Her Lifelong Dream (12 page)

"Deanna's mother was Terry's big sister," Jo Anne said.
"I remember her well. A splendid woman named Colleen.
Her husband was Frank McQuinn. They got caught in a
snowstorm on their way home from visiting friends. A
truck hit a patch of ice and ... Well, it was a tragedy. A
terrible, terrible tragedy."

Leedy thought of Deanna growing up without her mother
and father and felt saddened. "Terry's done a good job with
her," she said. "From all I've seen, she's a sweet, levelheaded, bright young woman."

"Oh, yes," Jo Anne continued. "Deanna's doing great now. She went through a difficult time after her parents
died, though."

"That's understandable. She was a child when it happened."

"And she's still very possessive with Terry's attention."

"Oh? I didn't notice."

"Yes," Jo Anne said. "She was only twelve when her
parents died. It broke Terry's heart to watch her hurting.
He did everything he could to let Deanna know she was
safe and protected. She finally came around. But she's still
suspicious of outsiders. Especially when it comes to her
uncle. She sure has given some of Terry's past girlfriends
a run for their money."

"Really?" Leedy said, surprised.

"Not that Terry confides in me about his love life," Jo
Anne said. "He's a very private person. But I hear things
through Ted. My husband and Terry meet every week or
so for lunch. They've become good friends. Terry dated a
few women over the years, but Deanna never seemed to
care for any of them. Of course, he never put up much of
a fight when a girlfriend became angry over some shenanigan Deanna pulled. There was never any question as to
where his loyalties lay."

"What did Deanna do to them?" Leedy asked, trying to
imagine the sweet teenager doing anyone any harm.

"Oh, it was never anything horrible," Jo Anne said. "She
would just give them dirty looks or `forget' to give Terry
their telephone messages. I think she once dumped Tabasco
on one girlfriend's sandwich. And then there was the ugly
rumor that she put gum in someone else's hair. I heard the
poor woman had to get a crew cut."

Leedy wanted to giggle, but she caught herself. She was liking Deanna's spunk more and more by the minute. "She
must have been a lot younger when she did those things,"
Leedy said. "She always been so sweet since I've known
her."

"I don't know about that," Jo Anne said. "The last incident I heard about was only last year. I think her name
was Claire or Mare ... something like that. Deanna ran
over her foot with her mountain bike ... or was it her car?
I'm getting my information from my husband. Ted is
sketchy on the details so I can't be certain. I think the foot
was broken or maybe just bruised. I'm not sure."

"I can't believe Deanna would intentionally hurt someone," Leedy protested. "That doesn't sound like her."

"She might, if she thought her uncle was threatened," Jo
Anne said. "She's changing her tune lately though. Since
she moved to the dorms she thinks her uncle is spending
too much of his time alone. Terry told Ted that Deanna has
been after him to date more lately. Suddenly, Deanna wants
Terry to meet someone. Not just any one, of course. She
is quite specific about who she sees as an acceptable mate
for her uncle. She does have her standards." Jo Anne
stopped at a dark green mini-van. "This is mine," she said,
groping into her enormous black leather feedbag of a purse
for her car keys. "Ted told me Terry thinks she has a boyfriend and is afraid to tell him."

"Why would Deanna be afraid to tell him that?" Leedy
asked. "She's over eighteen and I'm sure even Terry knows
the campus is co-ed."

"Terry and Deanna are very close," Jo Anne said.
"They've both been through a great deal of grief together
and it made them closer than most uncle-niece relationships. Hell, closer than most father-daughter relationships I know of. Ted and Terry went to lunch the other day and
Terry told Ted that Deanna has someone in particular in
mind she wants him to date ... where are those stupid
keys? Ted said Deanna was quite insistent with Terry. Oh,
here they are."

Jo Anne unlocked the door and climbed into the van.

"And?" Leedy asked, before Jo Anne could shut the
door.

"And, what?" Jo Anne asked.

"Whom did Deanna pick for her uncle?" Leedy said,
trying to pretend that she was not altogether interested in
the answer.

Jo Anne rolled down the window and shut the car door,
as if she were settling in for a long drive instead of the ten
minutes it would take her to get home. "Well, Terry Foster
is the most handsome man in town so he certainly does not
need Deanna's help in finding a date."

"I haven't noticed," Leedy said, shrugging indifferently.

"Oh, come on now, Leedy," Jo Anne scolded. "You're
a woman, aren't you? And you still have a pulse, right?
Don't pretend you haven't noticed his blue eyes! Or the
broad shoulders? Or his sexy voice?"

"Well ... er... I..."

"Men with Terry Foster's packaging are usually only
found in magazines," Jo Anne said. "I can't believe you
haven't noticed!"

"Okay, okay," Leedy said. "I'm not blind. Terry is ...
cute."

"Cute!"

"Yes, for a man who declined the loan application for
my restaurant, cute is the best I can do."

Jo Anne laughed. "Oh, pooh," she said. "Terry declined Ted's application the first time around too. Then he told us
exactly what we needed to do to get it right. Listen to what
he has to say, Leedy. He's got a good head for business
matters and his advice is usually right on the money.
You're just not ready yet, dear. By the way, where did you
park? Can I drive you to your car?"

"I'm right there in the next row," Leedy said, pointing
to her Jeep.

Jo Anne smiled and nodded. "I'll see you in class then.
This was such fun. Maybe we can go out for coffee after
class next week?"

"I would like that very much," Leedy said, and Jo Anne
started her engine.

"Wait!" Leedy exclaimed.

"Yes?" Jo Anne asked.

"You never told me who the woman was Deanna had
chosen for Terry."

"Oh, my goodness," Jo Anne said. "I thought you, of all
people, already knew!"

"Knew what?"

"Why, it's you, silly," Jo Anne said. "Deanna liked you
from the moment she saw you at Mr. Hobo's. You must
have made quite an impression on her, dear, because
Deanna has picked you to be her Uncle Terry's new girlfriend."

"Me?" Leedy gasped. "But Deanna barely knows me.
We spent a day together shopping just that once but I hardly know her ..."

Jo Anne shrugged and waved her hand. "Apparently that
does not matter to Deanna ... or to Terry either. I've noticed the way he looks at you in class, and I guess his niece
did too. Deanna says you're the one."

"T
erry and I are going out for a latte after class tonight," Jo Anne whispered in Leedy's ear. "Would you like
to come with us?"

Thursday night's class was just starting, but Leedy had
already begun hoping someone would suggest an after-class
outing. Even if it was two hours away. "Okay," she said,
a bit too quickly. "It's been a long week. A latte sounds
like just what I need."

She stole a quick glance at the blond who sat in the front
of the classroom. The woman who had been making eyes
at Terry since he walked in. The same woman who made
eyes at him during every class. Leedy crossed her fingers
and hoped that the blond wouldn't be invited along for
coffee.

Krissy Montgomery was wearing a black miniskirt and
a cropped pale blue sweater that showed just a little midriff.
It also had a plunging neckline. Leedy felt a pang of annoyance when she noticed that Krissy sat in such a way as to give Terry a generous view of her cleavage. He was
standing at the front of the classroom, unpacking his briefcase. Leedy noticed him give Krissy a quick smile. She
even gave him extra credit for trying to keep his eyes on
her face. Just then, Krissy stood up and walked around to
the business side of Terry's desk, standing slightly behind
him. She leaned over him and was whispering in his ear
while moving closer and closer by the second.

Leedy thought of a few choice names to call Krissy,
some of which included disparaging remarks about her hair
color, but then she remembered Brittany and Deanna were
also blond. "Except they're real blondes," she thought bitterly to herself. Leedy scolded herself for being catty as
she watched Krissy's wiggling and giggling in front of
Terry for as long as she could stand it. She shivered with
disdain and opened her notebook. Surely, rereading her
notes was a better use of her time.

But, deep down, Leedy couldn't blame Krissy for flaunting her assets, nor did she blame her for flirting. Didn't
every other woman in the class seem to flutter around him
as if they were moths on a porch light? But Krissy always
seemed to take it one step further than the other women.
And she didn't seem to be above using any trick in the
book to get his attention, be it revealing clothes, unblushing
flirtation or ... or ...

Leedy fumed at Krissy's choice of the classroom as a
desirable location to turn up the romantic heat and she
wished that, just once, Krissy would wear a turtleneck to
class. But, no, she couldn't really blame Krissy, or any redblooded woman for that matter, for being attracted to Terry
Foster. Even bombshells like Krissy Montgomery are, after
all, only human.

Leedy looked up from her notebook. Krissy was now
sitting in her seat, looking somewhat pouty, and Terry was
standing in front of the classroom. A sure sign that he was
ready to begin the night's lecture. Leedy saw that he was
looking at her. When he caught her eye he gave her a smile
and a secret wink. She returned the smile with a dreamy
one of her own.

She loved Terry's class. Every topic that he raised was
one of critical relevance to her, and she was surprised at
how much she had learned in the three weeks she had been
there. She thought she had seen it all over the years working in the restaurant business, but sharing business war stories with the class gave her new insight into the many
pitfalls of self-employment.

"Okay, group," Terry said, his eyes lingering on Leedy's
side of the room. Krissy Montgomery turned around in her
chair and squinted in her direction. Was it her imagination,
or did Krissy Montgomery just give her a dirty look?
"Tonight we're going to answer that all-important question-will your business be successful? Not every business
succeeds, of course. But there are some guidelines to help
you predict the viability of your business venture. What do
I mean by that? ... Miss Montgomery?"

Krissy smiled magnificently at him and batted her long,
perfect eyelashes. "I believe you mean that someone who
is looking into beginning a new business should examine
all the relevant factors involved before taking those first
steps. This is in hopes of objectively discerning whether or
not a business will be successful."

"Right," Terry said. "Very good. Can you give me an
example?"

"Yes," Krissy said, giving Leedy a sideways glare and flipping her blonder-than-blond hair back with a haughty
jerk of her head. "For instance, if I wanted to ... let's say,
open up a restaurant ... I would need to decide on the type
of restaurant I wanted to open, then choose the best location
for my restaurant. I also should ask myself do I have a
good feel for the community I will be serving. And even
whether or not I have enough brains to follow through with
a business strategy . . ." Leedy felt the hairs on the back of
her neck stand on end and she glanced at Jo Anne. Jo Anne
gave Krissy a warning glare; then she looked at Leedy and
shrugged.

"The type of restaurant and where it will be located are
important," Terry said. "And we'll assume, for the sake of
argument, that there is an adequate supply of brains present.
What are some other factors a new business should consider?"

"A few things that come to mind are the education and
work experience required. Do I need more? For instance, a
degree in business and/or a few years in the trenches would
be essential."

"Good point," Terry said and Krissy beamed. Once
again, Leedy noticed Krissy give her a sideways glance.

"What's with Blondie?" Jo Anne whispered to Leedy.
"Is she trying to tell us something?" Leedy shook her head
and rolled her eyes.

"How about start-up capital?" a man from the back of
the room asked. "That has been my biggest hurdle. How
much money will it take to get the business off the
ground?"

"You're right about that being the biggest hurdle," Terry
said. "That is a class by itself, of course, but you're absolutely right."

The class discussion turned to start-up costs and budgeting and Leedy quickly forgot about Krissy's nasty remarks. She wrote down every word Terry said and, once
again, made a mental note to buy a pocket-sized tape recorder in hopes of sparing her poor, cramped hand.