Almost Perfect (25 page)

"Come on, Maddy," Juanita said. "I'll introduce you to Dale and Rick."

Maddy started to argue, but Joe was already dialing and Juanita was heading back to the gallery.

Chewing her lip, Maddy followed Juanita, but her thoughts stayed with Joe. If anything happened, it would be all her fault. She was the one who'd come up with this as the way of getting Joe alone. But Mama had agreed so readily, the thought that her driving might be a problem hadn't even come to mind. And why would it? Her own parents were still young, so age issues were new territory. Still, she should have thought of it.

She chastised herself for the next several minutes, as Juanita introduced her to two older gentlemen who were both striking but in entirely different ways. Dale, with his height and silver hair, had a cultured manner, while his partner, Rick, had a stocky build and ruddy complexion. Learning that Rick was also an artist made his brimming enthusiasm for her work even more welcome. Between his praise for her art and Dale's flattery for her personal charm, the two men soon had her laughing and glowing, even while part of her mind remained fixed on that back door.

"Rick does fabulous abstracts," Juanita explained.

"I'd love to see some," Maddy said with genuine interest. Rarely had she felt such an instant affinity for anyone.

"I know!" Rick said, lighting up. "We'll have a show for you. Then you can come to Taos and stay with us. We'll introduce you around."

"An excellent idea," Dale agreed. "We haven't closed the resort for a party in ages."

"Resort?" Maddy cocked her head.

"Rick and Dale own a wonderful resort and health spa in the mountains," Juanita put in.

"Well, the resort is more Dale's area," Rick added. "It keeps him from going crazy now that he's retired. So, you'll come, then? Spend a few days?"

"She'd love to," Juanita answered for her. "As for the show, give me a call so we can discuss which originals to send."

"Fabulous." Rick shook Juanita's hand, then kissed both of Maddy's cheeks. "You, dear, are a doll. I can't wait for everyone to meet you."

"Thank you," Maddy said, feeling a bit dazed.

"A true pleasure." Dale kissed her hand, making her blush. "We'll be in touch."

When they were out of earshot, Juanita grabbed her arm. "Oh my God! Rick and Dale are throwing you a show
and
a party!"

Maddy frowned. "Who were those two?"

"You don't know?" Juanita laughed. "I forget you're new around here. Dale's a former movie executive. He and Rick have been together forever and know lots of people in Hollywood. Their parties are famous. Once or twice a year, they close the whole resort for a few days so that actors and artists and musicians can play in private. I can't believe you got invited."

"Me either." Maddy raised a brow.

As soon as Juanita moved away, she dismissed the whole interlude. She may have been instantly taken with both men, but people said things at art shows all the time that never happened, like, "Darling, we simply must do lunch. I'll call you next week." Add Hollywood to the equation, and the party invitation definitely fell into the not-gonna-happen category.

Joe came through the door and headed toward her. "Okay," he said, "I couldn't get Morn to answer her phone, but that's not surprising. She's always forgetting to turn it on or charge the battery. Plus, she could be out of a service area. So I called Harold. He's going to call me back as soon as Mom gets there so I'll know she made it."

"Unless…" She bit her lip. "Would you like to leave now? Maybe we can catch her, and you can drive her the rest of the way."

He considered the idea, then shook his head. "No. You need to stay here, and she's probably fine. The one saving grace is she's such a bad driver, people see her coming and get out of the way."

"Are you sure?" She touched his arm.

"Sort of." He chuckled dryly and squeezed her hand. "I'll be better once Harold calls back, but I'm okay."

The next hour passed with Joe pacing the gallery, checking his watch every few minutes. When the show finally wound down to a few of the rowdier guests hanging around the food and wine table, Maddy joined him. He was standing by Juanita's desk, staring out the front windows. "Still no word?"

"None. And she definitely should be there by now."

"Maybe you should call Harold again."

He checked his watch. "You're right." He pulled his phone out and dialed. "Sarg, any sign of my mother?" He listened for a minute, then his eyes bugged out. "What do you mean she's been there fifteen minutes? Why didn't you call?" He listened some more. "No, I told you to call me when she got there. Not if she didn't." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not biting your head off." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, fine. Thank you for keeping an eye out. I appreciate it."

Signing off, he sat back against the desk and looked heavenward as if begging for strength. "What is it with old people these days? They're so sensitive about everything!"

"Mama's all right?"

"Oh, she's fine. My heart may not recover, but she's dandy. Am I asking too much, though, for a little consideration? Do she and Harold have no clue how much I worry? No. They accuse me of being overprotective, when a simple phone call would have given me peace of mind. Is a phone call too much to ask?"

Maddy burst out laughing.

"What?" His eyes sharpened.

"You." She grinned and patted his upper arm. "You sound like a parent with a teenager."

"Oh God, you're right." A comical look of shock came over his face. "I'm turning into my mother."

"Look at it this way—there are worse mothers to be like."
Like mine
, she thought.

"True."

"It's odd, though, isn't it? Being the one to worry?"

"Yeah." He checked his watch. "It's getting late. We need to get back to the camp ourselves."

"I'll tell Sylvia and Juanita we're leaving."

"Good. Curfew's in forty-five minutes, and Harold's in enough of a snit to lock the gate just so he can lecture me."

Chapter 17

Maddy had never considered her car to be small, but with Joe in the passenger seat the space shrank to minuscule. His silence, even more than his body, filled the space.

What was he thinking? He'd barely spoken two words since they left the gallery. Although neither had she. Here at last was the moment she'd planned for days, and all the well-rehearsed words vanished from her brain. Where did she begin?

"I, um… I'm glad you made it to the show even if you didn't get to enjoy much of it."

"I'm glad I made it too." He glanced her way briefly, almost nervously, it seemed.

What next
? She racked her brain.

"So, um…" He shifted in his seat, as if trying to get his big body comfortable. "How'd you do?"

"Very well. We sold three of my originals and had a lot of people ask to be notified when prints of
Sunrise Canyon
become available."

"Great." He nodded, and silence returned.

Come on, Maddy
, she ordered herself. She needed to get a conversation going. Then ease into telling him she was sorry for pushing for more than he was comfortable sharing, but that she'd like the relationship to move to the next level.

Next level. There, that sounded good. No scary words like "love" or "long-term commitment." Now she just needed to open her mouth and say it. As soon as she figured out how to build up to it.

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, watching the dark silhouettes of trees slip by the car. The moon's glow turned everything to shades of blue—until a colorful mass appeared in her headlights on the side of the road.

"What was that?" she asked as she drove past it.

"I don't know." Joe turned in his seat to look over his shoulder. "A wad of clothes maybe."

"Wait, here comes more." She leaned forward, peering at the colorful mound in the middle of the road.

"Don't hit it."

"I won't." She swerved around the object. "Could you make out what it was?"

"It looked like a pile of trash."

"From what, a colored-paper factory?"

Red taillights became visible up ahead. As she closed the gap, the dark shape of a delivery truck took form. Something bounced off the back and exploded against the pavement. Her headlights caught a burst of candy flying into the air.

"Oh my God!" She laughed as the candy hit her windshield like brightly colored hail.

"Was that a pinata?" Joe sounded equally incredulous.

"I think so." As she slowed to the same speed as the truck, she saw that the rolling door at the back hadn't been latched. Each time the truck hit a bump, the door bounced up, then down, revealing a load of pinatas.

"Watch out!" Joe shouted as the truck hit another bump. This time several pinatas flew out.

She fishtailed in an effort to maneuver around them. When the car steadied, she sped up and honked her horn.-

"What are you doing?" Joe asked. "Slow down."

"Someone needs to tell him his door isn't latched." She honked again, but the truck kept bouncing along, spilling a menagerie of donkeys, rabbits, and pigs.

"Try going around him," Joe suggested.

"On this road? Are you crazy?"

"There's a fairly straight stretch up ahead. Can you see anyone coming?"

She leaned to the side. "I don't think so. Roll down your window and wave the guy over as I go past."

"You worry about driving. Leave the truck to me."

"Okay, here goes." She hit the accelerator and pulled into the other lane. Headlights appeared up ahead, coming too fast for comfort. "Oh shoot!" She jerked back into her lane just as a giant pink elephant flew out of the truck and exploded against her windshield. She screamed in surprise as her car slid on the candy, then went into a spin, spiraling toward the right shoulder. They left the road and came to jarring stop.

When the noise settled, she blinked a few times, then glanced over at Joe. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Since he obviously was too, she burst out laughing. "This is so my life! One dramatic wreck after another."