“Me?” she repeated eventually. “Why would Cal be lecturing you about me?”
“Apparently there’s some sort of frenzy about the possibility that I’ll break your heart.”
“I see,” she said slowly, then chuckled again. “Sorry, but that is so typical. Nobody can spend five seconds with someone of the opposite sex in this community without everybody weighing in. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not taking bets at Wharton’s.”
“Bets? What sort of bets?”
“How soon we’ll get married, of course. And, just so you know, it’s no quieter over here this evening. My phone line has been buzzing. Apparently sitting in the park was no smarter than going to Wharton’s for coffee. There are spies everywhere.”
“Well, that’s just crazy.”
“Of course it is,” she said. “But it’s one of the things that gives this town its warmth and charm.”
She sounded more amused than threatened by all the talk.
“This really doesn’t bother you?” he asked, wishing he could get to whatever level of serenity she’d attained over such utter craziness.
“It’s embarrassing,” she admitted. “But why get worked up over it? You and I know the truth. Isn’t that what counts?”
J.C. felt the tension in his shoulders finally start to ease. If she could take the talk in stride, he should certainly be able to weather it.
“Exactly how many calls have you had?” he asked curiously.
“Four from friends at school. Three left messages I haven’t returned. One caught me as I walked in the door. She actually knew about the pie. I have to admit, even I was a little taken aback by that.”
“Doesn’t that rise to the level of stalking or something? It’s a little weird.”
“She says she’s just observant. I don’t think we have to worry about stalking till we spot people hiding out in the bushes outside of our homes to see if we’re together.”
Just thinking about that possibility made J.C. shudder. “Maybe we should get together and talk about this some more, figure out our strategy.”
“Strategy for what?” she asked.
“Nipping this gossip in the bud.”
“And you think getting together again for any reason is going to help?” she asked, laughing. “Hello! It’ll be another sighting. It’ll only add more fuel to the fire.”
“Then we avoid each other entirely,” he concluded, not especially happy with the alternative. Why was that? he wondered.
“That would be the smart way to go, if your goal is to put an end to all the talk,” she agreed, though she didn’t sound any more enthused about the plan than he was.
“That’s not going to work for me,” he surprised himself by saying.
“Oh?”
“We have this Misty situation,” he said, scrambling for an excuse to cover the fact that he simply didn’t want to cut this witty, intelligent, attractive woman right back out of his life. At least not until he figured out why she’d gotten under his skin so quickly.
“That’s true, but since it’s really a school matter, you don’t have to be involved,” she said.
“Misty came to me for help. I’m involved,” he said, correcting her.
“I could just call you, keep you in the loop,” she suggested.
Her willingness to let him off the hook annoyed him. “Until I’m sure this bullying has ended, I intend to stay on top of this. You’re not going to shake me loose that easily, Laura. I’m Misty’s physician. I have a responsibility here, one I take seriously.”
“Hey, you’re the one who was all worked up about a little gossip. I was just trying to figure out a way to put an end to it,” she said defensively.
And now she was clearly annoyed with him, he concluded. That’s what came from trying to have a simple, platonic relationship with a female. Things always got complicated.
Such as the fact that right this second he couldn’t imagine anything he wanted more than to finish this whole ridiculous conversation in bed, kissing her until her indignation gave way to murmurs of pleasure. The image was so clear in his head, he had to swallow hard and try to catch his breath before saying anything.
“J.C., are you still there?”
“I’m here,” he said tightly.
“So, what are we going to do?”
“We’re going to dinner at Sullivan’s tomorrow night,” he said decisively. “And this time it is a date.”
He thought he heard a faint gasp on her end of the line. Good. He’d thrown her for a change.
“I don’t believe I heard an invitation in there,” she said.
She suddenly sounded all prim and proper. He discovered that tone was a heck of a turn-on. Who knew he’d harbored a secret yearning for an old-fashioned schoolmarm, one who promised to be more complicated than that physics course that had almost cost him his entry to med school?
“Would you like to have dinner at Sullivan’s tomorrow?” he asked, trying not to grind his teeth, so it wouldn’t sound as if the words were being dragged out of him against his will.
“Dinner would be lovely,” she said. “Just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you have any idea what you’re stirring up?”
He gave the question a moment’s thought before answering. “In town? Pretty much. Between us? Not a clue.”
She laughed. “Okay, then. I guess we’re on the same page, after all. Dinner ought to be interesting.”
“Oh, it will be,” he promised. He just had to remember how this dating thing was supposed to work. These days most of his charm was reserved for getting kids not to bite him when he was giving them their shots. He doubted the same techniques would work all that well on Laura.
* * *
Misty had once again fixed dinner, since it seemed apparent that her mom wasn’t up to it.
“Soup and grilled cheese again?” her brother complained when she called him into the kitchen.
“Hush,” she told him, casting a warning look in the direction of their mother.
Jake was thirteen, which made him essentially clueless, as far as Misty could tell. He just snatched up his sandwich and the bowl of soup and left the table.
“I’m eating in my room,” he said on his way out.
Misty sighed, then turned her attention once more to her mother. “Mom, you have to eat something. You’ll get sick if you don’t.”
Her mother blinked and finally focused on her, then glanced at the food. “Oh, sweetie, you didn’t need to do this. I would have fixed something.”
“When, Mom? It’s already after seven. Besides, it’s no big deal to heat some soup and make sandwiches.”
“But it’s not your job to do that,” Diana protested halfheartedly. She ate a spoonful of the vegetable soup, then put aside her spoon. She left the sandwich untouched.
“Mom, please, eat some more.”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Has your father come home?”
Misty frowned. Wouldn’t they know it, if he were in the house? “No sign of him,” she said. “He hasn’t called, either.”
For a moment, her mother seemed to shake herself out of her lethargy. “Speaking of calls, I did have one today from Mariah Litchfield. What exactly is going on between you and Annabelle?”
“I told you the other day, don’t worry about it,” Misty said. “I’ve got it covered.”
“Not to hear Mariah tell it,” her mother said. “There was an incident of some kind at the fall festival?”
“I told you about that,” Misty said. “Annabelle and I had an argument, no big deal.”
“Are you sure?” her mother asked, regarding her intently. For the first time it seemed as if she truly cared about something other than what was going on in her own life. “You know that I’ve known Mariah most of my life. I know how she can be when it comes to Annabelle. You don’t want to mess with that girl, Misty. It’s better to steer clear of her.”
“Believe me, I’m trying to do
just that,” Misty said.
“You’re not trying to make trouble for her? That’s what Mariah implied.”
“No way,” Misty said indignantly. She was doing everything in her power to avoid causing trouble. Annabelle was the one who kept pushing and making it almost impossible. “What did you tell Mrs. Litchfield?”
“That I’d have a word with you.”
“And now you have,” Misty said, unable to keep a hint of bitterness out of her voice.
Her mother gave her a sharp look. “Why do I have the feeling I’m missing something?”
“I have no idea,” Misty claimed. “I have homework. I’m going to my room.”
For once she was relieved that her mom didn’t argue. She didn’t even remind Misty to send Jake down to put the dishes in the dishwasher, which meant they’d probably still be on the kitchen table in the morning. Better that, though, than talking about Annabelle for one more minute.
* * *
Misty lingered once again after English, hoping to give the other kids time to move on to their other classes. Ms. Reed was pretty cool about it. She didn’t even bring up Annabelle for once. In fact, she looked almost as distracted as Misty’s mom did these days. Misty wondered what was going on in her life. Funny how she’d never considered what kind of lives teachers lived outside of school.
“Misty, you’d better hurry if you’re not going to be late,” Ms. Reed said eventually. “Unless there’s something you wanted to speak to me about.”
“Nothing,” Misty said hurriedly, quickly gathering up her books.
She’d no sooner stepped into the hallway than she was surrounded by Greg Bennett and two other guys from the football team.
“So, how about it?” Greg asked, crowding her, a leer on his face. “You’ve been skipping class a lot lately from what I hear. What’s one more time for a little fun? You and me, outside in my car? I promise you’d have a good time.”
Misty felt as if she was going to throw up right then and there. “Get out of my face, Greg,” she said, drawing on some tiny shred of inner strength.
He only laughed at her. His friends nudged each other, not even trying to hide their own amusement over her pitiful attempt to fend Greg off.
“Who’s going to make me?” he taunted. “Not you, that’s for sure.”
“How about Annabelle?” she suggested, looking him straight in the eye. “Could she make you back off? If she ever developed a spine, that is.”
Hoots greeted that comment, which clearly incensed Greg. “Annabelle’s got nothing to do with you and me.”
“She seems to think otherwise. She seems to think you’re her personal property. And I’m sick of taking the fall for you. I’m not after you. I’m not interested in you. I’d be happy if I never saw you again.” She glanced at his friends. “Get the message? Pass it on.”
She shoved past the three of them and practically ran to her next class. She didn’t stop shaking until the period was half over.
She’d pay for that little scene. She knew she would. Not that Greg would say a word about her rejecting him. His ego wouldn’t allow that. But those friends of his were blabbermouths. Annabelle would hear something from them or any one of a dozen kids who’d been passing by. By tonight, she’d be spewing more garbage on the internet.
But, Misty consoled herself, once she’d been called a slut and a zillion ugly rumors had been circulated about all the guys she was supposedly sleeping with, how much worse could things possibly get? At least for once she’d finally stood up for herself. If she could take on Greg—who was just a jerk—and survive, how hard could it be to find a way to deal with Annabelle?
Maybe she’d made a mistake all these weeks by letting herself be a victim. Didn’t they say that most bullies were really cowards? She’d assumed there was no way to fight back without making things worse, but maybe there was.
She just had to figure out what it might be. Amazingly, bit by bit, she was starting to feel strong enough to do just that.
9
Laura did her best to steer clear of the teacher’s lounge during the day, but eventually she had to stop by for some kind of last-minute meeting of the school’s social committee being held right after classes ended.
“I was expecting you in here at lunchtime,” Nancy said as soon as Laura appeared.
“I had tests to grade. I ate at my desk,” Laura said.
Nancy grinned. “In other words, you didn’t want to be bothered with any more of my advice. Not to worry. We have a few minutes now. Jessica and Cal told me they were going to be running late.”
Laura regarded her suspiciously. “Did you encourage them to be late?”
“Of course not,” Nancy said innocently. “Now, have you given any more thought to what I said last night about dating J.C.?”
Since word about tonight’s dinner was likely to spread through town with lightning speed, Laura saw little point in not mentioning it to a woman who was one of her closest friends.
“Some,” she admitted.
“Great!” Nancy enthused. “Now we’re getting somewhere. You’ll need a plan. What’s your next step?”
“You really are living vicariously through me, aren’t you?”
“You bet,” Nancy replied without hesitation. “So far it’s been pretty dull, but I have high hopes for the future.”
“Then you’ll be absolutely thrilled to know that J.C. and I are having dinner tonight at Sullivan’s, and he himself has described it as a date,” she announced, barely containing a smile at Nancy’s stunned expression.
“When did that happen?”
“Right after I spoke to you. Apparently he spent a lot of time yesterday fending off well-meant suggestions, as well. I thought the conclusion would be that we’d go back to our isolated corners and never see each other again.” She shrugged, then allowed herself a tiny, satisfied grin. “He came to a different conclusion.”
“Well, good for him. He’s obviously smarter than I was giving him credit for being.”
“He has an M.D. in pediatric medicine,” Laura reminded her. “I doubt there’s ever been any question about his intelligence.”
“There’s smart and there’s smart,” Nancy argued. “I know a lot of exceptionally well-educated men who don’t have the common sense of a gnat. My ex was one of them.”
Laura welcomed the mention of a very hot-button topic. “Do you really want to talk about Steve? If so, I have some thoughts about it being time for you to move on.”
“Now that you mention it, let’s not discuss my ex-husband. I am so over him.”
Laura had her doubts about that but saw little point in trying to nudge Nancy into facing her grief over the divorce so she could finally get on with her life.
“What are you wearing to dinner?” Nancy asked. “You need something special.”
“I just bought a new dress at Raylene’s the other day. I wasn’t sure I’d ever need it for a date, but I fell in love with it and it was on sale. Adelia Hernandez talked me into it.”
Nancy chuckled. “I hope Raylene is paying that woman what she’s worth. She could sell ice to Eskimos, as they say. I went in for a scarf and bought three outfits. Used every last dime of my alimony check for last month, but it was worth it. If I ever go anyplace special, I’ll look amazing.”
“Maybe we should get some people together and go to Charleston or Columbia for a weekend,” Laura suggested. “We could go to a concert, have dinner someplace fancy.”
“It sounds great,” Nancy said. “But something tells me you’re not going to have much time for a girls’ weekend.”
“Please,” Laura chided. “I’m going to dinner with J.C., not making a lifelong commitment. I will always have plenty of time to spend with my friends. That’s a given. You all mean too much to me.”
“Right back at you,” Nancy said, then gave her a rueful look. “I hope you’ll still feel that way when I tell you that there really wasn’t a social committee meeting this afternoon. I
knew you were trying to avoid talking to me about J.C., so I called one just for you. Jessica and Cal were never told about any meeting.”
Laura regarded her indignantly for an instant, then shook her head. “I’ll have to remember how sneaky you can be.”
“It’s a gift,” Nancy said, suddenly unapologetic. “Got what I was after, too. Just keep in mind that I expect a full report on this date of yours tomorrow. Who knows what lengths I might go to for the information? As you’ve noted, my own life is pretty dull.”
“Would you like to come by the apartment at 6:30 for breakfast so I can fill you in?” Laura asked, only half teasing.
“Heavens, no! What if J.C.’s there?”
“J.C. is not going to be in my apartment at 6:30 in the morning,” Laura said confidently.
“You never know. I’ll meet you at Wharton’s instead. Call if you’re otherwise engaged.”
Laura shook her head at her friend’s irrepressible optimism. “I’ll see you at Wharton’s. Just remember we have to use our ‘indoor voices.’ Grace has big ears.”
Nancy only laughed. “Trust me, by the time we get there, she’ll already know the whole story.”
Sadly, Laura suspected Nancy was exactly right.
* * *
It had been a very long time since Laura had been this nervous before a date. Even though she’d spent a fair amount of time with J.C. recently, there was something undeniably different about tonight. It just proved how the dynamics between two people dramatically changed the instant dating—or the possibility of sex—was introduced. She was still wrestling with how she felt about that. Just a few short weeks ago, she would have sworn she wanted a relationship with real possibilities, but now old fears had surfaced to test that.
Obviously J.C. had his own doubts, as well. He might have invited her out, but she wasn’t deluding herself that he’d been entirely happy about it. His reasons for not dating hadn’t miraculously faded away. She was fairly certain of that.
When he knocked on her door, she drew in a deep, calming breath, then opened the door with what she hoped was a normal smile and not some sort of nervous, frozen grimace. Her eyes widened when she saw that he was wearing a suit, rather than the more casual khakis and oxford cloth shirt he generally wore to the office. It took his appeal to a whole new jaw-dropping level.
Catching Fireflies Page 11
