Lincoln scowled and began tapping a finger on the end table. “Is that a fact?”
“He’s like her own personal bodyguard,” Donny Joe continued. “At the diner this morning, they said he scooped you up just like that Officer and a Gentleman movie and whisked you off to the hospital. I thought Nelda Potts and Bonnie May Thornton were gonna faint dead away, they thought it was so romantic. You should have heard them squealing and carrying on.”
“Romantic?” Marla Jean tried to brush it off. “That’s plain silly.” She could see all this talk about Jake wasn’t sitting right with Lincoln, and Harry didn’t look any too pleased at Donny Joe’s story, either. “He was nice enough to give me a ride to the hospital. That’s all.”
Donny Joe turned to Harry. “Wasn’t she on a date with you, Harry? If it had been me, I sure as hell wouldn’t let another man make off with my woman.”
“I’m nobody’s woman, and Harry was celebrating a big victory with his team. He offered to take me, but I didn’t want to ruin the night for him or the kids.”
Harry scooted his chair even closer to Marla Jean until he was practically sitting in her lap. “Donny Joe’s right. I should have taken you. I felt bad about it all night long.”
“Well, you shouldn’t.” She looked at her big brother and said pointedly, “I was in good hands.”
Lincoln made growling noises, and Dinah jumped up from her chair. “Heavens! Look at the time. We should all get out of here, and let Marla Jean get some rest. It’s been a long day, and I know I’m tired.”
Even though Marla Jean had been resting all day, she was tired, too. Watching Harry and Donny Joe try to outdo each other had worn her out.
Donny Joe squatted down beside her and used his bedroom voice. “Night, Marla Jean. And if you need anything at all just call, sugar.”
“Thanks for all your help, Donny Joe. I’ll make it up to you when I’m back on my feet.”
His eyes glinted before he leaned over and whispered, “I can think of ways you can repay me that don’t require standing up.”
She laughed and gave him a small push. “Good night, Donny Joe.”
Harry stood by impatiently waiting for Donny Joe to clear out so he could say his good-byes. “I know you’ll be busy with your parents at home, but I’d like to stop by if that’s okay.”
“I would like that, Harry. And don’t forget, I still owe you a home-cooked dinner.”
“I’ll hold you to it, but there’s no rush. Just worry about getting better first.” He looked at the floor and then looked at her. With a quick glance at the others in the room, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
Marla smiled at him sweetly. “Good night, Harry, and thanks again.”
Pleased by his bravado, he smiled, too. “Good night, Marla Jean.”
Lincoln herded everyone to the front door, then stopped and asked, “Are you going to be all right by yourself, sis?”
“I’ll be fine. Thanks to you, I’ve got my crutches to get around, remember?”
Dinah dragged her husband to the front door. “Come on, Lincoln. We’re only five minutes away if she needs us.”
“Okay, we’ll talk to you in the morning.”
“Thanks again, everybody.” She watched them file out, leaving her alone on the couch.
Jake pulled into his mother’s driveway. All the way to her house he listened to her bask in the pre-wedding glow of Libby’s upcoming marriage.
“You think she’s making a mistake, don’t you?” his mother finally asked as she reached for the car door handle.
“I don’t know, but you certainly did a one-eighty on this issue.” Jake turned off the engine.
“He seems to really love her, Jake. Watch his face when she walks in the room. He lights up.”
“That didn’t keep you from being convinced he’d used her for a punching bag.” His mother’s logic was making his head swim.
“I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I’m sorry, but while we’re on the subject, are you going to tell me how you got your black eye, mister?”
“Let’s just say a lot of people were walking into doors last night.”
“Okay, I learned my lesson. It’s none of my business.” She put a hand on his arm to stop him when he started to get out of the car. “You don’t need to walk me to the door. Just wait until I get inside. Good night, sweetie.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“Good night, Ma.” He watched until she was inside and backed out of the driveway, heading for his parents’ old house. The lights were all on at Marla Jean’s when he drove by and assorted cars lined the street. He recognized Lincoln’s Toyota and Donny Joe’s truck. He pulled into his driveway and shut off the headlights just as Lincoln, Dinah, Donny Joe, and Harry piled out onto the front porch. They shouted good-byes to each other, got in their cars, and drove away.
From the looks of it, there had been a party, and he hadn’t been invited. He sat there wondering how long it would take Linc to cool down. He also wondered if now would be a good time to go talk to Marla Jean about the night before. For the first time in his life he wasn’t sure of what he should say. Morning-after awkwardness had never been something he suffered from.
The women he slept with knew the score. There were no professions of love or promises to be broken. But where women were concerned, Marla Jean didn’t fit into any normal category. She scared him, made him question the rules of the game, and that was a new feeling for him. He needed time to sort things out.
Besides, if she asked him any questions about the dinner at Bradley’s he wouldn’t want to lie, but he didn’t want to be the one to tell her about Bradley and Aunt Libby’s wedding news, either. She should probably hear that big announcement from someone else.
He got out of the car and trudged up his front steps. One thing was almost certain. If Lincoln hadn’t walked in when he did, he would have made love to Marla Jean last night. And wouldn’t that have complicated matters. He supposed he should consider it a narrow escape. He ignored the voice in his head that wondered if he’d missed a life-altering opportunity instead.
Right now he just wanted to take a shower and hit the sack. He’d started scraping the paint off the back of the house that morning, and if he worked all weekend, he could get most of the job done. But that meant an early start the next day.
“Hey, Jake.” He’d just stepped onto the porch when a voice floated to him out of the dark.
He jumped out of his skin and turned toward the voice. Barely illuminated by the street light, he saw his half brother Theo sitting on the wooden porch glider. “Son of a bitch, Theo, you scared the bejesus out of me.”
Theo laughed and got up, walking over to meet him. “It’s good to see you, too, big brother.”
“Aw hell, I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting anyone to be waiting for me in the dark. Get over here.”
It shouldn’t have come as a total shock to find his half brother waiting for him on the porch. In the last letter he’d gotten, he’d mentioned coming to visit, but in the last few years he’d threatened to visit before and never gotten around to it.
His relationship with Theo had been nonexistent until after their father’s death, and then Jake’s sense of responsibility kicked in, making him take the young man under his wing. Theo had been in the Navy up until a few months ago, but his mother lived in Derbyville, and Jake knew he’d be back to see her eventually.
Theo wrapped Jake up in a bear hug. “I thought I’d see if that job offer was still open.”
Jake put his hands on his hips. “I could use the help, but it involves long hours and not much pay. When did you get here?”
“I got back about a week ago. I spent some time with my mom.”
“And how is she?”
“She’s doing okay. Working on husband number three these days. How’s your mother doing?”
“She’s great. I moved her to a condo on the lake.”
“I want to see her while I’m here.” Over time
Theo and Jake’s mother had formed an odd alliance after their father died.
“She’d like that. But in the meantime I could use your help. It’s high time I sold this place, but it needs a lot of work.”
Theo looked at the house and said, “Just tell me what to do.”
“Don’t worry, I will, but not tonight. We’ve got some catching up to do. Do you want a beer?”
Theo grinned and followed him inside. “I thought you’d never ask. Jake, there is one more thing.”
“What’s that?” Jake looked back at his brother. He wasn’t smiling any longer.
“This time, before I leave, you’re going to tell me the truth about what happened between you and Dad even if I have to beat it out of you.”
Chapter Fifteen
S-E-X. Sex. She doodled the word on the sketch pad in her lap and embellished it with curlicues, flowers, and trailing vines. That’s what she wanted. To be more specific, she wanted to have sex with Jake.
Her father’s recliner creaked as he shifted and grunted something in his sleep. She scratched out the word until it was nothing more than a great black blob on the page.
“We’re having tuna sandwiches for lunch. Is that all right with you?” Marla Jean jumped guiltily when Bitsy bustled into the room wiping her hands on a dish towel.
She closed the sketch pad and put it on the coffee table. “Tuna sounds great, Mom. Can you put those big, chopped-up dill pickles in it?”
“I’m making it like I always do, Marla Jean, with big, chopped-up dill pickles in it. Milton, wake up. Lunch will be ready in fifteen minutes.”
Her father blinked, snorted, and then grumbled something unintelligible before falling back asleep. Her mother made a tsking sound and disappeared back into the kitchen.
Thinking about having sex with Jake wasn’t something she was comfortable doing while her mother chopped pickles in the kitchen and her father snored in his old recliner. But some things couldn’t be helped.
Since that night with Jake, she’d felt restless and off balance. Shaky, like jumping beans lived underneath her skin. Her whole body was infused with a quivering need that wouldn’t go away. Her body knew what it wanted. It wanted Jake.
But there was another reason she wanted to see Jake. In fact, as the long days of the week dragged on, it became the most pressing reason. She wanted to buy a house, a house she could call her own.
She knew she was welcome to stay here for as long as she needed to, but since her parents’ return, they’d all fallen into their old patterns, like old dogs who’d forgotten their new tricks. Dad went to the barber shop in the morning, came home for lunch, took a nap in his recliner, then went back to the shop in the afternoon. Her mom cleaned house, cooked, and shopped. And she spent hours in marathon yak sessions with all of her old friends.
And Marla Jean? She stayed off her foot like a good girl, did the books for the barber shop, read, sketched, and slept. When she was awake her mother waited on her hand and foot. In just the short time they’d been home, she felt displaced and in the way. Not because of anything they said or did. Heavens no, but even before they’d come home, the ghosts of parental dictates past echoed in her brain. After she’d moved back home to their house, she couldn’t put a dirty spoon on the counter without hearing her mother’s scolding voice.
Sometimes she wondered if they might be home to stay. Her father was getting such a kick out of visiting with all of his old customers. Men who hadn’t been inside the shop in years were showing up to visit with good old Milton. The place was swarming with business. Hoot and Dooley pretended in their daily reports to her that they could hardly concentrate on the Parcheesi game with everyone yammering all day long, but it was plain to see that they loved having Milton back, too.
The house had been constantly full of company. Besides her folks’ old friends dropping by for visits, Lincoln and Dinah ate dinner with them almost every night, happy to have some unexpected time to spend with the folks. Harry had dropped by a few times, always bringing her flowers or magazines. Donny Joe dropped by, too, and she found his unflagging attention outright surprising.
Having Harry or Donny Joe come by felt a bit unnerving, though, like she was back in high school, trying to entertain a boy on the living room sofa while her parents hovered nearby in their bedroom listening for anything untoward. Not that doing anything untoward with Harry or Donny Joe was on her list. And more than likely, her parents were sacked out and sawing logs—Bitsy with her eye mask and Milton with his white noise machine. But still, it felt awkward.
Every night she went to sleep in her old bedroom on a daybed covered in pink ruffles. She felt like a little kid again. She was finally beginning to get used to not being Bradley’s wife anymore, not living in her own house. If she wanted to go forward and stand on her own two feet, something had to change, because it felt like she was moving in the wrong direction.
“Lunch is ready, you two. Milton, wake up. Do you want a tray on the couch, Marla Jean?”
Marla Jean grabbed her crutches. “No thanks, Mom, I’ll sit at the table with y’all.”
Milton rubbed his hands over his face and pushed down the foot rest of his recliner. “It’s about time, woman. I’m so hungry my belly button is saying howdy-doo to my backbone.” He patted his ample stomach and winked at Marla Jean.
She followed her father into the kitchen, hoping her mother had taken the crust off her bread and cut it into little triangles the way she liked it.
Jake spent Wednesday holed up at his office in downtown Everson catching up on paperwork. If it was up to him he’d spend every day with a hammer in his hand, knocking down a wall or putting one back up, but today he’d left Theo working on the old house by himself, making excuses about how he’d been neglecting the money making part of his business. In all honesty, it had been a flimsy attempt to avoid any in-depth conversation with his brother about their father. There wasn’t much doubt Theo was old enough to hear the truth, but Jake wasn’t at all certain he was ready to tell it. He tried refocusing on the bid in front of him when the door blew open and Lincoln stormed inside.
Jake watched the emotions roll across his friend’s face. Lincoln’s expression changed from mad to lost, from hurt to confused, all in a matter of seconds—all emotions completely out of character for Lincoln Jones. He was normally the easiest going guy on the planet. Jake almost felt sorry for him.
“Hey Lincoln, I expected you sooner.” Every day since last Friday night, he figured Linc would show up wanting to tear a strip from his hide.
Linc threw himself into the chair in front of Jake’s desk. “I don’t even know what to say to you.”
Jake put down his pencil. “Maybe because it’s none of your business when you get right down to it.”
Linc crossed his legs, propping a foot up on the opposite knee. “That’s what Dinah said.”
“She’s a smart woman. Maybe you should listen to her.”
Lincoln brushed aside the advice like crumbs from a table. “So, are you going to explain what was going on?”
“You know what was going on, and it didn’t involve anyone but me and Marla Jean.”
Lincoln set back, fuming. “Damn it, Jake, I trusted you. You crossed the line.”
“What line is that? Marla Jean’s not some naïve kid. She’s a grown woman. For Christ’s sake, she’s been married and divorced.”
“Exactly, divorced and ripe for some sleazy guy to take advantage. You said you’d keep an eye on her while I was out of town.”
“I watched her while you were out of town. What else do you want? Let me tell you, I took my life in my hands when I pulled her out of Donny Joe’s truck. But you’re back now, so the way I figure it, I’m off duty.” He grinned just to see his friend’s jaw clinch.
“I’m glad to see you find this so funny, and it’s easy for you to laugh. She’s not your sister.”
“Exactly, Lincoln. She’s not my sister.”
“So, you’re not even going to
say you’re sorry?”
“If Marla Jean requires an apology, I’ll be glad to give her one. But I’m not going to apologize to you.”
“Unbelievable. I know how you are with women, and I’m not going to stand by while you dillydally with my little sister. She’s still too mixed up to know what she wants.”
“She’s been split from Bradley for a year. Let her go, Lincoln. She’s got to find her own way to whatever’s next.”
“Not with you she doesn’t.”
“I agree.”
Linc looked suspicious. “You do?”
“Look, I think you need to back off and give her some space. She’s might make some mistakes before it’s all over, but it won’t be with me. You have my word on that.”
“Aren’t you the noble one?” Lincoln said sarcastically.
“I’m not being noble. Marla Jean says she’s not looking for anything serious right now. She wants to have fun, kick up her heels a little.”
“Sounds right up your alley, Jake.”
“Ordinarily that would be true. But you and your family are important to me, and I’m not a complete bastard. Marla Jean says that’s what she wants right now, but we both know sooner or later she’s going to start wanting love and marriage and all that baby carriage crap. She deserves a nice guy who can give it to her.”
“And that’s not you,” Lincoln stated firmly.
“And that’s not me.” Jake stood up and wandered over to stare out the window that looked out onto Main Street. “As you pointed out, my record with women speaks for itself.” He exhaled loudly, then turned back to face Lincoln. “Have you heard the big news?”
“Over at the Rise-N-Shine Cal Crimmins’ fifty-pound pumpkin is the main topic of conversation.”
“This is bigger than Cal’s pumpkin. Bradley asked my Aunt Libby to marry him, and she said yes. Last I heard they were aiming for a Christmas wedding.”
“No shit. I wonder if Marla Jean’s heard yet.”
“I just wonder if she’ll consider it good news or bad news. Do you think she still loves him, Linc?”
Ain't Misbehaving (9781455523801) Page 13
