A Life Less Ordinary (40 page)

In
silent accord they went outside, where they fidgeted before Manny finally said
with a grimace, “I wanted to say I’m sorry for – for -”

Brett
shook his head.  “You changed your mind.  That’s allowed.  You have no need to
apologize for that.”

Manny
smiled ruefully.  “I know, but I feel better now.”

He
shrugged.  “I was disappointed, but hey.  Shit happens.

“No
hard feelings?” she asked.

“Of
course not.  And – uh – I know you saw me working those new girls.”  Brett
looked down, scratching at his ear, and he had the grace to look slightly
embarrassed.  “This is what I do,” he muttered, shrugging.  “I win some; I lose
some.”

“They
shot you down, huh?” Manny said sympathetically.

“Pretty
brutally,” he sighed.

She
bit her lip then laughed.

“You
at least were nice enough about it,” he told her.

Manny
shrugged.  “I try to be nice,” she agreed.

“So
– no hard feelings?”

“No
hard feelings.”

He
smiled, a genuine smile and not the smarmily fake one he’d previously plied her
with.

“Let
me walk you to your van,” he offered.

She
smiled and nodded.  “I’d like that.”

They
ambled from the office to the parking lot in companionable silence interspersed
with the occasional comment about the weather, the scenery and the next stop
for Manny and Zeke.

Manny
glanced up and bit her lip when she saw Zeke leaning against the driver’s door
of the van, his arms crossed, sending them a fulminating glare from beneath
dark brows lowered over thunderous eyes.

“You
know, that man glowers all the time,” Brett murmured to Manny, his blue eyes
wide and cautious.

That
surprised a laugh out of her.  “I’m used to it by now.”

“Tell
me – is he any fun at all?”

“Lots,
actually – when he decides to just relax and enjoy himself.”

Brett
shook his head in wonder.  “Hard to believe, but if you say so.”  He looked at
Zeke again and slowed his steps.

“You
know, on second thought, I should say good-bye to you here.”

Manny
frowned.  “Are you scared of him?” she asked with interest.

“Well,
he did threaten to break both my legs if I came near you again.”

Her
jaw dropped and she flushed.  “He did?” she squeaked.

Brett
nodded vigorously.  “I’m almost positive he was serious.”

Manny
glanced at Zeke from the corner of her eye.  “Judging from the way he’s glaring
at you right now, I’m thinking you might be right.”  She bit her lip and tried
to hide her amusement.  “Nice to know he looks out for his poor old Auntie Em,”
she muttered.

Brett
looked quizzically at her but she shook her head.

“A
long story,” she said, “and we don’t have the time.”

Brett
nodded and they stared at each other for a long, suspended moment before Brett
slowly smiled at her.  It was, once again, a genuine smile, and Manny smiled
back.

“I’m
sorry to see you go,” he said, “and I sincerely mean that.”

“Thank
you,” Manny said.  “I’ve enjoyed my time here.”

Now
Brett’s grin turned devilish as he said, “You could have enjoyed it a lot
more...”

Manny
laughed and shook her head.  “I’ll just take your word for it.”

Brett
shrugged in rueful defeat, and opened his arms.  Manny hesitated, then stepped
forward and hugged him warmly.

Manny
murmured against his shoulder, “I did appreciate the pursuit.”  They moved
apart, as she added, “and that spaghetti sauce really was sinful.”

Brett
shrugged.  “I get it from an old Italian guy in town.”

She
gaped, then threw back her head and laughed, shaking her head.  “You are
such
a bastard,” she said.

He
laughed and nodded.  “This is what I do.”

“I
know.”

They
grinned at each other then both looked over as Zeke called out an irritated,
“Okay, okay – break it up – we’ve got a long way to go today!”

Brett
and Manny exchanged ruefully amused looks.

“Take
care of yourself,” Manny said.

“You,
too.”

Manny
noticed that Brett stood in the parking lot and watched as they drove away. 
She thought it was a good thing he couldn’t see Zeke’s dark glare, his gritted
teeth, or the death grip he had on the steering wheel.

That
night, Zeke pounded furiously on his laptop’s keyboard as he wrote his latest
blog.  He scowled and swore softly as he sent it off to Leah.

* * * * *

“
Women
of a Certain Age should be smart enough not to fall for the smooth line of the
first Lothario who shows up
,” Leah read aloud. 

TJ’s eyebrows rose even higher than they’d already been raised as
she continued, “
God save us all from cougars who are still only kittens at
heart and in experience.  They’ll fall prey to any prowling wolf, wily coyote
or pouncing fox they stumble upon.  Even cougars need to be protected when
they’re still just clueless babes in the woods.
”

TJ
sat in thoughtful silence once Leah finished and carefully refolded the paper
in her hands.

“You
may have been too hasty in dismissing his feelings,” he rasped slowly.

Leah
tapped the folded paper against her lips as she stared into space.

“You
may be right,” she agreed.  She gave him a slow grin.  “I guess we’ll just have
to wait and see what happens next.”

“You’re
where?”

“Some
pissant little town in Florida,” Zeke sighed.  “Manny thought it looked pretty,
so we’re here for a few days.  Personally, I think it’s only because she can
probably meet the whole damn town in two days.”

TJ
laughed a raspy laugh that turned into a dry, wracking cough.

“Jesus,
buddy – you okay?” Zeke asked when TJ came back on the line.

“Yeah,
I’ll be fine.  I just can’t seem to shake the last of this cold.  And the more
I cough, the more I pull my incision, so I’m still really tender, too.”

“What
does the nurse say?”

“Not
much, except to say it’s not that bad, and to get out of bed.”

“
Sorry?”

“
Yeah, Leah’s beyond
pissed.  But she’s been so swamped at work – your blog, man, shows no sign of
slowing down! - she hasn’t had a chance to phone the agency and ask for a new
nurse, or a second opinion, or whatever.”

“
Do you want me to do
it?”

TJ
paused.  “Wow – Manny’s rubbing off on you.  That’s really nice, Zeke – but
really not necessary.  I like this nurse; she’s a bit brusque, but tough love
may be exactly what I need.  To a point, anyway.”

“Well,
what does the doctor say?”

“Nothing. 
I haven’t seen him.”

“TJ!”

“Hey
– I have three weeks to go before my six week check-up.  That’s soon enough.”

Zeke
growled in frustration.  TJ laughed, then coughed again.

“I’m
okay, Zeke.  Really.  Go have fun in Florida.”

“It’s
a tough life,” Zeke sighed dramatically.

“Fuck
off,” TJ said.  “Wait until I’m all healed up; I’ll take Leah on a long holiday
to a tropical island during the depths of winter, and leave you here, freezing
your ass off.”

“What’s
new about that?” Zeke asked drily, and they both laughed as they ended the
call.

* * * * *

Manny
smiled at her hostess’ sixteen-year-old son as she walked into the dining
room.  He ducked his head and mumbled hello, hiding his face behind a shock of
stringy brown hair.  Manny mentally shrugged.

Ted
had been pretty shy with her and Zeke the last two days, and she suspected he’d
gladly hide in his room if his mother, Cora, didn’t insist on his presence. 
Manny thought he seemed like a typically awkward teenager, going through that
stage where they simply didn’t know how to act in certain situations.  The few
times she and Zeke or another guest had coaxed actual conversation out of him,
he’d been bright, well-spoken, and remarkably well-informed.  Of course, as
Cora noted drily, he was almost constantly online.

Manny
saw he was focused on his phone as she sat down at the table with her plate of
food.  She glanced up as Zeke walked in and greeted everyone.

“More
coffee?” Zeke asked as he filled up his plate from the small buffet table.

Manny
nodded.  “Please.”

Cora
bustled in.  “I’ll do that, Zeke.  Go sit down.”

Zeke
thanked her, then said as he made his way to the table, “So, how many Misfit
Toys have you gathered this time around?”

There
was a loud clatter as Cora knocked a cup off the buffet table and it shattered
on the floor.

“Oh!”
Manny exclaimed, rising to her feet.

“No,
no, no,” Cora said, her face bright red with embarrassment, “I was clumsy –
it’s okay.  Teddy,” Manny glanced at Ted, who was staring wide-eyed at his
mother, “come with me to the kitchen – there’s a new pot of coffee that’s just
finished brewing.”

“But
that pot’s half-full,” Manny protested mildly, “I can -”

“No,
no, no – come on, Teddy.”

Ted
nodded and hastily stood.  They picked up the shards of the broken coffee cup,
and hurried into the kitchen as Manny returned to her seat and Zeke finally sat
at the table.

She
glanced ruefully at him.  “Anyway, I met two Misfit Toys yesterday.”

“Only
two?” he asked drily as Cora and Ted returned to the dining room.

“Well,
while you were holed up working, I was busy looking for a beach that wasn’t
wall-to-wall people.”

“You
didn’t want to meet people?” Zeke asked in mock disbelief.

“Well,
not while I’m wearing a bikini,” Manny replied, then stared in horror at Ted. 
“Sorry, Ted – didn’t mean to put that image in your head.”

Ted
blushed and ducked his head, peeking out from behind his hair.

Manny
made a mental note to ask Daisy if Jakob had ever gone through this shy,
awkward stage.

Cora,
on the other hand, seemed rattled and excited as she filled Manny’s coffee cup,
then sat chatting too-brightly with them, her eyes darting from Manny to Zeke
and back again.

Manny
mentally raised her eyebrows.

“Are
you guys okay?” she finally asked.

Cora
started.  “Oh – oh!  Yes.  Just...some exciting news.  On a personal level. 
That’s all.”

She
beamed at them both.

Manny
and Zeke stared blankly back.

“Good
to hear,” Zeke finally said slowly, and carefully neutral.  He glanced at Manny
from the corner of his eye.  “So, what’s the agenda for today?”

“Exploring
the town,” Manny said promptly.  “Meeting the locals.”

Zeke
heaved an exaggerated sigh and ruefully shook his head.

* * * * *

Zeke
trudged over the slight hill and saw the expanse of water and the soft, sandy
beach come into view.  He glanced to his left and saw the back of Manny’s head
peeking over the edge of her lounge chair.  Zeke headed in her direction.

“Hey,”
he called, “there you are!  Ted told me -”

He
stopped in his tracks as Manny shrieked, sat up and grabbed the towel she’d
been sitting on to cover her chest, toppling off the lounger as she did so. 
Zeke caught a flash of pale breasts, yelled, “Holy – you’re
naked
!” and
abruptly turned his back. 

“Just
topless!” Manny cried, and Zeke could hear her struggling to her feet behind
him.  “I didn’t expect you to find me!”

“Oh,
so who were you expecting?” Zeke snapped, trying to banish that brief glimpse
of her body from his memory.

“I
wasn’t expecting anybody!  Ted said this was a private beach, and I could
sunbathe nude if I wanted!”

“Why
would you want to?” Zeke demanded.

Manny
sighed.  “What do you
want
?”

“Are
you decent?” Zeke asked.

“A
little too late for that now.”

Both
Zeke and Manny spun around to gape at the police officer who had approached
from Manny’s other side.  Manny stared, her eyes huge, then she groaned and
hung her head.

~~~~~

Daisy
took a deep breath and opened the door.  She smiled tightly as Hub stepped over
the threshold.  He smiled just as tightly in response and held up the manila
envelope in his hand.