Pretend Mom (4 page)

Emily patted her hand, "Come on, Mandy,
let's go get Dixie a bowl of hot soup, and you a cookie." Emily
waved the child from the edge of the bed and the boys from the
room.

"Thanks, Emily. It sounds wonderful."
Dixie smiled.

She rose up and let the covers fall,
only to grab them again when Mike took a chair and drew it close to
her bed. "You've been to the old oak tree, haven't you?"

Dixie squirmed. "I . . ." she started
but he finished for her.

"It's still there, isn't
it?"

"I don't know what you're talking
about."

"Sure you do. Yours and Kevin's
initials. I'd half hoped you'd gotten over him by now. But I guess
some things never change."

"I didn't even look. That's not why
I—"

"Maybe, but you would have, if the
storm hadn't caught you."

"Can we leave this for another time?
I'm not up to fighting with you or anyone else about
Kevin."

"No fight, sweetheart, but I think it's
time someone told you he's happily married. And a word of advice,
leave it at that." There was a steel edge of impatience in his
voice that he didn't bother restraining.

"It was years ago, Mike. I didn't go
there to moon over Kevin. And I'm glad he's happy. I've grown up a
little since then, you know."

"Yeah, I've noticed." He cleared his
throat and smiled. "And we'll leave it 'til another time, but there
are a couple of things you need to know about that night. It's been
seven years. You say you're over him. That's great, if it's the
truth, but now I'd like a chance to explain my side of it. Maybe we
can reach a level of understanding between us. You seem to resent
me for some reason and I'd like to know why. I've never told anyone
about that night, and don't intend to. I'm pretty involved with
your family as you can see, and I don't want anything messing that
up. The only thing I'm guilty of, Dixie, is being a little
overprotective."

"Don't you think Kevin is old enough to
take care of himself?"

"I wasn't protecting Kevin,
sweetheart." His glance slid over her thoroughly. With that said he
stood up, ruffled her hair and smiled. "I'm glad you're all
right."

"Thanks," she said hesitantly. He was
about to leave the room when her words stopped him. Tension seemed
to stretch across the broad expanse of his back. "So you've married
and had a family?"

"I did, and I have. But my wife's dead,
Dixie."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know, Mike.
I—"

"How could you? You haven't been around
enough to know about anyone around here. The last time you were
home, you flew in, went to the funeral and flew out before
nightfall."

Dixie nodded then glanced up at him
again.

"What happened?"

"Car wreck."

"I am so sorry."

"It happened a long time ago. Amanda
was still a baby. She's nearly four now. She hasn't had much
family. Connie's family lives in Florida, and my folks are dead, as
you know. Amanda only has me—and your family and her uncle. She's
latched onto Emily like a grandmother. Nothing I could do to
prevent it, and I finally stopped trying. I hope you don't
mind."

"Of course I don't. She's a lovely
child."

Mike shuffled his feet.

Dixie pulled the covers up over her
more.

"So, why haven't you remarried and
given that little girl a new mother?"

"Maybe I'm still looking for the right
woman." His expression told her nothing, but the frown never left
his face as he strode out of the room.

Right woman? Right man? It sounded as
though Mike were as displaced as she.

Memories flooded Dixie's mind. Trying
to shut them out, she closed her eyes. What happened that night so
long ago could never be erased or changed. Star-struck over the
neighbor's younger son, Dixie had gone to the Dalton house, unaware
that Kevin was attending an auction with his brother.

She had stood there for what seemed
like an hour trying to make up her mind if she should wait for
Kevin. Finally, she had to let herself in the house. After all, she
had reasoned, it had been storming and she was
saturated.

Very few people locked their doors in
the country, so it seemed only logical that she let herself in. She
was chilled to the bone. After checking to make sure Kevin or his
brother Mike weren't in the house, she lit the kitchen oven. Her
clothes were dripping wet, and she slowly peeled them off and hung
them on the oven door to dry out. She went to find something to
wrap up in. She found a big, white, terrycloth robe hanging behind
the door in the master-bathroom. She took it down, strode back to
the oven and was about to wrap herself in it when the door opened.
She had only managed one arm of it, when Kevin and Mike walked into
the kitchen. Kevin spotted her first and stood paralyzed to the
spot. In her horror she grabbed at the robe, trying to cover
herself. She let out a small cry as she fumbled with the coverings.
Water still dripped from her hair, making a small puddle on the
floor. Silence invaded the old house. This was not how it was
supposed to happen. She merely wanted to talk to Kevin, alone,
without her friends and family around. This wasn't even seductive,
it was just embarrassing.

But there he stood, staring, his mouth
hanging open. Kevin was unable to act or react to the situation.
The look on his face was not one of a lover, but rather the look of
a man stricken. He said and did nothing. It was Mike who
acted.

Mike strode straight to her side, and
gently pulled the robe around her. Without so much as a word, he
drove her home. How he managed to get her inside her house without
anyone finding out, she never knew.

Maybe it was his warning that had stuck
with her, haunted her. "If I were you, I wouldn't set my cap for
Kevin."

***

The next morning, Dixie glanced at her
bed in dismay. It was drenched. Emily was there, offering to wash
the sheets. "Perhaps I should call the doctor. You must have had a
fever through the night. You look so weak."

Dixie squirmed uncomfortably. "I'm glad
you didn't. I'm fine, really. You're a doll, Mom, to worry so
much."

Dixie watched as Emily fussed with the
bedding. Emily was still a very nice looking woman. Her brown hair
was gently fading to gray, but it managed to bring out the glorious
blue of her eyes. She was small and delicate looking, but Dixie
knew her spirit was that of a tiger.

Will and Tom peeked through the open
doorway. Two red-heads with freckles and big smiles on their faces.
On their way to summer school, they were in a hurry.

It was Tom who broke the silence
between the three of them as they stared at her. "We've missed you.
We hope you'll stay around for a while. We don't want to sound
mushy or anything, but we kinda like having you around."

Dixie smiled. "I kinda like being
around. I nearly forgot what wonderful brothers I have."

Will came to stand just in front of
her. "Mike told us you probably wouldn't be staying long and not to
get too attached to having you here. Is that right?"

"Mike?" Again?

"He just didn't want us getting our
hopes up too much. He's been like a big brother to us since you've
been gone. And Mandy has sorta adopted us. They stop by all the
time. He helps Mom any time she needs him. I guess we've sorta come
to depend on him a lot. Anyway, we go frog giggin' together," Will
said quietly as his mother hastened him out of the room.

A brother! Mike?

Alone once more, Dixie contemplated
this new bit of information. It sounded as though Mike had become a
permanent fixture around the place.

She let the cool morning breeze filter
through the sheer nylon curtains and smiled as she listened
contentedly to a mockingbird perched on a tree limb by her window.
She had forgotten how peaceful it was here.

Her room seemed untouched after all
this time. Everything in its rightful place, just waiting for her
to come back to it. The maple bedroom set was two or three
generations old and well preserved. The thick quilted bedspread
with the hand embroidered spring flowers was draped across the foot
of her bed. Some of her very own handiwork.

Coming home had already accomplished
one thing; it brought Dixie back to earth and closer to her
family.

"There's a long distance call from an
Ed, dear. I'll bring the phone in to you. You stay put," Emily
called from the hallway.

Feeling pampered and enjoying it, Dixie
leaned back on the pillows and watched her dote. "Thanks, Mom."
Sitting up in the bed she eagerly took the phone.

"Hello love," the familiar English
voice on the other end of the phone had Dixie on the alert. She
wished Ed wouldn't call her names like that, but he was English.
"Are you all right? I rang through last night, but they said you
were ill. Naturally, I've been out of my mind worrying about
you."

Dixie tried to stifle her laughter,
noting the huskiness in her own voice that rattled just a little.
"Well, you can stop worrying. I'm being taken care of like royalty
here."

Ed seemed in no humor. "I was really
worried about you," he rasped. "Are you sure everything is okay?
Your voice is a little broken up."

Dixie stuck her tongue out at the
receiver. "Don't be angry with me, Ed. Besides, when I thought I'd
breathed my last, I thought of you."

"Stop that. Do you hear me, you ninny?
Now—tell me, is everything going well? The locals giving you a hard
go of it?"

"No, not at all."

"Well, despite your courage, your
despondency is showing, love," he declared as though he were an
authority on her moods.

She frowned at the phone again. She
wasn't despondent. Exhausted maybe, but not despondent. Ed wanted
to think that. He wanted her to come running. "No, Ed, everything
is fine, really. But I do have a sprained ankle and I'll be hopping
around here for a while."

Ed gave that strange little strangled
sound he always uttered when he was upset. "A sprained ankle? I
knew something bad was going to happen to you. But at least this
will give you plenty of time to consider my proposal. Your voice is
okay, isn't it?"

"its fine, Ed." She snarled at the
phone. So much for romance. "I've got to go now. But I'll give it
some thought. I promise." Her voice broke just a fraction, but she
cleared it and went on, "You're winning ground all the
time."

Why had she said that? She wasn't the
least bit in love with Ed and she knew it. How she had suddenly
reached that conclusion was beyond her comprehension, but she knew
it as sure as she knew her name.

"Do you mean it?"

"Maybe by the time I get back to work,
I'll have made a decision."

"Now, Dixie, this isn't a joke we're
talking about. You aren't purchasing clothes or something. I happen
to really love you. But I won't settle for any half measures. It's
all or nothing."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I wasn't
aware I made it sound so cold and calculating. But this is a big
step. It's an important step, and I don't want to make any
mistakes. I need some time to myself right now."

Satisfied he calmed down. "Okay, I
think I understand. We have come a long way today—and on the phone
at that. Dear sweet love, I wish I were there to kiss the hurts
away. I miss you. These meetings are such a bore. I feel so bad
over you being gone, that I might even lose an account. I wish I
were there with you."

Dixie felt herself redden. "Yeah, I'll
bet. You forget I've been to a few of those meetings myself, Ed.
They're anything but dull. And I'm sure you don't have to be
alone!"

Ed hesitated. "If it weren't for you, I
wouldn't be . . ."

Dixie frowned. For a man in love he
didn't sound too happy about it. "Don't let me spoil your fun, Ed.
We aren't attached you know. We aren't even engaged. You're free to
do what you want. In fact, I prefer it that way. Because when I do
settle down, it'll be for good."

"You sound tired, love. I'll ring off
and call you later. Get some rest," he ordered.

Dixie nodded automatically. "Yes,
you're right again. I am tired." She hung up the phone and cried
into her pillow until she fell asleep again. Men haunted her life.
Her father died much too early in her life, Ed relied on her at
work, Kevin ignored her, and Mike—she wasn't sure what Mike thought
of her. Or why she suddenly cared.

CHAPTER THREE

Dixie remained in bed the entire day,
letting Emily fuss over her like a child. More exhausted than she
realized, Dixie basked in the attention from her family. Still, she
couldn't tell them about her fear of losing her voice. It must have
been all the rain. She'd strained it trying to sound normal while
talking to Ed on the phone.

After her run-in with Mrs. Butie at the
cemetery, the news of her arrival spread throughout the town
quickly. Dixie's uncle, being the most distraught from the news,
marched over to the house in nothing short of a
hailstorm.