Love Is All Around (8 page)

“Thanks, Mrs….” He grasped the cake in front of him like a shield.

Patsy sauntered past.

“You like German chocolate? I’m not too fond of it myself—the coconut, you know—but it was all they had fresh at the Bag & Basket and my boy Randy, he loves it.”

“Randy Jensen?” Will looked a question at Patsy. She was busy studying her nails.

“That’s right.” The older woman patted his arm. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me you were living here. Your momma was such a dear friend.” She tsked.

He’d never actually heard anyone tsk before, and his mother was nobody’s momma. He raised an eyebrow at Patsy.

Patsy, still looking down at her hand, grinned.

“God bless Patsy Lee here for telling me you were having problems. It’s not right to leave a neighbor in need.”

“Yes, bless Patsy.” He gave Patsy a look relaying all the blessings he could muster. She practically glowed with angelic kindness.

Demoness.

“I mean, it’s hard not to notice things are a bit off, what with the sign and the refrigerator and all.” Mrs. Jensen stepped between him and Patsy. Will angled his neck to keep a watch on the instigator of this torment while Randy’s mother prattled on. “Truth be told, I was a bit concerned when I drove by this morning, but after Patsy Lee explained your situation, I just knew I had to stop by and help.”

“What situation, exactly?” he asked, his gaze boring into Patsy. Seemingly unconcerned, she shoved her hands into her pockets and leaned against the wall.

Mrs. Jensen had wandered out of the foyer and into the front room where the floor sander still leaned near the broken window. Will stepped toward Patsy. She tilted her head up, her eyes dancing with humor.

Will took his most intimidating stance, using all of his height to tower over her. “Thought you’d help me out, did you?”

“It is only neighborly.” Patsy pushed away from the wall and started after Mrs. Jensen. Will laid a restraining hand on her arm.

“There are a lot of ways to be neighborly,” he whispered. “Perhaps you’d like to investigate a few others.”

She paused for a moment, then looked into his eyes. “I think you’ve got the wrong neighborhood.”

Something in Will’s chest tightened at her challenge. “I spent a lot of time researching this one,” he murmured.

“Too bad, ‘cause it looks like you made the wrong choice.”

Mrs. Jensen came back around the corner, and Will released Patsy’s arm. This move might not have been everything he expected, but one thing was sure—he was liking his choice.

o0o

Patsy was in a good mood, downright skippy. She wasn’t sure exactly what had possessed her to turn Randy’s momma onto Will, or to follow her over there, but it had put a spring in Patsy’s step.

Mr. I-don’t-need-help-from-anybody had met his comeuppance. Plus, dealing with Randy’s momma would keep him busy and out of Patsy’s life, which she needed.

Tied up with every do-gooder in Daisy Creek, he’d be so busy ordering bric-a-brac and eating casseroles, he’d have no time to cross Patsy’s path. He might not even make the barbecue Dwayne invited him to.

Patsy felt a stab of disappointment at the thought.

No, she didn’t want to see him. She wanted him busy and tucked away in his Victorian mansion. Now she needed to concentrate on her goal to leave Daisy Creek.

The first step was breaking her dependency on Granny. Patsy picked up a pen and signed away two years of payments to AT&T. No more missing messages. After waving away the clerk’s offer of a bag for her new cell phone, she jogged to her Jeep. There, she dialed Glenn’s number. She had met him a month ago during a seminar at the University of Missouri-Rolla. This morning in the Rolla paper there was a notice that an engineering team was looking for someone to do web design and Glenn’s name and number were listed. If she was lucky, this would be her big break. His voicemail answered, so she left a message with her new number.

Finally, she was making some progress. She clicked the daisy-decorated cover onto her phone and stashed it in her purse.

Now there was nothing Granny or Will could do that would get in her way.

o0o

Will could not believe the havoc Patsy Clark had wreaked on his life. Since the float trip, his nightly sleep had been disturbed by visions of Patsy parading in nothing but her bikini, water dripping from her hair, nipples erect from the cold. It was more than one man should have to bear. Then, in addition to haunting his dreams, the real living-breathing Patsy had unleashed a band of gray-haired matrons and coverall-wearing men into his home. He had no peace day or night.

But he was not going to admit defeat.

No, far from it. Little did Patsy know, but this was the best thing that could have happened to him—forced him to reevaluate his priorities.

He’d made a mistake buying a house in need of so much work.

Starting over didn’t mean strapping on a tool belt. It meant doing things his way. And that is what he was going to do.

He eyed the stack of paint cans and wallpaper samples. Home décor wasn’t important.

Starting a business of his own design was. Time to focus.

He hopped over the drop cloth Ralph was using as a bed and picked up the phone. First he would work on his business plan, then he’d deal with Patsy Clark and her green-bean brigade.

The doorbell rang while he was on hold for Richard Parks. He ignored it; no reason to aid the enemy.

The bell was quickly followed by a light rap. Ten seconds later, Jessica Perry pushed the door open. Wearing a sundress decorated with tiny red hearts, she swished her skirt back and forth while she waited.

Will turned his back on her as he strained to listen.

“Glad you called,” Richard said.

Jessica’s heels tapped across the bare floors. Will tried to block the sound and concentrate on what Richard was saying. “I just got wind of a great opportunity. It’s got everything you could want—surefire moneymaker, build the community, all that. Couldn’t ask for more.”

Jessica leaned over to examine the floor sander, giving a more opportunistic man a full view of her cleavage. Ample, but he was more a perky man. Perky with a side of attitude. Will clenched his teeth as the dream Patsy and her green bikini popped into his head.

Great, she was haunting his daydreams too. The woman really needed to learn some consideration.

“You there?” Richard asked.

Will grunted.

“How about lunch tomorrow?”

After agreeing to meet at the newspaper office around noon, Will hung up.

“Making plans with anyone I know?” Jessica glanced down at her manicure, then snapped her gaze back up at him.

Will suddenly felt like the last nacho at a poker game.

“What a coincidence. I was stopping by to invite you to lunch.” Her hand ran down the neckline of her dress, stopping somewhere a little north of impropriety.

Make that the last bratwurst at a tailgate party.

“I could show you some office space while we’re out.” She swished closer, breathing the words through a cloud of musky perfume.

The last Budweiser at the Super Bowl?

In search of fresh air, he took a step back. “I’m kind of fully stocked with casseroles right now.”

Smoothing her skirt, she breathed, “I could help you out.”

“Great idea.” Zipping into the kitchen, he grabbed three casseroles—one tuna, two green-bean—and a bowl of something fluffy and pink. “Don’t worry about washing them when you’re done. I think a dishwasher is on the plan for Wednesday.” Shoving the dishes into her hands, he hurried her to the door. “Just drop them by anytime.”

“But… the office space.”

“No rush. I’ll call you.” After shutting the door, he leaned against it and let out a sigh of relief. Another narrow escape. He already had one woman to deal with. She was more than enough.

o0o

 “I applied at the BiggeeMart today.” Ruthann pulled the curtain back, staring out into Granny’s backyard. A bluebird poked his head out of a weathered birdhouse. “They said they had positions open in the pharmacy and jewelry—a lot classier than checking at the B & B.”

“Yeah, I’d much rather be discussing foot fungus and hemorrhoids all day.” Filling from a Hostess pie oozed onto Patsy’s hand. She licked a bit of apple off her wrist. Three days since she’d left a message for Glenn and nada. Why hadn’t he called?

Three days since she’d seen Will. Why hadn’t he called?

She chastised herself for the thought. She didn’t want Will to call. Her plan was working. She should be happy.

“What about the jewelry? There’s nothing wrong with that,” Ruthann said.

Nothing right with it either. Patsy’s mind drifted back to Will. Wonder if he got a new refrigerator yet? His window was fixed. She’d just happened to drive by his place yesterday. Couldn’t help but notice. It wasn’t like she was going out of her way to see him. He lived right on Oak Street.

“Momma’s last boyfriend bought her a diamond tennis bracelet from the BiggeeMart. You should see how it sparkles,” Ruthann continued.

“All that sparkles isn’t gold,” Patsy quoted, popping a corner of crust into her mouth. In Patsy’s experience, most things that sparkled were just flashy lures.

Giving her a confused look, Ruthann replied, “‘Course not, I told you it was diamonds.”

It wasn’t worth explaining. “Did you ask for jewelry?”

“No, I didn’t want to be pushy. I told ‘em I’d take whatever.”

“If you want jewelry, why didn’t you tell them that?” Sometimes Ruthann was as spineless as a jellyfish.

“I don’t know. I’ll just be glad to get out of the B & B. I ran into Leroy at the BiggeeMart too. If you wait too long, all their openings’ll be gone.”

Horror of horrors. “I’ll risk it.” Patsy touched her pocket to make sure her phone was still there. It was.

“I don’t know why you’re so set against working there.” Ruthann slumped in her chair. “We’ve worked together since high school.”

Patsy looked at her friend. “Don’t you ever want more? See the world? Live someplace where everybody doesn’t know everything about you—from when you started your period to your first kiss? Where people don’t judge you based on your family or mistakes in your past? Where people aren’t constantly scrapping for a job to keep a roof over their heads? Don’t you?”

Ruthann blinked. “I never thought of living anywhere else. I guess it doesn’t bother me people know all about me. Saves me having to explain, but sure, I want more. Everybody does.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Patsy’s pie was almost gone. Should she open a second?

“You want a pie?” she asked.

Ruthann’s look bordered on horrified. “I don’t know how you eat those things. They’re disgusting.”

Patsy was unapologetic. “I like them. Besides, they have fruit in them. I just wish they still made the pudding ones. Then I could get my dairy too.” To emphasize her point, she ripped into the second bag.

Shaking her head, Ruthann switched back to the earlier topic. “You really want to leave us? That’s what you want more than anything?” A tear threatened to roll down her cheek.

Damn it all. Patsy didn’t mean to upset her. She set the untouched pie to the side. “‘Course not. I just want...” A chirping sounded from her pocket. It took a beat to recognize her cell’s ring. Will. She yanked the phone out of her pocket, then realized he wouldn’t have this number. Disappointment caused her to stare at the small screen blankly. The phone rang again, breaking the spell. Rolla number. Glenn.

She signaled Ruthann she’d be back and popped out the back door onto the patio.

“Patsy, you interested in the web job?” Glenn’s voice boomed at her. “It doesn’t pay much, but it could lead to bigger things. You still interested?”

Nervous, Patsy’s confirmation came out in a squeak.

“Great, meet me tomorrow for lunch? We can iron out the details then.”

Clutching her phone to her chest, Patsy performed a little pirouette. This was it, her chance. She was leaving Daisy Creek.

The bluebird popped back out of his simple home, looked around and flew off over the neighboring house’s roofline. Blowing him a kiss, Patsy skipped back into the kitchen.

Chapter 5

A pigeon stared down at Will as he pulled into the newspaper’s parking lot. Probably looking for a good place to crap. The way his week was going, he was surprised Patsy Clark hadn’t organized a whole flock to circle overhead and drop missiles like B52 bombers on a raid. Giving his exquisitely clean Beamer a final look, he tromped toward the
News
building.

Only published Wednesdays and Saturdays, the
Daisy Creek News
was a small operation, not big enough for a separate building. Instead, they inhabited an old factory a block off the courthouse square. The front was occupied by a diner, the kind of place where coffee was served in thick china cups with a saucer, the tables were chrome with scarred Formica tops, and biscuits with white gravy was the special of the day.

Will wound his way up the metal staircase. A twenty-something with a gigantic coffee stain on her blouse gave him a tired smile when he stepped through the door.

Dabbing at her shirt with a shredded paper napkin, she said, “You Will Barnes? Richard told me to wait on you. Go on in.”

With the unsettling feeling he should apologize for something, he quickly stepped past her and into the office.

Richard looked up from an oak desk yellowed with age. “So you planning on making your next million in Daisy Creek?”

Richard hadn’t changed much over the years.

“You tell me. Is there a million to be made here?” Will settled into an office chair that matched Richard’s desk.

Richard laughed, a startling sound in the little room. “There’s always money to be made. The problem is you have to have some to make some, don’t you?”

Will chose not to respond. He was smart enough to not volunteer financing until he’d heard the other man’s proposal. Besides, he wasn’t interested in backing something. He wanted to start something. Make something from nothing.

Richard leaned forward. “I’ll be straight with you. I’ve got a line on what could be the best thing to hit Daisy Creek since the mines moved out and the factories closed up.”