Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Page 26
Etta walked over and wrapped her sister and Daphne in a hug. “I can’t believe you carried this all alone for all these years.” Beulah came over and they opened their arms to include her in the group hug.
Donny Joe turned to Noah. “How long have you known, Noah?”
“Since right after Peter died. Peter had mailed a box of stuff to my house, probably to keep Frances from knowing he’d cheated on her. I didn’t open it until after he died. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t sit by and say nothing. It’s been hard enough living in the same house without giving it away.”
Donny Joe nodded. “I think you did the right thing, Noah.”
Noah faced Donny Joe squarely. “Thank you, Donny Joe. You know I’ve made mistakes I’m not proud of, but I’d like a chance to make up for some of them with that little girl.”
Daphne came over and tugged on Noah’s shirt. Shyly she said, “Excuse me, Mr. Nelson.”
The old man faced the young girl. “Yes, Daphne.”
“So, if your son is my father, does that mean you’re my grandfather?”
Noah’s smile lit up the whole house. “It certainly does. Your father had blonde hair and green eyes, too. When they were younger, people were always thinking Donny Joe and Peter were brothers. I’ll have to show you some pictures. And you’ll have to meet my older son Tom. And your cousins, too.”
“I have cousins?” She sounded awestruck at the idea.
“You sure do. Would you like to meet them?”
“I’d like that very much.” Daphne smiled. “Can I give you a hug? I’ve always wanted a grandpa.”
Etta watched the scene with a smile. Then her heart caught in her throat when Donny Joe squatted down beside her niece and addressed her solemnly. “You know, Peter was my best friend while we were growing up. And you’re so much like him.”
“I am?” She smiled at the idea. “What was he like?”
Donny Joe ruffled her hair. “He was funny and smart, just like you.”
“He was?” Daphne’s eye grew wide.
Donny Joe nodded. “He was. And let me tell you, we got into some real mischief together. I’ve got a million stories if you want to hear them sometime.”
Daphne nodded eagerly, “I would like that very much, Donny Joe.”
A loud pounding on the front door got everyone’s attention. Beulah said, “I’ll get it. I can’t imagine who’d be out in this weather. I’m coming,” she called as another impatient knock filled the air.
Etta and the others waited expectantly while she opened the front door.
“Hello, young man. How can I help you?”
A familiar voice rang out. “I understand this place has an opening for a cook?”
Chapter Twenty-seven
What the hell? Etta stormed to the front door. Donny Joe was right behind her. Frigid fingers of icy air blew into the house like a bad omen. “I’ve got this, Beulah.” Etta glared at the man on the porch. “What are you doing here?”
“Etta, I’m sorry. I was stupid. I was an idiot.”
Donny Joe pushed his way in front of Etta. “You must be Diego. I’d know you anywhere from that description.”
“Who’s this clown?” Diego asked.
“I am Etta’s new partner.” Donny Joe crossed his arms and glared.
Diego glared back. “Well, partner. I’m her old partner, and I need to talk to her.” Diego stood on the front porch wrapped in a heavy coat. He had a blue wool scarf around his neck and one of those silly driving caps on his head. “Etta, can I please come in? It’s freezing out here if you haven’t noticed. And the taxi just left.”
Etta peered around him and watched Bo Birdwell drive off in his cab. “What a shame. Go away. I’m not interested in anything you have to say.” Etta looked around and realized the whole group had gathered around the front door, listening to every word. The wind blew flakes of snow across the doorsill, melting into puddles on the wooden floors. She started to shut the door. Diego certainly wasn’t worth the threat of water stains on the entry way floor.
“Sandra is divorcing me.” His words stopped her short.
She reopened the door. “Already? And you made such an adorable couple.”
Behind her she heard Belle ask what was going on. “Who’s Sandra?”
“The woman Diego married when he stole Etta’s restaurant out from under her.” Beulah gave her an abbreviated version of the events.
“I’m here to fix things. Please let me come in and talk to you. Hear me out and after that I promise to leave without a fuss.”
“What’s there to talk about?”
“How can you ask that? We have to talk about our restaurant.”
“You mean your restaurant, don’t you?”
“I mean our restaurant, Etta.”
“Too late, Diego. I signed the papers this morning. Papers you were all for last time I checked.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“Oh, and I got a check that pays me a pittance for my portion of Finale’s. It’s not much, but it’s enough to start over. I have all sorts of plans.”
“You’ve got to hear me out. Things are different now.”
She looked at the puddles still forming on the floor and made a decision. “Come in, but you only have five minutes, and then I’m throwing you out again.”
“Thank you. You won’t regret it. I promise.” He stamped his feet on the welcome mat and reached for the screen door. Everyone moved back a step as he came inside. “Can we talk in private?”
“No. I don’t have anything to say to you that everyone in this room can’t hear.”
Donny Joe moved back up to stand by her side. He spoke up sharply. “Well, I have something to say before this goes any further.”
It was sweet that he was being so protective, but it really wasn’t necessary. Etta touched his arm. “It’s okay, Donny Joe.”
Diego took the dumb hat off his head and faced Donny Joe squarely. “Yeah, Donny Joe. Why don’t you mind your own business, buddy boy?”
Etta watched Donny Joe’s jaw tighten, a vein she’d never noticed in his forehead throbbed, and before she knew it his fist flew into Diego’s smug face and laid him out flat.
He stepped over the body and walked out the front door. He turned around and looked at Etta with a fierce expression cloaking his features. “What do you know? Punching his lights out was way more satisfying than darts.”
“That guy just hauled off and hit me.” Diego sounded whiny and indignant at the same time. Etta regarded him without sympathy. He lay sprawled across the sofa in the front parlor with an ice pack on his eye.
“He did, didn’t he?” Etta said with a note of awe and wonder in her voice. Her heart galloped in her chest, longing to follow Donny Joe right out the front door. What in the world had gotten into him?
Beulah stepped up and pinned Diego with a withering stare. “He just did what we’d all like to do. How dare you show your face in this house after what you did to our Etta?” Belle and Daphne and even Noah Nelson gathered around the sofa in a show of support.
He struggled to sit up and faced them all. “I deserve that, I guess.”
Etta hugged Beulah and turned to the rest of them. “Thanks for the support, but I’m sure you have more important things to do than stand around here.” She nodded toward Daphne, thinking she didn’t need to hear the things she might have to say to Diego. “Noah, weren’t you going to show Daphne some pictures of her cousins?”
“I certainly was. Come on, Daphne.”
“Okay.” Daphne reluctantly agreed. “But why did Donny Joe hit that man, Mama?”
Belle and Beulah followed Daphne and Noah out of the room. “We’ll explain it to you while we look at your grandfather’s pictures. How many kids does Tom have, Noah?” Belle asked.
Once they were alone Etta sat down in a chair across the room. “Your five minutes starts now.”
“I’ve been such a fool. I let my ambition take over my common sense.”
“Sandra dazzled me with promises of fame and a place in her world of high society, and what can I say? I thought I was in love.”
Etta wasn’t impressed. “So what happened? The marriage lasted what? Thirteen days? That has to be some kind of record.”
Diego struggled to sit up. “Go ahead and have your fun. I won’t stop you. But it didn’t take long to realize Sandra wanted to swoop in and change everything about the place, including the staff. She even wanted to bring in another chef.”
“To replace me?”
“Not only you, but she wanted him to be in charge. She wanted to revamp the menu to feature his dishes. You’ll be gratified to hear that the staff wasn’t happy after you left.”
“You mean after I was shoved out the door.”
“Okay, but my point is they really rebelled when Sandra started trying to run the show. And I was being reduced to an afterthought.”
“Was she tired of you already?”
“She said it was so we’d have more time to spend together. She didn’t understand that I have to cook. It’s what makes me who I am. You understand that. And it didn’t take long for me to realize that I would never be happy living on her terms. And that’s what she expected.”
“Well, I’m glad you came to your senses, Diego.” She almost felt sorry for him.
“So am I, and I’m here to beg your forgiveness.”
“My forgiveness doesn’t change anything.”
“Of course it does. Come home to Finale’s, Etta.”
“I thought Sandra owned most of Finale’s now.”
“Technically that’s true. But it’s all still in the paperwork stage, and my lawyer thinks we can easily get it all back in the divorce settlement. Especially if I can get your backing. No judge is likely to grant her the right to my livelihood.” Etta’s eyebrows went up at that statement, but he quickly corrected himself. “I mean our livelihood. Not after such a short marriage.”
“So you need me now. And that’s why you’re here.”
“With hat in hand.” He pleaded earnestly.
“You and your dumb hat.” Etta suddenly realized how much she preferred a nice cowboy hat, particularly when it was sitting on one particular man’s head. “What about the agreement I signed this morning? Not to mention the check.”
“I’m sure it’s not too late to tear that up. And to show I’m sincere I’ll sweeten the deal by making you full partner this time. I won’t be able to make a move without your permission.”
“Oh, Diego. You can’t honestly believe that will solve everything.”
“It would be a brand new start, Etta. Things would be better this time. I’ve learned from my mistakes. I promise I have.”
Etta wanted to believe him. Finale’s was the product of her blood, sweat, and tears, and this morning when she signed those papers at Mr. Starling’s office she’d thought all hope was gone of ever getting it back. And now like magic Diego sat in Grammy Hazel’s house telling her he was sorry. Telling her he’d made a mistake. Telling her all wasn’t lost. Just the way she’d imagined.
Damn. Finale’s could be hers again.
“What about this?” he asked. Her hesitation seemed to prompt him to offer more persuasion. “Forget about equal partners. I’ll give you a majority share.”
Belle entered the room. “Wow, Diego. You must be desperate. I think you should take him up on that offer, Etta, before he changes his mind.”
Diego smiled at Belle like she’d just made the gray sky turn blue. “Thank you, Belle. But the offer is sincere. I’m not going to change my mind.”
Belle turned to Etta. “Beulah wanted me to make sure everything was okay in here.”
“I haven’t killed him, yet.”
“Very civilized of you, sis. I’ll tell her everything is okay.”
Etta smiled. “You can tell her everything is just dandy.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Donny Joe walked into Lu Lu’s and without greeting a soul headed straight for the end of the bar. Not the end close to the dance floor where he usually sat, but instead he went to the end occupied as usual by sour and gloomy Arnie Douglas.
“Excuse me, Arnie. Mind if I join you?” Donny Joe indicated the empty stool by his side.
Arnie grunted and pulled his beer closer until his face hovered over the glass. “It’s no skin off my nose what you do. Just don’t come over here spreading any of that cheer and goodwill nonsense.”
“Don’t worry. The way I feel right now I’m likely to tear the head off the first person who even thinks about smiling in this direction.”
“Well, then by all means have a seat.”
Donny Joe sat down and waved at Mike. “What’s a man have to do to get a beer over here?”
“Hold on, Donny Joe. You’re not my only customer. The snow brought the loonies out early.” Donny Joe glanced around and sure enough the place was packed with folks dancing and living it up. “Half the businesses in town must have closed early. You want the usual?”
“When you can fit it in to your busy schedule, I’d appreciate it,” Donny Joe muttered.
Mike wasn’t one to put up with any guff. “Who put a bee in your bonnet?”
“I don’t know what you mean. Arnie and I would just like to sit here and drink in peace. Is that too much to ask?”
Mike held up his hands and backed away. “Fine. One beer coming up and I’ll keep my questions to myself.”
After Mike left Arnie leaned over. “I’m guessing it was a woman.”
“You’re guessing what’s a woman?”
“I’m guessing it was a woman who put a bee in your bonnet.”
“No use denying it, I guess.” Donny Joe stretched the fingers of his hand and then held it out, examining his sore knuckles.
Arnie straightened up and fixed him with a stern glare. “You didn’t punch her, did you? Because I don’t cotton to that kind of behavior no matter what she did. I’ll report you to the authorities before you can yell Yahtzee.”
“Of course not, Arnie. I’m not mad at her, but I bet she’s hopping mad at me right now.”
“Let me guess. The ‘she’ is Etta Green. And she’s mad because you punched someone else?”
“You sure talk a lot for someone who’s always yammering about being left alone.”
“Most folks want to talk about things like the weather and the price of beans. A waste of time, I tell you. But you sit down, and in the middle of the worst snowstorm of the century, you don’t once mention the weather. I find that intriguing.”
“I don’t think it’s the worst snowstorm of the century, Arnie. We’ll probably get a few inches at most.”
“Don’t change the subject. As I was saying, I easily deduced that a woman was involved, and on that subject, my friend, we can commiserate.”
Mike walked over and put a beer bottle in front of Donny Joe. Arnie spoke up and said, “Put that on my tab.” Donny Joe started to protest, but Arnie held out his hand and said, “Please. I insist.”
Donny Joe shrugged and took a long pull on the beer bottle before thumping it down on the bar. “If you keep talking, I may have to move.”
“I understand, but since I paid for that beer, at least tell me how you got those scraped knuckles.”
Donny Joe shook his head, feeling disgusted with himself. “It was a jackass move. But I just felt all this rage and anger boiling up at the sight of his smug face. He showed up uninvited, dripping with oily, smarmy charm. I just wanted to punch his lights out.”
Arnie took a practice swing in midair. “So, you did.”
“I did.”
“So, then what did you do?”
“I left. I walked out the door before Etta c
ould throw me out on my ear.”
“And this person you hit?”
“Her partner at her restaurant in Chicago. He went down like a bag of oatmeal mush.”
Donny Joe was on his third beer when a commotion from the doorway leading to the back pool room got their attention. “Is he here? Where are you, Donny Joe?”
Donny Joe put his hands to his head as the voice of his old nemesis rang out across the bar. “Great. That’s all I need right now.” He stood up and faced the man who was steaming full speed in his direction. “Here I am, Ray. Come and get me, because I plan to stay right here and drink my beer. And if you don’t like it, too damn bad.”
Ray barreled up to him with his fists cocked, his face florid and blotched. “Put up your dukes, Donny Joe, and fight me like a man.”
“Go ahead and take a shot. If I’ve made you feel anything like I felt today with Etta, then maybe I deserve it.”
“Huh?” Ray lowered his arms and looked at Arnie. “What’s he talking about?”
“He’s been bitten by the love bug, Ray.”
“I never said anything about love. If you’re not going to hit me, I’m going to sit back down.”
Ray deflated like a tire running over a nail. He sat down on the stool beside Donny Joe and asked, “So, is this about Etta? We all wondered how long it would take you to figure out how you felt about her.”
“Who says I’ve figured out how I feel about her? And if you thought I was in love with Etta, why were you still trying to beat me up every time you saw me?”
“Force of habit, mainly. I think Sue Anne gets a kick out of it when she thinks I’m jealous.” Ray got a dreamy, lovesick look on his face as he spoke of his wife.
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, and besides it was good for your reputation. You were slipping lately in the ladies’ man department. People saw me all riled up and they’d think, ‘That Donny Joe’s at it again.’ Hey Mike, can I get a beer over here?”
Mike came over and seeing the three of them sitting together said, “I don’t want any trouble, boys.”
Ray slapped Donny Joe on the back. “You won’t get any trouble from us, Mike. Donny Joe here’s in love.”