The Accidental Encore (26 page)

“Tested him?”

“Craig said men wouldn't listen to me because of the way I
look. He said they'd pretend to listen, but not really listen. So I asked Jamie
if he remembered me telling him something, something kind of important, and he
said yes. Only I'd never said what I reminded him I'd said, so I knew he wasn't
listening.”

“Okay...”

The waitress set down their waters and said their food would
be out in a jiffy.

“I got mad at Craig. I was furious at him for making me understand
men so clearly and causing an abrupt end to a promising new relationship. I
know, my rationale was twisted, but I was upset. I went to his house and
confronted him, basically yelled at him because he did listen. He did pay
attention. He always has.”

Her face got all soft and Melissa could tell she was
fighting the lump in her throat. Poor Allie, she thought. The girl was sunk.
“So what did he do?”

“He tried to get me to leave. He said...what did he say,
exactly?” She rubbed her temple and closed her eyes, thinking back to the night
she was trying to describe. “He said I needed to go before we both did
something we'd regret.”

“But you didn't go?”

“I told him to kick me to the curb or take me to bed.”

Melissa nearly choked on her water. “You said that?”

“Yes.” Allie smirked. “I did.”

“So he took you to bed.”

She shook her head from side to side. “Right there against
the door. It was incredible and it wasn't just me. I've lived with the
afterglow of mediocre sex and this didn't come anywhere near that vicinity.”

“Wow,” Melissa said. She flicked some condensation from her
glass onto her face. “Is it hot in here, or is it just me?”

“Then he carried me to bed—carried me up the
stairs—and made love to me like I was the most precious, the most
desirable woman in the world.”

Melissa let out a breath and thought fleetingly of the last
time she and Ben had had sex. The quickie in the closet didn't even count as
far as she was concerned. “I can see why you're a little confused by his
morning after routine.”

“It wasn't just that he bolted. He's skittish with his
situation and all, I get that. But this non-communication? I don't get this.
He's not a coward, and it's not like I've been stalking him. And if he didn't
want to see me again, he should at least have the decency to call and tell me.
Even Nick, the stupid jerk, confessed to cheating on me to my face.”

“I don't know what to tell you, Allie.” Their food arrived
and they both stared at each other over their plates. “Don't get mad at me for
asking this, but are you sure you're not just romanticizing the night?”

“Believe me, Mel, I'm not. He was right there with me the
entire time until the morning.” She picked up her fork and pushed the lettuce
around the bowl.

“What about the brother?”

“What about him?”

“Have you asked him about Craig?”

“No. What am I supposed to say?
Hey, Mark, did Craig
happen to mention the night we spent together and that he's avoiding my calls?
”

Melissa gave Henry the breadstick that came with her salad.
He dropped it on the floor. “How about asking if Craig is okay since you
haven't heard from him in a couple of weeks?”

Allie sighed. “I don't know. That seems too obvious.”

“Do you want to know or not?”

“At this point, I'm pretty sure I know. And it pisses me
off.”

“Good.” Melissa reached across the table and grasped Allie's
hand. “As long as you don't start blaming yourself for his inadequacies. His
immature behavior has nothing to do with you, Allie, and if you start blaming
yourself, that's going to piss me off.”

***

Craig honked his horn and screamed around the car in front
of him as it let off a carload of people in a no stopping zone, but he had to
slam on the brakes when he almost barreled into a pedestrian. He loosened his
hold on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. Get a grip, he told himself
as he counted in his head to ten before exiting the home remodeling center.

His cell phone slid from the passenger seat to the floor.
When he reached over and picked it up at the red light, he scanned his calls.
No more messages or missed calls from Allie. He wanted to feel relieved, but he
didn't feel anything but foolish for avoiding her and for letting her get under
his skin.

He knew he couldn't hide from her forever. He'd made a
mistake being with her. He knew he couldn't trust himself not to make it again
if he talked to her or saw her before he had his emotions in check. She'd be
pissed; he knew her well enough to know that he'd hurt her and she wouldn't
make it easy. If she were anyone else, he'd have walked away and never looked
back, but this was Allie.

Leah had called and left a message. He banged his fist
against the wheel after listening to her beg him to come to dinner that night.
Tuesday. The night Allie would be there for her lesson. The night she stayed
for dinner.

His phone rang as he scowled at the display and he knew he
couldn't avoid her forever. “Hey, squirt.”

“Are you coming for dinner?” Leah asked.

“I'd like to, but I'm juggling two jobs right now.”

“You're too busy for your family?”

He recognized that tone. It didn't bode well for his
chances. “I'm too busy, period.”

“I haven't seen you in forever, Uncle Craig. Please, I'm
begging you. It's lasagna. You know you love Dad's lasagna.”

“Leah...”

“Please, Uncle Craig. Please?”

His head was pounding; he had four loads to drop off before
heading to the new house for measurements and an assload of paperwork waiting
at home. “I can’t,” he said. “I’ll try and stop by another day after work.”

“Don’t bother,” she said. “We’re obviously not that
important.”

“Leah…”

“Whatever. I gotta go.”

Craig sighed when the line went dead. It was time to face
things head on, one angry woman at a time. Leah would have to get in line.

Chapter 31

Allie put on her best happy face and got through the lesson
with Leah as best she could. The girl, it seemed, was as down as Allie. “That’s
good,” she told Leah after her second run through of her new recital song. “I
can tell you’ve been practicing.”

“Yeah.”

“Leah!” Mark called from the kitchen.

Leah rolled her eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You okay?” Allie asked and ran her hand along the girl’s
back. No matter how bad things were with Craig, she wouldn’t let him ruin her
relationship with Leah.

“I guess.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not really. Can you stay for dinner tonight?”

Allie sighed and pinched her lips together. Leah was looking
at her with puppy dog eyes, but the thought of pretending everything was okay
for another hour seemed unbearable.

“Please, Ms. Allie. Uncle Craig already said no, and I
really want you to stay.”

Allie felt relieved and bemused by Craig’s absence. He
wasn’t usually around for dinner on Tuesday nights, but he rarely told Leah no.
“I suppose I can make the time.”

The girl sprang up and started to close her music book.

“
If
you run through the song one more time.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” Leah said.

It wasn’t hard to act natural through dinner. Mark and Leah
kept up their usual banter, while she and Carolyn did their duty to laugh and
make fun when necessary. Allie offered to help Carolyn with the dishes after
dinner while Mark challenged Leah to a game of one-on-one in the driveway.

“Is everything okay?” Carolyn asked. “You seem kind of
distracted tonight.”

“I’m fine,” Allie said. She took the freshly rinsed pot
Carolyn handed her and dried it with a towel. “Busy. I don’t mean to seem
aloof.”

“You’re not. I just wondered if everything was okay. Leah
said you’ve been spending some time with Craig.”

Oh no. The last thing she wanted to discuss was Craig.
“We’re friends,” she managed to say without choking. “How are things going with
you and Leah?”

“Oh, they’re better. We still have our moments, but ever
since she ran away to Craig’s house and we got a lot off our chests, things
have improved. Why?” Carolyn asked. “Do you think she’s backsliding?”

“No, not at all. I’m just curious. She seemed a little down
tonight.”

“She’s mad at Craig.”

Get in line, Allie thought.

“She wanted him to come to dinner tonight, but he said he
was too busy. He’s been busy for a couple of weeks now, and she’s feeling
neglected.”

What was Allie supposed to do? Defend the jerk? “I haven’t
heard from him either, so I suppose he must be busy.”

“I don’t know…” Carolyn said, shaking her head and scrubbing
the cooked on edges of the lasagna pan.

“What do you mean?” Allie asked. She didn’t want to seem too
interested, but if Carolyn had any information that could shed some light on
how she should proceed, she’d listen.

“I’m not sure, but I think something’s going on with him. He
and Mark talk pretty regularly, and Mark said he’s been short with him and acting
funny.”

“He is kinda moody,” Allie offered.

“You know, I feel like I know him a lot better than I
actually do. I mean, Mark spent three years talking about him and Leah, so I
feel like I know everything about them. I’ve wanted so many times to give Craig
a great big hug for what he’s been through and the way he put everything on
hold to help Mark and Leah after Becca died. I mean, the accident cost him his
wife and the baby…”

“The baby?”

“Julie was pregnant when she died.” Carolyn rinsed the
lasagna pan and set it on the drying rack when Allie couldn’t reach for it in
her state of shock. “Craig didn’t know,” Carolyn continued. “Mark said Craig
was so strong until he found out about the baby and then he just lost it.
Apparently he was a mess until about three months after and he just kind of
snapped out of it. Mark said it was like someone had flicked a switch and the
old Craig was back.”

Allie had to turn away while Carolyn prattled on about Craig
and Mark and Leah and how they all suffered and got through the first year
together, about how one year bled into another and they basically raised Leah
together. Allie braced her hands on the counter and struggled for breath.

“Hey, hey,” Carolyn put an arm around Allie’s waist. “Are
you okay? You look kind of pale?”

“I’m feeling a little lightheaded all the sudden.”

Carolyn led her to the table and helped her into a chair.
She got Allie a glass of water and ordered her to drink.

“I’m sorry,” Allie said. “I’m not sure what happened.”

Carolyn stared into Allie’s eyes. “Your color’s coming back.
Whew,” she drew her wrist across her forehead. “You scared me. For a second
there I thought you were going to pass out.”

“I’m fine now. I’m not sure what that was.”

Carolyn stood up. “I’m going to get Mark, get him to drive
you home.”

“No,” Allie said. “No, that’s sweet, Carolyn, but I’m fine.
Whatever that was, it’s passed and I feel fine.”

Carolyn stared at her from across the kitchen. After a slow,
appraising glance, she said, “Are you sure? What if you get lightheaded on your
way home?”

“I’m not far and if I feel dizzy, I’ll pull over. I’m fine,
Carolyn, really. There’s no need for Mark to drive me home.”

“It’s no trouble, Allie.”

Allie felt panicked at the thought of being around Mark or
any of them now. She desperately needed to get out of there and think. She just
needed time to think and process everything Carolyn had just told her. “I’d
feel silly and embarrassed. I’m embarrassed enough. Please, I’m fine.”

Carolyn sighed. “All right, but do me a favor and give me a
call when you get home so I don’t worry.”

“Absolutely.”

Allie gave Carolyn her brightest smile, gathered her things,
and waved to Mark and Leah as she got in her car. She pulled out of the
driveway, onto the street, and around the corner before pulling over to the
curb because her hands were shaking so badly she could hardly grip the steering
wheel.

Oh, Craig, she thought. You poor, poor man. What in the
world did that woman do to you and how in in God’s name have you lived alone
with this for so many years?

***

Craig was just about to leave when he saw the headlights
coming down Allie’s quiet residential street. He stood up from the porch step
and stared as her car pulled into the drive. She knew he was here; she’d have
known since she pulled in the driveway and saw his truck in front of her house.
He felt a twinge of guilt for ambushing her when he hadn’t called her back, but
there wasn’t any way to explain what he needed to say other than face to face.