Caught Between a Lie and True Love (Caught Between series Book 1) (10 page)

“Quit spoiling my fun,” the old lady complained before she straightened, her gaze fixed on the house next door. “Here comes another brat to ruin my day.”

Paige followed Gram’s gaze to Brody’s house where she saw a teenage girl climb out of the house through one of the upstairs windows. She shimmied down the tree next to the roof with the ease of someone who had used this escape route many times before. Then she slipped through the gate from Brody's yard into Gram’s, and schlepped toward the garden.

Focused on the phone in her hands, she thumbed the tiny keypad as though her social life depended on it. Which it probably did.

With hands on hips and an expression of disapproval, Gram watched her approach. “Aren’t you grounded?”

The teen didn’t even raise her gaze from the phone. “I escaped.”

Gram stomped toward the teen and grabbed the phone out of her hands. “You’ll fry your brain with that thing. Into the garden with you.”

“As soon as you—” The girl wrestled the phone back with determination, then tucked it into her pocket and muttered, “I hate it here. I hate my life.”

As Gram returned to the garden, she clucked her tongue. “That girl’s got attitude.”

Paige smiled down at the top of the girl’s head. “You must be Hope.”

The teen glanced up at her. “Did
he
tell you about me? I’ll bet that was fun.”

Hope must have seen Brody and her together on the rooftop talking. Choosing to ignore the surliness, she kept her smile firmly in place. “I’m Paige, and that’s my daughter, Starr.”

Starr looked up long enough to say, “Hey.”

Gram pointed to the garden. “Are you picking or a freeloader?”

“Picking.” Hope schlepped into the garden and crouched down next to Starr. “What crime did you commit that sentenced you here?”

Without looking up, Starr replied, “I was born.”

With a huff, Gram knelt down near the girls. “You two make a fine pair. One without a dad. One without a mom.”

The girls exchanged a glance, and some of the tension in Hope dissolved. “Is this your first time on the island?”

Starr nodded. “And hopefully the last.”

Hope glanced up at Paige. “Would it be okay if I showed Starr around the island?”

She nodded. “If it’s okay with your dad.”

“Oh.” The teen’s shoulders slumped, then she brightened and said, “If you talked to him, I’ll bet you could convince him to unground me long enough to show Starr around. I can tell he likes you.”

“He does?” Realizing what she’d revealed, Paige shrugged. “I’ll see what I can do.”

That seemed to satisfy the girl and as the girls picked, they chatted. Thankful that Starr had made a new friend, Paige let her mind drift.

Where was her dad? He’d been gone for hours now.

Gram pinched her arm just above the elbow and Paige yelped. “What did you do that for?”

The old lady got in her face. “If you’re living here again, you have to pull your own weight. Why aren’t you picking?”

Starr stopped in mid-pick. “You never said anything about moving here. When were you going to tell me, Mom?”

“We’re not. Gram’s mistaken.”

Gram smiled her toothless smile at Starr. “The old bat is confused. Off her rocker. Looney as only an old woman can get. Craziness is an inherited trait too, you know.”

A worried frown marred the teen’s forehead. “Mom?”

The old woman was playing with them both. As Gram returned to the row of string beans, Paige raised her voice. “Gram, we’re not moving back to the island.”

“Good. Because I don’t tolerate no free-loaders.”

Time to change the subject. Paige glanced toward the garage. “Brody mentioned you kept the old Chevy.”

“It’s still in the garage, if you want to take a look to see if you can get it going again. That boy wants to buy it. Maybe you can get it running for him.”

Starr jumped to her feet. “Can Hope and I see, too?”

Gram pointed at the garden patch. “No. What’s the point of free labour if they don’t freely labour?”

“I’ll show it to you later, baby.” Paige pushed to her feet. “Are you sure the girls are okay with you, Gram?”

“Of course. When we’re done in the garden, they can paint my fence.”

Starr let out a heavy sigh. “I’m supposed to be on vacation.”

Gram fixed her with a beady eye. “So?”

Exasperation filled the teen’s voice. “Vacation means sleeping in, lazying around the pool, hanging out with my friends.” She glanced at Hope, who seemed unperturbed and kept picking. “Is it always like this here?”

Without looking up, the other girl shrugged one shoulder. “You get used to it.”

“Starr. Strange name,” Gram commented as she knelt next to Starr. “I think I’d rather call her Katie.”

Paige wondered what she’d done to deserve her family. “Of course you would, but she won’t answer.”

Starr glanced up. “I don’t much like your grandma.”

Gram snapped off a bean and dropped it into the bowl. “I’m old, girl, not deaf.”

Paige sighed. “I don’t think she likes us either.”

But that didn’t mean she was going to let Jeb take advantage of the old lady.

Leaving the girls with her grandma, Paige headed for the garage where she carefully pulled a tarp off the old truck.

This was the ’65 Chevy that she’d started work on in an effort to attract Brody’s attention. It had worked…sort of. When he wasn’t hanging out with his friends, he’d be under the hood, talking to her about school and football and future dreams.

And those were quite possibly the best memories of Serendipity Island that Paige had. Moments spent in his company, wishing he’d see her as something other than the little kid next door.

She opened the driver’s door, popped open the hood, then went to prop it open.

It had been her dream to fix up the truck to use around the island. And Gram had wholeheartedly endorsed the idea because she’d believed it would keep Paige out of trouble.

Except it hadn’t worked the way Gram intended.

No, she’d taken the rap for something she hadn’t done, then spent the next two years in a juvie school.

She didn’t have time to waste on memories of the past. There were more important things to be concerned about, she thought, just as a shadow went by the window.

A moment later, Jeb walked into the garage, whistling as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Hands on hips, she regarded her dad with suspicion. “Where have you been?”

“Across the street helping that dear sweet woman with her eaves troughs.” He stopped in front of the truck and regarded the metal under the hood. “Wow, I can’t believe Ma kept my dad’s old truck all these years. Didn’t you use this as your project in high school?”

“That was a long time ago. I’d prefer to discuss what you’re doing today.”

After a moment, he pulled his gaze away from the vehicle. “I’ve decided to go into the handyman business.”

When she saw that he was serious, she closed her eyes and sought patience. “What do you know about being a handyman?”

“Enough to get by. Besides Buttercup, it’s all in the presentation. Isn’t that what I taught you?”

Hands fisted at her sides, she clenched her teeth. “No. You are not pilfering money from the people in the town where Gram lives.”

He looked offended. “I’d never do that to your grandma. I’d do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.”

She’d learned she couldn’t trust him. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch.” He bent over the engine and fiddled with a bolt. “Like I told you before, it’s time I retired from the road.”

In all the years since she’d realized that what they did was wrong, she wondered how she’d been so unfortunate to be born into this family. She gritted her teeth. “It’s time you left town and retired elsewhere.”

“Are you kidding?” He smiled that charming smile that had once won her over, but now she saw it for what it really was…the smile of a snake about to swallow its prey. “Do you know how many widowed old ladies there are in this town?”

And here it came…

“They’re out cleaning their gutters, cutting down their trees, painting their houses. They should have a man do those jobs for them.” He straightened, reached into his back pocket, and pulled his wallet out. As he opened it, Paige noticed that it was slightly fatter than when she’d given him money that morning. He pulled out a five. “And to show you how committed I am, I’m returning your money. I swear, Buttercup, I’ll never have to borrow another dime from you.”

She reluctantly took the money, and as he started toward the door, a matronly woman stuck her head through the opening.

“Hello, Jeb. Do you have a moment?”

Jeb hurried to the doorway. “Matilda, it’s a pleasure to see you again. What can I do for you?”

She stepped into the semi-darkness of the garage. “I want to nominate you for Mayor of Serendipity Island.”

The expression on Jeb’s face turned calculating. “Excuse us,” he said over his shoulder. He placed one hand against the small of Matilda’s back and steered her out the door. “Let’s grab a cup of coffee and sit down and discuss this.”

Paige didn’t even have to hear his
yes
to know that Matilda’s request just opened the door to a pile of trouble.

Now what? Once Jeb got an idea, he was like a pit bull. Nothing could stop him, not even if his plan destroyed everyone around him.

As they disappeared, Brody sauntered into the yard and paused at the edge of the garden. He had a tool pouch slung around his waist, and Paige couldn’t help but think that he was totally delicious, totally drool worthy…and totally out of her league.

All six-foot-two-inches of temptation.

The smart thing to do would be to stay away from him, but all she could do was stare at him and imagine what it would be like to be naked in his arms.

Despite her determination to keep her distance, she acknowledged that she’d have to be dead not to notice how his t-shirt clung to his frame, or how his shoulders looked like the perfect invite to lay her head against, or how he smelled so good, she just wanted to climb into his skin.

As she watched him, her thoughts went beyond the pleasures of the body, and she remembered what he’d told her about his relationship with his daughter.

She moved closer to the window.

His discomfort with the teen was obvious, and even though Hope appeared to be all prissy and superior and independent, she sensed something deeper there.

The girl wanted his attention. Needed his attention. She just didn’t know that she didn’t have to be bad to get it.

Maybe while she was here, she could do something to ease the relationship between father and daughter.

But she knew…no good could come of getting involved with Brody, not even for the short time she’d be on the island.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

After making chit chat with his elderly neighbor, Brody stood awkwardly at the edge of the garden. “What are you doing over here, Hope? Aren’t you supposed to be grounded?”

At which Hope replied, “I don’t have to listen to you. You’re not my dad.”

Before he could order her back home, Olivia stepped in. “The girl is fine here, Brody. I’ll keep her so busy, there’ll be no time for mischief. Why don’t you go inside and fix the faucet?”

Brody nodded, but before he turned away, he said, “As soon as I’m done in there, Hope, you’re coming with me to town hall.”

She didn’t glance up. “What for?”

“The Judge and Delores have nominated me for Mayor. I want you there to show your support.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Olivia made a motion with her hands, shooing him away.

Before he stepped into the kitchen, he paused, one hand on the screen door handle, and turned to look at Hope in the garden.

She appeared comfortable there, chatting with their elderly neighbor and her houseguest, far more comfortable than she looked when she was around Matilda or himself. Smiling and laughing. Why couldn’t she be like that with him?

How could he create that kind of relationship with his daughter? It shouldn’t be this tough, which only made him wonder once again what he was trying to prove by taking on the responsibility of a teenager.

Brody finally turned his back on them and stepped into Olivia’s kitchen, where the woman slouched at the table took one look at him and smoothly came to her feet.

“Well, hello there, handsome.”

Paige’s mom. Despite the sunglasses hiding her eyes, it was clear she’d recently had a nip and tuck. The skin across her cheeks looked smile-proof tight, and her upper lip barely moved when she talked.

He nodded politely and remained where he was. “Sorry to interrupt. I’m here to fix Olivia’s faucet, but I can come back later.”

She closed the distance between them, and inches from him, proceeded to walk her fingers up the front of his t-shirt. “I’m in need of your…let’s just call it assistance.”

Brody resisted the urge to bolt. “What can I help you with, Ma’am?”

Shock cracked the tight expression and she grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt, her knuckles white. “Did you just call me
Ma’am
?” She breathed out the last word as though it was something dirty.

“Ummm, yes, Ma’am.”

She hissed out a breath and slouched her shoulders. “Ma’am? Why, I’m barely older than…you.”

Behind him, the screen door opened and Paige walked in. Her voice was droll, humorless. “And if you believe that, I have land for sale in the swamp.”

The shapely brunette drew herself up to her full height and pressed her heavily lipsticked mouth into a firm line. “A trick, I’m sure, your father taught you.”

“Perhaps if I’d had a mother who cared enough to stick around, I wouldn’t have learned that particular skill.”

The brunette’s lips thinned further and she faced Brody directly, her head at a regal angle. “Don’t ever call me Ma’am again. My name is Lisa.”

Then she grabbed the tea cup and glided from the room.

Brody turned to face Paige who was staring after Lisa with a frown on her face. He headed toward the sink, unscrewed the faucet, and shook out the screen. “So you have both Mommy
and
Daddy issues?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned one hip against the edge of the counter. “And that amuses you?”