Magnetic (27 page)

Molly heard voices and walked around the side of the house. There was no one in Layne’s backyard, but she very clearly heard Stacy talking to someone. The sound of a power saw drew her to the hedge, and she peeked through the foliage to find Stacy and an older couple working on something. Stacy happened to look her way and looked startled for a second before she said, “Hi, Molly. Come over and meet Layne’s neighbors.”

Caught and unable to escape without appearing rude, Molly sighed and walked around the hedge to the gate. “Looks like heavy construction back here,” she said as she joined the three.

Stacy smiled and gestured to the older couple. “Molly, this is Bob and Deb. Molly is one of Layne’s best friends.”

“Pleasure to meet you both,” Molly said with a smile. “What’re y’all building?”

“I’ve wanted a dry place to park my trailer for a long time, but I haven’t been able to build it and can’t afford to pay a whole lot to have someone do it for me.” Bob grinned at Stacy. “Luckily, I found someone willing to do the labor in trade.”

Molly raised an inquisitive brow as she regarded Stacy.

“Bob and Deb have bought a sprinkler system that they never installed and don’t intend to use.”

“That was an impulse buy,” Deb looked at her husband, “way too complicated for me with all those settings. But for someone who travels a lot like Layne, it would be perfect. She won’t have to worry about having someone come by every day and water her plants.”

Layne never did have to worry about her plants, she has me, Molly thought but smiled anyway. She watched as Bob’s right hand began to jerk when he reached for a glass of water. Deb reached over and pressed it against his hip before putting the glass into his left hand.

“I have Parkinson’s,” he explained, meeting Molly’s gaze. “The more I try to use it, the wilder it gets.”

“You’ve used it a lot today, that’s for sure.” Stacy put her hands on her hips and looked at what they’d accomplished. “The frame is done. All we’ll have to do tomorrow evening is put on the tin roof, and you’ll have yourself a shed. I get off work at six. I should be here around six thirty or so.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Bob looked exhausted; his shirt was soaked through with sweat, but he had a happy expression on his face. “Stacy, don’t pick up that stuff, Deb and I will get it.”

Stacy ignored him as she rolled up an extension cord and grabbed a saw on her way to the shed. “I’m paying it forward, Bob. I’m going to need your help installing that sprinkler system.”

“That’s a given, honey. Anytime you need help, you’ve got the Bob,” he said with a broad grin.

‘“The Bob’ can be a blessing and a curse,” Deb said with a laugh. “Don’t let him near the pipe cement or a silicone gun. If one bead is required, Bob puts ten.”

Bob shrugged. “I don’t want things to come apart.”

Deb looked at Molly and pointed up to a birdhouse. “You see birds up there?”

Molly looked at it and shook her head.

“A branch hit it and broke it to pieces. ‘The Bob’ decided to fix it instead of getting a new one. He used the fix-all silicone. It’s back together, but there’s so much silicone inside that the birds can’t get through the holes.”

“Ah,” Bob said with a wave of his hand. “She feeds them too much, they’re too fat to fit inside.”

“Molly, if you want to come by tomorrow night, we’ll be having chicken pot pie and salad. You’re more than welcome to join us,” Deb said with a smile.

“Thank you kindly for the offer, but I have to fix dinner, too. It was a pleasure meeting you and ‘The Bob.’”

“Nice meeting you, too,
hon
,” Bob said with a smile as Deb took him by the arm. “You drop in anytime.”

Stacy joined Molly as they walked back to Layne’s house. “Do you even know if Layne wants a sprinkler system?” Molly asked.

Stacy shook her head. “I have no idea. If she wants it, great. If not, I’ll just tell Bob we can’t use it.”

“Then why do all this work?”

“It makes Bob happy, makes him feel useful, and it’s good exercise for me.” Stacy wiped her face with the towel draped around her neck, then threw it over the seat of her motorcycle. “I enjoy their company, too.”

“The philodendron looks good,” Molly said. She chewed her bottom lip, wanting to hold on to her dislike of Stacy as she felt it begin to slip. “Are you the real deal?”

Stacy looked caught off guard. “Pardon?”

Molly folded her arms. “I thought you were perfect for Ronnie, but that turned out not to be the case. You seem perfect for Layne, too. You
seem
like an amazing find, but things aren’t always as they seem.” Molly stared Stacy in the eye. “So I have to ask…are you genuine? Are you the real deal?”

Without hesitation, Stacy replied resolutely, “I am. I’m not a saint, I have my flaws, but I have just as many good points. Layne’s taken my heart. She began the night we met, I just didn’t realize it. I would’ve never dated Ronnie if I knew there was even a hint of a chance that I’d find Layne again.”

Molly wanted to let go of her reservations about Stacy, but some part of her could not. “One could say you’re looking for a meal ticket. Layne makes a lot of money. She’s vulnerable right now since the split with Olivia, perfect for the picking.”

Stacy’s nostrils flared as she regarded Molly. She pursed her lips before inhaling deeply and breathing out slowly. “I pay my own bills, have for some time now. If I wanted the cars, the clothes, the high-profile job, it would be as simple as going to my father and capitulating to his demands. Once I made enough money to get myself established, I could do anything I wanted. But that’s the point, Molly. I do what I want right now. I respect Layne and how hard she works, but that’s where we’re different. I have no desire to climb the ladder of what people think is success. What I enjoy doing is supporting the people who do. When Layne comes home after a day of strife, I can be here to help her relax and prepare for the next.” Stacy pointed to the house next door. “All Bob wants to do is fix things around the house, but he can’t because of his illness. I can help with that, and it makes him happy. I like to uplift and encourage, and my schedule as a bartender allows me to do that. Would you be more accepting of me if I was the top-selling real estate or insurance agent in New Orleans? An attorney? Would any of those things make me more respectable in your eyes?”

Molly was pummeled with so many mixed emotions she could barely think to formulate a response. She too was in Stacy’s position, but not because she wanted to be. Cancer had taken her out of the workplace, and though she enjoyed taking care of Jenny, she felt somewhat insignificant. She also related to Bob’s situation. With a little help, she would’ve enjoyed pulling a few weeds out of her garden when she was undergoing treatment, but every hand that reached out to help was taxed with caring for her numerous needs. Stacy recognized that in Bob and was willing to help someone she barely knew. The gravity of that was humbling.

“No good deed goes unpunished, as the saying goes,” Stacy said. “When people are nice or bend over to help you, there’s always a motivation, a reason why, and it’s usually to get something.” Stacy put a hand to her chest. “I want something. I want Layne. She makes me happy, and I want to build a life with her. So, yes, Molly, I am up to something. I want to win Layne’s heart and show her that I can and will take care of her.” Stacy’s hands dropped to her sides. “Now you know my secret.”

“If it’s too good to be true, it usually is,” Molly said with a slight smile, “as the saying goes.”

“Here’s another one for you—the proof is in the pudding.” Stacy put her hands on her hips and looked at Molly in challenge.

“If it quacks like a duck…shit.” Molly waved a hand as her shoulders sagged. “I love Layne. I’m overprotective, and I know it.”

“I think that’s wonderful.” Stacy sighed. “I think in time you’ll come to believe that I am the real deal.”

Chapter 31

The immediate issue with Lansing was resolved, but the one brewing between David and Layne was not. The PMS comment did not sit well with Layne, and her change in strategies did not sit well with David. At his behest, they had a working dinner in his suite after a day at the Lansing office. Alana wished that she’d been excluded from this particular meeting and made herself a drink when David pushed the Lansing files aside and focused his sights on Layne.

“Calloway procedure, which you well know, is we do not go on the offensive. The very core of what we do is showing people that they can overcome disputes with compromise and level-headed discussion.”

“And frank discourse. So I must ask you, David, do you want to lecture me or do you want to hear what I have to say? I’ll just listen if you want, but I would like the right to speak candidly.”

Oh, shit, Alana thought as she added more gin to her drink.

“I will hear everything you have to say as long as you remember that when all is said, what I want will be,” David said.

Layne nodded. “Agreed. You have the floor first.”

“Okay, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“I’m not in the mood for bullshit, and it has nothing to do with PMS. That comment was sexist, and you know it. I may be more sensitive to issues when I’m hormonal, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less significant.”

“I do apologize,” David said, looking at Alana, “to you both.” He turned back to Layne. “I wanted my tiger, but what came back from vacation was a Tasmanian devil. One week, you’re falling asleep during dinner, and the next, you’re lopping off heads. You and I used to be on the same field, used the same playbook, but you’re in another galaxy altogether. You really averted disaster this time, but I don’t know what to expect from you when we’re faced with the next dumbass. A few months before your vacation, you’d totally lost your spark. I worried that you’d burned out, then I found out about your breakup, and as I told you, I thought the reason for your malaise was both. That I could understand, but what is this?” he asked, waving a hand at Layne.

She didn’t know, either. Layne felt she was being tested in her personal life, and now, her professional status was in question. The tiger she felt was being poked with a stick opened one agitated eye as the fur started to bristle and the tail began to twitch. “What exactly is it that you want? Is it the domesticated feline or the untamed animal that you call out, then force back into the cage when it reveals its very nature?”

To Alana, Layne looked like a jungle cat on the verge of pouncing. She worried for David who sat nearby. She worried that Layne would cross the line and choke him with his tie and that she had nothing but a flimsy bar between her and the melee. So she poured herself another drink.

Then David uttered the one line that seemed to cause it all to break loose. “I want the old Layne back.”

“Me too,” Layne exploded as she pounded her chest. “I don’t know where the hell she went! I thought I was doing okay, then
you
demanded I take a vacation. And then I saw
her
. Now I’m supposed to sit back and take it easy, let things unfold,” Layne said with a maniacal facial expression. “Then you want the tiger, then you don’t. I can’t focus, but I can’t hide away in my work, either. I blame you for this, David, all of it.” Layne grabbed the bottom of her chair and ground out, “I blame you.”

David’s face looked as though someone had forced his head out the window of a jet fighter going Mach five. “I…don’t think I understand.” He looked to Alana for help.

Alana raised her glass. “She’s falling in love and falling apart.”

“Oh,” David said as though it all made sense, then shook his head. “I still don’t understand.”

“And that’s why you’re not married.” Alana raised her glass again.

Layne got up and started pacing. “No, no, none of this makes sense. I really could be losing it here.”

Cheap gin was coursing its way through Alana’s bloodstream, and still it was all logical to her. “Okay, here’s the summation,” she said as she stepped from behind her refuge. “Layne met someone while on the vacation you demanded she take. I suspect she’s really falling in love for the very first time. That’s her personal life and shouldn’t factor into her profession, but it does, especially when you change her schedule at the drop of a hat.” Alana waved a hand. “This whole tiger analogy is silly to me, but I’ll bite. David, you want her claws bared, but you can’t control what she scratches. For years, you’ve controlled her personal life, and she’s given you all her time. But you can’t continue to control everything.” Alana took a healthy swig of her drink and staved off a burp. “If you want Layne back, then you’re gonna have to make some concessions, especially while she’s in this phase of
denial
,” Alana belted out, glaring at Layne.