A Marriage Between Friends (9 page)

Arnie put a stop to Vince’s perusal with a huff. “I want you to meet one of our tribal elders, Mildred Jones.” Arnie drew Vince farther into the museum.

The woman with the silver Princess Leia braids they’d encountered on the road sat primly in a chair wearing a long jean skirt and calico blouse. Vince shook her bony hand and was surprised at her firm grip.

“Mildred says you were posting signs against the casino, Vince.” Arnie shot Jill a reproachful look. “I told her that couldn’t be.”

Smiling, the mayor—
his wife
—cocked an eyebrow.

“It’s true,” Vince admitted.

“Posting signs that could kill our project?” Arnie opened his mouth as if he’d like to say more, but then his gaze shifted again to Jill. The tribal leader snapped his mouth closed and the room fell into a painful silence.

Jill smirked at Vince, reveling in his impending failure.

Vince smiled right back. This was going to be her payback for not telling him she was the mayor. “You’re missing the point, Arnie. This isn’t about dividing a community. It’s about uniting it. Everyone should have a voice.” Vince smiled at Mildred and then winked at Jill. He may have blown seven deals, but with each loss he’d learned something he was going to use in Railroad Stop.

Bobbing her head, Mildred’s lined blue eyes sparkled.

Arnie stared at Vince and then his frown fell away as he laughed in that slow, heavy way of his. “You’re exactly right.”

Jill’s mouth hung open. Vince would have bet she wanted to set the record straight—that she’d bamboozled and bullied Vince into helping—but any argument Jill had would only make her look bad. Just in case, Vince decided it was time for a change in subject.

Vince crossed the foyer to the door marked Pizza. “Let’s talk, Arnie. Do you think the restaurant can fit us in during the lunch-hour rush?”

“I can see why you married him, dear. He’s a keeper,” Mildred said to Jill. “Why, if I were twenty years younger and you decided you didn’t want him…”

The rest of Mildred’s comment was lost because Arnie drew Vince through the door into the pizza parlor just as two teenagers wearing red polo shirts completed a pass with a Frisbee across the deserted dining area. Seeing Arnie, they dashed behind the counter, stowing the plastic disk beneath it.

Vince looked around the newer addition and then checked his watch. Twelve-thirty on a Saturday was lunchtime in most places he knew.

“Let’s sit down. Jimmy, bring us two waters.” Arnie led Vince over to a wooden picnic table that had various names and messages carved in its top. “You had me worried when Mildred told me about the signs.”

Instead of answering, Vince took another inventory of the place—outdated video games, gumball and sticky hand dispensers. The only thing missing was beer posters.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Arnie interrupted Vince’s perusal. “How can a town like Railroad Stop support an Indian casino when they can barely support a pizza place?”

“Or a gas station, bakery and grocery store,” Vince added.

The taller of the teenagers put two red plastic tumblers filled with water in front of them.

“Vince Patrizio, I’d like you to meet my nephew, Jimmy.” Arnie’s voice glowed with pride.

“Nice to meet you.” Despite goofing off just a few minutes earlier, Jimmy had a strong handshake and met Vince’s gaze squarely even as Vince noticed a long silver scar running from Jimmy’s left elbow to his wrist.

The teen caught him looking and shrugged, for the first time showing a more typical teenager’s indifference. “My dad was fond of knives. Would you like a pizza? Or some buffalo wings?”

“Water’s fine for now, Jimmy.” Arnie dismissed him.

“Nice meeting you,” Jimmy said coolly before returning to the counter.

“My brother…” Arnie glanced back at Jimmy. “When there isn’t a lot of hope or opportunity…well, it’s far too easy for some to develop bad habits or inappropriate attitudes.”

Vince realized there were no beer taps, no wine displays. The evidence that there once had been was standing behind the counter glaring at him. The way Jimmy didn’t hide his scars unsettled Vince. As far as Vince was concerned, the past should remain your own private business. Vince rubbed his arm and then sucked down more water.

“People are our greatest resource.” Arnie’s voice dropped to a near whisper. “And yet can be our greatest obstacle.”

“Is he…is your brother in jail?”

“Yes.” Arnie stared at the ice cubes floating in his glass. “I ran a successful business in Silicon Valley, but my brother could see no farther than his next can of beer. He understood why I had to send him away.” Arnie’s face seemed carved out of stone. “He wanted me to raise Jimmy here.”

Vince gave a tight nod as he pretended interest in the sign for Railroad Stop’s annual father-son river-rafting trip, being held tomorrow.

“As you can imagine, there aren’t many job opportunities in town for our youth. The few positions available go to the older citizens, who have experience. By keeping the pizza parlor open I can give the kids job skills, teach them about customer service, how to work a register and the value of showing up to work prepared and on time.”

“But not everyone can do that.” Not everyone had made a giant nest egg in the dot.com industry. This was the first indication that the project might not be such a good idea and Vince didn’t like it. “You said on the phone that you had tourist traffic here.”

“It’s sporadic,” Arnie admitted, still not back to his blustery self. “Mostly seasonal. Folks northeast of Sacramento pass by on their way to ski in the winter. We’re a gateway to outdoor activities in the summer and fall—rafting, fishing, camping, hunting. A casino would increase our traffic year-round.”

“That’s a big order for any business.”

“Our children either self-destruct or leave. Our heritage will die if we don’t do something.” He met Vince’s stare. “I’m willing to put up the tribe’s stake in this. We will succeed.”

Vince didn’t doubt it. He snuck a glance at Jimmy, who noticed and scowled. “Have you sat down and talked to Jill about this?”

Arnie waved away the question as if shooing off a fly. “She doesn’t want to listen. Her boy is too young yet for her to understand. Besides, Jill thinks vacation homes are the answer when they’ll only stretch the divide between the haves and the have-nots.”

“But the profits from the casino will go to the tribe, not anyone else in town,” Vince felt compelled to point out, even though it was something Jill had said last night.

“We’ll contribute tax dollars from casino profits and payroll taxes.”

“But nothing directly to the town? Nothing to help the rest of the businesses here?”

“We’re an
Indian
casino. The foremost beneficiaries are Native Americans.”

Vince nodded, but it was more a polite indication that he’d heard the words than an agreement.

Arnie’s gaze dropped and he wiped condensation from his glass with his thumb. “I’d like to review the architectural drawings with you Monday morning. I loaned them to the last holdout from the tribal council last night. Once you’ve seen them you’ll understand that the Railroad Stop Indian Casino will be a destination, not a drive-by attraction.”

“Sure. Come up to Shady Oak.”

“So, you’re staying there,” Arnie said. “How’s it going with your…with the mayor?”

“She’ll come around,” Vince replied, knowing it was a lie.

Arnie chuckled again and pounded Vince on the back. “I knew what that girl needed was a man.”

“None of that, Arnie, please.” Jill’s voice was calm but there were two bright spots of color on her cheeks as she stood in the doorway. She spun her wedding ring with her left thumb.

Jill used that ring like a force field to keep men away. She might have suggested divorce, but he didn’t believe Jill really wanted—

“Are you finished? I need to get back.” Jill disappeared without waiting for Vince’s response.

Vince was struck by an idea that his grandfather, a master manipulator, would be proud of. He needed the mayor in his back pocket.

“Sorry about that,” Arnie said, grinning without a bit of remorse, as if he enjoyed pushing Jill’s buttons.

Absently, Vince arranged a time to meet with Arnie Monday morning and hurried to catch up with Jill, pausing at the door to look back at Jimmy, who gave him a defiant stare, his left arm bare for everyone to see, to comment on, to ask about.

Vince turned away.

Things in Railroad Stop were becoming too personal. Vince sucked at personal.

V
INCE HAD TURNED
the tables on Jill. Again. And then he had the nerve to reassure Arnie that she’d come around? She of all people? Agree with Arnie?
Never!

“Can I help you, Mildred?” Jill asked, hesitating outside the museum when she’d rather be hauling tush back to her office without Vince. But there was Mildred, struggling to get her SUV’s door open.

“I’m fine, dear. The lock sticks every once in a while, that’s all.” Half bent, Mildred contorted her frail body, as the tried to turn the key in the lock.

“Here. Let me. I’m good at fixing things.” Vince brushed past Jill, leaving her swaying toward him like a branch in the wind.

The man was a bundle of pheromones, a tempting lure Jill had problems ignoring. “And if you believe that I’ve got a bridge to sell you,” Jill mumbled.

With a glance over his shoulder, Vince hesitated at the windshield before turning to Mildred. Then he did a double take. “Is that a dog in the driver’s seat?”

“Oh, that.” Mildred giggled. “That’s Horace. He’s my antitheft device.”

“He’s huge.” Vince peered through the front of the car. “Is he a…monkey?”

“Yes,” Mildred preened, clearly under the effect of Vince’s spell. She didn’t see that Vince had the power to destroy her quiet, predictable life. “I won him at the state fair several years back knocking down milk jugs. I was an all-state pitcher in my day. I still work out. Want to feel my muscle?” She flexed one stringy arm.

“Ah…how about I try your key, instead?” Keeping his distance, Vince held out his hand.

“You young men don’t know what you’re missin’.” With a shake of her silver earmuff hairdo, Mildred gave Vince the key. “Have you looked at your man’s shoulders, Jill? You don’t see shoulders like that around here very often. Don’t you just love being held by such a hunky guy?”

Jill declined to take the bait. Vince’s shoulders were rather nice, but strong shoulders meant an ability to control and overpower a woman. It was bad enough they were locked in this battle of wits.

Unaware of Jill’s thoughts, Vince rolled his eyes in Jill’s direction. “Mildred, do you know Edda Mae?”

Mildred beamed. “She’s my best friend. Has been since third grade. Why?”

“I don’t know. Something about the way you talk about me—almost as if I wasn’t there.” He fiddled with the key in the lock until it screeched in protest and clicked. Vince opened the door, peered in and then turned back to Mildred. “A steering-wheel lock? I thought Horace was your antitheft device.”

“You can’t be too careful. I’ll have you know—” Mildred put her nose in the air “—this was one of the first SUVs ever built. It’s a classic and has always been a target of thieves.”

“That’s what I heard, too,” Vince said, gifting Mildred with a charming smile that had her bubbling her thanks.

The vermin. Clearly he’d hatched some kind of demented plan with Arnie, and it involved humiliating Jill in front of each one of her constituents.

And Vince kept right on smiling as he hopped up onto the wood-plank sidewalk next to Jill.

Bidding Mildred goodbye, Jill started walking at a clip designed to leave Vince in her dust.

“So…we learned something today. You, the
mayor,
don’t want a casino,” Vince said, easily catching up to Jill.

“Uh-huh.” Jill walked faster.

“Arnie, the tribal leader, wants a casino and you, but probably wants the casino more.”

“Arnie wants Shady Oak. Since he couldn’t buy it…” She shrugged, wondering where this was leading.

“No interest in Arnie? He’s not husband material?”

“Arnie?” She made a disgusted noise. “I’m not divorcing you to marry Arnie, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Just making sure.” Without breaking stride, Vince bent closer and spoke into her ear, sending heat where he had no right to send it. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Two in one day? How does a girl get so lucky?” Jill felt rather breathless, but that could have been because she was walking so fast.

“This is one you’ll find very interesting,
wife.
” He caught Jill’s arm.

Jill’s heart pounded double-time as warmth radiated from his hand. She couldn’t help but think that if this was her Vince, the Vince she’d daydreamed about for years, she’d turn and fall into his arms, welcome his waiting kiss and confirm in no uncertain terms that she didn’t want a divorce or Arnie.

But this wasn’t her Vince, as evidenced by the way he led her into the shade of a narrow alley, fenced her against a wall behind the local gift shop’s cypress bush and tilted her chin up so that she had no choice but to look him in the eye.

“I learned something else about you today.” He gave her the smallest of grins. “You don’t want a divorce.”

“I—I do want a divorce,” Jill stammered.

Vince shook his head sadly. “No, you don’t. I may be a pretty boy with nice shoulders,” Vince said, reminding her of Edda Mae’s and Mildred’s assessments. The intensity of his black gaze ignited something he had no right to ignite while Jill was dreading…contemplating divorce. “You accused me of using our marriage to keep women at a distance emotionally, but you use our marriage and that ring of yours like a security fence—to keep men away physically.”

There was no reason to answer. He was right. She licked her lips, unwittingly drawing his attention to her mouth.

Vince was near enough that panic skittered along Jill’s nerves—not that he seemed to care. All she had to do was lift a hand to touch him. Part of her begged for space, for freedom, while the rest of her pleaded to close the distance between them.

“I can give you back what Craig took away.” After a moment’s hesitation Vince stroked Jill’s cheek with the back of his hand, the warm metal of his wedding band sending a delicious shiver that shortcircuited her brain. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Then you wouldn’t need this—” his fingers found hers and spun her wedding ring in a languorous circle “—or me.”

But Jill
did
need Vince. Jill trembled from wanting him to touch her, yearning for him to work that magic with those lips of his. If only she wouldn’t freak out when he did.

Unable to take it anymore, Jill closed her eyes.

“All you have to do is reach out—” his warm breath drifted over her ear, tauntingly magnetic “—and take me.”

Could it be that easy? Could she trust him?

“Jill?” Vince held himself back, kept himself from claiming Jill with the contact he craved.

He was no fool. As soon as he made his offer—an idea that had come to him in the pizza parlor earlier—Jill would never let him near her again. And who could blame her? He was going to use Jill, as his grandfather had used hundreds of others in his quest to seal a deal. It didn’t matter that the result would justify the means. There was little hope Vince could make Jill believe in the casino. The only way to garner her loyalty was to deal for it and hope she was desperate enough to take the bait.

So he stood mere inches away from Jill and waited for her answer, aching to kiss her one last time. He didn’t expect her to take up his challenge, because she didn’t have the courage to reach for him. Unlike Vince, Jill lacked the nerve to risk everything for something she wanted.

Jill’s unexpected touch on his arm shocked Vince backward. If she hadn’t grabbed his shirt, he might have fallen. Jill’s face drained of color as she took in his surprise. She tried to shove him back, but Vince’s feet were planted on the ground.

“You tried to kiss me,” Vince blurted, still stunned.

Jill backed against the wall, fists clenched, cheeks a bright red. “Don’t play with me like that. I want you off my property
today.
” She wound her arm back as if to slap him.

Vince captured her wrist. “It’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it? You told me you’d do anything to make this deal happen. Since I’m about the only person standing in your way, I’d like to know. What is it you’re going to use against me?
Sex.
” She whispered the word, her gaze slipping away.

He let her go. “Jill…”

“So the rest…about Craig. That was just you toying with me.”

“No. I wouldn’t do that to you.” It was weird. He cared for Jill and he wanted her to be happy, but that didn’t stop Vince from using her if it was to his advantage. He was the ultimate jerk and he was consumed with second thoughts, but what if she agreed…

Something in the way Vince looked at Jill must have given him away, because she didn’t back down. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “So, what’s this proposition?”

Don’t tell her. Don’t say it. Don’t—

“Marriage.” Vince’s dry mouth had difficulty forming the word. “If what you want is to continue business as usual, we can stay married the way we have been—just as friends.”

He’d struck a chord. Some of the fire left Jill for just a moment. Then she frowned. “In exchange for…?”

Jill was forcing Vince to say it, making him squirm like the snake she thought he was. “You’ll always feel safe wearing my ring. I’ll stay married to you—if you support this casino deal.”

She slapped him.

But as Vince followed Jill back to the truck, he held on to one thought: she hadn’t turned him down.

“E
DDA
M
AE’S CRYING
again.” Teddy met the truck at the top of the driveway, standing on his toes to hang on Jill’s open window.

“I’ll take care of it,” Jill assured Teddy, fairly certain she knew what was bothering Edda Mae.

As soon as Jill parked Edda Mae’s truck, Vince opened his door, but Jill threw her arm across his chest. She hadn’t spoken to him since he’d made her his
oh-so-generous
offer. He was probably wondering why she hadn’t given him an answer.

Jill was pondering her options. If she took the high road, kicked him out and divorced him and somehow managed to foil his plans, someone else was bound to come along with more charm and more money. If she accepted his deal, she’d be in on the negotiations with Arnie and perhaps be able to convince them of the folly of a casino. But accepting Vince’s offer meant that temptation, in the form of Vince, remained. Vince recognized that Jill was attracted to him and was just playing with her emotions. Jill wasn’t sure how much more she could take. In the end, there was no choice.

“I’ll handle this. If you want to help—” ha! as if Vince could help “—keep Teddy occupied…while you pack. I’m going to take you up on your proposal, but only if you move out and keep me in the meetings loop on the casino. It wasn’t fair of you to run out with Arnie earlier.”

“No way.” Vince rubbed his cheek, reminding her he’d taken the last hit. “I either stay here or all deals are null and void.”

“I can’t agree to your terms.” Jill didn’t wait for Vince to comment, but popped out her side of the truck. “Which bungalow, Teddy?”

“Nine.” Teddy pointed to one of the most remote cabins.

Edda Mae was putting a rocking chair through its paces on the porch of Bungalow Nine, a tissue crumpled in one fist and Moonbeam curled in a tight ball in her lap.

Balancing her rump on the railing across from the older woman, Jill settled in. Sometimes it took several minutes for Edda Mae to feel like talking.

“Francie called,” Edda Mae woefully admitted after a while, staring off into the distance. “Little Maria came down with the chicken pox, so Francie had to miss work again.”

Francie meant well when she called her mother, but their conversations generally drove Edda Mae to tears. This time with good reason. There was nothing as upsetting as mommy guilt. Or in this case grandmommy guilt.

“You could go,” Jill suggested softly, her brain snapping through coping scenarios. A group from a credit union in the valley was checking in tomorrow. How could Jill possibly run the three-day event without Edda Mae? There would be laundry and dishes and cooking, not to mention guests to be schmoozed.

“When Francie moved away, I always thought it was temporary, that she’d come back.” Edda Mae sniffed. “When she called to tell me she was pregnant I could barely breathe, I was that certain she’d tell me she was finally coming home.” Edda Mae stroked Moonbeam’s snowy fluff.

“I know,” Jill acknowledged gently.

“Generations of my family have lived here. Look at these trees.” Edda Mae gestured weakly at the pines twenty feet beyond the cabin. “Those trees are older than I am. Who knows what they’ve seen. How could Francie leave all that history behind?”

“She went to college. That’s something a mother should be proud of.” But suddenly Jill didn’t want Teddy to go off to school. He was all she had. If he left…Jill didn’t want to think about it, more so because it opened the floodgates to Vince’s casino arguments.

“
Pah,
who needs college. You didn’t go and look how well you’ve done. All college does is seduce you with technology and crowds and…” Edda Mae’s face crumpled. “She’s never coming back, is she?”

Jill knelt at the foot of the rocker and covered one of Edda Mae’s hands with her own. “She might.” If Vince opened a casino in Railroad Stop, there’d be a finance job Francie was qualified for. Maybe she should agree to the deal with Vince. But Railroad Stop—and Jill—would never be the same and neither would the experience she could offer guests at Shady Oak. “Why don’t you take some time off? Go help Francie take care of Maria? You could leave Monday morning and come back Sunday.”

The day after the credit union checked out, a group of nuns was checking in. They were spending their time at Shady Oak under a vow of silence and paying a heavily discounted rate for simple food, peace and quiet.

There was a flash of hope in the older woman’s eyes that quickly faded. “Who would cook for you?”

“I have your recipe book. And Teddy.” She’d manage. Somehow.

“Loyalty is built through the belly,” Edda Mae countered staunchly.

“Last week you said my biscuits came out well.”

“Humph.”

“And lasagna. I can make lasagna.” If Jill made a quick trip down the hill to Costco, she could pick up a couple of frozen trays of—

“If you so much as breathe the words
frozen food,
I’ll chain myself to the stove.” Edda Mae knew Jill too well.