A Great Kisser

by Donna Kauffman

  “What did I say?” Ruby Jean asked, her tone sincere.

  Good thing Lauren didn’t have plans on a new future playing poker. “No, it was nothing.”

  “Just…you really don’t know what your mother sees in Arlen?” she asked gently. “It’s okay, you can be honest with me. I’m loyal as the sky is blue, but I choose my loyalties wisely. I work for Arlen and I do a good job. But I have a much stronger duty to my brother, and by extension to those he cares for. He cares a great deal for you.”

  Lauren glanced up at her then, unable to hide her curiosity, wondering what Jake had said to his only family member about her. He’d made it clear, as had Ruby Jean in their short acquaintance, that he wasn’t apparently the settling kind.

  Ruby Jean smiled quickly and reached out once again to squeeze Lauren’s arm. “Don’t worry, it’s all good. He’s totally head over heels. I’m loving every minute of it. Heck, the whole town is. We’ve all waited a long time to finally see him fall. And it’s turning out to be well worth the wait.”

  “I’m relieved you all feel that way.” And she was. Instead of feeling pressured or trapped, she was truly thankful. It was a nice thing to know. “I’m not sure how I’d hold up otherwise. You’re a pretty formidable lot.”

  “We take care of our own. Your mom is one of our own now. Not just because she’s the mayor’s wife, but because we’ve all genuinely come to like her. I don’t think I’ve heard a single soul say an unkind thing. That’s not to say we didn’t do our share of gossiping and wondering when word came back that our long-divorced mayor was coming back from the conference with a wife. I mean, you can imagine.”

  “I’m not sure I want to,” Lauren said wryly.

  Ruby Jean laughed. “Oh, we did our research and quick. And naturally, when we found out she was all but East Coast political blue blood, we were…even more curious.”

  “You’re being polite.”

  “Yes,” she said bluntly, but smiling, “I am. As I said, we can be pretty awful, but we hadn’t met her yet. We honestly didn’t know what to expect. But given Arlen’s past two wives—” She immediately stopped.

  “It’s okay,” Lauren told her, then leaned in again. “I’m from Washington. We dig dirt better than anybody. I did my homework, too.”

  Ruby Jean sighed in relief. “Good. And he’s been widowed and divorced a long, long time. In fact, we all sort of thought he’d kind of put himself out to pasture, more or less. Either that or he was having a very discreet relationship with someone in some other town. And there aren’t any around here, so that would take some doing. Still, it circled the rumor mills more than once.”

  “Was it? Just a rumor?”

  “I know the schedule the man keeps because I’m the one who books it. Trust me, if he was having a relationship of any kind with anyone, anywhere, no way would I not know about it. Or at least suspect it.”

  “I didn’t think that, either.” Lauren looked away, certain she wasn’t doing any better a job in hiding her real feelings now than before.

  “Hey, don’t worry. If you did your homework then you know that Arlen is from the West Coast, originally, and while his pedigree isn’t quite like yours or your mother’s, it’s not country bumpkin politics, either.”

  “Oh, I never meant to infer—”

  “No, I know. But, I’m just saying, Arlen married the bluest of blue bloods Cedar Springs could claim with his first marriage, and his second…well, no one knew Paula all that well from what I’ve gathered, but she did come from a privileged background, as well. So your mother and Arlen might have more in common than you think. We certainly weren’t surprised to learn that was who he’d fallen for. We just weren’t sure what to expect. According to the older members of our community, Cindy, his first wife, was very social, very outgoing, and though a bit of a princess, she truly enjoyed her role as the mayor’s wife, and not just for the luncheons. She was a good volunteer and had her causes, as well. But she was raised here and had the core, small town values we’d all been raised with, so it made it hard for her to be too high and mighty.”

  “And Paula?”

  “Total opposite on that score. More what you’d probably expect from someone with wealth. And she wasn’t from here, either, and kept to herself rather than try to connect with the townspeople, so that didn’t help her cause. She was a lot younger than the mayor, but smart, independent in her own right from what I know.”

  “I read she had several degrees and sat on a national board or two, which was impressive at her age.”

  “Family related, I think, but yes. She was reputed to be very…focused. But the word was what she was focused on was having a baby.”

  “I heard. Which never happened. It led to their divorce?”

  “I’m sure it was part of it. I was too young to remember it directly, but Arlen marrying your mom brought all the old stories to the surface, so I’ve heard my fair share recently and that’s pretty much the general conclusion. The divorce was quick and quiet. She left the area, he stayed, and that was the end of that.” She smiled. “Until he runs off umpty-ump years later and elopes with your mom. Pretty romantic is how I see it.”

  “Do you?” Lauren heard herself ask before thinking better of it.

  “Well, maybe not in the traditional “swept off her feet” kind of way, but they are an older generation and it’s clear they have great respect for one another.”

  “Having seen them together over time now, would you say you can see them as the eloping kind of couple?” Ruby Jean got a sort of deer in headlights kind of look on her face and Lauren felt instantly contrite. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t put you in the middle like that. Forget I said that.”

  “No, you just caught me off guard.” She gave Lauren a considering look. “You want an honest answer?”

  “Not if you’ll feel awkward or uncomfortable giving it.”

  “No, but this is just between you and me.”

  “Agreed.”

  “For most of my adult life, Arlen has been a bachelor. He definitely appreciates a pretty face, as do most men as far as I can tell, but he’s never been what you’d call a ladies’ man. Hard to do in a small town.”

  “A small town with a large tourism base.”

  “True. And, to be honest, though I do control his schedule, it’s hard to say what he does—or did—with his personal time. He might very well have enjoyed the company of women passing through. But if he did, he was very, very discreet about it because I’ve never once heard about it. All I’m saying is that while he’s definitely a man’s man, he doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who puts that as a high priority.”

  “That meaning romance, or sex?”

  “However you want to define it, yes. He has always been pretty focused on his work, on getting things done. That seems to be where he derives most of his satisfaction. Some men are like that. Workaholics to the extent where the personal life is always secondary.”

  Lauren smiled. “I don’t mean this to sound denigrating, as I know he’s been the mayor here for a very long time and has been credited with doing a lot of good work for your town. But is being mayor here such an all consuming thing? Especially for a man who has been doing it as long as he has?”

  “He has other interests. His ranch, state politics, and other business interests in Denver and still back in California. I’m just saying that that seems to be more what drives him. We were surprised when he up and eloped, because, no, he doesn’t seem the eloping type, despite being married twice.”

  “But he did.”

  “And so did your mother, who I get the impression didn’t seem the eloping type, either. Who knows why they did? They might not be the traditional newlyweds, but they do make a handsome couple and they do have common interests, and they both seem to be happy. I’m just happy for them that they found that much. It seems to work for them.”

  “Yes, yes it does,” Lauren said, thinking maybe Ruby Jean had hit on it after all. That Arlen derived his
satisfaction from work. Maybe her mother was the woman best suited to understand that and still provide the kind of companionship he needed. And maybe that level of companionship was all her mother wanted as she embarked on a search that was more about self-discovery. “Thank you.”

  “For?”

  “The clarity I desperately needed. I think I finally get it. And I really, really wanted to get it.”

  Ruby Jean smiled, clearly not understanding all the undercurrents, but not having to. “You’re welcome. Glad I could help. Now…how about that phone number? Maybe we can find some clarity there, too.”

  She smiled that Kewpie doll smile with her pinup girl face and Lauren sort of stared.

  “What?” Ruby Jean asked good-naturedly at Lauren’s staring.

  “It’s just…did you seriously used to walk on the wings of airplanes?”

  “Seriously,” she deadpanned, then laughed her delightful laugh. “But then, it’s not the kind of thing you do jokingly.”

  Lauren laughed with her. “I’m really glad you dropped by today. Seriously.” She went over and grabbed her computer bag. “You know, if it wasn’t you making the call to my old coworker, I don’t know who it would be.” She slid out her laptop and propped it up on the dresser to boot it up. “Okay, here it is.” She rattled off the number and turned to find Ruby Jean standing there looking rather dumbfounded.

  Lauren’s relief at thinking maybe she’d finally come to terms with Arlen did a rapid fade. “That’s not a good expression right there.”

  “That’s my phone number.”

  “What?”

  “My personal office number. Only I didn’t make any calls about you to anyone. Well, other than the one I made to my brother to ask him to fly you in from the airport.”

  “Does anyone share your office?”

  “I have my own office, but it’s not a big operation, so we’re all in and out of each other’s areas all the time. But generally don’t use each other’s phones as a rule.”

  “How many numbers does your office have?”

  “Three. The main office line, which goes to Melissa’s desk and connects to all of our offices; my office line is the secondary one, and Arlen has a private line.”

  “Is your number advertised along with the main number, or just—”

  “No, just the main one.”

  “Would anyone other than Melissa or Arlen use your phone?”

  “Meaning was it definitely one of them? I guess it would be highly likely, but then why not just use their own?”

  “So it tracks back to you?”

  Ruby Jean smiled. “How paranoid should we be about this?”

  Lauren smiled briefly. “I just want to know who’s been asking questions about me. It was a woman who called, so I’m guessing Melissa, then. But why would she do that, unless—”

  “Arlen asked her to? If he’s been concerned about your mom—”

  “The call was made after I got here and met with them. My mom and I patched things up pretty quickly. So…I’m not sure why he’d be following up at that point. I hadn’t told my mother I’d left my job yet—”

  “You left your job?” Ruby Jean’s mouth fell open, then quickly snapped shut. “Was it because of your mom?”

  “Yes, I did, and no, it wasn’t about her moving out here. Apparently Arlen found out from whatever contacts he has in D.C. and told my mom before I could. But he’s had opportunity to ask me directly—privately or openly—whatever he wanted to know. If he was concerned about my future prospects, I’m not sure why he’d use such a convoluted path and not just ask outright. So…something isn’t adding up.”

  But what else is new, Lauren thought. Every time she took a step forward with coming to terms with all the various elements, something else would pop up. “Playing devil’s advocate and assuming he did initiate the call, why the call from his office? Even if he put Melissa up to it, it seems, I don’t know…sloppy. If you’re going to go to all the trouble to be stealthy about it, why do something so obvious? It’s not making sense.”

  “I agree.” Ruby Jean looked at Lauren. “So…are you back to wondering if it was me?”

  “What? No. We might have only just met, but no, I believe you.” And Lauren did. Not just because she was Jake’s sister and therefore somehow automatically trustworthy. But standing here in front of her, looking at her, listening to her…no, she didn’t think Ruby Jean McKenna was a flat-out liar.

  “So…?”

  “So, I don’t know. I’m not sure it matters; it was harmless, I guess, but—”

  “But if someone was calling around, digging into my business on some kind of pretense, I’d want to know. Regardless of the motivation.”

  “I agree. You know your boss far better than I do, so, speaking strictly between us, is this behind-the-scenes maneuvering the kind of thing he would be involved in?”

  “Let me ask you first…what is your take on him? I’m a little behind the curve here with where things stand in your family and—none of my business there, so I’m not asking—but it would help if I knew a little of your mind-set before talking out of school.”

  “Understood, and I admire the integrity. And the loyalty. So, my thinking is, he keeps tabs on the goings-on in Washington, which says to me that despite being out of the faster moving political circles of San Francisco for a significant period of time, and never moving up into the ranks in Colorado, he still has a very keen interest in the political world beyond his small town. Whether that means he still has ambitions, I couldn’t say. But he keeps close enough tabs to know about the change in my employment situation, which, trust me, was not news, even back in D.C. Staffers, even highly placed ones, come and go all the time. Unless there’s scandal attached, no one really pays attention other than those directly affected by the change. But Arlen knew. And he told my mother before I could, whatever his real reasons.”

  Lauren held Ruby Jean’s gaze, wanting to gauge her reaction as closely as she could as she continued. “He also strikes me as a man who, as you say, is very dedicated to his work, and from what I’ve read about him—and when your mom runs off with a total stranger, you can dig up an enormous amount of stuff to read if you really want to—I get the sense that he’s all about getting the job done, whatever that may be. And he’s perfectly willing to use whatever means it takes, or whomever he needs to use or step over, to get the job done.”

  Ruby Jean would make a great poker player. Which, with her face, said a surprising lot. After an extended pause, she said, “So, I take that as a yes, then.”

  Lauren bit back a surprised laugh. “Um, yes. No offense to you, his loyal adviser and assistant. But my gut tells me that he would have no trouble making such decisions if he felt the ends justified the means.”

  Ruby Jean tilted her head. “You’ve been around politicians for a long time. I’m much newer to the game. How often are you wrong in your gut assessments?”

  “At your stage in the game, often enough. In recent years? Rarely.”

  Ruby Jean nodded. “Then I’d go with your gut on this one.”

  Not exactly an open slam against her boss, which was to her credit. But the point had been made, tacitly nonetheless. Lauren nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate your candor.”

  Ruby Jean shrugged. “I’m not really good with subterfuge. Ask Jake.” She grinned then. “Perhaps my future in politics will be limited a bit by that fact.”

  “Are you hoping for a future in politics? Personally, or in an adjunct role, like I had?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, sounding sincere but not exactly uncertain. “I think I mostly want to find some kind of direction, and I’m good at what I do, so why not follow that path to wherever it might lead?”

  Lauren thought about that…and wondered where Ruby Jean saw her path as the personal executive assistant to a small town mayor could take her. Unless she planned to parlay that in some way to one of the larger cities on the front range or beyond.

  “Have you
thought about leaving Cedar Springs, moving on to a bigger pond, bigger fish?”

  “More lately than ever before. I’m torn on that, though. My preference is to stay here. I’m not particularly driven to be a city girl. But I’m not sure I can fulfill whatever potential I might have if I stay here. I’m not even sure what’s out there for me. But I do know what’s here…and so far it hasn’t been challenging enough for me.”

  Lauren thought again about whatever it was that had put Jake in an awkward place between her and Ruby Jean. And wondered if they’d shared enough, bonded enough, for her to just come out and ask. Her gut said yes. And Ruby Jean had been the one to tell her to go with that. So she did. “There’s something else I need to ask you. And I’ll understand if you don’t want to discuss it, but it’s created something of an issue between me and Jake. And so I thought, now that we’ve met, maybe we can just bring it out in the open and deal with it together.”

  Ruby Jean frowned at first, but that quickly cleared and Lauren knew she was very aware of what Lauren was referring to. No poker face this time.

  Just then Lauren’s phone rang. It was Jake. “Hey there, I was—”

  “Hey, yourself,” he said, his voice doing to her all the good things it always did. “Think you can head up this way? I have some interesting information for you. I was trying to track down Ruby Jean, but—”

  “She’s standing right here. Want to talk to her?”

  “She’s—really?”

  Lauren laughed. The Jake she was coming to know was rarely caught speechless. “Yes. She dropped by to say hi and introduce herself. It’s turning out the McKenna family is a pretty spectacular bunch.”

  Ruby Jean grinned as Jake laughed. “I’m very glad you think so. Why don’t you both come up? Three heads might be better than one.”

  He sounded jovial enough, but Lauren had already come to know him well enough to hear the underpinnings of tension. “Everything okay?”