Queenie's Cafe (20 page)

“I’ll be fine. The doctor said it’ll take a little time for my shoulder to heal, but I’ll be all right. How are things there?”

“Not good. We’re thinking of selling out and moving on.”

“Why don’t you come back to Kingston, Dad?”

“I don’t know, Laura. Luke said we could manage the new apartments, but Florence doesn’t want to hang around there and embarrass you.”

“That’s crazy.” Was that the reason they left Kingston? “Tell her I want you both to come back.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her.”

“Dad? Do you know someone named Hank?”

He hesitated before answering. “Where’d you come across that name?”

“In some of Queenie’s things.”

“What else did you find?”

“An old photo album. The pictures are mostly of Queenie. There are some pictures of the motel and diner in there, too. Next time you come, you should look at it.”

They talked a little longer before Laura hung up. She sat on the edge of the bed, her hand still on the phone. She didn’t tell him about the tape, and he didn’t tell her who Hank was. Did he know? Maybe it was an old boyfriend of Queenie’s, someone she knew before she met Dad.

<>

Florence walked inside and put her unused bait back in the cooler. “Who was that on the phone? A customer?”

“No, it was Laura. She... Earl Windsor attacked her after work the other night. He tried to rape her.”

Florence’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, dear God. It’s all my fault.”

Bruce stood to face her. “Why is it your fault?”

“I asked him to help her with new flooring for the café, but I never thought... Is she all right?”

“She hurt her shoulder, but her new partner and his friends are running things while she heals.”

Florence blamed herself. If she hadn’t made that phone call to Earl, this wouldn’t have happened. “What new partner?”

“Luke Windsor and his mother, Barbara Snowden, the woman who won all that money in the lottery a few years back. They have a company that helps small businesses, mostly restaurants. Anyway, they’re turning the motel into apartments, and they want me to come back and run it for them.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Bruce.”

He took her shoulders and gazed into her eyes. “Laura needs a mother, Florence. She’s not ashamed of you. You can help her in the café if you want, but I don’t want you to go back to what you were doing.”

“Are you sure that’s what she wants?”

“She said, ‘I want you both to come back.’ Oh, she found something about Hank in Queenie’s things.”

“Why on earth would she... Oh, no! Does she know about—”

“I don’t think so.”

Florence dropped into the nearest chair. “I thought it was over now that Queenie was dead.”

“It
is
over.”

“From your lips to God’s ears. Let’s get this place spruced up and see if we can get some of that money back.”

Her baby girl needed her mama.

Going along with Queenie’s demands had been a huge mistake, one that changed all their lives. If she had it to do over again, she would have gotten in her car and driven away, with or without Bruce. She should have kept her baby girl away from Queenie and away from that damn café.

<>

A week later, Laura insisted on checking on things at the café. She’d been away too long. Luke seemed reluctant to take her there, but she insisted. When he pulled into the parking lot, she saw the construction dumpster and men in tool belts going in and out of motel rooms. “What’s going on here?”

She couldn’t believe there were people working on the motel already. Why didn’t he tell her? Luke had taken over as if she didn’t have a say, as if she didn’t have an opinion, as if her approval wasn’t necessary. She was an equal partner, yet he hadn’t even told her he’d started work on the motel. “What are you doing?”

“The renovations we discussed.”

“Discussed, not agreed on.” She waved her hand at the motel. “I can’t believe you did this without talking with me first.” The more she thought about it, the more angry she became. “How could you do this without my approval?”

“You knew this was what we were going to do. We talked about it, Laura. We have to turn this place into an income producing business to recoup our costs.”

“I understand that, but you didn’t even ask me to approve the plans. You went ahead with it as if my opinion didn’t matter, as if I was too stupid to understand. Well, I may not have a fancy college degree, Mr. Windsor, but I don’t like people doing things behind my back. I own an equal interest in this property, and I should have an equal say in the decisions.”

She jumped out of Luke’s truck and stormed into one of the new units. Jay was inside, finishing the trim around the new bedroom door. “Somethin’ wrong, honey?”

“Luke had no right to go ahead with this without my approval.”

“Well, it’s a little late now. We got Rusty and Morris’s place finished, except for the floors, and another five units almost done.”

“How did this get so out of hand?” she muttered.

“You don’t like my work?”

“It’s not that. Luke keeps doing things, expensive things. I know he has money to throw away, but—”

Jay tapped in a nail and turned to face her. “But you’re not used to takin’ nothin’ from nobody. You’re used to doin’ it all by yourself, even if you have to kill yourself to scrape by. Is that about it?”

His words stung, because they were true. Her eyes filled with tears.

Jay handed her his handkerchief. “Better dry those tears, Miss Laura. Seems to me you got some apologizin’ to do. Luke’s a good man, honey. He did this to help you, not to upset you. Hell, he even ran interference with Frank Fosdick for you.”

“He’s spending so much money.”

“So what? He uses his money to help people. What’s wrong with that?”

She looked down. “I don’t want to be his charity case.”

Jay’s voice softened. “Don’t let foolish pride get in the way, honey.”

She wiped her eyes and nose. “Is that what I’m doing?”

“You knew this was what we was gonna do. He didn’t tell you we started because he didn’t want you here every day when you were ’sposed to be resting.”

“I don’t need to be coddled.”

“Aw, c’mon, Laura. Everybody needs to be coddled once in awhile. Go find that boy. Kiss and make up.”

“Some friend you are, telling
me
to apologize.”

“You don’t want me for a friend?”

“Of course I do. I just wish you didn’t always have to be right. You’re a good friend, Jay. The best.” Jay was twice her age, but she’d never had a better friend.

“Yeah, well, if I was a few years younger, I’d give Luke a run for his money.”

She wiped her eyes again. “I don’t know why your wife left you, but she was a fool.”

Jay looked away, running his hand over the new doorframe. “Shoot. You keep that up, I’ll have to buy myself a bigger hat.”

Laura found Luke in another nearly finished apartment, his hands in his back pockets, looking like a whipped puppy. She put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Luke. I’m not used to having people do things for me. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, it’s just—”

He turned to face her. “What do you want me to do, Laura?”

“Forgive me for being such an idiot. If not for you, I would have lost everything.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you, but I wanted to get started on this while Jay and his crew were available. When we get finished, these apartments will bring in a steady income. It’s the right thing to do, Laura.”

“Of course it is.” She slipped her hand in his. “Why don’t you show me Rusty and Morris’s apartment?”

They walked quietly around to the back. Luke stood back and let her look around.

“Oh, this is nice.” The motel had never looked better, with light tan or pale sage green paint on the walls, new woodwork, windows, bathrooms, and quiet, efficient air-conditioners. The kitchen was small, but nice, with a little eating bar separating it from the living area. Before, the rooms were dark and smelled like mold, stale cigarette smoke, and air freshener. Now they were clean and bright and smelled fresh. “What color carpet and drapes are we putting in?”

“Mom suggested white blinds to match the woodwork, so I put those on order last week. We haven’t bought flooring yet. We thought you’d like to pick it out.”

She ran her hand over the new laminate on the kitchen counter. It was nicer than anything they’d ever had in the café or in the motel. So were the cabinets. Outside, the changes were subtle. Inside, it didn’t look like the same place.

The light from the window lit Luke from behind, giving him an all-over halo, and she realized how lucky she was to have him in her life. She felt closer to Jay and Barbara than she did to her own parents, but she and Luke had a special bond. They grew closer every day. In spite of the way she’d chewed him out, she knew he’d gone ahead with this because he didn’t want her here supervising, getting in the way, and second-guessing the decisions that had already been made. He had a vision of what the apartments could look like, and so did Jay.

“I had no idea it would look this good.” She thought it would look like two old motel rooms with an adjoining door, but the small kitchen and fresh paint had completely changed the look of the room. The bedroom was smaller, but it had a big walk-in closet. “It doesn’t look like a motel, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. Frank Fosdick said it should be torn down.”

She cocked her head. “What happened with Frank?”

He shrugged. “Cindy said he wanted to put you out of business, so I...” He grinned. “I asked him if his wife knew what he did on Tuesday nights.”

Laura felt her mouth tug into a smile. “That’s blackmail.” She knew about his Tuesdays with Cindy. Why hadn’t she thought to use that information when she applied for a loan at the bank?

They walked back toward Laura’s apartment. Luke said, “We’ll redo your apartment after Jay gets the others finished. It’ll include Florence’s old room.”

“Oh, I like that. What about Cindy? Is she staying?”

“No, she left a couple weeks ago. She offered me a free one for the road and I turned her down.” He gazed into her eyes. “She’s not my type.”

She wanted to ask if she was his type, but she couldn’t. If he gave her the wrong answer, it would crush what pride she had left.

“Jay has been really nice.”

“That’s because he’s in love with you.”

The way Jay teased, it was hard to tell what his feelings were, but she didn’t doubt what Luke said. Jay was a great guy, and she liked him as a friend, but he wasn’t the man for her. “Let’s find Jay a woman of his own, someone closer to his age, like your mother.”

Luke seemed stunned. “Jay and Mom? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“She can handle him.” If Barbara could look beyond the surface and see the real man, she couldn’t help but love him.

While Luke talked with Jay, Laura walked up to the café. It was late afternoon, between meals, so the dining room was empty. Judy worked in the kitchen, getting ready for the dinner shift.

“Well, it’s nice to see you, Laura. How you doin’?”

“Great, but I need to get back to work. I’ve been lazy long enough.” Her shoulder had healed, and she couldn’t let other people do her work for her any longer. “Has Earl been here?”

Judy shook her head. “We been watchin’, but nobody’s seen him.”

That didn’t make Laura feel any easier. Earl said he’d be back, and she knew he meant it. She shivered at the thought of that pig touching her like he owned her, of his fists hitting her, his fingernails scratching her, his arrogance, and his lecherous smile.

Would she be able to fight him off if he came back?

She might have to.

Chapter Eleven

L
aura and Luke shopped for carpet and flooring for the new apartments that week, but they went to Earl’s competitors rather than do business with Windsor Floors.