The "What If" Guy (18 page)

“Now we’re friends,” I said. My heart dropped. Sometimes, the truth hurts.

Her smile returned. “That’s what I thought.”

I clenched my fingers, crumpling the pictures in my hands. I wanted to punch her, then break the glass-covered countertop with her surgically-altered face.

“Don’t ruin your little pictures. That top one was actually pretty good.” She sounded genuinely surprised.

“Autumn, could you grab the bucket and mop?” Helen called from the back of the pharmacy. “Doris just broke a bottle of perfume, and it’s everywhere.”

I blushed. Impeccable timing. My career was so glamorous. “I’m on it.” I looked from Layla to Henry. “Expired Jean Nate is a real pain to clean up. I have to go.”

Layla looped her arm through Henry’s, and I couldn’t read his expression. “I’ll walk you out,” she said.

I dragged out the dirty mop and bucket, then glanced out the window. Henry and Layla stood talking next to his truck. Henry was actually smiling. Layla leaned toward him as they spoke, her perky breasts brushing against his arm as she told him a story that required her to bounce an awful lot.

My blood boiled.

Henry was
such
a guy.

Chapter Twelve

“You sure you don’t want me to stay home?” Elliott asked.

I smiled at him.

We’d made it to Valentine’s Day, and I was walking him to his first boy-girl dance at the grange hall. It helped that Holly was one of the chaperones, and Tabitha would be there, too. El would be with a friend and would be watched over, while my dad and I spent the evening at home.

Yup. I was spending Valentine’s Day evening with my father. I’d hit an all-time low on the social-life scale.

On the other hand, time spent with my dad was precious—no matter how grumpy he was. Sure, the first thing he said when he got home from work every evening was, “Where the hell is the remote?” But I could see the way he looked at me now. There was affection in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“No, El, you’re going to go to the dance, and have a great time.” We headed down the hill. “And then you’re going to come home and tell me all about it.”

He gave me a sideways glance. “Tell you what?”

“Like who you danced with. What girls were the cutest. That sort of thing,” I teased.

Elliott scrunched his face. “Gross. Knock it off.”

“Come on. Surely there must be someone you think is cute.”

“I’m so not having this conversation with you.”

“Is she a blonde? A brunette? Or, are you being loyal to your mama, and choosing a redhead?”

“Seriously, I’m gonna hurl.”

“Alright, fine. I’ll stop.” I chuckled. “But are you going to ask anyone to dance?”

“No way. I don’t dance.”

“Oh, come on. You can dance. You were dancing the other night.”

“I did that to make Grandpa laugh,” El scoffed.

“Well, he did, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, but he’d had a few beers.”

“True.” I sighed.

When I’d brought my father home from the hospital, I’d poured every alcoholic beverage in the house down the drain. To me, alcohol was the poison killing him, and I didn’t want it in our house anymore. But I learned quickly that unless my dad wanted to quit, he wouldn’t. Brown bottles and paper-bag-covered cans had appeared like magic from hidden stashes. We’d argued, going round and round until I’d nearly cried and my father had been so exhausted, he could hardly stand upright.

I finally stopped fighting him. He was a dying man who couldn’t function without alcohol in his system—heartbreaking to watch, the results painful to live with. But it was his body, and he knew his fate. He worked hard to enjoy the rest of his time with us, and I wasn’t going to take away from that, no matter how much his drinking distressed me.

“He’s a lot nicer now,” Elliott said softly.

“I think so, too.” I pulled him close.

“I think it’s ’cuz he knows he’s, you know, super sick.” El’s voice trembled.

“I know.” We crossed the street in front of the Grange hall. “So, I’ll be back at nine to pick you up.”

“Don’t come in and embarrass me.”

“What? Me?”

The sounds of laughter and annoying hip hop music wafted from the building.

I kissed the top of his head. “Happy Valentine’s Day, El. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He melted into my arms, briefly, before wriggling away. “Okay. That’s enough. Someone might see.”

“We wouldn’t want that.”

We stepped inside the Grange hall, thumping with music, kids lining both sides of the room. Girls on one side, boys on the other. A small group of adults stood chatting toward the front. Some of the boys chased each other, pretending not to notice the girls, who tried not to give them any undue attention.

Holly waved at us from the punch-and-cookies table. Elliott stopped dead in his tracks. Tabitha stood next to her mother, filling plastic cups with pink punch. She wore a pink polka-dot dress, her blonde hair falling in curls down her back. Elliott gulped and shifted his weight from foot to foot.

“Why don’t you go ask her to dance?”

“Mo-om.”

“All right, all right.” I stifled my smile. “Look, there’s Marshall. Go have fun.”

He trotted off. I walked over to Holly and Tabitha. Cody had joined them. “Hey, guys. This is the place to be tonight, isn’t it?”

Holly fanned herself. “Apparently so. Hold on… Tanner, I said to stay inside. Cody, will you go catch him?”

“I’m on it,” Cody said, darting past us.

“Elliott’s here,” Tabitha squealed, then skipped away.

Holly watched her with a grin. “She’s enamored with him.”

“I think the feeling is mutual.”

“Autumn. Just the person I was hoping to run into.”

I turned to see Layla Deberaux walking toward us. Just once, I would have liked to have seen her arriving, instead of being crept up on.

“Oh, great,” Holly muttered.

“Layla,” I forced myself to sound polite. “How are you?”

“Fabulous, as always.” She tossed her hair confidently. “I was hoping to see you tonight.”

“What are you doing here?” Holly asked.

“Oh, hello there, Holly.” Layla scowled at my best friend.

“Shouldn’t you be on a date with your Valentine tonight?” I said.

Layla laughed, making her sparkling earrings bounce. She wore a low-cut, red T-shirt with a sequined heart nestled in between her fake breasts. I pressed my shoulders back, chest out, but I knew I couldn’t compete.

“No Valentine for me tonight,” she said. “Daddy’s still the president of the Service Club, so he asked me to help chaperone the dance, since all the kids love me so much.”

“Especially the boys,” Holly added, her tone flat.

I gaped at Layla’s cleavage. “I can see why.”

Layla waved her manicured finger at us. “Jealousy doesn’t become you girls.” Her gaze dropped to Holly’s stomach. “Pregnant again, I hear. When will you learn that popping out babies won’t keep your man? A girl’s gotta keep herself up to hold her husband’s interest.”

My mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding?”

Holly’s grasped my arm. “Layla was just giving me some sound advice. Thank you.” Layla’s smile relaxed and Holly went in for the kill. “Besides, she would know all about losing a husband. After all, she’s lost her share, hasn’t she?”

“Ouch.” I snickered.

Layla’s smile frosted. “Autumn, may I speak to you?”

“What?” I looked between her and Holly. “Me?”

“Yes, please.” Layla glared at Holly, then strode towards the doors.

I turned to Holly. “You think she’s going to knife me in the parking lot?”

“Why would she do that?” Holly scoffed. “She’d ruin her outfit. Besides,
I’m the one who insulted her.”

“Okay, but if I’m not back at nine, call the police, and check her trunk.”

I followed Layla into the cool, night air. She stood next to her black Hummer—such a Layla vehicle to drive. She smiled tightly as I approached with my hands shoved in the pockets of my jeans.

“Autumn.”

I laughed nervously. “Layla.”

She was all business. “First off, I wanted to tell you that the drawings I saw in the pharmacy that day were terrific.”

She wanted to talk to me about my drawings? “Okay.”

“No, I mean it. They were fantastic. I was impressed.” She paused, probably waiting for me to thank her for the compliment.

“Thank you?” I said quickly.

“Do you do murals?”

“I guess so. I haven’t done one since Elliott was little. I did the solar system on his bedroom wall in Seattle. Complete with aliens. It was cute.”

“Aliens?” She flared her nostrils. “Not exactly where I was going, but we can hammer out those details later. I want you to do a mural in my daughter’s room.”

“You want to hire me to paint a mural?”

“Yes.” She checked her lipstick in the side mirror of her Hummer. “I’m having the windows redone. They weren’t big enough. The room isn’t finished yet, but it should be ready to paint in a month.”

I couldn’t help but look skeptical.

“I’ll pay you generously,” she said. “We can discuss exact numbers later.”

“Layla, I—”

She put her hand up, palm out. “Don’t try to stop me. I’m throwing you a bone here.”

“Throwing me a bone?”

“Your father’s been moved to part-time,” she said. “And I know money is tight for you. I figured you could use the work. I’m just doing my part, you know.”

The angel in me wanted to accept the job. After all, I needed the money. Since my father wasn’t able to work full-time anymore, the responsibility for the bulk of the household expenses rested on my shoulders. But the devil in me wanted to shove Layla into an old snow heap, purely on principle.

“You’ve got talent. Nobody was as surprised as me.”

I scowled at her.

“I want you to make my daughter’s room a fantasy land. Something every little girl would die for.”

“Well, all right, but—”

“No buts. I’ll call you when the room is ready to paint. We’ll set it up then.”

“Okay,” I muttered, shaking my head.

Layla leaned into me conspiratorially. “Speaking of things that surprise me—you and Henry Tobler? Really?”

I clenched my teeth so hard that pain shot through my jaws. “I, uh…yeah.”

Her head bobbed to one side, an expression of false sympathy plastered on her face. “That bad, huh? Still hurts?”

“No,” I said quickly. “Henry and I are just friends.” My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat.

“But you dated?”

I nodded.

“Don’t you still have feelings for him?”

“No. No feelings for Henry at all.” Why did it matter if I lied to Layla Deberaux? She went after men like a boa constrictor and swallowed them whole. I jutted my jaw. My stomach roiled. Of course I still had feelings for Henry. My feelings for him kept me up at night, for heaven’s sake.

“Well, that’s a relief. I didn’t want you to be upset that he came over the other day.” She winked at me. “He and I have been talking, and he finally came over to see my hot tub, just so you know.”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I didn’t know what to say. I’d been rendered speechless.

She flashed me a grin. “I knew you might be upset.”

I swallowed the softball-sized lump in my throat. “I’m…I’m not upset.” I stepped back, staggering over a frozen snow pile and onto the sidewalk. “I’ve got to go. Call me about the mural.”

“Will do. It’s going to be great.”

“Right. Goodnight.” I wrapped my arms around myself and charged up the hill toward home.

Henry had gone to see her hot tub? And they’d been talking? Nausea churned my stomach. I’d been right. Henry was so hard-up that he was now dating
Layla Deberaux
. He wasn’t looking for a relationship. He was looking for someone to get frisky with—and looking in all the right places, if history served.

I shuddered.

I shoved open my front door, and headed straight for the freezer. This occasion called for Half-Baked Brownie ice cream—with a side of self pity.

§

I couldn’t sit still.

For the next two and a half hours, all I did was fidget, eat ice cream, and stare out the window. I had no right to care. I’d forfeited my right to say anything about Henry’s love life years ago. He was free to do what he wanted, with whomever he wanted. Yet there I was, picturing Layla and Henry in her two-person hot tub.

“Why don’t you just go get him?” my dad grumbled from his recliner.

I whirled around. “What? What do you mean?”

His blue eyes were smiling, despite his perpetual frown. “Elliott.”

“Oh, right.” I laughed anxiously. “El.”

“Why else would you be freaking out?”

“Yes. I should be going to pick him up right now.” I pulled on my coat. “Will you be all right while I’m gone?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not a child.”

I nodded. “I know. Be back soon.” I opened the door.

“Hey, Auto?”

I glanced back at my dad. His cracked lips turned upward in a small smile. “Thanks for being my Valentine tonight, kid.”

My heart warmed. “You’re welcome. Thanks for being mine.”

His eyes softened, and he waved his hand again. “Get the hell outta here. You’re letting the cold air in.”

And he’s back.
I laughed to myself and stepped onto the porch.

I made my way down the hill and to the Grange hall. Outside, the DJ packed his things and kids climbed into minivans, calling their goodbyes. I scanned the parking lot for Layla’s Hummer, but it was gone. A whoosh of air escaped my lungs. At least I didn’t have to hear more about the big hot tub party. My heart tugged.

I walked into the Grange hall, kicking pink and red balloons out of my way.

“Hey, Mom,” Elliott called.

“Hey, punk.” The building was nearly empty, except for Elliott, Tabitha, Holly, Cody, and their brood of sleeping blondies in the corner. “Did you have fun?”

Sweat dampened Elliott’s hair, his face red. “Yeah. We did the limbo, and Marshall fell down. Hilarious.”

Several feet away, Holly swept up streamers.

“How are you doing?” I asked.

She smiled tiredly. “Better, now that the troops have passed out.”