“Coming right up.” She saw Toni start to back out of the door. “Stay cool,” she said.
“Do my best.” Toni smiled warmly, making Noel’s heart melt a little. “Have a good day. And try not to leave anything important at anyone’s house. Next time someone might have a very nice keepsake of a very nice night.”
***
Noel spent the rest of the morning thinking about Toni. She crossed her mind frequently on any given day, but today, knowing that she was right down the street, made it worse than normal. The day was warm, and by two o’clock The Sandpiper was starting to get a little stuffy, so she made a pitcher of lemonade and set it out on the sideboard for her guests. That gave her an idea, and she called Toni on her cell.
“Hi, it’s Noel. I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
“No, not at all. What’s up?”
“I just made some lemonade for my guests, and I thought I might bring you guys some. It’s hot here, and I’m not doing anything strenuous.”
Toni laughed. “We’re not doing anything as strenuous as we should be. Roxy’s getting paid by the job, but she’s paying me by the hour. She’s getting screwed.”
“Would you like some lemonade?”
“Of course. I love lemonade. We’re just six houses to the south, on your side of the street.”
“Cool. Then I can meet Roxy.”
“See you soon. Oh, you don’t have any muffins left, do you? I’ve been thinking about them all day.”
“It just so happens that I have a few. I’ll bring them.”
“Later.”
Noel made another pitcher, found some plastic glasses, and wrapped up the muffins for Toni. She walked down the street and found the house, an easy task since there was a sign in the front yard that said “Roxy Montana, Whole House Painting.”
The house was an inn much like hers, and she knocked before she entered, even though most people walked right into places like theirs. A man about her age met her in the hallway. “Hi, can I help you?”
She extended her hand and when they shook she said, “I’m Noel Carpenter. I just took over The Sandpiper up the street. I brought some lemonade for my friends who are upstairs painting.”
“Go on up. They’re probably about to faint. I should’ve thought to give them something. I’m Tom, by the way.”
“It’s good to meet you.” She went upstairs and encountered Roxy first. “Hi,” she said. “We haven’t met yet. I’m Noel Carpenter. I brought you some lemonade.”
Roxy looked very surprised to see her, making Noel guess that Toni hadn’t mentioned her call. “Well…hi. How’d you…know I was here?”
“I ran into Toni earlier, and she told me you two were painting here. It’s so hot out that I thought you might need something cold.”
Roxy got off her ladder and shook Noel’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m surprised we haven’t met yet.”
Noel wasn’t a student of the species, but from just a few moments in her presence she could tell that Roxy was a player. She was a pretty woman, with straw-colored hair, pale blue eyes and tanned skin. She looked a few years older than Noel, but Noel reasoned that might be because of the damage the sun had done to her fair skin. “We must just not run in the same circles,” Noel said.
Roxy accepted a glass of lemonade and took a big drink. Her eyes were glittering with interest when she said, “Then I should change my circle.”
Toni walked into the room and said, “What’s this? A snack delivery?” As usual, she was her playful self. She didn’t let on that she knew Noel was coming, she didn’t even let on that she knew her well.
“When I saw you earlier today, and you said you were going to be right down the street, I thought it would be a good time to come by and meet Roxy. I never got to thank her for doing such a good job on my house.”
“I can’t take all the credit,” Roxy said. “I made Toni do all the trim.”
“Isn’t that the hard part?”
“Toni thinks so,” Roxy said, laughing. “But I believe in making my day laborers do the hard things.”
“Day laborer,” Toni scoffed. “You make it sound like you picked me up in front of a paint store.”
Roxy gave her a sly grin. “As I recall, I picked you up in a bar.”
“I don’t think Noel wants to hear our sordid history. Let’s leave it at the fact that we both came to our senses.”
“You two seem like you get along pretty well for having a history,” Noel said. “I’d like to see my ex again…under the wheels of my car.” She laughed, looking unrepentant.
“I’ve got a few of those kinds of exes,” Roxy said. “But Toni’s not one of them. I never make enemies with anybody who can paint.”
“I’d better let you to get back to it,” Noel said.
“I’ll drop the pitcher off on my way home,” Toni said.
“I can do it,” Roxy said. “I go in that direction when I leave.”
Toni didn’t say a word, so Noel said, “Whatever works. Try to stay cool.”
“We will. It was good to meet you,” Roxy called out.
As soon as Noel was out of hearing range, Roxy said, “Where has she been hiding? I thought people were bullshitting when they were talking about her looking like Heidi Klum. She doesn’t actually look much like her, but she’s damned cute.”
“Yeah, she is.” Toni poured another glass of lemonade and drank it slowly.
“She’s single, right?”
“Yeah. She’s still recovering from a bad breakup.”
“Just because you haven’t hooked her yet doesn’t mean she’s not ready.”
“I didn’t say she’s not ready. I said she had a bad breakup.”
“Hmm.” Roxy looked at her friend for a minute, assessing her. “You tried to get into her pants and she slammed the door.”
“I wouldn’t admit that if it’d happened, which it didn’t.”
“There’s something there,” Roxy insisted, grasping Toni by the shoulders and holding her so they were nose to nose. “You’re hiding something.”
“Nope.”
“I think you tried and found out she doesn’t like you. That’s why she was nosing around here, looking for me.”
“Don’t count on it,” Toni scoffed, taking the muffins and walking back to her assigned room.
***
Noel was mildly surprised and supremely disappointed to have Roxy knock on her back door a little after five p.m. She walked in and put the pitcher on the counter. “It was sweet of you to bring us lemonade. The guy who runs the place would’ve let us die of heat exhaustion.”
Noel didn’t have a polite way to ask why Toni wasn’t standing in front of her, so she forced herself to be pleasant and make small talk. “I don’t know any of the other innkeepers. What’s that place like?”
Roxy hoisted herself up onto the counter, letting her feet dangle. “It’s a pretty low-rent place. He gets mostly young guys. Kind of a gay frat house.”
“I’m trying to decide if I should modernize The Sandpiper or try to sell it as it is. Do you have an opinion?”
“I have an opinion about everything,” Roxy said, chuckling. “I don’t know if it’s worth it to do a lot. You’re midmarket, and you’d have to spend hundreds of thousands to get into the upper tier. I don’t think you’d get that back.”
“It’s hard to know what to do. Heidi tells me that she thinks I’d get my money back by redoing the bathrooms, but Toni doesn’t seem to think I need to do anything.”
“They both have their perspectives skewed a little. Heidi always thinks the market is going up and any money you put into a bathroom or kitchen is a good investment. Toni thinks this place is a shrine, and she’d like it to stay just like it was when Max ran it.”
“That sounds about right,” Noel said, smiling at the thought of The Sandpiper being visited by pilgrims. “It sounds like you lean more towards Toni’s view.”
“I haven’t seen most of the bathrooms. Want me t
o take a look around?”
“This isn’t a good time. I’m fully booked, and a lot of my guests are home right now. Maybe later in the season?” Roxy looked at home enough that Noel thought she might still be there in October to see the last guests out.
“Sure. Anytime. I’ve been in most of the places in town, and I know a lot of the innkeepers. Maybe we should get together and talk about the market. Are you busy tonight?”
Noel wasn’t, but she didn’t want to spend the evening with Roxy. She seemed like a pleasant woman, and she was cute, but she wasn’t Noel’s kind of cute. Noel’s kind of cute was Toni, and she thought she’d rather spend the night alone than settle for less. “Tonight’s not good for me. Take a rain check?”
Roxy slid off the counter. “Sure. I’m always around. We’ll see each other again. Soon, I hope.”
“Yeah, me too. Thanks for coming by.”
“Thanks again for the lemonade. Take care.” With that, she was gone, leaving Noel to ponder Toni’s enigmatic behavior earlier in the day. She wasn’t sure if Toni wanted to keep her life private, or if Toni just thought of her as another one of her many conquests—someone not special enough to mention to a friend. She sincerely hoped it wasn’t the latter.
Part Seven
A week passed and Noel was tempted, very tempted to give in to her need to see Toni. But she was careful to remind herself that Toni had been clear from the start that they were having a summer fling. The one who had the fuller dance card always controlled the action, and Toni’s card was obviously very full.
Since she wasn’t having much luck waiting Toni out, Noel decided to keep her promise to treat Heidi to dinner. They agreed to meet the next night at one of the nicer places in town, even though Heidi tried to convince her to pick a less expensive place.
Noel walked into the dark, intimate bar area of the contemporary, surprisingly elegant place. Rehoboth was full of inexpensive spots that appealed to families, but was a little thin on upscale restaurants. Judging from the bar, Noel thought this was definitely one of the upscale ones.
She ordered a drink and turned when someone touched her back. Heidi smiled at her and Noel took a second to really look at her. They’d never intentionally been alone together, and the soft mood lighting brought out the highlights in Heidi’s hair and made her green eyes glow attractively. “Hi. Would you like a drink?”
“Sure. Whatever you’re having.”
Noel ordered and Heidi sat next to her. “I hope you like Manhattans.”
“I do. Not too often, though, or I’d have to go to rehab. They pack a punch.”
“I don’t drink much at all when school’s in session. But I’ve been acting like I’m on vacation all of the time down here.”
Her drink was delivered and Heidi nodded her thanks. Her eyes nearly bugged out when she took a sip. “Wow,” she said, making a face. “Will you walk me home?”
“Sure. I don’t know where you live, but I can get your address off your driver’s license.”
“You have a nice sense of humor,” Heidi said. “At first I thought you were pretty serious.”
“I was. I was also freaked out by the whole ordeal of finding out who my birth mother was, et cetera. But I’m back on my feet now.”
“I’m glad. You seem to be enjoying yourself more.”
“Yeah, I am. This is a nice town, and I feel like I’ve been accepted pretty readily. It’s been good.”
“I love Rehoboth. I came here right after college”—she covered her mouth and mumbled a number—“years ago. They’ll have to carry me out.”
“I could definitely get used to it. After I sell The Sandpiper I might buy a little condo. I’d love to spend some time here every summer.”
“No desire to be full time, huh?”
“No. I’m not an innkeeper. Plus, I love teaching. I also think Rehoboth might be too small for me full time.” She took a sip of her drink. “Isn’t it hard to meet new people?”
“People to date?”
“Yeah. It seems like everyone has been here forever.”
“No, a bunch of new people come every year. A lot of people my age are retiring early and coming to the beach. That hasn’t helped me,” she said, rolling her eyes, “but Toni sure seems busy.”
“I bet her friend Roxy keeps pace with her.”
“Oh, yeah.” She smiled. “Roxy’s a hound. Has she hit on you yet?”
“Mmm, I don’t like to get hit and tell.”
Heidi laughed. “’Nuff said. She’s a lot of fun, but she goes through town like the flu. No one is safe.”
“I guess a resort town is good for people who like to date around. I think I’m more of a relationship kind of girl. At least, I always have been.”
“Me too. I’ve been single for a while, and I’d like to make that a thing of the past. But in the meantime…”
“I’m not ready to jump back in yet, I don’t think.”
“You’re just out of a long relationship, right?”
“Right. Ten years. My ex was killed.” When Heidi’s eyes widened Noel said, “Wishful thinking. She dumped me for a younger woman.”
“Oh, that’s bad. Very bad.” Heidi took a drink. “I hope her teeth fall out. All at once.”
Noel smiled. “Keep going. That’s not punishment enough.”
“No clues? Caught you flatfooted?”
“Clueless. She was very, very anxious about turning forty. Maybe she thought being with a young woman would rub off on her.”
“Since when is forty old? For God’s sake, we have a life expectancy of over eighty. That’s a lot of years.”
“It is. And I hope Janet’s new girlfriend is as shallow as Janet turned out to be. Maybe she’ll leave her at the first sign of a grey hair.” She picked up her glass and Heidi touched hers to it, making a clinking sound.
“Here’s to shallow women. May we never meet another.”
***
The next day, April called. “When can I bring the kids down? They’re driving me crazy begging to go to the beach.”
“I told you that you’re welcome any time. But I don’t have any rooms available on weekends.”
“Ed won’t want to bunk with you, but the boys would love it. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Mind? I’d love it. Haven’t I asked you to come twenty times already?”
“Yeah, but you’re polite. You’d do that anyway.”
“I mean it. Come now. Come tomorrow.”
April laughed. “How about Monday? The weather’s supposed to be good.”
“It’s a deal. Bring Andy’s kids if you want.”
“No way! I want to have fun and I can’t do that if I’m watching kids every minute. Mine are old enough to entertain themselves. Speaking of entertaining…how’s Toni?”
“Good. I guess. I don’t see her very often. I guess she’s busy or just not that interested.”
“Do you ever call her?”
“No, I don’t feel comfortable doing that.”
“Why?” April’s voice was filled with concern.
“If I’m gonna be honest, I suppose I’m afraid of her turning me down.”
“Really? That’s not like you, honey.”
“I know. I’m still a little gun-shy. This too shall pass.”
“Take a risk. What have you got to lose? It’s just a summer thing.”
“True.” Noel paused a minute. “Maybe I’ll risk it. All she can say is no.”
“Go for it, baby. You’re irresistible.”
***
Steeling her courage, Noel called Toni before she could talk herself out of it. Toni answered on the second ring, sounding bright and chipper. “Hi. What’s going on? I haven’t seen you in years.”
“It hasn’t been that long, but it has been a while. What have you been up to?”
“Not much. I’ve been working on a big job, and working in this heat drains me. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
“No one is. Hey, I was wonde
ring if you wanted to have dinner? I’d like to pay you back for having me over.”
“Oh, cool. When do you want to do it?”
“Tonight?”
“Ooo.” Toni sounded genuinely disappointed. “I’ve got plans tonight. Tomorrow, too. How about Monday?”
“No, that’s not good. April and her boys are coming down for a few days so I’ll be busy.”
“I’d like to meet your nephews. Can I tag along if you go out?”
Charmed, Noel said, “Of course. We’re gonna be in close quarters since I don’t have a room available. We’ll be out of the house as much as possible.”
“How old are the kids?”
“Ten and twelve. Why?”
“Do they like to camp?”
“Yeah. April hates it, but the boys love it. Why?”
“Have them stay at my place. They can camp in my yard and come in and use the bathroom whenever they need it. It’ll be fun!”
She sounded so enthusiastic that Noel was taken aback. “You’d honestly like that?”
“Yeah, yeah. My nieces and nephews do it all the time. It’s an easy way to make kids very happy.”
“I’ll talk to April and see if she thinks they’re old enough.”
“They’re plenty old. Sometime we should sleep outside,” she said, her voice taking on the seductive purr that made the hair on Noel’s neck stand up. “We could enjoy nature.”
“I like you au naturel,” Noel said, allowing her libido to show.
“I think I need to stop by soon. You sound like you’re ready for fun.”
“I hope that’s always true,” Noel said, chuckling evilly.
***
Later that evening, Noel walked down the street, going home after dinner. It was still early, just seven o’clock, and she saw Heidi standing in front of the restaurant that she had taken her to. She was about to cross the street to say hello when Toni appeared. She was dressed a little more formally than normal, wearing a dark blue blouse and khaki slacks. Noel watched as Toni approached Heidi, kissed her on the lips, and they started to walk into the restaurant. Heidi put her arm around Toni’s waist, and anyone who saw the pair would have assumed they were a couple. Noel was one of those people, even though she knew they weren’t a traditional couple. But she was certain, certain that they were sleeping together. There was a physical familiarity they showed that couldn’t have meant anything else. Noel felt a sense of jealous outrage flash through her body, even though she knew she had no valid reason to feel that way.
Susan X. Meagher - The Legacy Page 12
