Secrets in the Sand

by Carolyn Brown

  “We thought we’d move into the guesthouse out by the pool if that’s all right,” Clancy said as he walked in the front door and set the bags down to hug his mother. “Angel’s still got the better part of two weeks’ vacation,” he explained.

  Angel looked around at the inside of the house. It hadn’t changed much since the last time she was there with her granny. The only thing new was the pool and guesthouse, which she could see through double glass sliding doors on the other side of the dining area.

  “Hello.” She stuck her hand out to Meredith when Clancy set the luggage down in the living room and went back for the rest.

  “Oh, don’t you offer me that hand, girl. Come here and give me a hug. I’m so sorry to hear about your grandmother’s passing.” Meredith wrapped her arms around Angel and patted her back. “She was a fine woman and a good friend. Now, tell me about that storm. I’m glad you got out in time. We were really worried until Clancy called us.”

  “We didn’t have service for hours and hours,” Angel answered. “I didn’t know if Clancy was going to drive us out or paddle us out for a while there, but we finally reached dry ground. Are you sure this is all right? I can get a motel room.”

  “This is fine. We’re glad to have you.” Meredith brushed away the idea with a flick of her hand. “That’s what the guesthouse was built for. The pool isn’t the ocean, but I bet the sun’s just as hot here, and you won’t have to worry about a storm.”

  “Thanks.” Angel nodded. “Clancy, honey, let me help you take our things out to the guesthouse.”

  “This way.” He nodded toward the doors about the same time Tom opened them from the outside.

  “Merrie,” he said, “those ferns have got to be watered every day, and we’re going to have to plant more… Oh, hello, Clancy. Glad you kids made it home.” He grinned. “Oh my goodness! Angel Conrad! Come here and give me a hug, child. Lord, it’s been ten years since I’ve seen you, and you’re more beautiful than ever. You’re a lucky man, Clancy!”

  “You’re still a giant.” She giggled, standing on her tiptoes to hug him.

  “And you haven’t grown an inch!” Tom grinned. “Are you stayin’ awhile with us?”

  “I guess so. The storm sent us back home, and Clancy says there’s room for me in the guesthouse.”

  “Room for you anywhere you want to hang your hat around here,” Tom said. “Let me carry those bags for you. We’ve got dinner reservations at some place over in Ardmore. You two have to go with us.” He skirted the pool and opened the west door of the guest cottage.

  Meredith was behind him, shaking her head. Tom couldn’t see it, but Clancy and Angel could.

  “Thanks, Tom,” Angel said. “But it’s been a long day, and all I want is a hamburger from the Dairy Queen. Then I want to come back here and sit in one of those lounge chairs by the pool until the stars come out. Airplanes were meant to get a person from one end of this country to the other, not automobiles!”

  “I heard that.” Tom set the suitcases inside the guesthouse and then backed out the door. “Y’all make yourselves at home. I’ll go on in the house and get ready to go, and you kids can fend for yourselves. And, Angel, it’s mighty good to have you back for a while. We missed you and your granny when you left.”

  “Thank you.” She flashed a bright, honest smile toward him.

  “Not that I don’t want you,” Meredith whispered, “but this is a special evening I had planned for the two of us…”

  “We understand,” Angel said.

  “You are going to church with us in the morning, aren’t you? The service begins at eleven,” she said.

  “Sure.” Clancy nodded. “We’ll be up and ready, Mama.”

  Meredith closed the door behind her, and Clancy turned to Angel, wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her. “See, I told you,” he whispered.

  “Okay, you win,” Angel said. But that doesn’t mean this whole experience is going to be one, big happy ending to our love story, she thought.

  An hour later, Clancy held open the door of the local Dairy Queen for her, then chose a table for two right in the middle of the restaurant. While he went to the counter to order hamburgers, she remembered what she’d thought about on the beach. She had expected to be impressed if he took her to the Dairy Queen on Main Street in Tishomingo, and here she was, but the sun hadn’t fallen from the sky, and she didn’t feel like a queen who had just been given the Hope Diamond. The event that would have made her swoon at the age of eighteen wasn’t such a big deal at the age of twenty-eight!

  “Hey, Clancy!” The voice of Jim Moore, an old classmate of theirs, boomed from two tables over. “Where you been, man? We got up a fishing trip last night down on the river and caught a ton of suckers. Larry fried them on the riverbank and brought the beer. You missed a good time.”

  “We were busy outrunning that tropical storm down in Florida.” Clancy grinned at his old friend.

  “We?” Jim raised an eyebrow. “You and Melissa getting back together?”

  “Hell no!” Clancy exclaimed.

  “Oh, hi, Clancy.” Janie came through the side door and walked up beside her husband. “You didn’t order for me, did you?” she asked. “You seen Melissa?”

  “Yep, and I don’t ever want to see her again,” he answered. He motioned to his friends. “Get your food and come sit with us.” Clancy nodded toward the center of the room.

  “Sure,” Jim said. “What do you want, Janie? Bacon cheeseburger with extra cheese?”

  “Not with all those fat grams!” She slapped his arm. “Give me a chef’s salad and a Diet Coke.”

  Angel smiled up at Clancy when he set a tray with their burgers in the middle of the table. “Since you’ve provided our supper, I’ll wash the dishes when we finish, just to show you I’m all for equality.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “Does that mean you’ll tote the paper to the trash can and put the tray on the shelf above it?”

  “Yep, and don’t take it lightly, sir. I don’t offer to do dishes very often.” Angel unwrapped her burger. “I love junk food. Beats cooking any day.”

  “Clancy, have you heard about Melissa?” Janie pulled up a chair and sat down, then turned to focus on Angel. “I don’t think we’ve met, but you sure look familiar.” She squinted until the crow’s-feet around her blue eyes deepened. “Good God! You’re Angela Conrad.”

  “Yes, I am,” Angel said. “We graduated from high school together.”

  Janie looked like she’d been hit with a crowbar right between the eyes. “Are you and Clancy… But Melissa is…” Her words came out one at a time, and she kept looking from Clancy to Angel. “When did this happen?”

  “We dated in high school between our senior year and when I went to college,” Clancy answered. “We reunited after the alumni reunion.”

  “But Melissa…” Janie frowned. “She says that…”

  Clancy raised a palm. “I’d rather not talk about her.” He removed the paper from his burger and took a bite.

  Jim brought their food and set it down. “What did I miss?”

  “That I’m dating Angel,” Clancy answered.

  Janie stared down at her salad. “But Melissa and Daniel are getting a divorce, and now’s the perfect time for you two to mend the fences and get back together.” Then she looked up and glared at Angel.

  If looks could kill, Angel would be stretched out on the floor, ready for the undertaker to embalm her. Janie and Melissa had been inseparable in high school, and evidently, their friendship was still as strong as ever.

  Angel picked up her hamburger and forced herself to eat a bite even though the burger had lost some of its taste.

  Janie turned back to Clancy and ignored Angel. “Melissa told me she was going to Florida to see you and that you two might work things out,” she said, as if Angel were just another piece of f
urniture. “Then she called and said she was flying to Virginia to settle things there, so I thought—”

  “Evidently you thought wrong,” Jim interrupted. “It’s good to see you, Angela. Where have you been keeping yourself all these years?”

  “Oh, I live in Kemp part of the time and in Denison the rest,” Angel answered.

  “What are you doin’? Besides outrunnin’ storms and singin’ with that band of yours.” Jim picked up his chili dog and took a bite.

  “She’s the president of Conrad Oil Enterprises,” Clancy answered.

  “You’re kiddin’.” Jim’s eyes were as round as saucers. “You are that Angel? Red talks about you all the time. Says you’re smarter’n anybody in the business. Lord, I didn’t know he was talkin’ about Angela Conrad.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “How do you know Red?”

  Janie picked at her salad as if she expected to find a cockroach hidden under the lettuce leaves.

  “I’ve been workin’ for him eight years now,” Jim said. “Lots of us here in Tish commute together down to the offshore rigs. Out two weeks, home two weeks. Janie loves half of it.” He grinned. “That would be the half I’m gone.”

  “Oh, hush!” Janie almost growled at him. “It’s just I can’t get anything done with him home twenty-four hours a day for two weeks.” She continued to ignore Angel. “He’s always underfoot somehow. I just talked to Melissa again today. She’ll be back in town, maybe even tonight or tomorrow. I’ve invited her to stay with me.”

  Clancy reached over and draped an arm around Angel’s shoulders. “Let’s get something straight right now, Janie. Melissa and I are history. She’s the one who wanted a divorce so she could marry someone else. I’m not interested in a rematch. She needs to get on with her life.”

  “Oh, sure, you’d say that. You’re running from your responsibilities. If you’d been a decent husband, then she wouldn’t have left you.” Janie flared up at him. “Melissa told me she was pregnant and going to Florida to tell you. Evidently she found you there with Angela.”

  “The baby is not mine.” Clancy said through gritted teeth. Then he chuckled. That soon turned into a guffaw. “This is so damned funny. It should feed the gossip mill here in town for weeks.”

  “Are you crazy?” Jim stared at him.

  “Not me!” Clancy wiped his eyes. “It’s the rest of the world that’s crazy. You’re crazy, Janie.” Clancy leaned forward until his nose was just inches from hers. “Melissa may be pregnant. That’s her business. The baby might be Daniel’s or someone else’s. That’s still her problem and her life to sort out. If she told you I got her pregnant, then your best friend lied to you. If the two of you hatched up this scheme together, then you know I’m telling the truth.”

  “Well, if it weren’t for you”—Janie spun around and stared at Angela—“Clancy and Melissa might work things out. They belong together.”

  “Janie, why don’t you shut up?” Jim asked softly. “This ain’t your business.”

  “Yes, it is.” She turned on him. “Melissa’s been my best friend since we were three years old. So, she made a big mistake by leaving Clancy for Daniel. So, she got pregnant and her husband’s not the father, but—” Janie clamped a hand over her mouth and blushed.

  “Just exactly who is the baby daddy?” Angela asked.

  “Oh, go to hell. You never did belong to our crowd and you won’t now, just because he’s got blinders on,” Janie hissed. “Don’t think we’ll all welcome you with open arms just because you slept your way to the top of some oil company, and Clancy thinks you’re hot stuff.”

  “Who’s the father, Janie?” Jim asked, suddenly interested in the story. “Clancy says it’s none of his doing, and I believe him. If I was him, I damned sure wouldn’t be fool enough to remarry her. You treat me like Melissa’s treated him and I’ll boot your backside out the door, woman.”

  Angel bit back a grin and took another bite of her burger. Janie was entitled to her own opinion. She didn’t care that Melissa had been hateful. Angel dealt with rude people every day. What mattered was that Angel hadn’t let her emotions lead her down the wrong road. Angel Conrad was a force to be reckoned with. She lacked neither security nor self-esteem, and these days she wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she wanted and fight for it.

  “I’m goin’ home,” Janie stood up so fast she knocked her chair backward on the floor, and glared at Jim. “And you can either go with me or sleep on the river bank tonight in your fishin’ tent.”

  Jim didn’t even look up at her. “I’m finishin’ this chili dog, Janie, and the riverbanks will be a nicer place to sleep than your bed. I’ll be by the house and get my things tomorrow to go out for two weeks, and then you can keep things wonderful and clean.”

  “I’ll be glad to see you leave,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “Maybe, but I can’t believe you would try to hogswoggle our friend into marryin’ Melissa when that baby ain’t his kid. What were you thinkin’, Janie? That you and Melissa would laugh behind his back about it? I’m ashamed of you.” He finally looked up at her.

  “Melissa is my friend, and Angela, you are a bitch,” Janie whispered and stormed out the door toward her bright-red car.

  Angel stood up slowly and started toward the door. Clancy rolled his eyes and started to get up, too, but Jim put his hand on his friend’s arm and held him down. “Don’t. Let them alone. It’s high time my wife found out she can’t act like a horse’s ass and get away with it.”

  Angel turned around and nodded. “He’s right, Clancy. I can take care of myself.”

  ***

  “I think we better straighten something out.” Angel opened the passenger door to Janie’s car and slid into it.

  “Get out of my car, you bitch!” Janie screamed at her. “Right now.”

  “I’m going to talk, and although you might not like it, you will listen,” Angel said calmly, as if she was talking to a child. “If you want to drive away, that’s okay. Everyone in town can see you with me in the car, and you can explain that to Melissa when you talk to her again. Maybe they’ll even put it in the ‘Seen’ column on the front page of the newspaper next week. ‘Seen: Angel Conrad and Janie Moore enjoying an evening ride down Main Street.’” On the outside, Angel was as unruffled as a freshly made bed. Inside, she was a boiling cauldron of rage.

  “You’re going to get out of my car, or I’m going to throw you out,” Janie threatened.

  “Stop acting like a teenager,” Angel told her. “We’re adults now, Janie. We’re not in grade school, and this is not a little red wagon you won’t let me ride in. We’re grown women. You’re entitled to your opinion, and if you don’t like me, that’s fine.”

  “What?” Janie gasped.

  “I was there when Melissa tried to snag Clancy into another marriage because she’s desperate and needs a husband, and he was always dependable. She just didn’t figure on me being there when she arrived. There’s no excuse for such a low-down, dirty trick, although you can be her friend and help her scheme if you want to. That’s your prerogative.” Angel looked the woman right in the eye and loved it when Janie began to squirm.

  “I deal with people who don’t like me every day, Janie. That’s life in the real world. I made a big mistake ten years ago and didn’t listen to my heart when it told me Clancy was bad news. I’m sure Melissa told you about my son. He was stillborn, and he looked so much like Clancy that it broke my heart all over again to see him in that little blue casket. But that’s Clancy’s and my business, not yours. I followed you out here to tell you two things. One is that you better not push that husband of yours too far, or you’ll be living on whatever you can make along with a child-support check. The second is that you’d better never call me a bitch again—or I’ll mop up the streets of this little town with you. I’m not from around here, and I don’t really care what peopl
e think anymore. Have a nice night, Janie, and when you go to sleep all alone tonight, remember it could be permanent!”

  Angel opened the door.

  “Wait!” Janie said. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. “Do you really think Jim would leave me?”

  “There are lots of women out there who would fall all over themselves to get a chance at a hardworking, good-looking man like Jim Moore.” Angel closed the door. “You know who that baby belongs to, don’t you?”

  Janie nodded. “But Melissa knows so many of my secrets that…”

  “A best friend wouldn’t blackmail you, girl. You need to ask yourself which is more important to you. Your marriage or your friendship?” Angel said.

  “She had a couple of abortions when she was married to Clancy, and she’s afraid to have another one. I shouldn’t be telling you this. She’s my friend.”

  “I knew the baby wasn’t Clancy’s, and that’s all that’s important to me,” Angel said. “The rest is her business, and yours if you decide to choose her over Jim. You have a nice rest of the evening.”

  “Thanks.” Janie wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. “I needed someone to set me straight. I’m going to call Melissa and tell her that she needs to stay somewhere else when she gets into town.”

  “Again, that’s your business, not mine.” This time Angel got out of the car and went back into the Dairy Queen. She slid into the chair beside Clancy and stuck a straw into her milkshake.

  “No blood or broken bones, I hope,” Clancy said.

  “Wouldn’t blame you if there was,” Jim muttered.

  “Nope.” Angel smiled. “We just had a come-to-Jesus talk. I think she might want to talk to you, Jim. Go on out there. Betcha she’s ready to tell you she’s sorry,” Angela said.

  “Sure, when hell freezes over,” Jim snorted, but he got up and left.

  “Good food, Clancy. Thanks. Not such good company for a little while there, but that’s changed now and the company is as good as the food,” Angel said. “When we get done, let’s go to the creek where the old swinging bridge used to be and sit on the banks in the grass and see if any ducks float by. There used to be a few when I was a little girl. Granny cleaned a couple of houses over there, and I was terrified of that little footbridge back then.”