Caught Between a Lie and True Love (Caught Between series Book 1) (18 page)

Paige stifled a yawn. “Usually. I like to be up before the heat of the day hits.”

“Not me. I prefer to sleep till noon, but Olivia doesn’t tolerate that, and since I’m in her house—” Lisa’s voice drifted off and silence filled the kitchen.

Paige poked at a cookie, picked it up and took a tentative bite. It actually tasted good…good enough for a second and a third. As if reading her mind, Lisa stopped what she was doing to set another couple on the plate.

Paige frowned at the cookies. “I never pictured you as the domestic type.”

“I’m usually not, but this seemed like a cookie day.”

There was something in the older woman’s voice that caught her attention. A wistful sadness that usually wasn’t there, and she found herself asking, “Did something happen?”

The timer buzzed again and Lisa pulled open the oven door, shoved the fresh batch of dough inside, closed the door and set the timer. She filled a second coffee cup, topped up Paige’s cup without asking, then took a seat at the table.

Elbow on the table, chin resting on the palm of her hand, she pinned Paige with her straightforward gaze. “Are you sure you want to know? I didn’t think you were interested in my life.”

She wasn’t, but the rudeness she normally felt for the woman who’d given her life had softened in the face of all those chocolate chip cookies. “You look like you need someone to talk to.”

Her mother focused on the coffee cup and fiddled with the handle before she let out a dramatic sigh. “I fired my agent today.”

Paige felt her eyebrows wing up. “You have an agent?”

With an annoyed huff, Lisa straightened her shoulders. “Of course I do. I
am
an actress.”

Paige barely swallowed the cookie in her mouth without choking on it. But as Lisa stole a cookie off the plate, and nibbled on it, a thoughtful expression on her face, she released another wistful sigh.

Steeling herself against the sudden urge to cut and run—and the fear of too many details—Paige asked, “So what’s wrong? Why did you fire him? Or is it a her?”

The wistful expression turned troubled. “
He
refused to make an appointment for an audition.
He
said I was too old. Can you believe it? Too old?”

Her mother looked barely older than Paige did, and then the reason behind the other woman’s actions finally made sense. “Is that why you’ve been working out and dieting? And the nips and tucks?”

Lisa nodded and slumped down on the chair. “I have to work twice as hard to maintain my looks and my figure. It’s starting to get old, like I am.”

Even slumped, even over fifty, she was an attractive woman. And if her box office draw could be judged on the men around town, she still had it going for her. Paige bit into the cookie, and as the taste exploded in her mouth, she said, “Your agent is a fool.”

Lisa blinked and sat up straighter. “You’re right. He is.”

Resting her forearms on the table, she leaned closer. “You could do something else, you know.”

There was a stillness around the other woman now, and suspicion made her squint. “Like what?”

“Well.” Paige frowned and wished she’d thought this through before taking their conversation in this direction. Although what else could they talk about.
Hey, Lisa, why did you abandon me?
She tried to remember some of the things her dad used to tell her. The only thing she could come up with was, “You used to write, didn’t you?”

Lisa flushed, her hands tightening over the coffee cup. “Oh, but I never sent anything out.”

Leaning against the back of the chair, Paige shrugged. “Maybe it’s time you did.”

The oven timer beeped. Lisa pushed back from the table to attend to the cookies, silent and thoughtful. After switching out the cookie sheet in the oven with a fresh one, she turned and leaned her hips against the countertop. “Maybe I am getting too old for the porn business.”

Paige pushed to her feet. “It’s a good reason to move on.”

“I’ve been wanting to spread my wings for a while now, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.” She looked thoughtful, contemplative, and then she fixed her gaze back on Paige. This time, there was optimism in her eyes. “Maybe after I’ve had some time to think about it, we could sit down and talk again.”

“Ummmm, yeah, sure.” She hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Once was probably more than enough.

“It’s such a relief to get this off my chest. I’m very thankful to you for listening to me.”

She inched toward the door. “Okay then, I’ll just be off now.”

“Paige?” Lisa’s voice stopped her. The other woman hesitated, a vulnerable light in her eyes. “Would you like to call me mom?”

Never in a zillion years
. The thought nearly popped out of her mouth before she could catch it back. Instead, she politely managed, “No thanks. I’ll stick with Lisa.”

Anguish crossed her mother’s face and Paige was immediately consumed with guilt for hurting the woman who’d given birth to her.

But before she could retract her statement, the kitchen door swung open and Gram stepped into the kitchen. The elderly woman froze in the middle of the doorway.

Lisa straightened, hands pressed against her ample chest, and turned toward the messy countertop. “I’m sorry, Olivia. This is my mess. I’ll clean it up right now.”

Gram stomped toward the back door. “Darn rights you will. I ain’t nobody’s housemaid.”

As Gram disappeared outside, Lisa silently plunged her hands into the soapy dishwater and started washing.

Paige headed toward the sink to dry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s okay. I understand your feelings.” She chewed on her bottom lip, then finally broke the silence with a nervous laugh. “I’m not quite sure what I would have done if you’d said yes.”

The tightness around Paige’s heart eased just the slightest. “You’d probably run screaming in the opposite direction.”

A small smile escaped the older woman as she turned her attention back to the sink full of dishes. They worked together in almost comfortable silence until the last dish was done. As Lisa wiped her hands on the edge of the tea towel, she met Paige’s gaze, gratitude in her eyes. “Thanks for the advice.”

“You’re welcome,” Paige said. “Thank you for getting out of the porn business.”

As Paige turned to leave, Starr ran into the kitchen, Hope right behind her. When the teen spied Lisa, she snickered. “Good morning, Grandma.”

Lisa gave Paige an imploring look. “Please tell her to quit calling me that.”

And as the kitchen door swung closed behind her mother, Paige acknowledged that she wasn’t quite ready to totally forgive her mom, although she was closer than she’d ever been before. For now, Starr could continue to torture Lisa by calling her grandma.

She noticed the armful of envelopes Starr dumped onto the table. “What have you got there?”

Starr held up one of the envelopes against the morning sunlight. “Looks to me like people are sending Grandpa cash in the mail. Isn’t that illegal?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Not nearly as illegal as what Jeb had done to get it, Paige thought as she headed toward the table and picked up one of the envelopes. “Starr, go tell your grandpa I’d like to have a word with him.”

The kitchen door swung open and Jeb walked into the room. “Did I hear my name?”

With her dad peeking over her shoulder, Paige sorted through the envelopes. “What are these?”

“They’re all addressed to me.” He reached around her, picked one up, and opened it. Two twenty dollar bills floated out of the envelope and drifted down to the floor, followed by a sheet of white paper. Jeb gathered it all up and scanned the note. A grin creased lines around his mouth. “Donations.”

Her heart skipped a beat, then started up double time. “For what?”

“My campaign.”

Horrified, Paige gaped at him. “Dad, have you been asking people for money?”

He straightened to his full height. “It was Matilda’s idea.”

Hope leaned one elbow on the table and poked at the pile of envelopes. “You mean, you just walk up to people and ask them for money so you can be Mayor?”

Starr flopped onto a chair. “Can we help?”

He switched his attention to the girls, the familiar cagey expression taking over. “It’s not that simple. There’s a certain tone of voice, and it requires a flair that’s—”

“Dad,” Paige warned, cutting him off. She sighed. Dealing with her dad was like dealing with her daughter…the two of them were always scheming. “Who is giving you money?”

Gram walked into the kitchen, grabbed her purse off the counter, and eyed the envelopes. “Widows with too much money and too little brains.”

Jeb grabbed another envelope, tore it open, and pulled out two fifties. He handed one to Starr, the other to Hope. “Go treat yourselves to something nice, girls.”

Paige snatched the bills away from the girls. “You have to return it.”

“What? Why?”

This was bad, really, really bad. She gathered all the envelopes off the table and shoved them at her dad. “This is just another one of your scams—”

“Scam?” Starr and Hope parroted in unison, reminding Paige that she had two impressionable teens present.

She turned to her grandmother. “Gram, could you please take the girls with you?”

Starr groaned. “But we were going to the library.”

Gram smiled at her great-granddaughter. “Today we’re buying groceries. You two can push the cart, then carry all of the bags.”

Jeb dumped the envelopes back on the table, regathering her attention. “I never asked for the nomination or this money, Buttercup. It was all given freely. No coercing. Besides, I need it for my campaign.”

“Yeah, Mom,” Starr piped up, clearly unwilling to leave the conversation. “What’s the big deal if people offer you money and you take it?”

Paige faced her directly. “The big deal is that we don’t take money from strangers.”

Starr shrugged, her attention once more settling on the growing pile of cash. She reached out to fiddle with the pile. “They’re not strangers. They’re Olivia’s neighbors.”

Paige frowned at Starr. “Young lady, go with your great-grandma. I want to have a word with your grandpa.”

Hope stayed where she was, her gaze fixed on the cash. “We’ll go to the library when you get back.”

Paige pointed toward the kitchen door. “Aren’t you supposed to be painting the fence for your dad?”

The teen shrugged. “We’re not talking.”

With a sigh, Paige relented. “Fine, go with Gram and Starr. Just stay out of trouble.”

Starr slumped toward the back door. “Olivia has me slaving away from sunup to sundown, and my own mother doesn’t even care.”

Gram snickered. “I’ll bet I can beat Brody’s list of chores for Hope.”

As the three of them headed outside, Paige glanced at her dad who had sat down at the table, opening envelopes, stacking the money in neat piles in front of him.

This was quite possibly the most lucrative job he had ever undertaken and it was just a matter of time before it blew up in his face.

Who would he divert the blame to this time?

She sat down across from him. “You have to give it back.”

He glared at her like a four-year-old about to throw a tantrum. “If I agree to return the money, then will you believe that I’m on the up and up?”

“Maybe.” Paige stared at the stacks of money and the discarded envelopes. “Did you at least record how much came from each person?”

He shoved the money and envelopes across the table at her. “Why would I do that?”

The kitchen door swung open and Gram stepped into the room and froze, her gaze darting back and forth between Paige and the piles on money in front of her. “So you’ve decided to join him, have you?”

“No. We’re giving the money back.”

“Good.” The stiffness in the old lady’s posture relaxed and she crossed the room to the cupboard. “Forgot my keys. When you’re done here, that woman is on the front lawn doing exercises.”

“What woman?” Paige pulled aside the curtains and peered out the window, not terribly surprised to see Lisa dressed in a pair of short-shorts and a skimpy exercise bra that showed off her figure. Every time she stretched to touch her toes, Paige held her breath for fear the oversized bosom would pop free.

Neighbors were gathering across the street to witness the spectacle.

Gram headed back toward the door. “By the way, Brody is stopping by this morning to put up a
Vote For Brody
sign in my yard.”

Jeb muttered, “Traitors, both of you.”

He stomped out of the back door and disappeared into the garage.

Paige followed Gram toward the front of the house where Starr and Hope were climbing into the backseat of the car.

As Gram sidled past the porn star, she said, “You’re embarrassing everyone.”

Lisa straightened, then stretched to the other side. “And a good morning to you too.”

Paige thought she heard her mother add
you old biddy
, but she couldn’t quite be sure. “Do you have to do this where everyone can see you?”

As if she hadn’t noticed before, Lisa glanced across the street. “It’s good for drumming up business. Maybe this will help Jeb’s campaign.”

“Or land him in jail.” Gram shouted over her shoulder as she opened the car door. She addressed the girls in the back seat. “Your grandma is a real piece of work.”

“Don’t call me that!” Lisa stopped and hands on hips, glared after them. “Ohhhh, I hate that woman.”

“She’s not too fond of you either,” Paige said as she watched Gram climb into the car and put the key in the ignition. The elderly woman couldn’t even see over the steering wheel. Tucking the info away for another confrontation, she faced her mom. “Really, doesn’t this embarrass you?”

“No.” Lisa raised her arms above her head, stretched to one side, and pinned Paige with an intense look. “Does it embarrass you?”

“Yes, most definitely.”

The other woman returned to an upright position and gave a tug on the skimpy t-shirt. All the while she kept her gaze focused on Paige. “Well, in that case, I suppose I could do it in the house. With the drapes closed,” she added quickly, as though she anticipated the objection. “Would it be okay if I still went jogging outside every morning? I prefer it to the treadmill inside.”