The Carson Springs Trilogy: Stranger in Paradise, Taste of Honey, and Wish Come True (73 page)

Then there was that awful incident at the wedding. Aubrey hadn’t mentioned it—he was far too nice. Gerry, on the other hand, had given her daughter an earful when they got home. She still hadn’t quite forgiven Andie, who claimed she hadn’t done it on purpose and that it was only a coincidence Isabella’s CD had been among the ones she’d pulled from the rack—an excuse Gerry found hard to swallow.

No, she’d wait a day or two longer. Last night they’d talked briefly on the phone and Aubrey had seemed eager to see her, but she was certain that was only because he’d missed the sex. A month ago it might have been the same for her, but a subtle shift had taken place over the past few weeks. She’d realized she wanted more, and the thought terrified her. If she kept her distance the feeling would pass, she told herself.

She was driving past the Dalrymple house when she noticed that the
FOR SALE
sign out front was gone. She wondered who’d bought it. Had Fran O’Brien changed her mind? Or had some smart doctor or lawyer snapped it up? She’d noticed a number of the houses along this street had discreet signs advertising the services of attorneys, medical professionals, accountants, even a psychic reader. Business must be good.

She arrived home minutes later to find Justin’s bike blocking the driveway. Again. She honked the horn. When he didn’t come running, she climbed from the car with an exasperated sigh.

It wasn’t until she was dragging his bike into the garage that he came charging out the door with his friend Nesto at his heels. “Sorry, Mom.” He darted over to help while Nesto, as dark as Justin was fair, hung back timidly. As soon as the bike was safely stowed alongside the washer and dryer, Justin blurted, “Mom, can Nesto stay for dinner?”

Gerry felt her irritation rise. How many times had she told him not to ask in front of his friends?

“Sure,” she said sweetly. “What’s on the menu?”

Justin gave her a slack-jawed look. “Huh?”

“I figured you must be doing the cooking if you’re inviting your friends for supper.” She winked at Nesto.

“Uh, well, I sort of thought …” Justin glanced toward the house. “Since we were having company anyway.”

She felt a jolt of alarm. No, Mike wouldn’t do that to her, not after all this time. She winced at the memory even so. Shortly after they were separated, she’d dragged home from work late one evening to find her estranged husband ensconced on the sofa, a kid under each arm, watching TV.

“Andie was scared,” he’d said, as if she were the kind of mother who left her children unattended for hours, even days, on end.

It was all Gerry could do to keep from exploding. Hadn’t she phoned to let the kids know she’d be late? Andie had used the oldest ploy in the world to bring her daddy running. And the worst of it was, Gerry had had no choice but to let him stay. It was that or risk causing a scene.

Now she eyed Justin warily, asking, “What company would that be?”

He looked up at her agape. Clearly, he hadn’t expected it to be a surprise. “Claire,” he said. “Claire’s here. I thought you knew.” His face, she saw, was lit up like Christmas and Easter rolled into one. “She’s moving here, to Carson Springs. She bought a house and everything. Isn’t that
awesome
?’’

Gerry didn’t stop long enough to answer. Anyone who happened to glance out their front window just then would’ve seen her flying up the walk, her overstuffed shoulder bag bumping against her hip and a grin as wide as back and beyond spread across her astonished face.

“I didn’t want to tell anyone until I was sure it would go through.” Claire was seated on the sofa, a glass of wine on the coffee table in front of her. “I came straight over from the realtor’s office. The closing is tomorrow.”

Gerry could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her daughter was moving here! Claire had explained that she was opening a tearoom with her former boss, Kitty, but Gerry knew that couldn’t be the only reason. Joy welled in her until she thought she would burst with it.

“Well, you’ll have no shortage of helping hands.” She glanced at Justin, who nodded enthusiastically. He seemed to have forgotten all about Nesto, who’d had the good sense to head home. “We’re a full-service crew—everything from unpacking to hanging curtains. We’re especially good at ordering pizza,” she added with a smile.

Claire looked dubious. “I wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all.” She grinned and nodded, feeling like one of those silly dogs stuck to a dashboard that waggled its head every time the car moved.

Cool it,
a voice warned.
You don’t want to scare her
o
ff.

“We’ll see how it goes.” Claire looked happy but Gerry sensed a slight reservation nonetheless.

“I’m sure you have your work cut out for you,” she said.

Claire laughed knowingly, taking a sip of her wine. “I haven’t even started packing. I gave notice a couple of weeks ago, but my bosses wanted me to stay until everything was tied up. I didn’t get here until yesterday.”

“Yesterday? You should have called.” She tried not to sound hurt that Claire hadn’t. “We have plenty of room.” A bit of a stretch, she knew, but Andie could have bunked in with Justin. “In fact, why don’t you stay here tonight?”

She was glad Andie wasn’t here to object—she must be off with Simon or Finch. Even knowing she’d be less than thrilled by Claire’s news didn’t dim Gerry’s joy.

“Thanks, but I’m paid up in advance at the inn.” Claire was making it clear she had no intention of allowing herself to be swallowed up. “Besides, I have to be up at the crack of dawn. Big meeting with my contractor.”

“Well, if you change your mind …” Gerry was torn between disappointment and relief, for asking Andie to bunk with Justin would be a sure recipe for mutiny. And she couldn’t very well expect Claire to sleep on the couch.

Claire heard the relief in Gerry’s voice and thought,
I should have given her some warning.
Springing it on her had been a mistake. Gerry was probably wondering how she was going to bill it to her friends and neighbors.
Oh, by the way, have you met my daughter? You didn’t know I had more than one? Well, you see …

If Gerry was enthusiastic at all it was only because she had mixed feelings. But what had Claire expected—to be greeted with open arms? That was a child’s fantasy. As foolish as hoping her parents would understand.

Lou and Millie hadn’t gone ballistic when she’d told them. It had been more of an implosion, like a condemned building being brought down—a crumpling inward that was painful to see. Millie had cried, and Claire had cried too, while Lou just looked on, shaking his head in bewilderment. No amount of explaining could dissuade them of the notion that her sole reason for buying a house in Carson Springs was to be near Gerry.

But if that had been true, she’d be sorely disappointed. Gerry didn’t want her, not really. Oh, she was happy they’d found each other … but not that she was here to stay. It was a little like someone saying they’re not a racist, she thought, then having it put to the test when a black family moves in next door. One thing was for sure: Gerry would have a whole lot of explaining to do.

The front door swung open just then and Andie came tramping in. At the sight of Claire, she froze.

Before Claire could greet her, Justin jumped up to announce, “Hey, Andie, guess what? Claire’s moving here. Isn’t that awesome?”

I
F THIS WAS
a TV movie, Andie thought, they’d all be crying and hugging each other, with Claire making some corny speech, saying how thrilled she was that she finally had the brother and sister she’d always dreamed of. Instead she was quietly explaining over a glass of wine that she was doing this for
herself,
for the opportunity to go into business.

“It’s a lot to take on, I know.” Claire sat on the sofa, sipping her wine. She looked nervous but excited, too. “The place needs work and we’re on a pretty tight budget.”

“It doesn’t look too bad, from the outside,” Gerry said.

“It’s more than you think. But the good news is that Matt—my contractor—says it isn’t going to cost an arm and a leg.”

“That
is
good news.” Gerry was looking at Claire as if she’d hung the moon.

Andie thought,
I’m going to puke.

“As for the financing, it turned out Kitty had some money coming in, enough to get us started.”

“If you need any help …” Gerry started to say, but didn’t finish, as if thinking better of it.

“We’ll be okay.” Claire looked a little embarrassed.

“Well, you can count on us to help with the heavy lifting.”

Andie felt her heart sink.

“Yeah, I could mow your lawn. You wouldn’t have to pay me or anything,” Justin put in.

Claire turned to him. When she smiled at Justin, it was with her whole face, not just her mouth. “For now would you settle for all the cookies you can eat?”

Justin’s eyes lit up. “Maybe Grandma could help out, too. She’s always talking about how much she misses her job.”

“Grandma’s too old,” Andie said.

But her mother said thoughtfully, “You know, that’s not such a bad idea. I’ll talk to her about it, see what she thinks.”

If this were
Little House on the Prairie,
Andie thought, they’d all be pitching in to raise a barn. She became uncomfortably aware that her mother was eyeing her, as if waiting for her to say something.

“Um … I could probably get Simon to do a write-up for the paper,” she said.

It didn’t pay to make waves. She’d been in the doghouse since the wedding, never mind that it had been an innocent mistake. How was she supposed to have known it was Aubrey’s wife?

“That’d be great—though I won’t need it for a while,” Claire told her. “Even if everything goes smoothly, we’re looking at at least two months.”

“A tearoom …” Gerry gazed dreamily off into the distance. “You know, it’s just what this town needs. A real getaway, like something out of my mother’s era.”

“With profits to match,” Claire answered with a laugh. “I just hope it’s not too far off the main drag.” She bent down to pet Buster. His tail was thumping against the table leg and there was an ecstatic look on his face. Even their dog had defected to the other side, thought Andie.

“It might work to your advantage,” Gerry said. “You could even put tables out back. I’ll have Sam take a look at the garden—she knows more than most landscape architects. It could be a real oasis.”

Claire sat back, folding her arms over her chest. Her look of bright anticipation had dimmed ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t want this to take up too much of your time. I know how busy you are.”

Andie wanted to shake her. Couldn’t she see how hard her mother was trying? She wanted it to be about
her,
not some stupid tearoom. Was Claire really that clueless?

Gerry had apparently gotten the message. Her cheer seemed forced as she asked. “When’s the big move?”

“Next week. Matt says he can have the place livable by then. But I suppose that depends on your definition of livable. I just hope it doesn’t mean a cot and a Coleman lantern.”

Andie prayed that her mother wouldn’t invite Claire to stay with them. A wave of relief swept over her when Gerry said, “Those rooms at my mother’s are just sitting empty. I’m sure she’d love to have you.”

Claire shook her head. “I’ll be better off where I can keep an eye on things.”

“I have an extra bed in my room,” Justin piped.

Andie should have been angry at him, but all at once she felt proprietary toward her little brother: Justin, flapping about in his jeans and T-shirt three sizes too big, who had to be reminded to bathe and who right now smelled more like dog than Buster. He was a pain in the ass, sure, but he was the only brother she had.

Claire’s expression softened. “Thanks, Justin. If I get tired of sleeping on a cot, I just might take you up on it.”

“Here’s to Tea and Sympathy South.” Gerry lifted her wineglass. Her cheeks were flushed and her hand a little unsteady. “I’m sure it’ll be a huge success.”

“With all the cookies I can eat,” Justin crowed.

“Oh God, that reminds me—dinner. All we have are leftovers.” Gerry looked chagrined.

“Never mind. I should be going.” Claire abruptly rose.

“Don’t be silly.” Gerry jumped to her feet as well. “I’m sure there’s enough.”

“Mom, when was the last time you checked the fridge?” Andie’s voice was tinged with exasperation.

But her mother wasn’t going to let go of Claire that easily. “Okay, then, what do you say we order Chinese?”

“We had it the last time,” Andie reminded her.

Claire surprised her by saying, “I have an idea—why don’t
I
cook?”

“I’ll help.” Justin catapulted off the sofa.

Andie rose heavily. “I’ll set the table.”

In the kitchen her mother peered dubiously into the refrigerator. “We have eggs,” she said. “I think there’s some cheese, too—oh yes, here it is.” She turned with an apologetic look, holding out a chunk of moldy cheese wrapped in Saran. “I’m afraid it’s pretty slim pickings.”

Claire didn’t seem to mind. “I’ve worked with less.”

Suddenly she was all business, peering into cupboards and poking through the spice rack. She unearthed some potatoes, an onion, a can of artichoke hearts. Before long butter was sizzling in the skillet, and the kitchen was filled with tantalizing smells. While she peeled potatoes and chopped the onion, Gerry made a salad with what was left of the greens. When the contents of the skillet were nicely browned, Claire carried it to the table and plunked it down.

“What is it?” Justin asked.

“A frittata,” she told him. “Which is just a fancy word for eggs and potatoes and anything else you want to throw in. I’ll show you how to make it sometime, if you like.”

“It smells delicious.” Gerry settled into her chair.

Andie’s mouth watered. It
did
smell wonderful. She sampled a bite. It tasted even better.

Before long, every scrap was eaten and the skillet picked clean. Justin gave a loud burp, then clapped a hand over his mouth, giggling. For once, his mother didn’t scold him.