by Sharon Sala
However, Honey saw LilyAnn and was immediately torn between confronting her and staying out of their business.
Ever since Thanksgiving, Mike had become a bear to work for. His one attempt at making LilyAnn jealous seemed to have backfired, but Honey didn’t know why.
“Do you feel better?” Honey asked, as Rachel Goodhope gave Honey her bank card to scan.
Rachel smiled. “Lord yes, and thank you for that. Ever since I had the wreck, my neck and back have been in knots. This is a busy time of year at the bed and breakfast, with so many people traveling home for the holidays, and I can’t be all in a kink and unable to work.”
“Any time you begin hurting like that again, give me a call. I can even come to your house,” Honey said.
Rachel waved good-bye and was starting toward the door when she saw LilyAnn on the treadmill and went the other way. She was still pissed at the woman for intervening in her attempt to visit Mike in the hospital.
The rain was really coming down when Rachel got outside. She made a dash for her new car and breathed a sigh of relief as she got inside. She shivered from the cold, then took a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes.
“I love the smell of a new car in the morning,” she drawled, paraphrasing the famous line from Apocalypse Now.
As she was backing out, she saw T. J. Lachlan’s truck parked in front of Richards’ Realty. She knew his uncle’s house was now up for sale, which gave her a perfectly good reason to visit him again. The house was far larger and grander than theirs was, and since it only a little over a mile out of town, it would make a great venue for a bed and breakfast. Instead of going home, she drove up the street to the Realtor’s office.
She came in with the wind, laughing and shaking the droplets from her hair, well aware that she looked as good without makeup as she did with it.
“My goodness, this day is a mess, isn’t it?” she said, smiling at Ann Richards, the owner’s wife, who manned the front desk.
“Yes it is,” Ann said. “What on earth brings you out in such nasty weather?”
“I heard the Bissell place is for sale. Bud and I might be interested in viewing it. It’s far larger than our place and would be a great location for a bed and breakfast.”
Sensing the possibility of a sale, Ann quickly agreed.
“That’s a marvelous idea, and as luck would have it, the owner is in a meeting with Hank right now. Have a seat and I’ll see if we can set up a time to view.”
“Sure thing,” Rachel said as Ann went into her husband’s office.
She could hear the murmur of voices and recognized T. J.’s voice, as well. The excitement of another interlude made her squirm in her seat, although she wasn’t sure how she could make that happen without one of the Realtors trailing along. Moments later, Ann stepped out and waved her in.
Rachel sashayed into the office. Hank was on his feet and introducing her to T. J. as she sat. She flashed a wide smile.
“I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lachlan. He’s the gentlemen who stopped at the site of my accident and took me to the emergency room.” Then she shifted her smile to T. J. “Mr. Lachlan, it’s good to see you again.”
T. J. wanted to sell the house and get the hell out of Blessings, and he was guessing the only thing Rachel Goodhope was really interested in was another free fuck, not buying his property. It made his bad mood worse. Still, he had to respond.
“Mrs. Goodhope. It’s good to see you have recovered.”
“Mostly,” she said, and then angled her question toward Hank. “So when would be a good time to check out the property?”
“I’m showing other property this afternoon,” Hank said, “which means Ann will have to man the office. Do you have any time free tomorrow?”
Rachel sensed fate was about to hand her what she wanted and made a face and then sighed. “No, sorry. We have guests coming in, so I’ll be tied up for the rest of the week, maybe all the way through Christmas. This is our busy time, you know.”
Hank knew what happened when prospective buyers had to wait. They often cooled off on the idea and the sale was lost. He looked toward T. J. for assistance.
T. J. was trapped, and Rachel knew it. He could see it on her face.
“I guess I can show it, if it’s not against the Realtor rules,” he said.
Ann laughed. “Not really, if the prospective buyer agrees.”
“It’s fine with me,” Rachel said. “I need to give Bud a call. When do you want to do this?”
“I’m ready anytime,” T. J. said.
Rachel smiled, remembering the state of his impressive erection.
“How about now?” she asked.
T. J. glanced at Hank. “Are we through?”
Hank cautioned Rachel. “You understand that any offers you make on the property need to go through us. This visit is just to give you an idea of the extent of the property.”
“Of course,” Rachel said.
“I’m going home now, Mrs. Goodhope, so come at your leisure,” T. J. said.
She smiled again. Sex was something to be enjoyed, not rushed. She always came at her leisure.
“Then I’ll see you soon,” she said. “Thank you, Hank. Nice to see you, Ann. Happy holidays to the both of you.”
She was still smiling when she got in the car and was calling Bud when T. J. walked out. He gave her a brief glance, then got in his truck and left.
The phone rang several times before Bud answered.
“Goodhope Bed and Breakfast.”
“It’s me,” Rachel said. “What are you doing?” As if she didn’t already know.
“Playing cards with a couple of the guys.”
“Seriously? Are you guys betting with real money?”
The silence was telling.
“Bud Goodhope, you better not be losing all the profit we just made during Thanksgiving.”
“It’s not like we’re going broke. Chill out. What did you want, anyway?”
“I wanted you to go out with me to look at the Bissell place as a possible location for a new business site. It’s for sale now. I was just talking to Hank Richards about it.”
Bud sighed. This was a subject they’d talked about before, and he was fine with the idea, but not with the timing.
“I can’t go now and leave the guys in the middle of the game. Why don’t you go to check it out and see if it would work? If it has possibilities, we can go back together.”
“Oh, okay, whatever you say. I’ll be home later.”
“Drive safely.”
“And you don’t lose all our money.”
She heard a snort as he disconnected.
“Like taking candy from a baby,” she muttered. She put the car in gear and drove out of town.
***
Lily’s lunch hour was almost over when she turned off the treadmill. She wiped the sweat from her face on the way to the locker room and was getting dressed when Honey Andrews walked in.
“Hi, LilyAnn. Good to see you again,” she said.
“You, too,” Lily muttered, as she pulled her sweater over her head and then reached for the hairbrush to fix her hair.
“You’ve got a good workout regimen going. Are you eating healthy? Drinking lots of water?” Honey asked.
“I’m fine,” Lily said, as she put her hair back up in a ponytail and sat down to put on her work shoes.
Honey sat down beside her. “Can I talk to you, woman to woman?”
Lily tensed. “I’d rather not have this conversation.”
Honey sighed. “I think you need to hear it, anyway.”
Lily started to get up, but Honey stopped her.
“What’s going on with you and Mike? Did you have a fight or something? He’s mad at everyone all the time, and it’s making work a drag.”
Lily couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You two have to work out your own issues. They are not my concern.”
Honey lowered her voice. “That’s just the deal. We d
on’t have issues to work out because we’re not a couple.”
It was the last thing Lily expected her to say.
“What do you mean?”
“Mike used me to make you jealous. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I agreed. I mean, I like Mike, but I don’t swing that way,” she said and grinned.
Lily was trying to absorb the fact that Honey Andrews was gay and Mike wanted to make her jealous when she realized Honey was waiting for a comment.
“Why would he do that? We don’t feel like that about each other,” Lily said.
Honey shook her head. “And that is obviously your opinion only, because he wanted to make you jealous. You might not like him like that, but if you think he doesn’t like you, you are as blind as you are tall. I knew the first day I went to work for him that he was attached to someone. I just didn’t know who it was until I saw him with you. So what’s the deal with not liking him?”
Lily felt like she’d just been sideswiped. “I never thought of Mike like that. I never thought of anybody like that after Randy Joe died. I sort of shut down, and everyone let me do it.”
Honey patted her knee. “Well, woman to woman, I thought it only fair that you know where you stand. Men are okay in their place, but God love ’em, they don’t have the sense God gave a goose. Women on the other hand… if we have a gripe, someone’s gonna know about it before the sun goes down. Know what I mean?”
Lily nodded, while her heart was racing.
“I have a client due, so I’m going back to work. Do what you want with what I told you, and just so you know, I have no intention of telling Mike I spilled the beans.”
“Okay, and Honey…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I was so rude to you at dinner.”
Honey frowned. “But you weren’t. You were sweet as can be.”
Lily sighed. “No, I wasn’t, and just so you know, when a Southern girl smiles at you real sweet and says, ‘Bless your heart,’ she’s pretty much telling you to go to hell.”
Honey’s eyes widened, and then she threw back her head and laughed and laughed until tears were rolling down her face.
“Oh my God, that’s the best thing I’ve learned since I came to Georgia, and just for the record, if you ever get fed up with men and wanna give a girl a try, look me up. I think we’d hit it off just fine.”
Lily grinned. “Well, that’s not likely to happen, but I could definitely use a friend.”
“Deal,” Honey said. “Hang in there, girl. Anything worth having is worth fighting for.”
***
Rachel’s cockiness ended the moment T. J. opened the door. He grabbed her arm, shoved her up against the wall, and began tearing off her clothes.
“Hey, hey, wait a minute,” Rachel said, trying to laugh it off.
“Not in the mood for it,” T. J. muttered. “Did you come to buy my house?”
She stuttered. “Well, we’ve thought about—”
His eyes narrowed angrily. “That’s what I thought. You know why you’re here, and I don’t like being used. This time I’m the one in charge.”
Rachel’s heartbeat kicked out of rhythm as his fingers curled around the collar of her blouse.
“Do not tear my clothes,” she said sharply. “You fuck with me and cause me to explain stuff to my husband I don’t want to explain, and you’ll be looking down the barrel of a rape charge. Do we understand each other?”
He froze. Once again, he’d been sideswiped by a female calling all the shots and something inside him just snapped.
“Then strip, bitch,” he said softly.
Rachel’s hands were trembling as she came out of her clothes.
“Aren’t you going to take yours off, too?” she asked.
He undid his belt and let his jeans drop down around his knees.
“I don’t need to. Nothing personal, Mrs. Goodhope, but this is what you came for.”
She was stunned by the sight of the condom already on his erection and realized he’d planned this welcome, even as she had been driving out to meet him. She was in over her head and knew it. The only way to get out was to get through it.
He shoved his knee between her legs and took her standing up, punishing Rachel for her rich-bitch assumption that all he was good for was a fuck, and then doing it all over again for LilyAnn Bronte’s put-down.
Tears were running down Rachel’s cheeks when he finally climaxed. He withdrew abruptly, ripped off the condom, and dropped it in a wastebasket, then readjusted his clothes without even looking at her.
Rachel was shivering, her arms crossed against her breasts. A trickle of blood was running down the inside of her thigh.
Then he swung back around. “Get your clothes on and get the hell out, and don’t come back. I got my eyes on younger meat.”
Rachel was trembling, but there was a look in his eyes that scared her beyond the rape. She began grabbing her clothes, putting them on as fast as she could, desperate to get out before he silenced her for good.
She was dressed all but her shoes when she saw him double up his fist. She picked them up and ran barefoot through the rain to her car. Her fingers were shaking so hard that she couldn’t get the key in the ignition, and all the while, she could see him from the corner of her eye, still standing in the doorway, watching.
When the key finally went in, she started the engine and accelerated so fast that she slung mud all the way to the porch and up onto the legs of T. J.’s jeans.
His eyes narrowed angrily. “Motherfucker,” he muttered, and went back inside, slamming and locking the door behind him.
Rachel drove until she was out of sight of the house, then pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, laid her head down on the steering wheel, and sobbed.
By the time she got home, she had regained her composure, thankful she was still alive.
The poker game was still in progress, because she recognized the cars in the parking lot. Since they would be playing in the library, she went in the back door, then to her bedroom, and locked the door. She scrubbed the blood out of her panties in the bathroom sink, then got in the shower and scrubbed her body until it was pink, washed the massage oil and the rain from her hair, and proceeded to put herself back together again.
By the time she was finished, she’d come to a conclusion. She’d gotten herself into that mess, and the only way to make sure it never happened again was to quit cheating. Bud wasn’t the best apple in the barrel, but he was hers, and so was his money. It was enough.
That night, she told Bud she didn’t think the Bissell house was right for them, then she called Hank Richards and told him the same thing. With that decision made, her foray into fucking outside the bonds of marriage was over.
***
Mike saw the lights come on in Lily’s house while he was in the kitchen peeling potatoes. Fine. She was home safe. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. He just didn’t want to be in her world anymore. His heart hurt, and his vision was blurry, but he kept peeling the potato and telling himself if he said it enough times to himself, it would surely become fact.
***
Lily, on the other hand, had the opposite wish. She’d been the center of Mike Dalton’s world and never knew it, and now that he’d cast her out, she felt lost. She wanted him back but didn’t know how to make it happen.
She had just stepped out of the shower when her phone rang. She answered absently, still caught up in the drama of her life.
“Hello.”
“Hey, honey, it’s me, Mama.”
Lily heard the voice and before she knew it, she was crying.
Grace felt helpless. She was too far away to comfort her baby’s broken heart.
“Talk to me, Lilybug. What’s wrong?”
Lily stifled a sob. “Mike loved me. I didn’t know it. Now he hates me, and I want him to love me again.”
Grace rolled her eyes. Her daughter had finally seen the light, but as usual, a day late and a dollar short.
&n
bsp; “Then find a way, LilyAnn. If he matters that much to you, find a way. Don’t quit on him like you quit on life. He was there for eleven years for you. You owe him some time to get over whatever it was you did.”
“Well, that’s just it. I didn’t do anything.”
“You did something,” Grace said. “The whole time you were gone on your walk, he was uneasy, pacing the house, looking out the windows, waiting for you to come back. Right before you walked in, he was standing at the windows. Then all of a sudden he ran to the door, and whatever he saw or heard outside must have been the last straw. So think. And then fix it. I would dearly love for him to be my son-in-law, okay?”
“Okay,” Lily said. “I’m glad you called.”
“Me, too,” Grace said. “Stay in touch.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you more, Lilybug.”
Lily disconnected, then went to the front door and opened it. If Mike had been standing in the doorway, he would have had a clear view of T. J. and the truck, and he would seen her, but only her back, so what the hell had she been doing?
Then it hit her. Right before all that happened, she’d seen him watching her from the window like he was spying, and it had made her mad. After that, she’d heard the front door open. That’s when she turned her back to the house. She closed her eyes, remembering that she’d shifted her stance and put a hand on her hip. It had been a challenging stance for Lachlan, but from behind, it could have looked different to Mike. And since he was convinced she had another boyfriend, he had to assume that was the guy.
She groaned as she shut the door. She’d been all about making a change in her life, but if he’d been in love with her through Randy Joe and the eleven ensuing years without ever having his feelings reciprocated, seeing her pick yet another man over him would most likely have been his “last straw.”
What on earth had she done?
***
Ruby Dye had changed her hair color from Audacious Red to Chocolate Sin. The color was a warm rich brown with auburn highlights and was the start of the conversation when Vesta and Vera got to work.
“Ooh, Sister! I love that,” Vesta said.
“Me, too,” Vera said. “That color really makes your eyes pop.”
Vesta frowned at her twin. “Vera, you know I hate that phrase. Pop. Pop. Pop. ‘A pop of color.’ ‘Makes it pop.’ What the hell is that supposed to mean? Balloons pop. Popcorn pops. We drink pop. But color doesn’t pop.”
