Finding Love in Payton

by Shelley Galloway

  "Ever been there?"

  "More than once. Dinah's a friend."

  Her reticence set his teeth on edge. "Well? What do you know about her?"

  Joanne fussed with some dishes in the sink. She placed a few in the dishwasher before turning to him again. "Why are you so curious about her?"

  He handed her a glass to stack in, now curious about why she was so hesitant to give him any information on the woman. "I don't know. I guess because there's something about her I find attractive."

  "She's quite a bit older than you. Five years."

  "Just like you are?"

  Her cheeks pinkened. "I guess I sound ridiculous, huh?" Joanne glanced back towards the party; the rest of their family was laughing about something Cameron said and passing around Mary Beth and Cameron's new baby.

  "A little," he agreed, though he had to admit the difference in ages did bother him a bit.

  Jeremy watched her actions with more than a little bemusement. "I like her," she finally said. "She was never one of my best friends, but I hung out with her a lot when we were younger. Her husband was Neil Cate. He was very popular, great. Kind of a daredevil, always willing to do something for a dare or a laugh. Dinah and Neil were a great couple." Her expression sobered. "Neil died about two years ago in a car accident."

  "That had to be hard on her."

  Joanne nodded. "I think so. But ... she got through it okay. Her mother's a doll, Mom knows her real well. And her dad hangs out at the club a lot. She sews really well. I've asked her to do some things for the museum now and then ..." Her voice drifted off, and Jeremy waited for her to finish her thought. "Don't get me wrong, but don't you think you should be looking at someone else?"

  "Looking at someone else? Like who?" Cameron said as he entered the kitchen.

  Both Jeremy and Joanne groaned at the intrusion. Cameron was second oldest in the family, and while not quite as uptight as Kevin could be, certainly not afraid to tell either Jeremy or Joanne what he thought about things.

  And Joanne didn't seem to have any problem including him in the conversation. "Jeremy is interested in Dinah Cate."

  "Really?"

  Jeremy bridled at his brother's bemused expression. "I'm not interested in her. I met her at the grocery store."

  "You seem awfully interested in her, asking lots of questions and such," Joanne pointed out.

  "What kind of questions?" Cameron asked on his way to the remains of the birthday cake.

  "I wasn't asking a lot of questions," Jeremy said, picking up a plate as well. "We were just talking."

  "I like Dinah," Cameron stated, looking at Jeremy directly. "Always have. She's got a level head and a pretty smile."

  Joanne rolled her eyes. "Cam, like that means anything."

  Cameron laughed. "It does. She's been through a lot. Got a lot of responsibilities, too," he said before eyeing his little brother with some concern. "Look, if you need a date, I think Mary Beth knows a few girls just out of college who are going to teach at her school. Do you want me to see if she can set you up with one of them? She said they're real cute."

  "No." Jeremy couldn't believe he was even having this conversation with his siblings. He couldn't believe they were telling him he was too young to be interested in Dinah. Like he couldn't deal with a grown woman's responsibilities. "Forget I ever said anything."

  "You still going over to the country club tomorrow?"

  "I am," Jeremy answered. "Payton said he'd hire me for the summer, waiting tables in the restaurant."

  "I heard he just hired a fancy new chef from Houston, Texas."

  "Can't wait to meet her."

  "Jeremy, can you stop by the museum later on this week?" Joanne asked, finally slicing a monster piece of cake.

  "Why?"

  "I've got a favor to ask you."

  Immediately he felt a band of suspicion wind through his stomach. "Such as?"

  She swallowed. "Civil War reenactment."

  Jeremy looked at his brother in alarm, though Cameron was already sporting a deer-in-the-headlights look. "Pardon me?"

  "We're going to do a march through town, and some people are coming in who want to take some pictures for a book or something that they're doing. I'm going to need all the men I can get."

  Somewhere in there was an insult. He was sure of it. "Thanks. I guess."

  "Cam's already promised he'd be there."

  Cam's fork stilled mid-air. "I said I'd try, Jo."

  "And Kevin? Dad?"

  She looked away. "I don't know about them. They're both awfully busy."

  "But I'm not?"

  "School doesn't start for three months. Come on Jeremy, I'm going to need you."

  "I don't know."

  She winked. "I'll help you with Dinah."

  "Help me? You just practically made it sound like she was old enough to be my baby-sitter."

  "I won't do that anymore. I'll help you get a date with her."

  "I can get my own dates."

  "I'll put in a good word for you."

  He raised an eyebrow. Joanne and practiced speeches didn't necessarily go together real well.

  "I'll ... I'll get Stratton to. Everyone listens to what he says."

  That had credence. Everyone did listen to Stratton, and he was a great guy. "I'll stop by this week. After I get my schedule from Payton. Hey, you want me to tell him hi for you?" he asked, unable to resist teasing her about her ex-boyfriend.

  "Please do," she said sweetly.

  "We better get on back," Cameron interrupted. "Missy's about to open her gifts."

  And with that, Jeremy followed his brother and sister, almost jealous of their happiness and stability. And, for once, their age.

  As the June sun poured through the front window, Dinah finally took a break from her paperwork and paused to enjoy the early morning sunshine. She loved early summer in Payton. It wasn't too hot yet, the trees and bushes still sported dozens of blooms, and the days were long enough to feel like she had time to spare after work.

  June was also great because Valerie, her sometime baby-sitter, was home from college and could help with Bryan four days a week. Her mom enjoyed him, she knew, but Valerie's presence made everyone feel like there was a little more time in the day, and Bryan absolutely adored her.

  "We're off to the park, Dinah," Valerie said cheer fully as she picked up Bryan's bag of tricks. "Then home to a bath and a nap."

  "Great. I'll be home around six," she said, glancing up from a stack of catalogs.

  "Take your time."

  Dinah knew that neither would miss her, which made her feel both relieved and amused at the same time.

  But she'd have plenty of opportunity to wade through her stack of mail and invoices now. Absently, she petted Bonnie, the beagle the shop was named after, and worked for a solid hour before any customers arrived, then smiled happily when they came with a vengeance.

  She poured coffee for them into oversized ceramic mugs, helped select books, and chatted with her customers about recipes and such as they made their purchases. Every once in a while Bonnie got up from her cedar filled dog bed to be petted.

  She was just helping Mrs. McClusky put her books in one of her canvas bags when Joanne Sawyer came in.

  "Hi there Mrs. Mac, Dinah," Joanne said with her usual breezy smile in place.

  "Joanne," Mrs. Mac said. "I'm not due in to work for another hour."

  "Yes, ma'am," Joanne said with a gleam in her eye. Dinah had to laugh; Mrs. Mac was a large woman with the disposition of a ornery goat. And she just happened to be Joanne's husband's receptionist at the doctor's office.

  Rumor had it that the only person Mrs. Mac was nice to was Stratton Sawyer. "May I help you, Joanne?"

  "Not yet. I just came to look around."

  "All right," Dinah said, waving goodbye to Mrs. McClusky and concentrated on ringing up another woman's purchase. As soon as the room cleared, both she and Joanne gave a comical sigh of relief.

  "Would you like a
cup of coffee?"

  "I would, thanks," Joanne replied, already making her way to the back of the store.

  Dinah followed. Joanne had come for a reason, but obviously she was going to get to her point in her own time. Dinah poured a generous amount of steaming coffee in a purple and orange mug with the words READ printed on the side, part of a gift from her mystery book club that met on Tuesday nights. As she handed the mug to Joanne, she sat down in the wide rocking chair next to Bryan's crib and waited.

  She didn't have to wait long.

  "I saw Jeremy yesterday. You know, my younger brother."

  Dinah didn't miss the jibe. "I saw him yesterday, too. Well, I met him in aisle five at the grocery store."

  "He told me."

  Joanne's voice seemed to be both censorious and encouraging at the same time. Dinah continued. "Jer emy got to see Bryan in all his glory, having a hissy fit in the middle of the cereal aisle."

  "I've been known to have those, too. Stratton's inordinately fond of bran cereal. My tastes have stayed near the kids' boxes."

  Dinah laughed. "Anyway, we chatted for a little while. It's funny that I'd never met him before, since I've met the rest of your family."

  "He's quite a bit younger than the rest of us."

  Ah. "Well, he's a nice guy."

  "He is. He just graduated from college, you know."

  She knew. Dinah glanced at Joanne for a long moment. Was she actually warning him off of her brother? "He's going to be teaching at the high school, right?"

  "Right."

  "Ah."

  Joanne sipped her coffee and eyed her over the brim. Dinah waited, still unsure if she was about to get hit with any more zingers. "We talked about you last night."

  Dinah was glad she wasn't drinking any coffee herself, because she probably would have spilled it by now. "Is that right?"

  "Yep. I told him about how we had been in the same class, how you had a baby ..." Her voice drifted off.

  "Well, I know you'll have a nice time being in the same town again. He spoke very highly of his family."

  "He spoke very highly of you," Joanne blurted.

  Dinah met her gaze. "He did?"

  "He did." Joanne reddened. "I just thought you should know that."

  "Thank you. I think. Um ... is there a reason you thought I should know?"

  "No. I'm just making conversation."

  Dinah wasn't so sure. Joanne surely seemed to be on a search and rescue mission, and Dinah had the feeling that Jeremy was about to be rescued from her clutches. The idea didn't sit well with her, although she was sure Joanne felt justified.

  Jeremy Reece had the perfect combination of blond movie star good looks and winsome wholesomeness that was hard to ignore. She wanted to stare at him and be his best friend all at the same time.

  But he was young, and surely had no interest in someone like her ... someone who had been married, had a child, and had been widowed all about the time he was getting his driver's license.

  "Let me know if you need any help with the books," she said, hoping Joanne would end the conversation at that.

  "I came about something else."

  "Yes?"

  "Sewing. Are you interested in a couple of projects?"

  She usually was, as long as Joanne gave her enough time to do them. She made window treatments for a few customers, and had made a formal dress once for Joanne. And she'd also made several gowns for a Civil War ball a year ago for some fundraiser for the historical society. Dinah enjoyed the projects; it made her feel good to have something so pretty to show for a few hours of hard work.

  "I might be," she said. "What do you need?"

  "One ball gown and two soldier uniforms, all Civil War era. We've got a reenactment of sorts for a benefit in August." Joanne looked at her hopefully. "I already have most of the material bought."

  "When do you need them?"

  "Not until August."

  It was June 17. That was enough time. "I could do them, probably."

  "If you could, that would be so great."

  "Same price?"

  Yep.

  The money would come in handy. And with Valerie helping her out, she'd probably even have the time. "I'll be happy to do the costumes."

  "Oh, great," Joanne said, smiling. "I'll send someone by later with the patterns. You working until six?"

  "Until almost six."

  "Okay." With a happy sigh, Joanne set her coffee cup down and then ventured over to the book stacks. "Now I'm ready to shop. I need to get a couple of paperbacks for me and a new mystery for Priscilla Hayward. Have you met her yet?"

  "Nope. Who is she?"

  "She's Payton's new chef, and she's from Houston, Texas."

  "And you're buying her gifts?" Dinah couldn't stop the surprise from her voice. After all, it was common knowledge that Payton Chase was Joanne's former fiance.

  "Just a new book. I heard she's super nice and kind of at loose ends. And a mystery lover. And ... well, I figure she's going to need some friends since she has to deal with Payton all day."

  Dinah burst out laughing. "Well, send her my way and I'll try and help her out."

  Joanne smiled broadly. "I'll be happy to. Now I better get moving or Mrs. Mac isn't going to be the only one late for work."

  Dinah chuckled and walked to the register, just as two gentlemen came in looking for the new bestsellers. It was sure to be a busy day.

  veything"E is about the same. Dinner service be gins at five, continues until nine. We'll offer a buffet on the weekends, a few daily specials, which you'll get to sample when you come in," Payton Chase said as he and Jeremy walked through the dining rooms of the country club.

  They'd been touring and talking for over an hour, mostly chatting about college and fraternities ... and about Priscilla Hayward.

  "Have you met her yet?" Payton asked, looking a little awestruck.

  "I haven't," Jeremy admitted, biting his lip in order not to smile. There was obviously something between Payton and his new chef, and he, for one, was smart enough to stay out of it. "If that will be all, I'll just go ahead and get my-"

  Payton checked his watch. "She should be here by now. Let's go see her, shall we?"

  Since Payton was already walking towards the kitchen, Jeremy simply followed him. Truth be told, it would be interesting to get to visit with the chef, if for no reason than to have the news before Joanne. After their conversation the night before, he was hoping to have news on anyone, anything before she did.

  "Ah, Priscilla," Payton said. "Here's someone I'd like you to meet."

  Jeremy glanced up and did everything he could to keep his expression simply polite and cordial. Priscilla Hayward was a looker. With long black hair that skimmed her shoulder blades, green eyes, and a tall, lithe build, she looked like she should be skimming the pages of Vogue magazine, not wearing a white apron and hanging out in a kitchen.

  "Nice to meet you," he said, holding out a hand. "I'm one of the new waiters."

  She looked confused. "Oh. Nice to meet you."

  "Jeremy's a little more than that," Payton explained. "His family have been long-standing members of the club, in fact, his mother's on the board. Daphne Reece."

  Recognition clicked into place. "Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot, then."

  "Jeremy's going to be Payton High's new history teacher. He's just here for the summer."

  Jeremy waited a moment longer, sure Payton was going to tell her his shoe size and what annoying habits he'd had when he was twelve. But the manager was quiet now, seemingly content to just gaze at the chef.

  He cleared his throat. "Um, are you enjoying our town? I heard you moved here from Texas."

  She smiled, her lips wavering a little. "Yes, I think so. Things are really different here, but good. I'm living in a little house in the historic section of town." Looking apologetic, she said, "I have to admit, the country club is not quite what I had imagined."

  Jeremy smiled at Payton, who looked lik
e he was seriously reconsidering his idea of visiting with Priscilla. "How did you imagine it?"

  Her eyes hardened. "Well, Payton here had told me it was quite a bit different than it is."

  "Yeah?"

  "Bigger. More ... cosmopolitan."

  Jeremy swallowed hard. Clenched his fist. Anything to not burst out laughing. "Cosmopolitan? Payton, Ohio?"

  She reddened. Payton looked practically pained. "I had thought it was a little more ... edgy. Nouveau. But now I'm finding that lasagna is still thought of as ethnic fare here."

  It sounded like Priscilla had been told a couple of tall tales. Jeremy felt bad for her; it was hard enough starting a new job without finding that all your expectations were off-kilter.

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Do?" Payton squeaked.

  "Do?" Priscilla repeated. "Nothing yet. I'm just going to make what they ask me for a little bit ... but look out for the specials!"

  "I'll do my best to promote them," Jeremy said with a grin.

  "Great! Before you know it, everyone's going to be craving goat cheese risotto and veal shanks."

  Payton flashed his perfect teeth. "As long as we have Prime Rib on Fridays, everything should be just fine."

  Jeremy wondered if the two of them even realized there was enough electricity between them to light a small town. "I think I'll get my uniform and head on out, then. I've got to stop by Joanne's place and pick up something from her."

  At his sister's name, Payton's expression turned sober. "Tell her I said hi, would you?"

  "I will. She said to tell you hi, as well."

  "How's she doing? I haven't seen her lately."

  "Fine. She and Stratton are doing just fine."

  If anything, relief crossed his features. "See you tomorrow night."

  "Will do," Jeremy said after shaking Priscilla's hand goodbye. "See you both tomorrow at four."

  As he left, he couldn't help but chuckle. Payton and Priscilla were at it again, this time fencing words over an upcoming theme buffet.

  And if he wasn't mistaken, he could have sworn he heard several board members' names on the planning committee. He shuddered at the thought. Priscilla was going to have her hands full on more than one front.

  Cosmopolitan, indeed.