wasn’t locked while she was at Bud’s. And
her keys were in the ignition.”

The line seemed to go dead. “You still there, Britt?” I asked. Jonette leaned close to listen in.

“I’m here.” He swore under his
breath. “Why didn’t she mention that before?”

“Because she didn’t want me to give her hell for leaving her keys in the car.”

“She’s not making my job any
easier.”

“Of course not. She’s still
spitting mad at you for arresting her. Charging her with murder didn’t help,
either.”

Britt groaned. “God save me from opinionated women.”

I let that slight slide. He was
helping me clear Mama’s name. “Where does that leave us with Eleanor?”

“It leaves me checking her out
more thoroughly. If something comes of this, I’ll let you know.”

I hung up. “Britt’s definitely
looking at Eleanor for the murder. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

“The hell with that,” Mama said. “Bud
and I have been wanting to get away for the weekend. I’m going to tell him that
we can go.”

My stomach burned. If Mama jumped
bail, we could lose our house. “You will not leave town. Not unless the charges
against you are dropped. If you so much as think about it, I’ll clip your wings
so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

Mama scrunched up her brow. “See
why I didn’t tell you about the keys? You’re no fun at all. Everything has to
be done your way. Who made you queen of the world? You don’t know anything. The
best time to take a trip is right before you’re stuck in jail forever.”

“You won’t be stuck in jail
forever. Britt will find the real killer.”

“Hmmph.” Mama stormed off to pour herself a fresh cup of coffee.

Jonette folded the newspaper
section and handed it to me. “Here. You guys keep this.”

I tucked the paper in my purse. “Thanks,
Jonette. How’s it going with Dean away on his trip?”

Jonette made a face. “I miss the
old fart. Who knew that he did so much around here? All he ever seemed to do was get in my way. Now that he’s not around, I hardly have time to think, I’m so busy.”

I leaned close to Jonette and
whispered, “What about the other?”

“What other?”

“You know. The other part of
missing Dean. The personal part.”

Jonette sighed with great
feeling. “Yeah. That part sucks, too.”

“When’s he coming home?”

“Tomorrow.” Jonette shoved her
fisted hands in her apron pockets.

“You’ll be happy then.”

“Yeah, but he’ll have won.”

I chugged the rest of my lukewarm
coffee as America started singing about sister golden hair surprise. “You’re
wrong. You both won. Caring about someone who cares right back is never wrong.”

Jonette arched a well plucked
eyebrow. “You’re not going to lecture me about love, are you?”

“Hell, no. Not when I know so
little about it. All I’m saying is give it a chance. Dean’s a good guy.”

* * * * *

Twelve hours later, I was ready
to retract my kind words about Dean. Because of his inconsiderate behavior, I
was on the Bay Bridge at three in the morning. Not my idea of how I wanted to
spend my night.

“Tell me again why we’re going
after Dean?” I asked Jonette.

From the muted fluorescent glow
of the Volvo’s dash instrumentation, I barely made out the smile on Jonette’s
face. “Because he called me and asked me to come bail him out of jail.”

“What about his car?” I asked. “Didn’t
he drive it to Ocean City?”

“No. He rode with a friend.
Dean’s car is in the body shop getting painted, or I wouldn’t have bothered you
tonight.”

I heard an odd sound. It took me a minute to place the noise. From the direction, it had to be coming from Jonette. Humming?
She never hummed.

“Why are you so happy about this?”
I asked. “It’s the middle of the night, and you’ve been on your feet for over
twelve hours. Aren’t you exhausted?”

“Not tired,” she said.

“Why’s that?”

“Because Dean’s not dull.”

“Dull?” I’d had two hours of
sleep before Jonette called me for this road trip. Not enough sleep to come up with a snappy retort.

“Like an old slipper. He’s not
dull. He did this for me.”

“You weren’t even in Ocean City.
How could he have done this for you?”

“To prove he wasn’t dull. When
his friend suggested running naked down a busy Ocean City street, Dean jumped
at the opportunity to streak.”

I blinked away the mental image of a naked Dean jumping around. “How many men did this?”

“Two of them. The rest of their
group was apparently pretty dull. But not Dean.”

I’d take dull any day, especially
if it got me a good night’s sleep. My cell phone rang. “The dog is in labor,”
Mama said. “What should I do?”

“Just a minute, Mama.” I turned
to Jonette. “Madonna is having her puppies right now. What should Mama do?”

Jonette snatched the phone out of
my hand and fired off a bunch of questions at Mama. I reeled from the rapid
pace of the conversation. This was too much for Mama to handle alone. She
needed help, and not just help from Lexy and Charla.

I had two choices when it came to help. Rafe or Charlie. My gut instinct said to call Rafe. I didn’t know what he knew about
birthing puppies, but I sensed he had a cool head in a crisis. I snatched the
phone back from Jonette. “Wake up the girls, Mama. They’ll know what to do. As
soon as we hang up, I’ll call Rafe and ask him to come over to help you.”

“Suit yourself,” Mama said.

I phoned Rafe. No answer. I dialed
again. This time he picked up. I explained the situation.

He yawned into the phone. “You
want me to do what?”

“I want you to help Mama and the
girls with the dog.”

“Where are you?”

From his sharp tone, I gathered
he expected me to be home in the middle of the night. “I’m about an hour from
Ocean City. At the very earliest, it will be four hours before I can get back.”

“How am I going to help?”

“I need you to be the voice of
reason. Lexy knows what to do, but she’s only thirteen. That’s too much responsibility
for her. Mama doesn’t count as an adult. She might dye one of the puppies blue.”

“You convinced me.” Rafe yawned again. “I’m on my way.”

I hung up.

“Dang,” Jonette said. “All that
planning and I’m gonna miss the big event. Dean better appreciate the sacrifice
I’m making for him.”

We sped through the dark night.

At the police station, Dean was
sloppy drunk and a little sheepish after he put on the jeans, T-shirt, and
sneakers Jonette had brought. “Sorry to be a bother, but at least I’m not dull,”
he said. Jonette and I had our hands full keeping him upright the rest of the
way to the car.

“You’re not dull, Dean. I never
thought you were.” Jonette patted his butt.

The three of us leaned against
the Gray Beast as I fumbled to unlock the door. I could see Mama’s point about
not wanting to waste time looking for her keys in her purse when it was dark
outside. At last, I found the keys and gained entry.

“You aren’t leaving me?” Dean asked, suddenly standing straight and tall.

“Not a chance.” Jonette slid into
the back seat with Dean. “It takes a lot of nerve to run naked in public at
forty-eight. I admire that about you.”

He scrunched up one eye. “You do?”

“I do. And if you ever do it
again, I’ll kill you.”

“I love you, Jonette.”

“I love you back, wild man.”

We headed home, missing the morning rush-hour traffic around Baltimore by skirting through back roads. My
phone didn’t ring again, and I trusted Rafe was taking care of everything. Dean
and Jonette slept while I drove.

I parked in the driveway and ran
into the house, Jonette hard on my heels. “Hello?” I called anxiously. “Where
is everyone?”

“Up here, Mom,” Lexy’s excited
voice sailed over the balcony.

I dashed into my bedroom, fearing
the worst. Lexy sat in the whelping box with Madonna. Nearby, Charla and Mama
held puppies in their laps. From the grim set of Rafe’s face, I owed him big
for this favor.

“How’d you get her to use the
wading pool?” I asked.

“Mr. Golden put Madonna there,
and she didn’t argue,” Charla said. “Isn’t this the cutest puppy you ever did
see?”

The puppies were adorable. “Sure
is.” I turned to Rafe. “You all right?”

“Doing good. I believe this is
the last one.”

An hour later, it was finally
over. Jonette took Madonna out to relieve herself. I moved the whelping pool
down into the kitchen, and the girls kept the puppies warm until Madonna
returned.

I went back upstairs to my
bedroom to find Rafe sound asleep in my bed. With all that he’d done for me, he deserved an undisturbed rest. So did I, for that matter. I yawned big, locked the door,
and joined him.