Daughters Of The Bride (18 page)

She was afraid she sounded frantic, mostly because she was. It was one thing for her boss to not volunteer information, but to lie when asked directly was another thing. Courtney got that. She also recognized the trouble had started with Joyce’s comment, which left her in the unusual position of being angry with Joyce.

“There’s something,” Maggie insisted. “What is she keeping from me? What do you know that I don’t? Dammit, Joyce, we’re talking about my daughter.”

“Don’t try that tactic on me, Margaret,” Joyce snapped back. “I’m sure you care, in your way, but you’ve never really been there for Courtney and we both know it. Of course she keeps secrets from you. Why wouldn’t she? But in this case, I wish she wouldn’t. If you knew what she’d done, what she’s doing, you wouldn’t treat her like an idiot. Because she’s not. She’s a smart, capable woman.”

The room had gone silent. Even the canned music had faded to faint background noise. Courtney couldn’t decide if she wanted the desserts to arrive or if it was better that no one she work with witness what was going to be one of her life’s great disasters.

Her mother looked at her. Tears filled her eyes. “What’s going on? What are you keeping from me?”

Anger was easy to resist, but hurt was something else. She could tell herself she hadn’t done anything wrong, that they didn’t deserve to know, but she wasn’t sure she could make herself believe that. Not in her heart.

“I don’t want to be a massage therapist,” she said quietly. “Or a vet tech or any of the other jobs you’ve suggested over the years. I want to run a hotel.”

“Go on,” Joyce prompted. “Tell her what you’ve done.”

In for a penny, she told herself. “I got my GED, then my AA. I’m two semesters away from getting my bachelor’s in hotel management.”

Joyce moved to her side and put her arm around her. “There’s more. She just got invited into a special class. That’s how much her instructors think of her. She’s a straight-A student, and most of her college has been paid for by academic scholarships.”

Maggie took a couple of steps back, reached behind herself and felt for a chair, then sank into it. Her face was white, her eyes wide.

Rachel stared at her. “You never said a word.” She sounded breathless and hurt. “All this time, all the things we did together. You never hinted.”

Courtney’s stomach twisted and guilt filled her. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t understand. I didn’t plan this. It just kind of happened. I wanted to get my GED and surprise everyone. Then I kind of signed up for community college and decided to wait and see if I could really get my AA. When that happened, I wanted to be able to show you all what I’d done. I wanted to be able to hand you my degree.”

Not hand it to them, she thought to herself. Throw it at them. She’d wanted proof that she wasn’t what they thought.

“But you’ve been doing this for years,” her mother breathed. “You’ve kept this from us for years. We’re your family and you didn’t tell us any of it.”

She covered her face with her hands and started to cry. Neil rose and hurried to her. He crouched down and put his arms around her.

“I’m sure you had your reasons,” he told Courtney. “But you’ve hurt your mother.”

“You’ve hurt all of us,” Rachel said. She stood. “I’m going to call Greg to come get us.”

Sienna stood up. “What’s wrong with all of you? So she didn’t tell us. Look at what she’s done. Courtney, good for you. You did the work and you have a lot to show for it. Mom, you have to see, this is a good thing. Courtney’s not the loser you thought. She’s going to be fine. I’m proud of her, and you should be, too.”

No one said anything. Courtney knew she had to figure out something to explain or make the situation better, but she couldn’t think of what. She wasn’t going to apologize. She hadn’t done anything wrong. But her mother was in tears, Rachel was upset and the tasting dinner had turned into a disaster.

“You should be proud of yourself,” Joyce told her.

“I wish you hadn’t said anything.”

“It was time for them to know.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make. This was between me and my family. I wasn’t ready.”

Her boss didn’t look the least bit contrite. “Based on how things were going, you were never going to be ready, dear. I just gave you a little push.”

“You didn’t have the right.” She walked toward Rachel.

Her sister glared at her. “Whatever you have to say, I don’t want to hear it. My God, Courtney, I’ve tried so hard to help you. All these years. I thought we were close. I thought we were the kind of sisters who could depend on each other. I can’t believe how wrong I was about you.”

She walked out. Maggie and Neil followed. Sienna and David stood, as well. Sienna paused.

“They’ll get over it. You’ll see.” Sienna hugged her. “You go, girl.”

Courtney nodded because she couldn’t speak. Shock and guilt and a sick feeling combined into an impossible emotional stew. Joyce left with Sienna and David, leaving Courtney standing alone in the center of the room. Two seconds later one of the servers walked in with a tray of desserts.

“Where is everyone?” he asked. “Are we still tasting these?”

Courtney shook her head. “Not tonight.”

18

QUINN WAS SURPRISED
to find his grandmother and her dogs at his front door so early in the morning. He was just back from the gym and was about to start coffee.

For once, Joyce wasn’t perfectly groomed. She looked tired and wasn’t wearing makeup. Based on the dark circles under her eyes, she hadn’t slept well. He stepped back to let her into the bungalow. Her two dogs followed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you all right?”

She twisted her hands together. “The tasting dinner didn’t go well.”

He knew that Courtney had worked hard to get the menu right. He’d helped her with the wines, and they’d talked about how she wanted the evening to go. He’d thought she might stop by afterward, but he hadn’t heard from her. He’d assumed she’d been tired and had gone to bed.

“What happened?” He took her arm and led her to the sofa. “Tell me.”

She perched on the edge of the cushion. Sarge and Pearl sniffed around the room before Pearl jumped onto one of the club chairs. Sarge joined her and they curled up together.

Joyce briefly closed her eyes. “I think it might be my fault.”

“Why?”

“Her mother wanted to talk to her about massage school. We both know that’s not what Courtney wants to do. I know that she wanted to wait to show them her degree, but enough’s enough. I said to tell them what she was doing.”

Quinn’s sympathy faded. “You told them?”

“Why are you saying it like that? I was only trying to help.”

Love for his grandmother blended with frustration and worry about Courtney. “It wasn’t your secret to tell.”

“I didn’t.” Joyce raised her chin. “Not exactly.”

“If that’s true, why are you here so early in the morning?”

Her lower lip began to quiver. “You’re mad at me.”

“No, I’m disappointed.”

“Don’t say that.”

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “I love you. Nothing can change that. But you were wrong and you know it. I’m not going to tell you otherwise. The person you should be talking to is Courtney, not me.”

“I c-can’t.”

“Then I will.”

He left the bungalow and headed to the hotel. He figured there was a fifty-fifty chance that Courtney had started work, but he went to the fourth floor anyway and knocked on her door.

She answered almost immediately.

She had on her usual maid’s uniform, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes were tired, her mouth drooping.

When she saw him, her shoulders pulled back a little. “If you’ve come here to plead Joyce’s case, I don’t want to hear it.”

He stepped into the room. As she moved back, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

“Why didn’t you text me or come by?” he asked.

She sagged against him. “I needed to cry, and no guy wants to deal with that.”

“I can deal with anything you have going on.” He kissed her again. “Next time I want to be there. I don’t care what time it is. Understand?”

She nodded and drew back. Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away. “What if you’re busy having sex with some hot singer?”

“I won’t be. I gave up singers a long time ago. Now I’m into college-going maids who look hot in khakis.”

“That’s a very limited subset.”

“I’m a particular kind of guy.”

She sucked in a breath. “They’re all mad at me. No, not mad. Mad I could deal with. But they’re hurt. I don’t know how I feel about my mom, but I feel awful about Rachel. She and I have always been close.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“I’ve left a couple of messages and texted her. She hasn’t answered.” She sniffed. “You want to know the weird part?”

He nodded.

“Sienna’s the only one who gets it. She thought it was great and said she was proud of me. Who would have thought that would happen?”

“Family dynamics are always interesting.”

“There’s one word for it.” She looked at him. “Just so you know, I’m really mad at Joyce.”

“Good. I am, too.”

“But she’s your grandmother and you’re not really involved.”

“She upset you. That makes me involved.”

“I honestly don’t know what to say to that.”

“Tell me what time you get off work. I’ll take you to dinner, then bring you back here and help you forget about your troubles.”

She managed a slight smile. “With a rousing game of Scrabble?”

“You read my mind.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.”

He hugged her back. “Anytime.”

“I have to get to work.”

“I know. I’ll see you soon.”

As Courtney started down the stairs, Quinn thought about all that had happened. Joyce meddling wasn’t news, although this time the consequences would be bigger than usual.

But the problem his grandmother had created wasn’t what captured his attention. Instead, it was how he’d felt when he’d found out. And how he’d reacted. He’d wanted to protect Courtney. He’d wanted to be there for her.

Somehow she’d gotten under his skin. He supposed some of it was the juxtaposition of her lack of confidence and her complete bravery. Some of it was just her.

He’d moved back to Los Lobos to be closer to his grandmother, to get away from LA and to figure out what was next for him. Courtney was an unexpected gift. Now he had to figure out what he was going to do about her, his job, hell, his life, and if there was any possibility of finding his way to what the rest of the world considered normal.

* * *

“You shock me,” Lena admitted as she pulled her car into the parking lot. “In a good way.”

Rachel unfastened her seat belt. “I appreciate the invitation. You’re right—it’s time for me to get out a little.”

When her friend had phoned to suggest they go out to a bar for the evening, Rachel had found herself wanting to accept the invitation. Josh was celebrating the end of school with a sleepover at a friend’s house for the night. She’d thought she might hear from Greg, but she hadn’t. She was still trying to work through what had happened at the tasting dinner two nights before. Going out with Lena had seemed like the perfect distraction.

They got out of the car. “Did I tell you that you look great?” her friend asked. “You do.”

“Thanks.” Rachel self-consciously smoothed the front of her dress. Her reduced calorie diet and morning walks were paying off. She’d lost ten pounds and was back in a dress she hadn’t worn in maybe three years. Despite her long day at work, she felt good. She’d taken extra time with her hair and makeup. Not that she was interested in impressing anyone. Instead, she’d done it for herself.

Lena paused outside the entrance. “We need a game plan.”

Rachel laughed. “We’re going to go inside, have a couple of drinks, and then we’re going home.”

“What if you see a good-looking guy?”

“We’ll giggle about it.”

Lena groaned. “What if he asks if he can buy you a drink?”

“Not gonna happen.”

“What if it does?”

She knew what her friend was trying to say. That it was time for Rachel to get back out there. She’d been divorced for nearly two years. She wasn’t that old, so finding someone to spend the rest of her life with made sense. There was only one problem—she wasn’t over Greg.

“I’ll thank him and say no.”

“I knew you were going to say that.”

“Hey, at least I got dressed up and came out with you. Baby steps.”

“You’re right. I’ll take what I can get.”

She pulled open the door. Harry’s Bar was located down by the pier. The clientele was a pretty even mix of locals and tourists. For Los Lobos, it was considered fairly upscale—with nice finishes and decent lighting. In addition to the usual drink selection, there was also a menu of light bites and a flatbread of the day.

They took a table by the windows. Rachel scanned the cocktail menu, then passed it to her friend.

“What looks good?” Lena asked.

“I’m going to try the blueberry mojito.”

“Wild woman.”

“I’m trying.”

Rachel looked out at the hundred-plus-year-old pier where families and couples were enjoying the warm late-June evening. The beginning of tourist season. The town’s population would swell, and businesses would be busy for everyone. Especially at the hotel.

Thinking about the hotel made her think of Courtney.

“Uh-oh,” Lena said. “What?”

“I still can’t wrap my mind around Courtney. About getting her GED and going to college. She and I talk nearly every day. We hang out. We’ve always been close. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Lena admitted. “I can’t imagine keeping something like that from my family or you. Have you talked to her?”

Rachel shook her head. “She’s left me some messages and a few texts. At some point I’ll have to answer. I honestly don’t know what to say to her.”

“I get you’re upset. I would be, too. But don’t stay mad too long. You two have a great relationship. I’d hate to see you lose that.”

The server came by to take their drink orders. Rachel used the interruption to change the subject.

“How are the vacation plans coming?”

Lena and her family were planning a four-week road trip. It was Rachel’s idea of hell, but she understood that some people enjoyed hours and hours together in the car.

“There are maps everywhere in our house,” Lena said with a laugh. “Right now the discussion is about how long to spend with Toby’s parents. I love my in-laws, but anything more than three nights is too much.”

Lena spoke for a few more minutes, then excused herself to use the restroom. Rachel sat alone at the table and realized she wasn’t sure she’d ever been in a bar by herself. She’d married so young. By the time she turned twenty-one, she was a mother. Going to bars didn’t fit in with her lifestyle.

She felt her purse buzz and pulled out her cell phone. She had a text from Greg.

What are you up to tonight?

She studied the message. If only he’d asked a few hours ago. As it was...

I’m out with Lena. At Harry’s Bar.

Want company?

She smiled. Lena
had
encouraged her to make contact with a handsome man. Greg certainly counted as good-looking, even if he violated the spirit of what her friend had meant.

Sure.

By the time she and Lena were halfway through their drinks and laughing about potential road trip disasters, the hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle.

“What?” Lena asked, then glanced toward the door. “You didn’t.”

“He texted me first,” she said, knowing she sounded like a defensive teenager. “And you did tell me to talk to a man.”

“I didn’t. I asked what you would do if one wanted to buy you a drink. You’re impossible. You know that, right?” Lena stood and hugged Greg. “You two make me crazy.”

“Nice to see you, too,” he said, kissing her cheek. He pulled out an empty chair. “What are you two ladies having?” He looked at Lena’s strawberry daiquiri and her mojito, then grimaced. “Never mind.”

“A beer,” he told a passing waitress.

“You’re such a guy,” Rachel told him.

“I am what I am. So, who are we talking about?”

“What makes you think there’s a who?” Lena asked.

“Because there always is.”

Rachel was content to listen to the two of them chatting. She liked that her husband and best friend got along. They always had, just like she’d always liked Toby. The four of them had done a lot together. Their boys were friends. It had worked, until the divorce.

Funny how the feelings from Greg’s and Courtney’s secrets were so similar. A sense of betrayal, enough hurt that she didn’t have room inside to hold it all. The sense that everything was just plain wrong. The emotions had been stronger two years ago, but these new ones still hurt.

The three of them talked for a while. The server returned to ask about a second round. Lena shook her head.

“I’m done. You two go ahead.”

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked. “We’re hanging out.”

Lena raised her eyebrows. “Being with you two makes me want to go home and hang with Toby.” She held up a hand. “Don’t take that wrong. Greg will drive you home.”

“Yes, I will,” he said easily.

Rachel stood and hugged her friend. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Of course. Have fun.”

“That was strange,” Rachel said after Lena left. “I don’t know why she left.”

“Don’t you?”

Before she could answer, the server returned. “Have you decided if you want another round?”

“I’m game if you are,” Greg told her.

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll have another.”

“Great. Be right back.”

Greg leaned close. “So what’s going on? You have something on your mind. What is it?”

He’d always been able to read her, she thought. “It’s Courtney.” She told him about her sister and what she’d been doing.

“I don’t get it,” she admitted. “How could she not have told me?”

Greg shifted his chair closer and stared into her eyes. “It’s not your fault.”

“Her keeping secrets? I know that.”

“No. That she had trouble learning to read. That she got held back. That wasn’t you.”

Rachel slumped in her seat. “I know.”

“I’m not sure you do. You were a kid when your dad died. You did the best you could to hold everything together. You helped your mom. But you weren’t the adult. Courtney was born the way she was born. You didn’t make a learning disability happen. You weren’t responsible for her being held back.”

She nodded but was unable to completely believe him. “I was so hurt when I found out what she’d been doing,” she admitted. “I keep thinking she blames me for not doing well in school.”

“She doesn’t. You’re a good sister.”

“I hope so.” She sighed. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Okay. I’d like to take Josh camping,” he said. “Are you good with that?”

“Sure. He’ll love it. Have you told him?”

“I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Thank you. I say have a great time.”

He grinned. “You want to come with us?”

“Not even for money.”

He chuckled. “I knew you’d say that.”

Their drinks arrived. They sat in the bar for nearly two more hours, talking about work and Josh and mutual friends. Around ten, Greg drove her home.