Caught Between a Lie and True Love (Caught Between series Book 1) (19 page)

Paige was still processing the fact that the other woman had been so quick to compromise, so she quickly nodded. “You might want to wear a little more coverage though. Despite the nude beach on the other side of the island, the people here are pretty conservative.”

“Nude beach?” A smile blossomed across Lisa’s face. “Let’s go sometime. It’s very liberating to throw what’s acceptable out the window. Besides, you look like you need to relax. And walking around in one’s birthday suit is so relaxing.”

She shook her head. “No thanks.”

“Oh Paige, you and Olivia always worry too much about what other people think.” She began to jog in place. “I need to go for a run. Then I think I’ll check out the nude beach. If you change your mind, let me know.”

And as her mom jogged down the driveway and out onto the sidewalk, Delores came around the corner of Gram’s house and breaking into a sprint, managed to block the older woman’s path.

Delores was always perfect, always neat and tidy and made up, while Paige was usually in a state of disorganized chaos, harried, a mess. But this morning, the other woman had huge puffy circles under her eyes like she hadn’t gotten much sleep. And her clothes looked like she’d slept in them.

Delores smiled, brittle like plastic. “Boy, are we going to use this in our campaign.”

Yes, Lisa’s overt sexual image could do serious damage to Jeb’s bid for Mayor, which meant hurray for Brody's team.

It could also damage Gram’s reputation.

Lisa continued to jog in place. “Would you like to join me this morning, Delores? You look like you could use some exercise.”

The younger woman sneered. “I know who you are, and it’s not a Karie-May makeup consultant.”

Lisa turned her head and smiled at Paige. “Amazing what you can learn about people without even asking a single question.”

Then with a small wave, Lisa resumed her jog down the street.

Delores looked over at Paige, confused. “What did she mean by that?”

“Nothing. She has a weird sense of humor.” Paige resisted the urge to smile, and instead pointed at the sign in Delores’s hand. “Is that for Gram?”

Delores shoved the sign at Paige, the frown creasing her forehead ferocious. “I’m on to you. I know what you’re doing. You think you can distract Brody so that your dad wins the Mayor’s race. Well, I won’t allow it. I’m watching you.”

And as the other woman stomped away, Paige set the sign in the middle of the front lawn, and prayed that the signage worked in Brody’s favor.

Down the street, Gram navigated the car, barely avoiding the other vehicles parked along the street. At the corner, the signal light blinked, and as the vehicle turned too sharply and hit a light post, there was a crunch of metal.

The car backed up, tried the corner again, and made it this time.

Poor Starr. Poor Hope. The girls deserved Purple Hearts for their bravery.

Paige sighed and turned toward Gram’s house.

What had she been up to again?

Right, she needed to return those envelopes of money.

She went back into the house in search of her dad, and found him back at the kitchen table, opening envelopes and stacking the cash. He took one look at her face and began to gather up the money. “Where do you want to start, Buttercup?”

“It doesn’t matter, as long as it all goes back.”

“Make you a deal.”

Suspicious, she kept her eyes on him to make sure he didn’t slip any of the money into a pocket or two. “What?”

“If not a single person takes their money back, you’ll accept that I’ve gone straight, and you’ll rally behind me on my bid for the Mayor’s chair.”

Feeling pretty confident that at least one person would take back their hard earned cash, she returned his charming smile. “It’s a deal.”

Hours later, Paige’s feet were sore from stomping from house to house. No matter how much she needled her dad, she couldn’t break his charming mood, and the widows in town lapped it up.

Nobody would take their money back.

And she realized that these women were serious in their attempt to help Jeb become Mayor.

Which didn’t bode well for Brody at all.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

By the time Matilda joined Jeb on the campaign trail, he’d already been shaking hands and kissing babies for the better part of the day. The man definitely had charisma, and as she watched him engage with the people in town—especially the women, young and old—she couldn’t help but puff up like a peacock.

She’d been the one to introduce him to everyone. And for some reason, out in this element, he was even more attractive than he’d been on her stepladder while he cleaned the gutters.

His daughter had joined him and he was busy introducing her to everyone, bragging about her wedding gown designs, and talking up his granddaughter’s grades in school.

It was clear the younger woman didn’t want to be there, and Matilda couldn’t blame her. Even though Jeb’s popularity continued to grow—he was now even in the polls with Brody—the residents of the island remembered Paige’s teenage attempt to scam them out of their hard earned cash, and now they treated her with barely disguised distain.

Fortunately for Jeb, they didn’t hold her crime against him.

Movement across the street caught her attention and she saw Brody approach. Delores lagged behind, while Hope was nowhere in sight, which proved to her once again that Brody didn’t care about his daughter.

Which was fine with her because once she got custody, she intended to include her granddaughter in every facet of her life. They’d shop together and cook together, and every Friday and Saturday night, they’d pop a huge batch of popcorn, then curl up on the sofa and watch the Discovery channel together.

Mere seconds later, Matilda’s gaze tripped past Jeb’s competition and she found herself scanning the crowd for Harry.

Had he abandoned his candidate like he’d abandoned her? Left the island in his motorhome to explore all those places Matilda had once dreamed of visiting before the responsibility of real life—marriage, family, her real estate office—had intruded?

Envy burned in her heart and she willed it away.

Then a tall woman wearing dark sunglasses and a beach towel slung over her shoulder drew Matilda’s attention. She wormed her way through the tightly packed crowd, waving and calling Jeb’s name, and as the residents parted to allow her through, they fell silent.

Displeasure soured Jeb’s expression, while Paige appeared extraordinarily pleased for the interruption.

But like the professional he portrayed, Jeb put on his game face and turned to Matilda. “Matilda, I’d like you to meet my ex-wife, Lisa. Lisa is Paige’s mother.”

Matilda felt dowdy in comparison. Lisa was beautiful and very well endowed. She wore a halter top that barely covered her enormous breasts and narrow midriff. Skin tight, short-short shorts finished off the ensemble, showing off long tanned legs. She was jogging in place, her huge melon breasts bobbing up and down, unmindful of the stares she received.

Stuffing her jealousy down deep, she shook the other woman’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Lisa stopped jogging long enough to accept the handshake. “Matilda, you have such beautiful skin. I’m a Karie-May consultant. I’d love to introduce you to our products and give you a free facial.”

Matilda didn’t want to appear rude, but the woman made her feel totally inferior. So she gave a small nod and a vague reply. “Yes, that would be lovely. I’m terribly busy right now but—”

The other woman’s gaze suddenly veered past Matilda. Her eyes widened and she purred deep in her throat. “Wow, who’s the hunk and can I get an introduction?”

Matilda barely glanced over her shoulder. She had no doubt in her mind who Lisa referred to. “That’s just Brody Jackson. He’s running for Mayor against Jeb.”

“No, not Brody. I’ve already met him and while he’s—ummm—yummy, he’s already taken.” She slid a glance Matilda’s way and smiled. “Who’s the other guy? I saw him the other day, but didn’t have the opportunity to introduce myself.”

Matilda turned to see who Lisa was talking about, and her heart shriveled in her chest.

Harry
.

She was talking about Harry
.

Matilda looked back at Lisa’s bobbing breasts and felt something heavy settle in her stomach. Before she could say a word, the other group reached them, and Jeb made the introductions.

When Harry shook Lisa’s hand, he held on a little too long. “Nice to meet you, Lisa. You look familiar. Have we met before?”

Lisa laughed and gently drew her hand out of Harry’s, sliding a look toward her family before turning back to the Judge. “Maybe you’ve seen my website with a link to the Karie-May products online.”

Paige stepped up beside her mother and took her by the elbow. “Lisa, you should finish your run before it gets too warm.”

“Of course. I’ll see you all back at the house.”

And with a wave, she was gone, stopping only once to hand something to Delores, whose eyes got big. Then she jogged down the street, leaving everyone behind her to ogle her nicely shaped back end.

Even wearing a girdle, Matilda couldn’t get close to that shape.

Behind her, Jeb had asked Brody what he thought of an old bylaw still on the books giving residents the right to tie their horses to the parking meters. It surprised Matilda that he even had that much knowledge of the town bylaws. And by the look on the other faces surrounding her, they were surprised, too.

Before she knew it, Jeb and Brody were in a discussion of the bylaw, asking the voters thoughts on the matter.

And somehow, Matilda found herself standing next to Harry, who was still staring after Lisa, his eyes all but bulging out of his head.

She wanted to slap him upside the head. Instead, she gritted her teeth and hissed, “I thought you’d be gone in your motorhome by now.”

“I decided to stick around and run Brody’s campaign.”

She raised her chin in the air, and clung ferociously to her pride. “It’s for nothing. You should see how everyone’s taking to Jeb.”

This got his undivided attention. “What do you know about him, Mattie?”

“Enough.” She straightened her spine. “Don’t call me Mattie anymore.”

It was as though he hadn’t even heard her. “You don’t know anything about him, do you?”

“I know that he’ll make a far better Mayor than Brody.” Behind her back, she crossed her fingers.

“Well, it’s your bed, isn’t it?”

And just like that, he crossed his arms over his massive chest and shut down his emotions.

No matter how much she needled him, Harry remained cool, calm,
disinterested
. As they prepared to leave, Matilda felt desperate to get a rise out of him, determined to prove to him—and to herself—that she was more than just a Tuesday and Thursday night fixture in his bed.

Without thought, right there in front of the whole town, she grabbed Jeb by the shoulders and kissed him.

She thought she heard Harry make a noise like a necktie strangling grunt, but when she broke off the kiss and turned around, he was gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

After supper, a bag of trash in hand, Brody headed out of the house toward the alley. The bang of Olivia’s screen door caught his attention.

He dropped the bag into the garbage can and peered over the fence to see Paige sit down on the porch swing, studying the pad of paper in her hands.

Desire hit him square in the gut.

Last night, she’d totally caught him off guard with her appearance in his bedroom. Her attempt to lighten his mood and draw him out of his funk had worked so well, he’d found himself kissing her like a drowning man seeking air.

Only Hope’s return home had saved him from taking advantage of what Paige had offered. He would willingly have made love to her, and afterward…

…afterward she’d leave the island.

And the mere thought of her departure dampened his mood like nothing else could.

Getting involved with her would cause a boatload of heartbreak, at least on his end. Because he liked her.

Really
liked her.

In fact, he liked her so much, he’d begun to wonder if he could convince her to stay on the island to see if they had a future together.

Olivia’s door banged again and Jeb came out of the house, bag in hand, and headed toward the alley.

Their discussion that afternoon had shown him how much his opponent knew about the island’s bylaws and how painfully little Brody knew. Which might explain why the polls showed Jeb creeping into the lead.

Add in the man’s natural magnetism—especially with the women who lined up in droves to talk to him and giggle while he shook their hands—and Brody’s bid to win the Mayor’s race and permanent custody of his daughter seemed about as unlikely as Hope ever calling him dad.

Especially after last night’s argument with the teen.

He could almost hear Matilda’s victory shout.

He should go back to the house and face his sullen teenager…who he realized had been less sullen since Starr’s arrival.

It was good that she’d made a friend. But what would happen when Starr left at the end of the week? Hope’s happiness was another reason to convince Paige to stay on the island.

“Evening, neighbor,” he said as Jeb entered the alley.

The other man tossed the bag into the can, then secured the lid and nodded his head politely. “Brody.”

“Hot tonight.”

“Sure is.” The other man pulled a handkerchief out of his shirt pocket and wiped the back of his neck. “Seems like the humidity climbs every day. I’d forgotten what it was like on the island.”

Across the alley, a door banged, and Brody turned to see Matilda leave Delores’s house.

“Women,” Jeb muttered, and unable to disagree, Brody turned back and replied, “Women.”

Jeb eyed him with renewed interest. “I’ve been wondering. Where’s Hope’s mom?”

“Car accident a few months back.”

The calculated interest in Jeb’s gaze sobered. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s been hard on Hope and Matilda. Hope lost her mother and Matilda lost her daughter.” All the more reason why he had to stick this thing out, and reconcile grandmother and granddaughter. Brody wiped at the sweat gathering on his forehead, then watched Jeb’s attention drift after Matilda. “So what’s up with you and Matilda?”