Finders Keepers (17 page)

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Authors: Fern Michaels

BOOK: Finders Keepers
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“It's French. It's
Amour
. Sophie gave it to me several years ago as a gift. It's outrageously expensive; I only use it sparingly. A whole gallon! It would cost
thousands
. ”
“Okay, half a gallon. A quart will do. Even a pint.”
Jessie laughed again. “How about if I sprinkle some on a tissue and you can keep it in your sock drawer?”
“It's a deal.”
“Miss Jessie, there's a phone call for you.”
“For me!”
“It's probably Pop. You can take it here or in the study.”
Jessie nodded as she made her way down the hall to the study. Her greeting was cautious. “Hello, this is Jessie Roland.”
“Jessie, Angus Kingsley here. I want to give you a new phone number. Are you in my study?”
“Yes, Senator, I am. I have a pencil.” Jessie repeated the number to make sure she copied it down right.
“This number is just temporary, Jessie. We'll head back to Washington on Saturday if things go right. My wife will return to Texas for her party. I want you to call me when she returns, so I can take Irene back to her house. She was doing so well until this cropped up. She wants to go home. I do, too. I don't know why I didn't anticipate this.”
“I understand. I'll call you as soon as I can. Tanner is waiting for me, and he's going to want to know why you called. What should I tell him?”
“Tell him it's need-to-know. He'll understand. Are you enjoying yourself, Jessie?”
“Yes, Senator, I am. We're going to town to have lunch with Resa. I'm looking forward to meeting her.”
“Give her a big kiss and hug for me. Tell her I love her. I think you're going to like her as much as you like Tanner.”
“I'm sure I will, Senator.”
“Irene sends her best.”
“And mine to her. I'm so sorry this happened.”
“It's not your fault, Jessie. It's mine. Enjoy your luncheon.”
Jessie folded the small piece of paper and slipped it into the toe of her shoe before she left the study. She'd entered carrying nothing, and she should exit carrying nothing.
“Please tell me that call wasn't from my mother.”
“It wasn't your mother. It was your father.”
“Is everything okay with Pop?”
“I think so. He said, should you ask, it's need-to-know. He also told me to give Resa a big kiss and hug and to tell her he loves her.”
“Pop adores Resa. Always has. She's shy and doesn't make friends easily. Growing up it was just us two and Luke Holt. She's never outgrown her shyness. When you get to know her she's very verbal. My mother never let her be a kid or a young girl. I was the rebellious one, and Resa was the obedient one. She used to cry herself to sleep at night. The day she went off to college was the happiest day of her life. She's the brainy one. Did I tell you that?”
“No. Shouldn't we be leaving? We don't want to keep your sister waiting. Can we stop at a florist so I can get her a Christmas plant?”
“Of course. Now, why didn't I think of that? I'm supposed to bring the wine, so that's two stops we have to make. Resa doesn't eat meat. Did I tell you that? It makes my mother nuts.”
Jessie laughed. “No, you didn't tell me that. What else didn't you tell me?”
“That about sums it up. When are we going to talk about Jessie Roland? You know, all that stuff about where and how you grew up. What colors you like, what you like to eat, that kind of stuff.”
Jessie sucked in her breath. She had known this question was going to come eventually. Damn, she hoped she could remember everything Sophie had written down about her phony background. “Let's see. How about when we run out of things to talk about, and you want to be put to sleep. My past is incredibly boring. I was born, I grew up, and here I am. That's about it. I'll fill in the blanks later.”
“Tell me about your friend Sophie.”
“Sophie Ashwood was born and bred in Atlanta. She should be a Southern belle, but she isn't. Her mother is either the second or third richest woman in the world, which means someday Sophie will step into that position. She's an architect and is in Costa Rica finishing her internship. Her main goal in life is to design and build a bridge. We more or less grew up together. She's my friend, my confidante, the sister I never had. She's engaged to be married to an engineer who also wants to build bridges. She can do anything she sets her mind to. I cannot imagine my life without Sophie in it. It's probably the way you felt about your friend Jack. End of story.”
“End of story? I don't think so. I sense there's more. I want to hear it.”
Jessie debated a full second before she blurted out what she'd done at Sophie's graduation three years ago. Tanner laughed so hard he had to pull over to the side of the road. He laughed even harder when she said, “It's on film. Sophie paid someone to film it because she knew her mother wouldn't be there. I don't know if she sent it to her mother or not.”
“Did you ever see it?”
“God, no!”
Tanner pulled into traffic. “When we get married will you ask Sophie to show it to me?”
When we get married
. Jessie's heart started to pound inside her chest. It was a joke. Well, she knew how to handle a joke even one like this, thanks to Sophie.
“Absolutely,” she said. “I'll even reenact it for you.”
“So, when would you like to get married?”
“When you give me an engagement ring, and it better not be one of those itsy-bitsy little things you need a magnifying glass to see.”
Tanner pretended shock. “Are you saying you're one of those material girls?”
“No. I want something I'll be able to leave my oldest daughter, assuming I have a daughter. I never understood why a girl needs a ring just because she's engaged. A plain gold wedding band, a wide one, will do nicely, thank you. You aren't writing any of this down. Why is that? I also do not believe in divorce.” Jessie giggled at the panic on Tanner's face.
Tanner's voice was so strangled-sounding Jessie could barely make out the words. “I can't hear you,” she singsonged. “You started this, you know.”
“I said I have total recall.”
“I'm not living in that house with your mother either.” My God, did she really just say that?
“Huh?”
“You heard me. Your mother doesn't like me. Guess what? From what I've seen I don't like her either. I said I'm not living with her when we get married. You're turning white. Want to quit now?”
His color restored, Tanner pulled to the curb. “I'm going to get the wine. Do you have any preferences?”
“It's up to the guy to choose the wine. Sophie told me that. Get two bottles.”
“Two? Why?”
“I dance on the table after two.”
Sophie
,
Sophie, Sophie, you should just hear me
.
Tanner leaned into the open car window. “You're a smart-ass, too, aren't you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What do you do after three bottles?”
“I've never gotten that far. I imagine I would be creative.”
Tanner squawked something that sounded like, “I'll be damned.”
Jessie doubled over laughing. Her whole body felt hot. She wondered how Tanner's felt. Maybe she should ask. As Sophie always said, you'll never learn anything unless you ask questions. Sophie also said some things were better left alone and unsaid.
Tanner was breathing like a long-distance runner when he returned to the car with
three
bottles of wine, a smug expression on his face. Jessie laughed. And laughed. The smug expression became uncomfortable until he also laughed. “Touché, Jessie Roland.”
 
Where Tanner was tall and muscular, Resa was petite and fragile. But their summer blue eyes and golden brown hair matched. Resa had a nimbus of short golden curls circling her doll-like face. Tanner's wide, sweeping grin and her happy smile made Jessie feel welcome. “Welcome to my humble abode, Jessie. It's small, but it's all mine. One paper, one magazine out of place as Tanner will tell you later, makes the place look cluttered. I'm so happy to meet you, Jessie. The last time Pop was here all he did was talk about the ‘marvelous Jessie Roland.' I guess you know he adores you. Come in, come in. My goodness, are all these plants for me? Thank you so much. Ohhh, it looks so . . .
Christmasey.”
Jessie smiled. She liked this wide-eyed thirty-three-year-old moppet immediately as Resa linked her arm with hers. “I know
you
picked out these plants, so you're going to have to place them. Strategically of course. So, what do you think of my tree?”
“It's lovely,” Jessie lied.
Resa's laughter tinkled around the small room. “I'm big on truth here.”
“The ornaments are pretty.”
“My kids at school made them for me. I even have some of Tanner's, and a few of my own that I snitched from home. Actually I didn't snitch them at all. My mother threw them in an old box because they didn't go with her elegant tree, and I just scooped them up. I remember so clearly the day we made them in school. Oh, well, that was a long time ago. Tell me, why did Tanner bring three bottles of wine? Are we having an orgy, and you guys forgot to tell me?” Her laughter tinkled again.
Jessie whispered, “I told him I dance on the table after two bottles. I think he thinks three could be
anything.”
This time Resa hooted.
“So, what's for lunch?” Tanner asked.
“Stouffer's macaroni and cheese and somebody else's fish sticks. I thawed a frozen apple strudel and some Cool Whip for dessert. Did Mattie send me a CARE package?”
“Yes, and I forgot to bring it in. Two frozen casseroles and some homemade bread. I'll get them.”
“Mattie feels sorry for me. She knows I can't cook worth a darn. Most times I eat out or have soup and a sandwich. I don't eat red meat. My parents consider me a traitor in that respect. My mother does. Pop doesn't care. What did you think of the ranch?”
“It's wonderful what I saw of it. It's so . . . sprawling. All those cattle. I never saw so many cows in my life.”
“Shhh, we never say the word ‘cow' aloud. Steers. Don't let one of these Texans hear you say cows. And my mother?”
“I didn't much care for her,” Jessie said truthfully.
The wide eyes widened even more before Resa laughed with delight. “That's more or less how I feel. It's terribly sad, don't you think?”
“Yes. I like to be around happy people. My own childhood wasn't all that great. Life is just too short to be unhappy.”
“I knew I was going to like you, Jessie Roland. Are you all set for the big as in ‘big' party? My mother always refers to it as the social event of the year. It isn't. It's just one of those obligatory things certain people feel they have to attend. I find it downright gruesome. I'm not going this year. I have a date!”
“With a real man!” Tanner challenged as he plunked down the frozen casseroles on the kitchen table.”
“Yes, a real man. You're on your own this year, little brother. His name is Josh Kelly. He joined the faculty in September. I've been seeing him since the first week in September, and I really like him, so don't mention it to Mother. If she asks where I am tell her I have the flu or that I went to Australia. I don't ever want him to meet Mother. By the way I saw Miss Bippity-Bop the other day. She told me she will be attending the party.” To Jessie she said, “She's the girl Mother picked out for Tanner. Her real name is Barbara Bendix. She's a man-hungry tiger.”
Tanner groaned. “I have an idea. Why don't Jessie and I join you and Josh on Saturday. A double date. We haven't done that in years, Resa. Do you think Josh would mind?”
“Josh won't mind. He's dying to meet you. Are you sure you're willing to face Mother's wrath?”
“Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise.”
“That means no family member will be at the party. She'll make you pay dearly for it, Tanner.”
“Then I'll just take a page out of Pop's and your book and move out. Don't think I haven't thought about it. What's on the agenda?”
“Dinner and a movie or the movie first and then dinner. Josh usually takes care of the arrangements. Don't show up in that damn truck, okay?”
“Okay.”
“We go dutch. You pay, and he pays. No problems when the bill comes.”

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