Divine Temptation (26 page)

His shoulders lifted as he took in a deep breath. “I’m too ashamed to say.”

Maggie waited, giving him the opportunity to continue, but when he didn’t, she asked, “Did the monsignor do something to you? You can tell me. I’m on your side. No matter what, I’ll back you up.”

He squeezed her hands. “People…are not always what they seem. Don’t be quick to judge, and don’t trust blindly.” His grip tightened until it almost hurt as he peered at her through eyes that were suddenly more clear and wide. “Be wary of strangers. Anyone who’s come into your life this last year. And pray, Maggie.
Pray
. Keep your heart with the Lord. Promise me!”

Her head bobbed as if she thought she could reassure him with the velocity of her nod. “I will.”

His grip relaxed and he settled back into his chair, but his brow held tight in concern. Maggie closed her eyes, and began to recite the Our Father and then the Hail Mary. He joined in and they recited a few more prayers together. When they finished, he thanked her for coming and wished her a happy Thanksgiving. Then his focus once again turned toward the window, and she knew it was his way of dismissing her.

The kids ran off with Carl as soon as they arrived at his place so he could demonstrate the capabilities of his brand new, monstrously huge TV, and Maggie carried her bag of food into the kitchen, where Melissa busily tended the various pots and dishes.

“I brought some wine,” Maggie announced. “Figured the two of us could use it, so I bought the big boy.” She pulled an oversized bottle of Chardonnay out of the bag and plopped it on the counter. “I brought food, too.”

“Ah yes, the oven’s all ready for your world famous sweet potatoes.”

While the two women went about their work, Maggie asked, “So how’s the real estate biz?”

“Always slow this time of year, but I’ve got a client who absolutely insists on being in a house by Christmas, so I’m in the market for a motivated seller.”

“Too many of those these days.”

“That’s sadly true. But I’m seeing fewer and fewer. So, how’s the church biz?”

“Eh, kind of weird lately.”

“Oh yeah, your favorite priest got put to pasture. Carl told me.” Melissa’s eyes moved to the doorway. “Speak of the devil.”

“Carl told you what?” the devil asked, walking into the kitchen.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow. “Were you just standing outside the doorway waiting for your name to come up?”

“Afraid of a little girl talk, are ya?” Melissa teased.

“Girl talk, no. Woman talk—that’s a whole other story.”

“We were talking about Father Tom,” Maggie said. “I was able to visit with him yesterday.”

“So you see, everything’s fine,” her ex-husband assured her.

Maggie shook her head. “No, something doesn’t feel right. He was too quiet, and when he did talk, he was almost panicked, paranoid. But I still say he doesn’t belong there.”

“He’s not exactly a young man, Maggie,” Carl said. “Sounds like he could use a mental break, and you don’t know, he might relish the opportunity to kick back and play chess or whatever it is retired priests do. Why don’t you just let him rest and enjoy it?”

Maggie stayed quiet as Carl walked over to the oven and pulled out the rack to baste the turkey. Nobody else seemed to share her suspicions. Even Brenda, though she was upset, had accepted the circumstances at face value. Perhaps it was time for Maggie to do the same.

She walked to the far end of the counter and uncorked the wine. As she poured three glasses, she watched Carl and Melissa working in unison, crossing paths and exchanging little smiles as they prepared the meal. He’d apparently gotten more in touch with his domestic side since the divorce. It felt strange to Maggie to feel happy for him in his new life, but she did.

Dinner with her children, ex-husband, and his new girlfriend was surprisingly comfortable. At least it was until Melissa asked Kirsten how things were going with Carter—a name Maggie’s daughter had never before uttered to her mother—and Kirsten’s eyes shot wide open in what she’d obviously meant to be a subtle warning glare at Melissa.

“I assume she’s not talking about Jimmy,” Maggie said wryly, staring directly at a flushed Kirsten.

“Who?” Kirsten asked.

“U.S. President. That song you learned in third grade,” Carl said and started singing “The Presidents Song”—a diversion tactic if Maggie’d ever seen one.

“Cut the crap, Carl. Who’s Carter?” Maggie demanded, turning back to Kirsten.

Huffing and looking at her plate while she pushed her fork through her mashed potatoes, Kirsten mumbled, “He’s a boy at school who I think is cute. And he’s nice to me.”

Liam started making fake retching sounds, and Maggie smiled, liking that, after cute, nice was the first quality her daughter appreciated in a boy. “Why didn’t you tell me about him?” she asked.

“I don’t know. You said I’m not allowed to date until sixteen so I guess I just didn’t want you freaking out.”

“Are you dating?” Maggie asked.

“No! He doesn’t even know I like him. God! Can we change the subject?” Kirsten’s pleading eyes vacillated between Carl and Melissa.

“After I say this, sweetie,” Melissa said. “I’m with your mom on waiting to date. Don’t be in a rush; there’ll be plenty of time after you turn sixteen.”

Kirsten sat back in her chair with a dramatic exhale. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, look at the three of you. You’re still dating and you’re so
old
.”

Carl sucked his lips in over his teeth to look like gums and croaked, “What? What’d she say?”

Everyone laughed except Kirsten, whose eyes risked getting trapped in a permanent roll. But she did at least smile.

“So you’ve got someone?” Melissa asked with an encouraging nod toward Maggie.

“Oh…”

While Maggie fumbled around for what to say, Kirsten sat forward, giving her mother an intense stare. “Yeah, mom, tell everyone about the new guy.”

Maggie flicked a questioning glance at her daughter before answering. “I was seeing a man from church earlier in the fall, but he got back together with an old flame, so our story was cut short.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Melissa said.

“Not as sorry as me,” Liam chimed in. “His son was like awesome, and he was gonna sell me his Alienware PC really cheap as soon as he bought a new one.”

Maggie felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn’t fair to bring people into her children’s lives who could so easily disappear. Suddenly, anonymity was another point in Evan’s favor.

After dinner, everyone helped clean up the table and pack the food away. Then Carl and the kids retired to the family room to watch TV while Maggie stayed in the kitchen to help Melissa do the dishes. As soon as two women were alone, Melissa poured each of them another glass of wine, saying, “Might as well make an event of it.”

Maggie threw a dishtowel over her shoulder, and they dug into their work. Melissa was easy to talk to, even more so as Maggie sipped down yet another glass of Chardonnay, and before she knew it, she was telling her husband’s girlfriend about Sharon. “I’m perfectly willing to apologize and do what I can to redeem myself,” she explained, “but I left a message a week ago, and she hasn’t returned my call. I’m not going to grovel.”

“Mmm, yes, girlfriends are so much more difficult to crack than the guys,” Melissa mused. “With men, all you’ve got to do is make ’em a meat loaf, throw on something sexy, and all’s forgiven.”

Maggie scowled. “I haven’t exactly had a lot of success with that half of the species, either.” She was caught up on her drying duties, and stood next to Melissa, waiting for her to finish washing another bowl.

“Aw, come on, it can’t be that bad.” With two rubber-gloved hands busy in the sink, Melissa playfully bumped her hip into Maggie’s just as Maggie lifted her glass to her lips.

“Oh, yes, it can be!” Maggie laughed, taking a step away and then a gulp.

Melissa narrowed her eyes and looked her boyfriend’s ex up and down. “When’s the last time you got laid?”

Maggie held the wine in her mouth for a moment before letting it burn down her throat. “Too long?” she answered carefully, not knowing what kinds of confessions Carl may have made in the last few days.

Melissa jabbed a sudsy finger at Maggie. “That’s exactly what I thought. At least tell me you have a decent vibrator.”

When Melissa resumed washing, Maggie wandered back to the sink, relieved that the identity of the counterpart to her last “lay” was still secret, but knowing she must seem rather pathetic. Ego plus wine encouraged her next statement. “
Please
don’t say anything to the kids, but I do kind of, sort of, have a man in my life.”

“Is that what that hesitation was about?” Melissa grinned and gave Maggie a sideways glance.

“What hesitation?”

“At dinner, when I asked if you had a guy. You hesitated.”

“I did? Do you think anyone else noticed?” She looked toward the entrance to the kitchen.

“That’s doubtful. So, tell me about him.”

“Well, he’s wonderful, first of all. Supportive, smart, funny—but not in a life-of-the-party kind of way, more subtle. And he’s very interesting. I swear we could talk forever.”

“Good looking?”

Maggie nodded. “But it’s so much more than that.”

“So what’s the problem? Why haven’t you introduced Kir and Liam to Mr. Wonderful?”

“It’s complicated. He’s not…”
Human?
“He’s playing hard to get.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, there’s an obvious physical attraction, and at times we’ve gotten quite close, but he throws up a barrier. He doesn’t think we’re a good match, that there’s no future, and so he doesn’t want to lead me on.”

“Not a good match—why? Because you have kids? Doesn’t sound so wonderful to me.”

“No, that’s not why.” Maggie exhaled, kicking herself for making Evan the subject of girl talk. “It’s just really complicated, and I’m sorry, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Maggie scowled at the pale truth serum lying innocently at the bottom of her wine glass. “I think I’d better switch to coffee.”

Melissa pulled the plug on the drain and peeled off her gloves. “Persistence, my dear. I have faith you’ll bring him around. If not, dump his ass—’cause you really need to get laid.” She winked while she rubbed lotion into her manicured hands and let the subject drop.

The five of them finished off the evening curled up on Carl’s comfy furniture, eating pumpkin pie and watching
It’s a Wonderful Life.
The kids were staying at Carl’s for the long weekend, so after the movie Maggie kissed them good night, and then Carl followed her into the hall to thank her for coming.

“You were right,” she conceded. “It was fun. Thanks for having me over.”

He smiled and pulled her into an unexpected bear hug. “Kiddo, I think this is the start of a great friendship.”

Maggie laughed. “You just butchered Bogart, but I have to say I agree with you.”

Back at home, all alone and with no sign of Evan, Maggie slid open the deep drawer of her night stand. She reached in and fished around before landing on what she was looking for. “Hello, old friend,” she murmured as she pulled out a long, slender, vibrating toy.