Where Azaleas Bloom (20 page)

“I imagine that’s one more regret he’ll be able to add to his
list if he ever starts thinking clearly again,” Mitch said. “Okay, let’s get you
home.”

A few minutes later, parked in her driveway, he turned to her,
his hands gripping the steering wheel. “One of these days,” he said, his eyes
locked with hers, “both of your kids are going to be on sleepovers and I’m not
going to be saying goodnight in your driveway.”

She smiled at the intensity in his voice. “Looking forward to
it,” she said, her heart thundering in her chest. She’d forgotten what it was
like to feel this kind of anticipation.

Still gripping the steering wheel as if to prevent himself from
doing anything out of line, he leaned over and touched his lips to hers. Lynn
leaned into the kiss, prayed he’d deepen it, but he demonstrated remarkable
restraint. Darn him!

“Good night, sweet thing,” he said with an exaggerated drawl
and a wink as he walked her to the door. “See you tomorrow.”

Lynn watched him leave, then sighed. Once in a while old doubts
surfaced. She caught herself worrying about whether he was truly over his
drinking and how she’d react if she discovered he wasn’t, but more and more she
felt herself falling head over heels in love with the kindest, sexiest man she’d
ever run across.

19

E
ven before Lynn walked over to Raylene’s
on Memorial Day, she could smell the scents of hamburgers and hot dogs on the
grill and hear the laughter of the younger kids as they raced around the big
backyard. The littlest ones were splashing happily in a wading pool with a
couple of the teens watching them.

Music was pouring out of the windows of the new addition. Good
Jimmy Buffett party music from what she could tell. This holiday was the one
time they tended to veer away from country music. Buffett was the perfect
complement to a summer kickoff party.

Mitch came around the fence just as she was coming out her back
door with the assortment of pies she’d baked for the occasion. He saw the picnic
hamper and sniffed appreciatively.

“Apple, blueberry,” he said, his eyes closed as he apparently
considered the aromas. “What else? Cherry, maybe?”

“And strawberry rhubarb,” she told him, smiling at his
reaction. “And you can stop swooning over them. I get it. You and Raylene want
me to open a bakery. A couple of days ago even Helen dropped a hint. I’d have to
be dumb as dirt not to get the message.”

“And?” he asked. “Are you listening to us?”

“I’m considering the possibility,” she said. “I might even be
thinking about it seriously, but the postponement in court last week came as
another shock. I certainly can’t do anything until the divorce is resolved and I
know where I stand financially.”

“Fair enough,” he said, trying to take the heavy picnic hamper
from her.

She held it away from him. “I’m not sure I can trust you to get
these next door without sneaking samples.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to stick close and guard them from
me,” he teased, managing to take the basket.

For once when Lynn walked into the party, she felt like less of
an outsider. She’d grown closer to all these women over the winter and spring
months. And, to be honest, she felt more comfortable because Mitch was by her
side. Unlike Ed, who would have thought the whole backyard celebration to be too
much of a cliché compared to some stiff, formal event at the club, Mitch clearly
fit right in here, and happily so.

Lynn directed Mitch to take the pies into the house, then
followed him inside. Not a single one of the women gathered there were even a
tiny bit subtle with their speculative looks when Lynn and Mitch walked in
together.

“Your duty’s done,” she told him, flushing under all that
scrutiny. “I’m sure you don’t want to hang out in here with the women.”

He leaned down. “I’d like to be hanging out with one woman,” he
whispered in her ear, then winked. “But I can wait till later.”

As soon as he’d left, Dana Sue picked up a dish towel and
fanned herself with it. “That man is so hot for you,” she said. “It reminds me
of the good old days when Ronnie was trying to win me back. He looked at me just
like that.”

“Ronnie
still
looks at you like
that,” Maddie reminded her. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve wanted to
tell the two of you to get a room?”

“And you think that’s not how Cal behaves around you?” Helen
teased. “Every time I see the two of you together, I have to go racing straight
home to my husband. He’s gotten lucky on more than one occasion, thanks to you
and Cal and those vibes you send out.”

“Okay, enough,” Raylene declared. “We’re embarrassing Lynn.
Let’s talk about these pies of hers, instead. Don’t they smell amazing? And look
at the crusts. They’re a perfect golden brown. Have you ever seen anything
prettier?”

Lynn shook her head. “Not even close to subtle, Raylene. I know
what you’re up to.”

Maddie looked from Raylene to Lynn. “What’s she up to?”

“I want her to open a bakery on Main Street,” Raylene said at
once. “In the space next to my boutique.”

“What a fantastic idea!” Dana Sue said at once.

Though her surprise seemed feigned, her enthusiasm at least
sounded genuine. Lynn wanted to be sure, though. If she moved forward with this
business, she didn’t want to tread on the toes of any of the existing business
owners.

“You’d be okay with that?” she pressed Dana Sue.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Dana Sue responded readily. “Erik makes
amazingly decadent desserts, but we don’t usually sell them to anyone other than
people dining at Sullivan’s. A lot of folks want a whole pie or cake to take
home or maybe just a cupcake with a cup of coffee in the afternoon after
shopping.” Her expression brightened. “Which is why you want it next door to
your boutique, isn’t it, Raylene?”

“Precisely,” Raylene said.

“Are you really considering it?” Maddie asked eagerly. “I could
help you put a business plan together. I did the one for The Corner Spa and
helped the guys with the one for their gym.”

“She helped me out with mine, too,” Raylene said. “Maddie’s got
this knack with numbers and knowing how to put something together that will make
sense to the bank or investors.”

Lynn turned to Maddie. “Seriously? You’d do that?”

“Sure. It would be fun. The spa’s practically running itself
these days. This would give me a new challenge.”

“If you want a silent partner, I’m in,” Dana Sue said.

Jeanette McDonald walked into the kitchen just in time to
overhear. “Somebody’s starting a new business? Count me in. Filling up all those
vacant storefronts on Main Street makes my husband very happy. If I can help do
that, I want to.”

Lynn looked around the room. “Did you all plan this?”

“Plan what?” Maddie inquired innocently.

“All this unexpected and unsolicited support,” Lynn said.

“Absolutely not,” Dana Sue said. “This is the first I’ve heard
about the possibility of your opening a bakery. It’s a great idea. If I can
help, I’d like to. Anything that’s good for Serenity is good for my business,
too.”

Raylene draped an arm over Lynn’s shoulders. “I told you it was
an amazing idea, didn’t I? Just listen to them. They’re all smart businesswomen
in their own right.”

Though she had her suspicions about being set up by these
sneaky Sweet Magnolia women, Lynn couldn’t help the surge of anticipation that
made her want to run home and start writing up that business plan for Maddie to
peruse. Not that she had the first clue about what her starting point ought to
be.

“I’ll think about all this,” she promised. “And Maddie, maybe I
will give you a call, if you don’t mind.”

“Any time,” Maddie said. “It really will be fun to help you
plan this.”

“And I can show you that property tomorrow,” Raylene said.

Lynn’s suspicions rebounded. “You can?”

Raylene shrugged. “Actually, I bought the space. There are
renovations already under way. I can promise you a really good deal on
rent.”

Lynn shook her head incredulously. “I can’t decide if you’re
crazy or just incredibly confident in your powers of persuasion.”

“Both,” Sarah chimed in as she joined them. “The men are
getting restless, by the way. Erik said the burgers and hot dogs are almost
ready. He’s wondering what happened to the rest of the food.”

“We don’t want to tick off the self-appointed chef of the day,”
Raylene said. “Let’s get all these salads on the table. If everybody grabs
something, maybe we can do this in one trip. Helen, there are pitchers of tea
and lemonade in the refrigerator for the kids. Soft drinks are in a cooler
outside. This year I remembered to put it far, far away from the beer cooler. We
had a few too many close calls with the kids grabbing the wrong drinks last
year.”

Outside, the heat of the day had cooled to a few degrees above
simmering, but a breeze kept it from being too oppressive. The kids were served
first and sent off to find places on the blankets that had been spread around
the yard.

Lynn filled her plate, then headed for a lounge chair on the
deck. She wasn’t a bit surprised when Mitch took the chair next to her,
balancing a plate in one hand and carrying two beers in the other. She stiffened
at the sight of them.

“Having fun?” he asked as he settled beside her. He held out
one of the beers for her. “They’re ice-cold. Perfect for this weather.”

When she didn’t immediately reach out to take the one he was
offering, he regarded her curiously. “You don’t want one?”

She shook her head. “I have iced tea.”

He studied her intently. “And you disapprove of me having the
beer,” he concluded.

“It’s not up to me to approve or disapprove. I just thought
you’d…” She shrugged. “Never mind.”

“Say it, Lynnie. You thought I’d stopped drinking.”

She nodded, her expression challenging his. “That is what you
told me.”

“One beer isn’t going to turn me into a drunk,” he said
defensively. “I told you that even when things were bad and I was grieving, I
recognized when it might be problematic and stopped.”

“But obviously not permanently,” she said, fighting tears. “Do
you have a drinking problem or not, Mitch?”

He frowned at her. “Look, I get why it would matter to you if I
had a problem with alcohol.”

“No, you don’t. You can’t possibly know why,” she told him.

“Then I think you’d better explain it to me,” he said.

“I grew up with an alcoholic, Mitch. I lived every second with
uncertainty, not knowing what sort of mood my dad would be in when he got home
or even if he
would
get home.” She gave him a
defiant look. “I won’t do that again. Not to myself, and certainly not to my
kids.”

Mitch looked taken aback by the vehemence in her voice, or
maybe it was simply the revelation that threw him. Either way, he seemed shaken.
“I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t. Nobody here knows. I never invited
anyone to my house after we moved here. I can promise you, though, that I live
with the scars every day of my life.”

“Okay, I understand what you’re saying. Does it bother you that
just about everyone else here is drinking tonight?”

“Not really,” she responded, aware that he was trying to make a
point.

“And those Sweet Magnolias parties—people drink margaritas at
those. That doesn’t freak you out?”

She shook her head. “I know what they can handle. I’ve never
seen one of them falling-down drunk. And don’t think you’re the only person with
whom I’ve reacted this way. Until I know how someone handles their liquor, I
always have a knot in my stomach around them when they’re drinking, if that’s
what you’re getting at.”

“Have you ever seen me falling-down drunk? For that matter,
until tonight had you ever even seen me with a drink?”

“No, but that’s what scares me. I heard about your drinking
back after Amy died. Then you even admitted you had a problem. Raylene mentioned
recently that all you guys were going out for beers after playing basketball.
I’ll admit that set off an alarm. Just now, seeing you with that beer terrified
me. Alcoholics can’t have just one, no matter how hard they try to delude
themselves that they can.”

“I honestly don’t think I’m even close to being an alcoholic,”
Mitch said. “I relied on drinking to dull the pain after Amy died, realized it
was a bad way to handle things and stopped. I never overindulged before that and
I haven’t since.” He looked her in the eye. “But if it scares you this much to
see me with a drink in my hand, it’s gone, okay? I’d choose you over a beer or a
whole truckload of beers any day.”

He stood up, walked to the edge of the deck and after glancing
below poured both beers out. “That’s it. They’re gone.”

He gave her a smile. “Of course, now you’re going to have to
share your tea with me.”

Lynn laughed, breaking the tension. “I’ll get you your own
pitcher,” she offered.

Mitch smiled. “That’s better. I hate seeing you upset, and I
don’t ever want to be the one responsible for it.”

“I’m sorry for overreacting.”

“I don’t think you were,” he said. “I think you were bringing a
very bad past experience into the middle of our relationship. Now that I know
about that, I can deal with it.”

“I wasn’t exactly being fair to you, though. You were honest
with me from the beginning, and you’ve never done anything to cause me not to
trust you.”

“I’d say right now you have plenty of trust issues on your
plate. I may not be responsible for any of them, but I can take it if they spill
over in my direction. You
can
trust me, Lynnie, but
I’m not going anywhere while you work on accepting that.”

There it was again, that steadiness she’d been craving, that
unwavering commitment. She wanted to reach out and hold on to it for dear life,
but even now she was still shaken by the one instant of doubt when she’d seen
those beers in his hand. One instant, weighed against everything else, shouldn’t
matter, she knew.

But it did.

* * *

Mitch had finally convinced Lynn to join some of the
other couples who were dancing on the deck after dinner, when he glanced across
the yard and spotted Luke standing there, slack-jawed with shock. His heart
stilled at his son’s obvious dismay.

“Lynn, I need to go,” he said, stepping away from her.

She regarded him with surprise, her expression vaguely dazed.
As soon as she got a good look at his expression, though, she clearly understood
that something was wrong.

“What is it?” she asked.

He nodded toward where he’d last seen his son. “Luke just
showed up.”

“And saw me in your arms,” she concluded. “Oh, Mitch, go find
him.”

“You’ll be okay?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be back or I’ll call you later if I can’t get back,” he
promised.

“Whatever. Just go.”

Mitch searched the yard, cursing himself as he went for being
so careless. He’d left a note at the house for Luke, telling him to stop by the
party, but the truth was, he hadn’t really expected him to show up. He certainly
hadn’t envisioned the consequences of Luke’s seeing another woman in his dad’s
arms.