A Marriage Between Friends. Melinda Curtis
stared at their houseguest. Jill wanted to do damage with her fingers to Vince’s tamed, dark hair. Nobody should look that good in the morning wearing yesterday’s slacks and a baggy, long-sleeved T-shirt, especially a man who was trying to turn her world upside down.
One of Vince’s toes twitched. His feet were big and sturdy, the kind that moved purposefully forward when confrontation loomed. Jill was almost envious. Her feet were small and always seemed to back away.
When Teddy poked Vince’s foot with his finger, Vince jerked awake, black eyes bleary and ringed with dark circles, as if he’d tried more than a polite sip of Edda Mae’s whiskey last night. Moonbeam growled and Vince grimaced.
A smile tugged at Jill’s lips.
“A little help here.” Head straining to one side, Vince pointed to the protesting dog with his free hand.
A boyish giggle filled the air.
Edda Mae poked her head out of the kitchen. “You’ll need more food now that you’ve got an extra mouth to feed.”
“If you’re determined to keep him, take him to your place.” Jill removed Moonbeam from Vince’s chest, depositing the pooch in Teddy’s arms.
“Thanks.” Vince’s intense gaze seemed bent on capturing her own, but Jill wasn’t to be trapped.
She scurried over to the kitchen where bacon sizzled in a pan, pausing to wash her hands at the sink, which gave her a view of the living room.
“I told you she gets up early, boy,” Edda Mae said, snapping a green kitchen towel at Vince’s knee before trundling back to the kitchen without an ounce of remorse in her expression.
Matchmaking. Busybody. Traitor.
Edda Mae met Jill’s narrowed gaze and shrugged.
“I feel like a pretzel,” Vince grumbled as he pushed himself upright in fits and starts.
Teddy grinned from ear to ear as he watched Vince unfold himself from the furniture. Gathering Moonbeam closer with one hand, Teddy pointed to Vince’s chest with the other. “You have dog drool on your shirt.”
Vince spread the white cotton with both hands. “What the…?” He sank back onto the love seat, thumbs rubbing temples.
“You gave him whiskey?” With a huff of disgust, Jill searched her cabinet for some aspirin. Everyone in Railroad Stop knew Edda Mae’s homemade whiskey was more powerful than jet fuel and just as deadly. Vince was clueless. Yet another difference between her fantasy Vince and the real McCoy.
“I did no such thing.” Edda Mae used a fork to turn over the bacon strips.
“I turned her down.” Beyond the occasional shoulder-and-neck roll, Vince wasn’t moving. He barely acknowledged Jill when she offered him a glass of water and two aspirin tablets.
“Teddy, wash up for breakfast.” Jill turned her back on Vince and went to set her small dining table. “Once you’ve fed Vince, Edda Mae, he’ll be on his way.”
“He’s a bit of a pretty boy. Don’t you think he might like to shower and shave before you send him down the hill?” Edda Mae took eggs out of the refrigerator.
“We’re not running a bathhouse,” Jill countered, more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of Vince naked in her shower. “Remember him? He’s the enemy.”
“He’s no such thing,” Edda Mae pooh-poohed her, then frowned and stared at Vince. “He’s so pretty, in fact, he might be one of those men who like men. I could be wrong but—”
“You’re wrong,” Vince growled. “Not that I have anything against men who like men. I’m just not one of them.”
Edda Mae didn’t look convinced.
Jill tried not to smile. “He and Arnie want to build a casino, remember?”
“I want a golf course,” Teddy said, grinning at Vince. “I’d like to play golf if I had someone to teach me.”
“Have you looked at his face?” Edda Mae continued. “That’s a face you can trust.”
Jill rolled her eyes.
“Come on, Mom. You did marry him.” Teddy came into the kitchen and put Moonbeam down so he could wash his hands. “There must be something about him you like.”
Jill didn’t want to remember.
Prancing expectantly around Edda Mae’s ankles, the little dog began to yap.
“Moonbeam’s cranky this morning. She’s out of food,” Edda Mae announced.
Never a patient dog, Moonbeam barked louder while Edda Mae apologized to her for forgetting to buy dog food and Teddy rooted in the pantry for something Moonbeam could eat, all the while claiming Moonbeam should have bacon for breakfast.
“Excuse me.” Scowling, Vince entered the kitchen, which suddenly seemed too crowded to Jill, but Edda Mae, Teddy and Moonbeam didn’t seem to notice how much space a big, angry man could take up. “Excuse me!”
Everyone fell silent, until Moonbeam realized it was Vince who was shouting and she still hadn’t been fed. She returned to her protest.
“Back off, looney dog,” Vince growled right back at her.
Moonbeam sat down and gazed up at Vince as if he were about to give her a piece of the bacon that crackled in the pan above her. Jill shouldn’t have been surprised. Vince had always been able to get girls to eat out of his hand.
“In the past twenty-four hours I’ve been lost in the woods and kicked out of this place, after which I nearly mowed down an innocent bystander, was threatened by a poofy mouse with fangs and slept on what has got to be the most uncomfortable couch in the state of California.” He glared at each of them in turn.
First at Teddy. “No, the dog is not getting bacon for breakfast even if I have to drive into town to buy her kibble.”
Then at Edda Mae. “No, I am not a pretty boy. I’ve been in my share of fights and served in the war. I’ve got scars. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to have a shower and a shave, but…”
And here he turned to Jill. “No, I will not be leaving when I’m done eating bacon and eggs. We have issues that need to be discussed—including, but not limited to, the state of our marriage and your objections to my casino.”
This was it. He was going to end their farcical union right here in front of Edda Mae and Teddy. Jill held her breath.
But Vince didn’t ask for a divorce. He shook his head and turned away.
Filling her lungs with air, Jill slouched against the counter, knowing she shouldn’t be so relieved. She needed to pull on her big-girl panties and tell Vince she wanted a divorce, rather than wait until he brought it up.
Vince spun back around. “And I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk about me as if I wasn’t here, especially before I’ve had my first cup of coffee.” Chin up, Vince dared any of them to challenge him.
Jill knew she should. At the very least she had to make it clear that he wasn’t spending the night on her couch again. Vince had the power to shred the safety net she’d created. He’d already started. But words eluded her.
“Looney Moony.” Teddy giggled, pleased with his rhyme.
CHAPTER FIVE
EDDA MAE REMEMBERED she’d left Moonbeam’s kibble in the Shady Oak kitchen when she was filling the shelves last week. Vince offered to go downstairs and retrieve it—being more curious than he wanted to admit about this luxury retreat of Jill’s—but apparently he needed a key and someone who knew the security code. Since Edda Mae was cooking Jill suggested Teddy take him. She didn’t seem to want to be alone with Vince or divulge the code.
“Why