9781618857569GettingitAllStorm (12 page)

“Dot, I’ve been meaning to call
you.
For a long time.”

Dismissing his urgent look, she
interrupted. “It’s about Lucy.”

“Lucy?”

“Matt, I’ve gotten in way over my
head here, but it’s not the first time and probably won’t be the last. But…I
can take care of myself…always have. Well, mostly.” Breaking eye contact, she
looked around. “Place hasn’t changed much.
Funny.
I
thought it would have to be different. I mean, you getting a new house, and
everything.”

He started to speak. She
interrupted. “That stupid joke of ours, to get you moving, seems to have gone
to Christy’s head…or lower.” She gave a wry chuckle and began to move about the
office. “You two must have hit it off great.” She was quickly dead serious
again. “But now she’s got Lucy all fired up and I don’t want her to…”

“You don’t want her to get hurt
like you got hurt?” His mouth continued to work, but no more words come out.
They never did. He never could get them to.

She stared at him for a moment
and then took a long, deep breath. He waited for her to say more, but then
realized most of it had already been said…on her part…a long time ago.

Matt sat on the edge of the
cluttered desk, rubbing his face with both hands.

“What’s Christy got in her head
now, and what’s it
got
to do with Lucy?
And you?
And me?”

“Well, I can’t go into
details—it’s a female pact thing, it appears, and she is still my friend, but
we’re all, the three of us, going to help you break out of your cone of
inactivity, so to speak.” Finally her face relaxed.
Her slow
grin sly.
She was beginning to get her footing around him. If only he
could feel the same. He had better be on his guard, Matt thought. He trusted
Dorothy above all other human beings on the planet, but the two of them still
weren’t the same person. She had to protect herself too.

“I think I can say, though,” she
smirked, “that we’re all expected to do our best to try and get you interested
in…dating again. Christy seems to have won the first round, she tells us. And,
damn,” Dorothy patted her cheek mock sadly, “I didn’t even get a kiss out of
it.”

Matt could feel his cheeks heat
up.
Dadgummit
, he thought, how old does a man have to
get before… that wasn’t all that was heating up, either.

“Or maybe dating is too mild a
word. Christy does tend go for the gonads when she’s got her sights set.” The
old sarcastic Dorothy emerged, secure as ever.

“And those sights are set on me?”
Matt’s testosterone began to flow. Christy was a mighty fine woman. Any man
would be proud to possess…Ha! Possess.
Fat chance.

“Well, we, that is, the three of
us, you, me and Christy, have a history…of sorts. And so do the three of us
girls.
Women.
At the beauty parlor all we ever call
ourselves is girls,” she said, parenthetically. “We are so ‘not’ that anymore.”
She gave a slight shiver. “Even Lucy is way past. Further than she gives
herself credit.”

“What am I supposed to do about
Lucy?”

“The main thing, Matt, is she
kind of comes with a disadvantage. Do you like her?”

“I don’t really know her that
well. From what I can tell, she’s pretty special.”

“She is. And I’d like her to stay
that way.”

“Which means?”

“You can still hurt, Matt. Pride
yourself on that. Probably even more than you know. Now, there’s a mystery
around you. ‘What’s he thinking? Where’s his head, after all these years.’ We
all wonder.”

His head was probably right
between his legs, he thought, the memory of his encounter with Christy still
fresh in his loins.

She shrugged, continuing her
thought. “Everybody can read me like a book. Much as I loved Beau, it wasn’t
the same losing him as it was for you losing Alice. He went
quick
.
She took a long time. I
gotta
get back.”

He quickly grabbed both her hands
in his. She wasn’t recoiling any more. It was almost…almost…like it had been.

“Why is this whole thing such a
big deal?” he asked. “You’re not betting money, are you?”

She laughed. “Just like a man.
No.” She stroked his cheek, enjoying his noonday stubble. “Money can’t buy what
you’ve got to offer, it seems.” Her eyebrow cocked at him. “I’ve never seen
Christy quite so…taken down. You must really be turning on the charm.”

Matt was beginning to feel his…if
not oats, then a fresh crop of something rising.

“Why the rush?” he asked. “I’ve
been out of it so
long,
I might do something stupid
without meaning to. Why not take it easy. Let me slide back into how to treat a
woman.”

“I’d like that.” Her eyes were
soft. But just for a moment. “But Christy doesn’t mess around. When she’s got
her mind set, we’d all better look out. We all know that. And just because
we’re all buddies, she’s giving us a shot at you too.”

“You…too?”
He leaned
in close.

“I’m thinking about it.
Thought I had scabbed over, but…lot of baggage, Matt.”

The heaviness in his loins
instantly shifted to his heart.

“We can handle it. I promise.”

“Yeah.
You
promised a lot before too.”

She had him there.

“Just be sure you handle Lucy
easy.” She pulled away and started for the door. “She’s got the purest soul of
us all.
Even if she doesn’t know it.”
At the door, she
turned back toward him. “I’m not telling you how to handle your women, Matt.
That would be stupid. But you’re fresh out of the gate, again. You may have
something different in your mind than Lucy does. Just keep that in your head
while you’re stretching those unused muscles back into shape.” She grinned,
smugly, clarifying. “Dating muscles, I mean.”

“Thank you,
ma’am.
I know just what muscles you’re talking about.”

She nodded, appraising him.
“You’re looking good, Matt. I’m looking forward to our time together. Assuming
it gets that far.” She was in full control of herself now.
The
old careful wary Dorothy.
“Give me a call one of these days. I’m about
two bases behind.” She waved and left.

She still knew how to cut. She
still was capable of riling him. She still looked great.
Fantastic.

Why did he suddenly think of
Little League? At eight years old.
Being shoved out there.
In front of everybody.
Made to
compete against his will.

And how he
had hated it.

At first.

Chapter Five

“Here you
are,
m’lady
.
Your carriage
awaits
.” Matt bowed grandly and gestured
toward the midnight-black loaner sedan. Lucy beamed.

“Oh, Matt, this is so exciting.
A whole day to spend
together.
And in the middle of the week.
I feel
like I’m skipping school.” She bounced down the sidewalk, small heels clicking,
skirt fluttering, eyes sparkling.
Matt felt a lightness
mid-chest.
And he had to admit, a growing heaviness lower and more
centered. “How are you able to take off work?” she asked, her voice bright with
excitement.

Lucy might not be the hottest pistol in the rack, but she had charm
and beauty and above all enthusiasm and…on second look, he thought, her pistol
standing in the rack was looking exceptionally good today.

“I'm the boss. And I might be able to mix a little business with
pleasure, which will make it okay on all counts. You look great.” She certainly
did buff up nicely. Holding the door for her, as she moved past, a cloud of
something flowery and heady floated around her. “Did you do something to your
hair?” She gleamed in the morning sunlight.

“It’s streaked.” She proudly smoothed the highlighted waves as Matt
came around and slid into the driver’s seat. “Dot did it.
A
couple of weeks ago.
I had just had it done when I brought Sam over to
you. It was a little blatant, I thought then, but now it's all settled in. I'm
used to it. Isn’t it terrific? Dorothy's just awesome when it comes to my dead
hair. Usually it just
lays
there, and now it's all
bouncy. Like a TV commercial.” She swung her head around happily.

“Dot is your hairdresser?” Of course, now that he thought about it,
she must be. He knew many of the local girls went to The Crowning Glory, thank
goodness. Either support the few businesses left in town or trek off to the
mall a couple of dozens miles away. “Well, she does a great job. You look
terrific.”

“It took all the girls a long time to talk me into it. I didn’t want
to be too, well, you know, I don’t think I’m exactly the glowing auburn
waves
type. I'm not very outgoing.”

He laughed, thinking of the previous week he had spent with Christy,
who could hardly be more outgoing. He was ready for a date centered more around
“us” than around “her.”

“Where are we going today, and so early?
Do you have a plan?” she asked.

“I kind of did. Why? Do you have any suggestions?”

“I made a list. But then, I make lists all the time. You don't have to
—
”

“
We
don't have to do
anything we don't want to do today,” he smiled, all endearing older charm.
“What's on your list?”

“Well,
Dia
at Beacon would be the closest. I
love that place. It just seems so un-
museumlike
, you
know? It was an old factory. All that space. It's perfect for all that far-out
modern art. It’s wonderful. And if we go up toward Poughkeepsie, we could see
the gardens at Vassar. They’re so beautiful and today’s so lovely. Further up,
there’s the Vanderbilt estate. It’s just overwhelming, but I love
Kykuit
down at Sleepy Hollow, too. The art in the basement
is breathtaking.” She had been excited, but now she was suddenly hesitant.
“But, maybe you'd prefer something more outdoorsy or…”

“I have been known to appreciate a well-made structure,” he said,
raising an appreciative eyebrow. “And I certainly know a work of art when I see
one.”

She blushed. Within ten minutes he had made her blush.
Charmingly.
Endearingly.
Not like
with Christy who could make him blush and bone up within five. Toward the end
of the week he had been boning up before he even picked her up. Today, for a
pleasant change, didn't seem quite like a bony kind of day.

“Well, since it’s so early I thought we might take a train in to New
York and catch a matinee.”

She squealed with delight. It was exactly the reaction Clay said to
expect.

“A Broadway show!
Oh, that would be wonderful! Did you get
tickets? I couldn’t imagine going to New York without having my tickets in
hand.”

“Well, I know this guy who said there were
a half
-dozen
shows we shouldn’t have a problem getting into at the last minute.” If we were
willing to pay top dollar, Matt finished to himself. But for Lucy, top dollar
would be a pleasure.

“Oh, that would be so great. What shows?”

He pulled a list from his pocket and named half-a-dozen shows. She had
seen them all but would love to see them again and gave him a quick run-down of
each to see which he might enjoy most.

“Wow, Lucy, you get around more than I thought.
All
the way to Broadway.
And all the sights in the area.
I'm impressed.”

Matt suddenly realized he now didn't have a driving destination in
mind. He found a place to pull the car over.

She looked chagrined. “I have a lot to time on my hands when I'm not
working. And I like to be up-to-date on what's happening. Have things to talk
about, you know.”

He caught her hands in his. “I think it's great. Do any of the girls
go with you?”

She took a deep breath, staring at their hands. “No, they're usually
working. I can take time off every now and then, like today, if I work it out
with Carmen. Since I do so much for him outside of business hours, he lets me
pretty much work out my own schedule. Except when he has clients coming in,”
she added, grinning. “Then he wants to show me off,”

“What do you do for Carmen outside of business hours?”

“Oh, mostly real-estate research on the Internet. You know, what's
been sold in the area, what its price was. What we might be able to pick up a
tip on. Carmen isn't really much good with a computer and neither is Mrs.
Anders, so he's thrilled I can do that stuff.” She giggled. “I saved him a
bundle on his taxes this year.”

“How'd you manage to pull that off?”