Stealing Home (20 page)

He looked disappointed in her. “So you’re going to let people with nothing better to do than gossip dictate what you do? I thought you were stronger than that.”

“Strong? Me? You must have me confused with someone who’s not going through a divorce and dealing with three kids who are a mess because of it.” She regarded him intently. “I have to think about the boys. It’s been confusing enough for them lately. And then there’s Katie. She’s heartsick that her dad’s not home. Besides, it’s not as if you and I are…” Her voice trailed off.

He grinned. “As if we aren’t what? Dating? An item? Lovers?” His gaze held hers. “Serious?”

She gasped.

“The town gossips aren’t the only ones who’ve made that leap, Maddie. It’s crossed my mind, too. Not five minutes ago, as a matter of fact. Hasn’t it crossed yours?”

When she didn’t answer him, he let the silence drag on.

“Okay, yes,” she admitted eventually. “It’s crossed my mind.”

“But?”

“It would be complicated,” she repeated. “Very complicated.”

He studied her with a frown. “You’re not just talking logistics, are you?”

“No. I think the reactions we’ve gotten to this dinner invitation pale by comparison to the commotion that going any further with the relationship would cause.”

“And that matters because…?”

“Your job, for one thing. We already know that your principal is eager to make an issue out of us seeing each other.”

“If I’m not worried about that, why should you be?”

“Maybe you
should
be worried,” she told him. “I don’t think you realize how far Betty might go.”

“Oh, I realize that,” he replied. “But in the end, she’ll lose. And even if she doesn’t, I’ve learned one thing by walking away from baseball—there are always other opportunities in life.”

“But you’re a good teacher and a great coach,” she protested. “I don’t want the kids to lose you.”

“Frankly, neither do I,” he admitted. “But we’re talking about my personal life, not some crime I’ve committed. I can handle a little heat, if it comes to that.” He tucked a finger under her chin and held her gaze. “Come on, Maddie, you’re going to have to come up with a better excuse than that to break things off.”

“Okay, then, my kids,” she said. “I can’t put them through any more turmoil.”

“I get that,” Cal said quietly, his gaze steady. “I really do. And believe me, I am not suggesting we turn their worlds upside down by doing something drastic. But don’t you think if
we did a few things together—dinner, a picnic, a ball game, whatever—they might get used to me being around? Something tells me your ex wasn’t that considerate. He didn’t let them get used to much of anything before he announced he was marrying Noreen, did he?”

“No. I think that’s what hurt most of all,” she conceded. “It was just dumped in our laps. One day we were a family and the next day we weren’t. And to top it off, Bill had a whole new family waiting on the sidelines. He still can’t understand why the kids are so resentful.”

“Well, I do understand that,” Cal said. “And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get them used to the idea of you and me together.”

Amazement and a faint hint of longing spread through her. “You almost sound as if you’re thinking long-term,” she said, wonder in her voice.

“I am,” he admitted. “I have been from the minute I thought I had a chance with you. I respect you, Maddie. You’re all about family. It would be wrong to offer you anything less.”

“I don’t know what to say to that,” she whispered, shaken and more than a little intrigued. She hadn’t even allowed herself to fantasize about a serious relationship with Cal.

“Does knowing what I want scare you?” he asked.

She lifted her gaze to his, then answered from her heart. “Not half as much as it probably ought to.”

He smiled. “Then how about I walk home with you and say hello to the kids. Nothing else, just hello.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” He winked at her. “Of course, if it goes well, I’ll be over for dinner tomorrow night.”

“You’re one of those ‘give the man an inch and he’ll take a mile’ guys, aren’t you.”

“Apparently so.” He studied her. “Is it a deal?”

“Maybe you should kiss me again,” she suggested.

“To seal the deal?”

“To remind me of why I’m suddenly willing to throw caution to the wind for you.”

He laughed. “I can do that,” he said and covered her mouth with his.

The kiss stole breath and thought and apparently common sense, because in that moment, with his lips on hers and his heart beating strong and sure beneath her hand where it rested against his chest, just about anything seemed possible.

A reporter from the Serenity weekly newspaper was sitting in Maddie’s makeshift office, her tape recorder running as she interviewed Maddie, Dana Sue and Helen about why they’d decided to open a fitness club in Serenity.

“I suppose each of us had her own reasons,” Helen said. “But the one thing we all agreed on was that the women of Serenity need a place they can go to get healthy, a place where they feel pampered and maybe even make new friends.”

“It’s definitely about more than getting a good workout in pleasant surroundings,” Dana Sue said. “It’s going to be a gathering place for women, someplace where they’ll feel totally comfortable letting their hair down.”

“No men allowed, then?” Peggy Martin asked.

“Not after our grand opening,” Maddie confirmed.

Peggy turned to her. “Does that mean there will be no more late-night visits by Coach Maddox?” she inquired, her
saccharine tone belying the glint of malice in her eyes. “I understand he’s been a regular here lately.”

Before Maddie could gather her composure and answer, Helen stood up. “I believe you have everything you need,” she told Peggy. “I’m due back in court in an hour.”

“But she didn’t answer my question,” Peggy said, even as Helen snapped off the tape recorder.

“No, she didn’t,” Dana Sue replied. “Because she knows you asked it because you’ve got a burr up your butt because Cal never gave you a second glance.”

Peggy looked as if she had a whole lot more she wanted to say, but Helen latched on to her elbow and guided her to the door.

“Thank you so much for coming by,” Helen said through clenched teeth. “I’ll be speaking to your boss later about our advertising plans in the
Serenity Times.
” She gave Peggy a hard look. “Or not.”

Maddie winced at the less-than-subtle threat. When Helen had escorted the reporter out the door, Maddie turned to Dana Sue. “She shouldn’t have done that,” she murmured. “Now we have an enemy.”

Dana Sue shrugged. “We were bound to have one or two.”

“But it might be better if they didn’t work for the local paper,” Maddie said wryly.

“Oh, I imagine Walt Flanigan will keep Peggy’s worst instincts in check,” Dana Sue said. “He’s more concerned about advertising revenue at the
Times
than he is about Peggy’s right to target a local business in her newspaper column. She was out of line. This was an interview for a feature story about The Corner Spa, Maddie, not about your personal life. If she wants to stir up real trouble, she ought to dig around for
some corruption at city hall. I hear Mayor Lewis had dinner with the woman whose company is bidding on the town’s office-supply contract.”

Maddie chuckled despite herself. “That’s his wife, and you know it. And she only wins that contract after competitive bidding. Howard’s a stickler for that. He even recuses himself from the vote.”

Dana Sue grinned. “But with the right spin, anything can be made to seem a little shady. Let Peggy focus her mudslinging tendencies somewhere else.”

“But she was right,” Maddie said. “Cal was here a couple of nights.”

“So what?”

“The Corner Spa is for women,” Maddie reminded her. “We’re building our reputation on that.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sakes,” Dana Sue said impatiently. “Skeeter and Roy and Mitch have been crawling all over this place, along with all their workers. What’s one more man on the premises before we get the doors open?”

“We both know Cal wasn’t working when he was here,” Maddie said.

Dana Sue grinned. “I’d be disappointed if he had been.”

Maddie rolled her eyes at Dana Sue’s unrepentant expression. “Well, I’ll make sure he understands that he can’t be coming around here after the opening,” she vowed.

“Maddie, don’t let anything Peggy Martin said get under your skin and ruin what’s happening with you and Cal.”

“If she were the only one with something to say, I could handle it,” Maddie said. “But she’s just the tip of a very large iceberg.”

“Sweetie, this is Serenity, South Carolina. Just how long do you think an iceberg stands a chance in the heat down here?”

Maddie chuckled again, her dark mood finally lifting. “You have a point.”

“Well, of course I do. Now I’m going to hightail it over to the restaurant and try to get some food prepared before the lunch crowd starts complaining that all we’ve got on the menu is a house salad and dessert.”

“So, what’s on the menu today?” Maddie asked. “Maybe I’ll stop by.”

“Great idea,” Dana Sue said. “Showing your face in public is one way to quiet all the talk. And, along with baked pork chops served with mashed sweet potatoes, I’m making a new chicken salad with a lime-cilantro dressing. You can tell me what you think.”

“Sounds more Southwestern than Southern,” Maddie commented.

“Don’t tell anyone or they’ll want the chicken in it fried, not baked, and they’ll demand I dump ranch dressing all over it,” Dana Sue said with disgust. “I’m trying to broaden tastes around here.”

“Well, the menu sounds fantastic to me. Count me in.” Maddie stood up and gave Dana Sue a fierce hug. “I am so glad you’re my friend.”

“Right back at you.”

But once she was alone, Maddie couldn’t help wondering whether Peggy Martin’s unanswered question and the way she’d been unceremoniously escorted from the premises were going to come back to haunt them.

I
t seemed as if everyone in town had shown up for the grand opening of The Corner Spa on Friday night. With no baseball game scheduled, the place was so crowded Maddie could hardly breathe. Dana Sue’s hors d’oeuvres were being devoured at an alarming rate. People were raving about the luxurious atmosphere in the treatment rooms with their subdued lighting and lavender scent, the spotlessly clean locker room and showers, the café with its comfortable tables and chairs and its glass-fronted showcase that would eventually hold a variety of healthy salads, fruit and yogurt parfaits, fat-free muffins and other tempting treats.

They’d picked up a dozen new memberships in the first half hour. Jeanette was manning the information-and-membership desk for the moment and she was swamped, but she gave Maddie a thumbs-up.

Maddie retreated outside to try to catch her breath. Within minutes Helen and Dana Sue found her. Helen was carrying three glasses of champagne. She handed one to each of them.

“Ladies, I think we’re a success!” she said, grinning and clinking her glass to theirs.

“It’s a party,” Maddie cautioned, unable to let herself relax
and enjoy the moment. Too much was riding on this for all of them. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s see if we continue to stay ahead of projections once the doors are officially opened on Monday.”

“Oh, stop being so gloomy,” Dana Sue scolded. “Have you listened to those women inside? They’re crazy about the place.”

“And their husbands are green with jealousy,” Helen said. “I even overheard a couple of them vowing to get on Dexter’s case to clean up that gym of his.”

Just then, Jeanette slipped outside to join them. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, but her eyes were vaguely troubled. “Here you are. I was looking all over for you.”

Maddie took one look at her agitated expression and felt her stomach sink. Jeanette was the calmest person she knew. She claimed that practicing yoga and meditation kept her that way, and it was essential for making clients feel soothed and pampered during and after a facial.

“What’s wrong?” Maddie asked.

“Nothing major,” Jeanette said.

Maddie grimaced at the attempt to placate her. Because Jeanette had been on-site every day, she knew better than any of them that Maddie’s nerves were stretched to the limit.

“Just tell us, okay?” Maddie said. “And who’s on the desk? You didn’t just go off and leave it empty, did you?”

“Of course not. I left your mom holding down the fort and promised I’d be right back,” Jeanette assured her. “As for the rest, like I said, it’s nothing major. At least, I don’t think it’s major, but you know this town better than I do.”

Helen frowned. “Jeanette!”

“Okay, okay. I overheard this woman talking to a group of
women,” Jeanette reported. “She said she hoped we enjoyed tonight, because once tomorrow’s edition of the paper hits the streets, we might not have much to gloat about.” She looked at each of them. “Any idea who she is or what she meant?”

“Peggy,” the three of them responded in unison.

Maddie groaned. “I knew it. She’s going to rip this place to shreds in her column, or at least me.”

Jeanette looked confused. “Why would she do that? And why would she show her face tonight if she intends to print some negative article in tomorrow’s paper?”

“She wants to be sure word gets around so the paper sells out the second it hits the stands,” Helen guessed. “A sellout will convince her boss that her brand of reporting is just what he needs to boost circulation.”

“But why attack this place?” Jeanette asked, still looking bewildered. “I’d think everyone in Serenity would want a new business to succeed.”

“Most people do feel that way,” Maddie responded.

“Peggy’s upset because she came over here the other day with her own agenda to embarrass Maddie and I kicked her out,” Helen said. “This is payback.” She gave Maddie’s hand a squeeze. “Don’t panic. I’ll deal with this.”

“How?”

“I didn’t go to Walt Flanigan the other day, but it’s not too late to explain a few facts of life to Peggy’s boss now,” Helen said, her expression grimly determined.

“It’s too late if the paper’s already gone to press,” Maddie told her. “Besides, you could make it worse. If it hasn’t gone to press, there would still be time for Walt to insert something about you trying to blackmail him to keep something negative out of Peggy’s column. He’d manage to come off sound
ing indignant and we’d look desperate. Any way you slice it, this is very bad PR.”

“Come on, you guys,” Dana Sue said. “Nobody pays any attention to what Peggy writes in that rag. Forget about it. How much harm can she do, really? Most of the town is here tonight. They know what this place is like. And they know us. They’re going to realize that anything bad she writes is just sour grapes.”

Maddie wasn’t so sure about that, but she couldn’t think of a single strategy they could use to deflect the damage. “I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see what she wrote, then figure out how to counteract it.”

“A strategy meeting first thing in the morning, then?” Helen suggested.

“I’ll be here at eight,” Maddie said.

“I’ll bring the coffee and some apple-cranberry muffins,” Dana Sue offered. “Jeanette, can you get back over here by eight?”

“Not a problem,” she said. “I’m staying at the Windsor Motel right now.”

“Here in town?” Maddie asked, studying her worriedly. “What happened?”

Jeanette shrugged as if it were no big deal, but the sorrow in her eyes gave her away. “I left Don. He said he wouldn’t drive all the way over here for some stupid party, so I told him I wouldn’t drive back and forth from here to be with him. I packed up and moved my stuff on Wednesday. I’ll start looking for someplace to rent permanently after things here settle down. It’s been too busy this week to even think about that.”

“Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry,” Dana Sue said, giving her a hug. “The guy’s a jerk.”

“I know,” Jeanette said. “That made it easier to walk away.”

“Are you really okay with that?” Maddie asked.

“Not yet,” Jeanette admitted, then added with a touch of defiance, “But I will be. Right now, all I care about is making this place wildly successful.”

“Come on, then,” Helen said. “Let’s put on our happy faces and go back inside and make this party rock.”

Maddie had barely stepped into the kitchen, when Cal appeared beside her.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Everything’s fine,” she said, forcing a smile. “But you probably shouldn’t be in here.”

He gave her an odd look. “Because?”

“Because…” Her voice trailed off. She was tired of making excuses for liking this man, for being with him. “Because it’s probably a mistake,” she said, then met his gaze. “But you know what? I don’t give a damn.” She stood on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to his, then grinned at the look of surprise on his face. “It’s a new day,” she declared. “Get used to it.”

He grinned back at her. “Not a problem, darlin’. Definitely not a problem.”

Of course, she thought, he was wrong. Something told her the problems were about to get much, much worse.

Bill watched Maddie emerge from the kitchen with Cal Maddox beside her. He noted the color in her cheeks and the smile on her lips and knew with absolute certainty that the rumors were true. There was definitely something going on between the two of them. He was shocked by how empty and alone that made him feel, even with Noreen right here beside him. He was also stunned by a primitive desire to punch Cal
in the face and tell him to stay the hell away from his woman. Unfortunately, he’d lost that right.

He’d almost told Noreen that they couldn’t come tonight, but he’d seen the anticipation in her eyes and known he couldn’t disappoint her. For months they’d hidden their relationship from everyone. Now that his divorce from Maddie would be final in a few more days and there was no reason to live in the shadows, he owed it to Noreen to show the world that they were together. He certainly couldn’t treat the woman he intended to marry as if she were some dirty little secret.

He turned and met her knowing gaze.

“You wish you weren’t here, don’t you?” she asked with rare insight.

“It’s uncomfortable being around Maddie these days,” he admitted.

“Because you still feel guilty or because she’s moved on to someone new?” Noreen asked, watching his face closely.

“Maybe a little of both.” Because Noreen suddenly looked so stricken, he lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. She merely sighed.

“I wish things were different,” she said wistfully. “I thought they would be.”

Before he could respond, his former mother-in-law stepped up beside them. She cast a pitying look at Noreen, before turning to Bill. “I’m surprised to see you here, but I suppose I shouldn’t be. You never did have a single shred of decency or sensitivity, despite that blue blood of yours.”

“Maddie sent us an invitation,” he said stiffly. “I assumed she wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t want us to come.”

“Oh, please, you can’t be that stupid, Bill. Maddie’s a smart
businesswoman. She would never deliberately exclude a prominent local doctor, not even her cheating husband.”

“Let’s go,” Noreen said, tugging on his arm. “She’s right. I don’t know what I was thinking. We don’t belong here. This is Maddie’s night.”

Bill glanced across the room and spotted Maddie with her arm tucked through Cal’s. They were laughing with the mayor and his wife. How many times had she done exactly that with him? In the early years, as she worked to help him build his practice, invitations to their dinner parties had been much sought after. He wondered how many of those same people, if forced to choose sides, would pick him and Noreen over Maddie and whoever was in her life? Probably far fewer than he cared to imagine. Maddie was the one with the gift for making people feel welcome, the talent for knowing exactly the right thing to say.

He forced a smile for his mother-in-law. “Lovely to see you as always,” he muttered.

Though her dark eyes were blazing, Paula’s smile was more genuine. “Wish I could say the same.”

“Is she always such a bitch?” Noreen asked as Paula walked away in a swirl of brightly colored silk.

“No,” he said. “She reserves it for me. I was never her first choice for her daughter. She thought I wasn’t good enough.” He shrugged. “As it turns out, she was probably right.”

Even as Noreen uttered an emphatic and loyal denial, Bill couldn’t shut off the cascade of regrets tumbling through his mind. He had a beautiful young woman who adored him on his arm. She was carrying his child.

And all he could think about was the woman he’d left behind.

“I can’t believe Walt Flanigan let Peggy get away with this,” Dana Sue declared the next morning at the spa office, throwing the local weekly onto the desk. “It’s slanderous or libelous or whatever it is when you print something that’s blatantly untrue.”

“Libelous,” Helen muttered, her expression dark. She turned to Maddie. “I’ll have a lawsuit on his desk Monday morning, if you say the word.”

Peggy had taken the slew of rumors about Maddie and Cal that were swirling around Serenity and twisted them into some sort of dark tale of wickedness and sin, with The Corner Spa as their private hideaway.

Maddie balled the newspaper up and threw it in the trash. “You can’t do anything,” she told Helen. “She’s managed to toss just enough truth in there to keep it legal. Besides, taking her to court would only give her another chance to spew all this garbage in print. I picked up the last copy in the newsstand on Main Street outside of Wharton’s, so Walt’s going to be ecstatic at the bump in circulation. Everyone who wants to read about Cal’s and my supposed sins has already done it. What’s the point of giving Peggy more ammunition for another attack and Walt a chance to sell even more papers?”

She met their worried gazes. “I am so sorry. I knew I was playing with fire. I should have been more careful.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Helen said heatedly. “You and Cal haven’t done anything wrong. He’s single. You’re about to be single.”

“But the divorce isn’t final yet,” Maddie reminded her. “I’m sure that will matter to some people.”

“Even if you point out that your ex-husband is already liv
ing with his pregnant girlfriend?” Jeanette asked incredulously. She was on her third cup of coffee, keeping pace with Helen. Both looked as if they wanted to hit something on Maddie’s behalf.

“Double standard,” Dana Sue said bitterly. “It’s alive and well here in Serenity. Don’t you know our belles must be above reproach?”

“That’s nuts,” Jeanette said.

“No, it’s real life,” Maddie told her. “And I knew it. Goodness knows, I had enough warning signs. Betty Donovan…” she began, then faltered. “Oh, my God—Cal. He needs to know about this. The you-know-what is going to hit the fan at the school. You know it will.”

“Call him,” Helen advised. “Go on into the other room and call him while we talk about what to do.”

Maddie left the three of them talking about their options, went outside and punched in Cal’s number on her cell phone.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said. “Basking in your success?”

He sounded so cheerful Maddie knew he hadn’t yet seen the local paper. “Not exactly,” she told him.

“Okay,” he said, his tone sobering. “What’s wrong?”

“You need to pick up the
Serenity Times
, assuming you can still find a copy,” she said. “Peggy Martin has a tell-all column about the two of us in there.”

“What is there to tell?” he asked.

Maddie almost smiled at his bewilderment. “Quite a lot if you take the few things you do know and spin them. Apparently we’re having quite a torrid affair at the club.”

“You’re kidding! She printed that?”

“And more,” Maddie told him. “You need to buy the paper and then figure out what you’re going to tell Betty Donovan
and the school board. I suspect you’ll be hearing from them first thing Monday morning, if not before.” She tried to force a lighter note into her voice. “They’ll probably try to come after me for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”