Where Azaleas Bloom

by Sherryl Woods

  “Other than our husbands,” Annie Townsend said loyally. “We all landed the cream of the Serenity crop.”

  Lynn noticed that Laura Reed, who was about to marry local pediatrician J. C. Fullerton, looked increasingly troubled by the conversation.

  “Laura, is something wrong?” Lynn asked.

  “I’m trying to decide whether or not to mention something,” Laura told them.

  “Something about Mitch?” Raylene asked.

  Laura nodded. “You know before J.C. and I got together a few months ago, I wasn’t really dating all that much. Sometimes I’d go out for a drink on Friday nights with some of the other single teachers. There was a time there, it must have been not too long after Amy died, when Mitch was always at the bar, drinking alone and drinking way too much.”

  Lynn stilled at the news, her heart thumping unsteadily. “Mitch drinks a lot?” she asked with real trepidation.

  “I’ve never seen him touch so much as a beer,” Raylene said, frowning at Laura. “That can’t be right.”

  “I’m just saying it’s what I saw,” Laura said defensively. “And it was more than once. I haven’t been back there in quite a while, so maybe that’s in the past. That’s why I wasn’t sure whether to mention it.”

  “No, you should have,” Lynn said stiffly. “It’s something I needed to know.”

  What Laura couldn’t possibly have known was that Lynn had way too much experience with alcoholics. Her dad had been one. He’d been a mean drunk, too.

  She thought back to the horror of those days. Sure, it had been more verbal abuse than physical or, she liked to believe, her mother would have walked out the door and taken Lynn and her sisters with her. In Lynn’s opinion she should have gone anyway, just the way Sarah McDonald had gotten away from her first husband. Walter Price hadn’t been a drunk, but he’d been verbally abusive. He’d shaped up and was now married again, but it had taken the shock of Sarah’s leaving to force him to change. Nothing had ever sobered up Lynn’s dad. He’d died of liver complications a few years back. Ironically and sadly, her mother had died before him.

  Still, Lynn couldn’t be around a man who was drinking heavily without a knot forming in her stomach. She told herself it was good that she’d found this out now, before she’d allowed herself to get any more involved with Mitch. Though she’d personally seen no indication that he had a drinking problem, with two impressionable kids in the house, it wasn’t a risk she was willing to take.

  Working for him was one thing, but anything else? No, she decided regretfully, it simply couldn’t be.

  * * *

  Flo regarded her daughter with real disappointment. “How did I raise a woman who could be so judgmental?” she asked wearily after she and Helen had gone round and round about what Helen termed her inappropriate behavior.

  “I’m not being judgmental,” Helen insisted. “I’m just worried about your making a complete fool of yourself.”

  “By dating a man who treats me with respect and genuine affection?”

  “Don is at least ten years younger than you.”

  “Twelve, if you must know, but what’s your point?”

  “It can’t possibly last, Mom. He’ll break your heart.”

  “And you don’t think I know a thing or two about broken hearts? Most of the men who stole my heart for a minute or two over the years weren’t worth spit compared to Donnie.” She gave Helen a defiant look. “And I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable or embarrasses you in some way, but it’s my life. I intend to live it any way I choose.”

  “I swear to God,” Helen began, but she didn’t finish the thought.

  Flo almost smiled at that. “You’ll what? Have me committed?”

  Helen sighed heavily. “Okay, I know that’s crazy. There’s not a judge around who’ll buy that you’re not in your right mind, even if I happen to think you’ve lost it.”

  Flo gave a nod of satisfaction. “Glad to know you have limits and that you recognize that much about me.” She hesitated, then said, “I have a proposition, if you’d like to hear it.”

  Though she still looked agitated, Helen gestured for her to go on.

  “You and Erik have dinner with us one night,” Flo suggested. “We’ll go to Rosalina’s.”

  “You want to go on a double date with me?” Helen asked incredulously.

  “And Erik,” Flo stressed, knowing that he’d be the voice of reason if Helen got herself all worked up and wasn’t behaving politely.

  “Oh, sure, because you have him wound around your finger,” Helen said.

  Flo smiled at her frustration. “That’s one reason, for sure. I was also thinking you might enjoy a night out with your husband. I’ll even pay for a sitter, so you won’t have a worry on your mind.”

  “I’d rather you stay home and sit with Sarah Beth,” Helen muttered.

  Flo dared to laugh at that. “It would defeat the purpose of this double date, don’t you think? Come on. What do you have to lose, except maybe being forced to admit you’re wrong about me and Donnie?”

  “I hate being wrong.”

  “I know you do,” Flo soothed. “I’ll make it easy on you. I promise not to say I told you so even once.”

  A smile finally tugged at Helen’s lips. “You’ll never be able to pull that off.”

  “I can,” Flo insisted. “Cross my heart.”

  Helen studied her, then finally shook her head. “I suppose it will be worth it just to see you try to keep from rubbing it in. First, though, I have to admit I’m wrong. There’s no guarantee that’ll happen.”

  “It’ll happen,” Flo said confidently. “I have faith in Donnie, but I have even more faith in your being fair and just. That is why you went into law, isn’t it, to make sure trials are fair and impartial?”

  Helen gave her a long look, then chuckled. “I swear every now and then I get a glimpse of just where I learned to manipulate a witness into saying what I want.”

  “Thank you, Mama,” Flo coached.

  “Thank you, Mama,” Helen said dutifully, though she didn’t look entirely happy about it.

  Still, though, she’d come a long way since the beginning of their contentious conversation. Flo was content with the progress they’d made. She just had to keep reminding herself that some victories required baby steps.

  * * *

  Mitch frowned at the way Lynn was avoiding making eye contact when he stopped by on Wednesday to go over the payroll instructions one more time.

  “Something wrong?” he asked eventually.

  “No. Why?”

  “You haven’t once looked at me since I walked into the house,” he said.

  “Because I’m focused on this blasted computer screen,” she claimed. “You want me to get the payroll done before your crew quits on you, right?”

  He wasn’t buying it, but prolonging the discussion was unlikely to get him anywhere.

  “I saw Ed the other day,” he mentioned casually, wondering if that was behind her stiff behavior. “He’s back from his trip.”

  “I know,” she said tersely.

  “You’ve seen him?”

  She did turn to him then. “Why do you care about this?”

  “Just trying to figure out this mood you’re in. I thought Ed’s return might have something to do with it.”

  “I am not in a mood,” she retorted, her eyes flashing with indignation.

  Mitch thought that fiery reaction was a
whole lot better than the indifference she’d been radiating earlier. “Sorry, I think you are.”

  “You don’t know me that well.”

  “I do,” he said mildly.

  She regarded him with obvious frustration. “Mitch, we’ve barely seen each other since high school.”

  “Until the past couple of weeks,” he said agreeably. “I’ve seen enough to know you haven’t changed that dramatically from the sweet, even-tempered girl I knew.”

  “That’s what you think,” she muttered. “Getting a divorce has a way of changing things.”

  “So this is about Ed.”

  “No, it’s about my having a job to do and your not helping me to get it done,” she said impatiently. “I have another job to get to in…” She glanced at her watch. “Twenty minutes. Could you please explain this one more time and do it in ten minutes, preferably in English, rather than tech mumbo jumbo?”

  He smiled. “Why don’t we just tackle it again when you get home and aren’t in such a rush?” He stood up, then impulsively bent down and brushed a kiss across her forehead. “Maybe your mood will be improved by then, too.”

  He was almost to the back door when a wad of paper sailed past his head. The next one struck him in the back. He laughed.

  “Very mature, Lynnie,” he called over his shoulder.

  “Just be glad I didn’t get my cast-iron skillet.”

  He was beginning to realize that she really was annoyed with him, either for some transgression she had yet to mention or because she thought he was being presumptuous for calling her on her attitude. He turned around and walked back into the kitchen, pulled a chair closer, then straddled it from behind, resting his arms on the back.

  “Okay, what’s this about?” he asked, too close for her to avoid making eye contact without being any more revealing than she already had been.

  “Mitch, please, just go on over to Raylene’s so I can get to work. It takes me ten minutes to walk to the boutique.”

  “I’ll drive you. Let’s settle this, and then we’ll go.”

  “There’s nothing to settle,” she said stubbornly.

  “I beg to differ.”

  “Beg to differ all you want to, but I’m telling you there’s nothing going on.”

  “You don’t suddenly have a problem with me?”

  “No,” she said, but she managed to avoid his gaze when she said it.

  “You do,” he concluded, then sighed. “Tell me.”

  “Mitch, really. I don’t have time for this.”

  Reluctantly, he stood up. “Let’s go then. Grab your purse. I’ll drop you off on my way to Ronnie’s hardware store. I have supplies coming in this morning.”

  “I can walk.”

  “I know you are perfectly capable of walking,” he said, barely holding on to his temper. “But I am willing to save you a couple of minutes and give you a ride, since I’m going just a few doors down from the boutique. Do you really want to fight about this, too?”

  Apparently, her common sense finally kicked in, because she gave him a chagrined look. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime,” he said, managing to contain a smile since the thanks had clearly cost her.

  They made the drive in a couple of minutes. The silence in his truck was deafening. After he’d stopped in front of the boutique to let her out, he reached over and touched her arm as she exited. “We’ll finish this later.”

  Dismay flashed in her eyes, followed by resignation. “Is that an edict from my boss?”

  “Nope, just a promise from a concerned friend,” he said mildly. “Have a good day, Lynnie.”

  She hesitated, then said, “Yeah, you, too.”

  Mitch watched until she’d gone inside, then drove down the block and parked in front of the hardware store. He stayed right where he was after he’d cut the engine, trying to puzzle out what might be going on with Lynn, but if there were clues, he’d missed them.

  One thing he’d learned during his marriage, though, was that some puzzles shouldn’t be left unresolved. They tended to get more complicated and difficult as time passed.

  “Tonight, Lynn,” he murmured determinedly. “I’ll get to the bottom of whatever’s going on tonight.”

  Stubborn as she obviously was, he didn’t think she could keep the problem to herself forever.

  9

  “I was awful,” Lynn told Raylene during a break between customers at the boutique. “There he was being all worried and concerned that I was upset, and I was being standoffish and mean.”

  “Standoffish under the circumstances I can see,” Raylene said. “But mean? I can’t imagine it. Not you. You’re the most thoughtful person I know.”

  “No, that would be Mitch. The man has been nothing but kind to me. He’s given me a job, for goodness’ sake, and what do I do? At the first hint that he might have a drinking problem, I treat him like a pariah. And the truth is, I’ve never even seen him touch a drink. All I have to go on is what Laura said she saw.”

  Raylene nodded. “I was shocked by that, too. It doesn’t fit with the man I know, either. Still, it’s not something she’d make up.”

  “I know that,” Lynn said in frustration. “That’s why I found it so disturbing. Laura doesn’t gossip, and she was clearly uncomfortable telling us about this.”

  “Do you want my advice?”

  Lynn nodded. She needed another perspective. “Absolutely.”

  “You recall that when I met Carter he jumped to a lot of conclusions about my being careless and irresponsible because Sarah’s little boy had run away while I was supposed to be watching him. Until Travis explained to him about my agoraphobia, Carter made some pretty terrible judgments about the kind of person I am. He still says that taught him a valuable lesson about never jumping to conclusions without facts.”

  “I remember that day, and the way Carter reacted when he brought Tommy back,” Lynn said. “He definitely made a rush to judgment.”

  “If you can see that, then don’t do the same thing. Give Mitch a chance to set the record straight.”

  “Ask him if he drinks?” Lynn said, dismayed by the thought of asking such an intrusive question when she’d personally seen no evidence to suggest that he had a problem. “I can’t do that. How could I possibly explain why I was asking? If it’s not true, it would totally humiliate him to think people in town are saying otherwise.”

  “Then here’s what I personally think is the better alternative,” Raylene said. “You concentrate on what you know to be true about Mitch—that he’s thoughtful and dependable and kind. Trust what you know until he actually does something to shake your faith in him.”

  “I know you’re right, but I’m scared,” Lynn said.

  “Of what?”

  “Falling for him, then finding out he’s not the man I thought he was.”

  Raylene looked unreasonably delighted by her response. “Then you are in danger of falling for him? Fantastic!”

  “Is it fantastic?” Lynn wondered.

  “I think so,” Raylene confirmed. “Look, I understand your desire to protect yourself and the kids from getting hurt, but I honestly don’t see it happening, not with the Mitch I know. Trust your gut.”

  Lynn gave her a wry look. “My gut told me Ed was the perfect man for me. It’s not terribly reliable.”

  “I think you’re wrong about that. One mistake—”

  “A huge mistake,” Lynn corrected.

  “Okay, I’
ll give you that one,” Raylene conceded. “But I’d hate to see you give up on something special happening with Mitch for no reason.”

  But was it for no reason? Lynn wondered. It would be difficult for Laura Reed to misinterpret what she’d seen with her own eyes. And she wasn’t the kind of woman who’d spread rumors if she hadn’t been genuinely worried by what she’d observed.

  Raylene was right, though. The situation called for caution or confrontation. Since confrontation, especially without firsthand evidence, went against her basic instincts, caution was the only answer.

  “Are you seeing Mitch tonight?” Raylene asked.

  “Unless he thought about this morning and decided not to waste his time on a woman who was being impossible,” she said.

  “I doubt Mitch could ever look at time spent with you as a waste,” Raylene said. “You’ll see him. Now let’s look on these racks and find something fabulous for you to wear.”

  Lynn immediately shook her head. “I can’t afford fabulous.”

  “You can if it’s on the sale rack and we take off your employee discount. I’ll practically have to pay you to wear it. Besides, for me, a well-dressed employee is a walking advertisement.”

  “But we’re just going to do payroll at my place,” Lynn protested, even though her attention kept straying to the sales rack. When she’d been straightening it earlier, there had been one dress that had caught her eye—something in a cheerful lime green that would be terrific for summer.

  “Not once he sees you in the perfect dress, I’ll bet,” Raylene said, handing her a simple linen dress in peach that Lynn hadn’t even noticed.

  “Are you sure?” Lynn asked. “I like the lime green.”

  “Trust me,” Raylene insisted. “The lime green will be overpowering. This peach will make your skin glow.” She grinned. “I’m predicting there’s a fancy dinner in your future. And if he asks, don’t you dare say no.”

  Somewhat reassured by the conversation with Raylene and stunned by the way she looked in the dress that Raylene had plucked from the rack, Lynn left the store at midafternoon with a whole new attitude.