Lucy was sitting very still when Pearl returned to the lobby. For a second she thought the girl had sat down in a recliner and died, but then she noticed that Lucy was breathing. Pearl picked up the key to the room and the extra bag and said, “Let’s get you settled into the room.”
Her voice startled Lucy and she curled forward in a ball around her worn tote bag.
Pearl touched her shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry.”
Lucy flinched.
“Lucy, no one is going to hurt you again. If they do I’ll beat the shit out of them.”
Lucy looked up. “I’m sorry. It just happens.”
Pearl put the room key in her hand. “No need to be sorry. You’ll get over it. It’ll just take time. Now follow me and we’ll get you settled in for the night. I bet you’d like a warm bath after all that travel.”
Lucy nodded. She couldn’t begin to imagine a long hot bath with no fear. She usually took very quick showers, careful not to use an ounce of extra hot water or Cleet would be furious when he took his shower. If the hot water ran out before he was finished she was in for a beating. If he wanted chocolate cake and she had peach cobbler he’d jerk off his belt. To take her mind off that wide brown belt she looked up at the Texas sky. A person could see from here all the way to the end of the world. It was so different than back in the mountains of Kentucky. She’d miss her momma and her youngest sister, but if she never saw a mountain again she’d be happy. All they’d brought was pain and misery.
Pearl stood to one side while Lucy opened the door. “It’s not much but it’ll do until you can get on your feet. It’s got beds, a television, phone, bathroom, and I’ve got a few things here for you. Tomorrow I’ve got to go buy groceries. I’ll give you an advance on your first week’s salary so you can get whatever you like.”
“I’m obliged for it all,” she said, her accent even thicker since she’d started to relax. “What time do I start to work in the mornin’?”
“Checkout is at eleven but most folks get up and gone by eight or nine.”
“I’m used to havin’ breakfast on the table at six o’clock so I get up right early.” Lucy couldn’t keep from looking at everything in the room. All that luxury was more than she could take in with a single scan. Later, when she was alone it might sink in but right then it looked like a big slice of heaven.
“When we’ve got a couple of rooms empty, I’ll give you a call. The laundry room is next door. Use the machines to wash your clothes and there are towels and linens stacked up on racks. Change your bed whenever you want and help yourself to the towels. I’ll see you in the morning.” Pearl backed out of the room and shut the door.
She picked up the pace when two trucks pulled into the lot and beat the first customer to the lobby. It was an elderly lady wearing a cute little blue sweat suit decorated with rhinestones and pearls. “Honey, me and the husband out there in the truck need us a room with two beds for tonight. We’re on our way home from Christmas with the kids and I can’t see worth a damn when it gets dark and the husband has beginnin’ Alzheimer’s so I can’t trust him to make the right turns.”
“I’ve got just what you need.” Pearl picked the number two key from the wall and handed her a card to fill out.
She was getting computerized even if it caused Pearlita Richland’s ashes to reconnect, swim upstream from the Red River, and haunt her. Lucy was there to clean rooms so she would have the time to install the programs and talk to several people about key card locks. She could afford it and it would make things so much simpler.
“Thank you, darlin’,” the lady said after she’d filled out the card.
Pearl could have sworn she had heard and seen two trucks. She looked out the glass windows and sure enough there was another vehicle sitting there. She sucked in a lung full of air and prayed that old Cleet hadn’t found his way to her hotel. The truck door swung open and Wil stepped out, leaned in and picked something up, and carried it toward the motel lobby.
She cocked her head to one side and waited. Maybe his electricity had blown again. She raised an eyebrow when he pushed inside and laid a card on the counter. “Is the whole town out of electricity or just your ranch again?”
He set a whole pecan pie on the counter. “You can put that card away. I’m just taking care of a guilty conscience.”
Pearl’s eyes widened.
“It was in the kitchen the whole time and I let you think I got the last piece. I really did get the last one out of that pie pan, but Austin fussed at me when she found this one and I got to feelin’ so guilty that I brought it to you. But I forgot about it in the truck until I got all the way back to the ranch. So merry Christmas, Red.”
“Thank you for the pie but if you call me that again, I intend to shoot you and feed your dead carcass to the coyotes,” she said around the lump in her throat.
It’s got to be Lucy’s sad life that’s making me so emotional. God knows it can’t be a pecan pie. Nothing is so damn good that it would make me go all mushy and weepy. I swore off that after I cried for two weeks when Vince left.
He waited for her to say something else but she just stared at the pie. She looked up and he saw the pain in her eyes. He took two steps forward and wrapped her into his arms again. “What is it?”
“Post holiday blues,” she mumbled.
Using his knuckles, he tipped her chin up and lips met lips again in another clash of heat. He teased her lips apart with the tip of his tongue and deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rolled up on her tiptoes to get the full effect of the scorching hot kisses.
Finally, he broke away but looked down at her face. Soft, sexy desire had replaced the pain. Another kiss or two or another minute of gazing into her mesmerizing eyes and he’d be acting like Rye did when he met Austin. He quickly took a couple of steps backwards and said, “I’ll be goin’ now. Christmas is about over and it will be work as usual tomorrow. Oh, before I forget, Austin said to tell you that she’s having a New Year’s Eve party up in Terral and you are invited. She’ll be callin’ in the next couple of days, I’m sure. Good night and enjoy the pie. I didn’t even lick it.”
“I wouldn’t care if you did. I’d eat it anyway. I’m not squeamish,” she said.
He gave her his over-the-shoulder wave as he pushed out into the night air.
***
Lucy slowly circled the room, lightly touching the comforter on the beds and the recliner in the corner. She was afraid to shut her eyes for fear it would all disappear before she could open them again. When she was sure it wasn’t a dream and she really had a place to stay and a job, she opened the sacks Pearl had set inside the door. She hugged the clean clothing to her face and wept over them. She carefully placed them inside the dresser drawer, leaving it ajar so she could keep them in sight as she opened the next bag.
“Ohhh!” She grabbed up an apple and bit into it while she read the instructions on the dinner. She polished off the whole apple, leaving nothing but a very slim core and the stem, while the turkey and dressing meal cooked. While she waited for the microwave to ding she set the tiny table in the corner with her very own fork, knife, and spoon. When it finished, she sat down, bowed her head with no fear of being slapped when she finished saying grace, and ate slowly, savoring each bite.
Afterwards she ran a bath, washed her hair with the cute little bottle of shampoo on the counter, and leaned back, letting the warm water soak away the aches and pains all over her body. That last beating had been the worst ever. Cleet had gotten tired of using the belt and had thrown it at the wall and finished the job with his fists. That’s why her face was such a mess. She ran a hand down her side. No broken ribs but they were sore as the devil. When the water had turned lukewarm, she got out, dried on a wonderful soft towel, and dressed in the clean nightshirt and underpants. She washed her bra in the bathroom sink and hung it over the shower rod to dry.
“Merry Christmas, Lucy Fontaine,” she said as she crawled in between clean sheets and shut her eyes.
<
br /> ***
Wil twisted the lid off a bottle of beer, settled into his favorite chair, and surfed through dozens of television channels. Nothing kept his attention very long. He kept thinking about Red. She was full of spit and vinegar. He liked that in a woman, but dammit but her kisses made him want more and more and more.
“I’ve gone and let her get under my skin, and I’m not sure it was the right thing to do,” he told Digger, who was curled up on the floor beside him.
Digger rolled his eyes upward but didn’t stir a muscle.
***
Even though she was full, Pearl cut a small slice of pecan pie and nibbled on it as she rented out six more rooms. In between bites and guests she let her thoughts go to Wil. She touched her mouth and was surprised that it didn’t burn her fingertips. She shut her eyes and got a picture of him standing right beside her. She wrapped her arms around her body and imagined they were his.
The vision of his broad shoulders raised the heat factor another notch or two. And the thought of his eyes flamed the fires even more. She could never remember any man affecting her like that. She’d been in love with Marlin and he hadn’t made her need an icy shower in the middle of the winter like Wil did.
Why now? Why him? I’ve been looking for someone to share my life with for years and dated dozens of men and not a single one of them made me go all hot and mushy just thinking about them. None of this makes a blasted bit of sense, not even if he is as sexy as hell… even with a dust rag in his hand.
“If I don’t stop right now Lucy’s first job will be calling the Henrietta Fire Department to put out the fire in the lobby,” she mumbled.
She was grateful for the next guests who arrived to take her mind off Wil. A young couple with two little children who were tired and cranky so she put them at the end of the south wing close to the breezeway with the ice machine. The next were two middle-aged sisters that she gave the key to number three.
“Eleven rooms. Damn, I’m glad I hired Lucy,” she said as she turned on the NO VACANCY sign and went to her apartment.
She showered, put on a pair of flannel pajamas printed with Christmas trees, and sunk down on the sofa with Delilah. “Well, girl, I had an interesting day. Downright exciting, really. I sprung Wil Marshall out of jail, cleaned rooms with him all afternoon, and had dinner over at the O’Donnells’ place. Food was wonderful as usual and they’ve got cats all over the porch. You’d love it there. Wil kissed me three times today. The first one barely counts but it was hot as hell. The next two… well, let’s say I’m having trouble shutting my eyes without seeing him, feeling his lips, and needing to change my panties. Oh, and I hired us some help. Her name is Lucy and I think you’ll like her.”
Delilah purred and snuggled up to Pearl’s side.
Pearl picked up the remote and flipped through several channels. There was a rerun of a two-year-old Christmas special on CMT and she fell asleep watching it. A loud commercial, advertising kitchen knives for only $19.95, awoke her. She turned the television off, picked up Delilah, and carried her back to the bedroom.
It was past midnight when she set the alarm and went back to sleep, only to dream of Wil Marshall. He was in a jail like they built in the old west—a small stone structure with barely enough room for an outer office and one cell. She awoke in a cold sweat, sitting straight up in bed and clutching her pillow to her breast as she wept.
“Dammit! It was just a dream. It wasn’t real so why am I still carrying on like this?” she asked Delilah, who was sleeping like a queen on her throne on the extra pillow.
The cat opened both eyes and then closed them again.
“You’re no help at all. If it wasn’t so late I’d call Austin or maybe even Lucy, just to talk to someone about that stupid dream.”
Chapter 5
That antsy feeling created by the nightmare still lingered in Pearl’s half-sleep the next morning. She blinked a couple of times but the feeling that someone was in the room with her didn’t disappear. Finally she opened her eyes full awake, screamed, and jumped out of bed all in one fell swoop. When she realized it was Delilah’s eyes not an inch from her pillow she stopped hopping around like a frog in a hot skillet and sat on the edge of the bed, her heart thumping so hard her ribs hurt. Delilah looked at her like she’d done lost her fool mind, sniffed the air, and headed for the living room.
“So chaos starts the day!” she gasped.
When her weak knees stiffened she headed to the kitchen to make coffee. The guests would be checking out before long and if she was going to greet them with open eyes after a restless night then caffeine wasn’t a luxury; it was a necessity. She poured four cups of water into the back of the pot, added extra grounds to the basket, and flipped the switch. While it dripped, she went back to the bedroom and dressed in jeans and a bright pink sweatshirt. She washed her face and pulled her frizzy hair back into a ponytail, twisting it around the base into a loose bun and securing it with a wide clasp.
She carried a cup of coffee to the lobby, set it on the counter to cool, and unlocked the door. She’d barely made it back to the counter when Lucy arrived. The bruises were still shades of green and yellow like a tie-dyed T-shirt but they didn’t look as horrendous as they had the night before. Her light brown hair was shiny clean and a thick ponytail swung almost to her shoulders. Her eyes had more life in them that morning and her wide smile lit up the whole lobby.
“Good morning. I been watching out the window to see when the lights would come on in the lobby so I’d be here on time. What do I do first?”
“First thing you do is get a cup of coffee. Through that door in the kitchen. Help yourself. Donuts are on the counter if you want one. Then you sit down in one of those recliners and wait. The customers will start checking out soon but they can stay until eleven if they want to.”
“I already used that little coffee pot in my room and had coffee and some cookies for my breakfast but I’d like another cup.”
Pearl pointed. “Help yourself. Cups are in the cabinet right above the pot.”
“Oh, a cat!” Lucy squealed when she saw Delilah. “Can I pet it?”
“If she’ll let you. She’s temperamental.”
Lucy reached down and picked up Delilah, hugged her to her chest and forgot all about the coffee. She carried her to the recliner and sat down, holding her like a baby in her arms and petting her between the ears. “I love cats. I had one when we got married but Cleet hated it. He said if it got in the house one more time he was goin’ to shoot it so I took it to Momma. Daddy, he didn’t mind cats in the house. I could sit right here all day but there’s got to be something I can be doing while we wait.”
“The dryers are full of sheets,” Pearl said with a yawn.
Lucy promptly stood up and laid Delilah in the chair. “Is that room open?”
“You got your key ring with you?”
Lucy fished it out of the pocket of her sweat bottoms and laid it on the counter. She was so disappointed that she could’ve cried. She’d thought the key was hers to keep all the time, not collect at night and give back in the day.
Pearl added two keys and laid the ring back on the counter. “I’ll put the laundry room key on it and the storage room back behind it too. If you want to do your laundry at night or if you wake up early and want to finish folding a load out of the dryer, you’ll have the keys.”
Lucy picked up the ring. She’d been trusted with the keys to the laundry and the storage room. She felt like a princess. “I’ll go on and take care of the folding. And I was wondering, could we take one of those beds out of my room? I only need the one.”
“Sure. We’ll put the extra out in the garage. There’s plenty of room. So you like the room all right?”
“I slept better than I have in years. Thank you for all the food. It was so good that I ate that whole dinner before I went to bed. I’ll see to it I work some extra hours to pay you back for everything.”
“No, you won’t. That would’ve gone to w
aste if you hadn’t eaten it, and the clothes were on their way to the Goodwill store. We’ve got a little while before they start checking out. Want to go move that bed right now?” Pearl asked.
Lucy’s eyes lit up. “Yes, I would and then I’ll get on that folding job.”
The sun was peeking through the naked outstretched arms of the mesquite and scrub oak trees on the east and west sides of the motel. The north wind whipped through the limbs making them dance gracefully. Lucy took it all in as they walked under the awning covering the sidewalk in front of the room doors.
Pearl yawned again. “Pardon me. I didn’t sleep so well last night.”
Lucy opened the door into her room. “I’m sorry. I slept better than I have since I married Cleet. I didn’t even dream and when I woke up I felt like Sleeping Beauty did in that storybook.”
The place was as spotless as it had been when she let Lucy inside the night before. Everything, including the remote control, was in its place.
“Which one do you want to move out?” Pearl asked.
“Might as well take the one closest to the door. I slept on the other one already. We could just fold up those covers and put them away. Besides, it’ll be easier to tote out the door. I might put my little table over there where it is and maybe someday I’ll find me one of them little sofas. That is if it would be all right with you for me to put it in here.”
“It’s your room, apartment, or house. Whatever you want to call it. You can do whatever you like to the place. Rosa lived here when I was a little girl back before she remarried and moved into a house. She had a sofa and end tables and a bookcase on that wall. I remember because I was a little girl and she used to read to me. Then when I got older we’d watch movies together sometimes and she’d make popcorn for us. Back then she used the refrigerator and old cookstove hooked up in the storage room behind the laundry. You’re welcome to use those any time you want to, Lucy.”
Lucy melted into the recliner, put her head in her hands, and sobbed.
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