Mixed Signals

by Ivy Raine

  ***

  “Maybe George can fix me up, too.” Susan craned her neck to see the Porter’s getting out of their car. She glanced over at Rachel. “Why is it that you could put on a sack and look adorable, while the rest of womankind has to struggle?”

  “Apparently you haven’t checked the mirror lately, cutie.” Rachel loved every single freckle splashed across Susan’s nose. In Rachel’s opinion, Sue could have been a model. She had that unique look that set her apart from the run of the mill pretty girls.

  “There they are. There he is. Oh…my.” Susan’s jaw dropped. “George wasn’t lying. Maybe when you’re done with him, you can kick him my way.”

  “Susan Reyes! He can’t be that – good looking.” Rachel’s jaw joined Susan’s. “All that and money, too. How unfair!”

  Porter Junior’s sandy blond hair stood perfectly in place, even against the formidable gusts coming off of the ocean. Rachel watched him move. Confidence oozed from that boy. He was, indeed, very athletic, and judging from the tan, he spent a lot of time outdoors.

  “I’d lay down my racket and surrender before I started,” Susan gushed.

  “Back to earth, angel. I plan to give him a good workout before surrendering. You can sit and watch him sweat.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “Close the fly trap. They’re coming.”

  “I’d like you to meet two very lovely young ladies.” George ushered the Porters into the room. “This is Susan, my assistant, and this is Rachel, my secretary. Ladies, I’d like you to meet Carl and Ty Porter.”

  “Nice to meet you both.” Carl, the older of the two, grinned when he saw Rachel’s outfit. “Play much?”

  Though she tried to keep her attentions on the senior Porter, Rachel felt Ty’s eyes boring a hole into her. “Not for a few years. I thought I’d brush up a little.”

  “I’ll play you a few.” Ty had the ability to interject like a flash of lighting without a hint of desperation. “I’ll be gentle.” He had that look in his eyes. Rachel had seen it a million times over the years – smug dominance with a hint of sexual innuendo. But, he didn’t realize that this woman detested losing.

  “I’ll take you up on that offer, Mr. Porter.”

  “Ty. It’s always easier to lose to a friend.”

  Rachel raised a brow. “Well, in that case you better call me Rachel.”

  Rachel was impressed with his smile. His veneers were so white, they nearly glowed. They were, however, no match for Ryan’s beautiful teeth.

  Ty grinned at Susan. “Is she always like this?”

  Like a deer in the headlights, Susan just stood there nodding with a big, dopey smile on her face. “Uh, huh.”

  They spent the better part of the early afternoon moving each other around on the court, and even though Rachel lost two out of three games, she impressed Ty enough that he toned down his domineering rhetoric.

  “You’re pretty good. Did you play in college?”

  “No. Just high school.” Rachel plunked down in the shade beside Susan. “How about you?”

  Ty managed to wiggle himself between them. Susan didn’t seem to mind, but Rachel was on to him. Another glory man who liked to spread himself around among the female population. “I played in college. I thought about going pro, but you know. Business obligations got in the way.”

  “Don’t ya just hate when that happens?”

  Ty laughed. “You’re a forward thing, aren’t you. Okay. You got me. I wasn’t good enough for the pros, and that’s fine by me. I like the family business.”

  “Lumber?” Susan dared to speak to the god of tennis.

  He looked at Susan and graced her with his killer smile. “How did you know?”

  She nodded toward his shirt. “Says so right there.”

  Though it was a near impossibility, Rachel thought she saw a slight glow of embarrassment kiss his cheeks and neck. “Oh. Yeah. Lumber it is.”

  “What do you like best? Oak, wild cherry, maple?”

  Ty sat up and spun to face Susan. “Well, we prefer black walnut when we can get it. Wild cherry comes in at a close second.”

  “I forgot about walnut.” She twirled one of her many gorgeous auburn curls around on her finger. “How does the price compare? I know wild cherry was in demand a few years back.”

  “Black walnut all the way! It’s through the roof.”

  Rachel inched away, leaving them to discuss the ups and downs of the timber market. She always knew Sue was big into forestry, but she never thought it would come in handy – until now. Susan tried for years, without success, to get Rachel to join the Girl Scouts. It was one of the few times Susan didn’t get her way.

  Rachel found George and Carl sitting under a canopy sipping something dubious from a mug.

  “Ginger ale?” she teased.

  “Of course not. Life’s too short for ginger ale.” George eyed Rachel. “How’s tennis going?”

  “Fine. I won one.”

  “Where’s Ty?” There was a hint of fatherly irritation in his voice.

  “With Susan. They’re discussing lumber pricing, or something.” Rachel leaned down and sniffed his glass. “Irish Highball.”

  George raised a brow. “Yes. Would you like some ginger ale, too?”

  “No, thanks. I don’t drink while I’m working.”

  George tossed out a few quick winks. “But, you’re not working now, Miss Peters.”

  Rachel nearly burst out laughing at George’s wild eye gestures. “I’m not?”

  “Too nice a day to work, George. Let the girl alone.” Carl chugged down the last of his drink and thumped the thick mug down on the glass tabletop.

  George rolled his eyes. “Did you finish your assignment?”

  Rachel nodded. “All that I could. Susan’s finishing up for me.” Defeat spread across George’s face. “What?” she said in defense. “It’s not my fault the project has a mind of its own.”

  As if by design, Stanley Junior came waltzing up the walk. “Hello, Mr. Porter, Dad – Miss Peters.”

  “Ryan! How did the meeting go?” George motioned for him to sit down.

  “Perfect. Everything stays as is. No changes.” He turned to Rachel. “Playing tennis?”

  “Finished, actually.”

  “Ty’s here,” George explained. “They were making a go of it for the last two hours. As a matter of fact, here he comes.”

  Ty arrived at the table minus a certain redhead. “Hi there, Ryan. You just missed all the fun. Rachel, here, is an excellent tennis player.”

  “She’s a player, all right,” Ryan mumbled just loud enough for Rachel to hear. In retaliation, Rachel delivered a quick kick under the table. Ryan coughed. “I’ll have to play her sometime.”

  Ty sat down on the other side of Rachel and draped an arm around her shoulder. “I’d really like to go for a walk to loosen up my leg muscles. You up to it?”

  Rachel jumped up. “Absolutely. There’s a beautiful trail all the way down to the beach and back. Come on.” She reached out her hand and Ty was more than happy to take it.

  “Don’t be gone forever!” George called after them. “Dinner’s at seven-thirty!”

  Rachel waved a hand behind her head and took off down toward the beach.

  “I see Susan’s been working on you.”

  Ty puffed out his chest in exaggeration. “I’m good at making other guys jealous.”

  Rachel grunted. “You have no idea what you’re in for. This isn’t a normal guy. This is a machine with a teeny, tiny little heart that’s slowly turning to lead.”

  “Ryan? He’s not that bad. I’ve known him for years.” Ty reached down and plucked a handful of blueberries. “He’s just a little cynical after April.”

  “April? That’s a new one. I thought Molly was his biggest emotional thorn.”

  Ty laughed. “Molly’s a thorn, all right, but not in the way you think. April’s the stinger in Ryan’s ass.”

  This added a whole new dimension to Ry
an. “Who is she?”

  “Every guy’s worst nightmare. Pretty, though not as pretty as you,” he added. “Smart, caring, loving, fun – and evil. It’s all about her, all the time, and she took Ryan for a six month ride and dumped him out along the road like a piece of trash. He’s not been the same since.”

  Finding April and ripping her face off wouldn’t be enough justice for the mangled up mess of a man she left behind. “What in the hell did she do to him?”

  “She ran off with Elizabeth’s boyfriend.”

  “Sister Elizabeth?” Rachel finally understood why Ryan was so upset that Elizabeth hadn’t told him she was dating anyone. She was probably terrified it would happen all over again. “That’s messed up.”

  “Yeah, but that’s only half of it. April was pregnant at the time, and they had to go through the whole paternity test thing to prove Ryan wasn’t the father. She planned to tap him for child support, and if Elizabeth hadn’t insisted he take the test, he’d be paying right now.” Ty dropped a few blueberries in Rachel’s hand. “So, go easy on him, will you?”

  This new information just made it harder for Rachel, but at least she knew what she had to battle against.

  “Would you mind doing something for me, Ty?”

  “Depends,” he said.

  “Take Susan and me out for dinner tonight – away from here.”

  Ty may have looked like a dumb jock, but a dumb jock he was not. “Because Elizabeth and her fiance are coming tonight?”

  She nodded.

  “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty.”