Finding Me (15 page)

“Kelli? Are you kidding me?” Shane’s father was stubborn to a fault and never did anything on impulse, yet this Kelli girl had waltzed into town and had him spinning circles for her. There had to be some sort of con involved with what she was doing. “What’s her last name again?”

Pop shook his head. “I forget. It’s written down with her phone number. Anyway, she needs somewhere to live, and I told her we had the perfect place.”

“What do you even know about this Kelli girl? When you’re hiring someone for your own store, then it is your right to ‘use your gut,’ as you like to say. When you are putting someone in
our
duplex—I’m co-owner, remember? I want something a little more concrete.”

“She’s a nice girl. It will be fine. Trust me, you’ll like her.”

“I don’t know that you are qualified to decide who I will and won’t like.”

“Tomorrow you will get the chance to decide for yourself.”

“When?”

“When you meet her over there and show her around the place.”

“You know what, I think that’s a good idea. Real good. And I’m going to get to the bottom of who exactly she is and what she thinks she is doing here. I’m telling you, there is more to this story than meets the eye.” Shane thought perhaps it was a good thing he had moved back home. His father obviously needed some help protecting his own best interests.

18

T
he duplex was easily fifty years old, one-story yellow brick and L-shaped so that half faced Fall River Road and the other half faced Crockett Lane. From the outside, it appeared that each half was fairly large—much larger than the dorm rooms and over-the-garage units Kelli had lived in for the past eight years.

She had been up for most of the night, trying to figure out how to get herself out of this mess without completely alienating Kenmore—just in case she decided to pursue this again at some point further down the road. Plus, she didn’t want to hurt Alison and Beth after they’d been so kind to her and, whether or not they knew it, were her family. She’d finally arrived at a brilliant plan. Kenmore had said his son was half owner of the duplex and would be the one to show her around and get her all signed up. She could make certain to give him enough of a reason not to rent the unit to her.

As she pulled into the driveway, she still hadn’t come up with a concrete plan for what exactly she would do. She could tell him she’d been kicked out of a previous place because she didn’t pay
the rent, but she didn’t want to blatantly lie, and besides, if his father was going to be the one paying her, it would be easy enough for him to get his money one way or the other. No, it needed to be something a bit more subtle, but still troubling enough that he would want to back out of the deal. For starters, she had worn her comfortable old sweats and an “Elvis Forever” T-shirt. She figured this would at least get the doubts started.

There was a red BMW convertible sitting in the driveway. Kelli pulled up behind it and walked toward the front door, her mind racing through different scenarios. She reached out to ring the doorbell, but the front door flew open before she had the chance to push the button.

To say that Kenmore’s son did not look anything like she’d expected would be a gross understatement. She had imagined him as short, overweight, and kind of dumpy. Instead, the man she saw was tall, broad shouldered, and downright good-looking in an all-American sort of way. His face was one that she’d often heard Mimi refer to as a “baby face”—boyish and charming and almost always the kind that led to trouble. His dark brown hair hung low on his forehead, and his short-sleeved shirt revealed arms that were lean yet well muscled.

“Hi. I’m Kelli.”

He nodded once. “So I guessed. I’m Shane Moore.” He reached out to shake her hand, seeming to size her up as he did. “Tell me again what it is that brought you to town, Miss—”

“Huddleston. As for what brought me to town, nothing in particular. I guess you might say I just sort of happened through.”

“Happened through Shoal Creek, some thirty miles off the closest interstate? And then just happened to drive way down Thompson Lane, and then happened to stop at a tiny little store at the end of Thompson Lane that just happened to have a job opening? That’s a lot of ‘just happening,’ wouldn’t you say?”

Kelli could feel a cold sweat on the back of her neck. Shane Moore was much too intuitive for Kelli’s own good. She shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Something about this whole thing feels fishy to me. What exactly are you hoping to gain here?” His arrogance, his downright condescension, grated deep on Kelli’s nerves. Who did he think he was?

“I’m offering to pay rent for a place to live and to work for a paycheck. I’m not sure how anyone could make something devious out of that, even with a very strong imagination, but somehow you seem to have been able to do it quite nicely.”

Shane opened his mouth and drew in a deep breath, but before he said anything, he burst out laughing. “You know what? I think you might be right. I don’t know why I’ve been so worked up about all this. I apologize if I was rude. Come on inside, and I’ll show you around.” Something about the way he continued to watch her made her doubt the sincerity of his apology. He didn’t trust her, that much was obvious, and maybe she could use that to her benefit if she thought carefully.

“Who lives on the other side of the duplex?”

“An older woman named Miss Birdyshaw. She’s super nice, mostly keeps to herself, but consider yourself warned—if she ever catches you on the sidewalk, or heaven forbid you should ask her in for a visit . . . well, she likes to talk. She’s a retired teacher, never married. I think she’s just lonely.” He led Kelli into the back two rooms. “This is the only wall that the two units share. She’s the early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, so if you don’t like the sound of classical music early in the morning, you might want to sleep in the second bedroom.”

Think, think, think.
This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for, but how to use it to her best advantage? “Really? I was kind of thinking I would put my drums back here.” It was
the only thing that came to mind. “Do you think that would bother her?”

“Drums?”

“Yeah, I like to play at night before bedtime. It helps me wind down.”

Shane rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, I’m thinking that might not be such a good idea. Especially back here.”

“Oh, then it’s probably best if I look elsewhere for a place to live. Too bad things didn’t work out for me to stay and work for your dad, but I do thank you for your time.” It was a flawed excuse, but she was determined to make it work.

The doorbell rang. Shane went to answer it, and Kelli followed, relieved to have found such an easy out.

The woman at the door was heavyset and slightly stooped. She was carrying a plate of cookies, which she held out with a smile. “Is this my new neighbor?”

“Apparently not, Miss Birdyshaw. Kelli was just telling me that she plays the drums at night, and we were thinking that would not be the best situation for the two of you.” Shane seemed every bit as relieved as Kelli was, which for some reason irritated her.

“Drums, you say?” Miss Birdyshaw’s forehead wrinkled as she considered this. She held the plate of cookies a little farther out. “Won’t bother me a bit. I like drums. Please, these are for you.”

Kelli tried to pretend she didn’t notice the extended plate. No reason to prolong this more than necessary. “Oh, but I wouldn’t want to keep you awake. I’m sure I can find another place that would work better for everyone concerned.”

“I can sleep through most anything, so your drums won’t bother me a bit. And it will be nice to have another single lady living under this roof. We’ll make for good friends, I think.”

Shane shook his head “Are you sure? Miss Birdyshaw, you’ve
been our tenant for several years now, obviously you are our top priority. I would not want to—”

“Completely sure. When I was younger, I always wished I could play the drums, but mostly boys did it back in those days. My mother had me in piano lessons from the time I was about three, but I never was much good at it. Maybe you can teach me about the drums while you’re here. That’ll be the incentive this old dog needs to learn a couple of new tricks.”

Shane cut a glance toward Kelli, barely suppressing a smile. “That does sound like a good thing, then.”

“Of course it does. Now”—Miss Birdyshaw extended the cookies farther still—“take these things off my hands. I’ve got a couple more deliveries to make.”

Kelli finally took the plate. “Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome. And welcome to the neighborhood.” She turned and moved slowly off the front porch.

Kelli smiled as she watched the woman walk away. “I like her.” Which was more than a little true. What would it be like to have a grandmother like that, one who brought cookies and chattered about music lessons? It certainly wasn’t Opal’s style, that much was for sure.
What were my real grandmothers like? Did they make cookies, visit people up and down the street, and attend all the school events so they could cheer on their grandkids?

Before Kelli knew what had happened, she was standing at the kitchen counter, scribbling her name on paperwork she hardly took the time to read.

“I’ll need a check for the deposit, and the first and last months’ rent.”

The money! What had she been thinking? She couldn’t afford to pay rent on this place while still paying rent back home. “But I’m only going to be here for three months. By the time I pay all that, I will basically pay my entire summer’s rent before I move in.”

“Basically.” He continued to watch her. “Is that a problem?”

Yes.
“No, as a matter of fact, it’s not.” She pulled her checkbook out of her purse and wrote out a check for the amount he’d requested, her hand trembling slightly as she did so. This check would not clear, but something about Shane’s arrogance would not let her back down.

He picked up the papers and tapped them on the counter to even the edges. “Thank you very much. I’ll just deposit this and run all the paperwork. If everything comes back good, you should be clear to move in by the end of the week.” The tone in his voice implied he doubted this would be the case.

“I guess I’ll see you at the end of the week, then.” She needed to get her hands on some money. Fast.

19

I
’ve taken a little job.” Kelli held her breath, waiting for what she knew was going to be a strong reaction.

“A job?” A long silence followed. It grew longer and longer, the television in the neighboring room offering the only sound at all. Finally Denice said, “What are you thinking, Kelli?”

“I start next week. It’s a small convenience store out in the country. I think the change of pace will be good for me, and give me some alone time to help with the healing process. I also thought it would be a good idea to earn a little extra income cushion before the grand opening.” She hoped that by starting Denice out on the emotional healing angle, it would soften the blow when she asked the favor.

“Income cushion has nothing to do with this, and we both know it.”

“All right. The man who owns the store was Daddy’s best friend, and I’m thinking there are some things I need to know, and maybe by just being around him, I will get the answers I need—and I
need
them, Denice. I know you want to protect me from all of this, but I’d rather know the worst than to always wonder. Can’t
you understand that?” Kelli sat on the side of the hotel bed, her feet resting on a green flower in the carpet design.

“Kelli, you are so incredibly fragile right now. Your parents’ death alone would have caused enough grief that any counselor worth her salt would tell you that now is not the time to make any major life decisions. You are plunging headlong into dangerous territory, and you are doing it during a time when you should be hunkered down in recovery mode.”

“Did you hear what you just said? You said my
parents’ death
, but Mimi wasn’t my parent, was she?” Kelli stood up and paced, walking between the television and the small work desk, back and forth, until she finally gave up and dropped into the wingback chair in the corner. She propped up her feet on the ottoman, but then shoved it out of the way, stood up, and retraced her steps.