He wore a black polo shirt that brought out the brown in his eyes—and provided a sharp contrast to the yellow Labrador fur that now clung to it.
“Oops. We better get you inside and use the lint roller on you. That dog sheds enough fur in a day to knit sweaters for a dozen Eskimos, I swear it.”
“Now there’s an idea for you: Labrador sweaters. Sounds like it would be right up there with cashmere if you ask me.”
“I’m sure.” When Paige opened the back door, dog and man followed her inside. She brought the lint roller out of the kitchen drawer and handed it to him. “Mom found Dusty at the animal shelter. He had been abused and abandoned, and when she first brought him home, he was scared to death of people—men in particular. My mom took it upon herself to ‘love the fear right out of him.’ She kept him with her constantly. If she was working in her flower bed, that’s where he was, if she was cooking dinner, he was in the kitchen. Before long, he didn’t want to go outside at all unless someone was with him. So, even before the accident, he was more or less a house dog. Dad says he’s a poodle in a Labrador’s body.”
Tony leaned down and scratched Dusty’s ears. “Nonsense. You just have to stay inside and protect the women and children. It’s purely sacrificial on your part, right, buddy?”
Dusty rolled over to get a belly rub and Paige laughed. “Well, that does
sound
more noble. I’ll have to give Mom that piece of ammunition the next time Dad teases her about it.” Dusty sneezed and rolled back over, apparently satisfied. “You better watch out or you’ll have to use the roller again.”
Tony stood up and looked down at his shirt. “All clear.” He handed the roller to Paige and went to the sink to wash his hands. “I took the liberty of making a reservation at Frederick’s. Does that sound good to you?”
“Wouldn’t you rather eat somewhere closer? You drove forty-five minutes to get here, do you really want to go another half-hour south?” She pulled a hand towel from the drawer and held it out to him.
“You’re worth it.” His fingers brushed against hers as he took the towel.
Paige rubbed her thumb across her fingers, remembering the feel of his touch. She needed to refocus and fast. A stray cup in the sink provided just the distraction. She picked it up, rinsed it carefully, then opened the dishwasher. The top shelf needed a little rearranging. This morning’s cereal bowl went to the bottom, the juice glass went to the right, the saucepan’s handle got adjusted.
“Is this for your mom’s treatment?” He was touching the countdown poster with the index finger of his right hand. Paige hadn’t overwhelmed him with the news of her mother’s health, but it had come up a few times.
“She has to remain in the Houston area for one hundred days after the transplant, in case of emergency. That’s how many days are left until she can come back here.”
He whistled low. “Have you heard from her lately?”
Paige nodded. “They check in every couple days. The treatment . . . she’s only the ninth person they’ve tried it on. Five have had fantastic results so far. The other three, not so great. So . . . we’ll see.”
“I can’t wait to meet her.”
I can’t wait to meet her.
There was a hint of a promise in those words. Wasn’t there? The potential answers both thrilled and terrified. It was almost too much right now.
“Irene’s.”
“Irene’s?”
“For dinner. I say I’m worth Irene’s. You won’t have to drive so much, and they have the best southern cooking for miles around.”
“Southern cooking?” He offered his elbow. “Sounds great to me.”
She put her hand in the crook of his arm, feeling the warmth of his skin. He put his free hand atop hers. “Off we go, then.”
While they drove through town, Paige tried to look at this place through Tony’s eyes. Compared to the sleek high-rise buildings of downtown Nashville, the old brick storefronts must look bland, boring even. Nothing glamorous to keep his interest here. Of course there wasn’t. The comment about meeting her mother had just been polite conversation. Paige could do that, too. “So, how is the job coming along at Shoal Creek?”
“It should wrap up in the next month or so.”
“What’s the next project on the agenda?”
“Most of the guys from this job will move over to work on the Lawrenceburg square. We’re refurbishing the whole thing. Since it’s so close to Shoal Creek, most of them will stay in their same apartments, they’ll just commute a little. That always makes it nice, when everybody doesn’t have to pack up and move again.”
Paige nodded. “I’m sure.”
When they walked inside Irene’s, Paige watched for Tony’s reaction as he surveyed the room. The noisy atmosphere, scarred Formica tables, and red vinyl seats were a far cry from Frederick’s. He looked toward her, a twinkle in his eyes. “Now
this
is what I call
ambiance
.”
“Listen, city boy, if you’re going to hang out with me, you’ve got to learn to do things the small-town way.”
They took a seat in a window booth. “I’m thinking that something’s not exactly fair here, country girl. I think it’s time for you to come to Nashville and walk my turf for a day.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, it’s only fair. How about tomorrow?”
“The church ladies would have a fit if I didn’t show up for services. They would assume that either something was wrong with Mom or I had fallen into sin. When they found out I was in Nashville visiting a man—well, let’s just say, things could get ugly.” Paige was laughing as she said it, but there was more than a little truth to her words.
Tony shook his head. “Small towns—oy! Okay, next weekend. You finally have a Saturday off, right? I’ll come pick you up.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask me, I offered.”
“I can drive. It sounds fun.” And it did.
When they got back to Paige’s house, Tony walked her to the door. She turned to him. “I had a really nice time.”
“So did I.” He rubbed his chin and grinned. “Eating hush puppies. In a place that was noisier than a Titans’ game.” Oh, the charm of that smile, it was a magnet whose pull grew stronger with each passing second. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”
“I can say the same about you.” The words barely came out, but she knew before she said them they were true.
He stepped closer and lifted her chin with his fingers until she looked into his eyes, their faces inches apart. “I’ll see you next week. On my turf this time.” He leaned forward and kissed her, his arms wrapping around her.
She leaned closer, put her arms around his neck, and felt herself falling into something she knew she could no longer escape.
Late Sunday night, Paige sat in front of the television, still alone, but less lonely than she’d been in a long time. The phone rang. “Hello.”
“Hey, Paige. How are you doing?” Rachelle’s voice was so low and so flat, Paige barely recognized it.
“You sound tired. What, has Steve been keeping you out too late?”
“I’m not tired.” In all the years Paige had known Shell, she’d never heard this tone.
“What’s wrong, then?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve got some rather dismal news. You remember I told you that David Brown’s investigator was investigating your investigator?”
“Yes. You can rest easy, you don’t even have to tell me. I already know it was Clarissa who hired him. She already confronted me about what she found out.”
A commercial for oxygenated dish soap came from the TV, the air-conditioner hummed from the next room, but no sounds came through the phone line. “Shell? You still there?”
“Oh, Paige, honey . . .”
“Rachelle, it’s okay. She knows everything, but she’s keeping it to herself.” As long as Paige kept her mouth shut, anyway.
“She may know everything, but she isn’t the one who hired the investigator.”
“If she’s not, then who is?”
“Tony Richardson.”
“I . . . I . . .” The words died before they could even form in her mind. What could she say? “Are you sure?”
“I made them double-check everything before I broke the news to you. After the way you talked about him during my visit, I didn’t want to tell you this. You’ve been through so much, but I thought you should know.”
“Yeah. Thanks. I’ll call you in a day or two.”
“You know where to find me.”
Paige walked over to the window and looked out into the night. She saw the very place where she and Tony had stood just last night. He had been so charming, so unexpected.
And he had been using her all this time.
Why would he do that? How could he do that?
She thought of the way he’d held her just last night, the words he’d said. The words she’d believed. Pain gave way to fury. She wanted answers, and now would be the time to get them. While her anger still cloaked her like a suit of armor. Nothing would hurt her now.
She dialed the number that she’d had stored in her book for weeks now, but never had the courage to use. Tony answered on the third ring.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Well, well. It’s about time you called me. I’ve been sitting and waiting all this time.” He sounded so upbeat, so happy. She pictured his grin on the other end of the line. Was it all an act?
“Why have you been seeing me?”
“Uh . . . well . . .” He let out a half laugh. “I would think that answer would be obvious. You’re beautiful, sweet, and single. I’m handsome, sweet, and single. It’s a perfect match. See?”
“I’m not joking.”
“Well . . . umm . . .” The silence of indecision lasted only a second. “I’m not joking, either. Well, not the part about you anyway. We all know I’m not
that
sweet, and maybe handsome is an overstatement, but that would go back to your reason for wanting to see me, right? Maybe I’m the one who should be asking you this question.”
Time to get to the point. “You’ve been doing nothing but helping Clarissa try to get rid of me all this time.”
“What are you talking about?” The shock in his reply sounded so real. But so had everything he’d said last night. “Clarissa’s not trying to get rid of you, and you know I’m not trying to get rid of you. Like I said yesterday, you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”
The words had meant so much then. But not now. “I got an interesting call from a friend in Atlanta.”
“Atlanta?” The rise in his voice told her this change in direction of the conversation confused him. Good. It would keep him off balance and make it more difficult for him to think up an explanation.
“Yes. Atlanta. She told me there was an investigator there, asking all sorts of questions about me. Turns out, this investigator was hired by . . . you.” She stopped speaking and let the silence fall between them like heavy stones.
When he said nothing, she unleashed the next round of ammunition. “Clarissa’s been keeping a file of complaints and out-and-out lies about me at work. Why? Why would either of you do this?”
“There obviously is some misunderstanding. Clarissa wouldn’t do that.”
“All I want is to be a good pharmacist—to make people feel better—to have a job so I can help my parents out during this terrible time in their lives. What would make two people go so far out of their way to hurt someone like me—someone you’d never even met when you started all this.”
The seconds ticked past. Paige said nothing. Intended to say nothing. Her father had always taught her to let silence work to her advantage in a case like this. If you remained quiet long enough, the other person would fill the silence.
Finally, Tony sighed. “Okay, I guess I did know at one point there was an investigator, but I’d forgotten all about it. I didn’t hire him, and it’s not what you think.”
“Not what I think? Until a few hours ago, what I
thought
this was, was an early dating relationship. One I enjoyed. One you enjoyed. Obviously, nothing is what I think.”
“Paige, listen to me. We talked about hiring that guy before I even met you. I gave his name to Clarissa, never dreaming she would actually call him. I just wanted to calm her down, she’s so certain everyone is out to get her. I haven’t thought another thing about it.”
Tony went quiet and waited—for what? Was he hoping she would say something here to absolve him of his part in this? Tell him she didn’t want to know anymore, that it was all okay?
He groaned. “You know what? I’ll tell you the whole truth. That first day I came to Shoal Creek? I was supposed to come in and check you out. You know, evaluate the situation, then leave. Of course, after I met you, my plans changed and I stayed for dinner.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. You decided it would be easy to control me if you led me to believe that you were interested in me.”
“Wrong. Within two seconds of meeting you, I knew enough to know you weren’t after Clarissa’s job, but I sure wanted to get to know you. In fact, I’d forgotten we even talked about hiring an investigator until just now. I haven’t thought about it since, and Clarissa hasn’t mentioned it either. Most likely, she’s let the whole idea go, or realized there’s nothing but good things to find.”
Oh, but there were plenty of things to find, and Clarissa had already found them. “You can take your investigator and your smooth talk and shove it someplace else. I don’t believe a word of it.”
“Paige, I—”
Paige pushed the button on the phone, slammed it onto the table, and was amazed that there were more tears left to spill.
Clarissa sat on her living room floor, paper work spread all around her. A satisfaction came from deep within as she began to believe she was actually going to make this all work—in spite of the obstacles that would have stopped most people from even attempting to move forward. Finally, there was a light somewhere in this whole dark mess.
The phone rang and she planned to let it go to voice mail, until she heard the caller ID voice announce, “Call from Richardson, Tony.” She stood and hurried over to the receiver. “Hi, Tony.”
“Hey, Sweet Pea.” His voice was so quiet she barely heard him.
“You okay? My old uncle working too hard these days, or what?”
“I need to ask a favor.”