“This is a real treat,” she whispered. “I didn’t know if you’d be able to get away tonight. You know this whole town is watching me?” She dropped her denim shorts, T-shirt, and shoes in pile at the end of the sofa and padded to the bathroom barefoot in nothing but her underpants and bra.
He followed her, laid out a towel, handed her a washcloth, and adjusted the water while she finished undressing. “I was careful. I heard that you might be interested in Rhett Monroe. Should I be jealous?”
She rolled up on her toes and kissed him hard. “I’m a married woman who is only interested in one damn fine sexy preacher.”
“Good.” He grinned.
When she finished her shower, she wrapped a towel around her wet hair and loosely belted a kimono-style terry-cloth robe around her waist. She was almost to the kitchen, where she planned to do a little strip tease with the towel and hopefully wind up having dinner sitting on his lap totally naked.
Piper poked her head out around the kitchen door and said, “Nancy’s trying to make up for putting you on the prayer list. I told you that she was sorry.”
“Why would you say that?” Stella’s heart felt like it was fighting its way out of her chest. Any minute it would throw her left breast out on the floor and land on top of it in a quivering mess. Where in the hell was Jed? Was he hiding in her bedroom?
“Duh, girl!” Piper said. “Lasagna is on the bar and I just took hot rolls out of the oven.”
“I thought you made all that and had run to the store for salad.” Stella was amazed that her voice was not high and squeaky.
Piper shook her head. “I just popped in to see if you wanted to go to the Rib Joint for supper. Lorene called to ask if they could keep the boys overnight so they could take them to a youth rally at their church tonight. But it looks like the magic fairy left supper for us.”
Stella’s heart settled from a full-out run to a gallop. Where was Jed? She had to get him out of the house, but first she had to find him.
“Well, the magic fairy can come around anytime he, she, or it wants to,” she said.
Piper opened the refrigerator. “Nancy is real sorry. You need to forgive her, Stella. There’s a beautiful salad all cut up pretty and sliced strawberries for shortcakes.”
A rush of hot air blew Charlotte into the house. “What’s that I smell? I came by to see if you wanted to go eat somewhere, but I’m staying here if that’s Nancy’s lasagna. I’d rather eat and then curl up on your sofa with my knitting. I finished the little hat and now I’m working on the booties. When I finish, do you want me to start another one in green or yellow?”
Stella headed toward her bedroom. “Bite your tongue if you are talking to me. But Piper has always wanted a daughter, so you could talk to her. Y’all put supper on the table while I find some clothes.”
She shut the door, looked in the closet, under the bed, and behind the drapes. She threw off the robe; jerked on underwear, a clean bright-blue tank top, and a pair of khaki shorts; and swore when she realized she’d left her purse on the sofa.
“Dammit!” She stuck her head out the door and yelled, “Charlotte, will you hand me my purse?”
Charlotte put it in her outstretched hand and said, “Tell her that we forgive her and we love her and if she wants to put us on the prayer list to go right ahead if that means she’ll cook for us.”
Piper yelled from the kitchen, “I knew you’d made up with Nancy when I smelled the lasagna.”
Stella quickly dialed Jed’s number. It rang four times before he picked up.
“I’m so sorry. What happened?” she said.
His laughter bounced out of the phone into the bedroom. “Now, that’s a story for our old age, darlin’. You’d just gotten in the shower and Piper yelled something from the living room. When she realized that you were in the shower she went straight to the kitchen. I chose my moment and slipped out the door, around the house, across a couple of yards, and came out on the next street over and jogged back to my place. Folks know I run and a couple of cars slowed down and asked if I needed a ride.”
Stella’s heart settled to a steady beat instead of a gallop.
Even his chuckle had a deep Texas drawl that flat-out set her hormones to humming. She might never forgive those two hussies for interfering with her strip tease and the hot sex afterward. Dammit! They should start sneaking into the beauty shop and using the sofa!
“It’s okay, darlin’. A long run and a cold shower will take care of things,” Jed said.
“I hate this. I’m almost ready to say to hell with it and tell the world.”
“I’m ready to do just that anytime you are.”
“We’ve come this far and it’s not much longer.” She sighed. “I can endure it until you sign the contract. Besides, they think Mama made supper as atonement for her sins. I’m going to lay the blame off on Agnes because she’s been eating everything in sight at the shop. And next week I’m changing the locks on all my doors and nailing my windows shut.”
“That’d just cause a bigger problem.” He laughed again. “If they leave early enough, call and I’ll come back over.”
“I’ll kick them out in the yard at nine if they aren’t gone. It’ll be good dark by then,” she said.
“Darlin’, we don’t have to do things this way. I mean it from the depths of my heart when I say that they can take us both or we can both leave Cadillac,” he said.
“They didn’t ask me before they put their praying panties on, so I’m not giving them any satisfaction until after that damn ball. The hiring committee meets next week. If we get caught after that, it’s okay, but it would be nice to put our names in the already-taken bowl at the barbecue ball,” Stella said.
What if it comes down to a choice? Leave with your husband or stay with your friends? her conscience asked.
I’ll leave in a heartbeat. I love Jed, but please let Jed’s next church be close enough I can commute, she answered silently.
“Stella, I’m so ready for you to live in the parsonage with me. I want to be married openly, not secretly,” he said seriously.
Her heart flipped twice and her pulse raced. “Me, too, but I know that it will be better for you, for the church, and for Cadillac if we wait until you are hired permanently. I was thinking of announcing it at the ball. What do you think? Are you ready to say that you are married to the town’s worst sinner?”
“I will stand up in the middle of Violet’s barn and use the microphone so everyone can hear it.” He chuckled. “See you later. Love you.”
She shoved the phone back into her purse and headed for the kitchen. Piper and Charlotte had the food arranged on the bar, paper plates set at the end, and ice in red plastic disposable cups.
“So was I right? Did Nancy do this for you?”
Stella picked up a plate and cut into the lasagna with a metal server. “No, ma’am, she did not. That’s not her recipe. She always uses two kinds of cheese on the top and that’s only got one kind. I’m betting that Agnes did it as payback for all the food she’s been eating at the shop. I’ll thank her the next time she comes in, which will probably be tomorrow morning.”
“Tea?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes,” Piper and Stella said in unison.
Charlotte filled three cups and said, “How’d she get in your house? We’re the only ones with keys.”
Piper sipped tea and held up a finger on the other hand until she could swallow. “Hey, that woman can do anything. She’s Agnes-by-damn-Flynn. I wouldn’t put it past her to have bugs stuck all over town and that’s what she calls her snitch.” She took another long sip. “I was spittin’ dust. Now, back to Agnes. A locked door wouldn’t slow her down a bit, and believe me, she will find out who your boyfriend is before that blasted ball. This sure tastes like Nancy’s recipe. I wonder if Agnes talked her into making it without telling her it was fo
r us, or maybe she told her to change it slightly.”
“Boone has a late meeting with a new client, but he should be home by eight thirty or we’d watch Pretty Woman and have a real girls’ night in,” Charlotte said.
Piper carried her tea and plate of food to the table. “I’d rather watch Dirty Dancing, but my boys will be home by nine, so we don’t have time for movies. Besides, I’d rather talk. Rhett called me.” She blurted out the last sentence.
“And?” Stella raised both eyebrows.
“He asked me out to dinner, with or without the boys, my choice.”
“And?” Charlotte’s fork stopped in midair and the lasagna fell back to her plate with a loud plopping noise.
“He’d heard that I thought he was interested in you and just coming around to get to know your friends better. He wanted to clear that up,” Piper said.
“Don’t pause or stop. Keep talking,” Stella said.
“He said that . . .” Piper blushed.
“What? Spit it out,” Charlotte said impatiently.
“That he likes tall women with some sass and he admired me for not letting Gene get away with cheating on me. Crazy thing is that I don’t know if he did cheat on me—that part could be gossip.” Tears flooded her face and dripped off her jaw onto her shirt, leaving wet polka dots on the cotton fabric. “Not knowing is as bad as knowing.”
“Cheating on you? Of course he did. He was just sneaky enough that we don’t know for sure, but think about it. All those late nights at work and those weekends he went fishing but didn’t bring a thing home, not even a sunburn and chigger bites.” Stella’s voice got higher with each word.
“Honey, we know, but he was careful. If we’d had names and dates, we would have taken his sorry ass out on Everett’s boat and made fish bait out of it,” Charlotte said.
Stella scooted her chair closer and threw an arm around Piper. “I agree with Charlotte. Besides, what does it matter now, anyway? It’s in the past and it’s time for you to move on with your life.”
Piper took a deep breath, downed half the tea in her glass, and said, “You’ve convinced me. If you can live with this husband shit plastered on the church sign, I can get my life in order. No more tears and no more worry. It’s my life and I’m not going to live it in bitterness and anger.”
Charlotte reached across the table and laid a hand over Piper’s. “Don’t just say it; do it. As long as you are upset about Gene, then he has control, and you are too good to let him control your life.”
“Charlotte is right,” Stella said.
“You might do well to listen to your own advice,” Piper said.
“I’m not mad . . . oh, you mean Mama.” Stella did an eye roll and then looked Piper in the eye. “Let it go. We’ll make up. I’m less mad today than I was yesterday but you ain’t pushin’ me into nothing. I’m not in a forgiving mood right now.”
“Okay, I’ve been through denial and anger, what’s next?” Piper said.
“Bingeing out on lasagna and strawberry shortcake tonight and talking about this barbecue ball shit. We’ve got to get dresses. I’m tempted to get one cut down to my waist in the front and up to my crack in the back,” Stella said.
“I’ll pay for it if you will buy it in bright red. Heather will stroke plumb out,” Charlotte told her. “What did you tell Rhett about dinner, Piper?”
“That I’d think about it,” Piper answered.
Stella ignored the ringtone the first time her phone rang but when it started again within a minute of stopping, she shrugged and hurried to her bedroom to answer it.
“Hello,” she said breathlessly.
“Change of plans. The ambulance just came and took my elderly neighbor to the hospital. They think he’s having a heart attack and he’s scared. No family left, so I’m headed to the hospital to be with him. See you later.”
“I understand,” she said. “The girls are leaving by nine, or so they say. Keep me posted. You might still have time to drop by and have some of this fabulous lasagna that Agnes made.”
“I’m sure that it’s delicious. Don’t wait up for me. Love you,” he said and the phone went dead.
The boys were still sleeping soundly the next morning when Lorene arrived.
“I’m sorry, Lorene. I should have had them up and dressed, but my alarm didn’t go off this morning and I’m running late, so do you mind taking them in their pajamas?” Piper said. “I’m glad you’re keeping them. If you weren’t, they’d have to be awake and dressed to go to day care.” Piper scooped Tanner up in her arms and carried him out to the van with Lorene right behind her. The boys were like rag dolls and didn’t know that they’d been strapped into the seats with their stuffed animals tucked in with them.
Lorene patted her on the shoulder. “I’m glad that you let us keep them. We’ll see you at the end of the day. If they don’t wake up on the way into the house, then I’ll let them sleep as long as they need to. They talked a lot about Rhett yesterday and how that he was a great ballplayer.”
“They had a great time with him.” Piper smiled. “My last appointment is at three today so y’all can drop them early. Just call me if you’re coming to the shop and I’ll wait there.”
“We will.” Lorene nodded.
Piper watched the van until it was out of sight, then raced back to the house, grabbed her purse, locked the door, and turned on the air conditioner the first thing when she crawled into her car. When it was already in the high eighties at eight o’clock in the morning, there was no doubt that it was going to be a scorching-hot day.
She’d put the car in reverse and was backing out of the driveway when she noticed the paper stuck under the windshield wiper on the passenger’s side. Figuring it was an invitation to a nearby summer Bible school or maybe a flyer for what was on sale at the convenience store in town, she ignored it and drove on to the shop. She was in such a rush to get inside out of the heat that she forgot about it until the hot Texas wind unhinged it and sent it flying across the sidewalk to land right at her feet.
She stopped in her tracks right there in front of the Yellow Rose and read it at least ten times before she put it in her purse. In big scrawling letters it said, “Have a wonderful day . . . Rhett.”
Agnes startled the hell out of Piper when she said, “What in the hell have you got there that would make you stand out here in this broilin’ heat and stare at it like it was a viper about to bite you on the ass?”
“Where did you come from?” Piper asked.
“I walked down here to see if you brought something good to eat again this morning. The chocolate cake is all gone. I guess I’ll have baked beans for breakfast if there’s any left since you’ve let me down,” Agnes said.
“Talk to Stella. She might have brought some of your lasagna.” Piper opened the door and stood to the side to let Agnes enter first.
“My lasagna?” Agnes said.
“Is in the back room on the table. Help yourself. The salad is in the fridge with the leftover strawberries,” Stella said.
Agnes headed to the back room and returned in a few minutes with a loaded plate. “Well, praise the Lord. I didn’t want breakfast food or I’d have gone to Clawdy’s. All is quiet on the home front this morning. My snitch didn’t have much to report except that the colors for the ball are pastel shades of yellow, which of course is because it’s the Yellow Rose Barbecue Ball, blue because the Blue Ribbon Jalapeño Society is helping with it, and pink because Heather’s new signature color for her ministry is pink. Sounds like a damn overgrown baby shower to me.” She stopped and caught her breath before going on. “I just hope that Heather don’t insist that all the unmarried women wear white. If she does, I’ll have to bleach out a pair of my overalls.”
Charlotte spun around in her chair and caught Piper’s eye. “What were you reading out there? You are absolutely glowing.”
“A note from Rhett.” She pulled it from her purse and handed it to Charlotte.
Stella tiptoed to read it over Charlotte’s shoulder.
“Awwww,” they both said at the same time.
“I told you he’s interested in you,” Charlotte said.
“But it makes me so nervous just thinking about the dating world again. I never dated anyone but Gene. We started liking each other back when he sent me one of those notes that said, ‘If you like me, check the box with yes,’ and I did.”
“We’ll teach you,” Stella said.
“Not me. I’m just like you. I’ve only dated Boone. Stella will have to teach you unless Agnes wants to,” Charlotte said.
“Is that boy stalkin’ you? I saw a thing about that on NCIS last night. I can put out a hit on him if he is,” Agnes said.
“No, he’s just trying to take her out to dinner,” Stella answered.
“Well, what the hell are you waiting on? He’s sexy. He’s got money. He’s got a job at the fire department in Sherman just like Boone does. He likes your boys and evidently he likes tall women if he’s askin’ you to dinner. Y’all seen that movie Pretty Woman?”
They all stared at her with big eyes.
Agnes giggled like a little girl. “Hell, you think I only watch cartoons. I’ve seen raunchy movies. What I was about to say is that you remember when the hooker says that about having eighty-something inches of therapy in her long legs, well, maybe Rhett is in need of some therapy.”
“Agnes!” Piper gasped.
“I’m old. I’m not dead. Bert Flynn liked that kind of therapy when he was alive even if there wasn’t eighty inches of it. I reckon Rhett would, too, and it’d sure put you in a better mood. Plus, it would show that dirtbag ex-husband of yours that you ain’t still whinin’ around wantin’ him to come home,” she said. “Who made this lasagna?”
“You did,” Stella said.
“Not me. It tastes like what Cathy makes at Clawdy’s.”
The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop Page 12
