Deconstructing Lila (Entangled Select) (3 page)

Lesson Number Two —

The best way to get a man to sing your praises is to be subtle. Go about your business, the everyday chores necessary to keeping and pleasing a man, but do not speak of them. Let him discover your abilities and he will be thankful. Even boastful where you are not.

Chapter Four

J
ake crossed over into the aged, tiled foyer of the Dairy Queen, the dinging bell overhead announcing his entrance amid the sticky scent of yesterday’s Blizzards and hamburgers. He nodded at several familiar faces occupying the bright yellow booths in the dining area.

Stepping up to the counter, he reviewed the overhead menu out of habit. His eyes fell on the section titled “Treats” and his thoughts went immediately to Lila, full of determination, kindness, and beauty, a package wrapped up in a hot body that kept him up at night.

His wife. Home again after all this time. He couldn’t stop thinking about the high heels she was wearing, the ones that evoked endless images of her naked, and him doing things to her body that would make her beg. Not that he would get the opportunity anytime soon to see her naked. No way. Sex without strings wasn’t in Lila’s vocabulary. And sex with commitment wasn’t in his at the moment, so he might as well stop punishing himself by thinking of her in bed.

“Jake, are you wantin’ to order something, or are you just enjoying the view?”

His gaze fell to Mary Beth waiting at the register. She’d worked behind the dull brown counter for as many years as he could remember, her DQ uniform consistently and unavoidably gaping open where it fit too snugly across her ample chest. Anna Nicole Smith discovered in a Texas Dairy Queen, she was not. But nice as the day was long, that was Mary Beth.

“Give me ten Hungr-Busters with cheese, fries, and a gallon of tea.”

“You want any Dilly Bars with that? We knocked the freezer burn off just last night.” Mary Beth’s lips twitched.

“No, thanks.”

“How ’bout your usual salad with grilled chicken, then?”

“Yeah.” Jake rubbed a hand across his face.

An excited whisper from the dining area caught his attention, though he didn’t acknowledge it—that simply fueled the fire.

“I saw her, y’all! With her big hair and fake boobs. She gave Jake a good once-over and peeled out of the Grab & Get.”

“Are you sure it was Lila, Janie? Your Lasik’s not quite healed and the other day, you thought Howard was Jesus Christ crossing the courthouse square.”

“Shut up! The sun was in my eyes. Which are fine now, thank you very much.” Janie paused for a deep breath. “Of course it was her. I know what Lila Gentry looks like and I don’t care how long she’s been gone. Once a trailer park brat, always a trailer park brat!”

Threasa shushed her sister. But Jake had heard all he needed to hear. Word of Lila’s arrival had gotten out.

Super
. Now all he needed was Casler to come out of the toilet and incite further talk by jawing up Lila’s physical attributes. Hell, they could have their own Hollywood love triangle, Texas-style, and a reality TV show to go with it:
Bell County Wives
.

Mary Beth handed him his change and narrowed her penciled eyebrows as she surveyed the dining room. “Your order will be right up. And while you’re waiting, you mind taking Janie’s refill out there?”

Jake watched as Mary Beth disappeared around the back of the soda machine with an empty coffee cup, returning seconds later to hand it to him.

“Do I want to know what’s in this?”

“No.”

He raised the cup in salute.

“Thanks,” and strolled to an empty booth across from the Thompson sisters. Janie’s unfocused blue eyes followed him the entire way, but Threasa avoided meeting his smile. They were as opposite as two sisters could be: Janie, a bored, mean-spirited woman with big money, big hips, and an even bigger mouth, while Threasa resembled a fresh-faced magazine model quietly abiding beneath a straw Resistol cowboy hat.

“Afternoon, ladies.”

“Howdy yourself, Jake. How’s business?” Janie offered a wide smile full of teeth, though moments ago she had maligned his wife’s perfect breasts. And he knew deep down, she didn’t see the hypocrisy.

“Can’t complain. Natural gas money keeps business rolling my way. And speaking of, how’s Howard getting along with his wells out east? Heard he had some trouble.”

Janie’s lips hardened. Howard Armstrong was a moron. How he had managed to accumulate any money or become mayor was a mystery to Jake. Though now that Howard had it, he couldn’t stop blowing it on bad land deals, questionable business ventures, and overmanagement.

“It’s all fine. He’s moving a couple of wells. Salt water ruined two sites, but we should be drilling again in a week or two.”

Threasa sighed. “Tell your husband to hire a geologist, Janie. For pity’s sake.”

Jake recognized Casler’s heavy tread on the tile behind him. And sighed. At six foot six, the carpenter was built like a boxer, lean, mean, and tough as hammered nails. If there was something Casler enjoyed more than bustin’ Jake’s balls, it was giving Janie Armstrong hell.

“Howard doesn’t need people knowing how much the wells produce,” Janie chastised her sister.

Jake glanced at Threasa, anticipating how she would respond to the opening. But she had eyes only for Casler, following his movements all the way from the front counter to where he stood now, towering over their booth. Casler threw Threasa a distracted smile and zeroed in on her older sister with a look that said,
Did I step in shit?

Which she returned because John Casler was a card-carrying member of the blue-collar majority. Worse than that, the poor son of a bitch was half Native American and half Mexican.

But Threasa Thompson didn’t seem to mind. Who would have guessed?

“Jake,” Janie continued, oblivious to the pending confrontation, “Threasa and I were just reminiscing and I was telling her I saw Lila Gentry at the gas station. Do you know anything about that?”

Jake was still watching Threasa and Casler, the latter of whom remained clueless of his admirer. “Now that you mention it, I think I did see her. She must have been the hot blonde in the Lexus.”

Casler whistled long and low. “
Totalmente caliente
.” His eyes swept Janie’s strapless summer dress and gold heels. “And that’s without effort.”

Janie’s cheeks reddened, though Jake seriously doubted she understood the Spanish. “Is she staying this time, Jake? Or are we still too small-town for her?”

Jake grew suddenly tired of Janie’s bitterness. Of all the pettiness and jealousy. Lila could have ended up like that. Married to an unhappy, cancer-ridden, self-medicating, numb drinker with no prospects of a happily ever after.

They’d dodged one mean bitch of a bullet when he had the good sense during a selfless moment to realize he was doing a bang-up job knocking all of the optimism and adventure out of his young wife. What legacy was he going to leave? Only grim reality and resignation.

Screw that.

So he’d set her free. And dammit all if she wasn’t back.

Huh.

“It’s not so much about the town as it is her asshole husband,” Jake offered.

Casler slapped him on the back. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, man. If I were gay, I’d take you. Though I would have to sleep on the left side of the bed.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jake saw Mary Beth set his order on the counter. He pushed Janie’s tainted coffee to the side, unwilling to contribute further to the woman’s bad mood, and stood, stretching his legs. “Ladies.” He sauntered to the front and grabbed his lunch, a chuckling Casler in his wake as they headed out to the truck.

“That damn woman is so spoiled, salt couldn’t save her.”

Jake’s response was cut off as he spotted Lila across the street at the post office. He’d never seen another woman move with the unconscious grace she possessed. It wasn’t artifice. It was her. Pure and simple. From the way her hips rolled, to the prim set of her shoulders that highlighted her perfect breasts.

“Take the truck. I’ll catch up with you.” Jake tossed the keys to a surprised Casler and set the Dairy Queen bags on the hood before jogging across the street.

By the time he made it, she’d disappeared inside the building. He wandered around to her car and leaned against the rear fender, settling in for a wait.

Passersby looked at him with curiosity and waved tentatively. He rarely stood still for more than five minutes and to be standing there, doing nothing, threw people for a loop.

Minutes later Lila came back out, glowing with happiness and confidence. She smiled at people as they passed her on their way inside.

The years spent apart melted away in a searing rush and his chest constricted. He wanted to grab her up in his arms and nuzzle the side of her neck, a welcome-back kiss to let her know he’d missed her for the three minutes she’d been in the post office. A gesture he’d initiated a hundred times during their short marriage.

The fresh pain of that loss grabbed him by the throat and squeezed.

Lila’s stride broke midway across the small parking lot as she spotted him. Happy slipped off her face and hid behind an emotional wall.

Ah, Lila. Did I do that to you? Make you so guarded?
If he were another man, he’d punch himself in the face for damaging Lila so.

“Jake,” she said, coming to a stop near the trunk of her car. He got an eyeful of creamy skin beneath the deep vee of her blouse.

“We need to talk,” he said.

She glanced around the lot as people came and went, clearly uncomfortable.

“Haven’t you had enough of parking lots already? I’ve finished my business researching the origins of a mystery package and need to get back to Granny.” She frowned.

“Nah. Nice and public.” It was hot enough to keep the conversation short, and he really had only one point to make. “I can appreciate that you’re home to see Barbara and old friends, but I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding between us, Lila. In my mind we’re divorced. Maybe not legally, but where it matters.”

Did he sound sincere? Because he couldn’t believe the shit he’d just said. He’d become a pretty good liar over the years, masking his grief and pain. Covering up the weakness. Praying for a cure from cancer, only to be disappointed time and time again, did that.

Her features were closed to him and he couldn’t tell if she was upset over his declaration, or annoyed about standing in the heat.

He ran a hand over the back of his neck, the muscles there tense and aching. He wanted to hold her. He wanted a second chance at living again. He wanted a lot he couldn’t have. “If we can be friends and move on with our separate lives, I’d welcome it. It’s been years since I had anyone to watch late-night TV with.”
Shit. Stop. Talking. Idiot. Everything was coming out all wrong
.

Lila smiled. “I did move on. And that road brought me right back here. I say moving on is overrated. How about moving forward?”

“Look, I want to keep things simple. Uncomplicated. That’s all I’m saying.” Except for the part where he really, really wanted to see her naked.

Lila leaned in and stabbed his chest with an index finger. The touch sent a line of fire all the way down his stomach to the front of his pants, tightening his balls.

“Jake. Sweetie.” Her blue eyes shone with sharp-edged emotion. “I know you’re not stupid. You may want uncomplicated, but when has life ever served up that particular dish? I for one have never had it easy. It’s always messy, in-your-face complex. I gotta deal with it. So I suggest you learn to handle it, too. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Jake held his breath until her hand dropped away. He let it out in a long push as she stepped to the driver’s-side door and climbed inside.

It dawned on him she planned to boil his blood and then leave him stranded in the post office parking lot. Despite better judgment—not that he had ever possessed such a thing—he shrugged and figured
what the hell
?

And before she could back the Lexus out, Jake eased open the passenger door and slid in next to her, smiling when she turned shocked eyes on him.

Maybe he would get out of this with some semblance of self-dignity. “You’re right. Life is complicated. Now, take me to my office.”

Lesson Number Three —

Do not wait for quiet, private moments to show your man you love him; those times are too seldom. Show him in the middle of the dusty town street, in the barn while feeding the livestock, or, heaven help me, on the way to Church. Reach out and lay your hand on his arm, get his attention, and look deeply into his eyes. He will do the rest.

Chapter Five

L
ila didn’t know whether to be irritated with Jake’s demand or excited by the prospect of having him all alone for five minutes.

She chose to be excited. Cautiously excited. She sneaked a glance from beneath lowered lashes before backing the car out of the lot. He consumed the entire passenger compartment with his tall frame and muscular legs, and spilled over onto the console that divided the seats. She could feel the heat from his arm where it rested next to hers.

She took a deep breath. “Um. Tell me about Reverie. How’s the home-building business recovering out here?”

Jake tapped his index finger on the gearshift mounted on the console between them, a habit she remembered from way back. He considered the question. “Tough. Natural gas money has all but dried up. There are a few folks building, but nothing like it was a few years ago.”

Lila nodded. “Are you surviving it okay?” Times had been difficult in construction, but Jake’s fairness and integrity had earned him a reputation, taking his business through the hard times—or so Granny had told her.

“As good as can be expected. I set money aside. I can maintain my core crew, including Casler. Things are picking up again and we have a big project now, out on the west side of town.”

“I see.” Lord. She sounded like an idiot. Really? Making small talk? How long could she keep this up before diving headfirst into a topic she desperately wanted to discuss? Like, how were his labs? What did the doctors say? Was he seeing anyone? And would he have dinner with her?

But what did she do instead? Smile. And nod.

“Well. That’s awesome.”

Jake turned and looked at her, a smile turning up the corners of his mouth. “Awesome?”

Lila’s cheeks reddened under his scrutiny. “What? I can’t say awesome?”

“Absolutely. Just didn’t think you were the type to use trendy language. It’s interesting.”

She couldn’t keep her own smile under wraps. “Interesting how?”

He stopped tapping the gearshift. She knew this behavior, too. Jake was reflecting.

“I guess you’ve changed. Grown up. For some reason, I never considered what you’d be like and sound like at thirty. It’s interesting.”

“And not sexy?” Lila slapped a hand over her mouth and laughed.

Jake’s composure held, but then what did she expect? The only outward sign that her comment had an impact was a slight widening of his nostrils.

“Did I just say that?” she asked. “Sorry.”

“No. Don’t be sorry. Age definitely agrees with you. I’m sure you get a lot of men hitting on you.”

Lila thought of Mark, and how he had to frequently inform her as to when men were actually hitting on her. “I don’t know. I’m a bit dense when it comes to the bar scene and dating.”

His brows lifted in question.

“I don’t date really. Too busy with work.”

“Interesting.”

“Stop saying that word!”

“What?” He threw up his hands. “Fine. It’s not interesting. But curious. Why the hell aren’t you dating? You should be having a crazy good time right now. Age agrees with you. You’re fucking hot.”

Lord help her. He thought she was not just hot, but
fucking hot.
Lila swallowed and nearly choked at the sudden dryness in her mouth.

She considered a dozen different responses to this admission and settled on honesty.

“I am having a crazy good time. I’m home. With Granny and about to jump-start a new life. And a new project. I couldn’t be more excited.”

“Hmmmm.” Jake opened the passenger door as she parked outside his building. Heat washed in, covering them both.

She knew the hint of a project would have him wondering for a while.

“You gonna tell me about this project?”

Lila smiled and this time didn’t attempt to dull the wattage of her smile. “Of course. There are no secrets between us.”

He grunted and crawled out of the car. “Have a good one, babe.”

Lila held on tight to the endearment for a moment and then backed away from Jake’s office and headed for Granny’s.

C
atching up on all of Granny’s usual errands was taking Lila more time than she would have imagined! She couldn’t figure out how one little old grandma could be so busy with the local ladies’ auxiliary, Bible study, fund-raising for veterans, bowling, potluck dinners, Friday night cards, and animal rescue.

She hadn’t even made it to Miss Pru’s, for crying out loud!

“Lila, here’s a list. The people at the IGA will help you find it all. Just ask for help at the check-cashing counter.”

Lila took the grocery list from Granny’s outstretched hand, examining the slanted script. She didn’t bother reminding her grandmother she’d been grocery shopping on her own for some time now.

“What are the chicken livers for?”

“Nate. He won’t eat anything but chicken livers. Be sure to get the freshest. He won’t eat ’em if they’re over a week old.”

Nate. The cat.
Good grief, when did the woman start feeding the cats chicken livers
?

“And while you’re down there, you can check out Miss Pru’s place. Judith said that turd Howard put a demolition notice on the building yesterday.”

The doorbell chimed and Lila almost sighed aloud in relief. “That’ll be Steve Ann. I’ll let her in and then I’m off to the store. And to conduct recon!” She smoothed the shawl across Granny’s shoulders and rubbed her good arm. “It shouldn’t take too long.” How long could it take to buy chicken livers and eyeball a building?

Steve Ann blew into the house, all hustle and bustle, her arms empty for a change. “Good morning, Lila. How’s Mrs. Gentry this morning?”

“She’s doing okay, but I think she’s worried about her hair.” Granny had demanded a hand mirror to investigate the status of her short white curls. The do reminded her of the style sported by the former governor of Texas, Ann Richards: high, tight, and white.

The nurse patted her own ash-colored coiffure. “Give Mary Jo a call over at the Curl ’n Swirl. She might be able to fit her into the schedule on short notice.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that.” She danced a half circle with Steve Ann, laughing as they rearranged themselves in the tiny entry.

“Granny has a grocery list for me, so I’d better get going.” The intense heat of midmorning blasted her in the face as she stepped out onto the carpet of turf-like grass on the porch.

Steve Ann lingered at the glass door, a frown marring her pleasant face. “Hon, is that what you’re wearing to the IGA?”

Lila looked down at her short silk skirt and matching blouse. She’d chosen it specifically for its neutral color and breezy fabric. “Is there something wrong with it?”

The nurse pursed her lips, her hands planted on generous hips. “Well, not particularly, unless you want to make Janie Armstrong green with envy. Otherwise, it’s a little much for the grocery.”

“Oh.” Lila’s shoulders drooped and she slipped back inside. As she squeezed past Steve Ann, she managed to mumble, “Thanks. It’s been a while.”

“No problem, hon. We’ll get you…ah, reassimilated in no time.”

“Right.”

Dressed once again, this time in denim shorts, sandals, and a white T-shirt, Lila plunged into the heat, crumpled shopping list in hand. The walk to the town square flew by as she reacquainted herself with once-familiar landmarks.

The Bell County Courthouse dominated the square with its Renaissance Revival style and bold, boxy lines. Lila took in the restored dome and clock tower, missing from the grand white structure since the 1930s. It made the building seem complete finally, and she suddenly realized how lacking it had truly been all those years she was growing up.

On the east side of the square stood the Book Nook, directly next door to Melinda’s Kitchen, both new businesses she didn’t know. On the west side, the Farmer’s Bank—been there for years—and on the north side, the Curl ’n Swirl, an old favorite with the retired set.

A large white sign on the south-facing building caught her eye. Stepping across the street and into the shade of the veranda, she read the sign on Mr. Goodwin’s General Store.

Demolition Notice.
Typical verbiage. Blah, blah, blah. Except no public hearing or committee meeting. No information on who filed the application for demolition. And certainly no notice regarding the historic status of the building.

Miss Pru’s.

This was the place. And it appeared her Granny was right. Someone had it in for the building and they were willing to violate city policy and procedure to get rid of the thing.

She stepped off the sidewalk and backed into the street for a full view. The four bay windows of the upper story were boarded over. The four windows flanking the bay, two on each side, were open, but the leaded glass had seen better days. Paint flaked away from the masonry brick, and the rigid aluminum canopy, bisecting the smaller overhead transom windows from the large store windows, sagged with weather damage in several places.

Nothing that couldn’t be salvaged and restored. Though that opinion was based on a cursory exterior inspection. She had no idea what the interior was like.

Lila remembered the storefront from her childhood. Mr. Goodwin, a kind old widower, had sold candy, sodas, and good memories to the children of Hannington. She’d savored many a Coke float inside those four walls while mooning over a certain football player.

Now the city wanted to demolish it. She couldn’t let that happen. Not when she knew it once belonged to her family and might be housing yet more secrets of Prudence MacIntosh.

If she could buy it before the thirty days were up.

She climbed the concrete sidewalk again and peered at the notice taped to the inside of the window. Posted June 19. Twenty-nine days ago. Before she ever made into Hannington.

Lila’s blood pressure escalated and her skin went tight all over. This was total BS. According to Granny, the notice just went up. And they were claiming the waiting period was expiring?

The fate of the building would be decided today, but not by some out-of-touch city bureaucrat. It was local. And it was personal.

She spun around, facing the knobby limestone facade of the county courthouse. Marching across the street, she dodged the few cars crawling down Main during the early afternoon and pushed through the heavy oak doors of the courthouse. Lila skidded across the waxed marble floor of the entry in her haste, nearly losing her footing in the thin strappy sandals she’d chosen in place of her more sophisticated summer heels.

“Ma’am, you take care now. Enough people’ve fallen there who wasn’t paying attention.”

Standing straight again on two firmly planted feet, she caught the concerned gaze of an elderly black man on a high-backed stool. The shine on top of his bald head rivaled the sheen on the marble under her feet. He sat behind a low-slung security desk, which was nothing more than a folding table with some change trays laid out for personal items.

She hurried over to the table, her sandals slapping the floor and sending an echo up into the dome-shaped vestibule. “I need to track down the owner of the Goodwin building across the street. Where can I find deed records?”

He smiled, causing the wrinkles in his weathered face to sink deeper. “Oh, yeah. That Goodwin building been up for sale forever. You want to register a complaint with the city about the owner?”

“Why on earth would I want to do that?”

“Many people don’t like that building. Don’t matter if it was a candy store at some point.” He placed heavy emphasis on the word candy, like it was an idea worthy of scorn. “People figure time’s come to tear the thing down once and for all. Put something decent up in its place.” He grunted, folding his arms over the rounded belly straining against the sky-blue cotton of his uniform.

Wait a minute
. She put her satchel on the table, leaning in closer to the man, one hand on her hip. She felt the hurried beat of her heart beneath her cotton top.

“Why don’t the people in Hannington like it?”

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a gnarled index finger. “Young lady, you ain’t from around here, are you?”

She shook her head, letting the man believe she was an out-of-towner.

“Well, lemme just say that it had an indecent beginning. Lots of illegal activities, if you know what I mean. Some old gal ran, uh, an escort service out of there back before the turn of the century.”

Despite her need to get to the records room, Lila had to ask. She had to know: “What happened to the woman? And her business?”

He unfolded his arms, placing his hands flat on the table in front of him. Glancing toward the open doors of the vital statistics room in an obvious effort to be discreet, he licked his lips and met her eyes.

Oh, yes. He had a story to share.

“After operating there for some years, and it’s my understanding the mayor condoned her business and her gals, a new sheriff was elected and she got run out of town shortly thereafter.

“She didn’t go peacefully. Oh, no. Way my daddy used to tell it, she got run out at the end of a double-barreled shotgun with the town hot on her heels. She had a man here in town, a regular customer who liked her, but he wadn’t here to help her.”

Lila listened, dying to know the outcome of what surely were Miss Pru’s last days in the town of Hannington.

“What happened then?”

The old man shifted his body back onto the stool, the springs in the seat creaking with his weight. “Nothing really. Most of her girls were already gone by then. The rest got run out with her. Boardinghouse tried to make a go of it for a while, but no one could stand sleeping in the place. Said funny things happened there. Noises and creepy things.”

Lila picked her bag up off the table after he had a peek in the open zipper, and secured it across her shoulder.

Could his story be true? “What was the woman’s name? Does anyone know?”

He scratched the glowing bald spot on his head, his eyes screwed closed until the whites disappeared. “Something Irish. MacIntosh or MacIntush. Something like that.”

He knew her name. Was it possible Miss Pru fled town like he claimed? Drawing back from the table, she looked around the empty vestibule. She had to buy that building. Now.