by Kim Law
“Grace,” he said, pulling both women’s attention. He walked over and closed the flaps on all three boxes. “Maybe you could take a seat on the couch, where we could all talk.”
He reached for her hand to help her up, but she only looked at it, her nose wrinkling. She sent a scathing look toward Joanie. “Really? This is who you date?”
“Who I do or do not date is none of your business.” Joanie’s nostrils flared. He did not like seeing anyone affect her this way.
“I suppose you can’t expect much more here in this rattrap of a town, anyway,” her mother added. When Nick moved to pull Grace to her feet, she smacked his hand away and rose on her own. She then turned her nose up at the couch and pulled over a chair from the kitchen table. She plopped down in it and crossed bony legs over each other.
Joanie’s chest rose and fell with her breaths, but she remained silent. Nick was out of ideas. What did he say when the mother she hadn’t seen for twenty years popped back into her life? Especially when he could see what a cold-hearted bitch Grace was.
“How about this?” he said, still standing, a woman on either side of him. “How about I help Grace get settled in at the hotel, and we all three meet up for breakfast in the morning? We can talk then.”
Neither said anything, only stared at each other, and he was beginning to wonder if they even realized he was still there. Cat came over and rubbed at his legs. At least Cat knew he was in the building.
“You’d better go, Nick.” That wasn’t what he’d expected Joanie to say.
“I don’t want to leave you here. Let’s take your mother to the hotel, and then you and I can take the cats to the house, and—”
“Cats,” Grace sneered. “That sounds about right. They’re probably as horrible as that dog your grandmother had.”
So the woman wasn’t a pet person. That he could believe. Unlike her daughter.
“Just take Cat and go,” Joanie said. “Leave Bob here.”
She still wasn’t looking at him. “Babe,” he said, stepping over and getting in her face so she would have to see him. “This isn’t good for you. Let me take you—”
“No,” she said. “I’ll stay here. I need to deal with this.”
He needed to not let her out of his sight. He didn’t know why, but he had the worst feeling that if he walked out that door without her, she wouldn’t be coming back to him anytime soon. He could feel a wall going up between them as he stood there watching her.
“Come on, Joanie. I’m not leaving you here with her.”
Hard, gray eyes turned on him, and he had to wonder if he knew her at all. “You don’t have a choice. Take Cat and go.”
“Fine.” Anger sliced through him, but pushing the issue would only make it worse. He nodded and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “Call me later.”
She didn’t confirm, and he suspected she wouldn’t. She was standing right there, pulling away from him in front of his eyes—because of a woman who didn’t deserve two minutes of her time—and he couldn’t figure out a thing in the world to do about it.
Nick put the baton he carried on her couch in case she found she needed it, then picked up Cat. He considered taking Bob, too, just to force her to come looking for him later, but didn’t want to leave her there alone. She might need someone after she had her conversation with her mother. If she didn’t want him, at least she could have Bob.
“I’ll see you later,” he said and slammed the door on his way out.
Once on the porch, he looked back, wanting so badly to be inside with her. He wanted to kick the woman out and make sure she never hurt Joanie again. But maybe this was what Joanie needed. She had to face the past and try to get some answers. See that there was no curse. Merely a piece-of-shit mother.
Hopefully, then, she’d come out the other side in a positive place.
He put Cat in the truck, who found his spot on the dash, but instead of going straight home, he decided to make a pit stop first. He wasn’t the only one in town who would be worried to know Joanie was at the house alone with her mother.
Joanie startled with the slamming of the door and briefly glanced that way, wanting to call Nick back. He would help her through this, she knew he would. He would do anything she asked of him. But that would be using him. She wouldn’t be like that.
The instant Joanie had seen her mother and realized she was pawing through GiGi’s possessions, she had a very good idea why she was there. GiGi had died and now Grace was looking for something. Money? Something of value she could pawn?
No doubt she was looking to score some cash, because Grace was the type who used people.
Memories had bombarded Joanie over the last few minutes. Arguments Grace had with GiGi, always making excuses to take money from her, calling her names. Hurting her. Grace Bigbee was not a nice person, and if people didn’t give her what she wanted, she hurt them.
In a way, Joanie had done the same to GiGi after Grace had left. Both of them had been hurt. Both of them losing someone who was supposed to care. And what had Joanie done?
She’d acted just like her mother. Hurting her grandmother. Pushing her away. Staying out all hours of the night just to annoy her. She had been just like her mother.
No wonder hers and GiGi’s relationship had plummeted.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind. “What are you doing here, Grace?”
“You’re going to try to distance us by refusing to call me Mom?” Her mother’s smile was a sneer. “I’ll still be your mother. And Georgia’s next-of-kin.”
Yep, she wanted something. And then Joanie’s brain replayed the snippet of conversation she’d heard before she’d come in.
It’s worth plenty of money.
Then we’ll go wherever you want.
Joanie’s breathing became shallow as two things registered at once. Grace wanted the house, and she was still doing exactly what she’d always done. Anything to win over the man. Going wherever he wanted.
Just as Joanie had decided to do earlier tonight. She was willing to give up her life to move to Nashville with Nick?
A sour taste settled in her mouth that she couldn’t seem to force down.
“How did you find out she’d passed away?” Joanie asked with caution, having no doubt that was why Grace was back.
Grace snorted, then laughed in a very unfunny manner. “I’ve kept tabs on you for years. It may not be much, but that house of hers is paid for.”
“You’re coming back to Sugar Springs?” Joanie knew she wasn’t. She just thought she could grab the house out from under her.
“I wouldn’t live in this flea-infested place again if it were the last place on earth. But I am her daughter. And there’s been no mention of a will. The house belongs to me.”
Why Joanie had never even considered that, she had no idea, but the fact that she was trying to sell a house that didn’t belong to her, while having taken out two major loans to remodel it, made her stomach roll over. Her mother was going to sweep in and get the proceeds from the sale, and Joanie was going to be left holding the bills.
Because she hadn’t heard anything about a will either. Hadn’t even thought about one.
“Probably didn’t intend to look me up and see that it got to its rightful owner, were you?” Grace asked. “Of course, I do appreciate you fixing it up. That’ll bring in a pretty penny.”
“Are you kidding me?” Anger suddenly fueled Joanie’s words. “Why would I look you up? Ever? You left. You chose Bill.”
A confused look passed over her mother’s face. “Who?”
“Bill,” Joanie snapped out. “The man you were dating when you left with him. Without me.”
“Oh… Bill.” The confusion cleared and her mother waved a hand in front of her face as if the memory were nothing more than a gnat. “I haven’t thought of him in years.”
The words were like a punch to Joanie’s kidneys. He had meant no more to her than any of the others. “So you lost him, too?”
&
nbsp; Of course she had. She couldn’t keep a man.
No Bigbee could.
Nick’s house came to mind, and her visions of the two of them living there together, as husband and wife.
No Bigbee could keep a man.
And she was about to do the exact same thing her mother was still doing.
Had she lost her mind?
The women in his neighborhood would run her out the instant they saw her cupcake van.
“You’re despicable,” Joanie spit out. Hating herself as much as Grace.
A hand swung out and slapped Joanie across the face so fast she didn’t have time to keep it from happening. She jerked back, tripping and falling over a pillow on the floor, and stared up at her mother, shocked.
The woman had been gone for twenty years, and she came back thinking it was okay to hit her?
“Get out of my house, Mom.”
“I will not leave until I get what I came for.”
Joanie saw the police baton that Nick had left and picked it up. She rose to stand, facing her mother. “Get out, or I’ll remove you.”
Cold, dead eyes, so very much like her own, stared back at her. “That house is mine,” she spit out.
“It very well may be, but you aren’t going to come into my house and lay your hands on me. Get out and we’ll deal with each other through a lawyer on Monday.”
Grace stared at her a few seconds longer, then kicked at some papers on the floor. She slammed the door behind her as she left, leaving Joanie standing frozen in the middle of the room.
The woman had left on her thirteenth birthday, then returned twenty years later to the day. And all she’d had to say to her was “give me the house”? Not to mention the slap on the face.
The shock began to wear off and Joanie noticed her hands shaking. She dropped the baton and crumpled to the floor, unable to stop the flow of tears. A knock sounded at the door a second before it slowly began opening. Joanie grabbed the baton and jumped to her feet, assuming it was her mother.
“I swear I’ll beat you to within an inch of your life if you step foot back in my house tonight.” She hadn’t known she’d had such anger toward her mother, but it felt pretty darn good letting it out.
The door swung wide and Lee Ann stood there, dark hair sticking out in all directions and a lightweight jacket thrown on over her pajamas. She peeked in, wide-eyed, and looked around.
“She’s gone?” Lee Ann asked.
Joanie collapsed to the floor. “She’s gone.”
“Oh, honey.” Lee Ann hurried into the house, closing and locking the door behind her, then lowered to her knees and wrapped Joanie in her arms. “Nick stopped by and told me.”
Of course he had.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“I—” Her words were cut off by loud, racking sobs. When had she become such a crier? Lee Ann held her tighter and they sat in the middle of Joanie’s living room, both of them crying and hugging until all the tears were gone.
Finally, Joanie looked up, her face puffy, and confessed, “I had no idea I hated her so much.”
Nick checked the display of his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed a call or text. When he returned the phone to his belt, Cody chuckled from the driver’s seat of his SUV.
“What’s that make?” Cody asked. “Fifteen times since we hit the outskirts of Atlanta?”
“Fifteen times for what?”
“You sap.” Cody shook his head. “Fifteen times you’ve checked your phone, you loser. What’s the matter? You can’t be away from her for one day without crying?”
Nick shot his brother a glare. They’d headed out early that morning, but Nick had yet to hear from Joanie about what had happened after he’d left her place last night.
“I don’t cry, you asshole. I’m just worried about her. What did Lee Ann say after she went over there last night?” He hadn’t wanted to ask Cody, preferring to hear it from Joanie instead, but he had to know.
Cody let go of the teasing and glanced Nick’s way. “Said Joanie had a police baton in her hand when she got there, ready to smash her mother’s skull in if she came back.”
“Christ. Guess she handled herself just fine, then.”
“Guess so. Lee Ann said she was a mess. Said she’d never seen her that riled up.”
“I haven’t either. Honestly, I didn’t know what type of reaction she’d have to seeing her mother again. She was pretty ticked when I left, but the woman was being a hag. I was worried, though, that Joanie would calm down and end up letting Grace walk all over her.”
“Apparently not.” Cody motioned to the phone Nick had in his hand again. “She hasn’t called you, then?”
“No. But she sleeps late.”
“Her store opens at ten.”
Nick was very well aware of that. Fifteen minutes before the store opened. He couldn’t imagine she wasn’t up and about. “Lee Ann say anything else?”
“That Grace intends to take the house.”
“What?” Nick would have come off his seat if he wasn’t strapped in. “She’s been gone for twenty years. What right does she think she has?”
“She’s the daughter. Next of kin.” Cody caught his eye. “There was apparently no will.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah,” Cody agreed.
“She planning to move back to town, then?”
“No. She wants it sold. She just wants the proceeds.”
Nick’s teeth hurt where he was grinding them together so hard. “Likely has no plans to pay off the bank loan either, huh?”
“If I were to guess…” Cody let the sentence linger. They both knew the answer. The woman would take all the proceeds and walk.
Most likely, though, the house would have been put as collateral for the bank loan. That would slow things down, hopefully not leave Joanie in the lurch if they couldn’t keep the house from going to Grace outright. He’d call his lawyer and see what he could do concerning getting Joanie some help. She may have booted him out of her house last night, but that didn’t mean he would turn away from her now.
His cell rang and he had it off his belt in record time.
“Joanie?” He sounded too anxious.
There was a slight pause before she said, “Good morning, Nick.”
“Why didn’t you call last night?”
“I uh, went to bed, instead. She didn’t come to the house, did she?”
“No,” he said. “And if she shows up, I’ll kick her out.”
“It’s her house, Nick. I’m not sure you can do that.”
“It isn’t her house until a judge rules it is. I’m calling my lawyer Monda—”
“Don’t,” she interrupted. “I can take care of it myself. Don’t call anybody. I have a lawyer I’ll use.”
“My guy’s good. We’ll get it tied up so she can’t just walk.”
“Don’t, Nick. I don’t want you to.”
Her tone had a strange finality to it that he didn’t like. What had been said in that house after he’d left? “Don’t want me to what, exactly? Are we only talking about calling the lawyer?”
There was silence and he could picture her on the other end, blinking as she tried to figure out how to let him down. Something her mother had said must have scared her, convinced her to back off. She was retreating behind the damn curse.
And she was about to dump him over the phone!
“Are you kidding me, Jo?” he asked, not waiting to hear what she had to say.
“I just think…” she started. He heard a little sigh and then she finished with, “Everything has moved so fast. Maybe we just need to slow down a bit.”
“No,” he said. “Slowing down is not what we need to be doing. Cody and I are in Atlanta already, but I’ll be home tonight, tomorrow at the latest. I’ll come over when I’m back and we’ll talk.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I just need some time to think. You’re heading back to Nashville soon.”
“What you ne
ed is to get that woman out of your head. I’ll come over.”
“No.” The word was not spoken hesitantly. “Don’t. You’re a good guy and all, but I—”
“Don’t you fucking tell me I’m a good guy, but not the kind of guy you want. Don’t even say it.”
“That’s not—”
“Save it,” he snapped. “I don’t want to hear your crap. Just like you didn’t want to hear that I love you.” He was yelling now. “Well, guess what, sweetheart? That’s too damned bad. I do love you. Deal with it.”
He hung up the phone and threw it in the floor before he could say any fool thing else to her. Sheesh, how big a mess could he make of things? He rubbed his temples with one hand. Joanie was going through a crisis, for crying out loud. And he had to go and push. Of course she would push back.
The vehicle turned off Peachtree and Cody lifted a brow. “That seemed to go well.”
“I’m a blooming idiot.”
“It wasn’t me who said it.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
They drove in silence, Nick thinking about how he should have stuck to their original plan. Sex only. No emotions. Hell, he should have just screwed Gina when he’d had the chance, and never gotten involved with Joanie.
He dragged his hand through his hair, knowing that for the lie it was. He no more could have gone to bed with Gina than he could have not fallen in love with Joanie.
“What is it with women, anyway?” he asked. “Do they learn at an early age how to screw with a guy? Is there a class taught on it? Or are they just born that way?”
Cody laughed. “One often wonders what the reward is for putting up with them.”
Nick eyed his brother. “So you’re not sure about Lee Ann, then?”
“Oh, hell. I’m positive about Lee Ann. My life would be shit without her. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t drive me insane most of the time.”
“Yet it’s worth it in the end?”
A wicked look covered his brother’s face. “Oh, yeah.” He pulled into a parking lot and shot Nick a lecherous grin. “Think about the best time you’ve had with Joanie, then compare that to every other woman you’ve ever met. Which do you want again?”
