Welcome to Serenity (23 page)

“Well, surely you’re not considering going out with that little strumpet, Jeanette whatever-her-name-is.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” he said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He was about to cut off the connection when he heard her call his name insistently. He relented and put the phone back to his ear. “Yes?”

“Okay, I didn’t mean to get your dander up. I know that’s exactly the wrong thing to do. After all these years of watching you and your father, you’d think I’d know better. You’re like a child. You’ll do exactly the opposite of whatever I suggest just to spite me.”

“Was that supposed to be an apology?”

She sighed dramatically. “I’m sorry,” she said without much sincerity. “I didn’t call about any of this.”

“Then why did you call?”

“The drapes for your office are ready. I’d like to bring them over tomorrow. I thought afterward we might have time to look at a few houses.”

This time his sigh was as dramatic as hers. “Bring the drapes if you want, but I don’t have time to go house hunting tomorrow,” he said.

“Well, surely you’ll at least be able to find the time to have lunch,” she said.

He thought about that. Sooner or later he and his mother were going to have to spend some time together. She was not the sort of woman to let anyone push her aside forever, especially one of her own children. Though she was sometimes her own worst enemy in those relationships, she tried her best to be a good mother in the only way she knew how. It had taken him thirty-five years to recognize that.

“We can have lunch,” he said. “On one condition.”

“What?” she asked warily.

“That we include Jeanette and you promise to be civil to her.”

“Absolutely not,” she said at once.

“Okay, then, no deal.”

“Thomas McDonald, I do not appreciate your attempt to blackmail me into spending time with a woman I can’t abide.”

“You barely know her.”

“Just the same, I have no desire to know her any better,”

she said stubbornly.

He knew it was vanity and pride more than snobbery that made her so determined to keep Jeanette at arm’s length. Surely she was embarrassed over the fiasco she’d created at Chez Bella’s. At least that’s what he wanted to believe.

“And it doesn’t matter to you that she’s important to me?” he asked quietly.

She gasped. “How important?”

“I’m not one hundred percent certain yet, but right now I’d have to say very important. And I would very much appreciate it if you would at least give her a chance. Come on, Mother, it won’t be the first time in your life you’ve had to be polite to someone you’re not fond of. You do it all the time for the sake of one charity or another. Can’t you do at least as much for me?”

“Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I have no choice,” she said grudgingly. “I’ll be at your office at eleven-thirty to drop off the drapes. Make a reservation for lunch at noon. Tell your little friend not to be late.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, hiding his amusement at her dictatorial attitude. He recognized it as an attempt to have some control over the situation. He hung up, pleased with himself for setting in motion a truce between Jeanette and his mother. Unfortunately, though, only one side had agreed to a meeting. Something told him Jeanette was going to be a much tougher sell.

“Oh no, no way!” Jeanette said, staring at Tom as if he’d grown two heads or, at the very least, lost his otherwise intelligent mind. “I will not have lunch with your mother! Not for a million dollars.”

“Not even to thank me for making sure the town got the Christmas tree you wanted?” he cajoled.

“Not even for that,” she said flatly.

If she’d known why he’d suddenly appeared at her apartment bearing pizza and a bottle of expensive wine, she’d have tossed him right back out on his sexy backside. Now, with the aroma of the pizza teasing her taste buds, it was a little late to send him on his way. That didn’t mean she had to agree to this absurd plan of his.

“Your mother will take one look at me and dump a glass of ice water over my head,” she predicted.

“I already have her word that she won’t do that,” he said.

“What did you do? Make a list of rules for her to abide by?”

“It wasn’t a list. I just reminded her that she is perfectly capable of being civil, even under the most awkward circumstances, and that I expected nothing less of her under these.”

“Gee, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy,” Jeanette said sourly, reaching for a slice of pizza with black olives and mushrooms, just the way she liked it. She was getting at least one slice before this conversation deteriorated—as it was bound to do.

“Have some wine,” Tom said, filling her glass to the brim.

“I’m not going to go along with this, no matter how drunk you try to get me,” she said, but she did take a sip of the wine. It was excellent. He hadn’t bought it in Serenity, unless he’d managed to wheedle it out of Dana Sue from Sullivan’s wine cellar.

“Look, I know my mother made a mess of things when the two of you first met, but she’s basically a nice woman.”

“Nice?” she repeated skeptically. “Is this the same woman who behaved so badly last time we ran into each other that you walked out on her?”

He looked chagrined. “The same one.”

“Yet you think the three of us having lunch is a good idea,” she mused, then gave him a piercing look. “Are you delusional?”

“More than likely,” he admitted. “But we could try. I have her commitment that she’ll behave. If you’ll go at least that far, it shouldn’t be awful.”

She shook her head. “Can you even hear yourself?

You’re inviting me to a lunch that ‘shouldn’t be awful.’ That is not a great recommendation. Why do you even want to try this?”

“Because she is, for all of her flaws, my mother. And you matter to me. I’d really like it if the two of you got along.”

“You mean better than the two of you do?” she asked. He winced. Then, as if he sensed she might be wavering, he leaned closer. “I would be really, really grateful.”

She studied him with a narrowed gaze. “How grateful?”

“Very.”

“Grateful enough to help me move when the time comes?”

He grinned. “I was planning to do that anyway.”

“Really? That’s great. Would you be grateful enough to help me paint the living room and bedrooms downstairs?”

His smile spread. “I could be persuaded to do that.”

“Would you fix every leaky faucet in the house?”

He looked hesitant. “I can try, but you might be better off asking Ronnie to do that. Or hiring a plumber.” He brightened. “Yes, definitely a plumber. I’ll hire a plumber for you.”

“And an electrician? I’m thinking there should be a lot of ceiling fans.”

“Done,” he said.

“A new roof?”

His mouth gaped a little at that, which made her laugh.

“Just kidding. The roof’s in great shape. I just wanted to see how far you’d go.”

He shrugged. “Pretty far. Look, nobody knows better than I do how impossible my mother can be, but if it makes you feel any better, she was just as difficult with the men my sisters chose to marry and every one of them had trust funds and family trees she could trace back to the May- flower. It’s just a mother-hen thing.”

“Except you and I aren’t planning to get married,”

Jeanette reminded him.

“Speak for yourself,” he said.

Well, that certainly upped the stakes in an unexpected way, she thought, waiting for a panic that never came. Eventually, she allowed herself to meet Tom’s gaze and the earnest entreaty she found there. She struggled against the tide of emotions it stirred in her, but predictably, she lost the battle. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. This is a bad idea.”

“No, it’s not,” he said confidently. “You’ll charm the socks off her.”

Jeanette would settle for getting through the meal without strangling her.

Mary Vaughn’s car sputtered to a stop on the side of the highway ten miles outside of Serenity. She’d bought the stupid gas guzzler because it was supposed to be reliable, and also to stick it to Sonny who didn’t approve of any car that didn’t come off the lot at his dealership. Unfortunately the closest dealership for this car was an hour away at best; most of the mechanics at the garages in Serenity wouldn’t touch it. She needed a tow truck and a ride home.

Gritting her teeth, she punched in Sonny’s number, prepared to listen to a diatribe about what a mistake she’d made in getting the car in the first place. When Sonny picked up, she announced, “I’m stranded on the highway. I don’t need a lecture. I need help.”

“Flat tire?”

“No, the stupid thing just died on me. I’m lucky there was no traffic and I could get to the shoulder without anyone hitting me.”

“Where are you exactly?”

She told him.

“Whatever you do, don’t stand on the side of the road,”

he instructed. “Stay in the car. Help’s on the way.”

For once she was grateful for his brisk, no-nonsense approach to a crisis. She could recall many times when she’d wanted and needed sympathy, only to get practical advice and concrete solutions. At the time it had seemed like a flaw. Today it was reassuring.

“Thanks, Sonny.”

“No problem, sugar. You stay put.”

Twenty minutes later, a tow truck pulled up, followed by Sonny.

“I figured you’d want the car towed to the dealership,” he said. “And that would leave you without a way to get home.”

She eyed him warily as he actually got out and held the door for her, something few other men she’d met bothered to do anymore.

“It’ll also give you plenty of time to gloat,” she said as she settled onto the luxurious leather seat, which she was forced to admit was more comfortable than her own. He grinned. “I hadn’t planned to, but I can if it’ll make you feel better.”

“No, please don’t,” she said.

Once he’d spoken to the driver of the tow truck, he climbed back behind the wheel of his car. “You okay?”

“Just annoyed,” she said. “There’s no telling how long it’ll take to get the car fixed.”

“I’ll give you a loaner, no problem,” Sonny said. She frowned at him. “Why are you being so nice?”

He frowned at the question. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It just seems weird, given all the water under the bridge. I mean, I know we agreed to get along when Rory Sue’s home for Christmas, but this is above and beyond.”

His gaze leveled with hers. “Why’d you call me if you were anticipating nothing but grief?”

She fidgeted for a minute before admitting, “Because I knew I could count on you.”

“Well, there you go,” he said. “Good ol’ Sonny Lewis to the rescue, as always.”

Mary Vaughn heard an unexpectedly bitter note in his voice. She’d upset him, which was the very last thing she’d intended. She’d thought she was paying him a compliment. She reached over and covered his hand, which was gripping the steering wheel too tightly. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

She thought about it. “I don’t know. Maybe for everything I put you through.”

“Don’t,” he said harshly, shaking off her hand. “Don’t apologize when you don’t really even know what it’s for.”

She sat back and stared straight ahead, her stomach churning at the realization that she’d inadvertently hurt him yet again. Every few minutes, she stole a glance at him. His jaw was set, his mouth turned down.

“I really am sorry,” she whispered.

He muttered an oath, then glanced her way. “Don’t beat yourself up. You know, I go along thinking I’ve put all the pieces of my life back together, that my life is really good. Then it hits me that you still have the power to cut right through me. I don’t like it, Mary Vaughn. I don’t like what that says about me.”

“It says more about me,” she returned mildly. “That I would keep doing things to hurt you when you’ve been nothing but wonderful to me our whole lives. I don’t like feeling that thoughtless and selfish, either.”

He didn’t respond, didn’t jump in to tell her that she wasn’t either thoughtless or selfish, as he might have done in the past. He let the words just hang there, undisputed. It hurt, but she couldn’t deny the truth of what she’d said and obviously he wasn’t willing to do it anymore, either.

“Do you think it’s possible to change?” she asked. “I mean, old as we are, do you really think a person can stop bad habits?”

“Sure,” he said at once. “At least, I want to believe it’s possible.”

“Me, too.”

He turned into the lot at his dealership. The anger and vulnerability vanished behind his more familiar smiling mask, no doubt for the benefit of his employees and any customers who might be around. “Come inside and I’ll get you set up with that loaner.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said.

His scowl returned. “Don’t be an idiot. You need a car. I have cars. It’s as simple as that. It doesn’t have to get complicated.”

“Okay, then,” she said briskly. “I’ll pay you, of course.”