Carrie hadn’t mentioned her sister to me and I didn’t know the story beyond what Norma Jane had told me. I didn’t need to know the story. I just needed to pretend I was engaged. “I suppose not,” I said. I wanted to push the question of the sale, but I suspected that would be a mistake.
“Folks like to talk in this town,” Bart said. “And I don’t put much stock in what they have to say. I’m going to ask you if it’s true you took Carrie Harrison out to a local den of intoxication and acted the fool with her.”
What the hell was wrong with people in this town? “She was out having a good time. She had a bad reaction to some medication she was taking, but I don’t think it’s fair to say she made a fool out of herself.”
“We’ll agree to disagree then, I suppose.” He rocked in silence for several long moments, the creak of his chair and the birds chirping the only sound, his hands resting on his massive belly. I was so tired, I felt spaced out and way out of my league. The rock of his chair and my own wasn’t helping me to be any more alert.
“About the property,” I said.
“Ah, yes. About the property. I’m a mite suspicious, you understand, of your sudden engagement. Seems a little too convenient if you take my meaning. Especially since, according to Norma Jane, you and Carrie Harrison haven’t been dating more’n a week.”
“I can absolutely understand your point of view, but I can assure you the engagement is real. I love Carrie.” The words felt funny in my mouth, and speaking them aloud, knowing they were a lie, made me feel like I was betraying her in some way. Betraying our fragile friendship. “It’s one of those crazy coincidences that happen sometimes. No one can predict when they’ll fall in love. Love is a many splendored thing.” What the fuck was I actually saying? I shut my mouth and rocked, sure that my rambling, idiotic speech had made me more instead of less suspicious.
Bart nodded. “That it is. I was married for more’n forty years and I loved my wife every moment of those years. I wanted to kill her sometimes, but I never stopped loving her. If that’s what you’ve found, I’m mighty happy for you, boy, but I have to say I’m pretty damn near sure you’re lying.”
His chair came to an abrupt halt and he stared at me. For an elderly and slow-moving man, he had a terrifying stare and I was absolutely certain he could see inside my skull and tell that I was lying to him. I’d dealt with a lot of savvy men, brokered a lot of business deals, but I’d never felt more out of my element than I did in that moment. I could back out and admit the truth, but that would leave me without my dream property and leave Carrie looking like a liar. “I don’t fault you for doubting me. But I can assure you that Carrie and I truly are in love. And we are getting married. I have no intention of leaving this town, even if I don’t get the property.” Just like that, my mouth had dug my own grave. I’d gotten myself in so deep, I could no longer see sunlight, and I had no choice but to keep going. “What can I do to prove it to you?”
Bart released me from his stare and went back to rocking. “How about we start with you two kids coming to dinner over here tomorrow night? Say around six?”
“And after that?”
“Just be here at six, boy, and count your blessings I haven’t told you to go back to that fancy family you came from and stay the hell away from me and my property.”
“Thank you, sir.” I was entirely at his mercy and I hated it, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I stood and crossed the porch to the stairs. I stopped before I started down them and faced him. “For what it’s worth, my fancy family isn’t involved in the purchase of this property or the winery I plan to establish. I haven’t accepted any of their money.”
Bart scowled. “You’re a whole lot dumber than I thought you were. You got family that wants to help, you let them help. I can’t imagine your momma is too happy with you.”
My mother wasn’t particularly happy with me, but I suspected that had more to do with me destroying her dream and driving her husband to an early grave than with me not accepting her financial support. “I’ll see you tomorrow at six.”
I went back to my empty house and I paced, trying to figure out how to convince Bart that Carrie and I were serious. We were going to have to up our game and be more convincing than we’d been yet. I was tired of waiting to get started on my winery, tired of sitting around spinning my wheels.
At loose ends, I picked up my phone and called my mother. “Hello, dear,” she said. “I must say I’m shocked to hear from you.”
Her tone was my first warning that she was less than happy with me. “Um, why?”
“Well, darling, first of all you only call about every two months since your father died and second, because I understand you’ve got some game you’re playing up there in Virginia that I would imagine you don’t want me to know about.”
I could just see my mother on the other end of the phone, in jeans and a button-down shirt, her hair a bit loose and frazzled. Since my dad died, my mom had been working in one of the family hotels at the concierge desk. It wasn’t her dream place, but she told me she liked to keep busy and she’d always loved people and the hospitality business. She’d met my father when she was working as a front desk clerk at the hotel where he worked as a maintenance man. “What did Noah tell you?”
“Noah didn’t tell my anything, Cody Reynolds. I got a call from a Mr. Gregory who says you’re pretending to be engaged to convince him to sell his property to you. What are you thinking? Didn’t you cause enough trouble the last time you mixed business and pleasure?”
I flinched, my mother’s harsh tone and words stinging. I could lie to a lot of people, but I’d never lied to my mother and I wouldn’t start now. I just didn’t need to tell her everything. “Carrie is my neighbor. She’s an English teacher at the high school and she can’t stand me. Probably with good reason. I’m pretending to be engaged to her to help her as much as to help me.”
My mother snorted. “I love you, Cody, but I have never known you to do anything that didn’t primarily benefit you.”
That one didn’t just sting, it dug deep and ripped out a piece of my flesh. The fact that she was right only made it that much more painful. “The truth is, she came to me for help. She was really upset and scared that she was going to lose her job. I could help her, so I did.”
“Uh-huh. That story would sound so much more altruistic if I didn’t know how much this pretend relationship was helping you, not to mention that Mr. Gregory said she is a very attractive woman.”
“She’s gorgeous.” I was more than a little annoyed with Bart Gregory for reporting on me to my mother like I was a wayward teenager. I didn’t even want to think about how he’d gotten her number. “But she really does hate me. She’s smart and sensible and knows better than to trust or like me. I’m not saying I’m getting nothing out of the deal, but if you tell Mr. Gregory the truth, her reputation will be ruined and she’ll probably lose her job. A job she loves and is really good at.”
My mother was silent so long, I checked my phone to be sure the connection hadn’t been dropped. “I want to meet her. My price for not telling Mr. Gregory the truth is that you bring her home and let us all meet her.”
“Mom, she’s not my real fiancée, she’s not even my girlfriend. There’s no reason for you to meet her.”
“Except that I want to. I’ve named my price. Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll see if she can get away next weekend.”
“Great. I’ll see you Friday night.”
***
I parked for the second time that day in front of Bart Gregory’s house and gave Carrie a reassuring smile. “I really hate lying to people,” she said. “I don’t know Mr. Gregory very well, but he pretty much grew up with my parents.”
That stopped me, because it differed so greatly from what Bart had told me about his relationship with Carrie’s parents. I could think of no good reason he would lie about it, so I chalked it up to his age and poor memory. “If there were any go
od way out of this without lying,” I said. “I’d be happy to help you.”
She threw her hands up, nearly smacking me in the face. The more upset she was, it seemed, the wilder her hand gestures became. I wondered if her hands would go wild during sex, where they would wander. I cleared my throat and reminded myself to focus. “I know, I know. If we back out now, Missy Melcher will know I lied to her and I’ll become an even bigger joke in this town than I already am.”
That shocked me. Carrie was the most put-together, responsible, classy person I’d ever met. Not to mention sexy as hell with lips I couldn’t stop staring at. “Who says you’re a joke?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just get this over with.”
I got out and jogged around the front of the car to open her door. It was raining pretty good, so I opened my umbrella and held it over her as I helped her out. She was wearing polka-dotted rain boots over gray slacks and a teal sweater set. Her make-up was light and her hair was down, her brown hair getting curlier every moment we spent outside. She laced her fingers through mine and I smiled at her, but she didn’t smile back. She looked a bit sick and pale, and I wasn’t at all sure she’d be able to go through with this. “Do you want me to tell him you’re not feeling well?”
“No.” She swallowed. “No. I can do this.”
I felt like the worst kind of asshole, even though this had been her idea. Originally. We stepped up onto the porch and I shook out the umbrella before closing it. A big, shiny blue truck sped up to the house and slammed to a stop. Carrie got impossibly paler. “I thought it was just going to be Bart.”
“So did I.”
The doors of the truck swung open and two men in jeans, t-shirts, and boots jumped out. “Hey, Carrie Berry,” one of the guys said, right before he climbed the porch steps and wrapped his arms around her in a full-body hug. Anger flashed through me and I resisted the overwhelming urge to pull him off her.
The second guy leapt up the steps and stuck his hand out to me. “Hey, there. I’m Dwight. You must be the city boy wanting to buy my granddaddy’s land.”
I took his hand and shook it, tensing at the sound of laughter from Carrie. She was smiling and no longer the least bit pale. I squeezed Dwight’s hand a bit harder than I meant to, but he just looked over at Carrie and the other man and smiled. “That there is my brother, George,” he said. “He and Carrie dated for a while in high school. Guess they’re happy to see each other again.”
“Good for them.”
Dwight laughed. “My sentiments exactly, man. Let’s get on inside before Granddad comes looking for us. He don’t like to be gotten up from his chair.”
Dwight pulled the door open, hollering a greeting to his grandfather, but I looked back at Carrie. She was smiling at George and looking happier than I’d seen her. Maybe ever. I should have followed Dwight inside, but I hated the idea of leaving Carrie out on the porch with an ex-boyfriend who made her happier in a moment than I’d managed in a hundred moments. “Carrie,” I said, my voice hard and crisp. “Ready to meet Mr. Gregory?”
She looked over at me, the smile dropping from her lips. “Of course. George, this is my fiancé, Cody Reynolds.”
George laughed. “Come on, Carrie. Grandad told me you two are faking the engagement to convince him to sell Cody the land. I don’t care what you tell the old man, this land needs to be sold, but don’t lie to me, sugar.”
Carrie bit her bottom lip and hesitated, and I knew it was all over. We’d been out-played by Bart Gregory. Carrie straightened her spine and stared hard at the other man. “Now, George, you know I’m incapable of lying or doing anything un-befitting a lady, isn’t that why you broke up with me?”
George’s mouth set in a firm line and he shook his head. “You and I have a very different memory of our break-up and the reasons for it, Carrie Harrison. I’ll see you both inside.”
He stalked into the house and slammed the door behind him. “What was that about?”
Carrie stared after George. “Just a stupid high school prank. He wanted me to cover for him and I wouldn’t do it, so he broke up with me.”
“He seems to have a different take on the break-up.” It wasn’t my business and I didn’t need to hear the story to be able to pretend I was engaged to her, but I wanted to know.
She bit her lower lip. “He was leaving town to go to college around the same time and he wanted me to spend the summer with him on a pre-college road trip. I refused. Harrison’s situation was getting worse and I was saving every penny I earned to be able to take care of him after I’d finished college. My parents were also having a hard time accepting the idea of me going off to college, and I wouldn’t leave them sooner than I had to. George and I might have managed to weather that disagreement, but he got caught stealing a lawn mower. He and his friends used to race them, you know, and he stole Mitch Lowry’s mower because the guy had won five of the last six races and George wanted a look at his engine. It was innocent, a prank really, but Mitch Lowry never did have much of a sense of humor. George wanted me to lie and say he’d been with me the night the mower had gone missing, but I’d told him it was a dumb idea and I…I think I was looking for an excuse for a fight, maybe, I don’t know, but I refused to lie for him. He didn’t even get in any real trouble, but he felt I’d betrayed him and he broke up with me.”
“Seems like something the two of you could work out if you really wanted to.”
“Well, I guess we just didn’t want to bad enough. Let’s head in.”
I fought the urge to grab her and kiss her, remind her of the chemistry we had, and followed her inside. I smelled good food before we even stepped into the kitchen and my stomach rumbled. Mary Ellen waved to us both from her spot at the stove where she was mashing something up. Her smile was tight, but I guessed it had something to do with the family gathering and nothing to do with me and Carrie.
“There you two are,” Bart said. He didn’t bother to get up from his chair, already pulled up to the table, but waved us over. “Carrie Harrison.” He took her free hand in his own. “It’s good to see you, sweetheart. You never come around anymore since you and George broke up.”
I swung my head to look at Carrie, but she was smiling at Bart. “I didn’t expect you to remember me,” she said. “I was only over here once or twice.”
“I remember you. You were the only girl my grandsons ever brought around who I thought was worth the time they gave her.”
Carrie’s cheeks pinked. “That’s so sweet of you to say.”
Bart gestured to the table. “Have a seat and tell me how you two met.”
“Oh,” Carrie said. “I’m sure Mary Ellen needs some help in the kitchen.” I squeezed her hand to let her know she wasn’t getting out of this.
“I’m just fine, sugar,” Mary Ellen said. “You sit and talk to Uncle Bart.”
Carrie sat and I sat next to her, George and Dwight sat across from us. We’d anticipated this question back before we’d met with Missy Melcher and had decided to stick as close to the truth as possible rather than come up with a play-by-play retelling of our faux love story.
Carrie pulled her hand from my grasp and laced her fingers together on the table top. “The truth is I despised Cody from the first moment I met him.”
When I’d told her to stick as close to the truth as possible, I hadn’t anticipated this truth. My shock must have shown on my face, because Bart laughed.
“He doesn’t look at all like your type,” George said. “Not at all the kind of guy I thought you’d end up with.”
“Believe me,” Carrie said. “He’s not at all who I thought I’d end up with either. He moved in next door and didn’t seem to do much but wash his truck and lay around. He looks more like he should be in an MMA cage or a WWF ring than dating a school teacher.” Everyone had another good laugh at my expense and I decided enough was enough.
“I liked Carrie the first time I saw her,” I said. “I didn’t think she’d ever give m
e the time of day, but she was like a breath of fresh air after you’ve been sucking in the smell of your own sweat and disappointment for too long. She looks delicate and sweet, but she’s tough and willing to fight for everyone she loves.”
Carrie blushed and gave me a shy smile and I couldn’t help but smile back, feeling like I’d won one of those MMA competitions she’d imagined me in.
“We all know Carrie’s a wonderful woman,” George said. “But the last thing she needs is someone else to take care of. She needs a good man who will take care of her.”
Judging by the way George was glaring at me, I was pretty sure he thought he was that good man who should take care of Carrie. Maybe he was…Okay, he probably was, but not until after I had my hands on his granddaddy’s land. “You’re absolutely right,” I said. “And I intend to spend every day of the rest of our lives together making sure she’s taken care of.”
“Pretty words,” Bart said. “But I’m a details man, myself. Why don’t you tell me just exactly how you intend to take care of our Carrie.”
Now it was our Carrie? I felt like I was on the uphill side of a losing battle.
“Time to eat,” Mary Ellen said. She put a pot of beef stew on the table and then brought over a basket of steaming hot muffins. “What can I get everyone to drink?”
We requested our drinks and filled our plates and Mary Ellen sat to join us once everyone had what they needed. “Now,” she said. “I only got bits and pieces of this story while I was cooking. What did I miss about how you two met?” The look in her eyes when they landed on me was one of amusement with a healthy dose of disbelief.
“I hated him,” Carrie said. “And he liked me, but it was clear we were completely incompatible. He asked me out anyway and I have to say, I’ve never had so much fun on a date in my life. He made me laugh and I love a man who can make me laugh.”
“We used to laugh all the time,” George said, effectively shattering any warm fuzzies I’d felt from Carrie’s assessment of our date. We had laughed a lot. We’d talked about our favorite books and movies and had more than a few in common. We told stories from our childhoods and talked about where in the world we’d most like to go. It was one of the better dates I’d been on and I wondered if she was telling the truth about how much fun she’d had.
The Deadbeat Next Door Page 13
