“I take it she doesn’t want the doll back.”
“Apparently not.”
Jim rubbed the back of his neck where the muscles were turning to stone. “That’s…”
“Creepy?” Aubrey supplied.
“Yeah. Some woman throws this doll off a mountain and it doesn’t have a single scratch?”
“Well, if it makes you any happier, the dress didn’t fare so well. Which reminds me, my friend Tess, took the doll home. She’s going to give it a makeover and a new dress.”
“What kind of makeover do you give a cursed doll?”
“Beats me. I have to wonder though, since we’re co-owners of the doll, does that mean we’re sharing the curse, too?” she teased.
When she said goodbye, he missed her voice, missed just knowing she was on the other end of the phone. In spite of Vicki sitting two feet away, he suddenly felt lonely.
“That shop owner called you about that stupid doll?”
He told her what Aubrey had learned but she wasn’t placated.
“I’m already competing with your father and your stupid cameras for a little attention. I’m not going to compete with some fat, pasty faced—”
“Stop right there. She’s hardly fat. And some men like a woman with a little meat on her bones.” He stood up and walked to the front door of her apartment.
“As for my father and my cameras… The reason I came back to Lawton to begin with was to help my dad after his bypass and my mother’s death. Sorry that’s a problem for you. I’m a photographer. Those cameras are how I make my living.” He snapped his keys off the little table by the door. “Catch ya later.”
****
Aubrey was about to turn the sign on the door to ‘closed’ when someone knocked.
She was tired, her feet had swollen so much that she’d taken her shoes off, switching to a pair of slippers she kept in the shop for just that purpose. Her legs ached, she had to be at dialysis in an hour, and all she wanted was to sit with her feet propped up for a bit.
Tess waved at her from the other side of the window. Aubrey opened the door.
“Hey, girlfriend,” Tess said, stepping inside. “Wait till you see this.” She placed a dark green cardboard box on the counter and lifted the lid.
“Whoa! Nice hooters!”
“Why does he say that? Surely your grandfather didn’t teach him to say it.”
“My offer still stands. I’d be glad to give him to the boys.”
“No thanks. I have enough trouble with the things coming out of their mouths.” She shook a finger at the parrot. “Keep it up and I’ll wash your beak out with soap.”
“I don’t believe it,” Aubrey said as she lifted the doll from its bed of white tissue paper. “You did all this in two days?”
“You know I love working on dolls. It relaxes me. I usually work on bigger dolls, but still. I was having a hard time figuring how to do the website for that new restaurant. The owner is impossible. Designing and sewing the dress helped clear my mind. By the time I finished the dress I had a dozen ideas for the website.”
The dress was Victorian in style, made from a pale pink material with tiny roses. It was trimmed with lace and dark pink ribbons. Tess had even fashioned a hat and a tiny purse, the latter now dangling from a delicate ribbon around the doll’s wrist.
“The hair took the longest. I spent two hours gluing it on and getting the hairstyle to work.”
The doll now sported sleek, black, ringlet curls. She’d used the paint she used for her handmade baby dolls to give the doll red lips, dark blue eyes that made Aubrey think of Jim Tanner, delicate black brows and lashes, and a soft blush on her cheeks.
“She’s so beautiful.”
“Glad you approve,” Tess said as she turned on Aubrey’s computer. “I’d like to put before and after pics on my doll website, just to show what kind of restoration I can do.”
“That’s fine,” Aubrey said absently. “I can’t believe it’s the same doll.”
“I know you have dialysis tonight so I won’t keep you, but I wanted to show you.”
Aubrey watched her friend bring up the website for the store. “I added the doll.”
Tess had photographed her against a dark purple background.
Stop by to see our Scrimshaw Rose, restored by Tessa Mallory, and hear about the dark curse on our lovely Rose.
“This isn’t visible on the website, yet. If you don’t want it, let me know.”
“I like it. Anytime you post on there that I have a cursed toy the buyers come out of the woodwork.”
“I’ll post it on the scrimshaw doll site, too.” Tess shut down the computer. “You hear anything from your partner?”
“Partner?”
“You know, the guy who found the doll. I know you’re interested in him. When you mentioned him your cheeks flushed and your eyes sparkled.”
Great. Why did she have to be one of those people whose every emotion was visible on their face?
“He was with a very attractive blond. I doubt he even noticed me.”
Chapter Three
“They taste better fried,” Jim’s dad said.
Jim slid the pan with the pork steaks under the broiler.
“That may be, but your doctor was very clear. “No fried foods.’”
James took a sip of his water, set it down and turned a page in the newspaper. “You’re as bad as your mother. You’re going to love me to death.”
Jim opened the freezer. “We’ve got carrots, mixed veggies, or broccoli.”
“Broccoli gives me gas.”
“In that case we’ll skip the broccoli.” He grabbed a steamable bag of mixed vegetables.
“I don’t like vegetables anyway.”
“Doctor says eat ’em, so you’re going to eat ’em.”
James opened his mouth to reply but was mercifully interrupted by the doorbell.
“I got it,” his dad said, getting out of the kitchen chair and heading for the front door. “You could fix potatoes,” he called over his shoulder.
Jim filled a pot halfway with water and set it on the stove as a murmur of voices moved toward the kitchen.
“This lovely lady’s here to see you,” his father said. “I’ll give you two some privacy.” He winked at Jim. “Call me when supper’s ready.”
Vicki sidled up close and laid her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I don’t know what got into me.”
She pressed against him. “I don’t want to fight.”
“All right.” He reached for the beer he’d set on the counter and took a long swallow, moving away from Vicki at the same time.
She puffed her lower lip out in a flirty pout. “I just can’t help but get a little jealous. You know how crazy I am about you.”
“Excuse me.” He reached past her to pull the pan out of the broiler and place it on the stove. He grabbed the jar of spices he’d used on the other side and began sprinkling it over the meat.
“I do understand about your photography, really I do.”
He noticed she didn’t mention understanding about his father.
After he put the pan back in the oven she reached for him. Jim sidestepped her, leaned against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankle.
“I’m not quite sure where this apology is going. To be honest, I’m not quite sure where we’re going.”
“Well, I think we could be heading toward something very special.”
She stepped close, resting her hands on his chest. “I was thinking we could start looking at houses or apartments, move in together. My place would be way too small.”
“I have a place to live.”
“Sweetheart, you’re thirty-four years old. Too old to be living with your father.”
“My mother has only been gone a few months. My father’s lost without her. They were married for forty-three years. He needs me right now. That’s why I moved back to Lawton in the first place.”
“Dinner ready?” his father c
alled out from the living room. “I’m about to starve.”
Vicki leaned forward to place a passionate kiss on his lips, a kiss that left him strangely unmoved.
“Just think about it, sweetheart. For me?”
****
Aubrey looked at the scrimshaw doll displayed in the glass case. Maybe she should move it somewhere less visible. Every time she looked at the doll she thought of Jim Tanner. Every time she thought about him she wanted to hear his voice, see him…
“He has a girlfriend,” she reminded herself.
Einstein canted his head to one side, obviously thinking she was speaking to him.
“Shit fire!”
Why couldn’t her grandfather have taught the bird to say “Polly wants a cracker?”
She kept herself busy for the next few hours taking care of online orders, getting items ready to go to the post office, and taking care of the few people who actually came into Tanner’s Antique Toys.
At one Tess called. “You’ve had a couple of bids on the doll already.”
“I saw. It might end up going for more than I’d expected.”
“What does your doll partner think about that?”
“I haven’t talked to him in a couple of days, not since I told him about the website devoted to it.”
“Call him and let him know.”
She finally dialed his cell number, both relieved and disappointed when it went straight to voicemail.
****
Aubrey checked the store to make certain she was alone. She had almost an hour to go before closing. Behind the counter, masked by a painting of a carousel ridden by teddy bears, her grandfather had hidden a small wall safe. She opened it now, slid the two hundred dollars a customer had paid for one of the antique banks, into the bank deposit bag. She grabbed a roll of quarters and closed the safe just as a teenage girl walked in the store.
“Whoa! Nice hooters!”
Aubrey’s cheeks flamed. The girl rolled her eyes.
“Never heard of a perv bird before.” She pulled a folded piece of paper from her back pocket. “My grandma wants to know if you got any Nancy Drew books. She’s trying to find one she remembers from when she was a kid.” She looked at the paper. “She doesn’t remember the title. It was about a secret clock or something.”
“Go all the way to the back of the store. There’s a lawyer’s bookcase. You won’t be able to handle the books, but you can see the titles.”
The girl walked off. Aubrey started toward the old cash register, turning when the frog by the door gave out a ribbit.
Jim came in the door, juggling two cups of Starbuck’s, a bag and a notebook.
She set the quarters on the counter and rushed to help him. The aroma of fresh coffee nearly eclipsed the spicy smell of his cologne. She grabbed the bag and the notebook.
“Hey!” Jim shouted. “Put it back.”
“I didn’t take nothing.”
Aubrey looked at their faces—Jim’s angry, the girl’s defiant.
“She picked something up off the counter and slipped it in the pocket of her hoodie.”
Jim stepped forward, moving like a stalking wolf.
“Don’t even think about patting me down,” the girl said. “I’ll call the cops and tell them you tried to molest me.”
Aubrey picked up the cordless phone. “Tell you what, I’ll call the police right now. The three of us will stand here until they arrive. One of the officers can pat you down. I’ll even ask them to send a female officer.” Without taking her eyes off the girl she said to Jim “What did she take?”
“I couldn’t tell.”
“Because I didn’t take anything, you jackass.”
“Liar, liar,” Einstein cackled.
The girl’s eyes shifted wildly between Jim, Aubrey and the parrot. “Tell your stupid bird to shut up.”
Aubrey glanced at the counter. The roll of quarters was gone.
Her head began to pound. She was tired and ready to go home. She hadn’t slept well for months, her legs hurt… She didn’t want to spend the next few hours dealing with a police report over a ten dollar roll of quarters.
“Just put the money back on the counter and leave. Don’t come back to my store.”
“I ain’t giving you nothing.”
She felt Jim’s gaze on her. She didn’t have the energy to fight with the girl anymore. She didn’t want Jim to see how tired she really was.
She startled when his arm slid behind her back, silently giving her support. With his free hand he took the phone from her, taking the core of the battle from her as well.
“Two choices,” he said. “Put the money back and go, or wait for the cops.”
The teen’s lips pursed in anger. She reached into the hoodie pouch.
“If you slam that roll of quarters on the counter and break the glass,” he said, “you’ll be waiting for the police and charged with destruction of private property. Think about it. You have to the count of three. One. Two.”
The girl set the quarters gently on the counter. “I wasn’t stealing it. I was going to pay her back. I just needed a pack of cigarettes. My mom told me to get her some, but she forgot to give me the money.”
“Liar, liar,” Einstein said.
Aubrey waved a hand toward the door. “Just go. Peddle your lies to someone else.”
The girl stomped out the door, slamming it behind her. She turned around, giving Aubrey the finger.
Aubrey just shook her head.
Before the girl could turn away, alarm crossed her face, her arms waving wildly as she tried to regain her balance. She went down hard.
Aubrey and Jim raced for the door. The sudden cold stung Aubrey’s face. She knelt next to the girl who lay unmoving on the sidewalk.
Chapter Four
“Don’t touch her,” Jim said as he pulled out his phone. “I’ll call 911. Grab a blanket.” He pulled his keys from his pocket. “There’s a blanket in the back of my Explorer.”
The silver/gray Explorer was parked right in front of the shop. Aubrey ran to it, pulled out an old green army blanket and folded it double over the girl.
“Oh my goodness.” Mrs. Corey from the used bookstore next door hurried over to the girl.
“That’s Kayleen Small. I go to church with her grandmother.”
“Can you call her?” Aubrey asked.
“I don’t have her number, but it might be in the phone book. I’ll look.”
****
“You can’t be serious,” Tess said. “There’s almost no ice out there, but this kid managed to find a patch big enough to slip on?”
Aubrey shrugged. “I’m just glad she’s going to be all right. Mrs. Corey stopped by this morning to say they kept her in the hospital overnight. She has a concussion. She’s awake and talking but she doesn’t remember what happened. Mrs. Corey said she didn’t even remember coming into the store.”
“You know,” Tess said, “if I were a superstitious sort, I might just blame her fall on the curse.”
“What curse?” Aubrey sprayed glass cleaner on the counter, rubbing until it sparkled.
“You know you can use air freshener for that? Smells better.”
“What curse?”
“Oh, the doll. Remember? Anyone who betrays the owner of the doll will suffer.”
Aubrey moved out from behind the counter to clean the other side. “You don’t believe that anymore than I do.”
“You’re right of course, but it’s an interesting coincidence. The kid tries to steal from you and she ends up in the hospital overnight?”
“And you pegged it, Tess. Interesting coincidence. That’s all.”
Tess put on her coat. “Aubrey, I know you asked me not to be a mother hen—”
“But?”
“I’m just worried about you, girlfriend. You look so tired. Maybe you should take a few days off. Sleep in, put your feet up. Most of your sales are online. If you had a laptop you could take care of those from your apartment.”
“And just what would I do with myself?”
“Catch up on your reading? Watch TV?”
Think about whether or not I’ll live long enough to celebrate my twenty-sixth birthday?
“I’ll think about it.”
Tess hugged her. “I know I’m practically old enough to be your mother, but you are my dearest friend. I’ll do anything I can for you, you know that don’t you?”
The door to the shop opened. The two of them pulled apart. “Take care of yourself, girlfriend.”
Aubrey nodded and even managed a smile.
“You swing both ways?” a cold voice asked as the door closed behind Tess.
Aubrey looked into the pale blue eyes of the woman who had just walked into the store. Jim Tanner’s girlfriend, Vicki.
Dressed in a businesslike pair of tan slacks and high heeled boots, her white leather coat unzipped to reveal a dressy navy blue blouse and two gold chains, the woman was probably on her lunch break.
Aubrey wore her ‘fat’ pants—a pair of faded jeans one size too large to accommodate the extra water weight, an old baggy sweater and a pair of canvas slip-on shoes.
Vicki wore perfect make-up and a French braid. Aubrey wore mascara and a ponytail.
“I want you to leave Jim alone,” Vicki said.
“There’s nothing between me and Jim.” Could this tall, gorgeous woman really think Jim would spare a look at someone like Aubrey? Oh, how she wished he would.
Vicki leaned down just enough to bring her nose inches from Aubrey’s. “I know there’s nothing going on between you,” she said. “Jim already told me he could never be interested in a pudgy, plain, little thing like you.”
“So why are you here?” she asked, grateful when the words came out sounding normal, betraying none of the agony the other woman’s words had caused.
“I’m here because Jim is too much of a gentleman to tell you how embarrassing he finds your pathetic attempts to attract his attention. The constant phone calls—”
Fading Rose Page 2
