She crossed the pool deck and stopped next to them. Luis was the first to see her, and he quickly sat up, his smile transforming to shock and then guilt. “Mal.” He pushed to his feet. “I didn’t know you were coming by.”
Mallory looked down at Lacey. Lacey grinned up at Mallory with that same self-satisfied smirk she’d had last night when Luis had pushed Mallory off his lap. “Hey, Mal. How did you get in? You don’t have a membership here.”
Mallory’s temper bubbled just beneath the surface. Lacey had never blatantly pointed out the differences in their socioeconomic status, but right now she was making it clear to everyone around them that Mallory was poor and not welcome.
She’d deal with her so-called best friend later. Right now, she needed to deal with Luis.
Mallory looked up at him. “Are you on break?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. We need to talk.”
A worried look passed over his features. “Right now?”
“Yes, now.”
She turned for the gate that led from the pool deck to the grass beyond. Waited as Luis caught up with her. He pushed the gate open and held it for Mallory. From her chaise, Lacey called, “Don’t yell too loud, Mal. Sound travels over water.”
Mallory ignored Lacey’s snarky comment and marched far enough away from the pool and into the trees so no one could hear them. She told herself to stay calm, that she hadn’t come over here to even talk about Lacey, but the minute she turned and saw Luis’s guilty expression, everything she’d been bottling up for two days came spilling out.
“What the heck is going on between you and Lacey Salt?” she demanded.
Luis reached for her hand. “It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t know what I think.” Mallory drew back. She was fired up and didn’t want to be touched right now. Not if she wasn’t the one he really wanted to touch. “Lacey was all over you last night, and you didn’t once push her away.”
“That’s not true. I—”
“It is true. I was there. And I was willing to let it go because, okay, maybe she was drinking last night and she didn’t know what she was doing. But she clearly knows what she’s doing now.”
He sighed and stepped toward her. “Mal—”
She moved back again and swatted at his hand. “No. Don’t ‘Mal’ me. She wants you. I don’t know why she’s suddenly so interested in you when she never even looked twice your way before, but I honestly don’t care. I just care about the truth. Is that what you still want? Her? Because if it is I’ll back right out of the picture.”
His face paled. “What do you mean by ‘still’?”
She tipped her head. “Come on, Luis. I’m not an idiot. I know you’ve had a crush on Lacey for years. But I thought you were over it. If I thought you still had a thing for her, do you think I would have asked you to that dance?”
He rested his hands on his hips and stared down at the ground. And she waited for him to deny it, but he didn’t. He only pursed his lips and kicked a rock with the toe of his bare foot.
Reality settled in hard to steal her breath. “Oh my God.” Sickness swirled in Mallory’s belly, and all that excitement she’d felt on the way here shattered like glass against the ground. “You do want her.”
“Mal.” He looked up at her and reached for her hand, and this time she let him because she was too stunned to move. “I’m with you.”
I’m with you. Not I want you, or I’m in love with you. Just I’m with you. As if he had no choice. As if he was stuck with her.
Her mother had been stuck with her father, and look how that had turned out. Twenty plus years of misery. She never wanted to settle for something she didn’t truly want. And she wasn’t about to let someone settle for her either.
The urge to run consumed her. She pulled her hands from Luis’s and rushed past the brush toward the front of the country club.
“Mallory,” he called at her back. “Wait, please? That didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean it that way...”
Hot tears were already burning her eyes, and there was no way in hell Mallory was going back so he could see just how much he’d hurt her. She ran for the parking lot as quickly as she could, but when she got there, she spotted Lacey’s yellow Bug, and her feet drew to an abrupt stop.
She shouldn’t say anything. This wasn’t really about Lacey. It was about Luis and what he wanted. But it if weren’t for Lacey Salt and the little game she’d decided she was bored enough to play, none of this would be happening.
Mallory swiped the tears from her cheeks, whirled around and headed back for the main entrance to the country club with a new fire burning inside her.
Best friend or not, it was time to draw the line.
* * * *
Lacey dropped her bikini in her beach bag and ran her fingers through her hair. Since she’d only gotten in the pool to cool off, then gotten right back out so Luis noticed the water running down her body, she didn’t need to dry her hair. Today had been fun; sun bathing and flirting with Luis on the lifeguard’s chair was exactly what she’d needed. She’d known he wouldn’t be able to stay away. It was refreshing to have someone want to talk to her. Someone who wasn’t bitching and crying and talking about things that only made Lacey want to scream. Really, was it too much to enjoy a hot guy’s attention? There was nothing wrong with that.
She smirked when she remembered the pissed look on Mallory’s face. Oh, Mallory obviously thought there was something wrong with her and Luis’s friendship, but Lacey really didn’t care. It wasn’t her fault Mallory had shown up unexpectedly. How was she to know Mallory would pop by to talk to Luis? Mallory never came to the club unless she went as Lacey’s guest.
Grabbing her bag, she turned to head for the lobby but drew to an abrupt stop when Mallory stepped in her way with hard, narrowed eyes.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you,” Mallory said in a low voice, “but I’m way past trying to figure it out.”
Shock rippled through Lacey, but she masked it quickly so Mallory wouldn’t see. As nonchalantly as she could, she slipped the strap of her bag over her elbow and reached for her sunglasses from the front pocket. “I really don’t know what you mean.”
She tried to step past Mallory, but Mallory moved in her way once more. “You know exactly what I mean. You don’t even like Luis.”
“I do too. He’s a very nice guy.”
“And he’s dating me.”
Lacey rolled her eyes. She was keenly aware several elderly eyes were watching their exchange, but that actually worked in her favor. The old biddies loved to gossip. Nothing would convince Luis more that he was with the wrong girl than hearing how Mallory had accosted Lacey in the locker room. “Of course he’s dating you. I already know that. I helped set you up, remember?”
She stepped around Mallory, but Mallory shoved a hand against Lacey’s shoulder, stopping her. “I’m not kidding here. I don’t care if you’re bored or lonely or not getting enough attention in that big house of yours. Luis isn’t the answer. He’s mine. Stay away from him.”
Anger pulsed in Lacey’s veins. No one told her what to do. No one shoved her. She narrowed her eyes on her ex-best friend. “Is that what this is about? You’re jealous of me? I can’t help it if your boyfriend finds me more interesting than you. Maybe instead of threatening me, you should talk to him about your insecurities.”
She moved around Mallory quickly so the girl couldn’t stop her. Slipping on her sunglasses, she lifted her chin and headed for the lobby, but inside she was fuming.
How dare Mallory tell Lacey what she could or couldn’t do? And how dare she threaten her? Didn’t Mallory know who she was? She was a Salt. Everyone loved her parents. They were the perfect family. No one could take that away from her, even with all the tragedy of the last month.
Word of this would spread. Oh, word would spread and Luis would be horrified that Mallory had attacked Lacey when Lacey was already going through such emotional turmoi
l. Then he’d break up with her.
Lacey reached her car and opened the door to toss her bag across to the front seat. A victorious smile spread across her lips.
And if he didn’t break up with her, Lacey would do whatever it took to make sure they still split.
Chapter Five
“Take this up to editorial,” Milton Waters said, handing Jeffry a file, “and find out which photographer they’re planning to send to cover the Little League tournament next weekend.”
Jeffry took the folder from Milton’s wrinkled hands and nodded. “Sure thing, Milt.”
Milton Waters had been reporting the news in Storm for forty-five years. He was the epitome of a small-town journalist, with his white hair and glasses and his ever-present notebook and pen. But more than that, he was someone who knew what the people of Storm wanted to read and gave them that and more.
The Storm Team Weekly News, the small paper Milt and a handful of others had been publishing for the last forty-five years, never changed. It covered news such as the local youth sports teams, the Founders’ Day celebration, the annual pie eating contest, and occasionally included heart-pounding moments such as the time Zeke Johnson’s cattle broke through the fences on the Double J Ranch and caused congestion all over downtown Storm. Every now and then, Milton tried to report on Senator Rush’s political happenings, but the big papers always seemed to know when the senator was planning a pivotal announcement and swooped in to steal the glory. That, Jeffry knew, was part of the reason Milt had been so eager to hire him on for the summer. Because he hoped having a Rush on staff meant he was finally going to scoop the big city papers.
Jeffry headed up the stairs to the second level of the small brick building that housed The Storm Team Weekly in the heart of Storm and shook his head. He wasn’t convinced having him on staff was going to do anything to help Milt scoop the city papers, but he’d been thrilled for the opportunity. Sure, some of the subject matter they covered was less than exhilarating, but he loved being around the news. Loved the excitement of chasing a story, even if that story was a cow lost on Main Street. And he couldn’t wait to learn more.
He reached the second floor and headed for the open door at the end of the short hall. The “editorial” department was made up of Milt’s wife Suellen and their thirty-something daughter, Annabelle, who’d come home a year or so ago from somewhere in the South to help her parents around the paper.
Annabelle was seated at the first desk when he walked into the room. She had dark hair and an easy smile, and Jeffry always felt relaxed in her presence. Small red-rimmed glasses were perched on her nose as she looked up from the copy she was editing. “Hey there, Jeffry. Come to rescue me from this boring job?”
Jeffry smiled. To him the job wasn’t boring at all. After only a couple weeks as a part-time employee for The Storm Team Weekly, he couldn’t believe he’d almost said no to the job because of his dad. Senator Sebastian Rush had been livid when Jeffry had told him he was going to work for, as he put it, a “news rag,” because reporters were nothing but slime. But Jeffry hadn’t cared what his dad thought. This was for him, and he felt alive when he was at the paper. Energized in a way nothing else seemed able to do for him lately.
“Sorry. No such luck.” He handed her the folder. “Milt wants to know who you’re sending to photograph the Little League tournament.”
Annabelle huffed and rolled her chair over to a file cabinet adjacent to her desk. “Bobbie Joe. The only photographer we have.” She slid the folder he’d brought up into the cabinet, then wheeled back to her desk. “Pop knows that. I swear he’s getting senile in his old age.”
Jeffry chuckled. The Waters family had a warm, comfortable way about them that he found refreshing. They were always hugging each other, laughing, making jokes, even when they were working, which was something he longed for from his family but knew he would never have.
Annabelle jotted a note on a piece of paper and handed it back to Jeffry. “Take this down to him. You know, life would be a hell of a lot easier if he’d use that damn smart phone I gave him. He wouldn’t have to send you up and down these stairs ten times a day.”
“I don’t mind,” Jeffry said. “It’s good exercise, plus it gives me a chance to learn all the different departments and how they work.”
Annabelle huffed again. “All four departments and the five of us who work them? You stick around here, Jeffry Rush, and you’re going to wind up running this newspaper one day. Run. Run away fast. I’m warning you right now. If you don’t, you’ll get sucked in and you’ll never escape.”
Jeffry smiled. The teasing tone in Annabelle’s voice told him she wasn’t serious, though he wondered why she’d really come back last year. Yeah, her parents were older, but they hadn’t slowed down at all, and the paper definitely didn’t need her—yet.
“Annabelle Tallulah Waters,” Suellen called from a door at the back of the small room that opened to her office. “Are you talking smack about your daddy again?”
Annabelle rolled her eyes. “No, Mama. I’m talking smack about the whole damn family!”
“Ungrateful daughter,” Suellen muttered. But still there was no bite in any of their words, and when Jeffry looked down, Annabelle was grinning.
What would it be like to have a family that close? Where you could joke around without everyone getting all uptight and offended?
“Hiya, Mallory,” Annabelle said, leaning to her left to look around Jeffry. “You come in to give us a scoop on the upcoming pie eating contest for the Founders’ Day celebration? I heard Anna Mae’s giving her sister a hard time about this year’s pie selection. Rita Mae’s still baking pies for the event, isn’t she?”
Jeffry turned with surprise and looked Mallory’s way. Her face was drawn, her eyes a little bit wild, and he knew with one look that something bad had happened.
“Hi, Annabelle.” Mallory lifted a hand in a half-hearted wave from the doorway where she stood. “No scoop. Sorry. But yeah, as far as I know, Rita Mae’s still doing the pies. Um...” She bit her lip. “I was wondering if I could talk to Jeffry for a few minutes?”
“Sure thing.” Annabelle pushed to her feet and snatched the paper she’d just given Jeffry from his fingertips. When he turned, she said, “Go. Take your time. I’ll make sure Dad gets this.”
“Okay.” He looked back at Mallory, not particularly wanting to talk about whatever was bothering her here at the paper. “Wanna take a walk?”
She nodded. “That sounds good.”
The park was in the center of town, so they headed that way. Mallory was silent as they walked, but Jeffry could tell from the way her shoulders hung that something heavy was weighing on her.
Stupid Luis. He’d known as soon as he’d seen Lacey kiss him last night that he should have stepped in and slapped Luis upside the head until he came to his damn senses.
They finally reached the park and found a bench beneath an old oak tree. As Mallory sat and twisted her hands together in her lap and still didn’t say anything, Jeffry realized he was going to have to pull it out of her.
“I’m guessing you didn’t come all the way down to the paper because you can’t live without me.”
Mallory laughed, but the sound quickly turned to a sob, and she dropped her face in her hands and shook.
“Stupid fucking Luis,” Jeffry muttered. He scooted close and wrapped a hand around Mallory’s shoulders, then awkwardly pulled her in so she was leaning against his chest. “It’s okay. Whatever happened it’s going to be okay.”
“No it’s not,” Mallory muttered. “I messed things up.”
Jeffry squeezed her arm. “No you didn’t.” Luis had messed them up by being a total jackass, but Jeffry didn’t say so. “Tell me what happened.”
Mallory sniffled and swiped her forearm over her eyes as she sat up. “I went over to the pool to talk to him because last night was so weird, you know? I wasn’t even going to say anything about Lacey. But then when I got there, he wasn’t w
orking. He was sitting on a chair next to her and she was wearing this super-small bikini, and she was flirting and touching him, and he was flirting back. They both stopped talking when I walked up, like I’d totally interrupted their important conversation. And I was just... I was mad, you know?”
Jeffry’s heart ached for her. Mallory was a sweet girl who came from a crappy family. Luis was the only positive things she had going right now, and he was fucking it all up because of a stupid childhood crush on Lacey Salt. “What happened then?”
She sniffled again. “Then I told him I wanted to talk to him, and we went out on the grass, and I asked him what he wanted. If he wanted Lacey or not. And, Jeffry...” Her shoulders sank, and her eyes slid closed. “He said he was with me.”
He didn’t see the problem. “With you is a good thing.”
“No, it’s not.” She opened her eyes and shook her head vigorously. “He could have said he wanted me. He could have said he loved me. He could have said a hundred other things, but instead he made it sound like he was stuck with me.”
“Mal, Luis is a guy. Guys don’t always say the right thing at the right time. That doesn’t mean he meant it the way you’re taking it.”
“Maybe.” She shook her head and pushed to her feet. “I don’t know. But here’s what really pisses me off.” She turned to face him, but instead of heartache, fire flared in her eyes now. “Lacey is supposed to be my best friend. She’s not supposed to steal my boyfriend. She’s trying to take Luis away from me because...because I don’t know why. It’s the same shit my sister does when she sees something she wants. She goes after it and doesn’t care about anyone else’s feelings. She broke up, like, three couples in high school that way, and I’m sure she’s still doing it now. I never thought Lacey was like her but I’m starting to think she is. God, I just...” She looked up at the branches above, lifted her hands and dropped them in defeat. “I’m surrounded by people who just don’t give a shit.”
Crosswinds: Episode 3 Page 6
