Twisted Innocence (Moonlighters Series Book 3) (8 page)

Cathy tried to follow the instructions. “How come I didn’t get the decorating gene?”

“It’s not genetic. It’s Pinterest.” Juliet went to the kitchen counter, where the ingredients for the punch were laid out. “Just before they get here, I’ll put the ice cream and rubber duckies in, and they’ll look like they’re floating in suds.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’ve done it dozens of times.”

“Holly’s friends might spike it.”

Juliet chuckled and pointed at the two-liter bottles on the counter. “We’ll also have soda, just in case. Remind me to put out a bucket of ice.”

The doorbell rang, and Cathy gasped. “Who’s that? It’s an hour and a half early.”

“Probably the first babysitter I’m interviewing.”

“Now?”

“Yes, I had to fit it in. If the oven timer goes off, get the brownies out and put the quiche in for fifteen minutes on three-fifty.” As she headed for the front door, she called out, “Zach? Come get your shoes out of here!” The bell rang again.

Cathy worked on the centerpiece, not certain she was doing it right. How did Juliet do all this? She just had a flair for it, and she loved to entertain, though her new house was half the size of her former one and didn’t flow as well. Still, Cathy had no doubt that Juliet would pull off Holly’s baby shower, and she would do it without giving the slightest hint of the stress she was under with her husband’s death, her responsibility for her children’s well-being, the adoption of a baby, and the financial problems bearing down on her.

The timer went off, and Cathy abandoned the centerpiece and hurried to the oven. She heard voices . . .

A shrieking, nasal voice almost shook the house. “Oh my soul, look at that adorable little guy!”

Robbie started screaming. Not a good start.

Cathy looked over her shoulder as Juliet led the woman into the living area and offered her a seat. Juliet quickly introduced Cathy, then sat as she tried to comfort Robbie. “So . . . how long have you been working as a nanny?”

“Seven years,” the woman nasaled. “Ten kids.”

“All in one family?”

“No, separate families. Some didn’t work out, so I moved on.”

Cathy glanced at Juliet, saw the concern on her face. She checked the oven, trying to eavesdrop over Robbie’s crying.

Zach came into the room in his sock feet and slipped on his shoes, then took Robbie from his mother. “Whatsa matter, buddy?” he asked, instantly calming his little brother.

“I smell cigarette smoke,” Juliet said. “I told the agency I don’t want a smoker.”

“I never smoke around my babies, don’t worry about that.”

“So . . . what do you do when you need to smoke? Do you leave them alone and go outside?”

“Only when they’re sleeping, sweetie.” The woman looked around and sprang up at the sight of the centerpiece. “Would you look at that? That’s just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Her voice grated. Cathy could smell her smoke-covered clothes and hair from the kitchen. She clearly wasn’t just an occasional smoker. How long would Juliet go on with this?

As if reading Cathy’s thoughts, Juliet stood up. “Anita, I so appreciate your coming by, but I don’t think you’re what we’re looking for. The smoking worries me, since there are two babies you’ll be caring for. Robbie and my niece, Lily. It’ll be rare that they’re asleep at the same time—”

Anita waved her off. “Honey, we can work that out.”

“No, I don’t think we can. Robbie isn’t reacting well to you, either.”

“Look, I can take care of your kids. The agency wouldn’t have sent me if I wasn’t qualified.”

“I appreciate that,” Juliet said. “We have some more people to interview.”

Cathy suppressed her grin and put the quiche into the oven.

When Juliet came back from letting Anita out, she opened the back door. “Now the house smells like smoke. I want it to smell like brownies and cake.”

“So I take it you’re not hiring Anita?”

“Give me a break. Her voice knocked her out of the game when it sent Robbie into hysterics.” She went to the hallway. “Abe! Come move your backpack!” She checked the centerpiece. “Anita was right—that’s perfect. I think you do have the gene after all.”

“Thank you. I had no idea if I was doing it right. I don’t want a bunch of church ladies gossiping about my artwork.”

“They’re not ‘church ladies,’ they’re my friends, and they’re not gossips. They really aren’t. Cathy, you’ll like them. They’re good people. They just want to bless Holly.”

Cathy hoped Juliet was right and that the mix of Holly’s friends with Juliet’s wouldn’t be disastrous.

CHAPTER 15

H
olly was glad she had listened to Juliet and worn the dress she’d picked out. She had been dreading the baby shower that her sisters had insisted on giving her. Even with thick makeup, her black eye was still visible, and her gash was healing with a thick scab. The story of her mugging was true and believable—but Juliet’s friends didn’t go places where muggings were common. It made Holly feel cheap.

“Every mother needs a baby shower,” Juliet had said. “My friends know how to do it better than anybody. They want to do this for you.”

“But I don’t know them,” Holly muttered. “I don’t want them judging me. I can just see it now, all the noses turned up as the church divas march in.”

Juliet grunted. “Holly, it’s not like that. You have the wrong idea. This is not our old church. Besides, it’s at my house, and I won’t let anybody treat you badly. These are nice people. I only invited people I knew would support you.”

“Support me in what? Having a baby out of wedlock? Are they holding their noses? Or am I their next project?”

Juliet set her hand on her hip. “I know you don’t realize this, but you’re the one judging here. They want to bring you gifts and celebrate Lily’s life. You need things. I just wish I had been in a position to give you the shower before she was born, but I wasn’t.”

Holly mentally kicked herself for giving Juliet a hard time. “I’m sorry. I’m just nervous. Your friends are probably super-Christians, and I’m so . . .
not
.”

Juliet leaned on the edge of her counter. “Honey, we didn’t all start out at the same place. We had totally different journeys. Stop looking at yourself as inferior. God doesn’t do that.”

Holly knew Juliet meant well, but it didn’t change how she saw herself. “We were raised the same way, in the same family.”

“Oh, Holly. No, we weren’t.” Juliet lifted Holly’s chin. “Look at me.”

Holly met Juliet’s moist eyes. “What?”

“I was raised by two parents who loved the Lord and taught me to.
You
were raised by a single mom after your preacher dad betrayed the family.”

“He was your preacher dad too.”

“But I was cooked by then, honey. I’d had a stable, solid upbringing. By the time Dad left us, I already knew Jesus and my faith was deep. It was in God more than in Dad. But you were just a little girl. Things were totally different on your journey.”

Holly tried to hold back her tears. “So you’re completely letting me off the hook for my detours?”

“That’s not my job. I’m just saying that God knows where you started and how you got here. He’s not disgusted, and
neither are my friends. And when they get to know you, they’ll delight in you like God does.”

The tears came despite Holly’s efforts. As she dabbed at them, she turned and saw Cathy listening from a few feet away, a poignant smile on her face.

“I really want this to be fun for you,” Juliet added. “And don’t tell anybody, but I also want to show Lily off to all our friends. I want them to see how adorable she is.”

Now, Holly tried to focus on the assurances Juliet had given her as the guests began to arrive. Would any of her own friends actually make the effort to come? Most of them hated mornings, and they would consider a shower to be on their Top 10 List of Most Awkward Situations.

As Juliet’s church friends arrived, that insecurity crept back in. Holly wished she’d worn a sweater to cover the tattoos on her biceps. It surprised her that Juliet hadn’t made her do that already. Maybe she’d warned them.
Holly looks like
a
biker chick, but try to look past that.

There she went again, judging them for things she expected them to think. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe they were all sweet, like Juliet.

Despite her tension, she found herself relaxing as they gushed over Lily.

“She locks in on you when you talk to her, like she understands every word.”

“I can see the resemblance, Holly.”

“Right? Look at those eyes. She’s gorgeous.”

Holly couldn’t help smiling. “Yeah, I kind of think she looks like me too. Poor kid.”

“Poor kid?” one of the women said. “Are you crazy? Look at you!”

This wasn’t so bad, Holly thought as more of the women came in. A few of them asked about her mugging and commented on her bruise and busted lip, but she didn’t feel judged. She grew less uncomfortable with the inevitable hugs. She wondered if Juliet had lectured them about how to treat her.
Don’t say anything about her having the baby alone, and for heaven’s sake don’t mention her driving a taxi.

Juliet wasn’t above scheming with her friends to get Holly back to church, but they seemed sincere.

Just as Juliet was asking them all to sit, the doorbell rang again, and three of Holly’s friends from the Dock came in. Thrilled to see familiar faces, she ran across the room and hugged each of them. “I didn’t for a minute think you’d come!” she whispered. “It’s so good to have people I really know here.”

Her friend Spree spoke a little too loudly. “Girl, we wouldn’t miss it. We had to see you acting all mommy-like. Cracks us up.”

Georgia took Holly by the shoulders and studied her face. “What happened to you?”

“Long, sad story,” Holly said. “I got mugged.”

“I hope you got in a coupla licks,” Mattie said.

Holly smiled. “I tried.”

“So let’s see the little beauty,” Spree said.

Holly took them into the living room and showed them her baby. Spree wanted to hold her. Holly didn’t like passing Lily around like a vegetable dish, but she allowed it anyway. Spree, who didn’t have a good filter for what was appropriate, bounced her so hard and talked so loudly that Lily began to scream. Holly quickly took her back and held her close to comfort her.

When it seemed that everyone had arrived, Juliet seated
them around in chairs in a circle and played a few games that broke the ice and made everyone laugh. Holly noticed her friends whispering in the corner. They’d have a lot to say about this later, she was sure.

When it was time to open gifts, Cathy sat next to her, writing down the names of people to thank. There was a mountain of gifts, things she’d never thought she would get, but they were all things she needed. Lily would have enough onesies to get her through the first year, and there was no shortage of hoodie towels and receiving blankets and diapers.

By the time Holly had opened all her gifts, she was moved to tears at the generosity of these people. If they reflected God’s love, maybe Juliet was right. Maybe he wasn’t disgusted by her.

As Juliet’s friends began to leave, Holly looked for her friends and found them smoking on the patio.

She went out and sat down next to them. “Well, that turned out better than I expected. They all seemed nice.”

“If you take all that loot back to the store, you’ll wind up with a fortune,” Spree said too loudly.

“I like all of it. I’m keeping it.”

“She has more clothes now than the Kardashian baby,” Mattie said. “She’s a one-month-old fashion diva. Want a smoke?”

Holly shook her head. “No, I quit when I was pregnant and haven’t started back.”

“So did you dye away the pink just for this shower?”

“No, I was just tired of the pink. Guess I outgrew it.”

“Don’t you start acting all churchy now,” Spree said.

Holly breathed a laugh. “I used to think that was a bad thing. But you gotta admit, these people were nice. They weren’t like I expected. Who knows? Maybe I could go to church and not feel like an outcast.”

“Wanna lay bets that the whole act will disappear as you get to know them?”

Holly sighed. “Don’t be such a cynic. Maybe they were authentic.”

“Sounds to me like Holly needs a night out to get her head straight,” Mattie said. “Let’s have a girls’ night tonight. It’s ladies’ night at Club Onyx.”

Holly shook her head. “Can’t. I have too much going on. I can’t party like I used to.”

“There she goes,” Spree told the other two. “They’ve turned her.”

“I haven’t turned,” Holly said. “I have two jobs and a baby.”

“So come for a little while and turn in early. Surely you have enough babysitters.”

Juliet opened the sliding glass door and leaned out, holding Lily, who was crying. “Holly, Lily needs you.”

Holly took her baby, quieting her.

“So what do you say?” Georgia asked. “Get big sis to babysit and come out with us tonight?”

Holly shot Juliet an uncomfortable look. “Not tonight, you guys. Maybe later.”

Juliet seemed stiffer as she went back in.

Disheartened, Holly walked her friends to the door and let them out, still fending off their protests. Even if she wanted a night of partying—which she didn’t—she still had Creed to worry about.

As she went back into the kitchen where the last of Juliet’s friends were cleaning up, Holly wondered what they would think if they knew the father of her baby was wanted for murder, and that she feared he would intrude on her life and disrupt everything. Would they treat her as kindly?
Or would they welcome her into their midst, then whisper behind her back?

She didn’t know, and she was too tired to puzzle it all out. Instead of forcing herself back in among them, Holly slipped into Juliet’s bedroom to nurse her baby.

CHAPTER 16

T
he conversation Juliet had overheard at the shower didn’t help Holly’s case when she asked her to babysit that night. “Are you going to the Dock with those girls?” Juliet asked point-blank.

Holly grunted. “No, Juliet. There’s a lawyers’ convention starting in town, and maybe I can earn back some of the money I lost in the mugging.”