Midnight Promises (12 page)

“Anytime,” Raylene said readily. “People were amazing when I was having all my problems with a crazy ex and suffering from agoraphobia. I’m eager to return the favor in whatever way I can.”

“Thanks.” Karen hesitated, then thought of what Maddie had said about her and Raylene having a few things in common. “Maybe we can grab coffee sometime in the morning before you open up your boutique. Erik makes the best in town, and I can sneak you into the kitchen at Sullivan’s. It’s a well-known secret that Annie and a few others slip in there before we open just for his coffee.”

Raylene grinned. “I’ve heard that. Count me in. I’ll try to get by one morning later this week.”

“Tell everyone I enjoyed tonight. I’m sorry I had to bail so early,” she said as she exited the car.

Raylene waved as Karen practically ran to the house. Despite Karen’s insistence that she could handle whatever she found inside, Raylene waited in the driveway. That simple gesture of support showed Karen once again the value of having the kind of solid friendships she’d been missing.

* * *

Karen had barely entered the house when Daisy materialized. The concern on her face faded at the sight of her mother. Karen gave her a hug.

“Everything okay?”

Daisy nodded, casting a surreptitious glance over her shoulder toward the living room. “She seems fine now. I probably shouldn’t have bothered you.”

“No, you did exactly the right thing. And it’s past your bedtime, so run along. I’ll spend some time with Frances and make sure she’s okay. Try not to worry.”

Despite Karen’s reassuring words, Daisy still looked worried. “She’s always been like our unofficial grandma, you know. I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

“Neither do I,” Karen replied. “We’ll try to make sure it doesn’t. Now, scoot, sweetie. I’ll stop by to tuck you in as soon as I’ve checked in with Frances.”

In the living room, the TV was on, the volume low. Frances’s eyes had drifted closed. Karen flipped off the TV, then sat down in a chair across from her. Silently, she studied the face of this woman who’d been like a surrogate mother to her or maybe, given her age, a grandmother. Her own mother might have been a mess, but Frances had been a rock, her support unwavering, even when Karen had thought she was going to completely fall apart and lose everything—her marriage, her home, her job and, worst of all, her children.

Frances looked peaceful as she dozed. Her color was good. Karen tried to reassure herself that a few slips of the tongue might not mean a thing. There might be a reasonable explanation for being slightly confused about her surroundings, as well. She also knew it could all be symptomatic of more, a ministroke, perhaps, or, far worse, Alzheimer’s. That would fit with what she’d observed when Frances had tried to make French toast on her last visit.

Please, not that,
she prayed silently. Watching this strong, wonderful woman slip away by degrees would break her heart.

Just then Frances’s eyes blinked open. For a moment, she looked confused, but then she managed a faint smile. “I must have fallen asleep on the job. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Karen said. “Everything’s fine.”

“How long ago did you get home?”

“Just a few minutes ago.”

Frances glanced at her watch. “It’s early. I’ve heard about those margarita nights. They usually go on till all hours.”

“Maybe everyone’s just getting too old to hang out really late during the work week,” Karen said, unwilling to admit she’d left early to check on Frances. “How was everything here?”

“Fine. I helped Mack with his math homework, then we all had milk and cookies and the two of them went off to bed.”

“You should have gone into the guest room and gotten some sleep yourself,” Karen said, still studying her with concern. “I hope they didn’t wear you out.”

“Heavens, no. I’m still up to solving a little bit of math, at least for a second grader. I’m not sure I’ll be up to it once they start doing algebra. I couldn’t do that very well even in my prime.”

“Neither could I,” Karen said with a laugh. “I sure hope Elliott can.”

“Is he home yet? I should probably head home,” Frances said.

“I’m not sure when he’ll finally wander in. I got a ride home with Raylene. Why don’t you stay here tonight? I put a clean nightgown out for you again, and there are toiletries in the guest bathroom.”

Frances hesitated, then finally nodded. “Maybe that would be best,” she said. “And if you don’t mind, I think I’ll head in there right now.”

“Sure,” Karen said. “Good night, Frances. Thanks for staying with the kids tonight.”

“It’s been my pleasure, as always.”

After she’d gone, Karen stared after her. There’d been nothing amiss in their conversation, no hint of confusion. Even so, she couldn’t shake the sense that Daisy’s concern had been justified. For the second time, she resolved to keep a closer eye on Frances. If something else happened, as difficult as it might be, she’d have to have a heart-to-heart talk with her.

* * *

Elliott was relieved to find Karen already asleep when he got home from his evening with the guys. Once she’d texted him that she’d gotten a ride home with Raylene, he’d stayed on at Cal’s so they could all go over the numbers for the gym one more time. Though he shouldn’t have been since he’d provided the figures for the equipment himself, he’d been shocked by just how expensive the start-up was likely to be.

Ronnie had been the first to notice his stunned reaction. “Elliott, are you having second thoughts?”

He had shaken his head, though that response had obviously been belied by his expression.

“You know the rest of us can pick up the difference between our original projections and these figures,” Travis McDonald had said.

“That’s right,” his cousin Tom had agreed. “It’s a solid investment, Elliott. We’re all going to get our money back and then some. Just look at how profitable The Corner Spa has been.”

“But it filled a niche for women,” Elliott said, playing devil’s advocate. “Dexter’s was no competition. And the services they offered couldn’t be matched anywhere in the region outside of Charleston or Columbia, and they were more expensive there. Do you really think men will abandon Dexter’s, dump that it is, just because we’re cleaner and our equipment is newer?”

“Absolutely,” Cal said at once.

“Even though we’re going to have to charge more for a membership?” Elliott persisted. “It’s still a tough economy out there, guys. Women will always squeeze a little out of the budget to pamper themselves. Men may figure they can get by with going for a run. The high school track and the path around the lake are free.”

“I hate to say it, but he has a point,” Ronnie said. “Maybe we’re the only men in town desperate for this.”

Cal shook his head. “I did an informal survey as part of the business plan, remember? I talked to the dads of all the kids I coach, and eighty percent of them said they’d use a facility like this if it were convenient and memberships were reasonably priced. Come on, Elliott. Why are you getting nervous now? You know this is going to work.”

“I want to believe it will,” Elliott admitted. “But then I see the look on Karen’s face when she realized I planned to invest our baby fund to make it happen.”

Shock had spread across his friends’ faces.

“Your baby fund?” Ronnie echoed.

Elliott nodded. “We’ve been saving to make sure we can afford to have a child together. Karen insisted we needed to be financially prepared for all the expenses that come with a new baby, and I really get where she’s coming from.”

“Oh, boy,” Tom murmured. “I get it, too. I had no idea how much paraphernalia one tiny little person could need till Jeanette started stocking our nursery.”

The others agreed.

“Then we’ll just pick up the slack, all of it,” Travis said. “I have investments from my baseball salary that aren’t earning diddly these days. I might as well put that money into something I believe in.”

“I can come up with more, too,” Tom offered.

Elliott frowned at them. “I appreciate the offers, guys. I really do, but absolutely not. I need to pull my own weight financially if we’re going forward. Otherwise, I’ll never feel as if I’ve earned a stake in the business.”

“But you’re talking about taking money out of your savings for a baby,” Travis protested. “That’s no good.”

“It’ll just postpone things a little longer,” Elliott insisted, knowing that Karen wouldn’t see it that way. She was going to be furious, but what could he do? He couldn’t be the charity partner. Pride wouldn’t allow it. He’d find some way to make her see reason.

Unfortunately, right this second, even after pondering it for the entire drive home, he still had no idea what kind of valid argument he could offer that would keep her from blowing a gasket.

* * *

Adelia had gotten her wish. Ernesto hadn’t been home for four days now. Ever since he’d stormed out Saturday with her words warning him not to come back ringing in his ears, he’d stayed away. The kids were beside themselves, and she was all out of explanations. The only one she had wasn’t something she intended to share with their children, that he’d taken refuge with the mistress he’d been seeing for months now. Much to her humiliation, she’d forced herself to drive over there on Sunday and had seen his car parked outside of her home. The car had been there again on Monday night and Tuesday.

They couldn’t go on like this. In her heart she knew it wasn’t going to get better. Their marriage had been disintegrating long before he’d gotten involved with this latest woman. She was, in fact, the fourth, maybe even the fifth, in a string of mistresses he’d made no real attempt to hide from Adelia.

She was sick of the embarrassment, sick of making excuses for his absences, sick of ignoring the scent of perfume on his clothes.

And yet, she’d been raised to believe that the man was the king of the household. If there were problems in a marriage, it was more than likely through some fault of the wife. How often had her mother ingrained that message in her head? Add to that her mother’s strong sentiments about divorce, and it left Adelia exactly where?

It was ironic really. She’d been among those in the family quick to judge Karen when Elliott had first brought her into their lives. Just as her mother had been, she’d been vocal about the inappropriateness of him being with a divorcee. Eventually Karen had won over his mother, first with her unmistakable love for Elliott and then with her willingness to go through the church’s annulment process.

Adelia had been a tougher sell. She still kept Karen at arm’s length, most likely because she was terrified that she wouldn’t be half as strong about getting herself out of her own mess of a marriage. Now, with things in her life coming to a head, she could see how badly she’d misjudged Karen’s misfortune.

She was sitting at her kitchen table pondering that when she heard the tentative knock on the back door. She opened it to find Karen on her doorstep.

“Why are you here?” she snapped out before she could stop herself.