Almost Home (25 page)
Mary Jo sent Leeanne a suspicious look. "What are
we going to be talking about that's so private?"
Leeanne gave a false, guilty little laugh. "Whatever
strikes us. I don't know."
Leeanne picked up her white linen napkin and set it in
her lap as the waiter brought over their tea. After assuring him that they didn't
need anything else for the moment, Leeanne stirred in exactly one teaspoon of
sugar and swirled the tea with her spoon three times. Mary Jo couldn't help
smiling.
Leeanne looked over at her and raised an inquisitive
eyebrow. "What's so amusing?"
"Us," Mary Jo said. "I can remember a
time when we considered lying on the grass eating peanut butter and banana
sandwiches a perfect lunch. And we didn't even wash our hands before we ate.
Now, we're…"
Mary Jo couldn't bring herself to say the word.
"We're what?" Leeanne asked, tilting her
head to one side, so that her hat looked even more rakish and daring.
"We're matrons. Our makeup isn't covering up
freckles anymore, it's covering up wrinkle lines. We've both dyed our hair so
many times, I barely remember our true colors."
"Personally, I've always thought you should add
more gold streaks or a copper tone to your hair, or maybe go pitch black. Your
blond hair color is so conservative."
"Like me," Mary Jo said with a sigh. "I
can't change."
"Sure you can."
"No, I can't, and neither can you. We're the same
girls we were thirty years ago, just the packaging is different. You're still
the reckless flirt, and I'm still the shy wallflower."
"What's brought on all this soul-searching? A
midlife crisis?"
"Why not? I'm middle-aged and married to a
first-class jerk."
"Yes, well, J.T. has changed for the worse."
"Or maybe I never really knew who he was. At least
you know who Jimmy is."
"Do I?" Leeanne asked. "Sometimes I'm
not so sure."
"And sometimes you let your imagination get the
better of you, wanting to turn Jimmy into a man of mystery when he's just a
very nice guy."
"I suppose you're right." Leeanne turned her
head again, taking another look at the lobby just as she'd done three minutes
earlier.
Mary Jo's earlier suspicions returned. "Okay,
what are we really doing here and who are you looking for? Don't try to lie. I've
known you since you were eight years old, and I know how you get when you're
plotting something. And you are definitely plotting something."
"Very well," Leeanne replied with a sulking
smile. "I'm hoping we might run into Miss Whitfield."
Mary Jo sent her a curious look. "The woman J.T.
doused with his drink a few nights ago?"
"That's right."
"Why would we want to run into her?"
"Because Miss Whitfield came to town for a
reason, Mary Jo. She's looking for her father, and she thinks it might be
Jimmy."
"No!"
"Oh, yes. She stopped by the bank on Friday
asking Jimmy all kinds of questions. Seems her father's name started with a
J."
"But Jimmy is a straight arrow," Mary Jo
said with a shake of her head. "He would never cheat on you, not in a
million years. Not like J— What did you say about the initial
J?"
Leeanne looked into her eyes as the equation suddenly
changed.
"Oh, dear," Leanne said. She reached out to
pat Mary Jo on the hand. "Now, don't you start fretting about J.T. Miss
Whitfield didn't come looking for him."
"Not yet anyway. Oh, Lord," Mary Jo said. "J.T.
is a much more likely candidate than Jimmy."
"I don't know." Leeanne's eyes narrowed. "I
was watching Jimmy when she came to see him, and he lied to her, Mary Jo. I
know that as well as I know my own name. I've spent the last three days trying
to worm some information out of him, and he's got his mouth locked up as tight
as that bank vault. It's obvious to me that if I want information, I'm going to
have to get it from Miss Whitfield."
Mary Jo shook her head, trying to make sense of it
all. "I can't believe Jimmy would have a grown daughter. How old is this
woman anyway?"
"I don't recall if she said. Twenty-six,
twenty-seven, I think."
"That would be when you and Jimmy first married."
"When he was taking night classes in Lexington,"
Leeanne replied.
"And J.T. was still living part of the time in
Louisville right before our marriage." Mary Jo leaned forward, dropping
her voice down to a whisper. "I think we should go. I don't have any
desire to see this Miss Whitfield. If she hasn't come sniffing around J.T., I
sure don't want to encourage it."
"Well, I have a few questions I'd like to ask
her."
Mary Jo couldn't imagine why Leeanne wanted to
confront this woman who was threatening to upset their lives. "I don't
understand you." Mary Jo frowned as she considered the shining energetic
lights in Leeanne's eyes, the nervous energy in her thin body. Leeanne didn't
look at all bothered by the fact that her husband might have fathered a child
with someone else. "Doesn't it bother you that she's accusing your husband
of being unfaithful, of having some deep dark secret? You act like you want
this to be true."
"Of course I don't."
Mary Jo sent her a pointed stare.
"Oh, all right," Leeanne replied with a
shrug. "I can't help being a little titillated by the idea of Jimmy having
a secret life. He has always been so absolutely predictable and boring that it
gives me shivers to think he might actually have another side to him that I
haven't seen yet."
"For heaven's sake, Leeanne. We're talking about
Jimmy and another woman. That can't be exciting to you."
"Well, it is. Sue me," Leeanne said, her
bright lips turning into a pout. "Here I am at my sexual peak, married to
a man who prefers sleep over sex. That could all change if I find out this
woman is his child from a secret affair. Why, he'd have to do whatever I want
to keep me from leaving him. You know he couldn't stand a divorce. Why, it
would shatter his reputation."
"Not as much as an illegitimate daughter. I think
we should play dumb, Leeanne, not talk to this woman at all. We'll tell our
friends not to talk to her. She'll get so exasperated, she'll have to leave,
and we can get back to our normal lives."
"Are you sure your normal life is really all you
want?" Leeanne asked. "Because frankly, I want more."
"I don't want to find out Katherine Whitfield is J.T.'s
daughter. It would ruin what's left of my life." Mary Jo looked into
Leeanne's eyes. "And it would ruin yours, too. Don't let yourself think
otherwise. Boring is better than devastated, believe me. I'm leaving right now,
and I think you should, too."
"You can't. There she is." Leeanne got to
her feet and called out, "Miss Whitfield, oh, Miss Whitfield."
Chapter
13
K
atherine stopped at the
sound of her name. Off
to the right she saw two
women in the lobby bar. One, wearing a ridiculously large hat, was waving to
her with a smile as if they knew each other. Katherine hesitated, suddenly
realized the redhead had been in Jimmy Callaway's office. Katherine didn't
recognize the blond woman, nor did she look particularly welcoming, but
Katherine could hardly walk away without appearing incredibly rude.
"Hello," Katherine said as she joined them. "Can
I help you?"
"You're Katherine Whitfield, aren't you?"
the redhead asked. She extended her hand, heavy with rings on almost every
finger and bright red polish on the nails. "We weren't introduced the
other day. I'm Leeanne Callaway. Jimmy Callaway's wife."
His wife? Katherine had thought she'd interrupted a
man entertaining his lover; their behavior had been so strange. And Leeanne had
been wearing a trench coat, for goodness' sakes. But apparently the
mild-mannered Jimmy Callaway had a wild side.
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Callaway."
"And this is Mary Jo Baker, J.T.'s wife."
Mary Jo stood up, obviously reluctantly. "Hello."
"Hello." Katherine felt even more awkward
upon learning the identity of the other woman. She couldn't believe she'd just
stumbled upon the wives of the two men she'd suspected of being her father.
"I'm sorry for what my husband did, throwing his
drink at you," Mary Jo murmured. "I hope you'll let me know if there
is anything I can do."
"It was just an accident. I was in the wrong
place at the wrong time."
"Won't you sit down and join us for tea?"
Leeanne asked, pulling out a chair.
While her sweet southern drawl dripped with honey,
Katherine had the distinct feeling Leeanne Callaway would not take no for an
answer. "All right."
As she took her seat, the waiter immediately appeared
with an extra cup and saucer. "Can I get you anything else?" he
asked.
Katherine shook her head. "No, thank you."
"Now then, Jimmy tells me you're searching for
your father," Leeanne said. "Or is it your mother? He wasn't too
clear."
Katherine licked her lips. She'd thought the men in
more dangerous with her soft voice and sharp eyes. Katherine took a sip of tea,
stalling for time.
"I believe my mother lived here or visited
frequently in the early seventies," Katherine explained, setting down her
cup. "When I was at Golden's, Justin Blakemore told me he thought there
might have been a woman named Evie pictured in a photograph with your husband."
"Evie? That was your mother's name?" Leeanne
asked.
"Actually, her name was Evelyn. But there was a
photograph of Jimmy with a girl named Evie, and Justin thought the connection
might be close."
"So you think Jimmy is your father?" Leeanne
let the question linger in the air like an unwanted puff of smoke.
"No, no, of course not," Katherine said
hastily. Although the thought had certainly crossed her mind. "I didn't
mean to imply that. I just thought he might have remembered my mother, and if
that were the case, then he might also know my father."
"What was your mother's last name?" Mary Jo
asked, suddenly entering the conversation.
"Jones. Evelyn Jones."
"I don't think we know anyone by that name,"
Leeanne said. "Do we, Mary Jo?"
"No," Mary Jo said shortly.
"What about your father? What was his name?"
Leeanne asked.
"All I have is a first initial.
J."
"Like Jimmy," Leeanne said carefully. "I
can see how your mind crossed that bridge. But for Jimmy to have been your
father— You're how old?"
"Twenty-seven."
"Well, if that's the case, Jimmy would have had
to be unfaithful to me just before our marriage."
"J
is a
common initial," Katherine replied. "As I said, I don't have much to
go on."
"Nothing else, just an initial?"
"I have a few mementos, cocktail napkins,
matchbooks, that sort of thing." Katherine took another sip of tea,
wondering if she could escape. While Jimmy Callaway hadn't seemed like a bad father,
she found the idea of being tied to Leeanne Callaway far less appealing.
"My husband's name is John Thomas," Mary Jo
said unexpectedly, drawing Katherine's attention to her. "Most people call
him J.T. I suppose that would qualify as a
J,
too."
Mary Jo's voice was filled with dismay, worry,
disappointment. Katherine didn't know what to say, how to react. She'd told
Zach she hadn't come to
anyone, but she had the sudden feeling that she could hurt this woman.
"I—I guess it would qualify," Katherine said
slowly. "But I'm sure my father is not either of your husbands."
"You can't be sure," Leeanne said pointedly.
"Because you don't know."