For the Love of Pete

by Sherryl Woods

  Before he could answer, she gasped. “Oh my God, Jo—she’s the one, isn’t she? Jo’s the reason our marriage fell apart. Jo, what was her name? Something Italian. D’Angelo? That’s it. Is that who you were with this weekend? The woman who broke up our marriage?”

  Pete was stunned by the totally unfounded accusation. “What the hell are you talking about, Kelsey? Our marriage fell apart because you were unhappy. You didn’t want to stay here, and I wouldn’t move.”

  “I didn’t want to stay there because I knew you were still in love with someone else and that everything in that stupid place was a reminder of her. The whole town knew I was your second choice.”

  Pete clamped a tight lid on his temper. “You’re revising history, Kelsey. I did everything I could think of to make our marriage work. I never once threw some other woman in your face.”

  “But she was there just the same,” she insisted stubbornly. “Don’t you think I knew all about your sweet little summer romance with that girl from Boston? The whole county knew about it. Even when we made love, I knew she was in your head. You couldn’t stop talking about her. The two of you were sickening.”

  “And yet you couldn’t wait to sleep with me,” he reminded her.

  “I wasn’t in that bed alone, hot stuff,” she reminded him. “You didn’t put up much of a fight.”

  Pete sighed. He hated it, but there was no denying what she said. Rehashing it again wasn’t going to get them anywhere. “Kelsey, all of that happened a long time ago. It doesn’t matter now.”

  “It does if she’s the woman you introduced to our son. I won’t have it, Pete,” she said heatedly. “I won’t allow you to humiliate me like that. It was bad enough that everyone in town knew about her, that they knew you’d only married me because of the baby.”

  “How am I humiliating you?” he asked, genuinely baffled by her spin on his relationship with Jo. “We’ve been divorced for a couple of years now. How many men have you introduced into Davey’s life? Have I ever suggested that you’re doing it to humiliate me? My only complaint is when you neglect him while you’re courting your latest conquest.”

  “This is different,” she insisted. “This Jo is the woman who came between us.”

  “I think you have that backward,” he said. “The truth is that you’re the woman who came between me and Jo. That was my fault, and I took responsibility for it. When you got pregnant, I married you.”

  “Only out of obligation,” she repeated.

  “Yes,” he said, seeing little point in sugarcoating the truth when they both knew it. “But I wanted it to work, Kelsey. I gave it my all. You can’t possibly deny that.”

  “Really? How many times were you thinking of her when we made love? Don’t you think I knew that? You’d get this faraway, sad look in your eyes, and I always knew you wished I was her.”

  The conversation was spinning wildly out of control, and Pete was tired of it. She wouldn’t believe anything he said anyway, not when she was in this bitter, accusatory mood.

  “I’ve got to go,” he said. “We’ll discuss this some other time.”

  “I won’t let you see Davey if you insist on having her around,” she threatened.

  It was the last straw. His temper snapped. “Don’t you dare try to use that boy as a weapon,” Pete retorted furiously. “Two can play at that game, Kelsey, and trust me, if I play, I’ll play to win.”

  He hung up before she could reply to that, then threw the half-empty beer bottle across the room. It shattered against the wall, sending glass and golden liquid raining down.

  “Pete?”

  He turned to find Jo staring at him, her eyes wide with shock.

  “I’m sorry,” he said tightly. “I didn’t know you were there.”

  “I just got here. I knocked, but when you didn’t answer, I came on in. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, sure,” he said, raking a hand through his hair. “Why are you here?”

  She regarded him hesitantly. “I came over because I thought we ought to talk, but if this is a bad time, that can wait. What on earth happened just now? Who were you yelling at?”

  “Just a little chat with my ex-wife,” he said, forcing a light note into his voice. “She knows how to push my buttons.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Absolutely not,” he said flatly. “Now come here and kiss me.”

  She gave him a skeptical look. “Don’t you think we should clean up the mess first?” She gestured toward the puddle of beer and broken glass. “That one, and the mess I made of things yesterday morning?”

  He glanced at the glass and liquid on the floor. It could wait. So could the conversation, if her being here meant she was reconsidering that stupid underlying truth garbage. There was one way to find out.

  “We could mop up the mess,” he agreed. “Or we could go upstairs and make love. You tell me which sounds like more fun.”

  “Going upstairs, definitely,” she said, but she still didn’t move. Nor did she accept his outstretched hand. “But I think we should talk first. About what happened yesterday morning and about what happened just now. Something tells me the latter is even more important.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s real life, Pete. You can’t protect me from the bad stuff. And I know you’re still angry about what happened yesterday. Let’s get it all out in the open. We can’t heal things and move on if we don’t face them.”

  “I’m not trying to protect you from anything,” he said defensively.

  She gave him a disbelieving look. “Do you honestly think I don’t see that you’re determined not to ever let anything hurt me again? You’re trying to make up for what happened seven years ago. You want to push all of that into some hole and bury it, pretend it never happened.”

  “So what if I am? What’s wrong with wanting you to be happy?”

  “Nothing. I love you for trying, but unfortunately life simply can’t be all smooth sailing. We have to be able to weather all of it.”

  “We’re not making love, are we?” he asked, resigned.

  She grinned at him. “Not just yet. You pick up the glass, and I’ll get some soapy water to clean up the mess.”

  “You know that’s the symptom, not the issue, don’t you?”

  “Of course, but you can tell me all about it while we work.”

  He laughed at the idea that he could explain it all so easily. “It’s not that big a mess. It won’t take that long to clean it up.”

  She studied him quizzically. “Is it such a big issue, then?”

  He snagged her hand and pulled her into his arms, then rested his chin on her head. “It could be, if we let it turn into one.”

  “Then we won’t let it,” she said simply.

  He gazed into her eyes, surprised. Her doubts of the day before seemed to have vanished. “Easy as that?”

  “If we face it together,” she said at once. “That’s what I was going to tell you. That’s the conclusion I reached.”

  And seeing the confidence and love shining in her eyes, Pete was almost able to convince himself that she was right. And so he sat down, pulled her onto his lap and told her about his fight with Kelsey.

  Jo had never let herself think that much about Pete’s ex-wife. She hadn’t wanted to think about the woman who’d stolen him away from her. Not that Pete was blameless. They’d acknowledged that and moved on.

  But Kelsey Prescott Catlett was some faceless woman who was no longer a part of his life, beyond her role as the mother of his child. That’s the way Jo wanted to keep it. She could see, after listening to Pete, that it wasn’t going to be that easy.

  “She sounds jealous,” she said when he was through.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “What do you think is behind her reaction?” she asked.

  He considered the question, his expression thoughtful, then shrugged. “Okay, she’s jealous, but that’s absurd. She wanted the divorce. She’s been dati
ng ever since she got to Richmond. Why, all of a sudden, is she all bent out of shape about me having someone in my life.”

  “Because it’s me,” she said simply. “I suppose I can’t really blame her. It’s another one of those reality checks like the one that got to me on Sunday. We have to deal with them, Pete. They’re not going to go away.”

  He gave her a questioning look. “But I thought you were.”

  “A momentary panic attack,” she said.

  “How’d you get over it?”

  “I tried to imagine my life without you in it. I couldn’t.” Saying that made her vulnerable, which terrified her, but it was the truth. He needed to know it.

  “Make me a promise, darlin’.”

  “Anything.”

  “If you ever feel one of these panic attacks coming on again, talk to me. Don’t ever just turn tail and run.”

  Jo nodded. It was an easy promise to make, because she’d made it to herself only a few days ago. Somehow, on Sunday morning she’d lost track of that. It wouldn’t happen again.

  “Come here and kiss me,” she said, fisting her hand in his shirt and dragging him toward her. “That’ll help me remember the promise, if we seal it with a kiss.”

  He grinned. “Always happy to oblige, when it involves kissing you. Do you think you’ll need reminding often?”

  She chuckled at his hopeful expression. “Only about a hundred times a day.”

  He grinned. “It’s going to be damn hard getting any work done at that rate, but I’ll give it my best.”

  “You always do,” Jo said right before his lips met hers and the world went spinning.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jo couldn’t seem to shake the image of walking into Pete’s and hearing him on the phone in such a bitter argument with his ex-wife over her. She’d gone over there figuring she owed him a conversation about the whole incident on Sunday. She’d even had what she was going to say all planned out, but she hadn’t expected to face a whole new quandary that seemed to turn her temporary moment of insanity into little more than a minor tempest.

  She’d gotten scared, that was all. She’d let all her old fears and insecurities resurface in the blink of an eye, blown it all out of proportion and started an argument she hadn’t known how to end. If she hadn’t realized how stupid it was on her own, then walking in on Pete’s argument with his ex-wife had shown her.

  Those two had real issues, hurtful issues that could come between Jo and Pete, if they weren’t very careful, if they weren’t united. Ironically, having that common goal made their relationship stronger than ever. Jo doubted that Kelsey had considered that outcome before calling Pete to throw down the gauntlet.

  Jo smiled as she thought of just how united she and Pete had been during the night. They’d definitely been in tune then. All their differences had been put behind them.

  She’d awakened in his arms this morning, bounced out of his bed and gone happily off with a kiss to do more research for his landscaping projects. She wanted to finalize those plans with him soon, then talk to the local nursery owner about ordering the plants so they’d be in at the optimum time for planting in the spring.

  Today it was even possible to believe that spring might be right around the corner. The sun had warmed things up to nearly sixty. The last of the snow had melted and she’d even spotted a couple of crocuses coming up in the garden at Rose Cottage. Daffodils were bound to be close behind. Perhaps that’s why she was suddenly feeling so optimistic—maybe it was the natural exuberance of someone attuned to spring’s symbolic evidence of rebirth and renewal. In her profession, the seasonal changes were something to be watched with appreciation and respect.

  She came inside from her tour of Rose Cottage’s garden feeling lighthearted. Maybe she’d even call Mike this afternoon and set up an appointment to talk about that partnership. It was time. She might as well admit that despite that little incident of self-doubt on Sunday, she wasn’t going anywhere. Her future was here, hopefully with Pete, but if not, she knew she could be happy right here in Rose Cottage, which held so many joyous memories.

  When the phone rang, Jo answered with a cheery greeting, only to have someone launch a venomous harangue that had her reaching for a chair to sit down. Her knees went weak and heat rose in her cheeks as she was called a litany of uncomplimentary names.

  Kelsey, no doubt, she realized when her brain cells recovered from the initial shock of being verbally attacked and focused on the female voice, rather than the hateful words.

  “I won’t listen to this,” she said quietly, interrupting the steady flow of venom. She hung up.

  Naturally, the phone immediately rang again. She debated not answering, then decided to make at least one effort to turn it into a civilized, rational conversation. It was doubtful, but she couldn’t ignore the opportunity to try to mend a few fences.

  “Hello, Kelsey,” she said, her voice as calm as she could make it when her nerves were a jittery mess. She was proud of the maturity and restraint she was capable of under these circumstances.

  Apparently her recognition of the caller gave Kelsey pause. She was greeted with silence.

  “If you want to talk about this calmly, that’s one thing,” Jo said, seizing the advantage she’d gained by catching the woman off guard. “But I won’t listen to you spew all that garbage at me.”

  “You think you’re so damn high and mighty, don’t you?” Kelsey said heatedly. “You’re nothing but a two-bit—”

  Jo cut her off. “There you go again. I told you I wouldn’t listen to that and I won’t. Now, do we keep it civilized and try to work this out for your son’s sake, or do I hang up again?”

  “Don’t you dare say a word about my son,” Kelsey shouted. “You don’t have the right. He’s mine and I won’t have you in his life, do you understand that?”

  “I understand why you might prefer that, but you don’t get your way on this one, Kelsey. If I’m with Pete, I will be spending time with Davey. He’s a wonderful boy,” she said, determined to take the high road until it fell off the edge of a probably inevitable cliff. “You’ve done an amazing job with him.”

  Kelsey was silent, probably grappling with how to react to hearing such a compliment from a woman she evidently despised. “I don’t want you around my son,” she said eventually.

  “I can understand why you’d be concerned about that, but I promise you I won’t do anything to interfere in your relationship. You’re his mom, period.”

  “Aren’t you hearing me? I said I don’t want you anywhere near him. And stay away from Pete, too,” Kelsey said. “You ruined our marriage, and I won’t let you have him now.”

  “It’s not up to you,” Jo said patiently.

  “Oh, really?” Kelsey replied with a bitter laugh. “Sweetheart, I’m holding all the cards. You had what? A couple of months with Pete when you were just a kid? I was with him for five years, as his wife.”

  “And yet you still don’t know him,” Jo retorted with quiet confidence.

  “I know him well enough,” Kelsey corrected. “I know he will never do anything that might cost him his son.”

  “Of course not,” Jo agreed.

  “You could be the one who costs him Davey,” Kelsey said coldly. “Which of you do you think he’ll choose?”

  Jo felt sick. How could this woman use her own child to threaten his father? But it was plain she wasn’t above doing just that and turning all of the joy Jo and Pete had found into something ugly that could only tear them apart.

  “I hope it won’t come to that,” Jo told her quietly. “I hope you care enough about your son that you’d never use him in that way. Davey loves both of you. Don’t make him choose. It could backfire on you.”

  “Don’t you dare suggest that you know more about my child than I do,” Kelsey said furiously. “I hope you enjoyed that cozy little time you all spent together, because, trust me, it’s going to have to last you forever.”

  This time, Kelsey was t
he one who hung up, leaving Jo shaking. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, because she knew that if push came to shove, she would walk away from Pete before she’d let that wonderful boy of his be hurt because of her.

  And if that happened—when it happened, she thought fatalistically—it was going to break her heart.

  Jo was still sitting at the kitchen table, her head aching from all the tears but her cheeks dry at last, when her sisters came through the door. Their timing couldn’t have been any worse. One look at her and the fussing started.

  “What did he do? What did that son of a bitch do to you?” Ashley demanded, bringing her an unwanted glass of water, then pulling a chair right up beside her.

  “It wasn’t Pete,” Jo told her emphatically. “At least not directly.”

  “I don’t care if it was directly or indirectly, I won’t let him get away with hurting you,” Ashley declared. “I warned him. Heck, we all did.”

  Melanie placed a hand on Ashley’s shoulder. “Maybe we should let Jo talk.”

  “Good idea,” Maggie said, settling into a chair on Jo’s other side.

  “I don’t know where to start,” Jo told them. For them to understand, she needed to go all the way back to the beginning. She supposed it was way past time for her to do that.

  “Take your time,” Melanie said. “How about some soup first? Have you eaten?”

  “I don’t think so.” She’d lost track of time, lost track of everything in the misery that had swamped her after Kelsey’s threatening call. “But I’m not hungry.”

  “You need food.” Melanie shot a warning look at Ashley. “Let’s put the conversation on hold until you’ve eaten something.”

  Ashley frowned at her, but didn’t argue, which Jo figured was testament to how awful she must look.

  Everybody sat in silence and watched as she sipped the hot, homemade vegetable soup that Melanie had defrosted from one of the containers Maggie had left in the freezer.

  “This is delicious,” Jo said, wanting to end the awkward silence. “Will you teach me how to make it, Maggie?”