Where Azaleas Bloom (17 page)

Helen gave her a startled look, then laughed. “To Mom and
Donnie,” she said, lifting her own very strong drink. “And to the guest room in
which I am absolutely certain she will be sleeping!”

Hoots of laughter greeted the toast.

“I’m serious,” Helen said, turning to Flo. “Right, Mom?”

“You just keep right on thinking that, sweetheart. I’ll be sure
to toss a nightie on the guest room bed when you come over.” She winked at
Frances and Liz. “I won’t be needing it anyway.”

* * *

Mitch had always thought he’d kept himself in pretty
good shape, but compared to baseball coach Cal Maddox and some of these other
guys, he’d obviously been deluding himself. He spent most of the evening on the
basketball court doubled over, sucking air.

“I thought you said these guys weren’t that competitive,” he
complained to Carter after taking an elbow to the ribs when he’d tried to block
a shot.

“Well, they don’t start out the evening that way,” Carter said.
“But there’s something about the prospect of losing that spurs their motivation
as the game goes on.” He studied Mitch as they drank bottled water on the
sidelines during a break. “You okay?”

“If you’re asking if I’m going to live, the answer’s yes. Will
I ever be the same? That, I’m not so sure about. I think when my son’s home from
college, I’m going to get out here and practice some before I tangle with you
guys again.”

“You’ve scored three times,” Carter pointed out. “That’s more
than some of the others have done.”

“Pure luck,” Mitch insisted.

“Luck, my aunt Fanny,” Ronnie grumbled, joining them. “You’re
the first guy who’s played who could get around me that fast.” He took a long
slug of water. “I swear to God, I think I may be getting too old for this.”

Ty Townsend, who’d managed a one-night trip home before the
Braves opened their next home stand in Atlanta, slapped his father-in-law on the
back. “You were too old for this when I was ten.”

Ronnie responded to the taunt with a sour look. “Smart-mouth
kid.”

Ty grinned unrepentantly. “You gonna tell Annie on me?”

“Nope,” Ronnie said. “I’m gonna tell my wife. Dana Sue has
knives and several cast-iron skillets in that kitchen of hers at Sullivan’s.
Word on the street is that she’s pretty adept with both.”

Ty laughed. “I know that’s true. I remember when she chased you
off with a skillet before you guys got divorced. That scene was the talk of the
town for weeks.”

“Not a happy memory,” Ronnie said, sobering. “Thank goodness,
she put it behind us before we remarried. Okay, who’s ready to get back on that
court?”

“Not me,” Carter said. “I’m ready for a drink. Since I’m
driving tonight and the police chief to boot, it’ll have to be soda for me, but
I’ll buy the first round of beers for the rest of you.”

“No need to buy,” Ronnie said. “I stocked the fridge earlier.
Let’s head on over to my house.”

A few minutes later, they were all gathered on Ronnie’s deck,
beers in hand. Mitch took a sip of his and sighed. There was nothing better on a
warm night, especially after a hard workout. Much as he loved that lemonade and
iced tea he’d been drinking at Lynn’s, this was better.

When Ronnie offered a second round, though, he declined. “I
have an early morning,” he said, determined to be at Lynn’s first thing for that
conversation they’d postponed twice already.

To his relief, Ronnie didn’t push and, better yet, Mitch felt
no real temptation to have that second drink. Hopefully, that meant that
whatever pattern he’d fallen into after Amy’s death had been a reaction to grief
and nothing more. Not that he planned to test that theory by indulging very
often. A beer after a game like tonight, or maybe while watching a pro or
college game on TV—what was the harm in that?

* * *

When Raylene pulled into her driveway at home, she shook
her head. “Looks like we wound up our evening earlier than the guys did,” she
said to Lynn.

Lynn gave her a curious look. “The guys were having a night
out, too?”

“They were planning to play basketball in the park then stop
over at Ronnie and Dana Sue’s for a few beers after. I’m surprised you didn’t
know. Carter was planning to invite Mitch along.”

“Really?” Lynn said, her pulse picking up at the mention of
those beers. “Mitch didn’t mention it.”

Surely he wouldn’t go along with the guys and have a beer, or
even more, not after the conversation they’d had about his drinking. Hadn’t he
learned his lesson, after all? She knew that for alcoholics temptation was
always just around the corner.

“You feel like coming in for coffee?” Raylene asked.

“No, I should get home and make sure the kids have their
homework done for school tomorrow. I imagine Lexie’s spent most of the evening
on the phone with Mandy.”

“I think you can count on that,” Raylene said. “Okay, then,
I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” She hesitated, then said, “Hey, do you think you
could open for me in the morning? I’d like to stop by Sullivan’s and spend a
little time with Karen. She wasn’t at Helen’s tonight. I figure she was working,
but I haven’t seen a lot of her recently. I want to make sure everything’s going
okay.”

Lynn gave her a startled look. “Are you sure? I mean about
having me open. I’ve never done it before.”

“All you need to worry about is unlocking the door,” Raylene
assured her. “If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll run inside and get you the money
for the cash register. I bring it home, rather than leaving it there. One less
thing to worry about if there’s ever a break-in.”

“Okay, then. If you’re comfortable with it, I’ll be happy to
open,” Lynn said.

“Great. And I won’t be that late. I just don’t want to rush, if
Karen needs to talk.”

Lynn waited while Raylene ran into the house, then returned
with the cash for her.

“Thanks for doing this.”

“No problem. I’ll get there bright and early.”

“Ten on the nose will do. I don’t like to be late, but the
truth is we’re never busy much before midmorning.”

Lynn nodded. “I’ll call your cell if there’s anything I can’t
figure out.”

At home she got the kids’ homework checked, then sent them off
to bed. She got herself ready for bed, but even after she’d crawled under the
covers, she couldn’t seem to turn off her mind. It kept going back to Raylene’s
offhand comment about the men going out for beers. And no matter how she tried
to convince herself that she was making way too much out of an innocent remark,
she couldn’t seem to untangle the knot of dread that had formed in the pit of
her stomach.

* * *

It was after nine by the time Mitch finally finished
checking his various job sites around the city and reached Raylene’s. He parked
in her driveway, had a quick word with Terry and the rest of his crew, then went
next door.

Lynn answered, looking harried.

“Everything okay?” he asked at once.

“I’m supposed to open today for Raylene, my hair dryer broke
and every pair of hose I put on had runs.” She frowned. “Why are you here? After
we canceled yesterday, I left those paychecks with Terry. Didn’t he give them to
you?”

“Of course he did. We have some unfinished business,
though.”

She gestured toward her damp hair. “This is the only unfinished
business I have time for this morning, Mitch. Can whatever’s on your mind
wait?”

Something in her voice alerted him that her mood wasn’t all
about a broken hair dryer and some ruined hose.

“Until?” he said quietly.

She frowned. “What?”

“When is it you think you’ll be ready to have that
conversation?”

“Later,” she said. “I have to go.”

“Lynn,” he protested, only to have the door closed in his face.
He stared at it incredulously.

His first instinct was to knock again and keep right on
knocking until she opened it and talked to him. Common sense, though, told him
she was in no mood for a rational conversation right now. Maybe she was mad at
him, maybe she was just having a tough morning. Whatever it was, he wouldn’t get
anywhere with her until she’d calmed down.

And, in the meantime, he could try to find some way to keep his
own annoyance about that closed door in check.

17

L
ynn knew she’d ticked Mitch off by closing
the door in his face, but she’d been in no mood for the conversation that was so
obviously on his mind. Nor had she had the time for it.

She finally managed to locate Lexie’s hair dryer, which her
daughter had a habit of using wherever she felt like it and then leaving it
there. Lynn’s resulting style wasn’t perfect, but at least she didn’t look like
a drowned rat. She gave up on finding hose, slipped on a pair of sandals and was
about to run out the door when the phone rang.

“Mrs. Morrow, this is Lucille at the bank,” a subdued voice
said when she answered.

“Hi, Lucille. How are you?”

“Fine, and you?”

“Fine,” Lynn said, then waited, her heart pounding. Surely this
couldn’t be some kind of bad news. Last time she’d checked, her account had
still been okay.

“I’m sorry to call you about this, but there’s a bit of a
problem with your checking account.”

Lynn sat down hard. “I don’t understand. What sort of problem?
I went through the statement a week ago, and everything looked to be in
order.”

“Unfortunately, there have been several overdrafts since then,”
Lucille said. “I know you have protection for that, but we like to alert
customers when this sort of problem arises, especially when there are so many
payments involved.”

“Now I really don’t understand,” Lynn said, her temper
stirring. “I balanced my checkbook when the statement came. There was still
plenty of money to cover the checks I wrote.”

“Possibly so,” Lucille conceded. “But Mr. Morrow wrote a check
for a rather large amount. It wiped out that balance, and it cleared before
these other checks started turning up.”

The anger that surged through Lynn nearly took her breath away.
“You have to be kidding me. Ed’s not supposed to be writing checks on that
account.” Or had she just assumed he wouldn’t? Obviously that was a mistake.

“His name is still on the account,” Lucille said. “We had no
choice but to honor the check he wrote.”

“To whom was that check made out?” Lynn asked, her tone icy.
“And for how much?”

“To cash. It was for five thousand dollars. That left only a
few dollars in the account. Seventeen dollars and thirty-seven cents, to be
exact.”

Lynn felt sick to her stomach. Helen had probably told her to
do some kind of paperwork, but she’d trusted Ed to be an honorable man. Worst of
all, he’d taken not only the money he’d paid her for support, but the money
she’d deposited from her own paltry paychecks.

“Thanks for letting me know, Lucille. I’ll take care of this
before the end of the day.”

Dazed, she hung up the phone, glanced at the clock and realized
she had only minutes to get to the boutique. She grabbed her purse, the money
for the register and made the walk to Main Street in record time.

As soon as she’d turned on the lights and put the money into
the cash register, she called Helen.

After describing the call from Lucille and listening to a few
blistering words about Ed from her attorney, she asked, “Helen, what am I
supposed to do? That was every bit of money I had.”

“I’ll deal with it,” Helen promised. “Are you at the
boutique?”

“Yes.”

“Give me an hour. I’ll either call or stop by.”

“Thanks, Helen. Should I call Ed?”

“Absolutely not. Let me deal with Ed,” Helen said. “I imagine
this is going to be the final straw with Hal Cantor. I think I can persuade him
to hold an emergency hearing by tomorrow.”

“And in the meantime?”

“I’ll get that money replaced one way or another, Lynn. I
promise you that.”

Lynn hung up, relieved to leave everything in Helen’s capable
hands, but shaking with fury just the same. Even though Helen had sternly
advised against it, she dialed Ed’s private line at work.

“How could you?” she demanded when he answered. “What kind of
man virtually bankrupts his wife and children?”

“Stop exaggerating,” he said, though he sounded shaken by her
outrage. “You’re hardly bankrupt.”

“Seventeen dollars, Ed. That’s what you left in that account.
You not only took the support money. You stole
my
money, too.”

“Stole?”

“Yes,” she said flatly. “That was money I’d worked for. Every
single check I wrote to pay our bills could have been returned, but thank
heavens we’d put overdraft protection on the account. How I’m supposed to cover
them, though, is beyond me.”

“Look, it was a short-term bind. I’ll put the money back into
the account.”

“When? By noon would be good.”

“Not possible,” he said. “But soon.”

“Not good enough,” she declared. “I doubt the judge is going to
look favorably on this. And don’t even think about trying this again. I’ll be
opening a new account at the bank, and your name will not be attached to it. In
fact, since your name is still on this account, I imagine Helen could make a
pretty good case that you’re the one responsible for all these bad checks. We’ll
just add that to your list of sins when we go back to court.”

He was still trying to protest that when she slammed the phone
down.

What on earth was going on with him? she wondered when she’d
finally calmed down enough to think rationally.

Fortunately, before she could break down and indulge in the
tears that were threatening, several customers came in. She made a couple of
decent sales that improved her mood by the time Raylene arrived.

“Everything okay?” Raylene asked, studying her worriedly. “You
look awfully pale.”

“Just a frustrating morning,” Lynn said, unwilling to disclose
the depths to which her husband had sunk. She knew Raylene would keep whatever
Lynn said to herself, would even offer sympathy. She was afraid, though, that at
the first hint of pity, she’d start crying and wouldn’t be able to stop.

* * *

Mitch wasn’t sure how Lynn pulled it off, but she
managed to avoid being alone with him for a second. While she took his calls,
she always got off the line immediately with one excuse or another. When he
stopped by, she was out.

“She picked up a few extra hours at the boutique,” Lexie
explained, though even she seemed to think there was more to Lynn’s increasingly
frequent absences.

“Thanks,” Mitch said. “You doing okay? I haven’t seen you next
door much lately.”

Lexie shrugged. “I have a lot of midterms, so I’m
studying.”

“Jeremy, too? He hasn’t been over to help out.”

Lexie shrugged. “Who knows what he’s doing?” she said, as if
her brother were a complete mystery and one she wasn’t especially interested in
solving.

Mitch forced a smile. “Just tell your mom I stopped by,
okay?”

“Sure. Anything else?” she asked hopefully.

Nothing he intended to relay through her daughter, he thought
as he shook his head.

“See you soon,” he told Lexie, intending to make sure of it.
“We’ll go out for pizza one night.”

Lexie’s expression brightened. “That would be awesome.”

It was the first hint of animation he’d seen on her face since
he’d arrived. “Then it’s a plan,” he said. “Take care, kiddo.”

“You, too, Mitch.”

He walked slowly back to Raylene’s. The crew had gone, and
there was nothing left to be done that couldn’t wait until morning. Instead of
going into the addition, he headed for the kitchen. As he’d expected, he found
Raylene in front of the stove. She smiled at him.

“You staying for dinner tonight?” she asked at once. “Roasted
chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.”

“Put some information on the menu and I might,” he
responded.

She gave him a curious look. “What kind of information?”

“What’s going on with Lynn? She seems determined to avoid me.
Lexie says she’s picked up some extra hours working for you at the
boutique.”

Raylene’s hand stilled over the gravy she’d been stirring.

“I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” she told him. “She
asked for the extra hours, and I’ve tried to accommodate her.” She turned to
him. “There was something in her eyes that really worried me, Mitch.”

“What?” Mitch asked.

“Real desperation,” she said. “She didn’t open up about
anything and I didn’t want to pry. I just knew I had to do whatever I could to
help. Extra hours was all she asked for, so that’s what I gave her. I’ve been
coming up with excuses to be away from the boutique to justify it.”

Mitch slammed his fist onto the table, wishing he could have
taken aim at Ed’s face instead. “It’s that jerk of a husband again,” he said
grimly. “I’d put money on it.”

Raylene nodded. “I think so, too. I’ve invited her over here
with the kids a couple of times, but she has so much pride. Not only has she
refused, but now Lexie and Jeremy are steering clear, as well. Mandy’s upset.
She knows something’s wrong, but Lexie won’t say a word, either.”

“Yeah, she pretty much stonewalled me just now, too,” Mitch
said. “How are we supposed help, if we don’t know what’s going on?”

Raylene shrugged helplessly. “The only thing I can think of is
to take our cues from Lynn. We need to let her know we’re here for her, for
whatever she needs.” She met his gaze. “I’ll be honest, though, the situation
scares me a little. I have nightmares that they’re over there with not enough
food on the table, just like before. I can’t very well go barging over there
with covered dishes, though. She’d be humiliated.”

Mitch muttered a heartfelt expletive in frustration. “If the
situation is as bad as you’re thinking, I’m surprised we haven’t heard some
gossip around town. Grace usually has something to say about everything, but
she’s been real quiet on the subject of Lynn and her divorce.”

“I know. I haven’t heard a peep out of anyone, either,” Raylene
said.

Mitch stood up. “Well, we need to get to the bottom of this,”
he said decisively. No woman he cared about was going to suffer on his watch,
not if he could help it.

“Where are you going?” Raylene asked, looking alarmed. “You’re
not going to see Ed, are you?”

“No,” he said. “Lexie said Lynn’s working. I assume at the
boutique, unless she’s picked up some other part-time job.”

Raylene shook her head. “The boutique closed an hour ago. If
she’s at work, it has to be someplace else.”

“Where else would she be working at this hour?” Mitch asked.
“Waiting tables someplace?”

“At some mini-mart or one of the big-box stores?” Raylene
suggested.

Mitch thought of the day he’d found Raylene in the parking lot
of a mini-mart in the worst area of town. “Let’s hope it’s in one of the big-box
stores,” he said grimly.

“But her car’s in the driveway,” Raylene pointed out. “How
would she get there?”

A temporary wave of relief washed over Mitch. If she couldn’t
drive to the box stores, she couldn’t get to that mini-mart, either. That was
the good news. The bad news was, he had no idea where else to look.

* * *

Two days later, at loose ends and still thoroughly
frustrated by his inability to catch up with Lynn, he found himself walking into
the town’s favorite watering hole, a place with decent hamburgers and a variety
of beer on tap. The place had provided a little too much solace during that
rough patch after Amy’s death.

Tonight he settled in a booth, avoiding the temptation of
sitting at the bar. He glanced at the menu, then looked up and straight into
Lynn’s horrified face.

“Here?” he said incredulously. “You’re waiting tables in
here?”

Her cheeks flushed bright pink, either with humiliation or
indignation, he couldn’t be quite sure.

“It’s a perfectly respectable place,” she told him tightly.
“You should know. I gather you used to be a regular.”

The low blow was a surprise, but he knew she’d delivered it to
get herself off the hook.

“I was,” he said mildly. “That’s not the point.”

“Then what is?” she asked with a touch of defiance. “It’s none
of your business where I work.”

Mitch bit back the retort that was on the tip of his tongue.
“Why, Lynnie? Why are you working a third job? What’s Ed done now?”

For a minute, he thought she might actually answer the
question, but then some sort of resolve seemed to settle over her. “Did you want
to order?” she asked. “Or do you need a minute?”

“I need answers,” he said, barely containing his
exasperation.

“Not here,” she replied.

He nodded. “Fair enough. What time do you get off?”

“Not tonight, Mitch. I need to get home to the kids. I don’t
like them to be in the house alone so late.”

“What time, Lynnie?” he said, refusing to back down. “I’ll
drive you home. You’ll get there that much quicker.”

She looked everywhere except directly at him. “I need to get a
check to that table over there,” she said. “And my drink order’s ready for the
booth in the back.”

She darted off before he could argue. He sighed as he watched
her go.

One good thing, though: he could be patient when he needed to
be. She was bound to get off sooner or later, and he would be sitting right here
whenever that happened to be.

* * *

The second she’d spotted Mitch, Lynn couldn’t help
wishing the floor of the bar would open up and swallow her. After all his
declarations about not drinking, she’d thought this was the last place he’d ever
wander into again.

It wasn’t that she thought there was anything at all wrong with
good honest work. It was knowing he’d guess that she was desperate for money
again. And he had. In less than a heartbeat, he’d jumped to the conclusion that
Ed was responsible for her needing a third job.

She’d gone looking for additional work as soon as she’d spoken
to Helen the same evening she’d discovered Ed’s latest financial betrayal. Helen
had warned her that it was going to take longer than anticipated to straighten
out the mess Ed had made of things.