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Authors: Gwynne Forster

When You Dance With The Devil (Dafina Contemporary Romance) (29 page)

BOOK: When You Dance With The Devil (Dafina Contemporary Romance)

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That she would ask him such a personal question startled him at first. Then he smiled. Hadn’t they just shared intimacies such as only friends would do? “Right now, she’s my number-one priority. Thanks for telling me that.”

Judd would be coming down soon, so he hurried to his room for a few minutes to himself before dinner. He didn’t feel like sharing his feelings with his friend. He had a decision to make, an important one, and he didn’t want to be influenced by anyone’s logic but his own. He stared out of his bedroom window at the darkness that fell so early on November evenings, the waves that lashed on the sound barely visible. As he stood there, a full moon seemed to rise out of the ocean beyond, casting its light upon the waves that danced and undulated beneath it like a woman grasping at sexual relief.

A knock on his door brought an end to his ruminations. “Yes?” he opened the door and gazed down into Fannie’s face.

“I wondered if you were all right, Richard. You’ve never been late for a meal, and I wondered if anything was wrong. Is everything okay?”

He could hardly believe the tender solicitousness in her voice. She was not exercising authority or attempting to control his behavior as he might once have thought. She cared, and the idea stunned him. As quickly as he could, he retrieved his aplomb.

“I’m sorry, Fannie, but I’ve been wrestling with . . . something that’s terribly important to me, and I let the time slip by. I’ll try not to let it happen again.”

She continued to look at him very much in the way that a mother examines a child. “I’ve never done this unless one of my boarders was sick, but if you won’t feel comfortable eating in the dining room, I’ll bring your dinner up to you. You seem a bit ill at ease.”

He forced a half smile. “You’ll never know how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I’ll go down with you.”

She patted him on the shoulder, and he realized that was the first time she had touched him. “I’m glad. If I can do anything, you’ll let me know, won’t you?”

“I certainly will,” he said, and he meant it. When they reached the bottom step, he voiced the decision at which he arrived while descending the stairs with her. “I’ll be away for a few days beginning this weekend, but I ought to be back here by Wednesday.”

After supper, he sat with Judd and Francine in the lounge, exchanging banalities, for his mind wasn’t on the conversation. Finally, he said, “I have to be in New York the first of the week, but I should be back here by Wednesday. You two behave yourselves.”

He glanced at Judd who nodded his approval. “When you get to be my age, nothing for you to do
but
behave.”

“When will you leave?” Francine asked him.

“Sunday morning.”

“I spent the day getting m’annual medical checkup,” Judd said, “and I’m worn out. See you in the morning.”

Francine accepted a cup of cappuccino from Rodger and took a few sips. “Is this a business trip?”

He tapped the table with the fingers of his right hand. “You could say that.”

She lowered her gaze, and he knew that she had guessed correctly that he intended to see a woman. “When did you decide to go?”

“While I was walking down the stairs on my way to supper. Francine, it’s important that I do this. I have to know where I’m going. Do you understand?”

“Not really.”

“I need to put my house in order.”

She toyed with the fingers of his right hand, concentrating on them as if seeing a Rembrandt for the first time. After a few minutes, she looked up and focused her gaze on his face. “You have my blessing.”

On Saturday afternoon, Jolene sat in her room reading one of the books on personal development that Judd brought her from the library. She was realizing that any information she needed could be found in a book and that Richard was right in saying she shouldn’t have been ignorant about the facts of life because she could read. She hadn’t bothered to tell him that if her mother thought she was reading, she would find something for her to do, that she had no life of her own. She had hardly begun the chapter on manners when her cell phone rang. Thinking that it was probably her boss, she was tempted not to answer.

“Hello,” she said, letting the tenor of her voice tell the caller that she was being disturbed.

“Hello, Jolene. This is Gregory. How are you?”

She managed to get her breath back. “Hi. It’s nice to hear from you, Gregory. I’d begun to think you weren’t planning to call me again.”

“Uh . . . no such thing. I had some issues to work through.”

She told herself that it was his call, and that she should wait to find out what he wanted but, in her eagerness to resume a relationship with him, she eased his way with small talk. “It’s pretty cold outside. I didn’t expect this so early in the winter.”

“I hope you don’t think it’s too cold to take in a movie with me this afternoon.”

Her antenna went up. The women in the beauty parlor claimed that if a man invited you out during the week or for an afternoon date, he didn’t think much of you. “I’m busy this afternoon,” she said, “but we could see a movie this evening.”

“I was thinking we could see a movie this afternoon and then have dinner someplace.”

She wanted to kick herself. Hadn’t she learned that conniving to get something from men could backfire? She could offer to change her plans, but she remembered that she broke a date with him in order to go out with Bob Tucker. “Maybe tomorrow, Gregory, provided you’re not busy.”

“Well, I usually prefer dates for Saturday, because I have to get to work early Monday mornings, but . . . all right. Why don’t I come by for you about two tomorrow afternoon?”

“Fine. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you.”

After she hung up, she replayed the conversation in her mind. “Something’s wrong here,” she said aloud. “Wonder what it is.”

When she walked into the dining room that Sunday morning, Richard sat at his usual table, and an overnight bag leaned against the wall beside it. “Mind if I join you?” she asked him.

“Not at all. Judd will probably be down here in a minute, so pull up that chair over there.”

“You going somewhere?” When he told her his travel plans, she said, “Gosh, I hope you don’t decide to stay up there. I’m so used to you, it wouldn’t seem like home here without you.”

He stopped eating. “Jolene, that is the nicest thing you ever said to me. I’ve also begun to regard this place as my home, and I think that’s because this really is a family.”

“It is, I guess. We’re a bunch of misfits, but we get along better than some blood relatives. Would you believe Gregory called me for a date? I’m seeing him today.”

“Have a good time, but take a good look at the situation and try not to pretend what isn’t real.”

“Meaning?”

“If you don’t feel it, don’t act it. You know what I’m saying?”

“Good morning, Rodger. Scrambled eggs, sage sausage, popovers, coffee, and orange juice, please.” She turned to Richard. “I think so. After I talked with him, I felt something wasn’t right, but I’ll give it a shot.”

“Here’s Judd,” he said. “How are you this morning, friend?”

“I’m m’usual self for this time of day. Too bad it’s not summer. I could use a good, bracing swim.”

She waited until Richard finished eating and stood to leave. “I think I heard the doorbell.”

Richard looked at his watch. “That’s Dan. Right on time. Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need luck,” Judd said. “You need a clear head. Safe trip.”

“I’ll walk you to the door,” Jolene said, but when they entered the hallway, she saw Francine leaning against the banister rubbing her eyes. “I got up to tell you good-bye,” she said to Richard.

The situation appeared awkward to Jolene, so she said, “Why don’t you kiss him good-bye, Francine, and let him go. His taxi is here.”

Richard thanked her with his eyes and drew Francine into his arms. To give them privacy, Jolene went back into the dining room and sat with Judd.

“I thought you were telling Richard good-bye.” Did she detect a note of censorship in his voice?

“I’ve done a lot of dumb things since I’ve been here, Judd, but flinging myself at Richard Peterson is not one of them. Richard is busy kissing Francine.”

Judd drained his coffee cup. “That sure is a relief.” She didn’t know what part of her statement he referred to, but it didn’t matter. Judd was their judge-penitent, though she knew he didn’t aspire to the role. But he was the one person all of them could count on for the unbridled truth.

Once, she would have awaited two o’clock and Gregory Hicks in a state of anxiety, and she couldn’t understand the calmness with which she dressed, saw that she had half an hour to spare, and went down to the lounge in the hope of finding Judd there.

He sat alone watching the Ravens wallop another team. “Who’s winning?” she asked him.

“The Ravens, but that ain’t nothing to crow about. They’re playing the worst team in the league. My, but you look nice! Who’s the lucky fellow?”

“I’m going to the movies with Gregory.”

He locked his fingers together, pressed them to his diaphragm and leaned back. “Now there’s a fine young fellow. All the same, you watch your step.”

She tried to assimilate the meaning of his cryptic advice. “I’m only going to the movies and maybe to dinner with him, Judd.”

“If you’re eating out, don’t forget to call Fannie before supper time.”

“I won’t,” she said. The doorbell rang, and she leaned over and kissed his forehead before strolling to the door. “Hi. Won’t you come in while I get my coat?”

Gregory’s eyebrows shot up, and she realized he hadn’t expected that, possibly because she either met him on the porch or at the door when they dated previously.

“Thanks. I’ll wait here,” he said and stepped inside. If he noticed her blue suit, he didn’t mention it, but there was still time. He drove to a movie house in Ocean Pines, explaining, “I remember you liked to get away from Pike Hill. This place is nice, and the popcorn’s good.” He parked in the parking lot across the street from the movie house, and she was relieved when he walked around to her side of the car and opened the door. Maybe having told him all the terrible things she’d done didn’t cause him to change his mind about her.

For ninety minutes, they munched on popcorn and held hands. She didn’t see much of the movie, and that didn’t much matter, because she’d already seen
The Philadelphia Story
twice. As she watched it, she wondered why he hadn’t asked her if she wanted to see it. After the movie, he drove them through Ocean Pines, stopped at a roadside restaurant and parked in back of it.

At least it will be warm inside, she thought, wondering why he said so little, and why she seemed so dissatisfied, when she had waited months to be with him again. “It’s beautiful,” she told him as they entered. His sharp glance signaled his awareness of the sound of relief in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. Not even her one date with Bob Tucker had been so strange.

“Surely, you don’t think I’d take you to any other kind of restaurant,” he said, and though the contours of his face changed and his teeth gleamed, the result couldn’t be called a smile. She ordered a pork chop dinner, not because she wanted it, but because it was the cheapest entrée on the menu.

“How’s your business coming along?” she asked him.

“Real good. I don’t remember telling . . . I hadn’t started my business when we used to see each other. How’d you know about it?”

“Judd was bragging about you.”

“That’s nice of him. How’s your job going? You still at the beauty parlor?”

“Yes, and I’ve had three raises. Whenever the boss is away, I’m the manager.” Both of his eyebrows shot up. “I’m going to learn as much as I can about that business, and I might open one myself if I decide to stay in this part of Maryland.”

His interest heightened. “Why wouldn’t you stay? You can make a good living here, especially in the beauty business. Tourists crowd in here from April to October, and you know the sisters and their hair.”

What was it about that topic that made him warm up and talk? Well, the pork chop wasn’t as good as the ones Marilyn cooked, but it wasn’t bad, so he could talk or not. She put a smile on her face and let herself enjoy the meal.

“Would you like a glass of wine?”

She gaped at him. “I don’t drink, and I didn’t think you did.”

He seemed disappointed, though she couldn’t imagine why. “It rounds out a good meal.” When he glanced at his watch, she did the same and saw that it was only a quarter of six.

“Would you like to see my shop?” he asked her.

“I would, indeed. I’d love to see how you make sails. I always thought they were so beautiful billowing in the wind. Is it far from here?”

“No. It’s right in town, down at the water’s edge. I bought the place a few months back. It suited me perfectly.”

BOOK: When You Dance With The Devil (Dafina Contemporary Romance)

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