The Comeback Kiss (29 page)

“
Oh, you look...”
Mary Ellen paused, her eyes slowly grazing down Tessa
’
s T-shirt to her exposed thighs, then slo
wly back up again. Of course, Tessa knew damn well that Mary Ellen had noted her attire already; this show was for show.

“
...comfortable,”
Mary Ellen said, finishing off her sentence with a smile that deepened her dimples back into the black pit of hell fr
om whence they sprang.

“
Thank you,”
Tessa said, snatching her trench off the coatrack and shrugging into it. “
I just woke up.”

“
Oh, don
’
t you worry about it,”
Mary Ellen said brightly. “
You should see me first thing in the morning. Goodness, I
’
m a fright!”

Tessa made a noncommittal noise, then ran her fingers through her hair.

“
Speaking of first thing in the morning,”
she said, trying to keep her voice polite, “
you usually call before you visit.”

Mary Ellen gave a fake look of contrition. “
I know. I
’
m so so
rry. But I just came into town for a visit
—
I have an old friend in town
—
so I thought I
’
d drop in and see how you were.”

“
Who
’
s your friend?”
Tessa asked.

Mary Ellen gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “
No one you
’
d know. So, are you going to the Come As Yo
u Aren
’
t Ball on Saturday? I hear it
’
s going to be very fun. A benefit for a day-care center, right?”

“
I know everyone in town,”
Tessa said, trying to keep her smile friendly.

“
Hmmm?”

“
It
’
s impossible for you to be visiting someone in this town that I don
’
t know, because I know everyone.”

“
Yes.”
Mary Ellen
’
s smile faded. “
Can we talk?”

She pushed past Tessa into the house. Tessa let her smile fall like a brick as she kicked the front door shut and followed Mary Ellen into the living room, then forced the sm
ile back to full wattage just as Mary Ellen turned around.

“
May I?”
Mary Ellen said, nodding toward the sofa.

“
Of course,”
Tessa said, holding one arm out in invitation, trying to keep the disdain out of her face.
Lifeline to Izzy, lifeline to Izzy,
she r
epeated in her head.

“
So,”
Tessa said, situating herself as far from Mary Ellen as she could get while still sitting on the sofa, “
how long will you be in town?”

“
Hmmm,”
she hummed vaguely, turning a concerned expression to Tessa. “
Actually, I told a littl
e fib.”

“
A little fib?”
Tessa repeated, trying to figure out what kind of person spoke like that.
Little fib. Jesus.

“
I
’
m also in town because, well, I
’
m a little concerned. I received a phone call yesterday.”
Mary Ellen leaned forward, speaking in a low t
one and patting Tessa
’
s hand with her icy fingers of death. “
About Izzy
’
s repeated absences from school.”

Tessa felt her muscles stiffen. “
Yes. There
’
s a stomach bug going around, and Izzy
—”

Mary Ellen laughed that high-pitched, tinkling laugh that grated
on every nerve Tessa possessed. “
Oh, I know, I know.”
Mary Ellen
’
s face went serious. “
But, you know, it
’
s my job to check in when things start looking dire.”

Tessa raised one eyebrow. “
Dire?”

“
You see, it
’
s my job to make sure that this environment is the
best possible one for Izzy.”
Mary Ellen smoothed her hands over her knees, and then her eyebrows quirked together and she sniffed. “
Is something burning?”

“
Um, no,”
Tessa said, tugging at the hem of the coat to keep herself from scratching the woman
’
s eye
s out. “
We had a little bit of a kitchen disaster this morning.”

“
Oh, goodness!”
Mary Ellen put her hand to her chest. “
A fire?”

“
No, just smoke. Mostly.”

Mary Ellen
’
s eyes widened. “
Mostly?”

Tessa stood up. “
Thanks for stopping by, Mary Ellen. I really ne
ed to get started on the day.”

Mary Ellen stood up as well, clutching her padfolio to her nonexistent breast.
‘
That
’
s fine, Tessa. I totally understand. I
’
d like to drop in maybe a little later and see Izzy, if that
’
s okay? It
’
s been so long, and you know
how I feel about that little girl.”

“
She
’
s not a little girl anymore,”
Tessa said. “
She
’
ll be graduating from high school at the end of next year.”

Mary Ellen sighed and headed toward the front door. “
Let
’
s hope.”

Tessa stomped out after her. “
Excuse me?”

“
She dropped half her classes.”

“
Just the AP ones. She wanted to graduate with the kids her age. And there are many studies from noted psychologists that show
—”

“
And then there
’
s the chronic truancy...”

“
I
’
d hardly call it
chronic
,”
Tessa said, but she co
uld hear the lack of conviction in her own voice.

“
...and the trouble she
’
s been getting into at school.”

“
She played a prank on the principal. Big deal. Kids do that.”

“
I
’
ve heard from the Robinsons,”
Mary Ellen said. “
They
’
ve expressed an interest in ta
king Izzy back, just until she finishes high school and comes of age.”

Tessa could swear her heart stopped beating. “
You mean, the family that had Iz when she was six?”

Mary Ellen nodded. “
Yes. And I think you should consider
—”

“
I
’
m not considering anythin
g,”
Tessa said. “
Izzy stays with me. Period. The judge said so.”

Mary Ellen
’
s eyes went dark, and Tessa felt all her suspicions locking into place as truth. She
’
d beaten this woman in court, despite all her passive-aggressive bullying, and Mary Ellen would
never forgive her for it. This wasn
’
t about Izzy
’
s best interests. It was about Mary Ellen
’
s pride and her overblown sense of her own power.

Mary Ellen pursed her lips. “
Tessa, my only concern is for Izzy. I
’
m here to make sure that her best interests are
met.”

Tessa felt her heart start up again, with a raging boom in her chest. “
I have done nothing but see to Izzy
’
s best interests. I don
’
t have a life because of her best interests. I am nothing but a hollow shell of who I used to be because of Izzy
’
s bes
t interests.”

“
Children can sense resentment, Tessa,”
Mary Ellen said, sanctimony curling around her like a swirling pool of evil.

“
I don
’
t resent her,”
Tessa said. “
How dare you?”

Mary Ellen raised one eyebrow, flipped open the padfolio, and jotted someth
ing down, then sighed and raised her little beady eyes back to Tessa
’
s. “
I see I
’
ve upset you.”

“
You haven
’
t upset me!”
Tessa snapped.

“
Well,”
Mary Ellen said, tucking the padfolio under her arm. “
I
’
m going to check in with my friend. I
’
ll give Izzy a call
later. And in the meantime”—
she grasped Tessa
’
s hand in her talons
—“
I want you to really consider what
’
s best for Izzy. Okay?”

Tessa ripped her hand free of Mary Ellen
’
s and pulled the door open.

“
I never consider anything else,”
she said. Mary Ellen
’
s sm
ile was finally gone, and she slipped out the door into the frigid air. It was all Tessa could do to keep from slamming the door behind her.

The Robinsons have expressed an interest. ..

Bullshit. Mary Ellen had hunted them down and asked them if they
’
d tak
e Izzy back. Tessa was sure of it. The woman was crazy, and vindictive, and horrible, but she had the power to put Tessa and Izzy through another big court battle. She had the power to make their lives hell.

Again.

Tessa sighed and closed her eyes. All the
se years, she
’
d been dancing to Mary Ellen
’
s tune, trying to avoid just this situation. She
’
d inflicted limitations that were suffocating Izzy, and she
’
d played the good girl to the point where her only deviance was doing good deeds in Finn
’
s name and lyi
n
g about it to the whole town. And that was just twisted.

And all that, for what? Nothing.
Nothing.
What she
’
d been trying to avoid had just slinked into her living room and all but demanded she relinquish custody of her sister.

“
Well, screw the hell out of
that,”
she muttered, then trudged up the stairs, hoping a long shower and some fresh clothes might help her figure out the new rules of the game, because it was for damn sure things were going to change.

Immediately.

Chapter Fifteen

Finn leaned over th
e sage green counter at FLOWERS, ETCETERA and tapped the bell lightly twice. It was a little after eight, and the only sign the place was open was that the front door was unlocked. He sighed and leaned back against the counter, staring blankly at a table
f
illed with violets while he waited.

He felt a wave of fatigue, and rolled his shoulders to allay it. Sleeping last night had been impossible. No matter how he tossed and turned, he could still feel Tessa
’
s hair soft under his fingers. Could still smell her
. It was as if touching her had altered his nervous system, and now she
’
d always be there, a phantom under his skin. Even after giving up the fight at five in the morning, taking a shower, doing his laundry, and hiking out to Margie
’
s, she was still there
with him.

So, does someone have to hit you over the head with a two-by-four or what?

He looked down and saw Wallace at his feet, the little furry face looking up at him, eyes deeply sarcastic and totally unimpressed with Finn. The dog had insisted on follo
wing Finn out that morning, and Finn hadn
’
t resisted the company, but trying to get the dog to wait outside the flower shop had been a battle of wills Finn had quickly lost.