by Ann McMan
“I’m just sayin’. Somebody clearly wants to hang their shingle on that hot little piece of real estate.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Why do you think?”
“To annoy the shit out of me?”
“Yes. Precisely. I want to waste my time annoying the shit out of you while some other schmoe breezes in and walks off with the woman of your dreams.”
Maddie was losing patience with him. “You’re making me insane, David.”
“You were already around the bend on this one, Cinderella. Quit pretending that you don’t know it. If the glass slipper fits, I say, wear it.”
“I think I’m going to hang up now.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What?”
“Eight o’clock. Glad rags. And make it something revealing. It is her birthday, after all. Let’s spoil her a little bit.”
Maddie mumbled an expletive.
“What was that? I didn’t quite make it out?”
“I said I’d be there.”
“Thought so.” He hung up before she could.
Chapter 13
Valentine’s Day. Christ. Of course her birthday would be on Valentine’s Day. Maddie turned onto the gravel road that led down toward the Inn. Ahead, she could see the parking lot, filled to near capacity with cars. Off to her left, she saw Syd’s blue Volvo, and her heart rate accelerated.
God. I’m acting like a teenager at my first prom. She parked her Lexus and sat for a few moments, listening to the final strains of Beim Schlafengehen, trying to regain her composure. Renée Fleming’s rich voice soared and filled the space inside the car with a rising succession of silvery notes. Maddie shook her head, overwhelmed for a moment by the beauty of the sound and the sentiment of the music. “Time to Sleep.”
You got that right, she thought as she shut the car off and looked down at the small, wrapped package on the passenger seat. After some fancy footwork, she succeeded in getting the item in less than twenty-four hours. All it took was some careful deliberation, a phone call to her attorney in Philadelphia, and a small fortune in shipping charges. Was it the right choice? She guessed she’d know soon enough.
She slipped the small package into the pocket of her coat and climbed out of the car. It was a cold night—snow was in the forecast. The Inn was hopping. It was plain that Valentine’s Day was good for business. She didn’t recognize very many of the cars that filled the gravel parking lot, so she guessed that most of the diners were from areas farther-flung than Jericho or Jefferson. She ascended the wide steps and heard the happy sounds of laughter and music as she crossed the wide porch to the door. David met her just inside. After kissing her cheek, he reached out to take her coat.
“Gimme this and do a quick three-sixty so I can check out your stuff,” he said, making rapid circles with his index finger.
Maddie sighed and dutifully turned around so he could inspect her ensemble. Now that she was free from working in the ER, she had actually had time to give some thought to her appearance, and she opted for a long-sleeved black cocktail dress with a deep v-neck and button sleeves. The dress had a wide, fitted waistband that accentuated her tall frame, and its hem fell to just above her knees. She wore tiny, diamond earrings, and no other jewelry. She knew she looked stunning. David was clearly impressed.
“Nice.” He smiled at her in approval. “I’d do you.”
She looked at him in surprise. “I think that’s possibly the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
He winked at her as he took her arm and steered her toward the sun porch at the back of the Inn. “Well, take a deep breath, because your dinner date looks pretty tasty, too.”
“Did you just say ‘date’—as in singular?” she hissed. “I thought this was a party?”
He chuckled. “Oh, it’s going to be a party, all right.” He squeezed her arm. “Lighten up, Cinderella. We’re going to join you once the dust settles from this first wave.” He inclined his head toward the dimly lighted dining room as they walked past. Inside, the tabletops all glittered with candlelight, and a variety of intoxicating smells wafted out toward them. She saw heads turn as they walked past the open doors. “You should only have to be charming for about the next thirty minutes. Think you can manage?”
She scowled at him as they turned the corner and stepped onto the glass-enclosed porch . . . then she saw Syd.
Syd stood with her back to the door. She was holding a wine glass and was in an animated conversation with Michael, who stood near the dining room entrance with his arms folded across his broad chest.
Michael looked up when they entered, and Syd turned around. She was wearing a vintage silk dress in emerald green with a scoop neck and three-quarter length sleeves. The waist was cinched with a matching belt, tied at the front. She looked incredible.
Maddie stopped dead in her tracks and stood, stupefied, as every receptor on every nerve ending in her body decided to stand up and phone home. A giant clue had finally been tied to a biological two-by-four, and it just smacked her right between the eyes.
Oh my god, she thought, as rival sensations of panic and exhilaration chased one another up and down her body. I’m in love with her.
David touched her arm. “You okay?” He looked at her closely for a moment. Then he smiled and squeezed her arm. “It’s okay, Maddoe,” he said softly. “You were bound to figure it out sooner or later.” He tugged her forward. “C’mon—she won’t bite.” He chuckled and muttered under his breath, “Not unless you ask her to.”
Maddie gave out a pitiful moan under her breath as they crossed the remaining distance to join Syd and Michael.
SYD STOOD, TALKING herself through every mind-control exercise she’d ever tried, and slowed her breathing as Maddie and David made their way across the room toward them. Never before had she experienced this kind of visceral response to another person, and she was terrified that she wouldn’t be able to conceal it. Her palms were sweaty, and her face felt hot, and she wasn’t sure she could trust her shaky legs to hold her up. The sensations hit her like a tidal wave when she turned around and saw Maddie standing in the doorway. It was impossible for her to deny the nature of her response. There was no way she could continue to dismiss it, falsely classify it, or characterize it as something benign. It was real, and right now, it was bigger than her fear.
Lots bigger.
And she had only an instant to try and recover her poise.
MICHAEL LOOKED BACK and forth between Maddie and Syd. It was clear to him that something subliminal had just transpired. They both looked shell-shocked, and he couldn’t tell which one of them was more unsettled. Maddie, he thought. But, no . . . Syd was nervously twisting the stem of her wine glass and seemed shy about meeting Maddie’s eyes. Not that I blame her, he thought as he took in her ensemble. She looks fantastic in black. Hell, she’d look fantastic in anything—he smiled to himself—or nothing. He shook his head. Damn. There must be something in the air tonight.
Maddie tentatively touched Syd’s arm, and said happy birthday. She stepped closer to Syd and kissed her on the forehead. She had a pained expression as her lips hovered near Syd’s hairline, then she stepped back and gave him a nervous look that seemed to ask, “What now?”
David, who was the natural enemy of a vacuum, stepped into fill the void. “You two look delicious enough to plop on top of a wedding cake.” He thought about it. “A Red Velvet wedding cake.”
Michael glared at him.
“Hey, don’t even start with that look,” David whined. “It’s my fantasy. If I wanna put a little Baywatch twist on it, it’s my prerogative.”
“Baywatch?” Michael asked, perplexed. “Isn’t that the wrong kind of reference for one of your fantasies?”
David looked incredulous as he waved his hand between Syd and Maddie’s chests. “Hello? Seen what these necklines are barely concealing, big guy?”
That seemed to shock Maddie out of her torpor. She turn
ed to David with a raised eyebrow. “I refuse to run, no matter how much sand you haul in here. So don’t even ask.”
Syd broke into peals of laughter.
Michael shook his head and gestured toward the dining room. “Come on let me seat you. We should be able to join you shortly—most of the other tables are nearing the dessert course. David, why don’t you get the girls a bottle of nice wine?”
David adjusted the angle of his red bow tie with both hands. “I can do that.” He winked at Syd and Maddie, turned on his heel, and headed back down the hallway toward the bar.
ONCE THEY WERE seated, Maddie felt a bit more in control of her emotions. A bit. Syd looked so beautiful tonight, and the candlelight wasn’t helping much, either. Her green dress seemed to glow . . . like her eyes.
She needed something safe to talk about.
“Your dress is lovely. I thought you left all your glad rags in storage?”
Syd smiled at her. “Ever heard of Mimi’s New-to-You Emporium in West Jefferson?”
Maddie stared at her in surprise. “You’re kidding me?”
“Would I do that?”
Maddie pretended to think about it. “In a heartbeat.”
Syd lowered her eyes. “Well, maybe I would . . . but in this case, I’m telling you the truth.”
Her appreciation for Syd’s appearance grew. “So this is a vintage creation?”
“Yep. Circa 1960, I’d say.”
Maddie looked her over. “It does exude a certain Jackie Kennedy quality.”
“I thought so, too.”
“You certainly wear it well. It looks like it was made for you.”
“Why thank you, Doctor.” Syd took a sip from her water glass. “It’s unusual for me to find something that’s the right length. Normally, I look like I’m standing in a hole.”
Maddie bit the inside of her cheek. “No comment.”
“Oh, whatever, Wilma Rudolph. At least I don’t get a nosebleed when I stand up in the morning.”
Maddie sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Remind me to call you the next time I need to bake brownies.”
“We little people do have our uses.”
“I’ll say,” Maddie quipped without thinking. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and thought that maybe Syd was blushing, too, but the candlelight made it hard to tell. “I’m sorry. I must have been channeling David.”
Syd met her eyes.
David showed up, wielding a bottle of wine and two champagne flutes. “And to reward you both for your respective birthday hotness, I present you with this fine bottle of Duval-Leroy Rosé de Saignée. And I’d advise you to drink it slowly, ’cause it’s the only one of these suckers we’ve got left.” He twisted off the wire cage.
He eyed Maddie as he covered the top of the bottle with a linen towel and held it between his knees, twisting the cork out with exaggerated force. The loud pop echoed through the room, and diners at nearby tables turned and smiled at them.
“That was subtle,” Maddie drawled. “Did you skip Boy Scouts the day they explained how to properly open champagne?”
He gave her a look of disdain as he filled their flutes. “Unlike you, I never earned the Fine Wines badge. What troop were you in?”
“Me?” She picked up her glass. “I flunked the physical—remember?”
“Hell, my troop would’ve waived it.” He stood back and crossed his arms as he raked his gaze over her. “You sure wouldn’t flunk any physicals tonight.”
“That’s for sure,” Syd added with a smile.
Maddie looked at her in surprise.
“What?” Syd asked. “You didn’t notice that every head in this dining room turned when you walked in here?”
Maddie raised her eyebrows and looked at her with feigned innocence. “I thought it was because of that piece of toilet paper I had stuck to my shoe.”
Syd rolled her eyes. “Yeah. That, and the fact that you’re drop dead gorgeous and look about nine feet tall in that outfit.”
Maddie sat back, trying to ignore the sudden hitch in her breathing. “What makes you think people were only looking at me?”
“Uh huh,” David cut it. “Well, I see that you two are doing just fine honing your polite conversation skills. Lemme move on and minister to some of our less fortunate guests.” He gave Maddie’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze as he walked off.
After a momentary silence, Maddie gamely raised her glass of champagne. “There’s no place I’d rather be right now, and no one I’d rather be with. Happy birthday, Syd. I’m honored to be a part of your life.”
Syd belatedly raised her own glass. Her expression was shy and confused. “Thank you.” They clinked glasses and sipped the sparkling wine. “I wish I had the words to tell you how much your friendship has come to mean to me.” She dropped her eyes. “I think I’m only starting to understand how alone I was before I came here.” She looked at Maddie again with shining eyes. “You—all of you—have become such a part of me now. I can’t imagine being without you.”
“Why would you need to be without us?” Maddie asked, quietly.
“This grant won’t last forever. I only have funding for another year.”
“A year is a long time. A lot can happen.”
They looked at each other in silence. “I hope you’re right.”
Maddie gave her a shy smile. “I hope so, too.”
Syd shook her head like she was trying to clear it. “But, in the meantime, I have Phoebe Jenkins—who is determined to drag my violin out of retirement and fill my lonely nights with song.” She smiled. “Or at least with some kind of soundtrack.”
Maddie raised her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? It seems like I heard a rumor about that.”
Syd pursed her lips. “I’ll just bet you did.”
“Hey, you can’t pin this one on me. You set yourself up as soon as you agreed to start helping the kids out with music lessons.”
“Well, I certainly never intended for that gesture to end up resurrecting my ill-fated performance career.” Syd picked up the wine cork and rolled it against the tablecloth.
Maddie laughed. “Oh, come on. How bad could it be?”
“Have you ever heard the Jericho Community Orchestra?”
“Um. Well. You got me there. I guess it could be pretty bad, after all.”
“Exactly.”
“But look at the bright side.” Maddie fixed her with a hopeful expression. “This is a made-to-order opportunity for a selfless do-gooder like yourself.”
“Excuse me? Did you just call me a selfless do-gooder?”
Maddie crossed her arms. “I believe I did, yes.”
“You must be joking?”
Maddie pretended to consider her comment. “Nope. Don’t think I am.”
Syd sighed and sat back. “What on earth would lead you to characterize me as a selfless do-gooder?”
“Oh, gee. Lemme think . . . well-educated young professional leaves a thriving metropolitan area to work for pennies in a less-than-glamorous, publicly funded, social service venture in the mountains of Appalachia. Nope. Nothing at all noble about that.”
Syd tossed the cork at her.
Maddie chuckled as she caught it and placed it down next to the bottle. “If you’re going to start throwing things at me, I’d like to know now so I can go and change. I might need to wear this outfit again in Richmond.”
Syd raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? I thought you weren’t going to have to seduce any drug reps on this trip?”
“Who said anything about drug reps?”
“Got someone else in mind?”
“You never know.” Maddie grinned with amusement. “I might get lucky.”
“If you plan on wearing that outfit, luck won’t have anything to do with it.”
“Why Miss Murphy. You’ll put me to the blush.”
Syd rolled her eyes. “Right.”
They fell quiet. Syd looked for a moment like she wanted to say something, but then seemed to think better of it.
&
nbsp; “What?” Maddie prompted.
“It’s nothing.”
“No. Go ahead. What were you going to say?”
Syd shrugged. “It’s none of my business, really.”
“What’s none of your business?” Maddie was curious.
“I just . . . I mean, it’s obvious that you’re not really seeing anyone . . . at least, not anyone who lives around here. I was just curious about that. About why that’s the case?” She nervously waved her hand. “I know this is really personal, but you’ve been back here for nearly two years now, and there’s no special man in your life. It just doesn’t make sense to me. You’re about the most eligible person in the county.” She lowered her eyes. “I’ve just never asked you about it.”
Maddie bit the inside of her cheek as she puzzled through how to respond. She had already decided to stop lying to herself. Did she also need to stop lying to Syd?
“I’m sorry,” Syd said quickly. “I told you it was none of my business.”
“Oh, don’t be silly.” Maddie reached across the table and patted the top of her hand. “I was just trying to figure out how to respond. I mean, I guess I thought you already knew.”
“Knew?”
“Well, yeah.” Maddie gave her a small smile.
“Knew what?” Syd looked confused.
Maddie opened and closed her mouth. In for a penny, in for a pound, she thought. Sighing and leaning forward, she said in a low and conspiratorial voice, “Syd, I’m gay.”
Syd’s green eyes grew wide, and she sat in stunned silence with her mouth hanging open.
Maddie looked at her with concern. “Are you okay? You look like I just fired a gun next to your head.”
Syd raised her fingertips to her forehead. “Oh, god. You must think I’m an idiot.”
“Why on earth would I think that?”
Syd looked at her through her spread fingers. “Because I wasn’t able to connect the dots, and because I had to ask you in such a stupid fashion.”
Maddie laughed. “Oh come on. It isn’t like I telegraph this information to everyone who moves here. I guess I should be relieved that you didn’t figure it out within ten seconds of meeting me.”
