Deep Dixie (35 page)

“
Here
’
s your phone, dear. I can
’
t work these new-fangled technological things. I
’
m an artist, you know, not some mechanical wizard.
”
Her poppy-red lower lip trembled.
“
You
’
d better hurry and answer your phone, dear, that lady is waiting.
”

“
Aunt Sis, my phone hasn
’
t rung and...what lady? Waiting where?
”

“
I don
’
t know where she was calling from.
”

Dixie fit the pieces together, which was more than Riley would be doing with his phone anytime soon from the looks of it.
“
Okay, I think I know what
’
s going on here. Aunt Sis, Riley
’
s cell phone is not some cordless extension of our phone here at home. He can
’
t just pick it up and talk to someone who calls our number. So what we need to know from you is, did you hang up on the lady who called?
”

“
Gracious, no. That would have been rude.
”

“
Great.
”
Riley handed his cell phone to Dixie.
“
I
’
ll just go downstairs and get—
”

“
I told her good-bye first.
”

“
You what?
”
Riley froze.

“
I didn
’
t just hang up on her, I told her good-bye first.
”

Dixie physically put herself between Sis and Riley. Not in her wildest imaginings could she believe that Riley would do anything to harm her often-off-kilter aunt, but after so many weeks of living in this household with two families—had it really been almost three weeks since Riley
’
s mother arrived?—Dixie had learned one thing: she was a born buffer. Grit and grace, her only redeeming attributes it seemed at times, served her well these days.

Riley moved in behind Dixie and she could feel how tense he was...as she felt the heat of his body and heard the quiet rasping of his hard breathing.

Dixie stood up as straight as she could.
“
Told
whom
goodbye, Aunt Sis? Did you get the woman
’
s name?
”

“
Oh, yes. I didn
’
t write it down, if that
’
s what you
’
re asking but she identified herself to me immediately upon my answering. What nice manners, you know, folks don
’
t do that much
anymore. Just is so-and-so there or let me talk to thus- and-such.
”

Dixie sensed Riley
’
s building tension over the mystery woman. She knew his anxiety had penetrated her own calm composure when she took Aunt Sis by the shoulders and gave her a shake.
“
What was the woman
’
s name, Aunt Sis. It
’
s important that you get this right. Was it Marcia?
”

“
Mar—oh, my no.
”

Riley exhaled.

For some reason Dixie did not share in his relief as equally as she had his stress. She tried to tell herself that had nothing to do with her own conflicting feelings about a woman calling Riley.
No jealousy, remember? We
’
re just friends, nothing more
. Women could call him all day and it should not matter to Dixie in the least.

“
The name was Carol, dear.
”

Blind date, ex-lawyer, dated for almost three years, Dixie thought then squeaked out,
“
Carol?
”

“
Thanks, Aunt Sis.
”
Was it Dixie
’
s imagination or did Riley sound just a bit too happy when he said that?
“
Did she give you any other message?
”

Dixie set her analysis of Riley
’
s reaction aside and honed in on Sis
’
s response.

“
No, I thought you could just pick up your phone up here so I didn
’
t ask if she wanted to leave one.
”

“
If she has anything really important to say to you, she
’
ll call back, Riley. I know I would.
”
Oh, dear. That came off snippy and quite superior even to her own ears.

Riley, however, did not notice. Dixie knew this because he
’
d already dashed into the room, plucked his wristwatch and car keys up from the worktable, and was on his way somewhere.

“
I
’
m not going to wait for her to call back. It
’
s too, um... busy here to take the call anyway I think I
’
ll scoot down to the main office and call her.
”

“
Oh, you
’
re going downtown?
”
Dixie tugged her ball cap off in a flash.
“
Mind if I tag along?
”

“
Uh...um...
”
Riley blinked at her as he wrestled the silver watchband over his hand and in place on his wrist.
“
I thought you had work to do here?
”

Her? Stay here and wallpaper his daughter
’
s room for him like some sorry Southern version of Cinderella while he went off and made contact with his old girlfriend on the phone in her daddy
’
s old office? Not very likely.

No jealousy. Just Friends
. Her own rules came back to haunt her. She hushed them up as she whipped the rubberband right out of her hair, shook her hair onto her squared shoulders, and smiled.
“
I
’
m at a good place to take a break. Besides, I needed to go downtown today.
”

“
You did?
”
Aunt Sis
’
s hair listed to one side as she cocked her head.
“
What for?
”

“
I can
’
t tell you what for Aunt Sis,
”
she said through a locked smile.
“
It
’
s...a surprise.
”

“
A surprise? What for?
”

“
I can
’
t tell you because it
’
s an irthday-bay urprise-say for Miss Ettie-lay.
”

As she suspected it would, that shut Sis up while she tried to decipher the code.

Riley laughed and stuck out his crooked elbow.
“
Well, all right, hurry up then if you
’
re coming. But before we go anywhere together I have to add another stipulation to our ground rules.
”

Dixie slid her hands around his arm and fell in step beside him.
“
What
’
s that?
”

“
No more pig Latin out of you, young lady.
”

“
Why? Because pork rinds are a Southern aphrodisiac and Latin is one of the romance
languages?
”

“
Did anyone ever tell you, Dixie Fulton-Leigh, that you are a troublement? Pure and deliciously simple, a troublement?
”

“
I do my best.
”
She smiled at him and kept on walking. Riley would never know the irony she felt at having finally found something she was impossibly good at—caring about him with all her heart—and knowing it was the one thing she
’
d promised she would never pursue.

Chapter Fourteen

“
So, just what kind of birthday surprise do you expect to find for Miss Lettie in
this
place?
”
Riley
’
s keys rattled as he opened the door to the upstairs office that had once been John Frederick Fulton-Leigh
’
s domain.

His first two weeks on the job, Riley and Dixie—and even Fulton, a time or two—had worked here alone or together, filing, learning the ropes, separating the old ways from the new and the plans from the realities. Then Riley had noticed Dixie was spending more time downstairs on the sales floor of the outlet store or running errands for the family, always at the ready for anyone and everyone whether at work or home.

She kept informed on all the day-to-day goings-on of the business but really had very little to do beyond signing papers, going over financial information, and attending a couple of meetings a week. That was all her part of the businesses required. Riley
’
s end of things required more hands-on and paperwork to keep up with state and federal regulations, union requirements, upkeep on the vehicles, and much more. Still and all, it was the kind of work that kept to a tight schedule and, barring emergency, left him weekends and evenings free to spend with Wendy, Momma and...well, anyone else he might care to spend his time with.

Fulton no longer needed to come over, but he remained a mere phone call away. So John Frederick
’
s office, simply because Riley came in to work there every day, seemed to have become
his
domain.

He pushed open the door and stood aside, allowing Dixie to step in ahead of him. He really did not care why she wanted to come up to the office with him instead of sticking to her first, adorably weak story of simply needing to come downtown over something regarding Lettie
’
s birthday plans. Deep down, he liked having her here with him when he returned Carol
’
s call. Having someone else in the office with him would provide a built-in excuse for not talking too long if his ex-lawyer, ex-not-quite-girlfriend had only called to chat. If Carol called for some other reason...

But what other reason could there be? He tossed his keys onto the large desk and moved around to the leather chair behind it. If it were anything else, Carol knew to contact Fulton. She hadn
’
t spoken directly to Riley since his move more than a month ago.

Still, he didn
’
t mind ribbing Dixie a little about her almost transparent excuse to eavesdrop on the conversation between him and the woman he had once dated.
“
I don
’
t believe I caught your answer, Dix.
”

“
What?
”
She jumped like a cat catching a glimpse of itself in a mirror.

“
What did you hope to find here for Miss Lettie
’
s birthday? If you
’
ll give me some idea, maybe I can help you locate it.
”

“
Well, actually, it
’
s...um...
”
She moved her hands as if indicating the four sides of something small and square.

“
A box?
”
He held in the urge to chuckle as he began opening desk drawers, then slamming them shut as if searching in earnest for the object.
“
You
’
ve hidden a gift box in here?
”

“
No, it
’
s really more of a...
”
She waved her hands like a person describing a cloud or something large and fluffy. The whole time her gaze darted around the room.

“
More of a—
”
he mimicked her motion to a T—
”
A wig? A pillow? An enormous mound of
freshly sheered sheep
’
s wool?
”

“
No! More of a...a...
”
Her gesture got bigger.

“
I
’
ve got it.
”
He stopped his swirling hand motion all together and snapped his fingers.
“
A thinly veiled excuse for getting up into my office and listening in on my phone call to Carol!
”