Welcome to Serenity

by Sherryl Woods

  His mother’s expression brightened. “A woman? One in particular?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Tell me,” she commanded, leaning forward with interest.

  “There’s not much to tell. I don’t even know her name. I ran into her outside a women’s spa. We exchanged a few words and then she shut the door in my face.”

  His mother sat back, her expression indignant. “Well, that doesn’t sound very pleasant. She must not have very good breeding.”

  Tom grinned. “I didn’t inquire about her pedigree, Mother. She was already annoyed enough.”

  “I’m just saying that a lady does not go around shutting doors in people’s faces.”

  “I’ll explain that to her when we cross paths again.” And they would cross paths. He intended to see to that. He figured Cal Maddox might have some ideas along that line since the woman in question must work with his wife.

  Thinking of Cal reminded him of the Little League proposal. Wanting to change the subject, he decided to mention that. His mother had always been a big supporter of his interest in baseball, even though she’d embarrassed the daylights out of him by coming to his games outfitted as if she were going to tea with the queen.

  “Wait till you hear about this,” he said, and described his meeting with Cal Maddox.

  “There’s a former professional ballplayer living in Serenity?” she said, clearly stunned. “I had no idea.”

  Tom laughed at her expression. “You’d probably be surprised by a few more of the people you’d meet there. Ever heard of Paula Vreeland?”

  “The artist? Of course. Her works are displayed at some of the finer galleries here in Charleston.”

  “She lives in Serenity.”

  His mother shook her head. “You must be mistaken. I’m quite sure she lives here.”

  “Nope. The mayor pointed out her home and studio when he drove me around town. And this spa I mentioned has apparently received a lot of acclaim around the entire region, as has Sullivan’s for its gourmet spin on old Southern favorites.”

  “Obviously I need to see this place for myself. Sit right here while I get my calendar. We’ll pick a date and I’ll come for a visit.”

  “With Dad?”

  She cast him a wry look. “Perhaps I should come alone the first time. Scout it out, so to speak.”

  “That suits me,” Tom said. If his open-minded mother left with a favorable impression, perhaps she could get through to his father. Their years of marriage had been achieved through an interesting balance of power. His mother, remarkably, wielded most of it.

  She bustled from the room and came back with a bulging day planner that he knew was stuffed with business cards from her favorite florists, printers, dressmakers and caterers, along with those from newly opened businesses hoping to capture her attention. She flipped through the pages, muttering under her breath as she did.

  “Two weeks from today,” she said at last. “It’s the best I can do. I’ll have to cancel my luncheon and bridge plans, but there’s time enough for them to find a fourth.”

  “Two weeks from today will be perfect.” He stood up and bent down to kiss her cheek. “Thank you, Mother. I’ll look forward to it.”

  His words were totally sincere. He wanted her to see Serenity as he did, as a lovely town to live in and a place with a promising future. And though he hardly dared to say it to himself, as a stepping stone to an even better job down the road. Contrary to what his father thought, he was not without ambition. He merely planned to take a different path than the one Thomas McDonald had charted for him.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Because so many of her best clients were working women who could only come in for treatments on Saturday, Jeanette rarely had an entire weekend to herself. She liked it that way. Sundays seemed endless, especially the ones when she didn’t go to church. The day stretched ahead of her with too many empty hours.

  How long could she possibly spend doing laundry or stocking her refrigerator for the few meals she ate at home? Serenity didn’t have a movie theater and she wasn’t interested in golf, kayaking or any of the other activities available in town. It was the one drawback she’d found to living in a small community after spending several years in Charleston. Despite all its other charms and the wonderful people, the peace and quiet of Serenity got on her nerves from time to time, especially with no one special to share her life.

  This Sunday seemed worse than most. She had way too much time to think about Christmas and her family and all the reasons the holiday had lost its meaning for her.

  By three o’clock she was going a little stir-crazy. She glanced at the phone next to her and thought about how long it had been since she’d spoken to her parents. They lived less than two hours away, but she hadn’t seen or spoken to them in months. After leaving home, she’d soon learned that if she didn’t initiate a call, it wouldn’t happen. It was almost as if they forgot her very existence unless she reminded them.

  Impulsively, she picked up the phone and dialed before she could talk herself out of it. It rang several times before her mother picked up.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Jeanette, is that you?”

  She wasn’t surprised that her mother wasn’t sure. “Yes, Mom, it’s me. How are you?”

  “Doing well enough,” she said, not volunteering anything additional.

  Despite the terse response, Jeanette pressed on. “And Dad? How is he?” Her father was nearing seventy, but seemed older. Working outdoors had weathered his skin and what her parents always referred to as “the tragedy” had aged him before his time.

  “Working too hard, as always,” her mother replied. “The farm’s too much for him, but it’s the only life he knows.”

  “Did he hire any help this year?” Jeanette asked, determined to keep the conversation flowing and hoping to spark even a smidgen of real communication.

  “He had several day workers when vegetables were coming in, but he’s let most of them go now that the only crop left is pumpkins. He loads those up himself and takes them to the market on Saturdays.”

  “Is he there? I’d like to say hello,” Jeanette said. At one time her father had doted on her the way Cal doted on Jessica Lynn. All that had changed in the blink of an eye, and while she understood the reason on an intellectual level, the chasm between them didn’t hurt any less.

  “He’s outside working on the tractor,” her mother replied, not offering to get him. After a slight hesitation, good manners kicked in and she added, “But I’ll tell him you called.”

  Jeanette barely contained a sigh. She couldn’t even recall the last time her father had spoken to her. Her mother always had some excuse for why he couldn’t come to the phone. Some rang true, like this one. Others didn’t. Sometimes she thought he’d simply stopped talking to anyone after her brother had died.

  Forcing a cheerful note into her voice, she asked, “Tell me what you’ve been doing, Mom. Are you still baking for the church receptions every week?”

  “Took a coconut cake in today,” her mother said. “I’ll do chocolate next week. That’s everybody’s favorite.”

  “Mine, too,” Jeanette said. “Maybe I’ll drive down for a visit soon and you can bake one for me.”

  There was another unmistakable hesitation before her mother said, “You just let us know when you’re coming, Jeanette.”

  This time Jeanette didn’t even try to stop her sigh. Just once she’d hoped for some warmth, some sign that her parents missed her and wanted to see her. Instead, her mother sounded more as if she needed to be warned if her daughter was about to appear on the doorstep. Or maybe Jeanette had simply grown too sensitive to the nuances in her mother’s voice. She’d come to expect rejection and found it in every word.

  “I’ll let you know, Mom,” she said,
resigned to ending another disappointing call. “Good to talk to you.”

  “You, too,” her mother said.

  It was only after she’d hung up that she realized her mother hadn’t asked a single question about how she was doing or what was going on in her life. The lack of interest stung, even after all these years. She still recalled a time when she’d run in the back door after school, filled with news of her day, and her mother had put cookies and milk on the table and listened to every word. She’d seemed to treasure those afternoon talks as much as Jeanette had. Now they could barely manage a five-minute conversation and most of that one-sided.

  “If I sit here one more minute, I’ll start wallowing in self-pity,” she muttered aloud, grabbing her purse and heading for the door.

  Two hours later she was sitting in a Charleston multiplex with a giant box of buttered popcorn, a diet soda and a box of Junior Mints. The movie, a heavily promoted action flick, barely held her interest. Even so, it was an improvement on sitting at home all alone on a Sunday afternoon thinking about her dysfunctional relationship with her parents, a relationship she had no idea how to mend.

  As she was exiting the theater, she heard a familiar voice and turned to see Maddie’s son Kyle and several of his friends, accompanied by Cal.

  “Wasn’t the movie awesome?” Kyle asked her enthusiastically.

  Cal interceded before she was forced to reply. “Something tells me Jeanette might have preferred a romantic comedy.”

  Kyle looked puzzled. “Then why did she go to see this movie?”

  Cal met her gaze. “I don’t know. Why did you go to see this movie?”

  She shrugged. “I figured it would be fast-paced and exciting.”

  He gave her a knowing look. “Which appealed because it would keep your mind off other things?”

  She frowned at him. “You realize, don’t you, your intuitive questions are sometimes almost as annoying as your wife’s.”

  Cal laughed. “What can I say? Maddie’s rubbing off on me. By the way, we’re going for pizza at Rosalina’s on the way home. Maddie’s meeting us. Want to come along? It’ll kill a little more time, if that was your goal.”

  The idea held some appeal, but the drawbacks outweighed the benfits. “And subject myself to further interrogation? I don’t think so.”

  “Hey, are you kidding? With this gang, plus Jessica Lynn and Cole, the adults will be lucky to be heard. Come on, Jeanette. No questions allowed. I’ll make sure of it.”

  She grinned. “When Maddie’s on a mission, there’s no stopping her. And lately she seems to be determined to pry into my life.”

  “Obviously you’re not aware of the toddler effect. Maddie is too busy chasing after Jessica Lynn to have time for much else. Mealtimes are no longer the serene part of the day you may recall, especially with Kyle’s friends along.” Jeanette noted that Cal seemed perfectly happy with that, content even. He’d taken to being a stepfather and then father to his own two little ones without missing a beat.

  Based on his promise and a memory of the amount of chaos Jessica Lynn had created on her last visit to the spa, Jeanette relented, partly because the popcorn had hardly been a substantial meal and partly because the prospect of good company was a vast improvement over staring at the TV and rehashing the unrewarding conversation she’d had with her mother.

  “In that case, I’ll meet you there. Pizza sounds good.”

  Cal gave her a considering look. “It’s a long drive, lots of time for second thoughts. Do I need to have Kyle and a buddy ride along with you to make sure you show up? Once I’ve told Maddie you’re joining us, I don’t want to have you renege.”

  She frowned. “I won’t change my mind. You don’t need to send an escort.”

  He nodded, satisfied. “See you there, then.”

  Jeanette watched as he strode off with the teenage boys, then went to her car. Outside the parking garage, she lowered the convertible top, popped in a CD and let the music blast. By the time she hit the outskirts of Serenity, she was windblown, but her mood had improved by leaps and bounds.

  Good thing, too, because the first person she spotted when she entered Rosalina’s was the sexy stranger who’d been on the porch at The Corner Spa...and he was seated with Maddie.

  * * *

  Tom was holding the doll Jessica Lynn Maddox had shoved into his arms when he looked up and saw his mystery woman standing just inside the door. She was staring across the room directly at him, and for just an instant he had the distinct impression she was about to bolt.

  Instead, Maddie Maddox was out of her seat across from his and charging across the room, Jessica Lynn on her heels, screaming, “Jeanette, Jeanette,” as if they were long-lost friends. He was left to warily eye the baby sleeping in his carrier next to him. He had plenty of experience with his sister’s kids, but mostly after they were past the diaper stage. He’d never bought the idea that infants weren’t as fragile as they looked.

  By the time Maddie returned to the table, her hand clamped rather firmly around the other woman’s wrist, Tom was on his feet.

  “Jeanette, I’d like you to meet Tom McDonald, the new Serenity town manager,” Maddie said, almost shoving Jeanette’s hand toward his. He clasped it instinctively. “Tom, this is Jeanette Brioche, who runs the spa operations at The Corner Spa.”

  “Hello again,” he said, holding her soft hand just a little too long. Her smooth skin was a walking advertisement for the spa’s treatments.

  Though her dark eyes were wary, she smiled and said, “Nice to know my first impression wasn’t too far off the mark.”

  He blinked. “Oh?”

  “I told Elliot, our personal trainer, that you looked trustworthy,” she explained. “Even though you’d been peering in the windows of the spa alarming the women.”

  Maddie regarded him with shock. “You did what?”

  Tom winced. “It wasn’t the way it appeared. I was looking for a place to have a good workout. I was told the spa was only for women, but I wanted to see for myself if I could join. Jeanette intercepted me outside and made it very clear that I couldn’t.”

  “Sorry,” Jeanette said, though her voice lacked sincerity. “Just enforcing the rules.”

  “Maybe you and Cal can team up and get something similar going for the men in town,” Maddie suggested. “That way I won’t have to pretend I don’t know he sneaks in there late at night.”

  “I don’t suppose you’d let me sneak in with him, would you?” Tom asked wistfully.

  “Not a chance,” Jeanette said sharply, drawing a look from Maddie. “I just mean, Cal’s one thing. He’s married to an owner. But if we let you sneak in, then someone else will ask, and the next thing you know we won’t have a special place for women.”

  He grinned at her rapid-fire explanation. “For a minute there, I thought maybe you had something against me personally.”

  “How could I?” she said. “I don’t even know you.”

  “We could change that,” he suggested, and had the satisfaction of seeing her blush.

  “I don’t think so,” she said tightly, though yet another sharp glance from Maddie had her adding, “Thanks, anyway.”

  He just stared at her for a moment before pulling out the chair next to his. Before Jeanette could sit down as he’d hoped, Jessica Lynn scrambled onto it and tugged on his arm. “I’m hungry,” she announced. “Where’s my doll?”

  “Right here,” he said, picking it up off the seat of his own chair and handing it to her. Conceding the fact that Jeanette would be sitting elsewhere—probably as far from him as possible—he leaned down and confided to Jessica Lynn, “I’m starving, too.”

  “Count me among the starving,” Jeanette chimed in, surprising him.

  “Then let’s order,” Maddie said. “Cal should be here any minute with
the boys.”

  “Where’s Katie?” Jeanette asked.

  “At a friend’s house, in theory doing homework. I have my doubts—the Grahams have a pool.”

  Tom regarded Maddie with curiosity. He’d already digested that there was an unmistakable age difference between Maddie and her husband—probably a good ten years—but it also sounded as if they had a large family. And Cal was only around his age—early to midthirties. “How many children do you have?”

  “I have five,” Maddie told him. She gestured at Jessica Lynn and Cole. “These two are mine with Cal, but I have three from my first marriage. Ty’s a sophomore at Duke. Katie, as I mentioned, is with a friend tonight, and Kyle will be here any minute with Cal.”

  “And you manage the spa full-time?” Tom asked, impressed.

  “And does an amazing job of it,” Jeanette added. “Women are great multitaskers.”

  Tom frowned at the note of censure in her voice. “I’m aware of that. I’m just trying to learn who does what in Serenity.”

  After shooting a bewildered look in Jeanette’s direction, which suggested there would be questions for her later, Maddie said, “Well, you’ll be happy to know that Jeanette is an organizational wizard herself. She’ll be our representative on the Christmas festival committee. Will you be chairing that?”

  “Yes,” Tom said. Suddenly the prospect of planning the town’s holiday celebration didn’t seem as dismal as he’d anticipated. He still thought there were better uses of his time, but if it threw him together with Jeanette, it couldn’t be all bad. Right now, though, she was regarding him with undisguised suspicion.

  “Since you and Maddie clearly don’t really know each other, what are you doing here?” Jeanette asked as if he’d crashed the party.

  Maddie’s expression went from bewildered to dismayed at Jeanette’s rudeness. “I invited him,” she said. “And before you ask, it was Cal’s suggestion. He called on his way home and said he’d run into you at the movies and invited you to join us. He thought it would be nice for Tom to get to know a few people in town.”