Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (86 page)

Who would have done such a terrible thing?

Breaking into a run, she hurried to the office noting the destruction in the back hall as well. Turning the knob to the smaller room, Cheris opened the door. She expected to find the computer and camera missing, but everything was in order except for Janie slumped on the desk.

“
Janie, are you all right?”

The other woman raised her head revealing mascara smeared tear trails down her blotched cheeks.

Cheris knelt next to her friend. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“
Get out of here, and leave me alone.” She put her head back down on her folded arms resting on the desk’s top.

“
No way. I’m calling the police.” Cheris stood and reached for the cordless telephone on the desk.

“
You’re not calling anybody.” Janie straightened and snatched the phone out of Cheris’ hand. She slammed it down on the recharger. Wiping her cheeks and sniffing, she said, “Nothing happened. I’m fine.”

“
You’re not fine. Look at you. Look at your studio. Your beautiful art, oh, Janie.”

“
Don’t. Don’t do that. Don’t say anything about it.”

“
But we’ve got to call the police. Somebody destroyed—”

Janie stared at her paint-blackened hands.
“No.”

“
Why?”

“
Because I hate it. I hate it, and it’s a lie.”

Cheris shook her head in confusion.
“What’s a lie? What do you hate?”

“
The painting. The sculpting. I’ve been lying about everything all this time, and I…I’m never painting again.”

“
You don’t mean that. I know this is your work. I’ve watched you paint and sculpt.”

“
I’ve worked my whole life to be who I am, to play by my own rules.”

“
Yeah. What’s changed?”

“
Everything. Me. I can’t do this.” With shaking hands, she covered her face.

“
Do what? What’s changed? Did Bobby hurt you?”

“
No. I ditched that loser.”

“
He did this.”

“
No. I did it! I’ve trashed everything here because none of it means anything to me anymore. I have to give it up.”

Cheris pulled Janie
’s hands away from her face. Peering into her friend’s eyes, she grasped her fingers tightly. “Tell me what happened.”

“
I think I’m in love with…with David Denton.”

“
Who?” The name clicked in her memory. David was Kelly’s minister friend from Clarksdale who had caught Janie when she’d fallen off the chair. “Oh.” Cheris hid her surprise. “Well. I think it’s great.”

“
You would. But I’m not going to…I’m not doing that.”

“
Why not? He seems like a sweet guy.”

Janie wrenched her hands out of Cheris
’ grasp. “He’s a preacher, Cheris!”

“
Right. Not a priest. He’s allowed to date. Have you guys been out on a date?”

“
You don’t get it, do you? He’s a minister. In a church.”

“
What? You’re not good enough to date a minister?”

Janie moved her chair back and pushed past Cheris. She turned to face her friend.
“No, I’m not. I don’t fit into that lifestyle. I’m a rebel, a dissident, an artist.”

Cheris straightened and sat in the chair Janie vacated.
“I guess he likes his women a little wild, huh?”

“
It’s not funny.”

“
Come on, Janie. Enjoy a guy who is nice for once. It’s not like you’re going to marry him or anything.”

Janie stared at her friend. She blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

What?

“
Did he ask you to marry him?”

“
No, but I…I’ve….” She glanced at the ceiling and ran a hand through her disheveled hair. “I get what happened with you and Geoff now. I know why he drove you to Serenity. I saw his face the night of the gala when he looked at you. I lived that look the day in the church nursery. I looked at David, and it was like my soul was ripped open. I knew he was the one.”

Cheris shook her head in disbelief.
“Marriage is more than a soulful feeling. If you’re talking about a lifetime commitment, you need more than a…a look. You need common interests, goals, dreams.”

“
Now you’re beginning to see my dilemma.”

“
So, you think your only choices are to give up your art, or give up David?”

“
Can you honestly see me as a preacher’s wife? The church will take one look at me and David will be out on his ear.”

“
You don’t give the church people enough credit. You’re a good person.”

“
I’m not good enough for that. I’ll screw up, and he’ll suffer for it. I care too much about him to do that.” She picked up a wood and clay prototype piece from her Secret Garden exhibit and threw it through the open doorway where it hit the wall in the hallway and fell in pieces to the floor.

Cheris sighed.
“Come on,” she said rising from the chair. “Let’s get out of here before you destroy everything.” She grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her toward the front. “Don’t touch anything else.” She pulled the curtains across the plate glass windows, thankful Janie had installed them when she moved her studio to the storefront property. “I’ll cover this mess so nobody calls the cops until you can get your head on straight.”

Cheris took Janie to her apartment and pushed her into the bathroom to clean up. While there, she noticed all signs of Bobby had been removed. He
’d obviously moved out, but when? After Janie had met David? Why hadn’t she said anything before now?

When Janie emerged later after showering and putting on fresh clothes, she seemed calmer though reserved. Cheris ordered Chinese food, and they ate it on the floor while watching Animal Planet.

At nine that evening, she drove Janie back to the studio to get her car and made the woman promise she would call her if she needed her.

“
I’m your friend. Let me be there for you, okay? Want to come home with me?”

Janie shook her head.

“Sure?”

“
Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks.”

“
All right. Go home and get some rest. Things always look better in the morning.”

Janie nodded and climbed into her car. Without any other words, she shut the door, started the engine and left.

Cheris rolled her shoulders then stepped to her own car.

What a day.

She drove home with thoughts of Janie in love with a minister and she and Geoff living in the dream house running through her mind.

At home she saw an invitation to play a game from Geoff on her computer.

Oh, yeah. They’d had a net date at six.

Not that she was in any mood to do anything with him other than bite his head off. They were in a hole so deep with this marriage, she wasn
’t sure they’d ever get out.

Picking up her phone, she saw a missed call from him around seven but no message. Why wouldn
’t he leave a message? She hated people who didn’t leave messages.

If he wants me to call him back, then he needs to let me know.

Timmy strolled in the room and meowed a greeting. Cheris reached down, picked him up, and settled on the couch with him.

“
That’s right,” she crooned as she stroked his snowy fur. “You’re the kind of man I like. Uncomplicated.”

Timmy purred in response.

Chapter Eleven

It made her think that it was curious how much nicer a person

looked when he smiled. She had not thought of it before.

—The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett

“Cheris.”

Cheris awoke from a sound sleep.

What?

She blinked in the darkness of her bedroom and looked at her digital clock.

12:15 am.

“
Are you awake?” Janie asked.

“
What?” She sat up to find her friend sitting at the foot of her bed. “How’d you get in here?”

“
I broke in. Hey, listen, I’ve been thinking about what you said, and I know what we need to do.”

“
Huh?”

“
Road trip.” Jumping up, Janie switched on the overhead light.

“
Turn that off! I’m trying to sleep here.”

Janie opened a dresser drawer, pulled out clothes, and tossed them on the bed. Another drawer open, and more clothes.

“What are you doing? Stop that.”

“
We’ll just get in the car and drive. Won’t that be fun?”

“
I can’t go anywhere, Janie. Would you stop?” Cheris crawled across the bed and caught a shirt Janie had thrown.

“
Why can’t you go? I thought you had two weeks off.” She peered on the shelf in the closet. “Where’s your suitcase?”

“
I can’t leave Timmy.” Cheris began refolding the clothes and putting them in piles.

“
He’s a cat. Put out extra food and water. He won’t even know you’re gone.” Closing the door, she walked out of the bedroom. “Aha. Found it.” She returned a moment later with the suitcase Cheris stored in the hall closet.

“
Where do you want to go?” She slid off the bed with a stack of clothes in her arms intending to put them back where they belonged.

“
What’s it matter? We get in the car and drive. It’s a road trip. The point is getting the hell out of here for a while. When we get tired, we’ll stop.”

“
Look, Janie, you’re welcome to stay here with me, but I’m not getting in the car in the middle of the night and driving across country because you have the hots for a preacher man. It’s insane.”

****

Their road trip ended in Cider Falls, Georgia, the city where Geoff lived and worked. Asleep in the passenger seat since about three in the morning, Cheris had awoken as the sun had risen over the north Georgia mountains.

Janie swore she hadn
’t planned this.

“
I just sort of pointed the car, and here we are,” she defended. “And, hey, even better. We can stay at Geoff’s.”

“
I am
sick
and tired of everybody trying to throw us together,” Cheris groused as they entered the city limits.

“
You are so grumpy when you haven’t had enough sleep. Want to see where he works, or go by his house?”

“
Maybe we should call and warn him that we’re here.”

“
No. Let’s surprise him.”

“
Where is he now?”

“
It’s after eight. I bet he’s at school. He’s such a conformist.”

“
I certainly don’t want to go to his house if he’s not there.”

“
Why not? I can get in.”

“
I know, but it isn’t nice to break into people’s homes.”

“
He’s my brother. He doesn’t care. Besides, I’m wiped out. I’m ready to crash.”

Cheris grabbed her cell phone and opened a text box.

Janie and I are in Cider Falls. Where R U?

She waited for a response but didn
’t get one.

“
Here’s the campus,” Janie declared as she turned left onto a long straight road lined with Bradford Pear trees fully in bloom.

“
Oh, my gosh,” Cheris breathed at the beauty of the white blossoms blanketing the trees.

“
I know. Aren’t they gorgeous?”

A majestic white building stood at the end of the row, and Janie guided the car into a parking space marked
visitor
in front of it. Exiting the car, the two women ascended the smooth stone stairs to the massive black double doors in front of them.

“
This doesn’t look much like an institute,” Cheris commented alluding to the name of the school as they walked through the entrance to an open room four stories high lined with balconies on each level with doors beyond. Their tennis shoes squeaked on the polished marble floor as they walked across the room to a door beyond.

“
We’ll cut through here. The science building is on the back campus.”

Soon they found their way to Geoff
’s closed office door. Janie grasped the knob and pushed the door open.

“
Don’t you ever knock?” Cheris asked. “What if he’s in there with a student?”

“
He’s not.” Janie stepped into the book-lined room and settled on the couch under a window on the far wall. She lay back and closed her eyes. “His schedule’s posted on the door. Why don’t you see if he lectures any better than he swims?”

Peering at the printed sheet, Cheris
’ eyes followed her finger across the page to Tuesday morning.

AST 191 Room 108 B

Wonder what AST 191 is? Or where I could find room 108B?

“
You think he’d mind if I sat in his class?”

“
No, he wouldn’t care. Close the door, will you?” Janie curled on her side with her back to Cheris who went to find Geoff’s class.

In a few moments she stepped inside the door of the large amphitheater and stood waiting for her sight to adjust to the darkness. Cheris walked the few steps to a theater seat in the back row and watched the stop motion movie playing on a large screen in the front of the room. A rap song belted out the lyrics of
Bang You Hard
while oddly shaped objects hurtled toward a brightly striped ball in front of a black background. With each impact a cloud shot out from the ball.

Oh, I get it. That
’s something hitting a planet in outer space.

The scene morphed to clay people hunched around a toy computer screen. They jumped up and down in delight, and a ripple of laughter spread throughout the room.

Credits began rolling across the screen, and the lights came up.

Geoff, dressed in khakis and a buttoned down navy blue shirt walked away from the wall, grinning widely.

Cheris’ heart flip-flopped at the sight of him so handsome and…there.

“
Well, great job, Group One, also known as the Organic Rock Stars. Come stand here with me, and we’ll see how well your film taught the class.” Three women and three men—all looking to be fresh out of high school—came to stand in the front of the room. Geoff walked across the low stage as the screen rose behind him. He picked up a large bag of candy from the edge of a desk next to the wall. “Okay, your reward for correct answers will be Jolly Ranchers in a variety of flavors.”

He held the bag in one arm and reached into it with his other hand.
“First question, what’s the name of the planet in the movie?”

“
Jupiter,” came an enthusiastic voice in the front row.

“
You got it.” Jeff threw a piece of candy to the student.

“
Who were the astronomers looking through the telescope at the beginning?”

“
Shoemaker and Levy.”

Geoff gazed at the woman who had answered.
“There were three clay figures. You’ve only given me two names.”

“
Shoemaker, Shoemaker, and Levy.”

Geoff threw three pieces of candy to her.
“I’ll give you three more pieces if you can tell me first names.”

She groaned.

“Who can?”

“
Eugene, Carolyn, and David. Can I have three green ones?” hollered a man sitting on the aisle stairs.

Geoff fished in the bag and tossed them.

“Next question. What did they discover?”

“
A comet!”

“
Called?”

“
Shoemaker-Levy Nine.”

“
Two candies for two correct answers.”

“
Can I have watermelon?”

“
You guys are getting too picky.” Geoff sorted through the bag and withdrew the requested flavor. “I’m going to switch back to Tootsie-rolls if you keep it up. What year did Shoemaker-Levy Nine slam into Jupiter?”

There was a pause.

“Come on. It was subtle, but it was in there. Anybody catch the clip of the top grossing movie of that year Organic Rock Stars included in their clay masterpiece?”

“
Nineteen ninety-four.”

“
Got it, Erin.” Geoff dispensed the prize.

“
Okay, ready for the bonus question. If you get it right, our Organic Rock Stars will have earned an A for their group project. What’s the difference between a comet and an—” Geoff’s gaze fell on Cheris and held. The relaxed expression and easy smile disappeared as he stared at the woman in the last row. A Jolly Rancher fell from the bag followed by another until a steady stream poured to the floor unnoticed by Geoff.

One by one every student turned in their chairs to find out what had captured the attention of their teacher. Cheris glanced at the curious faces of forty students before returning her gaze to the man with the empty candy bag.

The Organic Rock Stars gathered up the spilled treats.

Finally, Geoff looked down as one of the students tugged the bag from his grasp.
“Oh. Thanks. Thanks.” He strode over to the blackboard and began erasing it as several students leaned into each other and whispered. The murmurs increased with frequent head turns in her direction.

Cheris bit her lip as she watched him stretch his arm in wide sweeps. This was a mistake. What had she been thinking coming in here and interrupting his class?

With the board clean, he sat on top of the desk next to the wall on the low stage. Taking off his glasses, he placed them next to him and rubbed his eye. “Let’s get quiet.” He rapped on the wooden top. “Where were we? Oh, yes. Charles? You’re group leader of the Organic Rock Stars. If we get a right answer to the difference between a comet and an asteroid, you dispense the candy. All right?”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Great. How about it? What’s the difference?”

“
The comet is mainly ice, and the meteor is rock.”

“
Great job, Josh. Okay, Charles, throw Josh a Jolly Rancher. Let’s give the Organic Rock Stars a hand for their Grade A movie.”

Cheris joined in the class in applauding the students who grinned and preened at the praise.

Geoff gripped the edge of the desk as he waited for the applause to die down. “Thursday we’ll see presentations from Interplanet Janets and Zeus’ Realm. Class dismissed.”

The students rose from their chairs and filed to the stairs lining the stadium seats. As they passed Cheris, each studied her with curious or amused expressions on their faces. She touched her fingers to her burning forehead and ignored them. She turned to Geoff who still sat on the desk, his glasses lying beside him.

As the last of the students left the room, excited voices reached her from outside the door. Cheris listened as Geoff placed his glasses on his nose and sprinted up the stairs.

“
Who was that?”

“
Dr. Arrowood’s girlfriend!”

“
Didn’t you notice? He’s wearing a wedding ring. She’s not his girlfriend. She’s his wife.”

“
He got married over Spring break? Killer.”

Geoff shot past her and closed the door sighing audibly when the barrier shut out the noise. Grinning as he reached the stair next to her, he entered the row below her and stepped over the chair to occupy the one next to her. His smile and the welcoming twinkle in his eyes made her heart flop once again.

“Hi.”

Another flop.

“Hey.”

“
So, is this business or pleasure?”

Cheris shrugged.
“Why did you remove your glasses?”

“
So I wouldn’t be tempted to watch you while I finished the class.”

“
I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have come.”

“
What? Because you distracted me? Don’t be. This is a great day to be here. They’re presenting their mid-term projects. It’s a fun class to sit in on. And I don’t have another class until seven o’clock tonight. I’m yours until then.”