Startled, he sat up too. “I can see that. Hey, Sadie, did you wake up?” He scratched the puppy’s head while trying to rein in the desire still thrumming through his blood.
Marla Jean nudged Jake with her elbow. “Thanks for, you know, keeping me distracted during the thunderstorm.”
“Yeah, well—” He started buttoning his shirt.
He must have looked uncomfortable because she jumped in adding, “Look, I’m not going to start showing up on your doorstep for booty calls or anything. No need to blow things out of proportion, okay?”
“You’re right.” He laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I never claimed keeping my hands off you would be easy.”
“If it was too easy, I’d be insulted. So, we’re good?” she asked.
“We’re good.” He stood up, and then reached out a hand to pull her from the floor.
“And I still want to buy this house.”
“And I still want to sell it to you.”
She walked over to a small side window and looked outside. “The rain’s stopped. Let’s get out of here and go buy your puppy some food.”
“Hold on now, Sadie’s your puppy,” he insisted as they headed out the door.
Chapter Twenty-one
Jake woke up with a dog curled up by his head. It took him a minute to remember why he had a dog at all, much less why it was sleeping on his bed. Then he remembered.
Marla Jean and poor abandoned Sadie. When he turned to look at the puppy, she opened her eyes and yawned. She was so small, he figured she’d been the runt of the litter, and someone decided they didn’t want her. He might not be a dog person, but he didn’t understand how anyone could dump a poor defenseless animal in the middle of nowhere and drive away. Heartless bastards.
He picked her up and moved her to the empty pillow next to his. “Hey flea bag, let’s get this straight. You stay on your pillow, and I’ll stay on mine.” She stayed there for maybe two seconds before she stood up and walked back over to him. Walking in circles, she finally settled down, with her tail whacking him in the face. He sat up. It was time to get up, anyway.
Sadie seemed content to sleep, so he left her and headed for the shower. He turned on the hot water full blast and stood under the sharp needle-like spray until he felt at least half human again.
On the way home yesterday he’d left Marla Jean in the car with Sadie while he’d run into the grocery store long enough to grab the basic supplies. Some food for a start. Then he’d grabbed a couple of dog toys for good measure, since he didn’t know the first thing about entertaining a canine. And he couldn’t get over all the paraphernalia lining one whole aisle of the store. It was a good thing this arrangement was only temporary. He wasn’t going to become one of those people who buys jogging outfits for his animal.
When he’d gotten home, Theo had been sprawled on the couch watching bowling on TV. The rain caused him to take off work early, so he’d let himself into the apartment. His face lit up like a kid with a sparkler when he’d spotted the puppy. “I didn’t know you had a dog?”
Jake leaned over to set the puppy on the area rug, before continuing to the kitchen with his bag of supplies. When he walked back into the living room, Theo was on his hands and knees waggling a finger back in forth in front of Sadie, while she growled and prepared to attack. She bounced around before rolling over on her back. Theo scratched her tummy and she was in puppy heaven. Jake sat down in a chair watching them. “I don’t have a dog. Theo, meet Sadie. She belongs to Marla Jean.”
Theo sat up on his haunches. “Marla Jean? What are you doing with Marla Jean’s dog?”
“I’m just helping out until she moves.”
“She’s moving? She didn’t mention that last night.”
Jake shrugged, like what she did or didn’t mention to Theo on their date was of no importance to him. “She’s trying to buy a house.”
“Is that why you ran out of here so early? You were whistling in the kitchen this morning.” The way he said it sounded like an accusation.
“Yeah, we had an appointment to look at the place she’s considering.”
“So, you’re helping her in a professional capacity.”
“And as an old friend capacity.” He wasn’t going to dwell on the way she looked sprawled under him on the dining room floor. He’d lost control, plain and simple. She’d asked what kinds of things scared him. Maybe being alone with her should be at the top of his list.
Theo got off the rug and sat back on the couch. Sadie followed and made a game of attacking his bare toes. “I like her, Jake.”
He assumed he meant Marla Jean and not the dog. “She’s a likeable sort,” Jake agreed.
“So, what’s with you and her, anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“I get a weird vibe, like there’s some kind of tension between the two of you. And hey man, if I’m stepping into your territory, just tell me, and I’ll back off.”
“Don’t worry about it, Theo. We had a disagreement recently, but it’s all behind us now. And Marla Jean is certainly not my territory. She’d probably take a swing at you just for suggesting such a thing.” He’d certainly had trouble remembering what the boundaries were today, but essentially nothing had changed.
He’d steered the conversation in a different direction after that, and they’d spent the afternoon playing with the puppy, discussing the work schedule for the upcoming week and watching TV. Seeing that it was Saturday night and all, Theo had said he was going to run out to Lu Lu’s for a while and tried to convince Jake to come with, but he begged off, saying he wanted to make sure Sadie took to her new environment without too much fuss. He hadn’t asked Theo if he was meeting Marla Jean, not that it mattered one way or the other. After showing Sadie the newspaper he’d put down for bathroom purposes one more time, he’d gone to bed early, only to toss and turn, but determined not to notice what time his younger brother got home.
The next morning he finished his shower and just pulled on jeans and a T-shirt when the doorbell rang. Grabbing a towel to finish drying his hair, he walked out into the living room. Theo’s blankets were folded neatly on the end of the sofa, but he was nowhere to be seen. The doorbell chimed again just as he pulled the door open to find his mother and Aunt Libby standing there smiling.
“Good morning, Jake. Can we come in? Your Aunt Libby has something she wants to talk to you about.”
“Sure, come on in. Would you like coffee?”
They trailed in behind him, shrugging off their jackets and hanging them on the hall tree by the front door. Then they followed him into the kitchen.
“I never turn down a cup of coffee,” his aunt said as she settled at the kitchen table.
His mother was rummaging in his refrigerator. “I’ll take some, but only if you have some milk that’s not a year past its expiration date.” She straightened triumphantly with a carton of half-and-half. “This will do.”
He poured the coffee, then sat down across from them. “What’s this all about, ladies?”
Aunt Libby tittered nervously, “Well, Jake, it’s about my wedding. We’ve decided we don’t want to wait until Christmas.”
“Okay.” Jake waited, wondering how he could help.
“We’ve decided on the Saturday after Thanksgiving instead.”
Jake’s mom piped in. “They are going with a harvest-time theme. Isn’t that lovely?”
“Great. I’ll mark it on my calendar.”
“Good, good, but there is something I wanted to ask you to do, as a favor to me.” She fiddled with the handle of her cup and her voice sounded tentative.
“Sure, Aunt Libby, just name it.” Maybe they were going to tell him that they’d have to skip the turkey dinner on Thursday with all the wedding preparations. Or maybe they wanted him to cook, instead. He could do that. He’d had a hankering to try deep frying a turkey for a while now, and this would be the perfect opportunity. He’d have to get one of those big buckets of peanut
oil.
Aunt Libby got all serious, and he could swear she had tears welling up in her eyes. “Well, Jake, since you are in effect the man of the family, I was wondering if you might agree to give me away.”
“Give you away?”
“Yes, walk me down the aisle.”
“Oh.” He shouldn’t have been surprised. There really wasn’t anyone else. He just assumed there wouldn’t be any pomp and falderal, not at her age, and not with it being Bradley’s second marriage and all. Evidently, he was wrong. She wanted him to give her away, give her away to Bradley, as if he approved, as if he gave their creepy sordid union his blessing.
His mother was making bulging, wide-eyed, young-man-don’t-you-dare-embarrass-me-or-disappoint-your-aunt looks and kicking him under the table at the same time. He scooted his chair back out of the range of her pointy-toed shoes and gave her a bulgy-eyed look of his own. It wasn’t as if he could kick her back. Mothers didn’t fight fair.
Reaching across the table he took his aunt’s hand. “Aunt Libby, I’d be honored to walk you down the aisle.” What else could he say?
One of those tears slid down her cheek, and she rummaged in her purse for a hanky. “Thank you, Jake. I just know the day is going to be perfect now. Your mother will be my matron of honor, and I’ll walk down the aisle on your arm to the man I love. I can’t tell you what this means to me.”
“What kind of tuxedo do you want him to wear?” Ellie asked in that gushy way she took on when she talked about the wedding. “They come in all colors these days.”
“Oh land’s sakes, Ellie, I’ve hardly had time to give it any thought. Bradley is wearing one of those cutaway coats with the long tails and the top hat. I guess that’s what Jake needs to wear, too. Do they even come in anything but black?
Ellie looked thoughtful. “A soft tan would blend with the fall colors.”
He tried to block out their gabbing. It was giving him a headache, and now it sounded like he’d have to wear a monkey suit on top of everything else. Bradley could stand in front of God and everyone in Everson wearing a goofy top hat if he wanted, but that didn’t mean he intended to join him. Just let them try to make him.
His mother leaned across the table, waving a hand in front of his face. “Jake, yoo-hoo, Jake, what do you think?”
“Hell if I know. But I guess this means you don’t want me to deep fry a turkey?”
Both women looked at him like he’d lost his mind. The sound of yapping turned their attention to the kitchen door. Sadie stood in the doorframe, barking as if to tell Jake she hadn’t liked waking up and finding herself alone one little bit. After she finished complaining, she made a beeline for him and tried to jump up his leg.
“Well now, who do we have here?” Libby asked.
Jake picked up the dog and settled her on his chest. “Ma, Aunt Libby, this is Sadie.”
His mother looked elated and held out her arms. “Abel Jacobson, are you telling me I finally have a grand puppy? Let me see that baby this instant.”
Jake handed her the dog, wondering why women had to be so danged silly. “No, you don’t have a grand puppy. She belongs to Marla Jean.” He glanced at his aunt, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, but Marla Jean was his friend and he wasn’t going to tiptoe around it for anybody. Not even his aunt.
“Marla Jean,” his mother repeated the name as if it held great significance. “Really? And what then might I ask is her dog doing here?”
With a straight face he said, “I decided to have a dog slumber party last night. Lassie, Snoopy, and Rin Tin Tin all left just before you got here.”
Libby laughed, but his mother stopped cuddling the puppy long enough to scold him. “Nobody likes a smart aleck, young man.”
He charmed her with a grin, and then explained, “I’m just keeping her temporarily. It’s no big deal.”
His mother started cooing like a pigeon. “This baby’s starving, yes she is. Where’s her food, Jake?”
He pointed in the direction of the pantry, but she didn’t pay him any mind. “You need grandma to take care of you, don’t you, sweetie pie?” Standing up, she carried the puppy to her food bowl, put her down, and started rummaging again, this time in the cabinets. Sadie was yipping and bouncing around her feet like she was promising a lifetime supply of doggie biscuits.
Libby leaned across the table and asked in a low voice, “How is Marla Jean doing, Jake?”
He frowned. He didn’t want to discuss this with his aunt. He would support her any way he could, but he wasn’t going to appease her guilt about breaking up a marriage. “She’s getting on with things.”
“I heard she broke her foot.”
“Actually it was her toes.” He wanted to add no thanks to Bradley, but he kept his big mouth shut.
“And I heard her folks are home for a visit.”
“Yes, they came home to help her until she’s back on her feet, so to speak.”
“Jake, I know she’s your friend, and I realize by asking you to give me away, I’m putting you in a bad position. I don’t want to make you feel like you’re choosing sides.”
“There are no sides, Aunt Libby. It is what it is. Bradley and Marla Jean are divorced. Life goes on.”
She was quiet for a moment. Ellie was still fussing with the dog. “Bradley and I love each other, but I’m not proud of the way we handled things. Sometimes I think I’ll explode from sheer guilt.”
Jake sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you. I just know that Marla Jean is moving on. She’s dating, looking to buy a house, getting on with things. As you can see, she’s even got a dog. And if you didn’t feel guilty, you wouldn’t be the woman who helped raise me. I still love you, Aunt Libby. Don’t ever doubt that.”
She jumped up from the table and grabbed him in a hug so fast her chair nearly tipped over. “Thank you, Jake. You and Ellie mean the world to me. I don’t want to ever lose you.”
He patted her on the back. “You won’t lose us, Libby. Speaking of houses, what do you plan to do with your house? Ma said you’d mentioned selling it.”
“I thought about it, but now I think we’ll keep it, maybe rent it out. I know your mother wants me to hang on to it so when Bradley dumps me, I’ll have some security.”
“Is that what she said?”
“Not exactly, but that’s what she meant.”
“Why are you two talking about me like I’m not in the room?” Ellie asked. “Speaking from experience, a woman is smart if she has something to fall back on when life doesn’t turn out the way she plans.”
“Well, the house on Crawford is safe for now. I hope that makes you happy, Ellie.”
“It does. Uh oh. Jake, your dog just had an accident.”
He turned and looked at the puddle on the floor. Scooping Sadie up, he walked out to the utility room and gently set her on the newspapers. “Good doggie, that’s a good girl.”
Then he walked back into the kitchen, grabbed some paper towels and a spray bottle of cleaner and mopped up the small wet spot on the floor. “I told you, Ma. She’s not my dog.”
“Why don’t you just plunge a knife through my heart while you’re at it? At this rate, I’m never going to be a grandma. Come on, Libby. Let’s go shopping. The only thing that will make me feel better now is lunch at the tea room and a new dress.”
Chapter Twenty-two
I know Dad always leaves your sideburns a little longer, Mr. Taylor. If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.” It felt great to be back at work, but in the short time her father had been home, he’d managed to roll back the cause of fashionable haircuts by at least forty years. If Ben Taylor had his way he’d be sporting mutton chops that ran the length of his face. On a young person they might be edgy or make a statement. On an old man like Ben Taylor, they made him look like he might be fixing to go out and found a country or establish a new religion. Next thing she knew everyone would come in demanding crew cuts and ducktails again.
At the moment Milton was s
itting up front with Hoot and Dooley. They were in an important discussion, critiquing the new flooring she’d installed while he’d been away. “I can’t believe Marla Jean put down a tile floor. Ceramic wouldn’t have been my choice, but it looks good.”
Hoot cackled. “It’s not ceramic, Milt. It’s linoleum.”
“Linoleum?” He took off his glasses and leaned over to look closer. “That’s linoleum?”
“Sure is,” Dooley said. “It’s got the grooves for the grout, just like tile and everything.”
Mr. Taylor swiveled around, almost getting stuck in the ear by her scissors in the process. “Yeah, but it’s got give to it, not so hard on your knee joints when you have to stand all day. Ain’t that right, Marla Jean?”
“That’s right, Mr. Taylor. Now be still unless you want to lose an ear. Come here, Dad, and tell us if I left his sideburns long enough.”
Her dad walked over to the barber chair, but he was looking down at the floor the entire time. “If that don’t beat all. Linoleum. I’ve been back how long, and all this time I thought it was tile.” He walked around and gave Mr. Taylor a quick inspection. “Where’d you learn how to cut hair, girl?”
“Some old cowboy taught me.”
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