“We play Chipley next week. It’s going to be a whale of a game.” Dupree started out the door. “Come see Heddy, Pa.”
“Sure, right behind you.” He leaned toward Tuesday. “We’ll finish this later. I can do what I want with the Starlight, you know I can. The bank will trust me over you.”
“Lee, you promised me you’d never touch the Starlight.”
“Did you file the deed with the county? Or is it at the house?”
“I guess that’s for me to know. Now, find your son and watch the show with him. Or have you given up keeping your word altogether?”
When he’d gone, Tuesday collapsed into her chair, trembling.If he got a hold of the deed, hecoulddo anything. All he had to do was inquire at county records to know she’d not filed it. She’d been nervous they’d require her married name. Maybe even Leroy’s. Why he’d not insisted on his name being added remained a mystery. Maybe he was hoping the county would do it for him. Maybe he meant to keep his promise, but his hoodlum boss, Runner, got him thinking otherwise.
She trusted none of them. If he inquired at the county records, he’d probably try to search the house and the rink. The loose floorboard in the kitchen just might give her away.
“Tooz, Heddy’s almost done.” Burt leaned in. “You okay?”
“You were right, Burt. I had to tell him no.”
She collected herself and headed out of the office. Lee stood at the front of the rink with his arm wrapped around Dup’s shoulder. Overhead, the image of Immanuel looked down from the raised panels.
“What doI do?”
Then she spotted LJ in the balcony with his friends and waved him down.
“Go home, get the box under the kitchen floorboard,” she whispered. “Take it, hide it, but don’t tell anyone where, including me. Butyouremember, hear me?”
“Ma, what’s going on?”
“You hear me?”
“Yeah, but what—” LJ caught sight of his pa from the corner of his eye. Without another word, he squeezed past the spectators and dashed out of the Starlight.
20
HARLOW
Who does he think he is?
The more she considered Xander’s surprise visit, the more she fumed.
Sitting on the kitchen floor, back against the white shaker cabinets, leg in a V across the large square tile, she commiserated with her friends. Or what remained of her friends.
A Blue Plate takeout box once containing a cheeseburger, fries, and coleslaw, along with a smattering of squeezed ketchup packets. A slice of warm cherry pie from the bakery. A package of Oreos from Biggs.
Yes, siree, she swung for the fences this afternoon.
What she wanted right now was a large box of Hayes Cookies, but no one sold them in Sea Blue Beach, which she considered criminal.
She ripped the wrapper from a Reese’s peanut butter cup and crumbled it on top of a pint of vanilla ice cream.
“I still love you.”
Ha. Like a cat loves a mouse. Is that how he saw her? A mouse? Someone—no, something—to be toyed with according to his whims.
She rammed the crumbled candy pieces into the ice cream with a large spoon, catching the excess spillage with her tongue. When she had the proper mixture, she scooped a large bite.
You’re a fool, Harlow. Admit it, you ignored the signsand broke your own heart.
So many things were becoming clear. Like when she learned he’d had lunch with Davina a month after their engagement. Which she’d never have known except Annis, the head of Icon, saw them together.“Rather cozy scene for a divorced couple. Didn’tshe cheat on him?”
