Where Azaleas Bloom

4

Flo Decatur was sitting on the sofa reading a book to her granddaughter, Sarah Beth, when Helen came in from work looking beat.

“Mommy!” Sarah Beth cried joyfully, running to throw her arms around Helen. “Gramma’s reading my favorite story.”

“Of course she is,” Helen said. “You have Gramma wound around your little finger.”

Sarah Beth’s face puckered up with a frown. “What does that mean?”

“It means I love you,” Flo interpreted. “Even more than chocolate ice cream with hot fudge on top.”

Her granddaughter’s eyes widened. “More than gooey chocolate cake like Daddy makes?”

“Even more than that,” Flo confirmed.

Sarah Beth turned to her mother. “Can we have ice cream and cake for dinner?”

Helen laughed, then gave Flo a feigned frown. “Thanks a lot. Now peas and carrots won’t cut it.”

“Peas and carrots never cut it with you, either,” Flo said realistically, then followed her into the kitchen. “Why don’t you go take a shower and change into something comfortable, while I put whatever Erik sent home from Sullivan’s on the table? I’ll see that Sarah Beth’s fed, too. You look as if you could use a few minutes to relax and unwind.”

She was surprised when Helen gave her an impulsive hug. “You have no idea how wonderful that sounds.” Helen gave her pint-size imp of a daughter a pointed look. “And try to keep Miss Sarah Beth here out of the cake until after she’s eaten dinner.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Flo assured her, then winked at Sarah Beth.

Flo had come to treasure these regular dinners with her daughter and granddaughter. Though she was happily settled into her own apartment now and had an active social life, she missed the time she’d spent in this house while she’d been recovering from a broken hip. She was capturing so many new family memories, the kind that had been few and far between when she’d been struggling to make ends meet as a single mom back when Helen had been Sarah Beth’s age. She liked to think that she and Helen were actually friends now, and not just mother and daughter with a contentious relationship.

She also enjoyed the meals her son-in-law sent home from Sullivan’s. That restaurant of Dana Sue’s where he was the sous-chef had better food than anything Flo had ever put on her table at home, and she’d at one time been considered the best when it came to her church’s potluck suppers.

Tonight Erik had sent home two fried catfish dinners for her and Helen, some chicken tenders and mashed potatoes for Sarah Beth, along with some of that gooey molten chocolate cake that was Sarah Beth’s favorite. Flo’s, too, for that matter.

Flo poured a glass of milk for her granddaughter, then made cocktails for herself and Helen. She sat with Sarah Beth while she ate, then sent her off to her room to play before bedtime. “But give Mommy some peace and quiet, okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Sarah Beth said, then scampered off, dragging a tattered stuffed tiger with her.

By then, Helen was back, looking refreshed, though worry was still etched on her forehead.

“Bad day?” Flo asked, always interested in the legal cases her daughter was involved in. They’d realized a while back that Helen’s interest in law probably went back to all the TV shows like Divorce Court and The People’s Court that Flo used to keep on while she did the baskets of ironing that brought in a few extra dollars each week.

“You have no idea,” Helen said, taking a sip of her drink, then closing her eyes with a sigh of satisfaction. “I needed this.”

“One of these days I’ll make you a batch of margaritas,” Flo said, grinning. “I know they’re a personal favorite of yours. You must have gotten that from me. Made a batch for the first time in years not long ago.”

Helen regarded her with amusement. “Do you really want to remind me of the Senior Magnolias fiasco at Liz’s?”

Flo chuckled. “Yep, that was the night and I refuse to apologize for it. Frances needed a distraction from the diagnosis the doctor had given her.”

“Even so, I hope you learned a lesson when the neighbors called the police,” Helen said with mock sternness.

Her mother just grinned. “Afraid not. Best time we’ve had in years, at least as best we can remember.”

Helen sobered. “How’s Frances really doing these days? She seemed pretty sharp at the bullying rally a couple of weeks ago.”

“She’s fighting this cognitive impairment thing or whatever it is with the same determination she’s faced everything else in her life. I think stirring up a ruckus that day was good for her.” She winked. “So were the margaritas. You should know firsthand the healing effect one of those and a night with friends can have.”

“The operative word being one,” Helen chided, but she was smiling.

“Yes, well, we might have gone a little overboard,” Flo conceded. “We’re old. Allowances should be made.”

Her daughter laughed at that. “I imagine people have been making allowances for the three of you for years. I’ll bet you all created chaos in this town back in the day,” Helen said, regarding her mom with something Flo thought might have been a hint of approval.

“Well, I can’t speak for Frances and Liz, since they have a good ten years or more on me, but I certainly did,” Flo said. “I imagine we have a few more commotions left in us.”

But even as she spoke, she frowned. “Despite what I just said about Frances giving this her best fight, I’m not at all sure she’ll be able to live alone much longer. Maybe it’s not Alzheimer’s yet, maybe it won’t be, but there’s been a worrisome change in her. Liz and I have been nudging her to face that, but she’s not ready to deal with going into assisted living just yet. It’s a hard thing for anyone to think about being dependent on other people, but especially for someone like Frances, who’s always been the one to help others.”

“I’m sorry.”

Flo sighed. “So am I. One thing I hate about getting older is seeing so many of my friends lose their vitality. It seems once we start on that downhill slide, there’s no turning back. That’s why I intend to live every second I’m able to the absolute fullest.”

“Other than your broken hip, you’ve been lucky,” Helen reminded her. “The doctor says you have the heart of a healthy woman twenty years younger.”

“I’ve been blessed, no question about it,” Flo agreed. “And I’m so grateful to be back here in Serenity where I get to spend time with you and Sarah Beth. Florida was nice and I’ll always be grateful to you for setting me up in that nice condo down there, but home is better.”

“I’m glad you’re here, too,” Helen said.

Flo gave her a knowing look. “You didn’t feel that way when I said I wanted to move back from Boca Raton.”

“No,” Helen agreed. “I thought it was a mistake, but I was wrong.”

Flo chuckled at the pained expression on her daughter’s face. “Hurts spitting out an admission like that, doesn’t it?”

“You have no idea,” Helen said, grinning. “Fortunately, thanks to Erik calling me on every single mistake I make, I’m learning to accept that I’m as human as everyone else.”

“You do know your husband is one in a million, don’t you?”

“I do, and I thank God for him every day,” Helen said.

Flo nodded in satisfaction. “That’s good, then. Now, why don’t you tell me what went wrong with your day?”

“Just one of those nasty divorce cases that makes me question why it’s illegal to chase down some of these deadbeat men with a shotgun.”

Flo hesitated. “I know you can’t give me details about your cases, but this wouldn’t have anything to do with Ed and Lynn Morrow, would it?”

Helen regarded her with surprise. “Why would you ask that?” she said in a way that to Flo’s ears was answer enough.

“I know you took her case. I also know that Sarah and Travis are worried sick about Lynn. They used to live next door, you know, in Sarah’s parents’ house. Raylene’s there now, and she mentioned a few things to Sarah. I guess Raylene gave Lynn a part-time job, and she’s been trying to have Lynn and the kids over for dinner a couple of times a week, but they all seem to think things are pretty bad.”

“How did all this information get from Raylene and Sarah to you?” Helen asked curiously.

“Liz, of course. Living in the guest cottage behind Sarah and Travis, she sees them all the time. They’ve become like family. Sarah confides in her.”

“And Liz naturally mentioned it to you,” Helen concluded. “The Serenity grapevine at its best.”

“It’s not always a bad thing,” Flo reminded her. “I know it can hurt being the talk of the town, but sometimes it lets people know when folks need help. I can’t abide idle gossip, but this is different. At least, that’s how it seems to me.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

She regarded her daughter intently. “So, just how bad are things? Is there anything I can do? I’ve been in that position, a single mom with nowhere to turn. If I can help, I’d like to. Liz feels the same way, but we’re at a loss about what we could do without offending Lynn’s pride.”

Helen looked at Flo with amazement.

“Is that incredulous look on your face about your not believing I have a compassionate bone in my body or because you’re stunned by my insight?” Flo asked wryly.

“I guess I’m just surprised that you’d want to get involved when neither of you knows Lynn that well. It’s very thoughtful of both of you, but you’re right. I don’t think Lynn’s open to a lot of outside help right now. Admitting there are problems, even to me, is hard for her.”

“Are you going to be able to fix this for her?”

“I hope so,” Helen said. “I’m just afraid it’s going to take longer than I anticipated.”

“Well, if you need backup, you can count on Liz and me. Frances, too, more than likely, if she’s feeling up to it.” Flo regarded her daughter with a grin. “At our ages, we don’t mind stirring up a little trouble, if need be. Might be fun to land myself in jail for a worthy cause.”

Helen looked vaguely alarmed. “What sort of trouble are you contemplating?”

“Picketing outside of Ed’s office came to mind,” Flo said eagerly. “Folks expect their insurance people to behave responsibly. A little public humiliation might go a long way toward making him shape up and do the right thing by his family.”

Helen’s expression lit up momentarily, but then she shook her head. “Much as I love that idea, I think we’ll stick to a legal approach for now, Mom. But believe me, if I can’t get him to change his ways in a big fat hurry, the three of you are welcome to take him on.”

Flo nodded. “Just say the word. I’m pretty good at making up protest signs, if I do say so myself. They turned out real good for that antibullying rally, and the ones Liz dreamed up in support of Laura Reed at the school were downright inspired. All those civil rights demonstrations Liz carried out years ago taught her a thing or two about effective protests.”

“I can’t deny that the three of you played a big part in rallying public sentiment,” Helen said. “Let’s see how this plays out in court next week before we take the next step, okay?”

“Whatever you want,” Flo said, then stood up. “I hate to leave you with the dishes, but I need to run.”

Helen regarded her with a startled expression. “It’s still early. Don’t you want to stay and help me tuck in Sarah Beth?”

Flo took a deep breath, then blurted, “Actually I have a date.” She held her breath, waiting for Helen’s reaction. It was pretty much what she’d expected—her daughter looked as if Flo had spoken in a foreign language.

“A date? Since when? Who?”

“Oh, I’ll tell you all about him next time I’m over,” Flo said breezily. “I don’t want to keep him waiting. We’re going over to Columbia dancing.”

“At this hour?”

“You just said yourself that it’s still early. And I’m a night owl.”

Helen frowned. “Since when? You didn’t used to be.”

“Because I had to be up and out the door for work at the crack of dawn,” Flo explained patiently. “Now I can stay up as late as I like.” She pressed a kiss to her daughter’s cheek. “Love you. Tell Sarah Beth good-night for me.”

She grabbed her purse and hurried out before Helen could gather enough of her wits to do the kind of cross-examination that Flo knew was coming sooner or later. To Flo’s way of thinking, later was better.

For all her open-mindedness about most things, when it came to her mother’s social life, Helen was downright stuffy. She had been ever since Flo had carelessly mentioned leaving a box of condoms in the nightstand beside her bed as they were driving away from Boca Raton. The poor girl had nearly had a heart attack right there on I-95! Flo hoped to avoid causing that reaction a second time.

* * *

Lynn dressed with extra care in the morning. She told herself it was simply because she always tried to look nice when she was working for Raylene in her upscale boutique. She knew, though, that the pink blush on her cheeks and the mascara she was applying had more to do with Mitch stopping by than it did with impressing Raylene’s customers.

She was in the kitchen with a pot of coffee brewed when Mitch tapped on the back door.

“Come in. It’s open,” she called out.

He walked into the kitchen, frowning. “Do you leave that door unlocked all the time?”

“Only when I’m expecting someone to pop in from right next door,” she said.

“Well, it’s a bad idea,” he grumbled, clearly not placated.

“Duly noted,” she said, amused by just how far his protectiveness seemed to go.

His gaze narrowed suspiciously. “You’re not really paying a bit of attention to me, are you?” he asked.

“Honestly? Not so much.”

“I’m beginning to think you and Raylene are going to be the death of me. She refuses to wear a hard hat in a construction zone. You leave the door open for anyone to just walk in. I was taught to look out for women.”

“And I was taught to look out for myself,” she replied.

“Then do it,” he said with frustration.

She regarded him with a tolerant expression. “Coffee?”

“Are you trying to change the subject?”

“Yes,” she said, already pouring the coffee into a mug. “Otherwise, I fear our working relationship is going to get off to a very bad start. Besides, you seem to be caffeine-deprived. That would explain the cranky mood.”

Mitch shook his head and sighed. “You’re probably right.” He set the laptop on the table. “Is this okay for now?”

“Sure. I’ll make room for it on my desk later.”

“I have the printer in the truck.”

“Looks as if the laptop will work with mine,” she said. “Let’s hold off on that till we know.”

“Okay, but I’m bringing you supplies tomorrow—paper, ink cartridges, whatever you need.”

“Fair enough.”

He took a sip of coffee, then opened the laptop and turned it on. “Pull up a chair and sit here next to me,” he said.

Lynn dragged a chair closer and peered at the screen, trying not to notice the heat radiating from his body or the solid masculine strength suggested by all that muscle. She gave herself a mental shake. She hadn’t spent this much time noticing a man’s body in a long time. Now surely wasn’t the time to start.

“You paying attention?” Mitch asked, amusement suddenly threading through his voice.

She blinked over at him. “Of course. Why?”

“You seemed a little distracted, that’s all.”

She waved a little notebook and pen in his direction. “See. Ready to take notes.”

“Written anything yet?”

“So far you haven’t even opened the program.”

He grinned. “Fair enough. It’s password-protected, okay?” He told her the password, which she wrote down. Then he walked her step by step through the billing system and the payroll program. “Make sense so far?”

Lynn nodded. “So far, but then I haven’t actually had to use it yet.”

He pulled several pieces of paper from his back pocket. “Notes for the billing,” he explained. “You’ll find the customers, their addresses and their account numbers in the system. Mostly people pay about fifty percent upfront, the remainder when the job’s completed. If there’s an interim bill for fixtures, that’s sent out when the expense is incurred. My fee is usually paid once everybody has signed off on the punch list that indicates all the details are done to the customer’s satisfaction.”

“So those notes of yours indicate exactly what sort of bill I’m sending out, right?”

He winced. “Well, in theory they should. Since I usually know what they’re for, I might not have written it down on these pages. Why don’t I do that before you get home this afternoon, make sure you have everything you need?”

“Then I’ll just fiddle around with the system until I leave for Raylene’s this morning, see if I understand how it works.”

“Sounds good to me. Any questions?”

“None so far, but I imagine I’ll have plenty for you by this afternoon.”

“Okay, then. I’ll get out of your hair. See you later, Lynn.”

Suddenly he seemed anxious to leave, which suited her since she didn’t understand why being close to him got to her the way it did.

“See you,” she said, determinedly focusing on the computer screen and not on Mitch.

She knew he hesitated before leaving, but eventually he walked away, closing the back door securely behind him. Locking it, too, if she wasn’t mistaken. Even though the gesture exasperated her just a little, she couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

* * *

The woman was going to be trouble, Mitch thought as he walked back to Raylene’s. Oh, not when it came to the work. He had every confidence she would pick up on that with ease. No, it was this attraction simmering between them. It had always been there, for him, anyway, but thanks to Grace’s interference, he was forced to acknowledge that on some level it had never died the way he’d thought it surely had.

As for Lynn, well, he couldn’t say with certainty what she was feeling beyond gratitude, but there’d been a moment there when he’d had the feeling she was as attuned to him as he was to her.

His cell phone rang just before he headed into the back door at Raylene’s. Caller ID told him it was his older son.

“Hey, Nate. What’s up?”

“Just checking in, Dad. What’s up with you?”

“Working, the same as always.”

“You still building that addition for the police chief and his wife? How’s it going?”

“It’s coming along. Did you really call just to check on my job progress, or do you need money?”

“Dad, you give me and Luke plenty of money. Can’t I just call to see what you’re up to?”

“Always glad to hear from you,” Mitch confirmed. “But you’ll pardon me if experience has just taught me that it’s usually a financial shortfall that earns me a call at this hour of the morning.”

“Well, I’m solvent,” Nate assured him. He hesitated, then said, “Actually, I was thinking of coming home for the weekend. Is that okay?”

“You know it is,” Mitch said eagerly. “You don’t even have to ask.”

“Um,” Nate began, suddenly sounding nervous, “would it be okay if I brought someone with me?”

Mitch stopped in his tracks. “Since you’ve hauled half a dozen friends home with no notice, I’m guessing this is a female sort of someone.”

“Yeah. Her name’s Jo, short for Josephine, if you can believe it. Does anyone name their girls that anymore?”

“Obviously, some parents do,” Mitch said. “I’ll look forward to meeting her.”

“Okay, so here’s the deal. I need to know if you’re gonna freak out if she stays in my room.”

Mitch sucked in a deep breath and lifted his eyes heavenward. “How about a little help here, Amy?” he murmured, trying to think how she would handle this. He knew as well as anyone that a twenty-one-year-old was likely to be sleeping with anyone he was dating seriously. And he had to assume this was serious if Nate wanted to bring the girl home. And yet he wasn’t sure he was quite ready to sanction such behavior under his roof.

“Sorry, pal. Not acceptable.”

“But, Dad,” Nate began.

“Your mom always had firm rules about this sort of thing,” Mitch reminded him. “You knew them when you went away to college. What you do at school is up to you, but in our house guests stay in the guest rooms.”

“It’s not like she’s a guest exactly,” Nate said. “I wanted to tell you this when we got there, but I guess I’d better do it now. We’re engaged.”

Mitch felt the sudden, unexpected sting of tears in his eyes. More than ever, he wished Amy were alive for this moment. She’d know what to say, how to react. He, however, had to force his enthusiasm. Nate was so darn young. His life hadn’t even started yet.

“Engaged, huh?” he said, trying to inject an upbeat note into his voice. “Congratulations, son. I mean that. I wish your mom were here. She’d be so excited for you.”

“I know,” Nate said quietly. “It’s kinda hard knowing she’ll never get to meet Jo, give her a stamp of approval, if you know what I mean.”

Mitch smiled. “I know exactly what you mean.” Amy had always been careful about sharing her opinion of the girls their sons had dated, but they’d known anyway. She’d been terrible about hiding her feelings. And those feelings had clearly influenced both Nate and Luke. The lousy choices had never lasted long, even though she’d kept her mouth clamped firmly shut.