The Christmas Clock and A Song For My Mother: A Kat Martin Duo

by Kat Martin

  She had managed to avoid him Saturday night but on Sunday, Winnie had insisted it was her turn for the barbecue, so Ham and Reed had come over for supper.

  After that, Marly had weakened and gone out with him again on Tuesday. By the end of the evening, the attraction between them had grown even stronger.

  “I need to kiss you, Marly,” Reed had said as he walked her up onto the porch. “I can't wait any longer.”

  And then he turned her into his arms and claimed her mouth and his lips were soft and yet somehow insistent and a delicious warmth poured through her. Marly found herself kissing him back, her arms going around his neck. Reed had ended the kiss before she was ready and she found herself smiling at that.

  On Wednesday, they had parked at the lake and talked until late. And though she'd considered going farther than just harmless kissing, she wasn't ready for more and she didn't think Reed was, either.

  She had never been seriously involved with a man. Burly certainly didn't count. She had slept with him because she owed him for marrying her. She was his wife and a man had needs, something she had understood even when she had run off with him at sixteen.

  But she had never enjoyed sex with Burly. Tolerated it, yes, but never looked forward to his nightly groping. Being a hopeful sort, she had tried again with the schoolteacher but that was a bust. She had told herself she just wasn't a particularly passionate woman but now that she'd spent time with Reed, she was beginning to wonder if maybe she was wrong. Just being in his company stirred wildly different emotions inside her.

  She was intrigued at the thought of making love with him. More than intrigued.

  She was attracted to Reed Bennett. For the first time in her life, she understood what it was like to feel desire for a man. When he kissed her goodnight, she didn't want the kiss to end. When he held her hand, little tingles ran up her arm. When he laughed, she wanted to laugh with him. When he shared his thoughts and dreams, she found herself wanting to share her own, discovering in the process a few she hadn't realized she had.

  Like helping Katie get through high school. Like sitting in the audience when her daughter graduated from college.

  And deep down, she wanted more children. Watching Ham and Katie together had made her see that. And Reed had mentioned it. He'd said that he and Carol had tried to have more kids but physically she wasn't able.

  Marly was wildly attracted to him. Unfortunately, so was every woman in Dreyerville—or at least so it seemed. Wherever they went, women came up to the handsome sheriff on one pretext or another, and though he was always polite and seemed to take their interest in stride, she knew from experience how easy it was for a man to succumb to temptation.

  She could very easily fall in love with Reed and that would be a dangerous thing to do. She had seen what had happened to her mother, so blinded by love that she had let her husband destroy their family, let him grind his wife into the dirt at his feet. Marly thought of her own ill-fated marriage to Burly, who couldn't be faithful even if he had tried—which he never did.

  She was never in love with Burly. If she fell in love with Reed, if she let down her guard and allowed herself to love him, count on him, depend on him to stand by her, she could be very badly hurt.

  And the hurt would be passed on to her daughter.

  She couldn't afford to let that happen. Unlike her mother, Marly would do anything to protect her child.

  Feeling restless and moody, on Friday morning, she left Katie in the kitchen baking cookies with Winnie and drove out to the little mall at the edge of the city limits on the county road. It was almost ten, almost time for the mall to open.

  There wasn't much to it, she recalled from her teenage years. A Sears department store, a Payless shoe store, a sporting goods store, and some women’s dress shops. There was a Baskin-Robbins ice cream counter and an Orange Julius stand. She remembered a booth that sold giant pretzels slathered in cheddar cheese.

  At least wandering around the mall would give her something to do besides sit in the library poring over a bunch of schoolbooks. If she didn't already know enough to teach fourth-grade kids, she was in trouble before she even started.

  She parked the car in the lot, shoved through the mall doors, and walked inside. Memories assailed her. The last time she had been there, she had been a junior in high school. Her mother had taken her to the sporting goods store to look for a pair of athletic shoes to wear when she played tennis. But with her problems at home, she had quit the team early in the year and the shoes had never gotten much wear.

  She spotted the store. Harvey's Sports, the sign read. She thought it was called something else twelve years ago but she couldn't remember the name.

  She ambled along inside the mall among the shoppers, just wandering, with no particular destination in mind. She didn't need anything and she didn't really have any extra money to spend if she did. Still, it might be nice to buy Katie something.

  There was no longer a Baskin-Robbins, she was disappointed to discover. Probably moved to a different location. Then the smell of hot pretzels reached her and she inhaled deeply, remembering the times she had come shopping with her mom and they had shared the treat. Apparently, the pretzel stand was still in business. She wandered in that direction, suddenly hungry.

  “May I help you?” A skinny teenage girl with dark blond hair and crooked teeth spoke to her from behind the counter.

  “Yes, thank you. I'd like a pretzel with cheddar, please.” The girl set to the task and, a few minutes later, handed Marly a pretzel with chunks of rock salt and rich orange cheese spread over it, nestled in a wax paper cone.

  Marly thanked the girl, paid her, and took a bite, feeling the tangy rush of pleasure against her tongue.

  “Marly?” The female voice was high and a little grating. “Marly Maddox, is that you?”

  She didn't recognize the speaker, not right away, but when she turned, she saw Amy Singleton, one of the Dreyerville cheerleaders, still blond and petite and wearing expensive clothes.

  “Amy Singleton. It's nice to see you.”

  “I'm Amy Richter now. Dan and I got married. You remember Dan? He was the Panthers' varsity quarterback when we were juniors.”

  She remembered Dan. All the girls had had crushes on him and he managed to get most of them into bed. Of course, he would marry Amy, the prettiest girl in school.

  “Actually, I saw you the other day at Barney's,” Amy said. “But I wasn't sure it was you. You were with Sheriff Bennett.”

  “That's right.”

  Amy gave her the same catty smile Marly remembered from high school. “I was kind of surprised to see him there with you. He's been seeing Emily Carter, you know. She was married to one of his deputies but Randy was killed. She's had a crush on Reed since high school, and now that her husband is dead, everyone's been speculating that Reed and Emily will get married—after a decent amount of time has passed, of course.”

  The delicious pretzel suddenly felt sour in her stomach. “Is that right?”

  “Oh, yes. But that would probably be months away. In the meantime, it’s only natural he would want to entertain himself.”

  Marly plastered a smile on her face. Entertain himself. Like Burly had entertained himself with the woman she had found in their bed.

  “He lives next door to my mother,” she said. “We’re just friends.”

  “I see.”

  But Marly could tell by the knowing look on Amy’s face that the gossip about her and Reed would soon be all over town. And everyone would believe that the wild girl who had run off with bad boy Burly Hanson was just fulfilling the sheriff’s needs until a proper mourning period had passed and he could marry Emily Carter.

  Marly clamped down on a shot of anger. Reed hadn’t mentioned his involvement with the grieving widow. Typical male. He wasn’t different from the others at all.

  “Listen, Amy, I’ve got to run. It was really nice seeing you.”

  “You, too, Marly.”

  She
turned away, the pretzel still in her hand. Her stomach churned. Thank God she had discovered the truth about Reed before it was too late.

  She dropped the half-eaten pretzel into a nearby waste can and kept on walking. Her eyes burned. She refused to cry for Reed Bennett or any other man.

  It was a lesson she had learned when she was sixteen.

  9

  Katie ruffled Rufus's wiry curls and the dog barked and grinned. He was the funniest little guy. And so friendly. He seemed to know whenever she needed someone to talk to. Without even calling him, Rufus would jump the fence and come running up to her, his head cocked to the side, his dark eyes intent, his ears perked up as if he were ready to listen. Already Katie loved him.

  She liked Ham, too. If she were older, she might think she had a crush on him. Her mother had said ten was still pretty young to be thinking about boys that way. But Ham was really cute and he never made fun of her. She would never forget the way he had rescued her from those two gross boys.

  And Grandma Winnie was great. That’s what Katie called her. Grandma Winnie, not Grandma Maddox. That didn't sound right at all. Grandma Winnie was better than any grandma she had ever imagined. She never yelled, never got mad when stuff got spilled or when the cookies Katie was baking got burned on the bottom of the pan. She was the kind of grandma kids dreamed of having.

  Katie was already dreading the day she and her mom would have to leave.

  Rufus cocked his head in the opposite direction and she realized she had said some of that stuff out loud.

  “I don't want to go," she told the dog, who barked in agreement.

  Grandma Winnie had told her she wanted them to stay at least two more weeks, wanted them to be here for Mother’s Day. Katie didn't think her mom would agree. Mom always got sad on Mother's Day. Other mothers looked forward to their own particular day but no matter what Katie did to make the day special, it never worked. Her mom would pretend to be pleased but the sadness was always there in her eyes.

  Katie sighed. It was Saturday. She wondered if her mom would go out tonight with Sheriff Bennett. Katie hoped so. She had never seen her mother as happy as she was when she was with him. She seemed more relaxed, not always on guard the way she was most of the time.

  Wouldn't it be cool if the sheriff asked her mom to marry him?

  It was a silly idea. They hardly even knew each other.

  Katie smoothed Rufus's stiff curls. "I don't think she'd say yes, even if he asked," she said. “She never does what she wants. She always finds some reason she can't.” She looked wistfully back at the house. “Maybe I'll just tell her I don't want to go back, that I want us to stay here with Grandma and Ham and the sheriff. Maybe if I ask her really nice, she'll say yes."

  But her mom had a job waiting in Detroit. She couldn't afford to give it up. They needed the money to pay the rent and buy food and stuff.

  “I'm gonna miss you, boy.” Katie ruffled the fur around Rufus's neck, adjusted his leather collar, and told herself Detroit wasn't that far away.

  But once they left, Katie wasn't all that sure her mom would ever bring her back to Dreyerville again.

  Reed left Ham battling it out with his friend Freddy Marvin in a furious game of Ping Pong on the sun porch. Though he'd made Sloppy Joes for the boys, he hadn’t eaten yet. He'd been looking forward to his date tonight with Marly but she had called him at the office and canceled. He could tell by her tone that something was wrong and that it definitely had to do with him.

  They had been together almost every night. The dates themselves had been nothing special, just out for a bite to eat or to take in a movie or to go for a walk beside the lake. Once Marly suggested they go for a bike ride, which didn't turn out so well when her old, beat-up bicycle had gotten a flat on the way back home. It was fun just the same and she had laughed and been a good sport about riding the ratty old bike she'd had since she was a kid.

  In the beginning, it hadn't been easy to persuade her to keep going out with him since she would be leaving soon and she didn't want to get “that involved.” But eventually, he had worn her down with his persistence, the way he did most everything.

  His attraction to her had grown since that first evening on the way to Barney's when she had started opening up to him. After seeing True Lies, they had talked some more. He had told her about how he’d felt after losing Carol and how much he had missed her and Marly had revealed more about her life after she had run away with Burly Hanson. She seemed to trust him as she did few other men. At least that was what she'd said.

  “If you can't trust a sheriff..." She had laughed and Reed loved the sound, rich and hearty and sincere. He loved the way her pretty blue eyes seemed to sparkle in a way they hadn't when he had first met her.

  She had even been calling her mother Mom. Winnie had told him that. He didn't think Marly realized how much that meant to her mother. Or that in doing it, she had let down her guard a little, broken through some sort of personal barrier.

  He thought of the phone call he had just now received and Marly's brusque tone of voice. Something was wrong. He could feel it. He'd always had good instincts and they were screaming at him now.

  The edginess he had been feeling grew worse. Knowing he should probably stay away, Reed crossed the living room and headed out of the house. The sun was sinking toward the horizon, reminding him of the date he no longer had. Striding across the lawn, he charged up Winnie's front-porch steps and reached up to bang on the door.

  By sheer force of will, he made himself rap lightly. Marly peered through the window to see who was there, walked to the door, and pulled it open.

  “What is it, Reed? I told you I wasn't feeling very well.”

  It had sounded like an excuse on the phone and looking at Marly's tight features, he was even more certain of it now.

  “I thought I'd better check on you... since you were feeling so poorly." Two could play the game, he thought, though it wasn't something he liked to do.

  “I'll be fine. I just need a little rest."

  “May I come in?"

  “I'd rather you didn't. I might... might be contagious."

  Under different circumstances, he would have smiled at her obvious attempt to get rid of him. Instead, he took a step forward, forcing her back inside the house. He'd been angry all day that she hadn't just told him what was wrong, and seeing her now, his temper sparked.

  “All right, Marly, let's cut the bull. You're mad at me and I want to know why. I thought we were having a great time together.”

  She rubbed her arms as if she were cold. “It doesn't matter. I'll be leaving the first of the week.” There was something in her face, a sort of sad resolve.

  “When people don't talk, it only makes things worse. You ought to know that better than anyone. Please, honey, tell me what's wrong.”

  Her head jerked up at the use of the endearment he hadn't meant to say. Her eyes glistened for an instant before her chin firmed.

  “The truth is that we're getting too involved. I can't let that happen. I have to think of Katie. I have a substitute teaching job waiting in Detroit and a full-time position starting in the fall. Now, if you'll excuse me, there are things I need to do.” She stood there waiting for him to leave.

  His jaw hardened. He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay right there and have it out.

  Unfortunately, his pager went off just then. Millie. He had to call the office.

  “Looks like something's come up. I've got to go.” He reached out and caught her shoulders, dragged her close and kissed her, quick and hard. “This isn't over, Marly. We're going to talk about this and figure it out. I'll be back.”

  She touched her bottom lip, still moist from his kiss, and opened her mouth to argue but he was already striding away.

  Something was wrong. He wasn't letting her leave Dreyerville until he knew what it was.

  Reed's resolve hardened as he headed back to his house.

  Winnie walked toward the back of the house, Katie
skipping along beside her. They had been to King's Super to pick up some fresh vegetables and the makings for a blueberry pie. Marly had a date tonight with Reed, Winnie recalled. They would be gone by now. The thought made her smile.

  While her daughter was out on a date with the handsome sheriff, Winnie planned to cook a meatloaf for Katie. Then the two of them would bake the pie.

  Winnie climbed the back-porch steps, carrying the brown paper bag of groceries. She unlocked the back door, which Katie then held open.

  “Thank you, sweetheart." She made her way into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of Marly sitting at the kitchen table.

  “I thought you and Reed were going out.”

  “Something came up and he had to cancel.”

  “Something at work?”

  Marly glanced up. Her expression looked as dark as it had the day she'd first arrived. Things had changed since then, some of the darkness had faded, at least Winnie had thought so. Now, she wasn't so sure.

  “Me and Gran are gonna bake a pie,” Katie said, pulling a small sack of flour out of the bag.

  “Gran and I,” Marly corrected.

  “Gran and I.” Katie left the bag on the counter and walked up in front of her. “Gran wants us to stay for Mother's Day. It's only another week. Can we, Mom?”

  Marly started shaking her head even before Katie finished the sentence. “We're leaving on Monday, just like we planned. We need to get started on your tutoring so you can get caught up at school.”

  “We could start right here.”

  Marly came up out of her chair. “I'm sorry. I know you want to stay but it's time for us to go home.” She walked out of the kitchen and into the living room and turned on the TV. Winnie followed.

  “You seem upset, honey. Has something happened between you and Reed?”

  “I don't want to talk about it, Mother.”

  Marly was back to calling her Mother instead of Mom. Winnie's chest hurt. She thought about pressing her daughter for more but their relationship was so fragile she just didn't dare.