When Marti looked up, she realized Brantley had entered the cafe and effectively silenced Laurel. Smirking, she greeted him. “Hello, Brantley! Come join me.”
“Lucky,” Laurel hissed as she passed Marti’s chair and headed back to the kitchen.
Looking him over, she could see why Laurel thought that. The man really was attractive. He appeared to have a nice build under his sweater. His smile showed off beautiful teeth, and Brantley’s eyes could draw a woman in.
“I brought the agreement we discussed,” Brantley commented as he set the manila folder on the table.
With a laugh, she nodded. “I see that. Any questions before we sign?”
“Will there be other people living with us?” he asked. “I mean, can I expect to share a bathroom, that kind of thing?”
Shifting uncomfortably for a moment, Marti glanced toward the kitchen. Laurel was leaning on the counter staring at her. She decided to answer as honestly and vaguely as she could get away with. “You won’t have to share a bathroom. There are two more rooms upstairs which will share a bathroom, but that won’t affect you.”
Looking at her a moment, he paused. “So there may be others, but I have a single.”
“Exactly,” she nodded happily.
“Is there anyone else living there now?” Brantley’s eyes narrowed in on her face.
“Is this what it feels like to be cross examined?” Marti joked while her mind raced to come up with a satisfactory response.
“Answer the question!” Laurel shouted. Then she slapped the counter and grumbled, “I know evasive tactics when I see them. How long has Joey been staying there?”
“Just since last night!” Marti explained, her eyes wide. “I took him to the hospital. He has nowhere to go.”
“Oh, he has places,” Laurel reminded her. “You know this. Still, you let him back?” Marti opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Laurel stormed away into the depths of the kitchen.
“Joey?” Brantley asked weakly.
Certainly to him it seemed like his housing was falling apart before he had even had a chance to move in. “He’s the contractor. The house across the street is his. He’s stuck at the moment. And he’s giving me a discount on the project if I let him crash on my couch.” She shrugged. “It’s no big deal. You get the room, he gets the couch, and later he’ll move into one of the two rooms upstairs until his house is finished.” She smiled weakly and hoped he’d still sign the papers.
Sighing, he admitted, “I just don’t want to intrude. And I really want to avoid any and all drama. My last situation ended...badly and abruptly. I should have seen the signs.” He shook his head sadly. “I think we agreed this would be a discussion for some other night. I’ll bring the wine.” He pulled out a pen and signed on the lines.
“I’ll bake brownies,” Marti announced brightly.
“Joey will start the fire,” Laurel hollered from the bakery display case. They both whipped around to look at her. “What?” she asked feigning innocence.
Shaking her head, a long sigh escaped her lips. “Well, I’ve gotta go get groceries,” Marti mumbled as she stood up. “I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.” Leaning over the papers, she scribbled her phone number on the folder.
Following her lead, Brantley wrote his under his signature. Passing her a copy of the agreement, he shook her hand. “I’m looking forward to this.”
In relief, she nodded. “Me too.”
A few minutes later Marti was in the minivan, headed to the Harris Teeter grocery store her GPS pointed her towards. It was a short trip to Fort Mill. She parked, grabbed her purse, locked the vehicle and finally, already feeling exhausted from the day’s events, entered the building. After grabbing a cart, she started into the store and pulled out her coupons. She made short work of the produce department all the while thinking of the garden she would soon have so she’d never had to pay for vegetables again. Given her budget, she skipped the deli altogether and went on to the next aisle. It was there, she found herself rummaging through her envelope, trying to figure out which instant potatoes were covered on her coupon. Marti had just finished reading the fine print, when a young woman and her baby pulled up in front of her.
“Hi!” The girl seemed friendly and completely in her element. The toddler was gnawing on one of the complimentary cookies they kept near the entrance to placate kids.
“Oh, hi.” Marti was caught off guard. In the north, people didn’t just talk to strangers. At the moment, she was too pre-occupied to say much else.
The young woman studied her for a minute. “First time using coupons?” she asked with a giggle.
Sighing, Marti looked up. “Was it that obvious?” She felt out of her element as she struggled to figure out what she was doing.
Nodding the young woman stuck out a hand. “I’m Reagan and this is Jack.” She gestured towards the little guy. “I’m one of those crazy couponers,” she added glancing meaningfully at the binder in the back of the cart.
It took Marti a moment to realize what she was looking at. “Are those all coupons?” she asked incredulously.
“Yup,” Reagan responded proudly. “I’m serious.” She laughed at herself. “What’s your name?”
“Gah. Sorry, I’m Marti. Complete newbie.” She frowned, unsure of what to say next.
“Well, you picked a great time to start couponing. Next week is Super Doubles!” Reagan explained excitedly. “I’m gonna get so much free stuff.” She did a little happy dance. “So, I was serious about helping you. I believe in karma. As a single mom, I can use all the karma I can get.”
Marti’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Thank you. I’ll take you up on it. I can use all the help I can get.”
Together they worked their way through the store while Reagan taught a mini course in couponing. It helped the television show make more sense. Bit by bit, Marti was finally beginning to understand. When they finally finished and headed to checkout, she was given yet another tip.
“Nope. Not her,” Reagan whispered under her breath.
Marti had started to go to the first open register where an older man stood motioning her in. “Why not?” She was baffled.
“Older men are the worst when it comes to dealing with couponers. The best are teenage boys. Watch.” Reagan steered her cart to the young kid about three registers away.
As Marti watched, she realized how nice and relaxed he was with the entire transaction. He didn’t flinch when a couple of the coupons didn’t scan. He politely called for the manager and handled the groceries with care. At the same time, Marti was able to watch the other clerk for comparison. He seemed cranky and irritable. “Whew. Glad I missed that bullet,” she commented.
“Right?” Reagan was particularly happy. “See this smile? It’s my money saving smile. Did you see what I did in there?”
Shaking her head, Marti looked at her curiously. “Um no.”
Leaning in conspiratorially, she squealed. “I just saved $103! I only paid $9.19 for all of this!” Then she did a little dance before speaking again. “Listen, I don’t know what your motivation is to start couponing, but mine was living on my own with Jack. I work, but still need assistance. My food stamps are only $200 a month, which sounds like a lot, but certainly didn’t feel like it before I started using coupons. WIC is a joke. So, I’ve learned how to stretch a dollar. You should see my stockpiles.”
“Wow. That’s amazing!” Marti was genuinely excited for her. “So, you wanna teach me? Be my couponing guru?”
Without hesitation, Reagan announced, “I’d love to! Training starts on Tuesday. We’ll work by phone to prepare for next week. During Super Doubles, I shop every day.”
After loading her groceries and looking over her receipt, she realized she had experienced a 50% savings by using coupons and her new Vic card, the loyalty card for the store. Marti now had Reagan’s number. It would be nice having at least one friend who didn’t live in New Hope. Feeling infini
tely better than she did when she left home, Marti slowly headed home. Sharing a home with Joey could mean for one long night. For the first time, it felt strange leaving him alone in her house. She almost worried what she would find upon her return, then chided herself for being silly.
When she pulled into the driveway, she saw Joey sitting on the front porch steps shifting uncomfortably. The reason was sitting beside him, making herself at home and enjoying making him miserable. Immediately, her ire was raised, her skin burned with the need to lash out. Marti sat there for a split second trying to control her emotions before facing Joey and Finn. He stood abruptly, looking completely stricken and while she stepped out of the vehicle, he rushed towards her to help. As he reached her side, he started to open his mouth, but she silenced him. “I want that woman off my property now,” she hissed, eyes narrowed angrily.
Then Finn sauntered over wearing this self-satisfied look, altogether too proud of herself. It reminded Marti of Suzette and all the pain came rushing back. She physically hurt from it, but worked to hide it. Focusing on her anger helped. She’d rather be strong than weak any day.
Smiling, Finn spoke. “I hadn’t heard from huggybear for a few days, so I came to check on him.”
“Get the fuck off my property,” Marti ordered. Then she turned and opened the back of the minivan to begin unloading groceries.
“What can I do to help?” Joey asked eagerly, trying to sound far more at ease than he appeared.
Normally, she would have done everything in her power to soothe him, make him feel better, but this time, he had gone too far. He had contaminated her haven with Finn germs. “Well, huggybear, you can start by removing this bitch from my yard.” Marti glared at him.
“Bitch? What have I ever done to you?” Finn pouted.
Whipping around, Marti looked her over. “Seriously? You hurt someone I cared about. That’s enough. Now why don’t you drag your stinking whore ass back to your car before I call the police.”
“Whore ass? I never expected that kind of language to come from your lips,” she replied sarcastically.
“Yes, well you didn’t strike me as someone who understood big words. I’ve stooped to your level. Now get the hell out of here. If you need to talk to Joey, please, take him with you. I’m fine with that. Enjoy my leftovers.”
Finn’s eyebrows shot up. She slowly pushed up the sleeves on her sweater like she was preparing to fight. Marti laughed at the insanity of it all. She never talked like this. That woman certainly brought out the worst in her. Time to remove herself from the situation. Grabbing two bags from the back, she prepared to walk to the house.
The name-calling. The insults. The condescending attitudes. This had certainly escalated quickly. One moment he was walking out of the house, only to find Finn ascending the porch, the next, Marti returned and all hell was threatening to break loose. The tension was so palpable, it could probably be cut with the proverbial knife. Now it seemed Finn was aching for a throw down and Marti was promising to call the police.
As much as he hated to burst her bubble, Joey leaned over and murmured in Marti’s ear, “We don’t have police here.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she shrieked. “What kind of town is this? No apartments, no hotels, no fast food.” She seemed ready to tally up all of New Hope’s shortcomings in one angry rant.
“A small safe one?” he offered up with a shrug. Then he gave her his smile, the one no woman had ever been able to resist. Joey wanted nothing more than for Finn to leave and for Marti to calm down. He planned to start a fire. He had built Marti her very own fire pit while she was gone. It wasn’t fancy just a bunch of stones he had found laying in the yard, but he figured they might actually be able to enjoy a fire tonight since Miss Gracie lived all the way on the other side of the street. He was aching to show it to her, eager to right things between them once more.
“Don’t you even try that on me, Joey Masters,” Marti grumbled. “I’m furious at the moment!” She turned and took a few steps closer to the house.
“How about now?” he asked in one final desperate effort to break the tension. All she did was stop, face him a moment, and glare back at him. “Too soon?”
“Yup.” Then she marched to the back door, and seconds later it slammed behind her.
Releasing a sigh, he realized Finn was closing the distance, arms outstretched. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and waved her off. “Don’t,” he said firmly. “I’m not playing with you anymore. I can barely stomach being around you. You are everything Marti called you and more. How can you live with yourself? How can you treat people like you do? Just go away.” Ignoring her, he peered into the back of the minivan. There were still tons of bags in there for him to grab. He could probably do it one trip, or die trying. Already he could feel the hint of a panic attack starting to flare up again. His heart was aching something terrible. If he could just get inside to Marti. Looking up at the house, he saw the lights had been turned on in the living room. Scanning the windows, he hoped to see her looking out at him, but if she was, he couldn’t find her. Swallowing hard, he began to load his arms with bags.
“Baby, put those down,” Finn urged. “Let’s get out of here. We can go back to my place. I have an almost full bottle of Goldschlager.” Her voice rose as she tried to tease him, lure him away.
Joey couldn’t even look at her. “I don’t want Goldschlager. I don’t want the life you offer. There’s a better way. There are better women.” He shook his head. “Honestly, when I see you through Marti’s eyes, I don’t know what I ever saw in you.”
“What? You think you can have a life with her? She’s too good for you!” Finn snapped.
It was an attack he had anticipated, one she had resorted to a million times. Her plan was to create doubt, make him think he couldn’t do better than her. In the past, it had worked.
Nodding sadly, he admitted, “All true. Marti is way too good for me. I don’t deserve her, especially after what I did the other night, but I would rather spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to her and win her love than spend another minute with you.”
Finn stepped back suddenly, a combination of shock and hurt. Normally, this would worry him and he’d already be backpedaling, trying to think of a way to fix things before she could lash out like a wounded animal. This time, he didn’t even care. She had the anti-Midas touch. Every time she touched him, his life turned to shit. Feeling emboldened and confident in his choice, he dealt the final blow. “I mean it. Just do your job and cut me my check, or I’ll contact your supervisor and have them send someone else. You no longer have a hold on me, Finn. You’re just a girl I used to sleep with.” Then he struggled some to shut the trunk with his arms so full, but managed and walked away without her ever saying another word.
By the time he turned to climb the back steps, Finn must have managed to collect what remained of her dignity because she no longer stood in the driveway and her car had disappeared. Sighing in relief and to steady himself for what came next, he managed to throw open the door and enter the mudroom off the kitchen. Glancing about, he quickly realized Marti wasn’t in sight. “I brought in the rest of the groceries!” he called. Then he set them on the island and waited for her to respond. Listening carefully, he recognized the sound of sniffling coming from her bedroom. The knock was a warning. Joey didn’t wait for her to respond before entering the room. In an instant he realized she was in the bathroom blowing her nose and swabbing her eyes.
Embarrassed, her cheeks colored when she saw him. “I didn’t tell you to come in,” Marti said flatly. It was clear she was still angry too. Yet Joey recognized there was more going on here.
“We weren’t doing anything. You could sense I was uncomfortable. I didn’t invite her. Still, you are crying and I need to know why. Have I hurt you this badly?” The aching in his chest had turned into a sharp pain at the sight of her anguish. Closing the distance between them, he carefully gathered her in
his arms and held her against his chest.
“I don’t need your pity,” she mumbled in between sniffles. Despite her protest, she slowly melted into him. “This doesn’t mean I forgive you.”
“I know,” he whispered into her hair. Joey had forgotten how refreshing her scent was, a combination of soap and lotion. It wasn’t the chemical concoction he experienced with Finn...the makeup, perfumes, and all. Marti was light and soothing. He could hold her against his heart and inhale her aroma forever without getting enough.
“I’m still furious,” Marti announced quietly, but he could feel her grip around his waist tighten just the same.
“Of course you are. Time,” he promised. Then he chuckled. “We may have a lot of it. I really pissed Finn off this time.” He pushed Marti back some so she could see his smiling face. “I mean, like she may never write me a check and I’ll have to fight for a dime!” He laughed a little harder.
Blinking up at him, Joey could sense she had no idea why this was funny. “So, I’m stuck with you.” She sighed and slowly released her grip before turning and walking back out to the kitchen.
Tempest Torn Page 7
