by Toni Blake
Mike drew in his breath. He remembered when the eight by ten of Judy had disappeared off the chief’s desk one day last year—but he hadn’t given it much thought. He hadn’t even realized until now that it was around the same time Walter had started seeing Anita Garey. And Anna had been gone even longer than Judy.
But in Mike’s mind, there was a big difference. Walter knew exactly where Judy was. And he’d gotten to say goodbye to her. With Anna…it was all question marks. Everybody in Destiny assumed she was dead, and Mike had been a cop long enough to know anything else was highly unlikely—but until he got a real answer, closure, someday maybe…hell, he couldn’t say goodbye. He just couldn’t.
Finally, he said, “I appreciate your concern, Walter. And I’ll try to take your advice to heart.”
“Seems hard, I know,” Walter said. “Puttin’ the pictures away.” Pictures, he’d said—plural. It was almost as if he knew Mike had pictures of Anna all over his house, too, despite never having been inside it. “But once you let go, son, it starts gettin’ easier.”
On Tuesday, a few days after the Romo family party, Rachel sat at Dolly’s Café on Main waiting to meet her old group of high school friends for lunch. She’d come early and brought her laptop—after finding out from Amy that, amazingly, Dolly’s had WiFi! Destiny was changing, and she looked up from her screen from time to time to find herself surprised by the busy lunch crowd and the midday traffic on the streets that circled the town square. An elderly waitress named Mabel had even managed to seat her at one of a few umbrella-covered tables out on the front walk.
Rachel had barely used the laptop—only once at the Destiny library; she’d brought it home forgetting she couldn’t access the Internet from Edna’s house. Thank God for her Blackberry, which at least allowed her keep up with e-mail—whenever Edna wasn’t hiding it from her.
Although she’d discovered, to her surprise, that since getting the Natural Girl account nothing much at Conrad/ Phelps had really required her direct attention. But she still wanted to keep an eye on things and she had occasionally chimed in where she’d felt her insights were warranted. And she’d shown up at the café early today with the idea of doing some work.
Opening her e-mail program, she found a message from Chase and quickly double-clicked on it.
Not sure if you’re checking e-mail, Rachel—but Stan Harriman from K&K called. As you know, he planned to take their business elsewhere, but has found he isn’t as impressed by the larger agencies as he expected to be. He’s considering coming back, so I’ve put your team to work on some new campaigns. A call from you to let him know we’re committed to serving them might be a good idea. In other news, we miss you around here. The office is too quiet.
Oh God—K&K! The makers of everything from baby wipes to laundry detergent were up for grabs again? This was big. Really big. She hit REPLY.
Great news about Stan. I’ll call him this afternoon and work my magic—if I still have magic left to work.
Rachel bit her lip, thinking. About flirting with Chase. It seemed like a good time for that. Since she’d decided, very firmly, that Mike Romo meant nothing to her. Other than great sex, of course—because it would just be silly to deny that part.
But quit thinking about Mike. Flirt with Chase. She started typing.
I miss you guys, too. Mostly you—and your muffins.
Rachel was notorious—back in Chicago anyway—for never eating breakfast, so Chase frequently brought her muffins, surprising her with different flavors. Satisfied, she hit SEND.
A moment later, an IM window appeared—along with a real-time message.
CALEXANDER: Oh, don’t worry, you’ve still got plenty of magic. How’s the apple business?
Rachel sighed. The apple business was actually pretty good. But she didn’t really want to discuss it with her boss. Her other boss besides Edna, that is. Still, she decided to be honest.
RFARRIS: The apple business is…tiring. But not a bad way to spend pretty fall days. Anything else going on there I need to know about? Like…do I still have a job?
CALEXANDER: I’m working on that, singing your praises constantly. No decision yet, but I’m doing what I can for you. You’re going to owe me.
Rachel pursed her lips, pleased that Chase was still flirting with her, even from afar. It reminded her there was more to life than Mike Romo. But quit thinking about him already!
RFARRIS: What will I owe you exactly?
CALEXANDER: Dinner at the very least. Maybe even a good bottle of wine.
RFARRIS: That can be arranged. Whether or not I keep the job.
CALEXANDER: Hey now, no negative thoughts allowed. But…when are you coming home?
Oh crap. She bit her lip.
RFARRIS: Unfortunately, my grandmother still needs my help and I don’t feel I can leave her. Can you keep singing my praises a little longer?
CALEXANDER: I’ll keep hitting those high notes as long as I can. But get K&K back and it’ll make my performance easier.
RFARRIS: Understood. And Chase, thanks. I appreciate your support.
Just then, Sue Ann arrived. “Hey,” she said with her typical upbeat smile.
“Fab dress,” Rachel said, taking in Sue Ann’s cream-colored frock with tiny gold and rust leaves embroidered at the neckline and hem. Then she typed.
RFARRIS: Chase, sorry, I have to run—am meeting friends for lunch and they just showed up.
CALEXANDER: Have fun—and let me know what happens with our man, Stan. And hey, Rach, it was nice chatting with you, even if not in person.
She sighed happily. Take that, Mike Romo. Not that she was thinking about him or anything.
RFARRIS: You, too. And I’ll be expecting a whole BASKET of exotic muffins upon my return.
Just as Rachel powered down and closed her laptop, Amy and Tessa showed up, Jenny arriving directly behind them.
“This is so great,” Amy said, smiling brightly as they settled around the table. “All of us together again! Who’d have believed it could happen?”
Who indeed, Rachel nearly quipped but held her tongue. Frankly, her discussion with Chase had her feeling a little indignant again about being back in Destiny. Her life was in Chicago, and the online chat had been a good reminder. However, that didn’t mean she shouldn’t enjoy this time with her girlfriends.
“So what did everyone do over the weekend?” Amy asked after they’d given Mabel their drink orders and gotten menus.
Jenny, looking vibrant in a teal sweater set and coordinating skirt, merrily replied. “Well, Mick finally finished my balcony.”
“Your balcony?” Rachel asked, and Jenny explained that her handy bad boy of a husband had built a balcony onto their bedroom, facing Blue Valley Lake.
“For stargazing.”
Ah, Rachel remembered Jenny being into astronomy back in high school—apparently it had become a lifelong love.
“And they christened it when it was done,” Sue Ann chimed in.
Amy smiled across the table at Jenny. “Oh, so you finally got to check out the stars from your side of the lake?”
“Yeah. Before, pointing the telescope up through all the trees was a lost cause.”
“But that’s not what I meant by christen,” Sue Ann said. “I meant that she also got to check them out while under Mick on a lounge chair.”
As Jenny’s jaw dropped, she smacked Sue Ann’s arm. “Sue Ann! For God’s sake.”
“Sorry—I just can’t help myself sometimes,” Sue Ann replied, actually looking remorseful. “Your sex life is too fun not to talk about.”
Jenny crossed her arms. “Well, you had a good sex life this weekend, too—shall I spew those details in the middle of the café?”
Rachel just laughed quietly—she’d forgotten how much she loved Jenny and Sue Ann, best friends to the core even when they bickered like sisters.
“Or I can just do it myself,” Sue Ann announced. “Because unlike you, I have no problem talking about sex to my friends.�
� Then she told them that she and Jeff had just had a Grandma weekend, explaining to Rachel that this was when her mom took Sophie for the whole two days. “This time they went to the Bob Evans Farm and Sophie got to pet baby goats. But where was I?”
“Sex,” Tessa reminded her.
And Sue Ann smiled. “Ah, yes. We did it all over the house, and in the bathtub, too. And late Saturday night, we did it in the backyard, in Sophie’s playhouse.”
“That’s gross,” Amy said.
“Sophie wasn’t there at the time,” Sue Ann pointed out, defensive. “It was fun—and it felt kind of…risky, wondering if the neighbors would hear.”
Amy made a face, and everyone else laughed, and Jenny clearly thought it was a good time to change the subject. “What did you do, Tessa? Anything fun?”
“Well, I did not have sex of any kind this weekend—gross, risky, or otherwise, I’m sorry to say. Instead, I went to Amy’s for a Jane Austen movie marathon with her and Mr. Knightley.”
“And we had a perfectly nice time,” Amy added, “even if we don’t have any torrid tales to tell.”
“We did,” Tessa agreed warmly. “I’m glad I have you to hang out with. But sue me if I wish you and I both could find a man.”
Rachel continued to feel depressed on Tessa’s behalf. With Amy, it was different—she seldom dated, yet it didn’t seem to bother her. But Tessa it bothered.
That’s when Amy said to Tessa, “What about Adam Becker? For you.”
Jenny gave her head a speculative tilt. “I could see that.” Jenny and Adam had been a couple in high school, so she should know. “He’s handsome, he has his own business, he’s a nice guy—the whole package.”
“Yeah,” Sue Ann agreed, “Adam is pretty prefect.”
Yet Tessa didn’t look overjoyed. “I know—he’s great. But count me out. I’m just not a big fan of the fix-up.”
And Amy scowled. “Just because it didn’t work out with Logan? I’ve been known to make at least some suggestions that have come to fruition, you know. Cara Collins and Tyler Fleet are going to the homecoming dance together thanks to me. And I also suggested Rachel and Mike would hit it off, and look how that’s going!”
“Yes,” Tessa said, shifting her gaze to Rachel, “how is that going?”
Just as Sue Ann screeched, “Rachel and who? Mike? As in Mike Romo?”
“Whoa,” Jenny said, lowering her chin—as Rachel kicked Sue Ann lightly under the table and said, “Quiet down. I don’t need the whole town to know.”
“Yep, Rachel had the most interesting plans of all this weekend,” Tessa informed the girls. “She went with Mike to Grandma Romo’s birthday party. And I’ve been dying to hear how it went, but Edna keeps her too busy to chat much these days, so she promised to give me the scoop here at lunch.”
Jenny and Sue Ann both appeared stunned. “You and Mike Romo, huh?” Jenny asked, at least keeping her voice appropriately low. “My dad thinks a lot of him—says he’s a good cop. But…he’s so surly.”
When Rachel had promised Tessa the scoop, it had been before she knew Sue Ann and Jenny were coming. And she loved them, she really did—but the situation seemed too complex to go into here, now, with all of them. And Sue Ann did have a big mouth. Talk about tongues wagging. So, to keep things simple, she boiled it all down to the main factor of the relationship. “It’s about sex,” she replied.
“Ah, you want to have it with him,” Sue Ann said matter-of-factly. “That I get.”
“No—she already did,” Amy informed them.
After which Sue Ann and Jenny both sat there with their mouths hanging open, Jenny appearing surprised and maybe a little entertained—while Sue Ann merely looked eager for more dirt. And then, like an angel sent from café heaven, Mabel arrived, her fluffy gray hair appearing bluish in the sunlight, to take their orders. Rachel made a note to leave the old woman a big tip.
Of course, as soon as Mabel departed, Sue Ann started her good-natured prying. But Rachel kept it simple, no details. Yes, he was good in bed—not that she’d ever done it with him there, but she didn’t mention that part. And yes, it really was just a sex thing—there were no pesky emotions involved. She stayed adamant about that, no matter how much Amy tried to beat her down and insist that surely she felt something more for a guy she’d been intimate with multiple times now.
And it was almost the truth, since anything she had felt for him had been…brief and temporary. Temporary insanity, she decided.
She’d never been so thankful in her life to see food show up, and was grateful when the girls turned their conversation to things like the café’s selection of pie, Sue Ann’s next grandma weekend, and Amy’s upcoming book club pick.
Yet as much as Rachel wanted not to be thinking about Mike, it gave her thoughts a chance to wander—back to him. Even if her insane little burst of emotions was over, she still felt bad about his past, and the scars he still carried inside—at least according to Amy. And she wished she could forget how strangely well they’d gotten along on the way home the other day. She still couldn’t believe he’d taken her to see a donkey. And that she’d liked it! Who was she? At moments, she almost didn’t know anymore.
“What are you smiling about?” Amy asked then—and when no one answered, Rachel realized they were all staring at her. And that she hadn’t touched her food.
“Sex with Mike Romo, obviously,” Sue Ann said in a loud whisper.
No, not just the sex. The other stuff, too.
But she didn’t tell them that. Because they’d get the wrong idea, especially Amy. She could have pleasant memories about the guy without it meaning she was all wrapped up in him.
As soon as the checks came, Amy paid hers, announcing she had to get back to the bookstore, so Rachel took the opportunity to leave with her. She would have enjoyed hanging out longer, but explained, “I really need to get back to Edna’s.” And besides, if she hung around, they’d just keep asking her more about Mike.
She walked back to Under the Covers with Amy since the closest parking spot she’d found was just past the store—fortunately not in front of a fire hydrant. After Amy unlocked the door, Rachel stepped inside—she’d agreed to go with the girls to some softball tournament this weekend at Creekside Park and Amy was going to look up the schedule in the Destiny Gazette.
Of course, as soon as she set foot in the store, Shakespeare was rubbing up against her ankles—all gazillion pounds of him. “Annoying cat,” she muttered. But she bent down to scratch behind his ears anyway.
Amy glanced up from turning newspaper pages. “That reminds me, did you ever ask Edna about him?”
“Oh, yeah, I did—I forgot to tell you.”
“And?”
Rachel hesitated, though, because something about the answer bothered her. Maybe she’d sort of forgotten to tell Amy on purpose. “She said she could take him off your hands as a barn cat.”
Amy’s eyes brightened. “Great.”
“But he would live…in the barn. Outdoors. On his own,” Rachel explained.
“Yeah,” Amy said. “So?”
Damn it, Rachel had been sure Amy would see her point without her actually having to make it. “Well, the thing is…what if he’s not used to that? He doesn’t seem…like the outdoorsy type.”
Amy shrugged. “Neither do you, but you’re getting by.”
Rachel just sighed. He was so fat. And pushy. Clearly used to getting what he wanted. And at the same time he struck her as sort of…innocent in a weird way. Defenseless. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea.” She bent down to heft the humongous cat into her arms, plopping him on the counter. Then she looked into his eyes, which she hated to admit were sort of sweet, and grimaced. “You seem too fat to catch mice anyway. One of them might catch you.”
Behind the counter, Amy rolled her eyes and let out a huff. “Great. Now you’re attached to Shakespeare, too. You’re supposed to be the unemotional voice of reason here who helps me get rid of him.”
; “I wouldn’t say I’m attached,” Rachel quickly denied. Although she didn’t feel quite like the same unemotional woman who’d come speeding into town a few weeks ago, either. “It’s just that he’s a big fat blob and I’d worry about him a little. It’s…stressful being forced into new situations you’re not ready for.”
Like working in an apple orchard.
Or hearing about your grandmother’s sex life.
Or…fearing your all-about-sex relationship with a hot cop wasn’t really all about sex, no matter how hard you tried to convince yourself. Ugh.
Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, Too rude, too boist’rous; and it pricks like thorn.
William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet
Eleven
Half an hour later, Rachel had changed into apple-picking clothes and called Stan Harriman. Since Edna was out picking the first freshly ripened Jonathan apples, her parlor made as good an office for Rachel as anyplace.
Stan had seemed happy to hear from her, and they’d had an encouraging conversation—one that restored Rachel’s faith in herself. Not that she’d ever lost it, but…maybe knowing Pamela was considered her equal had started to chip away at her professional self-worth a little. Yet talking with Stan had shown her she still had the magic, just as Chase had promised.
Now, sitting on the same sofa where Mike Romo had stroked her to orgasm, she dialed Chase’s direct office number. Having enjoyed the flirting around the edges of their conversation at lunch had reassured Rachel that…well, maybe she didn’t have it as bad for Romo as she’d started to fear in certain fragile moments. Sure, she’d gotten caught up in thinking about him before lunch—okay, and during lunch—but that didn’t mean anything. And it would be good to hear Chase’s voice—a nice reminder that she had plenty of wonderful things awaiting her back in Chicago.
