“I don’t think Cal is after me for my amazing body,” Maddie had replied. “If he is, he’s in for a major disappointment. Some things simply can’t be fixed at this late date.”
“I watched him last night,” Helen assured her. “I doubt there’s anything about you that could disappoint that man. He’s yours for the taking. If a man ever said about me what Cal said to the school board about you, I’d have the ink dry on our marriage license before the end of the day.”
Maddie had merely rolled her eyes. “You are so far ahead of yourself on that. I’m not even sure you can call what Cal and I do dating, much less courting. We’ve never been to a movie or a play or even out to dinner, unless you count pizza after the games. Marriage seems pretty far down the road. Besides, my divorce isn’t even final yet.”
“But with a chassis like Cal’s, I imagine you could get to the end of that road in record time,” Helen said with a wicked grin, then added, “And the divorce will be final in a couple of days.”
Maddie sucked in a deep breath. “What do you mean the divorce will be final in a couple of days?” she asked, taken aback by how quickly a twenty-year marriage could be ended. “Based on what you said the last time I asked, I thought it wouldn’t be for a few more weeks, at least.”
“That was the timeline,” Helen confirmed. “But Bill’s lawyer’s been hurrying it along, and I saw no reason to put up any roadblocks,” Helen said. “Gotta run. I’m due in court.”
Throughout the busy day, Maddie hadn’t allowed herself to ponder Helen’s comments about Cal or the news about her divorce. Thankfully she’d had too much to do. And in the few minutes of downtime she had managed to find, she’d done some research on eating disorders. Reading through it in the late afternoon, she was more alarmed than ever about the possibility that Dana Sue’s daughter was anorexic or bulimic.
“Jeanette, can you keep an eye on things around here for a while?” she asked. “I need to take some papers over to Dana Sue.”
“Not a problem,” Jeanette said, as eager as always to do whatever was asked of her. “I have some clients coming in for treatments, but I can use the room down here and listen for the phone.”
“Thanks,” Maddie said, grateful for Jeanette’s calm, willing demeanor that acted as a balm to Maddie during the sometimes frantic days she had juggling the spa’s increasing demands. “If anyone calls for me, I should be back in an hour at the most.”
“Take your time.”
Maddie walked the few blocks to Sullivan’s New Southern Cuisine at a brisk pace. It really was amazing just how fast and how far she could go these days without needing to stop and catch her breath. The workouts she’d been snatching at the gym were paying off. Her body might not be as taut and firm as a twenty-year-old’s, but she was in darn good shape for forty. Maybe if she took Elliott Cruz up on his repeated offer to give her free personal-training sessions, she could even fix up those few remaining problem areas.
At Sullivan’s, she found Dana Sue in her cramped office, a large bowl of bread pudding in front of her.
“Uh-oh, you caught me,” Dana Sue said, looking guilty. “I needed comfort food.”
“You need to remember that carbs are bad for you,” Maddie corrected, regarding her with concern. “Have you tested your blood sugar today?”
“No,” Dana Sue admitted.
“What is wrong with you?” Maddie snapped impatiently. “Are you as determined as your daughter to kill yourself?”
Dana Sue immediately dropped the spoon and burst into tears.
“Oh, God, I am so sorry,” Maddie whispered, stepping over a box of aprons and kneeling down to wrap Dana Sue in her arms. “I don’t know what I was thinking. That was cruel.”
“No, you’re right,” Dana Sue said between sobs. “I’m setting a terrible example for Annie.” She grabbed a wad of tissues from the box on her desk and mopped her eyes. “I was praying that I’d gotten it all wrong about Annie, but last night I could see in your eyes and in Helen’s that I wasn’t wrong. You’re both as worried as I am.”
“Yes, but it’s not too late to fix this, sweetie. I did some research. That’s why I came over, to bring it to you.” She gestured toward the folder she’d dropped on the floor. “We can talk about it if you want to.”
Dana Sue shook her head. “And before you say it, I’m not in denial. It’s just that I’ve spent hours and hours on the computer myself. I’ve probably read whatever you have in there. I’ve even tried talking to Annie, but she blows me off. I’m at my wit’s end.” She pointed to the half-eaten bowl of bread pudding. “Thus the need for comfort food. If we’d had macaroni and cheese on the menu today, I’d have had that with a side of mashed potatoes.”
Maddie snatched up the half-empty bowl. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“To dump this out and bring you back something that might actually do you some good. Do you have the makings for a grilled-cheese sandwich in that fancy restaurant kitchen of yours?”
Dana Sue regarded her with horror. “You are not cooking in my kitchen.”
“I can make a grilled-cheese sandwich, for goodness’ sakes,” Maddie protested. “Or if you don’t trust me with that, how about a chicken Caesar salad?”
Dana Sue stood up and brushed past her. “Not in my kitchen,” she repeated. “I’ll make the sandwich. You want one, too?”
“Sure,” Maddie said, following her across the deserted restaurant.
She had to admit as she watched Dana Sue work that there was a huge difference in the end product. She would have slapped a slice of cheese between two slices of bread and grilled it in a pan. Dana Sue’s sandwich was in a whole different category. She used freshly baked sourdough bread, added some grilled peppers and jalapeños, then layered it all with Monterey Jack cheese and tucked it into the oven.
She worked with a kind of nervous efficiency that told Maddie she was still upset. And when the sandwiches were in the oven, she picked up a sponge and began cleaning everything in sight.
“Dana Sue, the kitchen is spotless.”
“You never know when the health department might show up,” Dana Sue countered. “They’re never going to find a crumb much less a single trace of grease in here, not even when we’re at peak volume in the dining room.”
“I doubt they could find anything they’d disapprove of with a magnifying glass,” Maddie commented. “Now sit down and talk to me. There’s no point trying to avoid this.”
Dana Sue sat with reluctance, then cast a look filled with misery at Maddie. “What am I going to do about Annie?”
“Let’s worry about you for a minute first,” Maddie said. “Do your blood test.”
“I will, after I eat.”
“Now, Dana Sue.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake,” Dana Sue grumbled. “The kit’s in my office. I’ll be right back.”
When she came back a few minutes later, her face was pale. “It was high,” she admitted. “Who knows what it would have been if you hadn’t stopped me from binging on that bread pudding.”
“I know you hate this, but you have to think about what you’re eating,” Maddie told her. “Not just for your sake, but for Annie’s. The problems may be very different, but they both involve food. Have you told her about the diabetes?”
“I don’t have full-blown diabetes, not yet anyway,” Dana Sue said. “I’m borderline. I can still control it with diet and exercise.”
“Then all the more reason to get this under control before you do need insulin,” Maddie replied calmly. “Have you told Annie?” she repeated.
“No,” she admitted.
“Maybe you should. Maybe you could work together to tackle the issues both of you are facing.”
“Annie won’t even admit she has a problem,” Dana Sue reminded her. “Until she does, I don’t know how to help her.”
“Yes, you do,” Maddie corrected. “We’ve talked about this before. If she won’t go to Bill because s
he’s mad at him or because she thinks she’s too old for a pediatrician, take her to Doc Marshall. Let him give her some cold hard facts about the damage anorexia or bulimia can do to her body.”
“You’re right,” Dana Sue said. “That’s what I need to do. It’s just that she gets so upset every time I say anything, it makes me wonder if I’m all wrong. What if I take her and there’s nothing wrong? What if she’s just going through some sort of growth spurt and her weight will catch up one of these days?”
“Then you’ll find that out. The more important question is, what if you’re right and she’s in serious trouble?”
Dana Sue glanced toward the clock on the wall. It was after five. “I’ll call Doc in the morning.”
“Call him at home now,” Maddie insisted. “I have his number.” She pulled her address book from her purse and gave Dana Sue the number, then waited as she dialed.
“No answer,” Dana Sue said, then hung up.
Maddie frowned at her. “Why didn’t you leave a message?”
Dana Sue flushed guiltily. “I’ll call him later. I promise.”
“You have to, sweetie.”
“I know.” Dana Sue retrieved their sandwiches from the oven and looked at hers with distaste. “I don’t think I can eat this now.”
Maddie picked it up and handed it to her. “Yes, you can. In a few minutes this kitchen is going to be chaotic. You don’t want to pass out midway through the dinner rush, do you, especially now that you’ve gotten rid of your sous chef? If you can’t keep up with the orders, it’ll definitely be bad for business.”
Dana Sue gave her a wobbly smile. “You really are bossy, you know that?”
“Just part of my charm,” Maddie told her. “Now, I need to get back to the club. I left Jeanette holding down the fort by herself.”
“She’s become a real asset, hasn’t she?” Dana Sue said. “It feels almost as if she could be an honorary Sweet Magnolia, she fits in so well with us.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without her,” Maddie admitted. “She’s taken on a lot more responsibility than she signed on for, especially now that she’s not driving back and forth to Charleston. I still feel awful that her relationship fell apart over this job.”
“She doesn’t seem that broken up about it,” Dana Sue said. “In fact, I’ve seen her in here having dinner with Elliott. I think there’s something going on there.”
Maddie regarded her with surprise. “Really? You think so? I haven’t noticed anything between them at the spa. In fact, they barely speak. I thought maybe they didn’t like each other much.”
Dana Sue grinned. “Your relationship radar is not as fine-tuned as mine, and besides, maybe they’re being discreet at work. How would it look to the members if the hunkiest man at the spa is obviously smitten with someone else? It would destroy the fantasies that get them through the crunches and weight machines.”
“Obviously I need to get my radar tuned up,” Maddie said. “I’ll be more observant when I get back there.” She glanced at her watch. “And I’d better hurry, too.”
“I appreciate your coming over here,” Dana Sue said. “I needed to hear all that stuff.” She studied Maddie intently. “Now, would you mind if I gave you some advice?”
“Can I stop you?”
“Not likely,” Dana Sue replied. “Don’t let what a few narrow-minded people in this town have said keep you from throwing caution to the wind with Cal. He’s a good guy, Maddie. A really good guy.”
“I don’t need you to tell me that.”
“No, but you may need your friends to tell you that you’d be a fool to let him get away.”
“What makes you think I’d do that?”
“I saw Bill last night, remember? He didn’t look happy.”
There was something in Dana Sue’s tone that rattled her. “Meaning what?” Maddie asked.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he decides one of these days that he wants you back.”
Maddie stared at her incredulously. “Don’t be ridiculous. He’s about to marry his pregnant girlfriend. They’ve been together for almost a year, so it must be the real thing, especially if he was willing to tear his family apart over her.”
Dana Sue didn’t look impressed by her argument. “Your marriage didn’t break up until seven or eight months ago when he told you Noreen was pregnant. Before that, he thought he could have his family and his girlfriend, too. Have you heard anything about them setting a date?”
“Not a date,” Maddie said. “I’m sure he’s waiting till he knows exactly when the divorce will be final, but he did ask Kyle and Ty to be his best men.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” Dana Sue murmured, her skepticism plain.
“Come on,” Maddie protested. “Do you really think he’s not going to go through with it? How would it look if he walked away from Noreen now? In Bill’s world, men can make all kinds of mistakes as long as they do the right thing in the end.”
“Maybe so,” Dana Sue agreed. “But like I said, he didn’t look happy.”
“There are bound to be some rough patches,” Maddie said. “That doesn’t mean he’s about to bolt on Noreen. And it certainly doesn’t mean he wants to come back to me.”
“I’m just saying, if he does, don’t be in a big hurry to dump a man like Cal to go running back to Bill. There’s no comparison between those two.”
Maddie honestly didn’t believe the issue would ever come up. Even so, on her way back to the spa, she couldn’t help wondering how she would feel if it did. A few months ago she might have seized the opportunity to save her marriage, to rekindle things with the father of her children, but now?
And if she were being totally honest, she knew her ambivalence wasn’t all about Cal, either. She’d changed, mostly for the better. She doubted Bill would be comfortable with any of those changes. In fact, given some of his comments about the spa and her general change in attitude, she was sure he disapproved of the new, more self-assertive Maddie.
But what if he could handle the newly self-confident businesswoman she’d become? a nagging voice persisted. Maddie sighed. It simply wasn’t something she’d allow herself to consider.
Even when he wasn’t going to one of Ty’s games, Noreen beat Bill home most evenings by a couple of hours. He expected to walk in and find dinner on the table, maybe even some music and candlelight. She’d always tried to create a romantic ambience for their meals.
But instead of walking in to the aroma of food cooking or a table set for two, he found Noreen sitting on the sofa, her face puffy from crying and a stack of luggage sitting beside the door.
“What’s all this?” he asked, crossing the room to sit beside her. When he reached for her hand, she pulled away. “Why the tears? Did something happen?”
“Something’s been happening for some time now,” she said, sniffing.
An odd knot formed in his gut. “Tell me.”
“You’ve fallen out of love with me,” she said sadly.
He was about to protest, but she waved him off. “Don’t even try to deny it, Bill. I knew it was a long shot, you and me, but I thought we had a chance, especially when I found out about the baby. Instead, the baby only complicates things.”
He felt completely at a loss. “So…what? You’re kicking me out?”
She shook her head. “I’m leaving. I’m moving back home to Tennessee. My folks will help with the baby. I’ll be able to find another job without a problem. Nurses are in big demand everywhere.”
Bill couldn’t seem to catch his breath. He wasn’t sure whether the tightness in his chest was panic or overwhelming relief. “But what about me? That baby will be my son or daughter. I don’t want him or her to grow up not knowing me.”
“Do you really want another child?” she asked wearily. “Tell the truth. From the beginning you’ve thought of this baby as a burden. I think you blame it and me for ruining your life.”
“No, I don’t,” he said emphatically, then sighed. “
At least not entirely. Mostly, I’ve blamed myself. I’m the one who was married and had three kids at home. I should have used better judgment from the beginning, instead of taking advantage of you just because my ego needed a boost.”
“But it was great for a while, wasn’t it?” she asked wistfully.
“It was,” he said without hesitation. “I fell in love with you. You’re an amazing, vibrant woman. And you were exactly what I needed in my life when you came to work for me.”
Her smile wobbled. “I wish that were true. I think you wanted to believe you were in love with me, especially after we found out about the baby, but face it, you love Maddie. With me gone, you’ll be free to go back to her.”
Bill thought of the way Maddie had looked at Cal after the meeting earlier in the week. “I think that ship has sailed,” he told Noreen. “Maddie’s with Cal Maddox now.”
“They’re not married,” Noreen reminded him. “It’s not too late to fight for her, if that’s what you want.” She touched his cheek, then let her hand drop away. “If you don’t fight for her, I’ll be really furious with you. I’d hate to think I’m walking away for no good reason.”
“If the only reason you’re leaving is to give me another chance with Maddie, then you should stay,” he said. “I know things have been tough the last few months since everyone found out about us, and my kids haven’t made it any easier, but we can make it work, Noreen. Besides, as far along as you are with this pregnancy, you shouldn’t even consider moving. Your doctor is here.”
“I visited my old doctor when I went to see my parents a month ago,” she told him. “He has my case file and he’ll take over now.”
Bill stared at her with dismay. “Then you’ve been thinking about this for a while now,” he said, his tone flat.
“I had to,” she said. “I could tell our relationship was all wrong, even if you didn’t want to admit it. And just so you know, I’m not leaving for you or Maddie. I’m leaving for me. You do love me, I believe that, Bill. But you’re not in love with me, not the way I want the man I marry to be.”
Stealing Home Page 29
