When You Dance With The Devil (Dafina Contemporary Romance) (19 page)

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Authors: Gwynne Forster

BOOK: When You Dance With The Devil (Dafina Contemporary Romance)
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“What does he look like?”
“About five-eight, slim, could be Latin, Native American, African American or a Middle Easterner.”
That reminded him of someone, and he put on his thinking cap. “Fits the guy who moved out of our boarding house a few days before you came. I think he had your room.”
She stopped chewing. “Did he have a slight limp, so slight you’d hardly notice it?”
He stared at her, mostly because her question stunned him. “I noticed it because it was pronounced whenever he walked
down
the stairs.”
She reached for his hand and held it. “Richard, please don’t mention this to anyone, not even to Judd. I’ve been on this case for six months, and this is the first clue I’ve had that I’m on his trail. The man’s a smuggler. I work for the Treasury Department, but while I’m on this case, I’m a police lieutenant.”
“My lips are sealed. I would never betray you. If there’s anything I learned as a diplomat, it’s how to keep my mouth shut.”
A frown spread over her face. “You’re a diplomat?” She folded her arms and rested her back against the booth. “Why am I not shocked? That explains your persona.”
He held up both hands, palms out. “I
was
for nearly thirteen years, but that’s in the past. I walked away from it, and I’m not sorry. By the way, do you have children?”
“Uh—no. Why? Would it matter?”
“Not to me,” he said. “If it did, would that bother you?”
Her laugh wrapped around him like a blanket of warm chocolate fudge. “You could grow on me, Richard Peterson.”
He showed her a sober face. “I like fast and permanent results. Where should I spread the fertilizer?”
She looked him straight in the eye. “Wherever you think it would be most productive.”
She could be a smart aleck, too, he noted, and he was not amused. “Don’t play with me, Francine. I’m serious, and you know it.”
“And you think I’m not? I have to get back to work. Let’s go.”
What could he say to that? This woman knew who she was and would issue a challenge as easily as she would accept one. Excitement coursed through him. He wanted to know her in every way that a man could know a woman. But she would never accept half a loaf, and as long as he saw Estelle Mitchell whenever he closed his eyes, he couldn’t give more.
 
 
He took her hand, dropped some bills on the table and they left the restaurant. “My bill was eleven dollars,” she told him.
He gazed steadily at her. “It was the least expensive date I’ve had in twenty years, but I enjoyed it far more than most, so please let me pay.”
She stopped walking. “Don’t tell me you’re always so serious. By the way, what was the name of that man who had my room just prior to my arriving at the boarding house?”
He didn’t remember. “I’ll ask Fannie at supper tonight. If you ask her, she’ll be curious as to why.”
“You’re right. Thanks. I’ll see you this evening.”
He walked with her to the squad car, leaned down and kissed her cheek. She gazed up at him, wide eyed. “Damn,” he said to himself. “Let me get the hell away from here.”
Chapter Seven
 
Richard bought a case each of Pinot Grigio wine, ginger ale, Coca-Cola, Pilsner beer, and other party essentials and stored it all in the trunk of Dan’s taxi. He had developed a fondness for Dan, the cabbie who had brought him to Pike Hill, and used his services whenever possible. Next, he tackled Marilyn’s grocery list and, by three o’clock in the afternoon, had finished shopping. Dan helped him carry the grocery bags into the house, and Marilyn rewarded the cabbie with a bag of warm buttermilk biscuits. Richard waited in the lounge for Jolene and was relieved when she arrived before five-thirty.
“How do we do these balloons?” he asked her. She showed him, but suggested that they wait until Saturday morning to decorate. She assured him that it wouldn’t take long and suggested that they begin immediately after breakfast.
“Do you like what I bought?”
“Absolutely, and especially the colors. Silver and blue is a dignified combination that suits an older person.”
“I hope you don’t mind that I added candles for the tables.”
“I’m glad you did. I hadn’t remembered, and Marilyn’s making him a chocolate cake. I hope it all goes well.” It amazed him that he had more anxiety about Judd’s party than about some of the big and important international conferences over which he had presided.
“It will be very special,” she said, and added with an expression of awe, “Imagine doing all this for somebody you didn’t know existed eight months ago. Until I came here, I wouldn’t have believed anybody would do such a thing. I’ll be down at seven in the morning, and we can start on the balloons after breakfast.”
“Thanks. I will definitely need your help.” He mused over her words, marveling at their similarities to each other. Because of the treatment she’d received from her mother and the influence of her mother’s attitudes, she had had to learn late in life to care for others just as he had. He wasn’t very religious, but he suspected that Providence had a hand in bringing both of them to Thank the Lord Boarding House.
By noon Saturday, Jolene, Fannie and he had made two dozen clusters of balloons that stood like trees of varying heights, suspended by silver and blue ribbons from the silver-colored sandbags that anchored them.
Fannie stored them in the pantry. “We’ll decorate after lunch,” she told them. “I’m so excited. Richard, the Lord is definitely going to bless you and Jolene for making the old man feel so special.”
Richard cocked an eyebrow. “Fannie, I never think of Judd as an old man. He beats me at cards just about every evening and swims along with me at least twice a week.”
“Yep,” she said. “He’s blessed, all right.”
 
Jolene put on a yellow crêpe sheath that ended in a flounce at the knee and the first three-inch heeled patent leather shoes she had ever worn, combed down her hair, and ran downstairs to the dining room. She found Judd in conversation with Joe Tucker and joined them.
“You sure do look pretty in this dress, Jolene,” Joe told her. “If I was twenty years younger, I’d stake a claim. Judd looks pretty snappy in his suit, too.” The more she saw of Joe, the more she liked him as a sturdy, decent and self-respecting man, and she was grateful that in her foolish days, she had not tried any antics with him.
“I’m the guest of honor,” Judd said to them with a wink, “so I didn’t have the nerve to come in here looking like a box-car bum. I never been so touched in m’ life.”
Across the room, Richard stood in a corner near the pantry talking with two men who had their backs to Jolene. Rodger circulated among the boarders with a tray containing glasses of wine, soft drinks, beer, and hot hors d’oeuvres. The beer, which Fannie did not ordinarily permit in the house, was her concession to the occasion.
“This is the first party I ever attended,” Jolene said, mostly to herself. “Lord, I sure have missed a lot.”
“Supper’s ready,” Fannie said. “Everybody have a seat. My brother, Reverend Coles, is with us, and he’ll say the grace.”
The minister turned around and, his gaze fell on her, so she rushed over to him, forgetting her behavior during his previous visit. But as she extended her hand to greet Philip Coles, a familiar voice reached her ears.
“Hello, Jolene.”
She looked into the face of Gregory Hicks, and nearly lost her balance. “Hello, Gregory. How are you?”
“I’m surprised that you remember me.”
She couldn’t believe he’d said that. “Of course I remember you.”
Both of his eyebrows shot up, and she said, “I’ve wanted to talk with you, but I haven’t been able to get up the courage. A lot of things have happened to me since I last saw you, and I understand myself and people much better than I did.”
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked, obviously unmoved.
“Because I’m sorry for the way I behaved. I had a lot to learn, and I still do. I’d give anything if I could change your opinion of me, but I know I can’t . . . See you.” Without waiting for his reaction, she left him and walked across the lounge to the dining room to her usual place. Then she realized she hadn’t said one word to Philip Coles.
She was about to take her usual seat when her gaze captured the table that Fannie had added to accommodate Philip and Gregory and found them both looking at her. She waved at Philip and relaxed when he acknowledged it with a smile.
After Philip said grace, Richard stood and raised his glass of wine. “Tonight, we’re celebrating Judd Walker’s eighty-fifth birthday. Judd has done what my father tried but didn’t succeed in doing.” He paused, grinned, and said, “You don’t have to know what that is,” and was rewarded with a ripple of laughter.
“I see Rodger standing at the kitchen door anxious to begin serving the meal, so I won’t test your patience or his. When I decided to give Judd a party, I didn’t have a clue as to what was involved. Jolene came to my rescue. The decorations are her idea and choice, and she and Fannie helped me set them up. I gave Marilyn a menu and she sent me on a shopping trip. All in all, I’ve never enjoyed anything as much as I’ve enjoyed this. Judd, my friend, you deserve the best.”
Judd stood. “I want to thank m’ family for making this one of the happiest days of m’life. It’s the first birthday party I ever had, and I’m loving it. I thank m’friend Richard for brightening m’ life. Let’s eat.”
When Rodger set bowls of oyster chowder before them, Joe Tucker rubbed his hands together as if he were washing them. “Jolene, my friend, I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. We all know Richard is ‘class,’ but you surprised me. The decorations are great. We could be in a five-star hotel. You have changed a lot, right in front of our eyes.”
“I’m learning, Joe. This is the first party I’ve ever been to.”
“
What?
”
“I don’t want to spoil the party for you. Sometime, if you’re interested, I’ll tell you what it’s like to be your mother’s slave.”
His sharp whistle split the air, and everyone in the dining room looked their way. His silence told her that she had either shocked or scandalized him. After a few minutes, he said, “That fellow over there with Richard is looking at you. You know him?”
“He’s Gregory Hicks, and he goes to Fannie’s church. I went out with him a few times, but I messed up. Joe, I didn’t know anything about men or anything else when I came here. He’s a very nice man.” She marveled at her ability to discuss personal things with a man she knew only as her seatmate at supper
. I have come a long way
, she said to herself.
“He likes you,” Joe said.
“Maybe, but he won’t do anything about it. Like I said, I ruined things with him.”
The seven course meal ended with crème Courvoisier and espresso coffee, which Marilyn herself served, to a round of applause.
Joe turned in his chair and faced Jolene fully. “You say you don’t know much about men. Well, I guess you don’t. I don’t know what you did to him, but that man over there is interested in more than the dress you got on.”
Jolene smiled and patted Joe’s arm. “Thanks. You’ve done wonders for my ego tonight, Joe.” When she saw Fannie introduce Francine to Gregory, she knew that Gregory still hadn’t settled on a girl.
He’ll have to come to me; I’ve made a dunce of myself over a man for the last time.
She headed toward Judd to congratulate him but, seeing the crowd around him, gave up the idea. Feeling a tap on her arm, she turned to face Philip Coles. “I’ve been trying to get a moment to speak with you. You’re finally blooming,” he said, “and it looks as if you have a talent for decorating. My, my. You look wonderful, too. I can’t tell you how proud of you I am.”
In that moment of pride, she could feel her shoulders go back, for only Philip Coles knew what she’d overcome, indeed what she was still climbing over. “You think I’ll make it?”
He nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes. Indeed, I don’t see how you can fail. The difference since I was last here is phenomenal.”
“Well, sir, there’s been a lot of pain to go with it. Mama didn’t give me one positive thing to help me; I’m finding that practically everything she crammed into my head about people was untrue. And especially about men. Why did she hate men so much? Do you know she refused even to tell me who my father is? And that was the least she owed me.”
Immediately, she wished she hadn’t spoken so candidly, for the blood heated his face and neck, and he stammered his sympathy. “What’s d-d-done is done, Jolene. I’m glad you’ve found a home here.”
He seemed anxious to leave her, so she did her best to put him at ease. “I’m glad you’re here for the party, Reverend Coles. Having an outside guest makes it special.” Her gaze caught Judd, Gregory, and Richard looking at her and Philip Coles, and she hoped they didn’t think she was involved with the minister in any way.
To make sure that they didn’t, she excused herself, walked over to Judd and hugged him. “Happy birthday, Judd. Now you know who’s special around here.”
“I always knowed it. I’m twenty years older than Louvenia over there, and the next most important person is the cook.”
“For heaven’s sake, don’t let Marilyn know you’re more special here than she is; she might downgrade the meals,” Richard said.
“Humph,” Judd snorted. “No way. She’s too vain.”
“Would you like to dance?” Gregory asked Jolene. “That music is too good to waste.”
“I never learned how,” she said, unwilling to make an excuse or to give him the impression that she didn’t want to dance with him. “I’m just learning how to walk in high heels.” She had intended to draw a laugh, but the solemn faces before her were proof that they knew she told the truth and empathized with her.
Evidently not to be outdone, Gregory said, “Even if you knew how, I doubt you’d be able to dance in those shoes. I don’t see how women walk in them. Let’s find a glass of wine.”
 
“Something strange going on here,” Judd said to Richard when they were alone, “and I’m not about to say what I’m thinking.”
“Yeah. I was thinking something like that a minute ago, and I’ve thought it before.” He also feared what he’d start if he articulated his thoughts. “The women are all looking great for you tonight, Judd,” he said, changing the subject. “Strut your stuff, man.”

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