Hot Silver Nights: Silver Fox Romance Collection

by Ainsley Booth

  “Yeah, but I can’t wait much longer.” Diane gathered up the mess from the side table and carried the dishes into the kitchen. She was trying to interpret the strange feeling prickling through her right now. Good sign? Bad sign? She usually knew right away. If she couldn’t tell immediately that it was good, did that mean it was bad?

  “You didn’t have to do that.”

  Diane jumped when she heard Ford’s voice behind her, and she dropped the dishes into the sink with a loud crash. She pasted a wide smile on her face before she turned around. “Of course, I did. You left a hell of a mess in there.”

  His sheepish grin just about did her in. He nodded to the crutches. “It sucks being dependent on these. And on other people.”

  He must have had extra clothes in the bathroom. He looked better than he had a right to in a fresh white tee and loose shorts.

  His warm gaze gave her shivers. She should be too damned old to get tingles from a man, especially a man who’d betrayed her years ago.

  But obviously not.

  “How are the kids?” he asked, changing the subject to something neutral. Maybe he wasn’t entirely comfortable with her here either.

  “They’re good. I miss having them around. You’ve probably heard that Shay’s teaching in Buffalo and Rob’s interning in Boston.”

  “Big house gets lonely,” Ford said softly.

  “Yeah.” Diane pulled out a chair at the round table in the corner of the spacious kitchen. “Sit. I’ll grab your burger.”

  Ford grunted as he dropped heavily into the chair and let the crutches fall to the floor. “Once a waitress, always a waitress?”

  Diane looked over her shoulder as she walked back into the living room to grab the take-out container. She wanted to be more than a waitress. “Something like that.”

  “Jason and Julie stop by to check on me. Makes me feel like I’m the kid in the family. Have to admit I don’t like it one bit.”

  “When does the cast come off?”

  “Another week if I don’t do anything stupid.” He laughed when she shot him an arched look. “Yeah. You don’t have to say a word.”

  She poured him a cup of coffee from the half-full pot on the counter, like he ordered every time he came into the Best Bar and Grill. Then she stepped back. “I’ve got to go.”

  “I never told you what an ass I think Gary was for letting you go.”

  Ford said it with all sincerity, but all that did was make anger erupt in her chest. But the blaze didn’t burn because of Gary. Their marriage had deteriorated to the point that divorce was inevitable.

  She swallowed, tried to tamp down the anger before she spoke. “He didn’t exactly let me go,” she said evenly. “He left me.” Like you did.

  Ford caught her hand. “And he was an ass.”

  “Yes, he was.” Both men she’d loved had left her. But she wasn’t going to give Ford the satisfaction of knowing that he was the one who’d broken her heart. That she maybe still wasn’t over him, even after all these years. Just her luck.

  She made a show of looking at her watch. “I really have to go. Anything else you need before I leave?”

  “It’s been good seeing you again, Di.” He hadn’t picked up the burger yet. “You’ve been avoiding me for years.”

  Of course, she had. “Don’t be ridiculous. I see you at least once a week at the BB&G.” At least before he got laid up with a broken leg.

  “That doesn’t count.”

  “Count for what?”

  “Seeing me. Talking to me. All you do is take my order.”

  “It’s my job.”

  “Exactly. That’s why it doesn’t count.” She stepped back but he kept his grasp on her hand. “Come back tonight. Have dinner with me.”

  Oh, that would be a really bad idea. “I can’t.”

  When she tugged her hand free from his, her necklace slid out from beneath the neckline of her white uniform. She glanced down and noticed a damn ketchup stain over her right boob. She should have taken the time to go home and change before her appointment instead of coming here.

  He pushed out of the chair to get a closer look at the charms that hung from the delicate chain. His fingers brushed against her neck when he reached for it. “You still wear them?”

  Oh, this feeling couldn’t be good. “Of course, I do.”

  “Where’s the ladybug?” It had been beautiful, enameled red and black, with tiny shiny bling on the wings.

  She shrugged. “Lost it sometime over the years.” She knew exactly when she lost it. The same time her good luck changed to bad with Ford Harper.

  “Have pity on me. I can’t go out and it’s driving me nuts. You’re the first person I’ve had a real conversation with in ages. Come back tonight, Diane.”

  “Call one of your firemen buddies if you want someone to talk to. Or I’m sure one of the ladies throwing themselves at you would be glad to keep you company.” She had to be careful or she’d sound as if she was jealous. “Gotta go.”

  Diane turned and walked away. She didn’t like this feeling she had when she was around him. It definitely wasn’t good. So it had to be bad.

  Chapter 2

  A couple of days later, Ford sat at the table, sifting through a box of old photos Jason had found in the back of a closet. Ford had been complaining he was bored. His son probably thought he needed something to do.

  Ford stared at a faded picture of him with his sister and brother in the backyard, but his mind was on Diane. He’d never forget the day he gave her the little ladybug charm. There’d been no Internet back then, no on-line shopping or Google searches. The only thing to do was visit Bassett’s, the local jewelry store, the same one his daughter Julie now managed. Each year when Di’s birthday rolled around, he’d stop in and ask what kind of good luck charms they had in stock. She’d loved them all, but especially the ladybug. Her eyes had lit up and her squeal had echoed through the dining room at O’Neill’s that night.

  He hadn’t minded indulging her fixation on luck. Her grandmother had messed with her mind for too many years. It didn’t matter how many times Ford told her it was a bunch of crap. Di had even admitted logically she knew it too. But it didn’t make any difference when it came to what she felt inside.

  He would have done anything to make her happy. She’d been quick to anger but just as quick to make up. She was smart and creative, confident and passionate about what she wanted and what she believed in. And he’d loved her for it.

  They’d had totally different upbringings. She’d grown up with a prickly grandmother who yelled at her constantly and told her she was cursed. He’d grown up in a loving home and even when his parents had an argument, they rarely even raised their voices. The first time Di had blown up at him, he’d thought they were through. He hadn’t known a couple could shout and throw things and then end up in bed like it never happened.

  But looking back with the hindsight of over thirty years, he could see how young they’d been back then. He’d given Diane the ladybug on her twenty-second birthday. He’d only been twenty-three. Their kids were all older than that now.

  “Hey, Dad.” Julie walked in with a basket of folded laundry. Her brown hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and there was snow on the hem of her jeans.

  Ford dropped the picture back into the box. “Hey, sweetie.”

  “Brought your clean clothes.” She walked through the living room to put the basket on a shelf in the bathroom closet. In a moment, she was back. Ford looked forward to moving as quickly as that again. She tilted her head. “You look kinda lonely sitting there, Dad.”

  He was used to being alone now. “No, I’m fine. Just think, in a few days you won’t have to be taking care of your old man anymore.”

  “Bet you can’t wait to get that thing off.” Julie eyed the box in front of him. “Are those the pictures?”

  “What pictures?”

  “Jason told me he found some really old family photos.” She leaned over his shoulder. “
He said he didn’t recognize hardly anybody in them.”

  “He wants me to label them all right away.” Ford didn’t think he would ever be that bored.

  “You should. This is our family history, Dad. We don’t want it to die with you.”

  “Thanks,” he said wryly.

  “You know what I mean.” She grabbed a picture from the box, studied it for a moment and then looked up at Ford with wide eyes. “You’re so young.”

  He glanced at the picture in her hand and surprise shot through him. He didn’t remember keeping any pictures of him and Diane. He cleared his throat. “I think I might have just turned twenty in that picture.”

  “I guess I don’t remember seeing many pictures of you that young.”

  “I’m sure there’re a few in here but remember that we didn’t take as many pictures back then. You had to buy film for the camera and then you had to take them somewhere to have them developed. None of this lift your phone and click business.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Who’s that cute young girl on your arm?”

  “That’s Diane Becker. Well, Diane Varney now. I dated her before your mom.”

  “I never knew that. Diane from the BB&G? Shay and Rob’s mom?”

  “That’s her.”

  “Did you date for long?”

  “A few years. Yeah.”

  Julie pulled out another photo. “Isn’t this Mom with Diane?” It was a close-up of the two grinning, their arms around each other.

  “Diane and your mom were best friends back then. Since grade school.”

  “Wow. Must have been awkward when you started dating Mom, huh?”

  Awkward was putting it mildly. “You could say that.”

  Julie picked out another picture, it was of the three of them, Ford and Diane and Irene at the beach. “You guys looked like you had a lot of fun.”

  “We did.”

  “Was Mom like, the third wheel back then?”

  “No.” Was she? “Your mom dated a few guys. One of them probably took that picture.”

  Julie studied the close-up. “Hey, Diane still wears that necklace with all the good luck charms.” She looked up at Ford. “You know, I think we still stock this little elephant charm.”

  He shouldn’t be surprised his daughter would focus in on the jewelry. “She used to have a ladybug too. Red and black with little diamond chips on the wings. Guess she lost it somewhere along the way.”

  “We still stock something like that too.”

  And what on earth made him suddenly want to buy her a new ladybug to replace the one she lost?

  “I think I remember seeing a little ladybug in Mom’s jewelry box.” Since she was the only daughter, Ford had given Julie her mother’s jewelry box after she died. “I thought it was a pin, but maybe it’s a charm. I never looked at it all that closely because I don’t wear pins. Did they have matching charms?”

  The whisper of a chill prickled down Ford’s spine. “Not that I know of. I don’t remember your mom ever wearing a ladybug.”

  “Me either.” Julie handed Ford the pictures. “I’m going to look for it as soon as I get home. Is there anything you need before I go?”

  “No, thanks. I managed to feed and water myself tonight. I appreciate the clean laundry though.”

  Julie leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Night, Dad. Love you.”

  He was still sorting through pictures when his daughter called. “I found it. It’s definitely a charm. But it could still be Mom’s, right? Maybe she liked Diane’s and wanted one for herself.”

  Ford cleared his throat. “If it’s Diane’s it’ll have my initials engraved on the back.” Not much room on those tiny charms, but enough.

  “Yeah. F H. You bought her the ladybug?”

  “And the wishbone, the horseshoe and the elephant. Birthday gifts.”

  Julie was silent for a moment. “Why would Mom have this?”

  “I don’t know, sweetie.” If Irene found Diane’s charm, why wouldn’t she have returned it?

  “What should I do with it?”

  “Bring it to me next time you stop by. I’ll give it back to Diane.”

  Sunday afternoon, Diane sat at the dining room table, snow spread out as far as she could see through the French doors that overlooked the back patio. Papers covered every inch of space in front of her. Paperwork already! Application forms. College catalogs. Course descriptions. Degree information.

  Was she out of her mind?

  After her appointment with Dr. Ferguson, Diane had even more questions. Should she jump right in as a full-time student? Or would it be better to test the waters part-time? Did she really need a degree? How many hours could she work at the BB&G and keep up her classwork? How long would her savings last?

  Her heart thudded like an evil chuckle spreading through her chest. Whatever made her think she could go to college at her age?

  Diane swept the papers into one mess of a pile in the middle of the table. She had to have been out of her mind to even think about it.

  There was a knock at the front door. “Diane?”

  “Katie?” It was her neighbor from across the street. Diane left the pile of paper on the table and rounded the corner into the living room. Katie Foster had opened the front door just enough to stick her head in. Snowy air rushed around her. “Come on in. Don’t stand out in the cold.”

  “Thanks.” Katie stomped the worst of the snow off her boots and shut the door behind her. “I’m here to beg your mercy.” She kicked off her knee-high winter boots.

  “What’s up?”

  “Randy invited a bunch of guys over to watch the football game and the noise level is insane!” Katie tore the candy cane striped knit hat off her head. Her short, spiky bleached blond hair stood out at all angles. “And then Paige started swearing at her computer and I had to get out for a little quiet time. I was going to drive over to the coffee shop but my car’s blocked in by the football fans.

  Diane laughed. Her chatty neighbor was just the distraction she needed. “I’ll make us some coffee.”

  She turned and headed for the kitchen, Katie following behind. Too late, Diane remembered the pile of papers she’d left in a crumpled mess on the table. Without a word, she swept them up and headed for the trash can.

  One of the papers escaped her arms and fluttered to the floor.

  “You dropped something.” Katie bent down to pick up the paper. “What’s this?”

  “It’s nothing.” Diane stuffed the armful of papers and catalogues into the trash, then whipped around to grab the one Katie had.

  But her neighbor had already seen the State University of New York header and looked up from the page of course descriptions she’d printed out. “You’re going back to college?”

  “Not back. I never went to begin with.”

  “Why are you throwing all the stuff away?”

  Diane shrugged, trying to keep it light, like it didn’t matter to her one way or another. “Yeah, I thought about it for about half a second but I realized it was a crazy idea.” She tried to grab the paper from Katie, but she didn’t give it up.

  “I think it’s a great idea, Diane.” Katie placed the paper on the table and smoothed out the wrinkles. “Not crazy at all. What are you going to take?”

  Diane started a pot of coffee brewing, her back to her friend. “If I go, I want to study art. I…I used to like to draw and paint.” She turned to Katie and shrugged, trying to make it feel like not a big deal, not a need that some days threatened to choke her.

  “I didn’t know that.” Katie hung her coat on the back of a chair and sat down.

  “Yeah, but I let it go by the wayside while I worked and raised a family. You know what I mean.”

  “Sure I do, but do you have to study art in college in order to paint?”

  “There’s so much I don’t know. Techniques and stuff.” When she’d try to translate her vision with paints or pencil, she often was disappointed it was never as good as the picture in her head. �
��I want to study. I want to know. I mean, all I’ve done is wait tables my whole life. Somedays I feel like I’ve wasted the past forty years.”

  “Don’t say that. Going to college isn’t the most important thing in life. Not that I don’t think it sounds like an awesome idea for you now. But you had two great kids who went to college and got great careers out of it. There was nothing wrong with you working hard all those years for your family so they could do that. Those years weren’t wasted.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  “I never went to college either but I’ve raised a beautiful daughter who right now is filling out college applications on the computer.”

  If that was why Paige was cursing at the screen, what chance did Diane have? “But you had to learn how to do what you do. Techniques and stuff. Then you got your cosmetology license. You opened your own business. You provide a needed service.”

  “You do too.”

  “I guess.”

  “What about your job? Are you going to go to school full-time and work part-time? Are you going to be able to swing that?”

  Diane glanced at the trash can, overflowing with papers. “I’m going to keep working full-time and that’s it.”

  “No, you can’t say that. I should have kept my mouth shut. You’ll always regret it if you don’t follow your dream.”

  “I’m fifty-seven years old.”

  “And it’s your time. I can’t wait to see what amazing art you’ll create.” Katie jumped up and pulled the college information out of the trash. She handed them back to Diane. “Here. You’re going to need these.”

  “I’m scared to death. If I want to earn a degree, I have to take placement tests. The reading and writing I can probably handle, but math?” Diane started to flip through the papers, not seeing a thing. “Math. I hated math back in high school and they do it all different now, don’t they? Two and two isn’t even four anymore. How could I ever pass?”

  “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Paige. One step at a time. Don’t worry about what ifs. I’m proud of you. I never wanted to go to college. All that work.” Katie laughed and poured the coffee Diane had forgotten all about.