by Sally John
Still, Celeste shied away from overtly leading. With her pixie face, splash of freckles, naturally wavy brown hair of medium length, quick smile, and soft, lilting voice, she led by serving. They all adored her.
That original group of mothers with toddlers now all had teenagers. Anne Sutton added her calm, solid presence. Addie Chandler sparkled with pizzazz, seeing everything through her artist’s eye. Athletic Val Massey never let up on encouraging them to do aerobics at home whenever they finished reading a chapter.
Younger women completed the group. Britte Olafsson, who could pass for Brady’s twin with her height and blonde good looks, taught high school math and coached the girls’ basketball team. Band teacher Lauren Thompson and music teacher Abbey Swanson always left enthusiasm in their wake. And now there was Gina, the California transplant newly engaged to catch-of-the-century Brady. She was a veterinarian with hopes to bring elephants and other wild animals to the area.
And lastly, Lia Neuman… As a pharmacist, she was a wonderful addition to Valley Oaks’ business community. Isabel recognized how deeply Lia was grounded in her faith. She admired her generous spirit, energy, and fun-loving attitude.
Tonight, though, all that was quite obviously missing.
The women would have celebrated anyway with food and singing, but Gina’s engagement gave them a proper excuse. After agreeing on a novel to read before next month, most of the group left. Isabel watched from the door as they walked down her front steps. Light splashed through windows onto the dark lawn.
Anne leaned over Isabel’s shoulder and called out, “Spoil-sports!”
Britte turned from the sidewalk, laughing. “You’re just a stay-at-home mom, Anne,” it was an ongoing joke between them, “with nothing better to do than hang out here half the night! We all have to go to work tomorrow.”
“You call what you do work? Showing teenagers how to add and subtract and shoot baskets?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? Calc is not adding and subtracting.”
“Not to mention flirting with the new principal.”
Britte only shook her finger in reply and kept walking toward the street.
Isabel nudged Anne with her elbow. “Say goodnight, Anne.”
“Goodnight, Anne!” she mimicked.
Britte waved from her car parked at the curb. “Goodnight!”
Isabel shut the door. The late night air was cool. She sat back down in her favorite chair, a padded rocker. The earthy Anne pinched up the front of her capri pants, crossed her ankles and gracefully folded herself down onto the floor.
“Annie, your boss might fire you if you keep harassing her like that.”
“The school board loves me.” She grinned. Her husband was a member this year. “They pay my assistant coach’s salary, not Coach Olafsson.”
Isabel laughed. She glanced at the couch where Nutmeg had nestled herself between Celeste and Lia. The women were deep in conversation, legs tucked under their long skirts. Their similarities went beyond their clothing. Something about their spirits reminded her of her grandmother. That was it… All three women possessed an awareness that could only possibly develop after years of seeing with two sets of eyes. One pair saw the visible while the other saw the invisible. Isabel had ignored her abuela’s teaching until later in life. As a result, her eyesight wasn’t as keen as it could have been. Time had not only been wasted, it had been misused. Her vision would never reach the sharpness of theirs.
And she blamed Tony for that.
Celeste patted Lia’s hand and turned to Isabel and Anne. “Lia has just told me that Chloe may be in danger from her father.”
“What?!”
Lia nodded. “As I’ve mentioned, Nelson doesn’t have visitation rights. He wasn’t named on the birth certificate, and after his drunk driving killed my sister, I haven’t wanted him near Chloe.” She took a shaky breath. “Cal said I should tell you… Within the past week I’ve received three phone calls. With the first two, no one said anything, but the last one was a whispered ‘You can’t hide.’ And a letter came in the mail saying ‘You’re history.’”
Before continuing, she closed her eyes briefly. “What I haven’t told you was that Nelson often threatened to take Chloe. He did twice, and the second time ended in the car accident. He showed up at the playground six months ago and talked with her—without our permission. He didn’t take her, but… It happened after hang-up phone calls.”
Anne shook her head. “Oh, hon, you must be a basket case! Do you want to live with us?”
“Or me?” Isabel added.
“Or us?” Celeste finished.
“You all sincerely mean that, don’t you?” The tightness around Lia’s mouth relaxed in a smile that lit up her eyes. “I feel like God just gave me six more shoulders to carry this nightmare. Make that eight with Cal’s. I think we’ll be fine in the apartment. The problem is not going to go away. We’re not in physical danger from him. And he has a wife and kids, so it’s not like he wants to disappear with Chloe. It’ll sort itself out.”
Celeste said, “Cal will take care of the police side of things. I hear he’s even investigating that reporter, what’s-his-name, who’s writing about Brady.”
“Tony Ward,” Isabel filled in the blank. “The whole town is excited about a big-time Brady article, and Cal’s gone off the deep end looking for ulterior motives.”
“You and Tony are friends, right?” Lia asked. “He called you Izzy in the shop.”
Celeste and Anne turned wide eyes in her direction. “Izzy?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Isabel paused. She needn’t go into everything. “I knew him in college.”
“Knew him?” Anne prompted.
“We were both in journalism.” No reason to go into their living arrangements of so many years ago. “We dated for a short time right before he graduated, when I was only a sophomore. I never heard from him again.”
Anne and Celeste exchanged glances.
Isabel’s heart thudded. She had been off all evening. Now she heard the bitter undertones in her criticism of Cal and superficial description of Tony. None of that would be lost on her friends. She reached for a fair middle ground. “But then, I never tried to contact him again either.”
Gentle Celeste smiled. “He’s awfully charming. And nice-looking.”
On the floor, Anne swung her legs out behind herself and began doing pushups. “Surface stuff, Celeste. I’m sure our Izzy wasn’t taken with him.”
Isabel rocked the chair with a vengeance. She simply did not want to get into her past, but these were her friends and their assumptions were on target. “All right. I was nuts about him. There, I said it.”
They all burst into laughter.
Anne crumpled on the floor. “He is way cute, Dizzy Izzy.”
“He really is,” Lia agreed, “Busy Izzy.”
Celeste giggled. “How about Fizzy Izzy?”
Isabel walked to the front door and opened it. “I think it’s time you all went home.”
Amid peals of laughter and hugs, they filed past her, calling out more renditions of her name as they strolled down the sidewalk.
“Mizzy Izzy!”
“Tizzy Izzy!”
“Wizzy Izzy!”
She leaned against the door frame and watched them drive away. The fact that she had deceived the women who loved her best made her feel sick.
Ten
Cal shifted in his chair at the kitchen table in the apartment above the pharmacy. Chloe’s blue saucer eyes hadn’t left his face for the past ten minutes. The little Sutton girl, Mandy, giggled behind her hand.
“Girls!” Lia reprimanded. “You’re being rude to Deputy Huntington.”
Grinning, Chloe turned to her aunt, nodded, and pointed her thumb in his direction.
Lia’s dark eyes widened. “Chloe Neuman! If you two are finished, please excuse yourselves!”
“Excuse me! Excuse me!” The girls popped off their chairs and raced across the small kitchen into
the hallway, laughter trailing behind them.
“Cal, I apologize.”
“What was that all about?”
Lia grimaced. “Chloe is on the lookout for a dad.”
“A dad? Oh…I see. I guess. I mean…”
She laughed. “Yes, you’ve got it. She thinks you’d fit the role perfectly, Peppermint Teddy Bear. But don’t look so panic stricken. I’m not in the market!”
“Kids are…” He shrugged his shoulders, at a loss for an inoffensive adjective.
“They seem to make you uncomfortable.”
“That’s putting it mildly. They unnerve me. Give me an escaped convict any day.”
“Weren’t you a kid at one time? Or were you born wearing a sheriff’s uniform?”
“I was born wearing a football uniform. Just grew up into the other one.”
“I see. How about some coffee now?” She carried their plates to the sink and switched on the coffeemaker.
“That doesn’t sound like a traditional Chinese beverage.” He had just finished wolfing down the best egg rolls and kung pao chicken he had ever tasted.
“Neither does apple pie. It’s my father’s medley of European genes taking over. When my sister and I were little, he’d make coffee after a meal like this to go with his pie, which he had baked. Mom would just smile—my parents are still absolutely devoted to each other—but Grandmother, watch out!” Lia shook her hands, then pressed them to the sides of her head as she shuffled around in a circle, squealing out a string of Chinese phrases.
He laughed. “I think I’d skip the coffee. Do you speak Chinese?”
“Only when I’m very upset. Angry upset. Frustrated upset, I sing.”
“You were frustrated upset in the shower?” he teased.
“No, Deputy, just glad to be home. Mind if I shut this window? It’s getting cool in here.” She struggled with the old wood-framed window behind the table.
He touched her shoulders and gently pushed her aside. “Let me.”
“I really am independent when you’re not around. Impressively independent.”
“I’m sure you are. Oomph.” The window rattled and banged shut. “I’m surprised these old things still open and close at all. I could probably replace the sashes, that might help.”
“Cal, you’ve already done so much! First the deadbolt and new lock, then the doorbell this week. Not to mention lugging Chloe upstairs and ordering me to install the alarm. And now this Nelson business.”
“Maybe I’m just looking for another home-cooked meal.”
“Open invitation on that. I love to cook. You don’t even have to work for it. Of course, you could buy your toothpaste downstairs here. Aspirin. Maybe a card for Tammy.”
“Okay, okay. Want me to shut this window while I’m at it?” He went into the other end of the combined kitchen/living area separated only by the beginning of a braid rug.
“Please. Then have a seat. I’ll be right in with dessert.”
He manhandled the other window behind the couch, then sat in the chair, anticipating the apples and cinnamon he smelled warming in the oven. Lia’s apartment was small, but clean and neat. The recliner was a soft leather, worn and comfortable, located across from a plaid couch. A television and a couple of lamps and tables filled the room. An afghan, a painting of snow-capped mountains, silk-looking flowers, and small family photographs made it feel comfy and lived in.
He watched Lia as she prepared a tray. She was probably 5’ 8”, shorter than his Tammy by a few inches, but still taller than average. Tammy was on the scrawny side compared to Lia, whose angles were more rounded, making her softer-looking. She usually wore skirts and collared shirts beneath her white lab coat. Tonight she wore a light blue, soft-looking short-sleeved dress belted at the waist. He hadn’t seen her in spandex. She was attractive and would probably look pretty good in spandex. Although it wouldn’t fit her personality. She was outgoing and yet…quiet. No, that wasn’t the word. She was…serene. Her long black hair swayed with her hips. Whenever she laughed, which was frequently, her black eyes lit up, sparkling through incredibly long lashes.
He wondered why she was single. Then he remembered Chloe. Major disadvantage there.
Lia set a tray on the coffee table; then she handed him a huge piece of apple pie with crumbly topping and ice cream melting beside it.
“Whoa. I’m going to sleep through the third shift tonight.”
“You don’t have to eat it. I’ll send the pie home with you.”
“Can’t I eat this and take the pie home?” He grinned.
“Is that kind of like eating your cake and having it too? Here, coffee will help keep you awake. Black?”
“Thanks. So why are you still single?” The question slipped out. “Sorry, hazard of the trade, pumping you like that.”
“No problem.” Lia curled up on the couch, coffee mug in hand. “I told you. I’m impressively independent.” She grinned before growing serious. “Oh, there are lots of reasons. I’ve been preoccupied with school and Chloe, of course. Buying the store and moving to Valley Oaks. And a long time ago I decided that I want no part of marriage unless I meet someone who treats me like Dad treats Mom, and he treats her like a queen. And then the guy would have to adopt Chloe as his daughter. Bit of a tall order, huh?” The clipped, emotionless words rolled from her tongue. She’d evidently rehearsed them a time or two. “How about you?”
He shrugged and swallowed his first bite. “Just not particularly interested, I guess. Mmm. This is the best apple pie I’ve ever tasted. Well, since we’re on the same wavelength here, I vote we can be friends without all the other rigmarole. I mean, I’ll fix whatever you need around the place, and you can feed me.”
“It’s a deal. Tammy’s welcome, too. I’m sorry she couldn’t come tonight.”
“Mm-hmm.” He felt unguarded with Lia already. She was easy to talk to, comfortable to hang with. But he wasn’t about to honestly relay Tammy’s reaction to Lia’s invitation. His girlfriend was…prejudiced. No two ways about it. And it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how she got that way.
While he was installing the doorbell earlier in the week, Tammy’s mother had overheard Lia invite him—and Tammy—to dinner. Later Dot had raised her brows, made fun of Chinese food, and declared she still believed that Chloe was Lia’s daughter. Tammy had flat out refused to come, but he had already accepted and said he would go without her.
And now, he wasn’t sorry that he had.
A short time later they stood in the kitchen as she drained the coffeepot into a traveling mug for him. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Dare you to go tell the girls goodbye.”
“Uh—”
“Double dare.”
“How about I clean up the kitchen instead?”
“They’re just short people, Cal.”
He turned on his heel, marched down the hallway, and rapped his knuckles on Chloe’s open door. The kids looked up from where they sat on the floor, playing with the little black kitten. “Goodbye, girls.”
Mandy, a tiny version of her mom, Anne, waved. “See ya, Cal.” Like mother, like daughter. Casual and familiar.
“Wait!” The little china doll climbed onto the bed and stood up, motioning to him.
He stepped beside her. “What?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. “Thanks for coming over.”
Feeling awkward, he patted her shoulder. “Uh, you’re welcome. Bye now.”
He rejoined Lia in the kitchen, accepted his coffee mug and a foil-covered pie dish. “Strange girl you’ve got there, Lia. Normal kids don’t hug cops.”
“Ha! She hugged you?”
“Yeah. You really should teach her not to go around hugging strangers.”
“Oh, Cal, you’re not a stranger. Besides, don’t you want children to feel safe with you rather than afraid?”
“Safe, okay, but hugging? Give me a break.”
Lia slipped an arm under his and arou
nd his waist. He held up the dish and mug as she leaned her head against his shoulder and gave him a quick hug. “Of course hugging. That’s what teddy bears are for!”
“I’m supposed to be a tough cop, not a stinking teddy bear.” Cal shook his head, but couldn’t help grinning as he climbed into his truck. Both the china dolls were strange…a nice kind of strange.
He drove from the alley behind the pharmacy and around the block to the front of it. Although he was on his way home to get ready for work, he decided to play the tough cop first and visit the video store housed in the same old brick building as the pharmacy. Much of the block had been built in the early 1900s. A florist was on the other side of the video store, also part of the same building. The post office butted up against that. Next, a narrow walkway leading to the alley separated the post office from the hardware store on the corner.
He parked between the lines painted directly in front of the darkened pharmacy and got out. Light shone in a second-story window, probably from Chloe’s room. The other window was dark. He guessed that would be Lia’s bedroom. From the looks of the kitchen, she’d be in there a long time.
A faint garlic aroma lingered in the air. He smiled. Maybe it was his breath. He unwrapped a piece of gum and thought again about how much he had enjoyed dinner. Tammy could take some lessons from Lia. On second thought, that wasn’t such a good idea.
He strolled into the video store. To the left of the display shelves near the front, he spotted the owner, Mitch Conway, at the checkout counter. They’d gone to school together, but Mitch’s hair was already thinning, and he had a good start on a beer belly. They hadn’t gotten along since Cal won the MVP football award in seventh grade. Of course, it didn’t help their relationship any that Cal won it every year after that. Coaches were always on them about teamwork on and off the field.
