Son of a Preacher Man (13 page)

“Billy, you wait right there with Auntie Nad while I get your brother unstrapped. I don’t want you running off. Honey, would you grab the diaper bag? Nadya, hold onto Billy a sec, would you?” Mary Ellen directed the action like they were going into war, not spending a few hours in the park.

Nadya felt tickled at the title Auntie Nad. It made her feel like part of the family.

Little Billy vibrated with excitement. “See, there’s the big slide. And the monkey bars. I can’t do those yet, but I’m gonna. Come on, I’ll show you how high I can swing.”

Just as Mary Ellen slid the door shut, Nadya’s phone rang. She glanced at the display and saw it was Sandra. “This is a co-worker from New York. I better take it. Y’all go on ahead and I’ll catch up.”

“Okay. I’ll be right at that bench. If you need me, holler.”

Nadya watched Bill and Mary Ellen walk off. Billy held both their hands and swung them back and forth. A knot of emotion formed in her throat as she took in their family togetherness.

God, please don’t let my presence here screw up Mary Ellen’s life.

She bit back her fears and answered the phone before it went to voice mail. “Hey, lady, how’s Miami?”

“
Bubele!
It’s like breathing soup when you walk outside. I can’t believe I’m looking forward to going back to work on Monday. But enough of that. How are you? You haven’t taken any canoe trips down the Cahulawassee, have you?”

“That wasn’t a real river, and, no, I’m sticking close to civilization.” Most of the time. Her tummy did a little flip as she remembered being with J.T. at the creek and what had happened when they got back to the cabin. There was nothing civilized about that.

“Is everything wrapped up with your mom’s final wishes? Are you getting the hell out of Dodge? I haven’t gotten so much as a text from you since you met with Matlock. Fill me in.”

“Oh boy, a lot has happened.”

“Give me the short version. I have to get back into air conditioning before I melt, and I don’t have good reception in the hotel.”

“The lawyer was actually hired by my long-lost father, not my mother. I inherited some land down here, ran into an old friend and an old flame, and I’m about to meet some of the women I went to high school with and their kids, and I’m worried my presence here will cause problems for my friend and her family.” She didn’t know why she told Sandra the last part, it just spurted out.

“Wait, the father who abandoned your mother left you something in his will?
A broch
. That takes some
chutzpah
.”

“No kidding.”

“I have a feeling you’re not headed to the Caribbean any time soon. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate down there in Deliverance. Now, tell me about the old flame.”

“Just as hot as when I was a teenager.”

“Please tell me you slept with him and didn’t pull the Ice Queen routine.”

“There’s no way to keep ice frozen in this heat.”

“Thank God. Now, about your friend. I have a feeling if she stuck by you all this time, the opinions of some low-class women aren’t going to matter to her one bit. Don’t you worry about meeting those girls. You’re a New Yorker now. If they give you a hard time, you take them down.”

“You make it sound like I routinely do hand-to-hand combat on the subway.”

“Honey, I’ve seen you shop at a half-price sale. You can take ’em.”

Nadya laughed. Talking to Sandra always made her feel like she could handle anything. “I’m glad you called. I’ll try to keep you in the loop.”

“You’d better. And when you get back, we’re going to have a nice long talk over martinis.”

“It’s a date.”

“Good, now I’m going to stand in front of the freezer. I’ll text you from the city.”

Nadya slipped the phone in her back pocket and squared her shoulders. Sandra was right—she could handle this. She negotiated million-dollar contracts for a living. Some housewives from Dale weren’t going to intimidate her. Much.

Chapter Nine

J.T. watched as Nadya pushed Hunter on the swing. Little Billy was on the next swing over, pumping his little chicken legs for all he was worth. Mary Ellen and Bill sat on a bench, holding hands. At first glance, it seemed like just an average day at the park, until he took in the details.

Bill wasn’t just holding Mary Ellen’s hand, he was holding her back. Her face was flushed with anger, and it looked like Bill was trying to talk her down. Several women were congregated by the slide, talking amongst themselves and occasionally throwing glances at Nadya. Any time one of their kids tried to go towards the swings, they’d be redirected.

What the fuck? He looked closer at Nadya. She smiled and laughed with the boys, but there was an edge to it. Her shoulders were tense and she kept looking at Mary Ellen. This was ridiculous. Were they still in high school?

He made his way over to the swings. Despite his irritation with the situation, he admired the way Nadya’s shorts tightened over her butt every time she leaned forward to push Hunter on the swing. She really did have a world-class ass. Damn it, he could not think about last night now. His uniform pants weren’t cut to hide an erection.

“What do we have here? You better slow down, fella, or I’m going to have to give you a ticket for speeding,” he said to Billy, coming around the front of the swings so he could face Nadya. “Afternoon, Miss Nadya. It’s a perfect day for the park.”

“Yeah, lovely.”

“Uncle J.T., you want to see me go on the big slide? I can climb all the way to the top!”

“I don’t—” Nadya started, but J.T. cut her off.

“That sounds great. Come on. I’ll bet Hunter would like to push his truck around in the sandbox. That’s yours right here, isn’t it?” He pointed to the big yellow dump truck.

“Truck!
Vroom
!” Hunter shouted, waving his legs and arms wildly.

“J.T., I’m not so sure this is a good idea,” she said as she lifted Hunter out of the toddler swing. “I don’t want to cause Mary Ellen any problems.”

“What kind of problems can there be at the park? Come on, I want to see Billy go down that big ol’ slide.”

“Come on, Auntie Nad. Watch me!”

“Yeah, Auntie Nad.” J.T. grabbed Hunter’s truck with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist.

He felt the tension in her muscles and the stiff way she held herself, but then Hunter raised his arms up to her.

“Up! Carry me, ’ti Nad. Prease?”

“Did he just call me Auntie Nad? Did I hear right?”

“Well, I don’t speak toddler, but that’s what it sounded like to me. He even said please.”

“Now I have to do it.” She sniffed as she lifted the chubby two-year-old onto her hip. He wrapped his arms around her neck and kicked his legs.

“Truck.
Vroom
!”

J.T. tried to ignore how right it felt to have his arm around Nadya while she held a toddler. She would be going back to New York and he’d made his life here in Dale. She’d made it clear this was a temporary visit. Sure, she might come back now that she’d reconnected with Mary Ellen, but she had her own life up north.

As they neared the slide, some of the boys who looked about the same age as Billy broke rank and ran over to him. All conversation died as he and Nadya approached the sandbox where the women congregated.

Nadya’s face was as blank as a sheet of paper, but he could see how tightly she was holding Hunter. She must have squeezed him because he squirmed.

“Down! Truck!”

She set him down and he held his arms up to J.T. for the truck.

“Here you go, Killer. Drive safely.” He waited until Hunter was occupied pushing his truck through mountains of sand before he steered Nadya toward the circle of women staring at them.

“Good afternoon, ladies. Lydia, is that tall rascal your boy? Seems like just yesterday we were getting the Lego out of his nose. And, Daisy, that can’t be your little girl. Wasn’t it just last month we were rushing you to the hospital because she was coming early and you couldn’t wait for the ambulance to get here? Boy, time flies when you aren’t looking.”

“It sure does, J.T. How’ve you been?” Lydia asked. “I haven’t seen you in church for ages.” She was Pansy’s best friend and the ring leader of this little group. Her dyed-blonde hair showed a good two inches of brown roots, and her makeup wasn’t up to the task of hiding the black circles under her eyes. Even though she was two years younger than Nadya and Mary Ellen, she looked ten years older.

“I try to go when I’m not working, but you know how it is. Someone has to protect this town. You all remember Nadya Sarov, don’t you? She’s come down from New York City for a visit.”

There were murmurs and no one met his eyes. Finally, Opal Miller stepped forward. She had a boy around Hunter’s age on her hip. “Welcome back, Nadya. How’ve you been?”

Nadya froze for a second and J.T. squeezed her side to get her talking.

“Good. Busy. Things move much faster up north. How about you? How old is your boy? He’s adorable.”

Opal’s face lit up as she stroked her son’s hair off his forehead. “Tanner will be two next month. He and Hunter are in the same Mommy-and-Me group at the church.” She set him down as he started to squirm. Immediately, he toddled over to the sandbox with his own truck.

“What brings you back to Dale?” Opal asked.

“My mama passed away, and I had some affairs that needed to be tied up.”

J.T. admired the way she didn’t exactly lie but sure as hell didn’t tell the truth either.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jemma Wilson said. “Your mama helped me find my brother when he got lost in the woods behind your place. He was no older than Luke here, and he’d gotten away from me when we were walking along the creek. I was terrified he’d fallen in and drowned. I was running in circles calling his name when your mama came up with him in her arms. She’d found him chasing a bunny near her garden.”

“I remember that. How is Tommy? He’s what, eighteen now?”

“Twenty. He joined the army two years ago. Right now he’s stationed in Alabama, so we get to see him sometimes. He’s hoping to go to Germany next.”

“Wow, twenty already. Please give him my regards when you talk to him next.”

“I will.”

Lydia, Daisy and a third woman J.T. didn’t recognize immediately stared at Nadya, taking in everything from the gold hoops in her ears to the shoes on her feet. There was an awkward pause, and he was searching for a way to break it when Billy called out.

“Uncle J.T. Auntie Nad! Watch me!” He waved from the top of the slide before lying on his belly and shooting down the blue plastic.

“Be careful!” Nadya called out. “Dear God, he’s going to split his lip and Mary Ellen will have my head.” She took a step toward the slide but J.T. held her back.

“He’s fine. The surface is padded and he’s not going that fast.”

A banshee wail came from the sandbox and Nadya spun away from Billy to look at Hunter, who was in a tug-of-war with Tanner over the truck.

“I’ll, ah, go check on Billy.” He took off for the slide while Nadya went to the sandbox. She shot him a glare as he abandoned her to the screaming toddler and a gaggle of women.

Bill met him by the slide where he was brushing off Little Billy’s shirt and straightening his hat. “There you go, good as new.”

“Thanks. I’m going on the tetter-totter.” Billy took off with Lydia’s boy.

“You’re a brave man. If those ladies do something mean to Nadya, Mary Ellen will have your balls as earrings.”

“Nadya can take care of herself.”

“Maybe. Lord knows she’s always had to.” He paused before speaking again. “Did you know Mr. Taylor at the hardware store tried to rape her when she was barely sixteen?”

“What?” Red fury filled his brain as he rounded on Bill. “How did you hear about this?”

“Mary Ellen told me. Nadya was crushing boxes for the garbage behind the general store. You know how they share a Dumpster with the hardware store? Well, she was out there with a box cutter, thank God, ‘cause he came up behind her and pushed her against the wall and was pawing at her when she jabbed open his thigh with the cutter. Mrs. Farley came out back when she heard him screaming. He tried to blame it on Nadya, saying she attacked him and tried to steal his wallet.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? He’s easily twice her weight and a foot taller. Why didn’t she go to the police?”

“Mrs. Farley tried to get her to, but Nadya’s mama came and took her home. She said she’d handle it and not to say anything. Miss Tala didn’t trust the police. Not that I can blame her. Remember, Matthew Woodrow and his cronies were pretty much the department then. They harassed Nadya and her mama every chance they got.”

“I don’t fucking believe this.”

“Watch your mouth, we’re around little kids. If fuck is Billy’s new word, Mary Ellen will have my balls too.”

“I can’t believe she didn’t tell me about that. I can’t believe I never heard about that before. No one keeps secrets in Dale.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“I may have to pay a visit at the hardware store. I never liked Branson Taylor anyway.” J.T. felt a powerful need to hit someone. It didn’t matter that the attack was years ago. Someone had hurt Nadya and no one had been there to help her.