California Dreaming: Four Contemporary Romances (98 page)

With shaking hands she picked up her phone and dialed.

When Sarah’s voice came on the line, Mandy asked, “Is this a bad time?”

“Mandy! It’s so good to hear your voice. This is the perfect time. Hannah’s down for her nap, and Hunter’s at the grocery store stocking up. All I seem to want to do is eat!”

Mandy laughed. “It’s because you’re nursing. How’s everything going?”

“It’s fascinating watching Hannah grow. She seems to change every day. She’s a sweet child, but boy does she have a temper when things don’t go her way.”

“Yeah. Not like anyone else I know. How is the catering from Gayle’s working out?”

“You don’t have to worry, Mandy. The guests are content with baked goods during the week. I’ve hired someone from Cabrillo College to come in on weekends to make brunch.”

They were moving on without her.

“Oh.”

“C’mon, Mandy. Don’t be like that. Your job is waiting for you—
if
you want to come back.”

“What do you mean if I want to come back? Of course I want to come back!”

“I know that’s what you think, but you seem so happy doing what you’re doing.” Sarah drew in a deep breath. “You enjoy waitressing because you can interact with people. It’s exciting because problems happen and you can solve them. When we first opened the inn, same thing. Lots of problems you could solve. But now it’s kind of routine.”

Mandy leaned back in her chair, unsure how to respond.

“You still there?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah.”

“Look. I didn’t mean anything bad by it. I can see a difference.”

“Uh-huh.” Mandy swallowed. “Sarah, I think I should see someone…about…doing something with my life. What do you think?”

“You could join the rest of us and hire a life coach.”

A life coach was a possibility, but what she really wanted to was to find out if she’d inherited her mother’s bipolar disorder. A coach wasn’t qualified to do that.

But she didn’t want to tell Sarah the real reason she didn’t want to hire a coach. “I think a therapist would be better—’cause of my mom and all.”

“Oh, right! Do you need any help finding someone?”

Mandy swallowed. “That would be great.”

• • •

After several calls to LA, James found both a light and a duplicate storage box. The light wouldn’t be available until Saturday, so he made arrangements to leave Yosemite late Friday. Beth Ann wasn’t pleased with the delay, but managed to rearrange her schedule to accommodate it.

Since James was already in LA, he took a chance and stopped by Theresa’s house early Saturday morning with a plan to take Ruiz out to the park to play some ball.

A tall man about his own age answered the door.

“Oh. Hi,” James said. “I’m James Lubbock, Theresa’s friend, and…”

“I know who you are.” The man’s tone was unwelcoming.

“Who is it, David?” Still in her bathrobe, Theresa emerged from the kitchen.

David stepped aside, but it wasn’t an invitation to enter.

“It’s James,” he called out.

“Oh.” She pursed her lips. “Ruiz is with my parents. If I’d known you were coming…” She glanced at David.

A flame of anger arose in his belly. Theresa was finally doing what he’d asked and moving on. Why did it piss him off so much?

He hardened his gaze and stared at Theresa, wallowing in his anger without really understanding its cause.

“James, this is David. He’s a friend of mine from work.”

“I see.”

She frowned. “Mateo’s gone, and you, well, you’ve made it clear you’re not interested in a relationship with me.”

He’d done exactly that because he didn’t want to be involved with her ever again. But he hadn’t really thought through the consequences of his rejection. Of course she’d move on. “What about Ruiz?”

“I like kids.” David’s voice had an edge to it. “Theresa told me the situation.”

Territorial already.

James clenched his teeth. This man was going to be more involved in his son’s life than he was. Why had he agreed with Theresa? Stupid.

For now he’d go along. He put out his hand, and after a brief moment, David took it and shook.

“If you know the situation, you know I’ll be stopping by often.”

David nodded. “All I ask is you call first and make arrangements with Theresa.”

James looked back at Mateo’s widow.

She nodded agreement.

James stuffed his pride in his back pocket. “Got it. The trip down here was unexpected. I needed to pick up supplies. I’ll be sure to give you a call before I come next time.”

“That would be good,” she said.

“Give Ruiz a hug for me.”

“I’ll do that.”

James turned and walked down the sidewalk to the gate in the chain-link fence. As he drove down the street toward the freeway, his heart was heavy with sorrow. When he was done with the movie, he’d need to think hard and long about renegotiating with Theresa. Maybe Ruiz should know the truth.

God, it was so difficult to know what was right. If he’d known about the baby, he would have married Theresa, but he wasn’t given that opportunity. At some level he still hated Ruiz’s mother for her deception. His friendship with Mateo had never been the same either.

And yet, he’d gone along with them. He was an idiot to even allow himself to be talked into it.

James pounded the steering wheel in frustration. Should he see a lawyer? A child psychologist? He’d never told anyone about Ruiz. His child was a secret that ate away his insides.

Would Mandy understand? She was a good listener—sympathetic and kind. She’d demonstrated that over and over, even when he was being an ass.

A whisper of hope lightened the angst in his heart as he took the entrance to the south, to head to his parents’ home for the evening. A home-cooked meal without any egos would be a treat before he headed back to Yosemite in the morning.

His mother was in the kitchen when he got there. She enveloped him in a big hug when he walked in. “How nice to see you!”

“You, too.” He returned the hug.

“How long are you here?”

“Stayed at the apartment last night and I have to leave tomorrow morning.” He headed to the refrigerator. “Where’s Dad?”

“At the shop. Some rush order for the army.”

James pulled out sandwich makings—salami, ham, sliced provolone, mayo, lettuce, and tomato. With three boys, his mother always kept the fridge stocked. He pulled a sourdough roll from the breadbox and began assembly.

His mother chattered on about his brothers, his successful,
married
brothers. James let the words waft past him. While his mother never pushed him to settle down, she never stopped oohing over his brothers’ wives, jobs, and her grandchild.

Subtle.

Like a brick.

He finished making his sandwich and took it to the table.

“Not that I don’t like to see you,” his mother said, “but why are you here and what’s the matter? You look like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.”

In between bites of his sandwich, he told her about the incident on the set.

“Was it sabotage?” she asked.

“I think so.”

“Against you or someone else?”

Her question made him think. The only people the delay hurt were Beth Ann, the producer, and James. The producer and Beth Ann would lose money; James and potentially Beth Ann would have their reputation damaged.

“Everyone likes Beth Ann,” he said. “She’s tough, but fair, and makes a good movie. The producer is too distant for someone to do something this petty. That leaves me.”

“Could it be random? Someone doing it for kicks?”

“God, I hope not.” James pushed back his chair and got some coffee. He raised the coffee pot and looked at his mother, his eyebrows arched in question.

She nodded, and he filled her cup.

“Could it be revenge against someone in the cast?”

“Maybe, but the incident doesn’t hurt any of the actors or crew.”

Only me.

“Be careful,” his mother said.

“I will, Mom.”

She leaned back and studied him. “You seem really unhappy. Is there something else? Having problems with your grand plan?”

He shook his head. “Everything’s fine.”

She stood and went to the sink to rinse her cup. “Let me know when you’re ready to talk. You staying the night? I’m going to the store. Anything you want in particular?”

“Yes, I’m staying, and anything you fix is fine with me.”

“Good. I’m making lasagna. David, June, and Chrissy are coming for dinner.”

More pressure.

He leaned against the counter, hoping to portray a casualness he didn’t feel. “Mom, there’s this girl.”

“Ahh.” She pulled a list from under a refrigerator magnet and put it on the counter. “An actor?”

“No. She’s working for Sally. I met her in Costanoa and got her the job.” He shrugged. “Sally needed someone and this gal was looking for something.”

“This gal have a name?”

“Mandy.”

His mother added a few things to the list. “So what’s Mandy got that’s perked your interest?” She looked at him for a second. “Besides the obvious.”

“Obvious?”

She laughed. “She’s attractive to you in—” She waved her hand. “That way.”

“Who says she perked my interest?”

His mother put down her pen and gave him “the look,” the one that could pry any truth from his mouth. “Other than the fact you never mention women since Theresa left you for Mateo. Other than you gave a perfect stranger a job on
your
set when you’re trying to achieve perfection so you can get ahead in your career? You mean other than that?”

She had him.

He stared at the ceiling, searching for the phrases that would get him the answers he wanted without revealing too much. All he needed was his mother hounding him about Mandy.

“She’s cute.”

“I see.” She wrote a few notes on her list.

He cracked his knuckles.

His mother hissed out a breath.

“Sorry. She’s … I don’t know, she makes me want to look out for her. She’s sweet and vulnerable. She makes me want to give her everything she’s ever wanted, and I haven’t the faintest idea why.”

He rolled his own words around his head, sucking on their truth.

“You do have a protective streak. Kind of like your father. All you boys have it, but you were the one who always brought home injured birds and stray kittens. But it sounds like it’s something more than that. You might be falling in love.”

Hell, no.
He shook his head.

“I think you’re afraid of the entanglement because it might mess up your plan.”

“I doubt it. I let women know the score before we get involved.”

“So why can’t you do that with Mandy?”

He didn’t have a good answer for that, which was why he’d started the conversation in the first place. Bad move.

She scribbled a few more notes, put down her pen, and stared at him. “Sounds pretty cold, James. I don’t know what happened to make you shy away from relationships so much. You used to love girls.” She picked the pen up and tapped it on the counter a few times. “You seemed pretty serious about Theresa until Mateo swept her off her feet. You’ve never said what really happened there.”

He shrugged. “Nothing. She just liked him better.” His mother could use all the looks she wanted, but that was all he was ever going to tell her. He put his plate in the dishwasher.

“I see.” She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “What are you going to do about this girl—Mandy?”

“I’d like to get to know her better, have fun—you know, just be friends. But I don’t seem to be able to keep it light. She says I’m confusing her, wants me to leave her alone.”

His mother laughed and leaned against the counter, mimicking his stance. “Sounds like you’re confused yourself; no wonder she’s unhappy with you.” She tapped her pen against her lips. “You know, you’d make a great husband if you could give up this nonsense about life needing to be in a certain order.”

“I’m not ready to get into a serious relationship.” He made his words as forceful as he could. “I’ll get married once I get an assistant producer’s job.”

“What if you fall in love before that?”

“Not going to happen.”

“Life doesn’t work that way, and it’s going to kick you in the rear one of these days to remind you of that fact.”

He shrugged.

“And leave Mandy alone.” She pointed her pen at him. “She sounds like a nice girl who doesn’t need you riding roughshod over her.”

He pushed himself off the counter. “I think I’ll see if the mailman came yet.” Misery accompanied him out to the mailbox on the front porch. Instead of opening the box, he sat on the porch swing and stared at the distance, not really seeing anything.

He had a choice looming in front of him: keep to his life plan or get closer to Mandy. He wanted both, but he suspected his mother was right.

Life didn’t come in a neat, tidy, package.

A week after her hike with James, Mandy drove to Costanoa. She’d made an appointment with a therapist Monday morning. Sally had been accommodating about her time off, but handed her a grocery list before she left.

The trip from Yosemite to Costanoa was without problems. Mandy spent an hour with Hunter, Sarah, and Hannah, before she slipped into her own bed and feel asleep.

After a leisurely breakfast catching up on inn events, Mandy followed the directions to the therapist’s office in a nondescript office park and entered his waiting room. A sign directed her to take a seat and wait.

Within a few minutes the inner door opened, and a slight man in a button-down shirt and pressed gray pants stepped out. “I’m Doctor Graham. Mandy Parker?”

She nodded.

“Come on in.”

With shaking hands she laid the magazine down on the end table and followed him into the other room.

“Why don’t you have a seat?”

Mandy eyed the black couch before perching on one end.

Dr. Graham sat in a chair opposite, crossed his legs, and settled a yellow legal pad on his lap. “From what you said when we set up the appointment, you’re concerned you might be bipolar. Can you tell me more about that?”