Eight
“You know I’m on your
side.” Deanie Webber reclined on the brocade chaise longue in Lori
Lee’s bedroom. She dangled her brown suede flats on the tips of her
toes, then dropped the shoes to the floor. “I’m all for your dating
Rick. As a matter of fact, I’m all for your having a raging affair
with the man.”
Rummaging through her closet, Lori Lee
tossed out a pair of rumpled jeans and a faded, plaid flannel
shirt. “I know there’s a but in there
somewhere. You didn’t stop by at seven o’clock on a Saturday
morning just to wish me well.”
“You’re my best friend,” Deanie said.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt. I remember what a basket case
you were right after your divorce from Tory. I know you. You don’t
do anything by half measures.”
Lori Lee removed a pair of dingy tennis
shoes from the back of her closet. “Saving these shows it pays to
keep old stuff instead of throwing it away.”
“Stop trying to change the
subject.”
“Is that what I’m doing?” Lori Lee
asked as she slipped out of her robe. “I thought I was getting
ready for a date with Rick.”
Deanie watched while Lori Lee put on
the ragged jeans and oversize flannel shirt. “What kind of date
does a woman have that requires her to dress like a bum and be
ready at such an ungodly hour?”
“If it’s such an ungodly hour, what are
you doing up and over here giving me advice?”
“I’m on my way to an early-bird sale at
the mall, so I decided this would be the perfect time to stop by
and have a little talk with you.”
Lori Lee sat on the edge of her bed,
pulled on some heavy cotton socks and eased her feet into a
ten-year-old pair of tennis shoes. “If you’re here to warn me that
Rick Warrick is probably going to break my heart, don’t bother. I’m
well aware of his reputation with women. We haven’t made any
commitments to each other. All we’re doing is testing the waters,
to see if we’re suitable for each other.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You told me all
about this brilliant idea of yours to date Rick for several weeks
to see if y’all have anything going for you besides great sex.”
Deanie bent her knees, crossed her ankles and braced her hands on
top of her thighs. “What I don’t understand is, if you and Rick
share great sex, why do you need anything else if you’re just going
to have an affair? My guess is that you’ve got marriage in the back
of your mind.”
“Lord. you’re as bad as Aunt Birdie.
She’s already planning a June wedding.”
“Some people would look the other way
if all you want is an affair with. Rick, but they wouldn’t accept
your marrying the man.” Deanie rubbed her hands up and down her
thighs, then clasped her knees. “There are a few people already on
the warpath. Powell Goodman thinks you made him look like a fool, a
cuckolded fool and—”
“Powell is not my husband or my
fiancé.”
“The point I’m trying to make is that
you’ve made Powell an enemy that Rick may have to deal with sooner
or later, and Mara Royce is going to give you trouble—big time
trouble. She’s already stirring a stink with the twirler
mothers.”
“Name me one twirler mother who likes
Mara? Everyone resents her using her husband’s and father’s wealth
and their social position to try to intimidate people.” Lori Lee
removed a red, button-up knit jacket from a dresser drawer, threw
it over her shoulders and loosely tied the sleeves around her
neck.
“Mara has spent the past two days
contacting every twirler mother to solicit their opinion about your
carrying on with a man like Rick Warrick,” Deanie
said.
“I’m not surprised. My carrying on with
Rick wouldn’t bother Mara half as much if Rick didn’t have a
beautiful daughter who has more talent in her little finger than
Mara’s Steffie has in her whole body.” When she headed out into the
hall, Lori Lee motioned for Deanie to follow. “Come on downstairs
with me. I’ve got to load up my picnic basket and eat a bite of
breakfast before Rick gets here.”
Deanie uncrossed her legs, bent over
and put on her shoes, then stood and stretched her arms over her
head. “You’re right about Mara, but that still doesn’t mean she’s
not going to give you hell. And there are some people who’ll listen
to her, even if they don’t like her personally. You know the ones I
mean.”
“The people she easily intimidates,”
Lori Lee said, halting in the doorway. “The mothers who are so
afraid Mara will exclude their daughters from the list of Steffie’s
friends.”
Rubbing her back as she crossed the
room, Deanie walked over and put her arm around her best friend’s
shoulder. “Look, hon, you know that Phil and I will go to battle
for you, and Aunt Birdie is ready to take on the whole world, not
only the local powers that be. And I’m sure Eve and Tom Nelson are
on our side, but before we gird up our loins and sharpen our
swords, I want to make damn sure you know what you’re
doing.”
Lori Lee raced down the stairs, wanting
to escape the hard, cold facts Deanie had presented to her, but she
knew she couldn’t run away from the truth. She was risking a great deal. Her good reputation and
several old friendships were on the line, and there was always a
possibility that Mara Royce’s influence on other parents could hurt
her Dixie Twirlers business. And she stood a very real chance of
getting her heart broken. No matter how much she wanted things to
work out for her and Rick, she knew the odds were against
them.
Deanie caught up with Lori Lee in the
kitchen, where Lori Lee busied herself packing plastic-and aluminum
foilwrapped items into a large basket.
“If you’re going on an early Saturday
morning picnic, why are you dressed like Freddie the Freeloader?”
Deanie asked.
“I’m not going on a picnic.” Lori Lee
closed the basket lid, then turned and opened the refrigerator,
pulling out a milk jug. “Rick is painting Eve and Tommy’s house to
earn extra money to pay for Darcie’s costumes for the recital and
other twirler events during the spring and summer. So I told him if
he’d pick me up about seven-thirty, I’d help him paint and we could
spend the whole day together.” Lori Lee set the milk on the table,
then retrieved a bowl, spoon and a box of shredded wheat from the
kitchen cabinets.
Deanie slid down into one of the oak
chairs at the table. Shaking her head in puzzlement, she snorted.
“Hmph. I’ve heard it all now. You’re actually looking forward to
helping Rick paint a house? You, Lori Lee Guy, the girl who whines
if she chips a fingernail. The girl who won’t run to the grocery
store without putting on her makeup and fixing her hair. The girl
who washes her hands a dozen times a day because she can’t stand
for them to be dirty?”
Lori Lee prepared her cereal, then sat
down and began eating hurriedly. “I figure that working together on
something as aggravating as painting a house is a good test for our
relationship.” She munched several more bites, then jumped up and
emptied the remainder of her food into the garbage disposal. “If
Rick and I can spend the whole day together without wanting to kill
each other, then maybe—”
“You are out of your mind,” Deanie
said. “I think your brain has short-circuited or
something.”
Loud knocking at the back door gained
both women’s immediate attention, and they glanced in the direction
of the sound. Rick Warrick stood just outside, peeping in through
the glass panes.
Lori Lee ran to the door, opened it and
grabbed Rick’s hand. “Come on in for a minute and say hello to
Deanie. She stopped by on her way to the mall. I’m all ready to
go.” She led Rick inside the kitchen. “I packed lunch for us. I
thought you and Darcie and I could have a backyard
picnic.”
“Hello, Rick,” Deanie said. “She’s
packed enough food for Eve’s whole family, too, so be careful not
to throw your back out when you lift that basket.”
Rick chuckled. “I’ll be careful.” He
slipped his arm around Lori Lee’s waist. “I hate to rush you,
honey, but we need to get going. And I think I should warn you that
we’re going to have three little helpers today. Eve’s boys and
Darcie have white painter’s caps on and brushes in their
hands.”
“Oh, how I envy y’all,” Deanie said
sarcastically. “If I weren’t on my way to a day of misery shopping
the sales at the mall, I’d come along and help.”
“The more the merrier,” Rick said. “It
looks like with all the help I already have, this job could take a
lot longer to finish than I originally thought.”
“Well, don’t let me keep y’all.”
Standing, Deanie glanced at Rick’s arm holding Lori Lee close to
his side. “I’ve done what I came by to do.” She checked her slacks
pocket for her car keys.
The three walked out the back door
together, Rick carrying the heavy, food-filled basket in one hand
and possessively clasping Lori Lee’s waist with the
other.
Deanie opened the driver’s door of her
black Pontiac Bonneville, then turned and waved. “Well, don’t have
too much fun today. If I hear of any homicides in Tuscumbia, I’ll
know one of you murdered the other.”
“Don’t buy out the stores.” Lori Lee
waved goodbye as Rick helped her into his pickup.
He placed the picnic basket in the
truck bed, hopped in the cab and backed his pickup out into the
gravel alley. “I wanted to kiss you this morning, but when I found
Deanie in your kitchen, I thought I’d better wait.” Putting the
truck in park, he reached over and pulled Lori Lee into his
arms.
Sighing, she closed her eyes and lifted
her arms around his neck. They kissed, their lips devouring, their
tongues mating, and when they finally pulled apart, they were both
breathless.
“You look sexy as hell in those old
clothes,” he told her, caressing her hip.
“Flattery will get you whatever you
want, you know.”
“If only that were true, I’d be
spending the whole day in bed making love to you instead of
painting Eve’s house and baby-sitting three kids.” Slipping his
hand under her shirt, he covered her breast and squeezed
gently.
She jerked on his wrist, pulling his
hand away from her body. “Rick! Someone might see us.”
“So?” Snapping around, he faced the
windshield and clutched the steering wheel. “This being celibate is
hard on a man.” He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye. His
lips twitched with a restrained smile.
Lori Lee laid her hand over his belt
buckle, then playfully waltzed her fingers up and down his zipper.
He sucked in his breath. She cupped him through his jeans. “Very
hard,” she said, then removed her tormenting hand.
“Woman, you’re going to be the death of
me.” Gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled ferocity, he
knocked the gear into drive and revved the engine.
Lori Lee loved the way Rick kidded her,
the way he made talking about sex so easy. He was an uninhibited
man who was helping her tear down the restrictive walls she’d built
around her life. With him, she felt free and just a little naughty.
And when they made love, she was every bit as wild as he
was.
Smiling, Lori Lee sat beside Rick as
they drove through downtown Tuscumbia and up Sixth Street. As they
passed Barber’s Appliances, Lori Lee waved at Mindy Jenkins who was
putting packages in the trunk of her car.
“I’ve got something I want to tell
you,” Rick said just as they passed the old post office building.
“I’m going Monday to apply for a loan at Colbert Federal. That’s
where Bobo has always done business. I should know something one
way or another within a week, maybe before your big spring
recital.”
“You’ll get the loan,” Lori Lee assured
him. “Then Lewis Heating and Air-Conditioning will be all
yours.”
“God, I hope so. My whole future
depends on getting that loan.”
“Are you going to change the name once
you’re the boss? I think Warrick Heating and Air-Conditioning has a
nice ring to it, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I like the sound of that.
Warrick Heating and Air-Conditioning.” Rick grinned, thinking about
how close he was to achieving his dream of owning his own business.
“Who knows, maybe one of these days it’ll be Warrick and Sons
Heating and Air-Conditioning, or even Warrick and Daughters, if all
my kids turn out to be girls.”
The sun went behind the clouds, casting
gray shadows on the earth. Even though the truck cab was toasty
warm, a chill shivered through Lori Lee. All the color drained from
her face and a wave of nausea rose in her stomach. All my kids. She heard Rick’s words replaying over and
over again in her mind. She shouldn’t let what he’d said upset her.
After all, she’d already known Rick wanted more children when he
remarried. Maybe the wisest thing for her to do was be honest with
him now, before their relationship became more serious. If there
was even the slightest chance that marriage was in their future,
Rick had a right to know she could never give him the children he
wanted.
But there would be time enough to bare
her soul to Rick, to open the unhealed wounds of her heart and tell
him her deepest, darkest secret. It wasn’t as if he’d said that he
loved her. It wasn’t as if he’d asked her to marry
him.
If and when the day came that their
relationship grew into something more than a sexual one—the way
they both hoped—then she would tell him. But not today, not when
they were both so happy and their lives filled with promise. Today
she would enjoy sharing every moment with the man she loved.
Tomorrow she would worry about losing him when he found out the
truth.
Recital night was always a madhouse.
Even though Lori Lee was the most organized person on earth and had
everything perfectly planned down to the last detail, unexpected
problems and minor emergencies seemed to be par for the course.
Someone misplaced a baton. Someone else forgot their gold tights.
Another got last-minute stage fright. And at least one mother had
hysterics.
Lori Lee had realized several years
ago, after her first Dixie Twirlers’ recital, that without Aunt
Birdie’s assistance and the cooperation of her students’ parents,
she wouldn’t have been able to pull off such an elaborate
production so smoothly.
While Lori Lee announced the events and
introduced the students performing in each upcoming act, Aunt
Birdie oversaw the girls and their mothers. With several costume
changes, equipment to be moved, props to be placed and the correct
music set to play, one small oversight could easily ruin a
production number.
The Deshler gymnasium was packed with
parents, relatives and friends, each person expecting their little
twirler to be the star performer. The humming roar of their voices
drowned out all but the loudest noises, and the body heat generated
by the crowd raised the inside temperature by a good ten degrees.
Lori Lee was thankful that this April Saturday night had turned out
to be a bit chilly.
Rick had presented both her and Darcie
with a yellow rose before the recital began, and during each of
Darcie’s group performances, Lori Lee had searched the sea of faces
and focused momentarily on Rick. In her heart, for the briefest of
moments, she and Rick truly shared his daughter.
During intermission, Lori Lee went into
the dressing rooms to congratulate her students and give
encouragement to those she felt needed it. She paused when she
walked past Darcie, reached out and caressed the child’s plump
cheek. Darcie beamed with happiness.
Lori Lee spoke softly, her voice a mere
whisper, mouthing the words more than speaking them. “You were
wonderful.”
Standing several yards away, in the
center of a group of mothers and daughters, Mara Royce complained.
“I, for one, am opposed to any child receiving preferential
treatment.”
“Unless that child is her Steffie,”
Deanie Webber said quietly when she placed her hand on Lori Lee’s
shoulder. “Mrs. Dr. Royce is upset that
Steffie wasn’t given a solo number for the recital.”
“Steffie’s not ready for a solo number,
and if she doesn’t practice more, she never will be. What I’d like
to do is tell Mara to withdraw Steffie from twirlers, but that
wouldn’t be fair to Steffie. Being part of my twirlers may be the
only opportunity the child has to be treated like everyone
else.”
Mara raised her voice, speaking loud
enough for everyone in the dressing rooms area to hear her. “I
believe tonight’s trophies should be awarded on merit alone, and
for no other reason. I shall be greatly upset if anyone receives a
trophy for any personal reasons.”
“Well, she’s warned you, hasn’t she?”
Deanie patted Lori Lee on the back. “I know Darcie will receive a
trophy because she’s talented and has shown remarkable improvement
in the three months since she took her first lesson, but Mara will
try to convince everyone that your relationship with Rick is the
reason.”
“Let her do whatever she feels she has
to do,” Lori Lee said. “If Mara pushes me too far, she just might
regret it.”
“Well, well. I believe Aunt Birdie has
finally rubbed off on you,” Deanie said. “I’ve always admired that
woman’s ability to thumb her nose at the whole town and still have
them kowtowing to her like she was a queen.”
“Besides simply not giving a damn what
people think of her, Aunt Birdie possess complete confidence in who
she is. People around here respect two things she possesses. The
ten million dollars she inherited from her last husband and her old
Southern lineage. All four of Aunt Birdie’s great-grandfathers were
Confederate soldiers, you know.”
“Did someone mention my name?” Carrying
a huge bouquet of red roses, Birdie pushed her way into the
dressing area, her wide hips brushing several little girls’
shoulders as she passed them.
“What have you got there, Aunt Birdie?”
Deanie asked.
“Flowers for Lori Lee. They just
arrived.” Birdie handed Lori Lee the card, then tossed the bouquet
into a nearby chair. “They’re from Powell. I took the liberty of
seeing who they were from.” Birdie handed her niece the white card
she held.
Lori Lee read the message silently.
Couldn’t let your big night go by without wishing
you all the best. When you come to your senses, call me. I’ll be
waiting. Love, Powell. She handed the card to Deanie, who
scanned it quickly.
“Sure of himself, isn’t he?” Deanie
commented.
“Too damned sure, if you ask me,”
Birdie said.
“I don’t have time to worry about
Powell right now.” Lori Lee glanced at the red roses, then lifted
her hand to her hair and caressed Rick’s yellow rose that she’d
placed behind her ear. “Intermission is almost over.” She clapped
her hands. “Let’s get moving, girls. We’ve got an appreciative
audience waiting for us.”
The trophies, which varied in size from
six inches to two feet, covered two large tables that had been
placed against the wall, behind the loudspeaker podium. Most of the
fathers, including Rick, climbed down from the bleachers and aimed
their video equipment. Rick had told Lori Lee that he planned to
borrow Tom Nelson’s camera.
Grandparents squirmed in their seats.
Mothers wrung their hands and uttered silent prayers. The girls,
dressed in their pink-and-white Dixie Twirlers uniforms, circled
the gym.
One by one Lori Lee announced the
winners, and with each presentation came thundering applause.
Everyone attending expected this phase of the recital to take extra
time. Each child’s award was of equal importance to her and her
family.
“And this year’s award for Best
First-Year Student goes to—” Lori Lee paused long enough to focus
momentarily on Rick’s face “—Darcie Warrick.”
Even with the distance between them,
Lori Lee saw the sheen of moisture in Rick’s eyes. Or perhaps she
just sensed it. Regardless, she knew, perhaps better than anyone,
how much seeing his daughter win this award meant to
him.
Hesitant applause mingled with
questioning murmurs. Darcie marched forward. With tears streaming
down her sweet face, she reached out and accepted the shiny,
twelve-inch-high golden trophy with her name printed in large
letters across the front.
Eve and Tom Nelson stood and clapped
louder and harder than anyone, except Aunt Birdie. Trey and Mark
jumped up and down, whooping and hollering. Rick zeroed the video
camera in on Darcie. When Deanie and Phil Webber stood and
continued clapping, several other parents joined them, and within a
couple of minutes most of the parents were applauding Darcie’s
win.
Mara Royce sat rigidly, her back
straight as a stick. Crossing her arms over her chest and puckering
her mouth, she glared at Lori Lee.
The moment the awards presentation
ended and Lori Lee thanked everyone for coming to the recital, the
crowd dispersed. Children ran wild all over the gym, proudly
holding up their trophies. Mara Royce made a beeline to Lori
Lee.
“Here she comes,” Birdie said. “Brace
yourself, niece. Now’s the time to show what you’re made
of.”
Lori Lee barely had time to walk out
from behind the speaker’s podium before Mara confronted her. “If
you think for one minute that I’m going to let you get away with
what you did tonight, then you’d better think again,” Mara yelled
loud enough to be heard in the next county.
Lori Lee glanced over Mara’s shoulder
and saw the Nelsons and the Webbers following Rick across the gym.
They were all headed straight toward her. Quite a few other parents
delayed their exit, obviously waiting around to see what was going
to happen.
“Aunt Birdie, please make sure Darcie
gathers up all of her things from the dressing room,” Lori Lee
said.
“Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure
Darcie’s kept busy until this is over.” Birdie scurried across the
gym, but before she could reach Darcie, Rick grabbed his daughter’s
hand and brought her across the gym with him.
Lori Lee faced Mara. “I don’t think
this is the time or place to discuss any complaints you have. Not
with so many of the girls still here.”
“What’s the matter?” Mara asked
mockingly. “Are you afraid your precious little Darcie might find
out the real reason she won her trophy?”
“Mara, if you have one shred of decency
in you, don’t make a scene in front of these
children.”
“If you are really so concerned about
your students, why would you risk ruining your reputation and
shaming the Dixie Twirlers?” Mara pointed her finger in Lori Lee’s
face. “People know you’re having an affair with that no-good Rick
Warrick, and in order to keep him happy, you’re lavishing a lot of
attention on his daughter. The only reason Darcie Warrick received
the Best First-Year Student trophy instead of Steffie is because
you’re sleeping with her father. He must really be something in bed
for you to jeopardize—”
Three things happened simultaneously.
Darcie Warrick asked her father if what Mrs. Royce said was true,
that she received her trophy because he was Lori Lee’s boyfriend.
Rick snatched the trophy out of his daughter’s arms while she was
still talking. And Lori Lee Guy slapped Mara so hard that she left
a red-stained image of her handprint on Mara’s cheek.
Crying out in pain, Mara stared at Lori
Lee in disbelief.
“Ohmigod!” The moment Deanie Webber
groaned the slurred words aloud, silence fell over the gymnasium
and the onlookers froze as her voice rang out loud and
clear.
Rick shoved the shiny trophy into
Mara’s arms. She stared up at Rick, her teary eyes wide with fear.
She clutched the trophy in her trembling hands.
“Take the damn thing if it means so
much to you. Take it and r—” Clenching his teeth tightly together,
Rick snorted. “And to think I wanted my daughter to associate with
your kind, to fit in with your child’s group of
friends.”
“Rick.” Lori Lee reached out for him,
but hesitated when he glared at her, anger and bitterness in his
eyes.
“As far as I’m concerned, the whole
bunch of you can go straight to hell and take all the stupid
trophies with you.” Rick lifted Darcie onto his hip. “Y’all know
damn well that Lori Lee isn’t the type of woman to play favorites
when it comes to giving out awards to these kids. My Darcie won
that trophy—” he nodded his head sharply at the trophy Mara Royce
clutched to her bosom “—because of her talent, and for no other
reason.”
“Everybody knows that,” Aunt Birdie
shouted. “Even Mara knows, but she’s too jealous-hearted to face
the truth.”
Rick turned around and carried a
sobbing Darcie out of the gym. The Nelson family hurried after
him.
Lori Lee felt as if her whole life had
suddenly ended, as if the world ceased to exist. Her body was numb,
her mind swirling, her emotions completely haywire.
Everyone in the gym stood silently,
watching and waiting. Mara tilted her pug nose into the air,
twisted her short neck toward her shoulder and stared at the crowd.
“I’m not the one at fault. She is.” Mara pointed her finger at Lori
Lee.
No one said a word. Lori Lee reached
over and jerked Darcie’s trophy out of Mara’s clutches. “This isn’t
Steffie’s. She received the trophy she deserved. This one belongs
to Darcie Warrick because her talent and hard work earned it for
her.”
Mara glowered at Lori Lee. “You’ve let
your infatuation for that white trash Romeo—”
“Don’t you dare say another word,” Lori
Lee warned her, then turned and looked out at the crowd, many of
them Tuscumbia’s elite. “Rick Warrick is a good man, who loves his
daughter and has done everything he possibly can to earn the
respect and acceptance of this town. All he wants is to make a
place here for himself and his child. But y’all won’t give him a
chance, won’t forget who he used to be or forgive him for sins he
committed when he was just a boy.”
“She doesn’t see the man for what he
is.” Mara pleaded her case to the stunned audience. “If she wasn’t
so infatuated with him, she’d know what we know. That A. K. Warrick
came from nothing and that’s what he still is.
Nothing.”
“I’m not infatuated with Rick,” Lori
Lee said, her voice deceptively calm. “I’m in love with
him.”
A cumulative gasp came from the crowd.
Aunt Birdie grinned. Deanie bit her bottom lip. Mara Royce smirked,
as if saying, See, I was right all along.
Lori Lee felt an enormous sense of
relief well up and overflow inside her. Finally, she had admitted
the secret her heart had kept hidden, even from her, and the joy of
that revelation spread quickly through her mind and
body.
“I love Rick Warrick.” She spoke the
words, testing them, liking the sound of them on her lips. “Did you
hear me? I love Rick Warrick. And I love his daughter. But I don’t
think anyone here truly believes that I’m the kind of person who
would award any child a trophy she didn’t deserve.”
“Hear, hear,” Birdie Pierpont
said.
Grasping Darcie’s trophy tightly in her
hand and not acknowledging anyone’s attempts to speak to her, Lori
Lee made her way through the murmuring crowd.
“Lori Lee,” Deanie called out and
started to go after her.
Birdie grabbed Deanie’s wrist. “She’ll
be all right.”
“She’s upset. She doesn’t need to be
alone,” Deanie said.
“She won’t be alone.” Birdie smiled.
“If I know my niece, she’s on her way over to see Rick and
Darcie.”
“Oh.” Deanie nodded agreement. “You’re
probably right.”
Lori Lee parked her Riviera in the
driveway behind the Nelsons’ Bronco. Glancing up when she got out,
she noticed the lights were on in the garage apartment. She wasn’t
sure what kind of reception she’d receive, but regardless of
whether or not Rick wanted her here, she wasn’t going to leave
until she had given Darcie the trophy that rightfully belonged to
her.
Now wasn’t the time to confess her
undying love to Rick. There would be time enough for the two of
them to work through their problems later. Right now, her main
concern was Darcie. She couldn’t bear the thought of that special
little girl suffering because of Mara Royce’s sick
jealousy.
Lori Lee climbed the steps to Rick’s
apartment, hesitated momentarily on the stoop, then took a deep
breath and knocked. She waited. And she waited. She knocked
again.
“Whoever it is, leave us the hell
alone,” Rick bellowed.
“Rick, it’s Lori Lee. Please, let me
come in. I want to see Darcie.” She clutched the trophy in her
hand.
“Go away.”
“I’m not leaving until I see
Darcie.”
Rick jerked open the door and glared at
Lori Lee, then glanced down at the trophy in her hand. “Don’t you
think you’ve done enough for my daughter? She’s in her room right
now, crying her eyes out. She keeps asking me over and over again
if she really didn’t win the award for Best First-Year
Student.”
“Well, I hope you told her that she
most certainly won the award and that Mara Royce is a mean,
vindictive, jealous-hearted woman and no one believed a word she
said.”
“Do you honestly think no one believed
her?” Rick asked cynically.
“No one who really mattered.” Lori Lee
laid her hand on his forearm, longing to embrace him and tell him
that she loved him.
Rick yanked back his arm. “Go home.
Please. Leave us alone. I can’t deal with anything else tonight.
I’ve had just about all I can stand.”
“No, Daddy, don’t send Lori Lee away,”
Darcie cried out as she came running from her bedroom and through
the living room. She shoved on Rick’s legs, prompting him to move
over so that she could get past him.
Kneeling when Darcie ran toward her,
Lori Lee shoved the trophy into Rick’s hand and swooped his child
up into her arms. Darcie flung her arms around Lori Lee’s neck,
hugging tightly.
“Don’t go, please. Stay with me,”
Darcie begged.
Rick clenched his teeth as emotions he
could barely control rose in his throat, threatening to choke him.
Moisture misted his vision. He swallowed hard, trying desperately
not to give in to his feelings. It broke his heart to see how much
his daughter loved Lori Lee.
He’d been a fool to think this woman,
this beautiful, perfect woman, could ever belong to him. Could ever
be a part of his and Darcie’s life. Surely after what had happened
tonight, she realized it, too. Mara Royce had not only broken
Darcie’s heart, she had humiliated Lori Lee by announcing her
affair with him to the twirler parents. It had been one thing for
people to speculate about their relationship, but it was another to
have their affair publicly denounced by one of the town’s social
grande dames.
How the hell would sweet, ladylike,
Southern belle Lori Lee ever live down having slapped Mara Royce in
front of a large portion of Tuscumbia’s population?
Stroking Darcie’s back tenderly, Lori
Lee glanced at Rick, then took a step toward him. He backed up and
out of the way, allowing her to bring his daughter into the
apartment. Lori Lee carried Darcie into her room and sat down on
the bed, putting Darcie on her lap. Rick slammed the front door.
Following them, he stood in the doorway and watched while Darcie
laid her head on Lori Lee’s shoulder and Lori Lee kissed Darcie on
the forehead.
“Mrs. Royce wanted Steffie to win the
award for Best First-Year Student.” Lori Lee took Darcie’s hand in
hers. “Sometimes grown-ups can be very selfish and cruel. They can
do and say things that hurt other people when they become so
jealous they can’t think straight.”
“Mrs. Royce said that you gave me the
award ’cause you and Daddy sleep together,” Darcie said. “I’m not
sure what that means, except that you’re Daddy’s
girlfriend.”
“Yes, sweetheart, I’m your daddy’s
girlfriend, but I didn’t give you the award for that reason. And I
love you so much, Darcie. You’re very special to me. But I didn’t
give you the award for that reason, either.”
“Then why did you give me the
award?”
Darcie looked up at Lori Lee with eyes
an identical blue to her own. Lori Lee’s breath caught in her
throat and for a brief moment she couldn’t speak.
“You know the reason why,” Lori Lee
said. “Don’t you?”
Darcie sat straight up and looked Lori
Lee directly in the eye. “You gave me the award because I really am
the best first-year student.”
“And that’s the only reason.” Lori Lee
embraced Rick’s daughter, the little girl she desperately wanted to
be hers.
Rick cleared his throat. Two pairs of
big, blue eyes stared at him. “I think I have something that
belongs to you, Miss Warrick.” He walked into the room and handed
the trophy to Darcie.
She hugged it to her chest..“It’s
really mine.” She looked to Lori Lee for affirmation.
“Yes, it’s really yours. You deserve
it. You earned it.” Lori Lee slid Darcie off her lap and onto the
bed. “It’s past your bedtime, young lady. You’ve had a big night,
in more ways than one. I think it’s time for you to go to sleep.
Where’s your pajamas?”
“Hanging on a peg in the bathroom,”
Darcie said.
“Then you go get into them and I’ll
tuck you in bed before I leave,” Lori Lee told the
child.
“Would you read me a bedtime story
first?”
Lori Lee glanced at Rick. He nodded an
agreement to his daughter’s request. “Do you have a copy of
Beauty and the Beast?” she
asked.
“Get my Beauty and the
Beast book for her, Daddy, while I go put on my pajamas.”
With her trophy clutched to her chest, Darcie jumped out of bed and
rushed toward the bathroom.
Rick pulled a book from the stack on a
bottom shelf of Darcie’s nightstand and handed it to Lori Lee.
“Thanks for being so good to her. You mean a lot to her, you know.
Probably too much.”
“I love Darcie,” Lori Lee confessed
aloud, and silently added, And I love you, too,
Rick. With all my heart.
“Yeah, I see that you do. It won’t be
easy for any of us, but I think it’s best if I take Darcie out of
your dance and baton classes. All the other kids will shun her
after what happened tonight.”
“I think you’re wrong about that.”
Opening the book, she glanced at it and then laid it on the bed. “I
may lose one or two students, besides Steffie Royce, because of
what Mara said tonight, but I have a lot more faith in my friends
and acquaintances than you do. Why don’t you give the people of
Tuscumbia what you say you want from them? Give them a chance to
prove themselves to you. Believe me, Rick, only a handful of our
citizens are true snobs.”
“Damn, I’d like to think you’re right.
I just don’t know. I don’t want to see Darcie hurt again. Not
ever.”
“Neither do I. I promise you
that—”
“I’m all ready for bed.” Darcie came
flying into the room, her little hand circling the base of her
trophy.
Rick lifted her up and into her bed,
then leaned over and kissed her. “Is it all right with you two
girls if I hang around and listen to the story?”
“If it’s all right with Lori Lee, it’s
all right with me.”
“I have no objections.”
“Okay, Daddy, you can
stay.”
“Why don’t you put your trophy on the
nightstand?” Lori Lee suggested.
Darcie set her trophy on the
nightstand, petted it lovingly, then cuddled against Lori Lee. In
less than ten minutes, just as Lori Lee reached the part in the
story where Belle had thrown herself on her bed and was sobbing,
Darcie fell sound asleep. Lori Lee read on for a couple of minutes,
then closed the book, leaned over and placed it back on top of the
stack on the nightstand shelf.
When she started to get up, Rick
offered her his hand. She accepted his assistance, smiling at him
and whispering her thanks. She gasped when he suddenly pulled her
into his arms.
“Rick?”
“I’ll walk you to your car.” He looked
at her as if he wanted to kiss her, but instead he released
her.
“All right.”
When they reached the bottom of the
stairs outside, Rick took Lori Lee’s hand in his and squeezed. She
stood perfectly still. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Her
pulse raced at breakneck speed.
“I don’t want to let you go,
honey.”
“You know I can’t stay.” She threaded
her fingers through his. “I can’t...we can’t...not with
Darcie—”
Rick dragged her toward the garage.
Startled by his actions, she hesitated, stumbling against him when
he forced her into sudden movement. Rick yanked open a side door to
the garage and pulled Lori Lee into the dark interior.
“Have you ever made out in a truck?” he
asked.
“No.”
“Would you like to?” He nuzzled her
neck.
“Yes,” she said
breathlessly.