Wrong Way Renee (44 page)

Susan suddenly stopped
crying
. She took a
backward
step.
“You two are with them, aren't you? And
Chantelle
, too.
”
She jerked the door open and ran from the room. After finding a box in the kitchenette, she started throwing all her supplies in it as fast as she could.

Zoey and Antoine stopped working to watch her. It was like seeing something in fast motion. Susan ran outside with the box then returned with the one that had held all her crosses. She filled that one up as quickly and sprinted for the backdoor.

Antoine shook his head.
“Ladies, when you fi
re someone, you mean business.”

Everyone in the shop laughed.
Renee wondered if they’d be able to find a hairdresser to replace her. But instead of
dwelling
on
doom and gloom, she
tried to see the positive. They’d gotten rid of a nut before she caused a more serious problem.

With any luck, her other issues would be as simple to fix. And with the small chance of a cancer diagnosis looming as well as the unpleasant task of breaking Cleave’s heart, she’d needed the comic relief.

Sh
e left the shop at four that afternoon and headed to
Cleave
's house.
Nibbling
on a hangnail all the way over,
she tried to quell her
nervous
ness
about the impending confrontation. How could she not have known it would turn out this way? She'd missed all the warning signs. Never again, she vowed.

This was going to take a toll on
Cleave
, and that broke her heart. He'd been so good to her. But even if Joe had not reentered the picture, this was something that had to be done. After she and
Cleave
had slept together, she knew it. It was easier to hope things would get better, but she knew they wouldn't in her heart of hearts.

She let herself in through the garage.
Cleave
's car wasn't there so she decided to wait inside for him. As soon as she went into the house, Duke bared his teeth and jumped on her, nearly knocking her over.
“Down, boy,
”
she commanded.

He sat in front of her.

“Stupid dog, don't you know me yet?
”

He seemed to understand that he'd been insulted because he starte
d making a low, growling sound.

Sh
e stood perfectly stil
l, never taking her eyes off
him. The dog inched closer, snarling. Her heart raced.
Sh
e used the shelves on the side of the cooking island as a ladder to climb onto the
granite
surface. She stood up, bumping her head on a rack of pots and pans.

Brilliant idea, dumb ass
.

As if
the stupid dog
couldn’t
reach
her
there
.

Duke circled the island again and again like a predator toying with his prey.
After what seemed like an eternity, the garage door motor start
ed
.

A minute later,
Cleave
came in,
looked at her, then at the dog.
“What's going on?
”

“He hates me
.
Can you take him out of here?”

“He d
oesn't hate you, he loves you.”

Could he possibly be that dense?
“He's growling at me. If he likes me, it's because
he wants a bite of fresh meat.”

“Oh, Renee.
”
He shook his head.

“
Cleave
, please take him out of here.
I’ve been up here for like twenty minutes.”

“Okay. Come on, Duke. Here, boy.
”
H
e
led him through the family room and locked him in the pool area. He returned to the kitchen and laid his keys on the counter.

Renee
eased
herself off the island, trying to be mindful of her now achy neck.

“Want to tell me how you ended up standing on my island, impaling the pot rack?
”
He was grinning but she couldn’t find anything to smile about.

“Can't we pretend you d
idn't see this and start over?”

“S
ure. What a nice surprise it is to see you. Have you made a decision?
”
He
eliminated the space between them and set
his hands on her waist.

Sh
e disengaged herself from him
and
took a few steps
back
. Her throat was dry and she was trembling.

Please let this go as well as possible. Please, don't let him be devastated
.

“I have.
Can we sit in the family room?”

His
face turned ashen.
“If you have something bad to tell m
e, you can tell me right here.”

Her
heart beat wildly.
“If you insist.
”
She
drew a deep sigh
.
“
Cleave
, I think you're a wonderful man. You'll make the r
ight woman a great husband. But…
that woman isn't me.
”

She studied his face.
Lines creased his forehead
. She winced at the
knowledge
that she
was hurting him.
“
I will pay you the money I owe you for the car. I'll have a check in the
mail to you this week.”

H
e started sobbing.

Her heart broke for him. Sh
e didn't know what to do. She hadn't counted on tears. The more he cried, the more she felt tears stinging her own eyes.
“Oh, God. I'm so sorry. I tried, I really did. The chemistry isn't there for me and
…
”

“Just go.
”
He moved toward the door, opening it as he stared at the floor.
“
I don't want to hear any more.”

He didn't have to tell her twice.
Sh
e bolted from the room, ran out the garage and slid into her Jeep. Sadness, relief and regret fought for her heart. She laid her head on the steering wheel for a moment before pulling away. As she backed out of the driveway, she took a last look at the beautiful home that could have been hers. But what Joe gave her was worth a mil
lion beautiful homes.

* * * * *

“So what happens now? Now that I'm a free woman.
”
Renee wiped sauce from her fingers with a Wash
and Dry Sunday night. The food at the pub where Joe took her was okay but she wouldn’t have cared if it was dog food. As long as she was with him, she was happy.

He
leaned back against the padded booth.
“We
can’t
take up where
we left off. I mean, how can I know you won
't do this to me again
?”

Her mood clunked, but she couldn’t blame him for not trusting her
.
“
I would never, ever do anything to hurt you. Ever
again
, that is. I never set out to do anything wrong in the first place. Things just got
…
out of control. But I've learned my lesson.
”

“But you can see that you did hurt me. You kept secrets and deceived me. It's going to take me some time to get over that. You know my history. Even if it weren't for tha
t, anyone would feel betrayed.” He swiped a French fry through his barbecue sauce then ate it.

Tears threatened but
sh
e willed them back.
She was strong.
“I love you. I promise you I'll never cheat on you.
”
Would she believe it if the tables were turned? She knew she'd have to prove herself to him.

“I'm glad
to hear
that, but it'll take time to heal my woun
ds. You'll have to be patient.”

She nodded, too choked up to speak. Although she understood his hesitancy, she wanted so much to jump back into a relationship and shout, “Full steam ahead.”
She
need
ed him as desperately as she needed air and water.

When they returned to
her
apartment, she
kissed him goodnight and he kept it chaste. Taki
ng his hands, she met his stare and could tell he was struggling to hold back.
“You can spend the night. If you want.” Her body hummed with sexual awareness, but she didn’t hold out hope of quenching the fire inside her.

“I'll stay, but I'm not ready to make love to you, yet.
”
He sat on the couch and raked his fingers through his dark hair.

Hope flared higher than it had been in ages. “I
sn't it usually the woman who says no to the man?
”
sh
e teased.

“Most men, under normal circumstances. But you're not just any woman to me. You might be
the
woman. That makes i
t a whole different ball game.”

His words
soothed her like an oasis in the desert
, bathing her in happiness. She knew he'd be able to forgive her, in time. But first, she had to come clean
, all the way
.
“Joe?
”

“Yeah?”

She
wrung
her hands.
“I
've got to tell you something.”

His face registered alarm.
“What is it?”

“It's about
Cleave
. I…we…he and I
…”

He held up
a
hand.
“Don't, Renee. I'd rather not hear the words. I understand.
”
He squeezed his eyes shut, his jaw stubbornly set
.

Relief swept through her
. What had she done to deserve this wonderful man? Even after he knew all she'd done, he still loved her. They spent the night cuddled together, but true to his word,
he didn’t
make love to her.
W
hen they did, it
was going to
be spectacular.

In the meanwhile, she had to walk the straight and narrow. And she needed to admit to her family that she was in love with a white man.

* * * * *

Wednesday morning, the phone woke Renee out of a sound sleep. Opening one eye, s
he looked at the clock. S
even-thirty.

“This better be good,
”
she croaked into the handset.

“Ms. Wright?
”
a woman's voice asked.

“Yes. Who's this?”

“This is
Jackie
, from Florida Hospital. Your MRI report is ready to pick up. When would you like to come get that?
”

Sh
e sat straight up, suddenly wide-awake.
“I'll be there in an hour.
”
Her heart pounded
. As soon as she hung up she took the world’s fastest shower, downed a few sips of coffee then raced out the door.

Forty-five minutes later, she stood at the reception window at the MRI Department.
“Renee Wright,
”
she said to the young woman manning the desk.
“I was told my report was re
ady.”

“Give me a minute to find it.
”
The woman
faded into the sterile, white office.

Renee took a deep breath as she
glanc
ed around the waiting room. A young
mother
handed
her
baby
a bottle of juice. An elderly lady
in a wheelchair thumbed through a magazine. A middle-aged man sat in the corner, gnawing on his fingernails. They all have a story, she realized. Just like her, they were probably waiting for a diagnosis that could potentially change their life.
Tension hung heavy in the air.

Would fate be so cruel to her to bring love into her life than hang a cancer diagnosis around her neck? She couldn’t think that way. But the waiting was killing her.

“Here we are,
”
the woman
behind the counter
said
.
“Sign here.
”
She pointed to a line on the bottom of
a
yellow paper.