“I remember,” the woman laughs, and my head snaps back up to look at her again. “Our National Honor Society bake sales were never that successful, because you tended to eat half the product.”
I can’t help the subtle narrowing of my eyes and the tilt of my head as I try to place this woman. But nothing’s coming to me and I have to concede defeat. “I’m really sorry…but do we know each other?”
The woman grins big. “I’d hope so. We graduated high school together.”
My brow furrows deeper and it’s clear I’m blanking. I feel horrible that I’m blanking, because it seems rude, and I am not a rude person.
With a tinkling laugh, she says, “Time to let you off the hook. I’m about a hundred and fifty pounds lighter than when you last saw me.”
And then it hits me all at once. “Missy Chambers,” I exclaim. “Oh my God…look at you. You look amazing.”
“Yeah, the double chin look didn’t earn me any favors in high school,” she says amicably.
Immediately a wave of guilt slam into me as I realize I wasn’t friends with Missy. Sure, we’d say hello if we passed each other in the hallway, but we didn’t hang. She was never invited to the parties I went to. She wasn’t in our social circle. With a gut churning feeling of dismay, I realize she ate lunch by herself an awful lot.
“It’s okay,” she says immediately, and I’m embarrassed she was actually reading my mind. “I wasn’t the most socially outgoing person back then, and I know it’s wholly ironic that I own a cupcake shop after losing all that weight, but still…it’s good to see you again.”
My cheeks turn red. “You’re kinder than I probably deserve.”
Missy gives an impatient wave of her hand at me, then points back at the case. “So go on, pick one. It’s on the house.”
And with a grateful smile that there is at least one person in this town who isn’t displeased to see me, I choose a chocolate cupcake with white icing. I latch on to that cupcake and the kindness that Missy’s showing me. It’s the first really nice thing that’s happened to me in a few days, and I might be glorifying her and the cupcake just a little. I eat my treat right there as Missy fills me in on everything she’s been doing the last fourteen years, which includes a bad marriage that led to a hardcore devotion to healthy eating and exercise.
And some things are coming back to me. “Didn’t you go to school up north?”
She nods. “Yup. And let me just say, winter in the north sucks. But I met my husband there, and despite the fact he’s an asshole, he did give me two great kids.”
My smile is big and genuine with interest. I’ve always wanted kids, but maybe that’s not in the cards for me. “What are their names?”
“Layna is seven and feisty as the day is long,” Missy says with a proud expression on her face. “And Thomas is five, and he’s sweet and loving. A total mama’s boy.”
“They sound wonderful.” A twinge in my chest tells me that my prospects for having kids must not be very good since I can’t even get love right.
“So are you staying at Goodnight House?” Missy asks with mischief brewing in her eyes. “And if so, I’ll be nosy and ask, how awkward is it?”
“Pretty awkward,” I admit, but don’t elaborate. I’m not surprised by the question. This is a small town, and it would be widely known that Coop was living in my house before I came back. Our history is well known too. “But I think we’ll be just fine if we stay away from each other.”
“Your house is certainly big enough,” she quips, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Speaking of which, with Coop at Goodnight House, at least I wouldn’t run into him if I drop by his family home to say hello to his dad. I’ll try to do that this weekend.”
Missy’s eyes go round and then soften. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?” I ask, but based on the empathy in her voice, dread fills me.
“His father died a few years ago,” she says quietly. “The middle school caught fire and he was there with his ground crew mowing. He went in to help get the kids out and saved several before he died. Big news around here.”
And yet it didn’t reach all the way out to LA, I think bitterly.
Grandmother didn’t let me know, and I didn’t have one single friend I’d left behind that I kept in touch with. I think it was easy to cut Newberry out of my life because my grandmother gave me no incentive to keep it. I know at this moment, given the treatment by the folks at the Pit Stop and the fact I didn’t know Coop’s dad died, I should be feeling like a stranger in a foreign town. Oddly, though, I actually feel just plain old homesick and I have no idea why.
Chapter 6
If it’s war you want…
Coop
I finish reading the article about Eden before sitting back in the kitchen chair. I’m the first to admit, in addition to riling me up, she’s got me curious. She said things to me today at lunch that made me take stock of all the things I’d believed about her, particularly about how she ignored Valeria throughout the years. There are things about Eden that I thought were a sure bet, and that’s based on local gossip, her actions, and her inactions. But I never did stop to think about it from her side.
After I’d stormed out of the house at lunch, went back to the office to finish the 3-D renderings, but I couldn’t concentrate. So I packed up my laptop, brought it back to the house, and set it on the kitchen table, intent on working from this new location. I sometimes work from home, as doing the landscape design is the one part of my job that can be done on a laptop from anywhere.
But working on the 3-D design was not the first thing that I did when I got back to the house. The minute I realized Eden’s car was gone and the house was empty, I decided to rectify some things.
Namely I dragged every bit of clothing, makeup, shoes, and hair-care products out of the master suite and dumped them in the hall. I have no shame in admitting I admired her lingerie, which was sinful in an unexpected way. Eden’s body has graced Sports Illustrated in a string bikini, and I’ve seen her completely naked, so I know how sexy and erotic she can be. But her panties and bras were all in soft pinks, blues, and sea greens, made of lace and sheer silk. I think most would assume Eden would be a black bustier with red satin trim type of woman, but the pastel colors are far sexier to me for some reason. I guess that softer side to a woman is what gets me, especially since I tend to be a little rough and controlling in bed.
After ogling her panties, I dragged all my stuff back in, but I didn’t have it in me to refold and hang all my clothes, so I stuffed them in the closet. The last thing I did was rip her rose-colored bedding off the mattress, also dumping it in the hallway, and put my manly green comforter back where it belonged.