Marriage Seasons 04 - Winter Turns to Spring (13 page)

“But you’re crying.”

“Yes, and Brad is right that this is not your business.”

“I will protect Jennifer,” Cody growled, piercing what was left of Brad’s composure with the steeliness of his bright blue eyes. “I’ll take care of her forever. She knows I will. I would never let anyone hurt her—not in the office of Bless Your Hearth or anywhere else in the whole world. Why did you make Jennifer cry?”

“Brad and I were talking, that’s all.” Jennifer took Cody’s arm and tried to move him from the doorway.

“Talking about you?” Cody glanced at Jennifer. “Oh, I bet you were talking about Ashley, right? About how sad she is because of Brad drinking too much and denting his new truck and not being nice about her beads. I know all about that because I listen to the ladies at Just As I Am. Even though Patsy says
no gossip on these premises
, those women do talk, and what they talk about is you, Brad Hanes.”

“Me?” He thrust out his chest. “If those old biddies don’t have anything better to do than—”

“Hey, it’s Yappy!” Cody burst out. “You brought Yappy with you! I like him. He’s the best dog except for Boofer, who I like better but only because I’ve known him longer. I like Yappy a lot.”

Before Cody could make a move, Brad bent and snatched up the pup, who was gnawing on the leg of Brenda Hansen’s office chair.

Jennifer gasped in horror.

“Oh no! Look what he did—they’re soaked!” She knelt over a stack of yellow-stained floor mats. “Mom just got these in yesterday. They’re handwoven. Mom nearly broke the bank paying for them. Now how am I supposed to get them clean? My mom is going to kill me for letting that dog in here. And look what he’s done to her chair! That’s an
antique
, Brad. Your dog just chewed halfway through the wood on a cabriole leg!”

“Ha! That’s funny!” Cody said, his face suddenly transforming from concern to hilarity. Laughing, he bent over and slapped his thigh. “Mrs. Miranda Finley thinks that Yappy is really Mrs. Moore reincarnated into a dog. Wait till I tell her what Mrs. Moore did to the floor mats and the old chair! I would like to hear her explain that, wouldn’t you?”

“What are you talking about, bozo-brain?” Brad snapped. “Don’t say dumb things. And move it before I have to throw you across the room.”

Cody sobered as he pointed a finger at Brad’s chest. “I am not dumb, and you better not throw me across the room or make Jennifer cry ever again. You ought to just leave forever, Brad. That’s what you should do, because in Deepwater Cove, nobody likes you except Mr. Moore—and that’s only because Mrs. Moore loved Ashley and told her husband to help fix up your broken-down house.”

“Yeah, and you belong in a nuthouse.” Brad tucked the puppy into the crook of his arm as he elbowed past Cody into the main room of the shop.

Nobody in Deepwater Cove liked him? Brad heard Cody’s words echoing in his head as he stalked toward the door. Well, so what? He had no use for any of them, either. Bible-thumper men spreading rumors about him behind his back. They probably talked about him as one of their “prayer requests.” And the salon ladies bad-mouthing him while they got their hair done? They could rot for all Brad cared.

Same for Jennifer Hansen, he thought as he threw open the front door. What had she meant by luring him into the darkened store? Had he been mistaken in thinking that Jennifer was interested in more than a friendly little chat with him?

No way. Brad hadn’t read a girl wrong in years—at least, he hadn’t until he got married. Now Ashley had found a new way to torment him. Had she really asked Jennifer to talk to him? What did she think that would accomplish?

Boots crunching on the icy snow as he tramped across the parking lot, Brad felt Yappy wriggling to get out of his grip.

“What?” he snapped at the dog. “What do you want? You planning to turn on me too?”

The puppy flinched and looked up at Brad with big brown eyes.
“Wow.”
His velvety mouth opened to form the softly uttered sounds.
“Wow, wow.”

“You’re right about that,” Brad muttered.

As he climbed into his car, he thought about the night he had spent in the cramped, freezing vehicle. He thought about his wife, her tears, his eager willingness to take another woman in his arms. Then he thought about Cody, the large wet spot on the rugs, and Jennifer Hansen’s golden hair sifting across her back.

What did it all mean, anyhow?

Brad turned the key, and the cold engine chugged to life. Now he’d definitely be late for work. Bill Walters would not take kindly to him bringing a dog inside the new condo complex. Brad would work all day mudding seams in wallboard. Then he’d go home to his unhappy wife in a neighborhood where no one could stand him. What a jolly holiday
this
was turning out to be.

“Merry Christmas!” Patsy Pringle threw her arms wide as Jennifer opened the front door of the Hansen home. “Oh, come here, you beautiful sweet thing. Let me give you a big hug.”

As the fragile younger woman sank into her embrace, Patsy could feel the hurt and confusion making those slender shoulders sag. She knew Jennifer had been troubled lately, but there had to be more going on than the effects of that regrettable trip to Mexico. This girl was actually trembling.

“Are you shivering with the cold, honey?” Patsy stepped into the foyer and shut the door behind her. Picking up a platter of decorated cookies, she hurried into the living room, set it on the coffee table, and began tugging off her gloves.

“I’d bet a gentle breeze would knock you flat, Jennifer.” She ran her eyes up and down the young woman. “Have you lost weight? Look at you, all skinny and pale and quaking like some poor puppy left out in the snow—which brings to mind the little dog Brad and Ashley adopted. Have you seen him lately? I’d swear Yappy has doubled in size since they rescued him. And cute! Oh, that little rascal could just tear your heart out.”

Tucking her gloves into the pockets of her coat, Patsy studied Jennifer more closely. “What is eating on you? Have you been crying this morning already? It’s barely ten o’clock. I took the day off to come help you and Ashley finish up those bead orders, but I walk in to find a girl who looks like she’s about to keel over. You’d better start talking, sugarplum, and I mean now.”

Jennifer shrugged. “I don’t know where Ashley is. She said she’d be here by nine, but she hasn’t shown up. She’s not answering her phone either.”

“That’s not like her. I’ve never seen anyone as responsible and dedicated as Ashley is to her bead business. She wouldn’t suddenly drop out on us without a good reason. Especially right before Christmas. This is her last big day to get everything in the mail.”

“I know.” Jennifer sank down onto the couch. “I checked her Web site, and a bunch more orders came in last night. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

“Well, mercy’s sake.” Patsy couldn’t think of a thing to do but eat a Christmas cookie. She peeled back the plastic wrap on the glass platter and handed a stocking-shaped gingersnap to Jennifer. Then she chose a chocolate-drizzled pecan bar for herself.

“I didn’t make these, you know. One of my customers brought them in.” Patsy shook her head as she bit into the delicacy. “The way people can change never ceases to amaze me. Back when I first met the lady who gave me this platter, I thought she’d half lost her mind. She had just been through a divorce and was running wild. I’m telling you—just plain
wild
. She wanted me to do her hair in tiger stripes. I did it, too. Orange and black. Nothing subtle about that color job.”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack. But not long afterward, she settled into a little house, made some new friends, learned how to fish, bought herself a johnboat, and even decided to let her gray grow out. When she came into the salon to bring me these cookies, she told me she’d joined the Lions Club and had met a nice widower at the last pancake flip. Can you believe that? Aren’t these absolutely delicious? I wish people would include recipes when they bring me snacks. Not that I would ever have time to bake. Pete loves it, though. I’ve had a few meals over at his place since we got engaged, and let me tell you, that man can cook.”

Patsy finished her pecan bar, looked around for a box of tissues, and when she couldn’t find one, opened her purse. Even though doing hair for a living was a hard job, she did her best to always look nice. That meant wearing a pretty shade of lipstick and keeping her half-inch nails in polished perfection. After touching up her lips and wiping the chocolate from her fingers with a tissue from her bag, she looked at Jennifer.

“What have you been up to today? Nobody should be crying before noon. That’s just wrong.”

Jennifer sat staring at her gingersnap so long that Patsy almost decided she wasn’t going to answer. Then she spoke.

“I ran into Brad Hanes this morning,” she said in a low voice. “Ashley called me last night. She told me they had a big fight and he walked out on her. She didn’t know where he went.”

“He was at the men’s Bible study this morning, if you can believe that,” Patsy explained. “After everyone left, Pete practically ran over to the salon to tell me the news. Isn’t that wonderful? See what I mean about people changing? That tiger-striped boogie-mama turned into a sweet little lady, and now Brad is joining the men’s Bible group. If we could only find Ashley and tell her, I bet she’d be over here in a flash and happy as a lark. Why don’t you try calling her again?”

Jennifer pressed the keys on her cell phone. Then she shook her head. “She’s still not answering. But … I don’t think Brad went to the Bible study on purpose, Patsy.”

“Maybe not, but that’s where he ended up. God works in mysterious ways.”

Jennifer studied her gingersnap a little longer before speaking again. “I saw Brad outside Rods-N-Ends. He was getting into his car to head to work. I had just arrived in Tranquility to open up Mom’s new shop for her. She had an early meeting with one of Dad’s clients. So … I asked Brad if I could speak to him for a minute. See, Ashley knew that Brad and I had been in the same graduating class in high school, and she thought maybe I could help him understand how she’s been feeling about their marriage. She begged me to talk to him.”

“Oh?” Patsy considered the information and decided right away it had been a mistake. The person to talk to Brad about marriage troubles was Pastor Andrew or Charlie Moore or a bona fide counselor. Not little Jennifer.

“So, anyway, Brad and I went into the store together,” the young woman was saying, her tone growing more solemn by the moment. “It was still pretty dark outside, and the lights were off in the showroom.”

“Oh …” Patsy picked up a candy-cane cookie iced with red and white stripes.

“Mom had asked me to light the candles and turn on the lamps for her. She doesn’t like overhead fluorescent fixtures. Candles give a better ambience.”

“Yes, but what did Brad say to you?” Patsy bit into the cookie. “Did you talk to him about Ashley?”

“It was … awkward. I didn’t really know what to say. But since Ashley had asked me, I thought I could at least try.”

“Oh?” Shifting uneasily, Patsy wiped her fingers on the tissue and then lifted a star-shaped cookie with yellow sprinkles to her lips. “You met with Brad? Where?”

“In the back room. Mom’s office.” Jennifer set her gingersnap back on the platter. “Those lights were still off. I hadn’t gotten to them yet.”

For a moment, Patsy couldn’t breathe. She swallowed the last crumb of sugar cookie, thankful she hadn’t choked on it. “So you talked to Brad. There in the back room. Right?”

“Well, not really. I think … I’m pretty sure … I don’t know exactly, but it seemed like …” Jennifer shook her head. “I think Brad might have made a pass at me. He said something in sort of a
tone
, and then he was reaching for me … reaching out to touch my hair….”

Patsy grabbed a sandy topped with a chocolate drop and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. She chewed frantically. Praying. Thinking. Sweating. Why had she worn the wool sweater instead of the cotton one? And look at all the crumbs on her skirt!

What should she say to Jennifer? What
could
she say? Was this gossip? Where on earth was Ashley this morning? Had Brad truly intended something improper with Jennifer? And why was she telling Patsy about all this instead of her mother or someone much wiser and more profound?

“So, he reached for you?” she finally repeated, unable to come up with anything else.

“Yes, but I sat down before he touched me. And then I burst into tears.”

“Tears …” Patsy eyed the cookie platter as if it might be some sort of door through which she could escape. “Were you crying because Brad made a pass at you?”

“I’m not sure he made a pass at me, Patsy. Maybe he didn’t. It seemed like he did, but then how would I know? It’s been so long since I went on a date, and that was the very thing I starting crying about. Then Cody came in, and he started trying to protect me from Brad, which was totally awful, but kind of sweet, too. And then the puppy wet on Mom’s new rugs. Right after that, Brad left the store even angrier at Ashley than when he came in. Oh, Patsy, I totally blew it. I’ve probably wrecked their marriage, and if they get divorced, it’ll be my fault.”