“So, how was your week?” she asked. That seemed like a neutral enough topic.
“Busy. With midyear Regents exams over, I had some parent conferences I’d have preferred not to. Other than that I’ve been working on ideas for Career Day, and the rifle class I’m teaching at the American Legion has started.”
Jamie smoothed the napkin on her lap. The rifle class that Myles had begged her to let him take. “I’ve started working on my booth, too. The Medical Center public relations officer is sending me some materials from job fairs she’s done in the area and pamphlets to hand out.”
“Sounds good.”
No, it didn’t sound good. It sounded stilted and boring. Why was she having so much trouble talking with Eli and enjoying herself? Could be she was just plain out of practice socializing. She’d shut herself off these past twenty months. And—she looked at Eli, the masculine jut of his square jaw, the fine line of his patrician nose, his long fingers with their squared off nails flicking the edge of the paper placemat—she hadn’t been on a date with a man other than John since she was sixteen years old.
Sara reappeared with their drinks. “Here you go, hot chocolate and coffee.” She placed them in front of Jamie and Eli. “Your dinners will be out soon.”
“Thanks,” Jamie said, thankful for the interruption to the growing silence.
“Thanks,” Eli echoed.
Silence fell over them again when Sara left. What was it that all those women’s magazines she used to read recommended? Get the guy to talk about himself. Not that that had ever worked with John. He was more of the strong, silent type, even more so with every deployment to the Middle East.
“Tell me about yourself.” She slid her cocoa mug an inch closer. That sounded as if they’d just met each other. But in a way they had. This was the first time they’d planned something together, just the two of them.
He shrugged. “Not a lot to tell that you probably don’t already know from my mother. I grew up on Paradox Lake. My dad was a trucker, killed in an accident the winter I was fourteen. I joined the Air Force right out of high school with a lot of encouragement from Sheriff Norton after a ‘harmless’ prank some of the guys and I pulled turned out not to be so harmless.”
She sipped her cocoa. So, Charlotte—or escaping Charlotte—wasn’t the reason he’d joined the service.
“I started out in tactical aircraft maintenance, flew a few missions over the Desert, did that stint on the recruiting team and, after I’d gotten my college degrees nights and weekends whenever I could pick up a class, I finished off as an instructor at Maxwell Air Force Base. Now, here I am.” He lifted his arms and spread his hands wide over the table, almost hitting Sara, who’d returned with their food.
“Cheeseburger special.” Sara set Jamie’s plate in front of her. “And rib eye steak. Do you need anything else?”
“No, we’re good,” Eli said with a wide smile before Jamie could open her mouth to say the same.
“Okay, let me know if you do,” Sara said before she left.
Jamie breathed in the tantalizing aroma of grilled beef. “I don’t mind if you want to go ahead and say grace.” She waited in surprisingly comfortable silence while he briefly bowed his head.
“Now,” he said, “it’s your turn to spill. I’ve known most of the people around here for, well, always. But you’re not from Paradox Lake.” He stated the obvious.
“Funny. Anne Hazard and I were talking about that. How everyone seems to know everyone. Sometimes we feel like we’re at play practice without a script.”
He laughed. “My script on you is blanker than I’d like. How’d you end up in Paradox Lake?”
“Anne’s husband, Neal. He was a friend of John’s. John was stationed at Fort Drum and Neal’s National Guard unit trained there. When John’s unit deployed time before last, I wanted to get back into nursing but had trouble finding a job that worked out with the kids. Neal let me know when the school nurse job opened up at Schroon Lake Central.” Jamie took a bite of her burger and swallowed. “That’s where I worked before the birthing center.”
Eli nodded. “And where’d you grow up?”
“A suburb of Buffalo, a place much larger than Paradox Lake. My folks still live there. I thought about going back after John’s death. My parents wanted me to. But the area has gotten kind of rough. Paradox Lake is a better place for kids. Safer.” After losing John, she wanted to keep them out of harm’s way was as best she could.
“Paradox Lake is a good place to grow up. I can vouch for that.”
“And we like it here, even though Myles claims he’s out of here the minute he graduates high school.”
The rest of the meal passed quickly with them sharing stories of their childhoods.
“Are you ready for dessert?” Sara asked when she came over to pick up their finished plates.
“None for me,” Jamie said.
“I’d like a piece of the apple pie I saw on the menu and more coffee.”
“Coffee sounds good to me, too,” Jamie said.
* * *
Rather than digging into his pie when it arrived, Eli tapped the flakey crust with his fork, weighing whether or not to tell Jamie about the paternity test results. They had been talking about the past and filling in the blanks. He looked across the table. She ran her fingertips around the rim of her coffee mug, a soft half smile on her face. His vocal chords froze.
Eli cleared his throat. Might as well get it over with, even though it would probably mean an end to the evening. He owed it to her. Letting her know had been the reason he’d asked her out tonight. One of his reasons. The others had had more to do with the way her dark curls caressed the sweet curve of her cheek, how she moved her graceful, capable hands to emphasize a point when she spoke and her fierce-mother protectiveness over her kids.
“If you were one of my kids, I’d ask you whether you were going to eat that pie or play with it,” Jamie teased.
“I’m going to eat it. Definitely. But first I have something I want to tell you.”
Jamie set her coffee mug down and looked at him intently.
“I got the results of the paternity test.” He didn’t see any need to tell her what the results were.
She wrapped her hands around the mug as if she needed to hang on to something and trained her eyes on his face.
He swallowed. “I called Charlie and went over to talk with her Wednesday night when the kids weren’t there. They go to Patrick’s every other week.”
Jamie nodded. She probably knew that from Rose and Katy being friends.
“Charlie seemed to take it okay. She didn’t make any kind of scene.” As he’d feared she might. “She just got quiet and looked very tired.”
“So that’s taken care of,” Jamie said in an even, almost monotone voice that struck him as out of character for the vibrant woman he’d come to know.
“I called Patrick when I got home. We’d talked about Charlie and Brett over coffee at the diner after the Career Day committee meeting last week. Patrick said Charlie isn’t well. He’s trying to convince her to get help.” He knew he was running on, but he needed to see some reaction from Jamie. “Patrick agreed I’d done the right thing. For everyone. He’s been concerned about the kids.”
Jamie’s uplifted face was a blank slate.
He should just stop, but he couldn’t. He needed to see some emotion from her. His past had hurt Jamie and her family. “Patrick called me this morning and said Charlie had seemed okay when he’d brought Katy and Liam back later that night, calmer than he’d seen her in a while.” He caught his breath. “And that Brett had said she seemed fine when he’d stopped in at the hardware store to see her yesterday.”
“Thank you for telling me.” She shifted her gaze away from his.
Yes, he’d torpedoed the evening. But it was better that she hear it from him. He mumbled a “You’re welcome” and attacked the pie, which tasted like wet cardboard.
“More coffee, cocoa?” Sara aske
d as she breezed by with another table’s order.
“Not for me.” Jamie placed her hand over her mug.
“I’m fine, too.” Actually, far from it. But he had had enough coffee.
“I’ll get your check, then,” Sara said.
“I appreciate your telling me,” Jamie repeated, breaking the silence Sara’s departure had left. She twisted the paper napkin she’d taken from her lap, her eyes meeting his again, almost as if she’d made some kind of decision.
He held his breath, waiting for her to kick him to the curb.
“I know Charlotte’s actions weren’t your fault.”
His heart lightened. “They were, in a way. I did some things I’m not proud of. If—”
Jamie interrupted before he could say more. “That was a long time ago. It’s just that Charlotte hurt my kids.”
“I know, and for that I’m sorry.” One thing he’d learned about Jamie was that she protected her kids with the ferocity of a lioness.
Her lips curved up. “I think I know of a way you could right some of it, with the girls, at least.”
Was that a glint in her eye?
“You could take Opal and Rose to the dinner-dance at school.”
It was a glint, definitely a glint.
“Believe me,” she said. “That’s more of a payback than you might think.”
“I think I can handle it. On one condition.”
“And what would that be?”
“You have to come, too.”
“I’ll have to take that up with the girls.”
All right, then. Opal liked him. Rose seemed to as well. Maybe he hadn’t totally blown things with Jamie.
Chapter Twelve
“Don’t I look beautiful?” Opal asked, spinning around in the middle of the living room so that her skirt flared.
“You do,” Jamie agreed. “And you, too, Rose. You look so grown-up.”
Jamie had taken them shopping last Saturday. Opal had chosen a gauzy dress with a full skirt embroidered with small flowers that she called a fairy dress. Rose had found a turquoise dress in a lacy fabric over a satin underdress that was gathered at the waist and fell softly to just above her knees.
It was far too dressy for Rose’s usual wear. But her big blue eyes—her father’s eyes—had gone wide the moment she’d spotted it. Funny, Rose was the only one of the kids who had John’s blue eyes. Jamie couldn’t say no. And she’d let Rose get sheer tights that looked almost like stockings. Rose, her more reserved middle child, sometimes seemed to get lost in the shadows. Jamie had wanted to get her something special.
“Thanks, Mom. You look pretty hot, too, for a mother,” Rose said. “You haven’t worn that dress in a long time.”
Jamie rubbed the fabric of the tea-length cocktail dress between her thumb and forefinger. She’d only worn it once, for her parents’ fortieth anniversary party the fall after John had been killed. She’d bought it for her and John’s date night, as the kids called their infrequent evenings out, to celebrate his return. She dropped the fabric as if it burned and checked the clock to see if she had time to change into something more comfortable. A crunch of tires on the driveway told her no.
“I’ll get the door,” Opal said and opened it before Eli had even reached the top step of the porch.
Eli had traded his familiar ski jacket for a double-breasted wool dress coat. Brushing the dusting of snow off his shoulders, he stomped his feet on the welcome mat before stepping in.
“We’re all ready,” Opal announced, gesturing from herself to Rose to her mother.
“So I see, and you’re all…” He fastened his gaze on Jamie. “Lovely.” His voice dropped on the last word, sending a ripple of pleasure through her.
“I’m a lucky guy to be going out with three such beautiful women.”
“You’re silly. Mommy is the only woman. Rose and I are just girls.”
Eli smiled.
“Go get your coats,” Jamie said, sending Rose and Opal to the other room. “You do realize what you’ve gotten yourself into with Opal as your ‘date’?” Jamie walked across the room, opened the front closet and removed a caramel-colored car coat with faux shearling lining and collar.
As Eli helped her put the coat on, she couldn’t help comparing her department store special to his finely tailored coat. It shouldn’t bother her. She was a single parent with three kids to support.
“I hadn’t realized I was exclusively Opal’s date. I thought I was escorting all three of you.”
“No,” Jamie said firmly, closing the last button and looking up into Eli’s steel-blue eyes inches from hers. “To hear Opal, you’re taking her to the dinner-dance and Rose and I are kind of tag-alongs, particularly me. She’s not at all sure why I need to come except, maybe, to keep Rose company.”
“And so I have some adult company.” His gaze held hers and she breathed the spicy scent of winter mixed with a subtle men’s cologne.
Jamie released a rusty laugh. “Or for protection from Opal and her incessant questions. I’m sure she has a select few saved up for tonight.”
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head without breaking his gaze. “That one didn’t make my list.”
* * *
Eli held the school cafeteria door open for Jamie and the girls and followed them in. Someone had been busy this afternoon, moving the tables to a ring around the edges to open up a dance area complete with a DJ stand manned by a couple of the senior boys. He scanned the room and checked his watch, glancing over at Jamie to see if she was watching him. Her comment the other day had made him conscious of how time-focused he was. He relaxed. She was helping Opal take her coat off.
It was a great turnout. At least twenty of the possible forty elementary school girls were here with their various escorts.
“Mr. Payton,” Rose said. “We’re supposed to put our coats on the table over there.” She pointed to the far left side of the cafeteria.
“I was going to tell him that,” Opal said.
Jamie shot her a pointed look and Opal didn’t say any more, although the frown on her face clearly stated her feelings. Apparently, only she was supposed to talk to him.
Eli slipped his coat off, realizing they’d already removed theirs. “I’ll take them over.” He crossed the room, saying hello to several teachers who were there and parents he knew. He placed the coats on the table, with his on top.
“Eli, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He turned to face Brett Russell. Eli hadn’t expected to see him, either. He glanced across the room to see if Jamie was looking this way. She was talking to Rose’s teacher.
“I’m filling in for Dad,” Brett said. He jerked his head toward the dark-haired girl standing next to him. Eli remembered seeing his sister, Katy, at Jamie’s house. “Grandma took a fall this afternoon, and he had to take her up to the Medical Center in Saranac Lake.”
“I hope she’s okay.”
“She might have broken her hip.”
“Sorry. I’ll say a prayer for her fast recovery.”
“Thanks. Grandma’s pretty tough.”
“Yep, that’s what I remember. She had to be to keep your dad and your four uncles in line.”
“Brett!” Katy tugged on the teen’s hand. “There’s Rose and her mother. We’ve got to get over there so we can get a table with them before they sit with Opal’s friends.”
“I guess I’ve got to move on.”
“Right,” Eli said. He did, too, but uncertainty about how Jamie would react to Brett joining them made him pause. “I’ll walk over with you.”
“Sure. Are you here as a chaperone?”
“Not exactly.”
Opal met them halfway across the room. “Mr. Payton, we have to get our table now.”
“Hi, Opal,” Katy said. “We were coming over to sit with you guys.”
“Hi, Katy. Where’s your dad?” Opal smiled up at Eli. “Mr. Payton brought us.”
Brett gave him a sideways glance.
/> “Dad had to take Grandma to the hospital. My brother Brett brought me.”
Opal’s mouth formed an O as she looked from Eli to Brett.
Eli rubbed the back of his neck, remembering the questions Jamie had told him Opal had asked about Brett and him.
“Oh, there’s Amy.” She looked up at Eli. “She’s my best friend. I want her to sit with us, too. Take Katy and her brother over to Mommy. She’s getting us a table.”
“Katy!” Rose waved and called them over.
Katy raced ahead.
“So,” Brett said, “you brought Katy’s friend Rose and her sister? I thought you and their mother weren’t…”
“We weren’t.” Eli cut him off and glanced at Jamie. But now maybe they were? “Opal, that’s Rose’s sister, has kind of latched on to me. She decided I should bring her to the dinner-dance and that was that.”
Brett knitted his brow. “Ah, okay, if you say so.”
Eli looked away. Who did he think he was fooling? He was here with Jamie.
* * *
“Hi, Katy,” Jamie said. “Rose saved you the seat next to her. Where’s your dad?”
“He couldn’t come.”
Jamie grasped the hard plastic back of the cafeteria chair she was pulling out for herself. “So.” The word came out as more of a croak. “Are you here with your mother?” How was she going to sit at a table all evening with Eli and Charlotte?
“Nope,” she said as she slid into the chair next to Rose. “She wasn’t feeling good.”
Jamie felt only a small pang of guilt at the relief the little girl’s answer had brought.
“My brother Brett brought me.”
Jamie collapsed in the chair she’d pulled out for herself. Brett sitting with them would only be incrementally less uncomfortable for Eli than having Charlotte there with them. And where were Eli and Opal? She hoped her darling daughter wasn’t dragging him around the room like some kind of prize to show off.
“Mommy.” Opal came up from behind and startled her. “I found Amy.” She led her friend and a pleasant-looking man about Jamie’s age to the other side of the table.
“Hi,” the man said. “I’m Scott Murray.”
Small-Town Mom Page 14
