Wrong Way Renee (26 page)

H
e shook his head.
“God, R
enee. Two scares in one night.”

She had the same thought. After they finished eating, the foursome sat in the dining room telling stories about Christmases past.

“When Joe was eight, he found all the gifts his
mom
had hidden in the basement. He unwrapped every one of them, then tried to reseal them. Of course, it was obvious they'd all been opened. When she confronted him, he told her Santa had done
a crappy job of wrapping them.”

They all laughed.

“I was never very patient.
”
Joe
winked
at Renee.

She
glanced at his parents, wondering if they’d caught his innuendo but they acted oblivious.
“When I was prob
ably about that age, my sister—who's two years older than me—
got the Barbie house I'd been hoping for. I got a bike or something. I was so jealous that I went in her room with scissors and cut a small hole about this big in every article of clothing she owned.
”
She made a circle
with her thumb and index finger
.
“My
Mama
made me wear every one of those shirts and pant
s at least once as punishment.”

“Weren't they too big?
”
Eloise asked.

“Unfortunately, no. My sister is way smaller. When we were growing up, from the time I was seven and she was nine, we wore about the same size. My sister got all the thin and gorgeous genes
from our mother
. I got stuck with the n
ot so thin and gorgeous genes.”

“I bet you're the best looking one of the bunch,
”
Joe
said
.

Gooseflesh covered her skin. He seemed to have a talent for making her feel good about herself. She left at midnight, mindful that she was to be at her parent's house early the next morning. On her way home she thought about Eloise. What were the chances that Joe's step
mother
worked at the country club where her family, and more importantly,
Cleave
, were members? She resigned herself to the fact that she had to break things off with
Cleave
, and soon. If she didn’t, her luck would ensure a major disaster.

* * * * *

There was no traffic on the road
Christmas night
so
Renee
arrived at
Becky’s
house in record time.
As usual,
Bo jumped
on her and nearly knocked her over
.

“Down, Bo,
”
Becky scolded. But the dog never listened to her.
She finally
pulled him from the room by his collar and closed him into her bedroom before returning to the living room.
Huffing,
she
se
ttled into the butterfly chair.

Renee stretched out on the couch.
“So what's going on? My curiosity’s been piqued all day.” She prayed Becky didn’t want to sell the salon and she was prepared to beg her not to if necessary.
What if Becky was ill? God, she’d die if anything happened to her best friend.

“First tell me about your Christmas. How was it meeting Joe's parents?
”
She folded her hands on her lap.

The familiar
warmth
filled her like it
always
did when she thought
of Joe.
“It was nice. They're very down to earth, like
he is
. Really warm and welcoming.
”
Sh
e told her about taking a wrong turn, the vagrant and Joe talking her all the way to his dad's house. “I rushed into his arms a
nd it was like I was home
. I love being with
him
, but when I'm with
Cleave
, I want to be there. Anyway, I found out Joe's step
mother
is a chef at the country club where
Cleave
is
a member. What are the chances?”

Becky's eyes opened wide.
“You're kidding?”

“I wish I was. I have to stay away
from the restaurant there now.”

“I'm thinking it's time to cut bait with one of them. Do you
know what you're going to do?”

“I have to end things with
Cleave
. But he's so sweet, Beck, I don't want to hurt him. I really like him. I just
…
I like Joe more.
”
She wrung her hands.
“So, tell me what's goi
ng on with you. I’m dying of curiosity.”

Becky shifted in her seat
.
“Where do I begin? Okay. You remember I told you I
had a baby when I was sixteen?”

“Yeah. An
d you put him up for adoption.”

“Right. Well l
ast Monday I'm out front pulling weeds and stuff when this man approaches me.
”
She rubbed her temples.
“Do
you want a drink or something?”

“No, I'm fine. Go on.
”
Her
mouth was dry, but she wanted to hear what was going on.

“Okay. So, he tells me he's a private detective. There's his card.
”
She
pointed to a business card on the coffee table.

Renee picked it up and read.
“Brian
Temple, Private Investigator.”

“
Anyway, he tells me my son has been searching for me and would like to meet me.
”
Tears welled in her eyes
and
she stopped speaking for a moment.
“He wants to meet me, Renee. He's twenty years old and he lives in Jacksonville. He's a dog groomer. Can you believe that? Me a hairdresser and my son is a dog groomer.
”
She shook her head.

Renee took a deep breath, relieved that nothing was wrong with Becky
and that she had no plans to try to sell the shop
.
“Weird.”

“I'll say. So
here's the thing. Meeting him—Justin is his name—
scares the shit out of me.
”
She wiped a tear from her cheek.

“Why?
”
Renee felt her own tears threatening.

She shrugged.
“What if
he's angry that I gave him up?”

“Becky, that is the most loving thing someone in the position you were in could have done. Why would h
e be angry? You gave him life.”

“I think sometimes kids who were a
dopted are angry at their birth mother.”

“I don't think he'd have hired a private investigator and asked to meet you if he was angry. He probably wants to
fill that unknown in his life.”

“If I decide to meet with him, will you be there with me
?”

“I guess. But don't you want to be alone with him?
”
Part of
her
wanted to say no, it would be too intimate a moment for her to intrude upon. But she'd be there if Becky thought she might need her.

She shrugged.
“If I do, you
can step outside or something.”

“
I’d do anything for you. You know that
. If you're brave enough to meet him, the least I
can do is to be there for you.”

Becky crossed the room and bent to hug
her
.
“Thank you. This means so m
uch to me. I'm going to do it. You’re such a good friend.”

No, she wasn’t. If she was really a good friend, she’d have admitted that she wasn’t doing a very good job with the salon’s finances. But she’d tell her about all that another time.
Right after the holidays.

She
said a silent prayer, hoping
Becky’s meeting with her son
would all
work out the way Becky wanted
.

* * * * *

“Mind if I drive your car?
”
Joe asked on New Years Eve.

As long as it meant she didn’t have to ride in the police car, Renee was good with that. “No problem.
”

“
Since we’re leaving the county, I can’t take my SO issued car
.
”

She
handed him the keys
as he
opened
the passenger door
for her.
“W
here are we going?
”
Her stomach flip-flopped
.

“Can you guess?
”
He kept his gaze fixed on the
road as he turned out of her complex
.

She waited as he merged onto the highway.
“How long are we going to be on the Interstate?
”

“You'll see.
”
A smile played on his lips.

Sh
e squirmed in her seat, wondering what the evening ahead held for them. After driving for
twent
y minutes, she finally realized where they were
headed
.
“I've got it. We're
going to the beach, aren't we?”

H
e looked over at her, grinning.
“Was it the sign that said,
‘Beaches’
that tipped you off?”

She reached across the seat to hit his thigh, his hard-as-a-rock, muscular, sexy thigh. He took her hand
and kissed it
. After another thirty minutes they passed
the closed tollbooth, then turned left.

Sh
e rolled down her window to
glimpse
the white foam glide atop the dark water. The sound of the waves crashing and the smell of the salt spray instantly relaxed her. They passed a few couples sitting or walking along the shore.

Joe found a spot away from the other cars to park the Jeep. He came around to the passenger side to open
her
door, then pulled a towel out of the back
seat and offered her his hand.
“Glad you keep a towel in your car. I forgot to bring the blanket I had in mine. Think we should take off our shoes?
”

“Yeah, that'd be a good idea.
”
Sh
e slipped off her sandals, thankful she'd had
Chantelle
give her a pedicure earlier in the week.

They walked about a quarter mile down the beach under a crescent moon.

“How's this?
”
H
e
spread
the towel on the sand.

“Fine. But for what?”

He pointed to the left.
“See that pier?”

“Yeah.
”
S
trings of lights
were
draped along it.

“At midnight they shoot off fireworks from there.
”

She gasped
.
“Oh, I bet it's beautiful.
”

“It is. We used to come here for Ne
w Years when I was a teenager.”

They sat on the towel
as the
black waves roll
ed
in and out.
She leaned against his shoulder and h
e wrapped both his arms around her. She knew what her decision would have to be. She was falling in love with this man.
She couldn’t possibly keep seeing Cleave.

At midnight the most beautiful fireworks display
she’d
ever seen started. The ocean lit up under the multicolored spectacle. It lasted for ten minutes. When it ended, the air was pungent with the smells of sulfur, smoke and the sea.

“That was the most romantic way I've ev
er rung in a new year.
”
She gazed
into his eyes.

“Me too. Because you're with me.
”
He squeezed her against him.
“Have you thought
about the St. Augustine trip?”

“I would love to go
.
”
Butterflies danced in her stomach.

“Great. It's one of
my favorite places.”

“You know what my favorite place is?
”
She moved her lips inches from his.