Bet on a Mistletoe (7 page)

     
Hell,
it was already passed that point and into painful length and size.

     
Shit,
that was what being around Lorna did to him all the time. Usually, he didn’t
have to worry about a business full of people. Normally, he was at home alone
where he could relieve himself. He needed a moment alone with Lorna to show her
what he wanted from her.

     
“You
really do have it bad.”

     
Those
words were what he was feeling, but that wasn’t him saying it. Richard lifted
his head from the door and peered across the room and spotted Tasha walking
into the door leading from the front room. “Have what?” He moved away from the
door.

     
Meeting
him in the center of the kitchen, a confident smile pulled at her lips.
“A thing for Lorna.”

     
Not
confirming or deny her words, Richard assessed Tasha. Tasha wasn’t normally one
of the gossip-seekers in town, but he wasn’t sure how much he should admit.
too
. Lorna was really sensitive where their old school
friends were concerned.

     
He
shrugged and began to walk passed her toward the dining hall where the other
people were.

     
“I
could help you,” she called after him.

     
Stopping,
he turned and eyed her.
“How?”

     
“I’ve
known Lorna just as long as you have. The only difference is while you and the
popular crowd were ignoring her or making fun of her, I was her best friend.”

     
Refusing
to comment about the past mistake of his friends, he said, “And?”

     
Closing
the distance between them, Tasha smiled again, “Richard, I can see how much you
care about Lorna. You need someone in your corner pleading your case.”

     
His
mind flashed back to the kiss outside. “I think I’m pleading my own case just
fine.”

     
“Maybe,”
she giggled. “If what was going on at the bar was any example…,” waving her
hand away, she continued, “Lorna can be a little blind when it comes to matters
of the heart.”

     
“What’s
in it for you?” He crossed her arms over his chest.

     
“Nothing, just a friend who will hopefully stay in town.”
The smile slid from her face and a small shadow of sadness clouded her
features.

     
Believing
her motives, he nodded. “Thanks, Tasha.”

     
Without
another comment, they joined the few people remaining in the restaurant.

 
“So, we’ve
talked about my spoiled darlings.
Your parents.
My parents.
My brother Simmons and his no good cheating
wife.” Tasha continued to count across one hand. “Oh, discussed Ms. Huntley who
is going to design a blanket for your mother and Mr. Huntley who’s fashioning a
cane for your father.” She paused, “There’s only two things we haven’t talked
about.”

     
Lorna
stood up and put their chicken salad plates in the sink. Stepping to the
cabinet she reached inside for two saucers, “More coffee?” She turned and
smiled at her friend.

     
Raising
an eyebrow, Tasha nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

     
Stalling,
that’s exactly what Lorna was doing. For the past hour and a half, she’d been
dancing around the only two conversations she didn’t want to talk about, work
and Richard.

     
Moving
back to the table, she sliced the pound cake, still warm from the oven. Her
father had whipped it up this morning before he headed out.

     
“How
long are you staying?” Tasha’s mind had always been like a steel trap. Once
that girl latched on to something it took the Jaws of Life to pry her off it.

     
Barely
settling into her chair, Lorna assessed Tasha. This was a girl who knew all of
her secrets from school.
Could she still trust her? Or had time changed the
girl she once knew.

     
Tasha
forked through her cake and sipped at her coffee, waiting.

     
Lorna
knew the answer. Tasha and her parents had been her champions when she talked
about moving to Washington to live and work. Once in D.C., she had been the one
too busy to call or write, not Tasha. Deciding not to ponder questions of
Tasha’s sincerity, Lorna began talking.

     
When it
was over, Tasha did what she always did when Lorna had an emotional burst,
hugged her.

     
“Well,
I’m sure your parents are happy to have you here either way.” Tasha leaned
back.

     
Taking
a big bite of her cake, Lorna mumbled. “I haven’t told them.”

     
“Why not?”

     
“I
don’t want them to be ashamed of me.”

     
“Lorna?”
Doubt filled Tasha’s voice.

     
She
shrugged. “Okay. They won’t,” she confessed. “Maybe I’m the one that’s ashamed
of my own shortcomings. My parents are getting old and I should be in the
position to take care of them. Not the other way around.”

     
“Things
always have a way of working out.” Tasha patted her knee. “Whatever the cause,
I’m glad you’re home.”

     
“So am
I.” Lorna was amazed to know that her words were true. There was something
comfortable and familiar about her small town. Things she’d always tried to get
away from.

     
“Now,
we’re at the elephant.” Tasha served herself another slice of pound cake.

     
There
was only one conversation they hadn’t talked about. “Do I think that Ms.
Macready will say yes this Christmas to Mr. Deerjohn? It’s been forty years.”

     
“There’s
that. Or we can talk about Richard and you.”

     
“There
isn’t a Richard and me.” Lorna drank some coffee.

     
“That’s
not how it appeared the other night at the town holiday party.”

     
Lorna
slowly sipped from her coffee and wondered if Tasha had seen more behind the
bar than she knew or perhaps had seen the kiss.

     
“Before
you try and deny it. Remember who you’re talking to.” Tasha warned. “I know
better than anyone about your feelings for Richard, even before he kissed you
during spring break. You talked about it for a month. I kept waiting for the
moment you’d pass out in the hall if he smiled at you.”

     
Damn,
she was caught. “Thank goodness he didn’t know it was me.” Setting her cup
down, she confessed, “Fine. My feelings for Richard are still there. But,
that’s it. We haven’t talked about anything else. Maybe once I figure out the
rest of my life I’ll think about it.”

     
“Girl,
you can’t make love wait…again.”

     
“Look,
Tasha, I don’t even know if he’s seeing someone.”

     
“That’s
easy. He’s not. In February he broke up with his last girl friend, Mindy
Cooper, who up and married someone from Winston-Salem this summer and moved
away. She’s due in January.”

     
Lorna
laughed at her friend’s report.

     
“Small
town remember.”

     
“Yeah.
Well, I’m not committing myself to anything. I’m not
going to rush things. If he brings it up, then we’ll see.”

     
“Good.
Well, as lovely as this has been, I need to get to the store to pick up the
supply for holiday crafts tomorrow.”

     
“You
and your parents still do crafts for Christmas Eve?”

     
“Every year.
With the girls it’s an adventure.”

     
Tasha
grabbed her purse and the now empty salad dish and headed to the door.

     
“How
about lunch for the New Year?” she asked.

     
“Great.
I’ll host this time.” Tasha agreed.

     
“Good
then I’ll--”

     
“The
hell you will cook.”

     
Lorna
laughed. “I was going to say bring sweet tea and a fruit tray.”

     
Smiling
Tasha said, “Perfect. It is good to have you home.”

     
She
hugged Tasha,
then
watched her pull away.

 
    
“Good night, Mr. Huntley.” Lorna stepped
off the porch of the Huntley’s green and white L-shaped rancher and pulled her
bomber jacket tighter around her neck. The temperature had dropped in the
thirty minutes she’d visited with the older couple and collected her parent’s gifts.

     
“Be
careful on your way home the snow has started.”

     
Lorna
noticed as her boots made prints in the light covering on the ground as she
headed to her car. “I will.”

     
Getting
into her car she started it up and backed out the drive way. It was just beginning
to get dark when she pulled up, now it was pitch black. The last thing she
wanted was to end up in a ditch.

     
Once
she reached the rode she honked her horn as she drove off.

     
The
snow was coming down steady and sticking. Mr. Julian most likely was sitting in
his front yard with his snowplow already warming, waiting for enough to
accumulate so he could clear the roads.

     
Even
with them in the mountains it very rarely snowed at all, then not enough to
plow. She remembered when he bought it her senior year and everyone laughed.

     
“Well,
you got the last laugh, Mr. Julian.”

     
The
Huntley’s lived at the very outskirts of the county and with the current
weather conditions it seemed even further. The weatherman had predicted snow
but when she headed out she hadn’t conceived that it would be this bad.

     
Thirty
minutes later she was still trudging along miles from home. She knew she’d have
to pull over soon at a neighbor’s house until Mr. Julian got the roads clear.
Her parents would be worried and she would need to use a house phone. Cell
phones rarely worked in her county.

     
At
least she didn’t have to worry about her car conking out on her, thanks to her
uncle and Richard. Just the thought of him caused heat to infuse her body. Her
mind returned to the conversation she had with Tasha. Regardless of her
feelings toward Richard, there were a lot of unanswered questions. Yes, he had
kissed her, but did he want a relationship? Was he just curious?