look what the cat dragged in,” Jolena, big, black and beautiful, said with a white, toothy grin, reaching to give Cari a tight hug. “How was your first day home, suga’?”
Cari sat down on one of the bright red stools at the long white counter. “Different.” She’d managed to get the kitchen clean enough to boil water and make toast and she’d slept on an air mattress in a small room upstairs. “I cleaned all day and unpacked enough clothes and essentials to get me through for a while. I’m going to pick up a few groceries and toiletry items. And I’m praying the bathroom upstairs will stay in working order until I can have a plumber check the whole place.”
Jolena looked doubtful. “You could have stayed with us, you know.”
Cari took the coffee Jolena automatically handed her, the hustle and bustle of this bright, popular diner making her feel alive. The smell of bacon and eggs reminded her she hadn’t eaten much since early yesterday. The buzz of conversation reminded her how lonely and isolated she’d become in the past few weeks. But Jolena’s smile held Cari together.
“I appreciate the offer, but I didn’t want to put your girls out of their bedrooms.”
Jolena grunted. “Those four—honey, they’re always in each other’s way so one more wouldn’t even be noticed. Even a cute one with freckles like you.”
“I did just fine on my own last night,” Cari said. Never mind that she hadn’t actually slept very much. But the moonlight coming through the old sheers in the room had given her a sense of security at least. “I have a bed and I scrubbed the kitchen and the storage room yesterday. Of course, I need a new stove and a refrigerator. That ice chest isn’t going to work in this summer heat.”
Jolena nodded. “I can hook you up with my friend down at the appliance store. He’ll make you a deal.”
Cari laughed at the woman who’d been friends with her mother, Natalie, since they were both little girls. Finding pen and paper, she wrote down the name and number. “You always have connections.”
Jolena let out a belly laugh then waved to two departing fishermen. “Yes, I sure do. And speaking of that—you need a makeover, honey. You look a little peaked.”
Cari pushed at her hair. “I guess I do look bad, but I wasn’t too concerned with my appearance this morning. I don’t have any groceries yet and I just needed coffee, badly.”
“And so do I,” said a masculine voice behind her.
Cari pivoted so fast she almost fell off her perch. “Rick, good morning.” Pushing at her hair again, she wished she’d at least bothered to put on lipstick.
Jolena leaned over the counter, her long thin braids tapping her robust shoulders. “Rick, you remember our Cari, don’t you?”
Rick sat down next to Cari and took the cup of coffee a waitress brought him. “I do now. Didn’t at first but we talked a bit yesterday afternoon. Good to see you again, Cari. Hope you had a good first night home.”
“It was okay,” she said, the warmth of his dark blue eyes washing over her. Could it be possible that he had matured into an even better looking man than the boy she remembered? Highly possible.
Jolena’s gaze shifted from Rick to Cari, her grin growing with each blink. “You two went to school together, right?”
Cari felt the crimson moving over her freckles. “Yes, we did but Rick was the big man on campus. He…we…didn’t hang out together too much.”
“And that’s a shame,” Rick replied, winking at Cari. “But high school’s always hard, you know. I’m sure we’ve both changed since those days.”
When Jolena’s overly interested eyebrows shot up, Cari slumped on her stool, wishing she could just dive under the counter. Did the man know the effect he had on women? Or did he just do this to her? She felt all mushy and soft-kneed. Which was just plain crazy. She wasn’t in high school anymore. And she had changed. She didn’t trust pretty boys anymore and she sure didn’t indulge in adolescent crushes these days.
Finally, because he was still smiling at her, she said, “So why’d you come back to Knotwood Mountain, Rick?”
The smile softened and his rich blue eyes went black. “That’s a long story and, unfortunately, I don’t have time to tell it right now. I’ve got people waiting to rent tubes for the day.” He got up, took his to-go cup of coffee and lifted it toward Jolena. “Put it on my tab.” Then he turned to Cari. “I’ll see you around, neighbor.”
Cari waited until she heard the screen door slap back on its hinges then looked at Jolena. “What? Did I ask the wrong question?”
Jolena, known as much for her gossip as her soul food, leaned close, her dimples deepening. “I heard it had something to do with a bad breakup. I think the man was heartbroken and hurting when he came limping into town. But he’s good now, real good. And real available.”
Cari almost spit out her sip of coffee. “Yes, so available that he practically ran out of here. If he can’t talk about her, then he ain’t over her.”
“He might get over her better if he had someone sweet to talk to, know what I mean?”
“I do know what you mean, but I’m not here to find a man, Jolena. Just like Rick there, I, too, went through a bad breakup—with the man and with my money that the man took.” She pointed across the street. “You see that wilted wedding cake of a house sitting over there. I’m here to fix that house up and get my boutique going. That’s about all I have any time or energy for. And I don’t want a man standing around telling me what to do and making me feel guilty about everything from the shoes I wear to the friends I have. I want to do this my way.”
Jolena wasn’t to be hushed. “You got a point there, honey. But you need to take time to be friendly to the other merchants along the street. We stick together around here. You’ll see. Don’t be all mean and stand-offish with Rick Adams. You might need a friend, too. But that attitude will surely scare people away.”
Cari couldn’t deny that she needed to make a connection. But with Rick? Friend and neighboring merchant, maybe. But that would have to be it. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to know more about him—just so she’d know what not to ask him next time she saw him.
“Okay, so he is good-looking,” she admitted on a low whisper. “It won’t be very hard to be nice to him. But that’s as far as it goes.”
Jolena made an exaggerated frown. “Girl, that man is so pretty, well, as my mama used to say, you could spoon him up like sugar.”
Cari had to laugh. “Your mama would tell you to put your big brown eyes right back inside your head, too, if she were here—since you’re married and have four children.”
“You are so right,” Jolena said, waving a glitter-nailed finger in Cari’s face. “But what’s your excuse, honey? Beside thinking all men are the scum of the earth, I mean?”
Cari frowned right back at her friend. “Me? I am not the least bit interested, especially in someone like Rick Adams. From what I remember back in high school, he had a new girl on his arm every Friday night.”
“This ain’t high school, girl, and you’ve changed since then. Maybe
