The Red Hat Society's Acting Their Age

by Regina Hale Sutherland

Rachel glanced up briefly, the brush poised mid-air. “What’s yours?”

  “Cooking, I suppose.”

  “That’s Mia’s passion, too.”

  “It’s something we have in common.”

  “What about Leanne?”

  Aggie thought about that. “Fashion. The woman loves to dress up. Always has.”

  Rachel smiled. “Me, too.”

  “Leanne’s other passion is kids. Teaching them.” Aggie cocked her head to the side. “Maybe you should ask her to help you with your studies. Leanne has a knack for making learning fun.”

  “Why isn’t she still a teacher if she loves it so much and she’s good at it?”

  “Sometimes a person needs a break, even from things they love. Time to re-evaluate and reconsider.”

  Her own statement startled her. Was that what was going on with her and Roy? Did she need a break from him in order to figure out what she needed for a change? Without him barging in with his opinion, his needs, and pushing hers aside? She loved Roy. That would never change. But maybe her approach to their relationship needed a makeover, too. Just like her appearance.

  “What would I do in college?” Rachel blew on Aggie’s wet toenails. “I mean, just when I think I know what I want to do, something else comes along and I want to do that too, you know? Like, I saw Lord of the Rings and decided to do movie makeup? Then the next week? I thought, duh. Why do Gollum’s makeup when I could be Gollum, instead?”

  Aggie blinked over the tops of her glasses at the girl. “Who is Gollum?”

  “Don’t you watch movies?”

  Aggie shrugged. “Well, whoever she is, you can be whatever you want to be, Rachel. The sky’s the limit.”

  Rachel shrugged. “Now that I’m learning to cook? I’m thinking maybe that’s my passion, too. Like you and Mia. I could be a famous chef with my own restaurant.”

  “Now, there’s an idea.”

  “Only no green foods in my restaurant.” Rachel shuddered. “And no loaves.”

  Such a sweet girl, Aggie thought. But odder than all get out, sometimes. And indecisive.

  Rachel’s brows drew together. “But, now I totally love sewing, too. Leanne says I’m a natural. We’re alike like that. Maybe I could be a clothes designer.” Her head came up, her eyes widening. Smiling broadly, she lifted the polish brush and pointed it at Aggie. “I know! Leanne and I could be designing partners!”

  Aggie smiled, too. “I think you’re on to something.”

  Rachel’s hand paused halfway down to Aggie’s last toe. She glanced toward the fence separating Mia’s backyard from Buck Miller’s. “Did you hear that?”

  “What?”

  “A noise in that tree next door. It moved, too.” Rachel leaned forward, squinted. “Something’s up there.”

  “Probably a squirrel,” Aggie said, then heard a loud sneeze from that direction. She removed her leg from Rachel’s lap, jumped up, moved to the patio’s edge. Her heart lurched when she peered toward the treetop and spotted the cause of all the commotion. “Get inside,” she said quietly to Rachel. “That’s no squirrel.” It was a two-hundred-forty-pound, gray-haired, pot-bellied weasel.

  As Rachel escaped through the back door into the house, Aggie hobbled toward the fence, keeping her wet toes pointed skyward. “Roy Dean Cobb, come down here this minute.”

  Roy lifted a camera, pointed it at her, snapped.

  “Why are you taking my picture? And wearing your hunting cammo? Does Buck Miller know you’re in his tree?”

  He snapped again.

  Aggie reached the fence. She couldn’t see over it, so she peeped through a knothole, only to find an eyeball staring at her. She screamed and jumped back, ruining her pedicure. “Is that you, Buck?” Moving away from the fence, Aggie held her hand up to shade her eyes and glared at Roy in the tree again. “Get down!”

  Behind her, she heard the back door open. Turning, she saw Rachel running toward her.

  “No!” Aggie hissed, flapping her hands. “Go back!” She returned her attention to Roy in time to see him lift the camera again.

  “Use this,” Rachel said, handing her a sling shot. “I found it in the boys’ room.”

  Aggie’s hand shook, half from nerves, half from fury, as she took the slingshot from Rachel then reached down into the dead grass for a pebble. She’d show that man a thing or two. How dare he spy on her? Placing the pebble into the leather sling, she looked up at her husband, closed one eye, and aimed. She took a deep breath. Her hand steadied.

  “Now, Aggie girl. You wouldn’t shoot me,” Roy called down. Then, in a small voice, “Would you?” When she didn’t answer or lower the slingshot, he gave a nervous laugh. “You couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, woman.”

  “Maybe not, but I bet I can hit the broad side of you. My big brothers taught me a few things when we were kids.”

  The tree branches trembled as Roy scrambled to get down. Turning his back to her, he wrapped his arms and legs around the trunk and clung like ivy around a lamppost.

  Aggie turned loose. The pebble hit Roy sqaure in the butt.

  He cried out, let go, and crashed to the ground.

  “Roy!” Aggie screamed. Dropping the slingshot, she ran to the fence and climbed up on the lower support bar. “Oh Lord, sugar, are you hurt?”

  Roy lay on the ground, the camera and Buck Miller beside him. He pushed up on one elbow, his face twisted and turning from bright red to purple. “I’m coming over there,” he roared. Rolling to his hands and knees, he started crawling toward the fence.

  Aggie jumped down. She turned and started running. “Oh, no, you’re not.”

  “Oh, yes I am.”

  Ahead of her, Rachel slipped inside the back door. “You’re not invited,” she yelled.

  Darting into the house behind Rachel, Aggie slammed the door and turned the lock.

  Seconds later, the pounding started. “Enough is enough, woman!” Roy boomed.

  “Go away. You’re trespassing.” Aggie tried to catch her breath.

  “I got pictures of that girl paintin’ your toes, Aggie.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  Aggie covered her ears and said a silent prayer that the camera had broken when Roy fell from the tree.

  Chapter 17

  That evening, Cade pulled to a stop at the edge of a rocky, dirt road. “This is it.” He turned off the truck. “What do you think?”

  Mia studied the grassy section of land. It stretched to a canyon wall layered in shades of clay pink, red, and rusty sienna. The evening sun set the wall ablaze. She imagined the cottonwood trees in spring, their branches filled with dancing green leaves. “It’s beautiful, Cade.”

  “You really think so?”

  Glancing across the seat at him, Mia smiled. “I do.”

  He stared out the window again, a faraway look in his eyes, as if he saw something no one else did. A fishing shack? Mia wondered. During the drive over, he had mentioned a small lake somewhere close by.

  “Let’s take a look.” Cade reached for his door handle.

  As they walked to the back of the truck, Mia asked, “Why did you change your mind about building? It’s a perfect spot for a house.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe I will one of these days. Until then, it’s a good place just to get away and hike around with Bart.”

  At the sound of his name, the golden retriever in the truck bed whined. He jumped up, placed his front paws on the edge.

  Cade let him out. “Too lazy to jump over now, is that it?” he said to the dog, tossing a stick that Bart ran after.

  “How much of this land is yours?” Mia asked.

  “Just ten acres.”

  “What are you waiting for? You should go ahead and build. It’s not too far from town. It’s so peaceful.”

  “I don’t know. Seems wrong somehow to build a place for just me. Like something’s missing.” He took off his hat and put it inside the truck. “And I imagine it’d get lonely livi
ng out here by myself, peaceful or not.”

  “I think you should get started.” She laughed. “As they say, none of us are getting any younger.”

  “That’s for sure. And I’m tired of waiting.”

  Bart ran up to Cade, tail wagging, the stick in his mouth. Cade threw it again.

  Mia had the impression he wasn’t only talking about building a house, that he was also tired of waiting to meet the right person with whom to share it. She knew Jill had been the one to leave their marriage. At least, those were the rumors. Cade had brought a city girl to the country, and she couldn’t make it fit her. Trouble was, the city didn’t fit Cade. Neither could find a compromise.

  “It’s hard starting over,” she said, watching him as they began to walk. “I never imagined I’d be alone at this stage of my life.”

  “What did you imagine?”

  “Traveling with Dan. Taking our kids and grandkids along sometimes. Having someone to share things with. Little things, you know? The sunset, a good bottle of wine.” She looked away, embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to go on like that.”

  “You didn’t go on. I understand.”

  When she faced him again, she could see that he did understand, that Cade had wanted, had expected, those things in his life, too.

  He smiled. “It’s not over, you know. You could marry again.”

  “Haven’t you heard the statistics on women my age remarrying? I have a better chance of winning the lottery.”

  “I don’t put much stock in statistics.”

  When Bart returned again with the stick, Cade ignored him. Rebuked, the retriever ran ahead to explore.

  Cade offered Mia his hand, and she took it. As they walked, he pointed out how the house would sit on the lot, where each room would be. “I don’t have it all worked out. When I do build, I plan to take my time and do it right.”

  “You’ll build it yourself?”

  He nodded. “Most of it. I learned the ropes working construction during the summers to put myself through college. I’m rusty, but it’ll come back to me.”

  “If you’re as thorough and patient with this as you are with your work, I’m sure the house will be a showplace.”

  Mia’s face heated as she wondered again if he would also be a patient lover. She let go of his hand. Ever since the drive to Paco’s, she’d had no luck banning such thoughts about Cade from her mind. A change of subject; that’s what she needed.

  They stopped beside a cottonwood, and she leaned against it. “Speaking of being thorough, did you sign Eddie and Roy on to do some investigative work for you?”

  “Roy and Eddie?” His look of astonishment appeared far from genuine. “Why would I do that?”

  Mia smirked at him. “You have an annoying habit of responding to my questions with more questions.”

  “And you,” he said, nodding her away from the tree and leading the way toward the canyon wall, “have a habit of not answering my questions at all.” He glanced back at her. “I thought that topic was off limits when we’re together after hours. Have you changed your mind about that?”

  Mia knew it was pointless to pretend any longer. If Cade didn’t already have the proof he needed for another warrant, he soon would, thanks to Eddie’s and Roy’s photos. She wondered if that was his reason for bringing her out here where they were alone and there’d be no interruptions. Maybe he was affording her one last opportunity to confess. If she did, what would happen? Would he make a beeline for his truck? Drive to the house immediately and pick up Rachel? Take her away tonight?

  She wasn’t prepared for that possibility. Despite the fact Cade knew the truth, if Mia could give the girl one more night by keeping quiet, she would.

  Still, she didn’t want to jeopardize what she felt between her and Cade. Last night’s kiss made her realize she couldn’t grieve forever. She had to let Dan go. Not forget, but move on. Make a new life for herself. She yearned to live each day again, not merely survive it.

  When they stopped alongside the rugged canyon wall, Mia looked up at Cade. “I know you’re on to us,” she said.

  Surprise sparked in his eyes. “So you’re admitting you have her?”

  “I don’t like being difficult, Cade.” She crossed her arms. “But I’m going to make you come up with your proof. Until then, I’m not admitting anything. I’m not in a rush to cause heartache to someone who has already suffered so much.”

  “You’re not causing it, Mia.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Believe it or not, I’m not in any hurry, either. Not anymore. This isn’t easy for me. I have some tough decisions to make.”

  “About me, you mean.” Mia saw clearly how heavy those decisions weighed on him.

  “You. Aggie and Leanne. Even the girl. Don’t think I don’t care what happens to her. I do. I have a heart. I’m not only a sheriff, I’m a dad, too. I hate seeing any kid in trouble.”

  “I never thought you didn’t care. But the law takes priority for you. Right or wrong. I don’t blame you for that, it’s your job. I guess, this time, I just don’t agree.”

  He blew out a noisy breath and looked away. “I’m not sure what I think anymore. But I don’t want to think about this. Not tonight.”

  When he reached for her, she went to him without hesitation.

  Cade wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close. “You feel so good.” He nuzzled his face in her hair. “I don’t want you to hate me.”

  Mia leaned back to look at him. “I could never hate you, Cade. No matter what happens.” Rising onto her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his. “You taste like coffee.”

  One corner of his mouth curved up. “I’ve been drinking a lot of the stuff, lately. It reminds me of you.” When she tilted her head back, he brushed kisses across her eyes, her cheeks, her lips.

  “So you think of me?” she murmured, lacing her fingers together behind his neck, feeling the soft prickle of his hair.

  “All the time.”

  “I think about you, too.”

  They touched noses, smiled at one another.

  “Look,” Cade said quietly as Bart ran up beside them and sat at their feet. Pulling away, he turned Mia so that her back was to him.

  On the western horizon, the sun melted like liquid fire into the earth. Cade encircled her waist with both arms. Mia leaned back against him, feeling grounded, safe, happy for the first time in too many months to count.

  Sometimes, she thought as, inch by inch, the ball of fire slowly disappeared, fate gave back what it took away.

  Like someone with whom to share sunsets.

  The next day, the women continued the routine that had become their norm. No one spoke of the photos or about the final showdown they expected to occur at any moment. Still, dread radiated from each of them until it almost shimmered.

  Aggie jumped at the slightest noise.

  Leanne snapped at the other women, at Rachel, at Brewed Awakening customers.

  As for Mia, she held her breath each time the bell over the coffee shop door jingled. In some ways, she was ready for all the drama to end. They might never find a solution to Rachel’s dilemma on their own. Leanne’s visit with the attorney had given them hope. But so far, they had not been able to reach Rachel’s classmate Lacy Oberman or her mother. Without their testimony about witnessing Rachel’s abuse, Mia feared the girl’s chances of staying out of a juvenile placement facility were about zero.

  Despite the tension permeating the air, the day passed without so much as a peep from Cade, Eddie, or Roy. Last night before leaving his land, Cade had asked Mia to have dinner with him again tonight. Mia had agreed. She suspected the invitation was Cade’s way of ignoring the trouble they both knew would come when those photos were developed.

  After returning home last night, she’d stayed awake for hours thinking about Cade. His playful smile and solid warmth. How the touch of his body against hers made her ache with happiness. She relived his kiss, and the memory of the heat in his eyes the moment before their li
ps touched consumed her.

  Mia tried to convince herself it was too soon after Dan’s death to feel so deeply for someone else. Too soon to want Cade after only two dates. But she knew it wasn’t true. She had suffered through sixteen lonely months. And she and Cade weren’t two people getting to know one another; they’d been friends for most of their lives.

  “You’re going out with him again?” Rachel sat on the edge of the kitchen counter. “Where?”

  “To eat pizza.”

  Rachel turned to Aggie, who stood at the sink washing dishes. “We should have pizza, too.”

  Dipping her chin, Aggie glanced over the tops of her reading glasses at the girl. “You’ve eaten so much pepperoni since you’ve been here, you’re going to turn into one.”

  In her chair at the table, Leanne drummed fingertips on a placemat and looked at her watch, restless over Eddie. “What time is Romeo due, anyway?”

  “Cade will be here at six-thirty.” Mia opened her compact and checked her lipstick for the third time in ten minutes.

  “I’ll have to give it to the man.” Leanne wiggled her brows. “Once he finally talked you into going out with him, he knew what to do to keep you coming back.”

  Making a face, Mia snapped the compact shut and slipped it into her purse. “It’s only pizza. And my going out with him has stopped his questions.”

  Leanne tilted her head. “It’s hard to talk when you’re in a liplock.”

  Mia smirked at them. “Very funny.”

  Wiping her hands on a clean dishtowel, Aggie said, “Well, I think it’s wonderful.”

  Leanne’s face softened. “So do I. But it puts an awkward spin on things, doesn’t it?” She glanced at Rachel.

  “I’d like to talk to y’all about that.” Mia drew a steadying breath as she turned her attention to the girl. “Honey, I feel like we’re spinning our wheels and not resolving anything for you. Whether Cade gets his warrant or not, maybe it’s time we—”

  The doorbell’s ring interrupted Mia mid-sentence. Her heart jumped to her throat, and the look of panic on Rachel’s face didn’t escape her notice. “That must be Cade.” Grabbing her coat from the back of a chair, Mia draped it over her arm and started for the entry hall.