For Better or Worse (3 page)

“Can I help you, ladies?” A man—who had to have only moments before hopped off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle—stepped out from one of the fitting rooms. His long, wiry, sandy-brown hair was tied back in a ponytail. His beard, a much redder color, was also tied in a ponytail at the base of his chin. His skin bore a coarse texture from years in the sun or acne or the combination of both. His black T-shirt and black pants had seen better days, but the black leather vest he wore appeared to be in good shape.

“Mom.” Candy grabbed Kelly’s hand, and Kelly felt Brittany take a step back.

Kelly lifted her chin. The man looked rough, but that didn’t mean he was a bad guy. She didn’t want her girls to prejudge the man, just as she didn’t want to judge the shop.
Just as I don’t want people to think I’m a bad mom when they see Zoey
. The inward admission pained her. Daily, she teetered between feeling like a failure and inwardly defending herself as a mother. Shaking the thoughts away, she smiled at the man. “I was looking for a boutique. I’m trying to find a wedding dress …”

“Yeah. I bought this place a couple months back. The man said he was losing money, but I’ve sure had a lot of women trying to buy dresses.” He waved his hand around the room. “What you see is what’s left. It’s all half off.”

“Maybe we should just go,” Brittany whispered.

Kelly turned toward her daughter and smiled. “Half off? Honey, I think we’re going to look around.” Extending her hand, she took a few steps toward the motorcycle guy. “I’m Kelly Coyle. Nice to meet you.”

He grinned and shook her hand. He looked past her. “Jim Lucas. Nice to meet you. Are these your kids?”

“Yes. This is my second wedding. Their father died three years ago….”

“Sorry to hear that. My wife died about five years ago from cancer. If it hadn’t been for the Lord …” He shook his head and took a deep breath.

“I understand completely.” Kelly looked back at her girls, who had already begun to inch their way toward her.

Jim winked at the girls. “There’s peppermint on the counter, if you want some. I’m going to keep working in the back. Let me know if you need anything.”

Kelly turned toward her daughters. She shrugged. “See. You never know.”

Candy cocked her eyebrow. “You don’t exactly feel that way about Zoey’s friends.”

Kelly lifted her finger. “Ah, but you forget. I’m a high school teacher. I already know the kids Zoey hangs out with. We didn’t know him.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Oh, Mom, look at this dress.” Brittany’s voice sounded from the other side of the room. “It’s a Mon Cheri.”

Kelly made her way over to her middle daughter. Her mouth dropped. “You’re kidding?”

“Who’s Mon Cherry?” asked Candy.

Kelly shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, but I’ve got to agree with Brittany. This dress is beautiful.” She fiddled with the bodice of the gown. “Doesn’t this thing have a size somewhere on it?”

Brittany pulled it off the rack and held it up to Kelly. “I don’t know, but it looks close.”

Excitement streamed through Kelly’s veins. “Let’s try it.” She gently lifted the dress from Brittany’s grasp and headed toward the empty fitting room. “Jim,” she yelled, “is it okay if I use this fitting room?”

“Sure. Just ignore the mess.” His voice sounded from somewhere in the back of the store. Kelly quickly took off her T-shirt and jean shorts then slipped into the dress. Thankfully, the dress zipped as well as having hook and eye buttons that covered the zipper. It was a tad big, but Kelly could hardly wait to see it in the 360-degree mirror.

She stepped outside of the fitting room. Both girls gasped. Candy covered her mouth with her hand. Kelly bit the inside of her lip and scrunched her nose. “Is that good? Is that a good gasp?”

“Turn around and look, Mom.” Brittany turned Kelly toward the mirror.

Kelly closed her eyes. How would she feel seeing herself in a wedding gown? She had loved Tim completely when he was alive. Would seeing herself in this make her feel as if she’d somehow tainted his memory? She thought of Harold and how good and sweet he was to her and the girls. She knew Tim would have liked Harold. He would approve.

She opened her eyes and took in the straight, floor-length, ivory gown with off-the-shoulder lace sleeves. Delicate lace covered the soft silk material. The straight-line neck was adorned with dainty, floral, V-shaped beading. The same beading styled the waist and floor of the gown giving it a romantic and whimsical appearance. The gown was not too young looking, nor did it look like a dress to be worn by a mother … and Kelly didn’t want to look like a mother on her wedding day, she wanted to look like a bride. Harold’s bride.

“You look so pretty, Mom,” Candy said.

“It’s beautiful,” Brittany agreed.

Tears pooled in Kelly’s eyes. It was the first dress she’d tried on. “It’s perfect. It couldn’t be more perfect.”

Having just left the travel agency, Harold hopped into the cab of his truck and placed the Hawaii brochure and receipt on the front seat beside him. The honeymoon cost him a good deal more than he’d anticipated, but once Cam told him that Kelly had always dreamed of going to Hawaii, Harold knew he’d have to do whatever it took to get her there.

A slow smile bowed his lips. He and Cam had already discussed not telling Kelly where they would be going after the wedding. Cam’s wife, Sadie, would pack her bags. His heartbeat sped up in anticipation. Harold could hardly wait to see the look on Kelly’s face when she learned their destination. He latched his seat belt then glanced into his rearview mirror. “I’ve waited forty years for Kelly, surely I can make it another three months.”

He turned the ignition and headed toward the shop. He’d left his right-hand man, Rudy, in charge of making sure the shop was clean and the trucks readied for the next day. It shouldn’t have taken too long, as August tended to be a slower month in the heating, cooling, and plumbing business. It was the months that were the onset of hot or cold weather that usually had Harold and his men working more hours than the day possessed.

Which made a December wedding a bit nerve-racking for him. Oftentimes a good snow or two blanketed Delaware’s countryside on or before Christmas, and Harold couldn’t stand the thought of leaving his men one guy short while he was lying around on a beach in Hawaii.

“Don’t think about it,” he growled to himself as he parked the truck in front of the shop. “Cam promised to step in if it got bad while we’re gone.”

Harold got out and looked around the lot. Rudy’s car was gone, a sign that the shop had been properly shut down and was ready for the next day. He made his way to the front door when a car pulled up the drive. He turned and smiled. Cam stepped out. “So, did you do it?”

Harold lifted the brochure and receipt in his right hand. “Got her right here.”

“Let’s see.” Cam took the papers from Harold’s grasp and fanned through them. “Man, Sadie will be so jealous. You know I’m going to have to plan a trip to the Islands now, don’t you?”

“Sounds like that would break your heart?”

Cam grinned. “Not in the slightest.” He rubbed his jaw. “But that’s not why I’m here.”

Harold folded his arms in front of his chest. “What’s up?”

“Sadie’s wanting the four of us to get together for dinner tomorrow night. She’s already talked to Kelly.”

Harold frowned. “That’s all? What’s the serious look for?”

“She wants to talk wedding colors and flowers and tuxes.”

“Oh.” Harold snarled. “I guess that goes with the territory.”

Cam nodded. “Yep.”

“And all I have to do is say yes to everything, right?”

“Yep.”

Harold cocked one eyebrow. “You’ve gotten pretty good at this?” “Yep.”

Harold laughed out loud. “I’ll be sure to heed your advice.” He lifted the papers in the air. “I’m going to go lock these up and head over to Kelly’s house. She’s making lasagna.”

Cam patted Harold’s shoulder. “Have fun, my soon-to-be brother.”

Harold chuckled as he made his way into his shop, stowed the papers in his wall vault, and went back to the truck. Cam proved to be a great perk to having fallen in love with Kelly. Not only did Harold find a woman he wanted to marry, but she came with a brother who’d become a good friend.

He glanced at the clock radio. Kelly was expecting him in half an hour. She’d gone dress shopping today, so Harold had already mentally prepared himself to listen to stories about lace and pearls and whatnot. He turned the ignition, noting his permanently stained fingernails, dry, calloused hands, and thick, hairy forearms. He was the beast marrying his beauty. What Beauty saw in him, he’d never know, but he sure thanked God for whatever it was.

Deciding he’d better stop for some gas, Harold pulled into an older, run-down gas station off Main Street. It was the usual hangout of some of the more shifty characters of their small town—a place he wouldn’t want Kelly to frequent. But the owner was a man who God had laid on Harold’s heart several years before, and Harold believed one day he would get Bill to come to church.

Harold finished pumping the gas then walked inside to pay. “Hey, Bill, how’s it going?”

The balding, white-haired man hopped off the stool and shimmied toward the counter. His weathered skin hung beneath his eyes and jaws. “Not too good.” Bill’s voice scratched from years of smoking. “Couple kids have been coming in and out all day. I’m pretty sure they’re stealing stuff, but I ain’t caught them yet.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Have you called the police?”

Bill shook his head and growled. “What am I gonna tell them? I ain’t actually seen the kids …” He peered past Harold, out the store’s window. “Here they come again.”

Harold turned, and he felt as if his heart stopped in his chest. Zoey was walking toward the gas station. She was with a man whose shaggy hair stuck out beneath a well-worn cap. He wore dark clothes, even baggier than Zoey’s, and Harold noted his several days’ growth beard. More importantly, Harold noticed he appeared to be older, much older than any of the boys he’d seen in high school.

Without a second glance back to Bill, Harold marched out the door and straight to Zoey. Surprise registered on her face for an instant before she masked the expression with anger. “What’s up, pop?” Zoey exaggerated the less-than-sentimental term of endearment.

“What are you doing here, Zoey?” Harold suppressed every ounce of fury that begged to be unleashed on the teenager.

“Getting a drink. Last I heard, that wasn’t a crime.”

Harold grabbed her arm. “I think you’re going to go home with me now.”

Zoey jerked away and scowled at him. “I will not.”

“Hey, dude, what gives?” The man Zoey was with took a step toward Harold. “Zoey and I aren’t doin’ nothing wrong. You need to back off.”

“I need to back off?” Fury raced through Harold’s veins.

His fists clenched and he shoved them into his front pockets to keep from punching the young man in the face. “Do you know how old she is? Seventeen. That’s right. This girl is still in high school.”

The man smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Last I heard the age of consent was sixteen. She’s plenty—”

Hot anger exploded inside Harold at the man’s words. His fists came out of his pockets faster than he could control them. He grabbed the guy’s grimy shirt in both fists, forcing his face mere inches from Harold’s. “Now, you listen to me.” The words spit from Harold’s lips, splattering the man’s face. “This seventeen-year-old is off limits for you, buddy. If I so much as see you within fifty feet of this girl, I’ll …”

“Stop it, Harold.” Zoey pushed his arm, but Harold was too enraged to move or respond. “I’ll go with you. Just stop it.”

Fear laced the young man’s eyes, and Harold felt his anger start to simmer. The work of the Holy Spirit, no doubt. Twenty years before, Harold would have sent the guy to the hospital. Squinting his eyes, he held the man tight for just a moment more. “I mean what I said.”

“Fine, Harold. You mean it. Let him go.” Zoey pushed his arm again.

This time he released the young man and turned toward Zoey. “Go, get in the truck.” “My car is here. I’ll just drive.”

Harold shook his head. He didn’t trust Zoey. She seemed to have mellowed from when he first approached them, and her tone had settled substantially, but he still didn’t want to take the chance that she’d run off again. “No. Your mom and I will get your car later.”

Zoey let out a long breath. “Fine.” She turned toward the man. “Jamie, give me my keys.”

Shock coursed through Harold. “You let this guy have your keys? He’s been driving your car?”

“You’re mad. I get it.” Zoey took the keys from Jamie’s hands then started toward Harold’s truck. “Can we just go home?”

Harold glared back at Jamie one last time. “I think you need to be heading on home now.”

Jamie lifted his hands in surrender. “Fine. I’m gone.” He turned and slithered back down the street.

Harold took several long breaths and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. The age-of-consent comment Jamie made raced through Harold’s mind repeatedly. What had Zoey been doing with that guy? Why was she so rebellious? Yes, she’d lost her father, but her family had been overwhelmingly supportive, and he’d tried, how he’d tried, to be good to her, her mother, and her sisters.