Back for Seconds (2 page)

His gaze was as direct as his tone. “Because I’m not.” Her jaw dropped as she stared at him. “Face it, Joely, we’ve been coasting for years. We don’t talk. We don’t have sex. We are really nothing more than glorified roommates. Be honest. Is this what you wanted for your life?”

Her answer was immediate. “Yes. This is what we signed up for, you and me. For better, for worse. Remember?”

“Those were promises made by clueless twenty-year-olds,” he dismissed easily as he stopped next to the door. It was as though he couldn’t wait to get away from her.

“Clueless twenty-year-olds who loved each other,” she corrected.

He smirked. “This isn’t some fairy tale, Joely. This is real life. And sometimes there aren’t any happily ever afters.”

She wanted to scream at him, telling him there could be if they were both willing to fight for it. For Russell Morgan that fight was over.

He left her to her task so that he could spend a little more time with the kids. By the time she headed downstairs, she realized that many of their things weren’t even packed. She had hoped to be out of there by sundown, but thanks to Russell she now had at least two more hours of work to do.

“Just leave their stuff here,” he shrugged. “They’re going to be visiting twice a month anyway. Might as well leave it as familiar and welcoming as possible.”

She noted that exemption only applied for the children. He hadn’t stopped her from packing everything she owned and removing it from the house. “Fine,” she responded tightly. “The movers will be here tomorrow at seven o’clock.” She turned to her three kids. Hannah burst into tears as she flung herself at her Daddy. He picked her up and cuddled her close, crooning into her ear.

“Now, now,” he said as he kissed her hair. “Be a big girl. It’s going to be all right.” She was still inconsolable as he placed her back onto her feet. He turned to Nash, who was doing his best not to cry. His eyes were glassy and his lip quivered as he faced his father, who ruffled his hair. “You’re the man of the house now,” he said. “I want you to be strong for the girls.”

Joely had to wonder if she was included in that group. She suspected not. In every way Joely was no longer Russell’s concern.

Russell turned to Kari, who fell apart as she  threw her arms around his neck. “I don’t want to go,” she wailed as she clung to him.

“I know, Kare-Bear,” he said as he patted her back. “But you’ll be back before you know it.” He tried to untangle her arms, but she had a death grip. His voice was soft and sure. “Come on, now. It won’t be as bad as you think.”

“It’s awful,” she sobbed into his neck. “Please don’t make me go.”

The pain in her voice tore at Joely’s heart. She hated to see her daughter so devastated. And she hated Russell for it, more every day. “Give it some time,” Russell told his daughter. “You’ll see that this is the best thing for everyone.”

“It’s just best for you!” she hollered, her mood turning on a dime. With that she grabbed her bags and ran from the house. Nash shuffled his feet behind her, holding Hannah’s hand in his.

Joely turned to Russell. He reached down for an envelope on the table in their huge foyer. For all the things she had hoped he’d say, he said nothing at all. He handed her the envelope, which, from the blue checkered paper within the clear window, she could tell contained a check. He was paying her to take care of his children, but more importantly he was paying her to leave. She took it without saying anything, stuffed it in her purse and walked out of that $350,000 home with her head held high.

It was the dinner rush by the time Joely and the kids got to Lillian’s Place, a decades-old establishment on Interstate 20 that offered good country cooking at reasonable prices for all those folks passing through town. They didn’t get to see a whole lot of Abilene from the Interstate, since much of the town developed south of the highway. But Lillian’s Place offered some hometown hospitality for anyone who walked through the doors, and had for twenty years. This made it a perennial favorite for tourists and locals alike.

Lillian Murphy had been widowed at the age of thirty-seven. Joe Murphy left behind a sizeable life insurance policy, which ultimately paid for Joely’s college and wedding, leaving Lillian plenty of money to live well for several years.

She decided to take a risk and open her own restaurant with her mother, Faye Quinlan. Thanks to their ideal location on the freeway, and their award-winning food, Lillian began the second part of her life in earnest as an unexpected businesswoman. She was a huge success, though no one who knew her was surprised about that. She had enough sass and personality to pull off such a feat, and running a restaurant was a much better fit for her than any other job she could have found. “Live your passion,” she had told Joely again and again through the years. “You might surprise yourself.”

But Joely had never been anything like her mother. She liked things slow, steady and predictable. Starting one’s own business was a risky venture at best, and Joely had never really figured out what she wanted to do beyond raising her kids.

As she entered that warm, homey restaurant that night, she knew that she’d have to figure something out and fast. Russell’s check was generous, but it would never be enough to meet their needs, and she wouldn’t have wanted to depend on it even if it did. She was in the position she was in because she had entrusted her entire life, her security as well as her happiness, to another person. Because of this, that one person could sweep the rug completely out from under her and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it.

She decided ten days ago that would never happen to her again.

She greeted the hostess with a smile. She and her kids were familiar patrons, so they were immediately seated at one of the tables in the back. Lillian made a beeline across the room to greet them. “There’s my brood!” she gushed as she kissed each grandchild. “Getting done a little later than you thought, huh?”

Joely nodded as she looked down at her kids. Lillian could tell immediately how hard the day had been on everyone. “You just relax. I’ll take care of dinner and then we’ll head home.” She turned to Hannah. “How does that sound?”

Hannah was still weepy but she nodded her head. Lillian hugged her neck and kissed her again.

“It’s going to be all right, baby girl,” she promised. Her firm squeeze of Joely’s arm promised the same for her devastated daughter. The vivacious silver-haired fifty-six-year-old headed for the kitchen.

Joely corralled all of the kids into the red leather booth around the big oak table. A waiter promptly appeared to fill their water glasses. He was tall, dark-haired and beautiful, wearing a smile as big as Texas.

“Welcome to Lillian’s Place. Can I get y’all some iced tea?”

Joely nodded. “Yes, I’ll take one. The kids will have milk.”

“I want a soda,” Kari snapped as she glared at her mother.

“No caffeine this late,” Joely responded.

“Do you need a minute?” the waiter asked. She glanced at his name tag.

“No, thank you, Mason.” Joely said. “One tea and three milks, thanks.”

Mason scribbled the order on a pad before he disappeared. Joely turned to Kari. “I don’t appreciate your talking back to me, young lady. Despite everything else, the rules haven’t changed.”

“Everything’s changed,” she mumbled as she slouched in the corner of the booth. She pulled out her phone but Joely’s glare made her put it back in her purse.

Mason returned with the drinks and a bread basket full of homemade biscuits and jalapeno cornbread. “Are you ready to order?”

“I’m Lillian’s daughter,” she informed him. “My mother’s taking care of it.”

He lit up as he realized who she was. “Oh my God, Joely! I’m so excited to meet you. Lillian raves about you all the time.”

Joely nodded with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Let me go see what Lillian has prepared for you. If you need anything, just holler.”

She smiled as she watched him dash off to the kitchen. His accent was a little more pronounced. She assumed that he was new in town. He was certainly new to the staff if he didn’t know who she was. But he was as hospitable as anyone who got the chance to work at Lillian’s. She hired only the best and the brightest, and paid them well for their service.

Mason returned a little later, balancing four huge plates on a large tray. Lillian had gone all out to make this sad homecoming a little more pleasant. She picked out everyone’s favorite meals. Hannah got chicken strips and French fries, Nash got a big gooey hamburger and both Kari and Joely were served chicken fried chicken with a dollop of chunky mashed potatoes on the side, smothered with cream gravy.

It was a virtual feast. From the first bite Joely knew that her Grandma Faye was hard at work in the kitchen.

Faye Quinlan was also a widow and a retiree when Lillian opened her restaurant. She figured since she didn’t have anything else to do, she’d help her daughter get her business off the ground with some of her tried and true homestyle recipes. Instead, she found a whole new career. Everyone fell in love with her country cookin’, which kept them coming back for more. Travelers who regularly passed through town made it a point to stop at Lillian’s Place for a bite to eat, often telling her they could smell her food from a hundred miles out. It gave Faye a new purpose. She wasn’t just feeding her family anymore, she was feeding the world. You couldn’t blast the feisty septuagenarian out of there with dynamite.

She and Lillian shared that big house in Old Elmwood, the one Joe Morgan had inherited from his family. It was home for most of Joely’s life, which was one of the most reassuring things about going back there. She was also looking forward to spending more time with her Grandma. Maybe she’d even help her cook, since it was the only thing Joely had ever really been good at.

With each bite she wondered how she could ever measure up to Faye, known affectionately throughout West Texas as everyone’s Granny Faye. Her food was the best in town, arguably in the state. Joely was nearly halfway done with the heaping mound of food when Lillian finally came back out to join them. She scooted onto the booth next to her daughter.

“How’s everything?”

“Perfection,” Joely answered with a mouthful of food. “Tell Granny Faye she outdid herself.”

“Please,” Lillian scoffed. “She can barely get her head through the door as it is.”

Joely smiled. The women in her family had all shared a special kind of relationship, where they could tease each other mercilessly, never letting anyone get away with anything. But there was nobody more devoted, as Joely had sadly come to learn. No one was going to be there for her like her mama or her grandma.

Her gaze slid to Kari, who was pushing her food around her plate with a noticeable pout. Joely hoped one day that they could have that kind of bond between them. They just had to live through the horrors of adolescence first.

She made a mental note to apologize to her mother once again for all the stuff she had put her through when she was younger.

Lillian spotted someone across the room and tapped her daughter’s arm. “There’s someone I want you to meet.” She waved her hand and Joely followed her line of vision until it fell upon a tall man with brown hair and dark hazel eyes. He wore a dress shirt, slacks and a tie, and his sharp angular face was sparsely covered with stylish stubble. He smiled wide as he approached the table.

“Xander, this is my daughter, Joely, and these are her kids, Hannah, Nash and Kari. Everyone, this is Xander Davy, my new restaurant manager.”

Joely wiped her face with her napkin before she accepted his handshake. There was a teasing light in his eyes as he smiled. “It’s so nice to meet you, Joely,” he said, with an unexpected British accent, which made her name sound foreign to her own ears.  “Your mother has told me so much about you.” He proceeded to shake her kids’ hands too, which actually flustered the normally sullen Kari. “I hope you’re enjoying your meal.”

“Always,” Joely assured him. His smile deepened.

“Good to hear,” he said. “Your mother tells me you’re a bit of a cook yourself. I can’t wait to see if talent runs in the family.”

“If you can convince her, you’re one step ahead of me,” Lillian teased. “The restaurant biz never held any appeal for my Joely.”

He nodded and then asked the most logical next question. “So what do you do?”

Her pat answer, that she was a stay-at-home mom, died on her lips. That wasn’t true anymore, yet another change. Her voice was strained as she answered. “I’m in between stuff right now.”

He placed a hand affectionately on Lillian’s shoulder. “I’m sure Lillian can help figure out something. I’m fully convinced there’s nothing your mother can’t do.”

Lillian blushed a little herself as she brushed the compliment away with the wave of her hand. “You sweet talker, you. Save it for the customers.”

He chuckled before he gave her a small salute. He turned back to her guests. “It was lovely to meet you all. I hope to see you again soon,” he said with a wink at Joely, which made her stomach flutter.

It had been a long time since a good-looking man had even spared her a second glance, much less offered some innocent flirt.

She was still flustered when he turned to visit another table, to check in with the customers, that personal touch that Lillian’s Place was known for. Lillian turned to Joely. “Are we almost ready to go home?”

“I never wanted to leave home,” Kari muttered just under her breath, but loud enough for the table to hear. Lillian was immediately sympathetic, but Joely glared at her daughter, a warning to be polite.

“I’ll go get my purse and Granny Faye. We’ll meet you at the house.”

Joely nodded and Lillian once again disappeared in back.  Joely turned to her brood. Hannah’s head bobbed as she rubbed her eyes. It had been an emotional day for all of them. She led them from the booth and toward the door, passing the saloon-styled bar near the entrance. Xander was there, chatting up a beautiful patron who wore a slinky black mini-dress, her blonde hair teased high. He may have spared Joely a wink, but the woman nursing a tall, colorful mixed drink clearly earned the platinum package of his charm. He leaned close, smiled wide and kept his dark eyes focused on her full lips.

He was taking that hometown hospitality a little too seriously for Joely’s taste. It reminded her immediately of Russell, giving her some unwanted insight what he was probably doing with his first night of freedom. She was as cranky as her kids as she pushed open the double doors and headed out to the parking lot near the noisy freeway.

Joely beat her mother and grandmother home. She already had a key so she and the kids went inside. She turned on the lights and the kids followed her quietly into the large living room just off of the foyer. The furniture was a neutral bone color, and the walls were painted a light blue. Red popped from the paintings and the throw pillows and candles, which sat tall in wrought-iron candelabras on the polished oak tables.

Though her kids had been in this homey room many times before, they wandered around aimlessly, uncertain of what to do next. It wasn’t their furniture. It wasn’t their front room. They were suddenly ill at ease, faced with all the huge changes taking place without their consent. Joely empathized with them more than they knew.

“Let’s put our things up in our rooms,” she suggested as she lifted her bag as well as Hannah’s. The kids did what they were told, following their mother up the spiral staircase to the second floor. Since they had stayed with their grandma before, each already had a designated room. Joely was grateful for that. It would make the next few months a little more bearable. By the time she got to Hannah’s room, adjacent to her own, her youngest was practically asleep standing up. Joely picked her up, carried her to the bathroom and got her ready for bed. She was out cold by the time Joely tucked her into her pretty pink sheets, covered with an old white eyelet blanket. She kissed Hannah’s head before she left the room, turning out the light as she went.

When she reached the ground floor, her two eldest were watching TV in the large family room. Well, Nash was watching TV, flipping through channels, doing anything to avoid conversation. Kari, who was desperate for someone to recognize her suffering, was waiting for her doting great-grandmother, practically pouncing her when Lillian and Granny Faye walked in the back door.

Granny Faye did not disappoint. She swept the young girl in a powerful bear hug. “Don’t you worry,” she promised her. “Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”

Tears poured from her cheeks as Kari clung to her. Granny Faye’s rotund figure made her a great hugger. No one ever wanted to let go first.

“Y’all know the drill,” Lillian announced as everyone walked into the living room. “Same room. Same rules. Same Nanna and same Granny Faye. I expect everyone to make themselves at home while you’re here.”