Bring on the Rain (16 page)

“
Later.”

“
I can see something is
wrong,” Ruby persisted.

“
Did Mrs. Dovie summon
you?”

Ruby winced and nodded. “A week
ago.”

“
What did she
say?”

“
She said I was too young
for Jude back then. She was sorry she scared me, and I was better
off not having gained what I thought I wanted.”

“
Meaning Jude?”

“
Yes, though she admitted,
marrying him to Amy Brown was a bad idea. She said I was an
unstable girl.”

Madeline smiled sadly and shook her
head.

“
Well I was, and Jude had
his own problems then too.” Ruby confessed wryly. “Now, about
Jenna.”

“
Yes?”

“
I don't know what is going
on. He doesn’t go in her house, but Jenna went to his place
twice.”

“
Did she stay all
night?”

“
No, a couple of hours, but
I went by the hospital and talked to her. She was tense and uptight
and told me to mind my own damn business.” Ruby sighed and shoved a
hand through her wind-blown curls. “Could be she was tired, you
know how she gets. I thought maybe she and Karla were having a row,
because Karla was in town the other day, sitting on the hood of her
car, flirting with a bunch of no-goods.” Ruby snorted. “That kid is
growing up way too fast. She’s in too much of a hurry.”

“
So, we can’t say anything
about Tony?”

“
Jenna accused me of being
envious. Like she thought I have a thing for him?” Ruby frowned.
”Do you think he would tell her something like that? Maybe to head
us off? He‘s not stupid, but he‘s sly somehow.”

“
I wouldn’t doubt
it.”

“
Damn, I wish she didn’t
work so much. I can’t believe she can’t see through
him.”

“
What’s he been up
to?”

“
Taking pictures. He made a
couple of out of town trips.”

Madeline closed her eyes a second
before admitting, “I almost hope it’s just sex. I really do. What’s
Nick doing?”

Ruby finished off a soda she was
drinking, then told her, “Brooding, but he went out, to a movie.
Can you believe it? Out.”

“
That’s good.” Madeline was
happy for her brother.

Ruby nodded. “He’s not slopping around
much. He cleaned our studio and the house and did
laundry.”

She pat her arm. “I think he’s going to
be all right. He worked on Wall Street. Between that kind of
pressure and the breakup of his marriage, he probably crashed
emotionally.”

“
Probably.”

“
I got to' work.” Madeline
pulled away from the half wall and eyed the outfit her friend wore.
A deep yellow dress that was form fitting and a funky hat that
should have looked silly lying on the table, she had on strappy
shoes. “I swear, Ruby. You could put on rags and look
attractive.”

Ruby snorted and crunched a peanut.
“I’m trying to get laid, is it obvious?”

Madeline laughed. “By who?”

“
Actually, I thought I’d try
Sunny.”

“
Good luck.” Madeline
chuckled.

“
What’s that look? You don't
think he’s gay, do you?”

“
No, Rafe and I were just
joking. But he is conceitedly masculine. Sunny is cool. However, he
is also rich and successful and has females panting after him all
the time. He might not even take a pass serious.”

Ruby sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably
right, and my ego couldn’t take a blow right now.”

“
Rafael would probably
oblige you.”

Ruby choked on a peanut and thumped her
chest. “There’s something about that young man that makes you think
he’s hot when he’s clothed, but if he takes them off, I’d probably
have a heart attack. Those eyes, whew! Makes you feel like a dirty
old woman thinking about it.”

She leaned around to see where the
young man was working over by a table. “Just look at that cute
little ass? I haven’t seen anything that hard since I did marble
carvings in art school.”

“
You're crazy.” Madeline put
her hand over her mouth smothering a loud giggle.

“
Not that much though. Ah,
don’t worry about it. I got an old standby, and I do mean old. I
hate to fall back on the routine.” Ruby curled her lip.

Madeline’s brow went up. “Anyone I
know?”

“
Nah, a dentist in the next
town.”

“
Married?”

“
Never has been. Still lives
with Mama.”

“
That’s scary.”

“
Not as scary as having sex
with him.”

Again Madeline laughed. “So, why do
you?”

“
I don't want to dry up.”
Ruby snorted but admitted. “Seriously, I get lonely. I don't have a
kid, well sometimes Nick is like having a sulky one, but as much as
I love my art, I got no muse, you know? I always feel empty
afterwards, always hate myself, and feel like I could eat chocolate
and get more turned on than I do with him.”

“
Why don't you try Jude
again?”

“
For the same reason you are
avoiding Mitch. Don’t give me that look. The man would take you
back in a heartbeat.”

“
He doesn't know me anymore,
and I’m not in love with him. I’m not getting involved.”

“
Something is keeping you up
nights.”

“
I’ll tell you later. Come
by the house one evening, we’ll talk.” Madeline moved away. “I
think for all he pretends otherwise, Jude wouldn’t turn down sex
with you. See you later.”

“
Nor Mitch with you.” Ruby
watched her walk away and called out dryly “Madeline, you’re a big
chicken, with a capital C.”

Madeline looked over her shoulder and
shrugged, smiling.

Copper Creek…

Mitch peeled off his sweaty T-shirt and
sat down on the porch. Taking a long pull of tepid thermos coffee
and sighing tiredly. He had been staying on the job site, in a
camper that was a hybrid between a cracker box and tuna can. A box
fan didn’t do it and the dust and mud along with the headache of
trying to meet a deadline was making him sore headed. He had chewed
half his crew out and made everyone so tense they were making
obscene gestures at him they didn‘t bother hiding.

He finally left after one of his lead
men got in his face and told him to back the hell off. “Shit,” he
cussed and set the cup down, lying back on the porch floor and
looking up at the slat ceiling.

He had thought to give himself time and
distance, and all he had done was put his guys through hell and
almost lost the best crew he’d ever had. They didn’t need him
breathing down their necks, they were well skilled, and every crew
had an on-site boss they were used to working with. The big one
coming around got their nose out of joint…

Rain delayed the job, not the men. And,
piss-poor deliveries from other companies. The plumbing crew was
having a shit fit needing to run their pipe and the HVAC people had
not shown up, and his roofers were chomping at the bit. All the
codes had to be met, and the owner of the little mini mall was a
pain in the ass who knew nothing of construction.

He should have let his top guys do what
they did best. But no. He had to take his bad mood with him, until
it caused problems and he had spent an entire day making amends. In
fact, he had ordered all the crews pizza and got lost before they
all quit on him.

He sat up again, needing a bath and
shave. He groaned as he rose and headed inside to do just that. Not
feeling normal, or close to it, until he was under the water a good
hour and had scraped off his beard.

Dressed in dark blue Levi’s and a
short-sleeved dove gray shirt, he pulled on his boots. Standing in
his bedroom, he combed his silvering hair, figuring he would get it
cut soon. When he was younger, he kept it long and layered. Now it
was more silver than black and he was a businessman, he had to look
at least half way like one. He left it up to the discretion of the
stylist, because his hair was thick. She assured him the cuts were
G Q.

He didn’t care one way or the other, so
long as he didn’t have to do anything but dry and comb
it.

He made fresh coffee and went out to
the porch in time to see his son pull up in his work truck. He
watched Jason get out and toss his hard hat in through the
half-open window. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler in
the bed, and came up the steps looking as dusty and tired as he had
been earlier.

“
What’s up?” Jason
asked.

“
Just got in.
Coffee?”

“
No. Shit, that place was
dry inside. I’ve drank water all day trying to breathe. The drywall
crew old Mason hired is doing a crappy job too. Looks like they
stood back and threw it.”

“
It’s an art for sure. Some
guys are so good they make it look effortless.” He knew his son was
finishing a job for one of the wealthy businessmen in town. It was
worse than commercial contracts. Private owners changed their minds
a dozen times and sometimes insisted on hair-brained designs that
never worked. However, Jason did them, and sometimes undid and
re-did until it finally got through to people they should take his
advice.

He knew it was part of earning that
word of mouth reputation no amount of advertisement could beat.
However, it was hell doing a good job when other hired crews did
slip-shod work. He had gained his own rep the same way Jason would,
doing a good job for the customer.

Jason sat on the porch edge, facing him
since he had taken the rocker. He raised his knee and hooked the
end of his steel-toed shockproof boots on the edge. “You get a
call, about Dovie?”

“
Yeah. Guess I’ll go over
there tonight. Looks like she’s going fast. They said she wouldn’t
be awake much now.”

“
You going to deal with it
okay?”

“
Yep.” Mitch took a drink of
coffee. “Got no choice.”

“
She summoned Madeline
Logan.”

Mitch eyed him. “Yeah? Did she
come?”

“
I brought her.”

Their gazes clashed and held.
“Yeah?”

“
She didn’t want to. But she
came. She looked nice that day...had on peach. I showed her my
house too.”

His cheeks were tense. Mitch was trying
to hold back and just seem generally interested. He felt emotions
churning inside him. “All that, huh? Y’all must have talked
some?”

“
Some. But Madeline’s all
about things staying in the past and how you two are not the same.
She said she couldn’t blame Dovie or Jude, or anyone for the
choices you made.”

Mitch looked away and murmured, “That’s
right, I reckon Grandma must have done like she said, else she’d
never have asked for Madeline. It is tough, damned tough, when you
can’t get mad as hell over it. What point is there in yelling,
having a fit on Dovie now?”

“
I think she made it right.
She cried and held Madeline’s hand. Madeline kissed Dovie’s cheek
and said something that seemed to give Grandma Peace. Because, she
didn’t summon anyone else. And the nurse said she wasn’t crying
anymore.”

Mitch nodded thoughtfully, thoughts
converging with questions in his mind.

“
Dad? How can you stand
it?”

Mitch looked at him, his brow raised in
question.

“
Come on. You have loved her
the whole time, all this time. How did you stay away from
her?”

“
It destroyed me,” Mitch
husked looking away.

“
You know different now
though. All this time she has been divorced and hasn’t dated from
what I hear. There‘s something telling in that.”

Quietly Mitch admitted, “I used to
drive by her place. From playing the Tavern, I feel as if I have
watched Madeline grow and age. She still looks ten years younger
than she is.” Mitch sighed, “Madeline has something. It never
changes. But she’s…”

“
Other than your hair
turning silver, you don't look old yourself. You guys had kids
young. There’s a lifetime left, if you want it.”

Mitch laughed humorlessly, and rubbed
the back of his neck. He looked down at the road. “Madeline and me
have too much said, and unsaid between us. Hell, when she married
Bud Logan…I used to look at him and think, no way is she getting
what she needs from that anal twerp. He used to carry a rag and
wipe his car all the time. I saw him in town once, at one of those
political dinners. I was sitting with Mike Jeffers, the sheriff,
and he was a table down with her. She looked beautiful. He was
talking to her as if she was a kid. He hissed at her. It pissed me
off so bad I left. I don't know why she married him.”

“
Rebound no doubt. Maybe
grief, loneliness.”

“
Probably, but the guy
wasn’t faithful either, which blows my mind.”

Jason smiled, no doubt seeing that
faraway look in Mitch’s eyes. He mentally brought himself around as
Jason said, “Did you ever think of hooking up with her after he
took off?”