you’re perfect for this job, because you’ll work really, really hard to make this a place women just like you will want to join,” Helen said.
Maddie shook her head. “Forget it. It doesn’t feel right.”
“Why not?” Dana demanded. “You need work. We need a manager. It’s a perfect match.”
“It feels like some scheme you devised to keep me from starving to death,” Maddie said.
“I already told you that you won’t be starving,” Helen said. “And you get to keep the house, which is long since paid for. Bill was very reasonable once I laid out a few facts for him.”
Maddie studied her friend’s face. Not many people tried explaining anything to Bill, since he was convinced he knew it all. A medical degree did that to some men. And what the degree didn’t accomplish, adoring nurses like Noreen did.
“Such as?” Maddie asked.
“How the news of his impending fatherhood with his unmarried nurse might impact his practice here in the conservative, family-oriented town of Serenity,” Helen said without the slightest hint of remorse. “People might not want to take their darling little kiddies to a pediatrician who has demonstrated a complete lack of scruples.”
“You blackmailed him?” Maddie wasn’t sure whether she was shocked or awed.
Helen shrugged. “I prefer to think of it as educating him on the value of the right PR spin. So far people in town haven’t taken sides, but that could change in a heartbeat.”
“I’m surprised his attorney let you get away with that,” Maddie said.
“That’s because you don’t know everything your brilliant attorney knew walking into that room,” Helen said.
“Such as?” Maddie asked again.
“Bill’s nurse had a little thing going with his attorney once upon a time. Tom Patterson had his own reasons for wanting to see Bill screwed to the wall.”
“Isn’t that unethical?” Maddie asked. “Shouldn’t he have refused to take Bill’s case or something?”
“He did, but Bill insisted. Tom disclosed his connection to Noreen, but Bill continued to insist. He thought Tom’s thing with Noreen would make him more understanding of his eagerness to get on with life with her. Which just proves that when it comes to human nature your soon-to-be ex really doesn’t have a clue.”
“And you took advantage of all those shenanigans to get Maddie the money she deserves,” Dana Sue said admiringly.
“I did,” Helen confirmed with satisfaction. “If we’d had to go in front of a judge, it might have gone differently, but Bill was especially anxious for a settlement so he could be a proper daddy to his new baby before the ink is dry on the birth certificate. As you reminded him on your way out the door, Maddie, he’s the one in a hurry.”
Helen regarded Maddie intently. “It’s not a fortune, mind you, but you don’t have to worry about money for the time being.”
“I still think I ought to look for a real job,” Maddie said. “However much the settlement is, it won’t last forever, and I’m not likely to have a lot of earning power, not right at first, anyway.”
“Which is why you should take us up on our offer,” Dana Sue said. “This health club could be a gold mine and you’d be a full partner. That’s what you’d get in return for your day-in, day-out running of it all—sweat equity.”
“I don’t see what’s in it for the two of you,” Maddie said. “Helen, you’re in Charleston all the time. There are some fine gyms over there, if you don’t want to go to Dexter’s. And Dana Sue, you could offer cooking classes at the restaurant. You don’t need a spa to do it.”
“We’re trying to be community minded,” Dana Sue said. “This town needs someone to invest in it.”
“I’m not buying it,” Maddie said. “This is about me. You both feel sorry for me.”
“We most certainly do not,” Helen said. “You’re going to be just fine.”
“Then there’s something else, something you’re not telling me,” Maddie persisted. “You didn’t just wake up one day and decide you wanted to open a health club, not even for some kind of tax shelter.”
Helen hesitated, then confessed. “Okay, here’s the whole truth. I need a place to go to work off the stress of my job. My doctor’s been on my case about my blood pressure. I flatly refuse to start taking a bunch of pills at my age, so he said he’d give me three months to see if a better diet and exercise would help. I’m trying to cut back on my cases in Charleston for a while, so I need a spa right here in Serenity.”
Maddie stared at her friend in alarm. If Helen was cutting back on work, then the doctor must have made quite a case for the risks to her health. “If your blood pressure is that high, why didn’t you say something? Not that I’m surprised given the way you obsess over your job.”
“I didn’t say anything because you’ve had enough on your plate,” Helen said. “Besides, I intend to take care of it.”
“By opening your own gym,” Maddie concluded. “Won’t getting a new business off the ground just add to the stress?”
“Not if you’re running it,” Helen said. “Besides, I think all of us doing this together will be fun.”
Maddie wasn’t entirely convinced about the fun factor, but she turned to Dana Sue. “And you? What’s your excuse for wanting to open a new business? Isn’t the restaurant enough?”
“It’s making plenty of money, sure,” Dana Sue said. “But I’m around food all the time. I’ve gained a few pounds. You know my family history. Just about everybody had diabetes, so I need to get my weight under control. I’m not likely to stop eating, so I need to work out.”
“See, we both have our own reasons for wanting to make this happen,” Helen said. “Come on, Maddie. At least look at the building tomorrow. You don’t have to decide tonight or even tomorrow. There’s time for you to mull it over in that cautious brain of yours.”
“I am not cautious,” Maddie protested, offended. Once she’d been the biggest risk-taker among them. All it had taken was the promise of fun and a dare. Had she really lost that? Judging from the expressions on her friends’ faces, she had.
“Oh, please, you weigh the pros and cons and calorie content before you order lunch,” Dana Sue said. “But we love you just the same.”
“Which is why we won’t do this without you,” Helen said. “Even if it does put our health at risk.”
Maddie looked from one to the other. “No pressure there,” she said dryly.
“Not a bit,” Helen said. “I have a career. And the doctor says there are all sorts of pills for controlling blood pressure these days.”
“And I have a business,” Dana Sue added. “As for my weight, I suppose we can just continue walking together
