The Accidental Encore (7 page)

“He’s not alone. He has me.”

“I know he has you, but you won’t live here forever. You’ll
go off to college and start your own life.”

She’d never thought about it that way. “But that’s not for a
long time.”

“It’ll happen before you know it, and your mom’s been gone
for what? Eight years? That’s a long time for your dad to live without love.”

“But why now? Why can’t he wait until I’m almost gone?”

Ms. Allie stood up and put her hands on Leah’s shoulders.
“Because love happens when you least expect it. It doesn’t run on a timeline.
You can’t snap your fingers and magically be in love. Believe me, I wish it was
that easy.”

“So much is changing, Ms. Allie. I don’t want all this
change.”

“Change is scary, but that doesn’t make it bad. I spent
years hating my stepmom and she really is a nice woman. I could have saved
myself a whole lot of grief if I’d just accepted the fact that she was there to
stay. And your period, well, like it or not, that’s here to stay, too.”

Chapter 9

Allie breathed a sigh of relief as she closed Leah’s door.
She’d walked a young girl through the most frightening aspect of puberty and,
even more distressing, the introduction of a stepmother. She hoped she’d
advised the girl properly as she made her way along the hall toward the stairs.

Allie felt pretty good about her period advice. That was
pretty cut and dried, but what did she know about welcoming a stepmother into a
family? She’d been a bitch to Suzanne when her dad had remarried and their
strained relationship still endured. She’d tried to encourage Leah to have an
open mind about Carolyn when hers had been so firmly shut that she’d never
considered letting Suzanne become a real member of the family.

When Craig appeared at the base of the stairs wearing a soft
cotton t-shirt and jeans, Allie brought a hand to her chest. She’d been so deep
in thought, she’d forgotten he was waiting downstairs.

“How’d it go?” he asked with a voice edged in tension.

She shrugged, stepped over the dog, and moved past him into
the kitchen. “Could I have a glass of water, please? I’m parched.”

“You’re parched,” he grumbled as he retrieved a bottle of
water from the refrigerator. “So what happened?”

“She’d taken care of it. Mark bought some supplies and she
knew what to do. I answered a couple of questions and that was pretty much
that.”

“Why the hell did it take so long? You were up there
forever.”

Allie set the water bottle on the counter after taking a
long sip. “This is a big event in a girl’s life. I couldn’t leave without
making sure she felt okay.”

“So how does she feel?”

Allie didn’t mistake the sarcasm in his voice. “She feels
weird and confused and more than a little anxious about Carolyn coming to live
here.”

“Carolyn?” He brought those big hands to his waist and shot
out his hip. “How did starting her period morph into talking about Carolyn?”

“She’s conflicted. She loves her mother desperately.
Starting her period was a milestone she was supposed to share with her mom or,
at the very least, her dad. My being here in their place brought up some
questions. I told her about when I started my period and that I had a stepmom
and then one thing led to another.”

“I didn’t ask you to come over to counsel her on dealing
with Carolyn. The next time you talk to her, I’d appreciate you sticking to the
subject.”

“Well, excuse me for not turning my back on a young girl in
need. What did you expect me to do? Walk out when she started asking questions?
She’s very anxious about having a stepmother. I was only trying to help.”

“Mark wants to handle things his way. Believe me, I’ve tried
to talk to him, but he seems convinced Carolyn and Leah will hit it off once
they’re all together. I know you thought you were doing the right thing, but
damn it, that’s not why I called you over here.”

Allie was tempted to pour the water over his head. “You know
what? I had plans tonight that I cancelled because your niece needed
me—or someone,
anyone
but you—and this is the thanks I get?”

“You cancelled your date?” His voice had changed completely
and he dropped his hands from his hips. “You didn’t have to do that.”

She waved a hand in front of her face. She’d felt more than
a little relieved to have an excuse not to go. “I didn’t even know the guy.”

Craig’s head dipped and it took Allie a minute to realize he
was giving her the once over. “First date?” he asked.

She straightened her back and stuck her chin in the air.
“Yes.”

“You’re wearing that?”

She looked down at her black sheath dress. “Why?” she asked.
“What’s wrong with this?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Nothing.”

“What?” she asked. “Your nothing means something.”

“No, it doesn’t. Not really.” He turned his back and tossed
an empty beer bottle into the trash.

“Look, do you have any idea how hard it is to dress for a
date when you don’t know who you’re going out with and where you’re going?”

“Why don’t you know where you’re going? He’s not picking you
up, is he?”

The shock on his face almost made her smile. Almost. “No, of
course he’s not picking me up, but I’ve never heard of the restaurant and they
don’t have a website.”

“What’s it called?”

“The Stack House. It’s in Decatur.”

“Decatur? Why the hell are you going all the way to
Decatur?”

How did she let herself get into this conversation? “I don’t
date men around here.”

“Why not?” he asked. From the look on his face, she could
tell he was truly baffled.

“For a bevy of reasons.” When he simply stared at her with
his brows raised, she huffed out a breath and explained. “First of all, I work
around here. The last thing I want to do is run into a family I teach when I’m
on a date. Second, I also don’t want to run into someone all over town after
our date doesn’t go so well. And lastly, one time, someone recognized me from
my online profile when I was out with a friend. He used it as an opportunity to
talk to me and it was humiliating and uncomfortable. So if I date where I don’t
work and live, chances of that happening are pretty slim.”

“Interesting. You’ve done a lot of this? Online dating?”

Allie huffed. “More than I care to admit. But you haven’t
answered my question. What’s wrong with this outfit?”

“You really want me to answer that?”

She took a swallow of water and wondered if she really did
want to know his thoughts. What the hell, she thought. It might be an
interesting peek into the male mind. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”

Craig flashed a cocky smile that only made him more
attractive. “He’s not going to listen to a word you say.”

“Why not?”

He gestured with his hand to her dress. “He’s going to spend
all of his time and attention trying to look at your face instead of your
girls.”

“My girls?” she sputtered and slapped a hand to her chest.
“You did not just call them my girls.”

“Okay. Your rack?” he offered. “Your tits? Your breasts?”

“Chest,” she said. “If you must refer to them at all, chest
seems slightly more appropriate.”

“Whatever. He’s going to hone in on your
chest
and
hear or see nothing else.”

“No,
you
would. Most men, thank the Lord, are not
you.”

“Fine, don’t believe me, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“You’re an ass.”

“No, I’m just honest. And you can’t get pissed off at me for
being honest.”

“You wanna bet?” She turned and grabbed her wrap and purse
from the counter.

“Leaving so soon?” he asked. “Leah and I were going to watch
a movie if you’re interested in joining us.”

She gave him her most annoyed expression. “And risk you
staring at my girls all night long? Tempting, but I don’t think so.”

“Suit yourself.” He stepped in front of her to open the
door. If only his mouth was as well-mannered as his hands. “I guess I’ll see
you on Tuesday.”

“I’m counting the days.” She turned around before stepping
off the porch and placed a hand on his chest. Damn if it wasn’t rock hard.
“Call me if Leah starts to freak out about her cycle. I mean it, Craig. I don’t
want her going through this alone.”

“What am I, chopped liver?”

“If you were anything more, you wouldn’t have called me in
the first place.”

***

It was the smell of popcorn that brought Leah out of her
room. The girl couldn’t resist popcorn. What kid could?

“I ordered that movie you wanted to watch,” Craig said. “The
one with the teenagers who turn into wolves or something.”

Leah smiled and grabbed the bowl of popcorn off his lap
before plopping on the couch. Blackjack moved down to sit in front of her.
“Thanks, Uncle Craig.”

He shrugged as if it was no big deal, but he couldn’t stand
to see her red-rimmed eyes. He’d have done anything to make her smile. “There
wasn’t much else on anyway.”

“No,” she said. “I mean for calling Allie.”

He stretched his arm across the back of the couch and pulled
her hair. “I was a little out of my league with that one.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry about? It’s your dad I’m mad at. He
should have warned me.”

When she smiled at him, his heart squeezed in his chest. His
little Leah was becoming a woman and looking so much like her mother it made
him ache. “I think he’ll be relieved he wasn’t here.”

Craig took a deep breath and decided to dive into something
he shouldn’t get anywhere near. Damn Allie for making him feel responsible for
talking to Leah about Carolyn. “I doubt it, but if he were here, you would’ve
had Carolyn to help.”

Leah averted her eyes and stuffed a handful of popcorn in
her mouth. “I guess,” she mumbled.

Craig wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and told himself
to man up. He’d helped to raise the girl; the least he could do was ease
Carolyn’s entry into her life. “How do you feel about her living here with you
and your dad?”

She shrugged and put the popcorn bowl on the coffee table.
“I don’t know.”

She didn’t want to talk about it. Of course she didn’t want
to talk about. Craig didn’t want to talk about it either. But ever since Allie
told him how conflicted she was about Carolyn, he couldn’t sit by and let the
train wreck he knew was coming just arrive at her doorstep. “You know, it would
be weird for any woman to move in here after you and your dad have been alone
for so long.”

“Yeah.”

“And your dad and Carolyn have been dating for a long time.
She makes him happy.”

“I know that.”

“But you don’t know her very well.”

Leah sandwiched her hands between her legs and sighed. “She
never came here, or when she did, it was only for a night or two. She’s like a
stranger.”

“That was your dad’s doing, Leah. He didn’t want you to get
attached to Carolyn if things between them didn’t work out.”

“Well, things worked out, and now I’m supposed to live with
a woman I barely know.”

“Can I remind you of something before you go and get all mad
at Carolyn?”

She batted Mark’s blue eyes in his direction. Damn the girl
was going to slay the boys someday. “She doesn’t know you either. If I had to
guess, I’d bet she’s as nervous as you are about living here with you.”

“Why would she be nervous about me? I’m just a kid.”

“After what happened tonight, I’d have to say that’s not
true.” Craig watched as her face turned three shades of red. “And there isn’t
anyone your dad loves more than you.”

“Except her.”

“No, Leah. He loves you both, but you come first. You always
have. So from where I’m sitting, I’d have to say you’ve got the advantage.”

Leah looked at him with a glint in her eye. “You really
think so?”

“I didn’t tell you that so you’d boss her around.”

“I know. You told me so I’d feel better, and I do.” She
leaned over and kissed his cheek.

He put his hand over her face and pushed her to the other
side of the couch. She giggled as she pulled the throw from the back of the
couch around her shoulders. “Are we going to watch this movie or what?”

Chapter 10

Melissa pinched Ben’s toe as she reached for the phone.
She’d finally gotten Henry down for a late afternoon nap and she couldn’t wait
another second to talk to Allie.

“I tried to call you earlier,” Melissa said when Allie
answered. “But you weren’t home. Big plans this weekend?”

“I went for a run this morning before church,” Allie
explained. “I’m glad I did since the sky opened up during the service. I’ve
been kinda holed up today being lazy.”