Sweet Baklava (17 page)

Paula helped set the table, casting covert glances at Nick. Being with him felt cozy—at least for now. Funny how she vacillated between comfort and dizziness around him.

As they took their seats, Nick nodded toward her. "Your turn to say the blessing."

She thanked God for their food and for such a beautiful day. When she paused, Nick added a prayer for her mother. They opened their eyes and looked at each other.

"Thanks, Nick. You really put me in my place about Mom."

"I didn't mean to put you in your place. I just wanted to remind you that she loved you enough to have you. And she did work while you were growing up, so you never went hungry or anything."

"True, but there was always a threat of moving. I constantly felt like the earth was about to shift beneath me."

He put down his spoon and rested his arms on the table. Whoo boy, here it comes.

"That's just it, Paula. You
didn't
move. She stayed right here so you could finish school."

"I know, I know." Paula searched her brain for something else to talk about, but she didn't have to do that for long.

"Nick!" The shout came from the front door, followed by other voices.

"In the kitchen, Steph!" Nick hollered back. He winked at Paula. "Sounds like we're about to have a party."

Steph, Alexa, and Charlene appeared in the kitchen. "Aunt Ursa said she made soup." The three cousins converged on the kitchen and fixed themselves bowls of soup.

Paula loved times like this—when the Papadopoulos clan had their impromptu gatherings around the table. They never left her out or made her feel like she wasn't part of the family. Every now and then, she and Nick exchanged a glance, touching her heart even more.

"Sshh." Charlene held her hands up then glanced at Paula. "Is that your phone?"

Paula leaned back in time to hear it ring again. "Yeah, I didn't hear it."

"That's because Charlene is practically sitting on it, doofus," Alexa said, reaching for the bag in the chair her sister sat in. She handed it to Paula. "Here ya go."

The phone quit ringing, but Paula pulled it out and glanced at the missed call. It was the shop.

"Excuse me a minute." She scooted her chair back and got up. "I need to return this call."

O
ria?" Paula said. "Did you need me for something?"

"Remember that kid who stole a bunch of soap last year? She's back."

"Does she know you're on to her?"

"Not yet."

"Find a way to keep her in the shop. I'll be right there." Paula went back to the kitchen to grab her handbag. "Sorry, folks. Gotta run. Emergency at the shop."

Nick's forehead crinkled. "Need any of us?"

Paula shook her head. "It's just some kid who thinks she's entitled to a free bath."

"Huh?" Nick's confused expression elicited laughter from everyone.

"She had a klepto last year," Steph explained. "A fifteen-year-old girl tried to take off with about two hundred dollars' worth of soap."

As Paula drove to the shop, she thought about how she'd deal with this kid. She didn't want to prosecute someone so young, and after dealing with her mother—the school bad girl when Paula went to Tarpon Springs High School—Paula knew she likely didn't have any support at home. If the "church ladies" hadn't persisted, that could have been Paula many years ago. Deep down she felt sorry for the girl, but she couldn't very well let her get away with stealing.

When Paula arrived, the girl was still in the store "looking" at merchandise, with Oria right beside her. "May I help you?" Paula asked.

The girl lifted a soap to her nose and shrugged. "Like I told this lady, I'm just looking." Her tone was gruff and rude.

Paula made a quick decision to confront the issue. "I remember you, Amanda, and so does my employee. You were told to stay out of my store."

"For a year," the girl said without looking up.

"That was only if you paid me back for what you took."

"I didn't take nothing."

"Amanda." Paula felt the frustration rise in her chest as she remembered the police officer ordering the girl to show the contents of her handbag. Amanda had dumped it on the floor and run out the door. The police officer caught up with her a block away.

Finally, Amanda turned, rolled her eyes, and walked toward the door. "I don't like being hassled."

The door opened and Nick walked in. Amanda nearly bumped into him.

Nick pointed to Amanda and gave Paula a questioning look. She nodded.

"Excuse me," he said as he closed the door before Amanda could get out. "I understand you have an issue to resolve here with my friend."

"Stop hassling me. I'm outta here."

"No, I don't think so." Nick leaned against the door and folded his arms as he stared down at Amanda, who shrank under his gaze. "So how's shopping?"

Amanda bobbed her head but didn't reply. Paula stood and watched, transfixed by the scene playing out before her.

"Any chance of letting me see what you got there?"

"I didn't buy anything."

Nick smiled. "I'm sure. How about what you didn't buy?"

"Nick." Paula took a step toward them to tell him they caught Amanda before she stole anything. He held up a hand to stop her. She paused.

Amanda shifted from one foot to the other and pulled her handbag close to her chest. "Dude, you're in so much trouble."

Nick extended his hand. "Just give it to me, Amanda."

He knew her name?
Paula glanced over her shoulder at Oria, who shrugged.

Amanda slowly loosened her grip on her bag, reached inside, and pulled out a couple of soaps then threw them on the floor. "Satisfied?"

Nick looked up at Paula. "What would you like me to do now?"

Still stunned that the girl had managed to lift product with Oria on her tail, Paula opened her mouth but couldn't think of what to say.

Nick leaned down to look Amanda in the eye. "If I thought it would do any good, I'd call your mom, but you and I know she won't do anything. How would you like me to talk to your dad?"

"No. Don't do that. He'll kill me."

Nick chuckled. "I doubt that. Your dad's a decent guy. But he won't be happy about this."

Amanda turned and faced Paula with a pleading look. "Tell him not to talk to my dad."

"You need to do some work around here to cover what you tried to steal," Nick said. "If you do everything Ms. Andrews tells you to do for . . ." Nick glanced up at Paula. "How about three hours?" After Paula gave him another baffled look, he smiled and turned back to Amanda. "Nah, that's not enough. Four hours of sweeping, dusting, and whatever else Ms. Andrews says, we'll let you off the hook. But one more time and we're calling the cops."

Amanda's shoulders sagged. "Do I have to?"

"No, you don't have to, but if you don't, your dad will hear about this, and so will the police."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Okay, what do you want me to do?"

Paula regained her voice. "Why don't you come back tomorrow and I'll have some stuff for you to do. In the meantime, I'd like to have a private word with Mr. Papadopoulos."

Amanda looked back at Nick, who nodded. Then she ran out of the store.

Paula approached Nick. "Okay, so what just happened? How do you know her name, and who is her dad?"

"Remember Sam Dunbar?"

"You've got to be kidding. Sam Dunbar with the pocket protector and geeky glasses?"

"That's the one."

"I didn't know he married—" She narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute. You know whose daughter this is, right?"

Nick nodded. "Of course I do. Amanda is the product of a bad girl who was desperate after being jilted by one of the jocks she had a crush on."

Paula looked dazed. "I had no idea Amanda was Sam's daughter."

"Sam just happened to be in the way when Kate got dumped, and now he's been paying child support for fourteen years."

"But she's sixteen now."

"Yep. He didn't know about her at first."

Paula leaned against the counter. "How sad. Hey, wait a minute. How do you know all this? You never hung out with Sam Dunbar."

"You don't think your store is the first she stole from, do you? My dad's been dealing with her for years."

"No wonder she knew who you were."

"You probably thought it was just my infamous Papadopoulos charm."

Paula snickered. "Right. So now that you've made a deal with her, I'll have to supervise a kleptomaniac in my store where she can't keep her hands off the merchandise. What were you thinking, Nick?"

"I was thinking that over time she might actually learn something about values from a woman who pulled herself up from the trenches."

That made sense. But still . . .

Nick shot Oria a glance then looked back at Paula. "I doubt she'll try to steal anything as long as she's busy, but if she does let me know and I'll deal with it."

"If she steals anything else from me, I'll deal with it," Paula said. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Yeah." Nick turned and walked back to the door, mumbling something that sounded like "And what a shame."

Paula ignored the comment. "Don't forget to tell your mama how much I enjoyed her soup," she called after him.

He just lifted a hand and waved as the door closed behind him.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to having that brat in the store," Oria said.

"I'm not exactly thrilled about it either, but I do understand why Nick did that."

"He should have talked to you first."

If he had, she would have said no, but Paula wasn't mad about it. "We'll be fine, Oria. I'll try to get her to work off her time as quickly as possible, and you'll never have to deal with her."

"Thanks. I don't know what I'd do if I had to keep an eye on her every single second while I'm here." Oria lifted a magazine from the counter and flipped a few pages. "I didn't see my name on the schedule next week. Do you need me?"

"Only on Sunday, unless you need more hours," Paula replied.

"No, that's fine. I have just enough hours for what I want." She continued turning pages in the magazine.

"Do you need the hours this afternoon? If not, I'll take over."

"I was sort of counting on it."

"Okay, fine. Since you'll be here, I'd like to go home for a little while."

"Yeah, go get some rest," Oria said. "I'll call if there's a problem."

Paula had been so busy she hadn't found time to do laundry or leaf through her supply catalogs. After dumping a load in the washing machine, she grabbed a handful of catalogs and plopped them on the kitchen table. She poured herself a glass of sweet tea and sat down.

The entire afternoon was quiet. No phone calls or unexpected visitors. This was the first day like that since Nick came home.

Nick stopped back by Paula's shop on his way to the car, but Oria said she'd left and gone home. He mentioned stopping by to see her, but Oria told him Paula was exhausted and needed some rest. So he refrained.

He had a plan when he'd ordered Amanda to do time for her crime. However, the more he thought about it, the worse he felt for not discussing it with Paula first. It was her shop, not his. He had no right stepping in and taking over like that. He just had a feeling that Amanda was a smart girl who needed a break . . . and someone who cared enough to steer her in the right direction. That person certainly wasn't her mother, who had one of the worst reputations in school. And he doubted her dad would do anything but threaten to get custody of her, which neither of them wanted.

Nick took a walk toward town, where Sam's small accounting firm had an office. He wasn't surprised when he glanced inside and saw a light on.

The door was locked, so he knocked. Sam came toward the glass door and unlocked it. "Hey, Nick, when did you get back?"

"A couple weeks ago. So how's business?"

"Couldn't be better." Sam gestured toward the pile of papers on the counter. "That's what pays the bills. How long you in town?"

Nick chatted with Sam long enough to learn he hadn't spent much time outside his office over the past year. That was all he needed to know.

"Gotta run, Sam. I saw your light on and figured I'd stop by and say hi."

"Tell your dad I'll set aside some time for him next week. He's due to send in his quarterly taxes, and I want to look it over before it goes out."

"I'll tell him."

Nick went back to his car then headed home to his parents' house. He hoped no one would be there, but his mother greeted him at the door, wiping her hands on a towel. "Why aren't you out with Paula?"

"She had some things to do." He took a couple of steps toward his room.

"What's this I hear about Amanda stealing from her shop? Did you call the police?"

He stopped and turned to face his mother. "No, Mama, I think Amanda needs something the police can't give her."

His mother's face softened, and she smiled. "You have always been attracted to hurting people. I hope you know what you're doing. I'd hate to see Paula get hurt by that girl."

"Don't worry. Paula can take care of herself. But I'll make sure nothing happens as long as I'm here."

"Are you gonna tell her parents?"

"I went by Sam's, and he was so busy I don't think he'd hear a word of it, even if I told him." He cleared his throat and glanced down at the floor. "And I'd rather not talk to Kate."

"Can't say I blame you, son. That girl has always wanted you. If she even thinks you're interested, there's no stopping her."

That was exactly why Nick had never wanted to talk to Kate about Amanda. In fact, he knew he was taking a chance simply being nice to the girl. He counted on Amanda not telling her mother about seeing him, due to the circumstances.

"Oh, Mama, I have a question."

"What's that?"

"Since when did Papa start having Sam do his taxes?"

"Since Sam offered to do them instead of having Amanda put in juvie."

"So Sam knows about Amanda?"

"Of course he does."

Nick shook his head. "This is one crazy place."

She grinned. "Yes, and we love it, Nick. So do you. You just haven't figured it out yet."

Nick waited until Tuesday to stop by Paula's shop. "Have you heard from Amanda yet?"

Paula shook her head. "Nope, not yet."

"If she doesn't contact you by tomorrow, let me know."

"Nick, I'm really not sure this is such a good idea. I'm not equipped to deal with a girl with her problems."

"Oh, but I think you are. All you have to do is hold her accountable for what she did and show her what grace is. That should come natural to you."

She smiled. "Thanks for the compliment, but this is something I don't have experience with."

"I wasn't saying it to compliment you, Paula. It's a fact. That's what attracted me to you when we first met."

Paula picked up a piece of paper and pretended to fan herself. "And all this time I thought it was my dazzling good looks and Southern charm."

"Well, that too." He grinned.

"Okay, I'll do what I can—that is, if she comes by."

"So do you want to do something with me Friday night?"

Paula tilted her head and gave him a mock coy smile. "Why Friday? Why not tomorrow?"

"No reason. Wanna go out tomorrow?"

"Why, Nick, sugah, I was thinking you might want to stop over at my place for a bite of dinnah. I can cook up somethin' real good."