“What?” she demanded.
“You. You’re fitting right in here, aren’t you? Taking on the world’s problems, just the way you always did.”
“Is there something wrong with that? Aren’t we put on this earth to try to make a difference?”
“I know that’s what you believe,” he agreed. “I just thought you were dead-set on being a big-city girl.”
“I’ve recently discovered that there are certain perks to being part of a small town. I never appreciated that growing up, but now it’s nice having a support system, seeing friends every day, instead of once a month for a quick lunch. Even in a few weeks, I feel more connected here than I ever did in New York. You must feel the same way or you wouldn’t have stayed here, even for the hefty paycheck you’re getting from Megan.”
“I haven’t really had time to think about it. There’s been too much work to do.”
Heather regarded him impatiently. “Todd, be honest for once. You bought a truck, for heaven’s sake.”
“So?” he said, scowling.
“A truck,” she repeated. “A pickup truck.”
“Yeah. So?” he repeated.
She gave an exasperated sigh. “You could have gotten some trendy sports utility vehicle or a flashy sports car. That would certainly have been more in keeping with your New York image, but you’ve obviously gotten all caught up in the western mystique.” She glanced down at his feet. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed those fancy, custom-made cowboy boots of yours, either. You wear them almost as much these days as you do your Italian loafers.”
“They’re just more practical out here,” he said defensively, tucking his long legs out of view under the table, or trying to.
“Of course they are,” she soothed. “And you look very sexy wearing them.”
An obviously reluctant grin tugged at his lips. “Is that so.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Before they could pursue that, Roy Nolan from the hardware store down the street came in with one beefy hand cuffed around Will’s wrist. Will was flushed and his eyes were red from crying. Henrietta rushed over to the boy and gathered him into a protective embrace.
“What’s this all about, Roy?” she demanded as she smoothed the boy’s hair back off his face.
“The boy knocked down an entire display,” he said. “Did it deliberately, too.”
“Did not,” Will said, scowling up at him belligerently. “It was an accident.”
Henrietta hesitated, clearly torn between wanting to believe Will’s denial and knowing that the store owner had no reason to lie. She framed the child’s face in her hands and looked directly into his eyes. “Will, tell me the truth,” she said firmly. “What happened?”
His lower lip quivered, but he remained stubbornly silent.
“I’ll take that for an admission of guilt, then,” Henrietta said. “I have to say I am very disappointed, young man. I can’t imagine what possessed you to do such a thing. What sort of display was it?”
“Hunting rifles,” Roy said, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Case and all. I’ve got glass from one end of the store to the other.”
Heather exchanged a look with Todd, who was already on his feet. To her surprise, he promptly went over to stand beside Will. The boy turned to him, his expression filled with fear until Todd put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Relief spread across the boy’s face.
Why, she wondered, couldn’t Todd see what instinctive parenting skills he possessed? It was obvious that Will knew whatever trouble he might be in, he had an ally.
“Will, why don’t you go on into the kitchen and get your lunch?” Todd said quietly.
The boy regarded him with a grateful expression and ran. Todd turned slowly to face Roy. “You have to know what was going through his mind.”
“Of course I do,” Roy said. “I sympathize with him. No boy should have to live with the fact that guns were always being waved around at the house or that his daddy shot his mama, then died in an exchange of gunfire with the sheriff. I can’t have him wrecking my store, though, can I?”
“I’ll see that it doesn’t happen again,” Henrietta promised. “Naturally, I’ll pay for any damage and take it out of his allowance. And I’ll send Will over there to help you clean up the mess. He has to understand there are costs and consequences to the mischief he got into.”
Roy nodded. “That’ll do, then. I can’t tell you how bad I feel about this, Henrietta.”
“Same here,” she said, her gazed straying toward the kitchen.
After Roy had left, she sank down on a stool at the counter. Heather walked over and sat beside her. “You okay?”
Henrietta shook her head, shoulders slumped in defeat for the first time since Heather had known her. She gave Todd and Heather a bewildered look. “I thought he was doing okay,” she said wearily. “Better than Sissy, in fact, but now…I just don’t know.”
“Do you really think it was about the guns?” Heather asked.
Henrietta’s gaze snapped toward her. “Well, of course it was. What else?”
Todd gave a nod of understanding, picking up on Heather’s observation. “It was a test, wasn’t it?” he said slowly to Heather, then faced Henrietta to explain. “He wanted to see how you’d react. Maybe even how the judge would react. After all, the judge represents the system that never punished his father for the way he treated his mother.”
“Well, then,” Henrietta said briskly, rallying. “I suppose this calls for what they describe as tough love. When Harry gets here, I think the two of us will have a talk with the boy. Together we’ll think of a suitable punishment, but we’ll make sure he knows that we don’t love him any less.”
She sighed heavily. “Right now, though, I think I’ll just go in the back and give him a hug. The poor little thing is probably scared to death. Then I want him over there helping Roy with the cleanup.”
“Poor Will,” Heather said as Henrietta left.
“Poor Henrietta,” Todd said. “I don’t envy her having to handle this one. It’s going to be a delicate balancing act. If she’s too harsh, the boy will just lump her in with all the other adults who’ve mistreated him. If she’s too lenient, there will be no reason for him not to get into more and possibly worse trouble next time.”
“I think the person who’s really going to have to walk a tightrope is the judge,” Heather countered. “Not only does he have to handle this just right for Will’s sake, but for Henrietta’s. One misstep and she could hold another grudge for another thirty years.”
Todd’s gaze locked with hers. “Makes you stop and think, doesn’t it? One wrong decision and it can change someone’s whole life.”
Heather could tell he was no longer thinking about Henrietta and the judge, but rather about their own past. What she didn’t know was which decision was really bothering him—his to work for Megan or hers to keep silent about Angel.
“Todd, I—”
He touched a silencing finger to her lips, then drew her into his arms. “Don’t say anything,” he said quietly. “Let’s just make a vow here and now to think through whatever decisions we make from here on out.”
She nodded, content to let her head rest against his chest, where she could feel the steady, reassuring beat of his heart. For some reason that solemn vow of his gave her more cause for optimism than she’d felt since coming to Whispering Wind.
Todd might not recognize it yet, might even be fighting it, but the fact was he was showing all the signs of being a strong, instinctive father figure in Will’s life. Now all she had to do was persuade him that the same talent he had for being a role model for Will could be translated into being a dad to Angel.
19
T
he judge took the news of Will’s misdeed in stride. He didn’t seem nearly as distraught about it as Henrietta was. Todd had to admire the way he just stepped in, called Will over to sit with him and talked to him in a man-to-man way that left no doubt how he felt about either the transgression or the boy who’d committed it.
At one point, Will’s eyes were bright with unshed tears, but his chin stayed up during the lecture. When the judge finished what he had to say, he opened his arms and Will scrambled into them, tears falling freely. Todd was pretty sure he spotted the sheen of a tear or two glistening in the judge’s eyes, as well.
“It won’t happen again, will it, boy?”
“No, sir,” Will said softly.
“We can’t go letting Henrietta down, can we?”
“No, sir,” Will chimed dutifully. “Henrietta’s the best.”
“You’ll get no argument from me there,” the judge said. His gaze strayed to the woman who was watching the exchange, her expression anxious.
“Now, then, I recommend we cap off this discussion with some ice cream. Henrietta, find Sissy and let’s go down the street where someone can wait on
you
for a change.”
“I don’t know…” Henrietta glanced at Heather.
“Go,” Heather said at once. “If it gets busy before you get back, Todd can pitch in. He did a stint or two as a waiter. I don’t think he’ll dump the customers’ dinners into their laps.”
“Thanks for the recommendation,” he muttered, then winked at Henrietta. “Go, while Heather’s so eager to volunteer my time. In fact, take the night off. We can handle things around here.”
“You don’t mind?” Henrietta asked, regarding him worriedly.
“Of course not. It’ll be a humbling experience to recall where I’ve come from.”
“And goodness knows the man could use a dose of humility now that he’s a hotshot television executive,” Heather said.
He scowled at her. “So much for my intention to share my tips with you.”
Henrietta looked from them to the trio waiting for her by the door, then nodded. “I believe I will take the evening off and spend it with my family.”
The judge overheard the comment and a smile spread across his face. He gave Heather a wink. “Sounds to me like she’s coming around. What do you think?”
“Don’t go getting carried away,” Henrietta warned him.
“Little chance of that, the way you bring me down a peg or two every time you think I’m getting too big for my britches,” he grumbled.
Henrietta held him back when he would have walked out of the café with Sissy and Will. Her gaze locked on his. “I wasn’t sure you’d stand beside me on this. I’m grateful. I truly am.”
The judge’s gaze softened. “Don’t you know by now that I will always stand beside you?”
She searched his face, then gave a small nod of satisfaction. “I’m beginning to believe that.”
They walked out the door arm in arm, leaving Todd alone in the restaurant with Heather.
“Think you remember how this is done?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“Good. Then I’ll run across the street and get Angel. She’s been over with Janie this afternoon.”
“Angel’s been at the beauty salon?”
“Oh, yes,” she confirmed, sounding amused. “Our daughter could have been a central character in that movie
Steel Magnolias.
You know, the one that takes place in a Southern beauty shop.”
“She’s a little young to be having her hair done, isn’t she?”
“Actually, she likes to watch Janie styling hair. Janie seems thrilled to have an appreciative audience. And her customers seem to find Angel a diverting entertainment. She’s better than the tabloids, Janie says.”
Todd didn’t like the sound of that. “Exactly what is Angel revealing over there? The gossip she picks up in here? Or the story of our lives? The last time Angel got chatty, she told everyone who’d listen that I’d slept with her mama.”
Clearly unconcerned, Heather chuckled.
“We’re talking about your reputation,” he said.
“I can weather a little gossip,” she insisted, then regarded him pointedly. “Can you?”
His gaze narrowed as he studied her. “Are you thinking if enough people leap to the conclusion that you and I are an item, I’ll be forced to make good on it?”
She shot a pitying look at him. “Todd, I am not so desperate that I’d want a man who had to be forced to be with me.”
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
“Wasn’t it? Get a grip.”
“I meant the whole family thing. Not just you and me, but the three of us.”
She regarded him impatiently. “Now, there’s a news flash. That’s why I came out here, remember? To get you involved in Angel’s life.”
Nothing was coming out the way he’d intended, and despite her insistence that she still wanted only a custody agreement, he had a feeling Heather’s agenda had changed. For a woman who usually prided herself on being direct, she was suddenly being awfully circumspect.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to meet his gaze. “Spell it out, Heather. What are you really after? It’s not just about Angel anymore, is it?”
Her eyes flashed with defiant sparks. “No,” she said evenly. “No, it’s not. Though why I was stupid enough to fall in love with the most hardheaded man on the face of the earth for a second time is beyond me. You’d think once would have been more than enough.”
He’d wanted her to be direct, but he wasn’t sure he’d been prepared for such unvarnished honesty, after all.
Before he could gather his wits, she twisted out of his grasp. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get our daughter. Try not to break any dishes while I’m gone.”
Stunned into silence, Todd stared after her. By the time he could speak, she was already out the door. “Heather, wait,” he called, but she kept right on going. He would have gone after her, but four teenagers chose that moment to barrel into the diner wanting burgers and fries.
Todd placed their orders with Mack, brought their soft drinks to the table, then went back to the door to watch for Heather, who seemed to be taking her own sweet time about returning. The sharp ringing of a bell from the kitchen signaled Mack’s impatience when Todd didn’t pick up the order the second it was off the grill.
Scowling, he served the four customers, then forced a smile as he seated three of the evening regulars who always sat in the same booth. The three widows ate together every single night, so Todd had seen them often and knew their ordering habits. He automatically brought them their iced tea and didn’t bother with menus.
“Where on earth is Henrietta?” Frannie Milsap demanded, looking him over suspiciously as if she thought he might have locked Henrietta in the freezer.
“And how did she talk you into waiting tables?” Cass Peterson wanted to know.
Daisy Harper squinted at him through her thick glasses. “You haven’t lost your job, have you? Can’t support that child of yours by waiting tables in a place like this.”
The others nodded their agreement. “Absolutely not,” Frannie said.
“No, indeed,” Cass said.
Todd stared at them. “Excuse me? What child?”
“What’s wrong with you, boy? You hard of hearing?” Daisy Harper asked. “I’m talking about Angel, of course.”
“You think she’s mine?” Todd asked cautiously.
“Well, of course she is,” Cass said impatiently. “Looks just like you.”
“Knew it the minute she and Heather turned up,” Frannie agreed. “It’s about time you acknowledged it, don’t you think? About time you made an honest woman of that little girl’s mama, too.”
“Absolutely,” Cass agreed. “Heather’s a lovely young woman. Very sweet. We’ve grown very fond of her.”
“Now, girls, we don’t know all the facts,” Daisy cautioned. “Could be there’s a good reason why he and Heather aren’t together.” She gazed up at him inquiringly. “Is there?”
Todd had had no idea the trio had been engaging in such wild—if accurate—speculation. He supposed it shouldn’t have come as such a shock, but he was taken aback just the same. Given their outspokenness, he probably should be grateful they hadn’t brought the subject up sooner.
“Ladies, I’ll go put in your orders,” he said, backing away from the table without responding to the probing and far-too-complicated question.
“We haven’t told you what we’re having yet,” Frannie pointed out.
“Meat loaf, mashed potatoes and peas,” he countered. “It’s the special and you always have the special.”
“Well, I declare,” Daisy said, looking dismayed. “Are we that predictable?”
“
Boring
is the word for it,” Cass declared. “Get back over here, young man. I’ll have a cheeseburger, thank you very much. With onion rings.”
“You won’t sleep a minute all night,” Frannie warned her. “You know fried food gives you terrible indigestion.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Cass insisted. “Now, what about the rest of you?”
“I’m sticking with the meat loaf,” Daisy said staunchly. “I happen to like it.”
Frannie looked torn. “Bring me a BLT,” she said finally. She met Cass’s gaze and seemed to take it as a dare. “With fries.”
“Have you got that?” Cass asked.
Todd grinned, thrilled to have the attention off him and focused on food. “Got it.”
He headed for the kitchen where Mack had already dished up three plates of meat loaf. “Sorry,” he said. “A slight change in plans. Only one meat loaf.”
“No meat loaf for the other two?” the cook said, looking stunned. “Henrietta takes off before the dinner hour. Heather disappears, and I am left with a television person to wait tables. What is going on around here tonight?”
“The times, they are a-changing,” Todd said.
If the cook looked vaguely disgruntled by the news, it was nothing to the panic clawing at Todd. He had a terrible feeling that when all was said and done, these changes were going to turn his life upside down.
Heather finally strolled back into the diner about six-thirty, when the dinner rush was well under way. Todd scowled at her arrival, but he was clearly way too busy to pause and tell her what he thought of her little disappearing act.
“Miss me?” she inquired as she sashayed past and grabbed an apron.
“Like chicken pox,” he muttered, only to barely evade Angel’s enthusiastic rush toward his legs.
“Hiya!” she called out cheerfully.
“Hi, kiddo,” he said, skirting her as he aimed for the kitchen with a tray of dirty dishes.
To Heather’s amusement, Angel toddled right after him.
“Whatcha doing?”
“The work your mother should have been doing,” he murmured.
“I heard that,” Heather called out as she moved on to take the orders of four new arrivals.
“I help,” Angel offered, toddling right back into the dining room in his wake.
“No, thanks, sweetie. Why don’t you sit down in that booth over there and color one of your pictures?”
“You hang it on your ’frigerator?” she asked hopefully.
“Sure,” he said absently as he briskly placed food in front of a group of tourists.
“Okay,” Angel said, retrieving her crayons and coloring book from behind the counter and scrambling into the only vacant booth.
Coloring didn’t exactly rise to great art when Angel did it. She scrambled right back down three minutes later and handed Todd a picture that was little more than colorful scribbles. “All done,” she announced.
“Thanks, sweetie,” he said, tucking it under the tray he was carrying.
She regarded him hopefully. “You wants another one?”
“Sure.”
“Okay.”
Heather had to bite back a chuckle as the scene was repeated several more times. Suddenly Todd glanced down at the handful of papers he’d accumulated without realizing it.
“Enough for a gallery showing,” Heather observed. “She’s going to be expecting to see the entire display. Your refrigerator must be bigger than I remembered.”
Todd shrugged. “I’ll put up one or two. She’ll forget all about the rest.”
Heather laughed. “Obviously you haven’t spent a lot of time with a three-year-old. Angel has the memory of an elephant.” She glanced at the stack of drawings. “Offhand I’d say there are enough there to paper the whole kitchen. It’ll be really impressive when ‘Entertainment Tonight’ comes to do a feature on Megan’s hotshot executive.”
“Fortunately I’m a behind-the-scenes guy. Nobody cares about me.”
“Oh, I think I could see to it that that changed.”
He frowned. “You wouldn’t.”
“Publicity would be good for the show, especially now that you’re about to launch Peggy’s cooking spin-off.” She nodded. “Yes, indeed, I can definitely see the media possibilities. Maybe I’ll have a chat with Megan about them.”
She got the first nagging hint that she’d gone too far when he deliberately stepped out from behind the counter, his gaze locked with hers. There was an unpredictable glint in his eyes as he strolled toward her. Heather swallowed hard and backed up a step, then another. Todd kept right on coming, forcing her farther back until she felt the edge of a table against her bottom and realized she was very likely about to settle into the middle of some customer’s dinner.
“Um, Todd. Maybe this isn’t the best time to get into this,” she said.
“Really? You seemed anxious enough to get into it a minute ago.”
Heather stole a quick glance over her shoulder into the three upturned, fascinated gazes of Daisy, Cass and Frannie.
“Sorry,” she apologized.
“Oh, don’t mind us, dear,” Daisy said. “We haven’t had this much fun in years.”
“We’d all but forgotten what it was like to see sparks flying between a man and a woman,” Cass added. “It’s just not the same in the movies. The real thing takes me back.”
“Oh, yes, indeed,” Frannie confirmed a little breathlessly.
Todd regarded Heather with amusement. “How does it feel to be the main attraction in an unscheduled floor show?”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she asked, startled.
He winked at Cass. “Oh, my, yes. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to see those old sparks flying myself.”
He placed one arm on either side of her and grasped the edge of the table, pinning her in place. Heather’s breath snagged in her throat. She heard the faint, collective gasp of the three women in the booth. Her pulse ricocheted wildly. What had gotten into Todd, for heaven’s sake? He wasn’t an exhibitionist. She was usually the one who initiated any public display of affection.