| |
Tuesday 11 a.m.
A broad smile splitting his face, Coop crossed the tarmac toward Nathan. It was good to see him. “Been too long,” Nathan called as Coop got close enough to hail. “How was the flight?”
“Good. Clear skies the whole time.” Lanky, Coop had outgrown their classmates early, but never quite filled out, despite his voracious appetite. It was as if his calorie intake was required to propel his long legs and feed his prodigious mind. “Where’s lunch?”
“There’s a diner with the best burgers in New England.”
“How’re the fries?”
“Equal to the burgers,” Nathan replied, with a shake of his head. “I’ll get you there first thing.”
Nathan drove while Coop handled some other business on his phone. The man never stopped working. His clients demanded the best and his family demanded his money. Nathan encouraged him to find a life, but Coop never seemed aware that he could have more than work and clients.
They arrived before the lunch crowd and had their choice of booths. Nathan led Coop to the back of Dorrit’s and settled in across from him. The cheerful fifty-something server with the name Laurel pinned to her shirt must be Kayley’s aunt. He accepted the laminated single page menus with an acknowledging smile but didn’t mention Kayley. She wouldn’t appreciate their connection being exposed to family.
Telling her aunt he’d rented to her niece might be on the grapevine before their lunch was eaten. Kayley would hate that, and he respected her desire for privacy. He wondered if he’d score points for his discretion. He’d find a way to work it into their next conversation.
Coop finished his call and set his phone to silent. He turned his laser focus on Nathan. “Our guy talked to her,” Coop said and sighed. “She’s a piece of work, that woman.”
For a millisecond, and because his mind had turned to Kayley, Nathan wondered which woman. But there was only one Coop was concerned with. “How do you mean, a piece of work?”
“She asked for five grand before the P.I. finished telling her why we wanted to find her. She claims her recollection of the wedding is as sketchy as yours, but she recalls you flashing money and paying extra so the officiant would ignore how drunk you were.”
Heat sailed up his neck at the reminder of the stupidest night of his life. “Again, I was a kid. My—our— first trip to Las Vegas, my first time with an exciting, wild woman like her. I remember feeling she was beautiful and deserved way more out of life than...” he trailed off because there was a memory just out of reach.
“More than what?”
“The crappy life she was living. I remember the pity I had for her, more than the reason for it.” He nodded. “What’s her name?” He prepared for a spark of familiarity.
“Rainbow Dillinger.”
“Nope, that’s not right. If that’s her name now, it wasn’t the one she used with me.” He’d remember a name like that. “Even drunk, I’d recall a name with such an odd ring to it. Not that I can pull up the name she used that night. She must’ve given me one.” He dredged his mind again and came up blank on the name.
“Not necessarily. And if she didn’t it’s no surprise, Nathan. Like I said, she’s a piece of work. Names are fluid things to some people.” Coop opened an app on his phone to read a file. “That’s the name she used on the marriage license. But you may never have heard it before.”
He nodded, accepting his suspicion as fact. “Where did you say she’s living?”
“I didn’t.” A deep sigh. “She’s out in the desert in a single wide that’s falling apart. There’s a collection of houses, a store and gas station a couple of miles away.”
“Is she alone?”
Long, long, pause while Coop read some more. “No.”
“Who’s out there with her?” But he knew. Somehow, he knew. “She’s got a kid, right?”
“Yeah. A daughter. Kid’s name is Feather.”
“Just the one?”
“Yeah. She’s twelve. But Rainbow sent the girl to her room when my guy knocked. He had no contact with her.” Protecting her child from grown up problems, he supposed. He remembered being sent to his room when collection agencies called. His mom had juggled bills every month for a while. “Good. That’s good.” He drew in a hard breath because he’d been afraid that he’d made himself a deadbeat dad on that strange, long-ago night. “Rainbow Dillinger.” And Feather.
He tried to wrap his head around the names. Two of the prettiest things in nature, coupled with the infamous name of a gangster. He wondered if either name was what Rainbow had been born with. Coop painted a sad picture of her life, but Nathan felt certain it was a continuation of the life she’d been living when he’d met her at the casino bar. Nothing had changed for her in a decade.
Except now, she’d be an ex-wife with five grand in her pocket.
“Pay her,” he said, relieved to have this chapter closed. He’d never have to think of her again.
“Already done. You gave me authority to offer more but when she asked for five, I saw a bargain.”
“What’s her address? I want to see this place she’s living in.” He could see it from satellite photos, judge it for himself. He’d never met her kid, but it didn’t sound like a good place for one. Out in the desert away from other people. Anything could happen.
Nathan looked up to see Laurel headed their way with two loaded platters. “Food’s here, he warned quietly, and Coop clamped his mouth shut with a nod. This was confidential business.
Once the food sat before them, the burgers a thing of beauty and the fries crisp and golden perfection, Coop spoke as Laurel hustled away to greet new arrivals. “As your friend, I say you’re wrong to look. You can’t fix this woman, much as you might try. She wants to live the way she wants to live. There’s no changing that.” Speech over, he picked up his burger and took a bite.
Nathan blew out a long breath. Logically, Coop was right, and Nathan should leave well enough alone. “As my lawyer, what do you say?”
“You’re setting yourself up for possible nuisance suits. She could become a royal pain and take time and more money to make go away. She’ll see you as a golden ticket. And don’t forget you need to live in Nevada for six weeks before filing.”
“Send me the info and I’ll mull it over. She’s got the five grand, though? And agreed to the divorce?” It was a matter of no consequence to her, and she should be happy to have the money for nothing more than a signature and a court date.
“Yes, other than spending six weeks there, it should be quick seeing as how you haven’t seen her since the night you married.”
“I wish I remembered more. But it’s blurry and what I do recall plays out in my head like I’m watching someone else. I was there, but I wasn’t.”
Coop frowned. “You were hammered. We were kids, partying hard. And I’ll remind you that you haven’t had more than one beer at a time since then.”
“Would you drink that much again if this happened to you?” Nathan had sworn off hard liquor, cocktails, and anything else he’d done that night. He’d especially sworn off sleeping with women he didn’t know. That night with Rainbow had made him wary of excessive behavior of all kinds. He never wanted to be that out of control again.
Laurel strolled over with the coffee carafe in hand. “Refill?”
Coop slid his mug to the edge of the table. She filled it, then looked at Nathan. “You’re new in town. I’ve seen you here before, but it’s been awhile.”
“I’m new enough,” Nathan responded vaguely.
“Live downtown?”
“Near enough to walk over here.”
“Good,” she said. “Come on back anytime.” Kayley’s aunt moved on when another table full of people waved her over.
“How’re things with the reno?” Coop asked, finishing his last fry. “This was great.” He craned his neck to look at the pies on display on the counter. “Lemon? I’m in.”
His friend’s hollow leg still wasn’t filled while Nathan couldn’t finish his fries.
“The renos are good. I learned a lot on the first apartment.” He learned he probably should’ve learned more before he started. It had taken years to get his degree in automotive technology, so why had he thought carpentry, painting, and plumbing would be easy?
But Coop didn’t need to hear that Nathan doubted his own talents.
“I hope so. Did your tenant move in?”
“We shoved her belongings and furniture into the unit, then she ran to an appointment. She got the position she wanted. You can stuff it about me playing savior. I felt sure she’d get the job, and she did.” He hadn’t seen Kayley since Monday, but he hadn’t stopped thinking about her.
“You were sure. What happened? a Magic Eight Ball tell you?”
“I’m not convinced most lawyers talk to clients this way.”
Coop laughed. “Most lawyers don’t go back to grade school with their clients.”
“True, but Kayley’s bright, competent, and qualified. She spent her years since college in New York. She made it there. Had a good career.” He didn’t say she’d returned to town because she needed a fresh start. Not Coop’s business.
“Yeah, but is she pretty?”
“I don’t understand why you and I are still friends,” Nathan deadpanned to put off any more questions about Kayley.
“Because I’m one of your projects. Admit it, you believe I need your help to round out my life.” Coop’s fiancé had been killed in a hit-and-run and since then, he’d been like a dead man walking. He’d given the people around the couple thirty days to grieve and then declared he had to retreat. Her name was never spoken, their time together ignored.
None of their friends had the heart to push him to talk. Instead, they tiptoed around the topic about him moving forward.
He shook his head. “You’re not one of my projects as you put it. I don’t rescue men, remember? When you’re ready to move forward, you will. Nothing I say will make you move earlier.”
A flash of pain raced across his friend’s face and Nathan felt low for putting it there.
Coop snorted, rose, and walked to the counter. His shoulders looked stiff. When he asked Laurel for a piece of the lemon pie, she lifted the heavy glass lid of the pie display, plated a slice of the pie, and handed it to him.
* * *
KAYLEY WALKED UP THE paved walk toward the veranda after her successful meeting with Todd. She’d have fun working with him. He had energy and enthusiasm for his position and wanted to put Dickens on the year-round map.
She was especially pleased to learn that a Christmas romance movie would be filmed in Dickens. The Common checked all the boxes the location scouts had looked for: the gazebo, beautiful pines, Victorian lamp standards, and quaint architecture. Happy with the projects ahead of her, and with her boss, she stopped at the sound of a door opening. Darn, she’d almost made it to the veranda.
“Yoo hoo! Kayley!”
The neighbor Iris appeared on her side of the knee-high hedge that divided their walkways. She held a foil covered plate. “Please be a dear and take these cookies in to Nathan. We’re on our way to our regular mah jongg night at our friend Judy’s and we’re running behind.”
“Sure.” Kayley stepped over to the hedge and Iris did the same. “I’ll hand them over right now.” She took the proffered plate.
Iris smiled kindly. “That’s a dear. He can return the plate anytime. These are his favorite. If you like them, we can make a batch for you next time.”
The ladies assumed he’d invite her in to share the cookies. Inwardly, she sighed. She’d failed to avoid them on her first attempt. Great. Just great. She’d have to go into stealth mode to come and go from her own home.
“That’s a kind offer,” she responded, without taking Iris up on it. “Have a good time with your friends.” She made to turn.
“Have you moved in, then?”
The ladies had watched from their living room window as she and Nathan had manhandled her mattress, box spring, and dresser. She pursed her lips to prevent a snarky reply.
“I hope you enjoy living here,” Iris went on. “It’s a lovely street with nice people. You do like people?”
“I like them fine,” she replied. “I need to remember and get used to the way news travels in Dickens. Living in a large city is different and I’ve been away from here for some time.” She felt Iris needed more of an explanation.
“It’s an adjustment moving home, and people can regret their decision. Or they’re simply anti-social.”
“Believe what you will. Nothing I say will change your mind.” With that said, she made her way back to the path and hotfooted it up to the veranda. Maybe she’d been harsh, but surely, they’d leave her in peace.
She rapped twice on Nathan’s door. When he opened it, he was standing with another man. “Oh, sorry to intrude.”
“No problem, my buddy’s cab is pulling up right now.”
A glance over her shoulder confirmed the taxi had just pulled up.
“This is my friend, Coop. He was in town for lunch.”
She smiled and offered her hand to the tall, gangly man with eyes that appraised her. “I was right,” he said. “She’s pretty.”
Nathan shook his head. “You’re such an idiot.”
To Kayley, Coop said, “Are those cookies?”
At her nod, he took the plate from her hand, lifted the foil, and grabbed two of the treats. “My cab is waiting, and I have work to do.”
Nathan spoke. “Have a good flight.” He waved Kayley inside and in that weird kind of dance that people do where they can’t decide which side of a doorway to use, Coop and she traded places. She was now inside with Nathan, while Coop was in the hall.
“I’ll do my best flying,” Nathan’s friend responded. Then Coop smiled at her in an endearingly shy way. He bobbed his head. “Nice to meet you, Kayley.”
“The cookies are from your neighbors,” she told Nathan. Coop seemed to assume there was more between her and Nathan than there was. “They baked them.” She controlled an eyeroll. “Nice to meet you, too, Coop,” she added as the man strolled out to the front door to the veranda.
Nathan closed the door firmly behind his friend’s back. “How’d your meeting go?” He turned his gorgeous chocolate eyes on her.
“Wonderful. Todd and I caught up on each other’s lives and we discussed some projects he’s excited about. This will be a fun collaboration.” She removed her boots before entering his living room. “Are these the same cookies you had here last week?” If so, they were delicious, and she’d been planning to ask what bakery sold them.
But there was no way she’d take any from Iris if they were offered. That meant talking to her and she didn’t plan on conversing with the woman. She followed Nathan into the kitchen. Delicious scents filled the air. “Pizza?”
He nodded. “Take and bake. Want some? I’ve got plenty. I bought two because I expected Coop to stay longer, but duty called.”
Her stomach growled and she patted it while her face warmed. “Lunch was a long time ago and I didn’t get to the grocery store.” She needed items for the morning, like coffee. “Thanks, I’ll have a piece.”
“Your appointment messed up moving day yesterday. And if I’m not mistaken you headed out early this morning. Which means your place is probably still topsy-turvy? I’d be happy to help you set things up. We basically threw your furniture in the front room and left it.”
“Topsy turvy sums it up perfectly. I slept on my mattress on the floor last night.” His offer warmed her, but he must have other things to do. “Thanks for the offer but my sister will be here shortly to help out. Which reminds me, I need to call and ask her to pick up some essentials for the morning.”
While she was on the call with Brenna, Nathan got busy cutting the hot pizza and setting the table with plates, a pizza cutter, and cutlery.
She finished her call and went to wash her hands. From the bathroom, she called. “Brenna will bring over my food and help with the furniture. She gave me thirty minutes to eat and then I’ll need to be back in my place, ready to work.”