“Nothing special,” Kelsey replied, smiling nervously. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to pick up lunch and Shelly asked if she could ride over with me,” Ty replied smiling.
“Doesn’t she have a car?” Sue asked smoothly, dodging Kelsey’s kick under the table.
“I guess she does, I didn’t really think about it”, Ty replied, surprised at the question.
“Well, maybe you should, you know, think about it,” Sue suggested, looking straight into his eyes.
Ty glanced from Kelsey to Sue and back again, slightly unclear what she meant. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Shelly approach the booth, a smile on her face that looked a touch forced.
“Shelly, you know my fiancée, Miss Reed. This is Susan Shaughnessy.”
“Susan, Kelsey,” Shelly nodded, immediately reducing them to her level. “Still no ring on your finger I see,” she observed smiling sweetly at Kelsey. “I guess I’ll have to give Ty, I mean Dr. McCarthy, a talking to about the proper behaviors of a fiancé. Nothing is really set in stone until there’s a ring and a date is it, and sometimes not even then. Well, we better get back, Ty. Don’t forget Mrs. Lockwood is bringing her Doberman in this afternoon and you know how he terrorizes everyone in the waiting room,” she said, lightly touching Ty’s shoulder.
“I guess you’re right,” Ty said as he stood and bent to kiss Kelsey good bye, lingering at her lips for a moment. Sue watched the expression on Shelly’s face when his back was turned. It was pure, unadulterated envy and she didn’t bother to conceal it.
“Bye Sue, tell Marcus to give me a call later will you?” Ty headed to the counter to pick up their order, with Shelly following close behind.
“Sure, Ty,” Sue replied sweetly. “Oh Shelly,” she called.
Kelsey watched as the girl turned and sauntered back to the table.
“What is that marvelous scent you’re wearing?” Sue asked with a gush. “Dog Piss #5?”
Shelly’s mouth dropped as Kelsey’s milk shot out of her nose.
“Sue,” she choked, “what are you…”
“Shut up, Kels,” Sue ordered, fixing the other girl with a glare. “I know what you’re planning and I’m here to tell you it’s a very bad idea. If you do anything, and I mean anything at all to hurt my friend,” she continued indicating Kelsey, “Mrs. Lockwood’s Doberman will seem like a new born kitten next to me. Do I make myself clear?”
“Are you threatening me?” Shelly demanded.
“Yup,” she snapped back. Picking up her shake, she snapped the straw between her teeth; her eyebrow raised in challenge.
“Look you redheaded bitch,” Shelly ground out between her teeth. “I’ll do whatever the hell I want. Until Ty has a wedding ring on his finger he’s fair game, and maybe even after that,” she sneered. “If a woman can’t hang onto her man, it’s not my fault,” she tossed back over her shoulder giving Kelsey a pitying look as she walked away.
Sue almost dove out of the booth, but Kelsey pulled her back using all her strength.
“I just want to talk to her,” Sue growled, trying to break free.
“No!” Kelsey insisted. “You need to talk to me,” she pleaded, all of her earlier joy wiped from her eyes. “I don’t know how to cope with this. Oh Sue, I had a bad feeling about her the minute I met her, but I couldn’t explain it. At least now I know why. What am I going to do?” she asked with a sniffle.
“Don’t worry about it, Kels. If Ty loves you, everything will be all right,” Sue promised, although she didn’t believe a word of it. Oh, she believed Ty loved Kelsey, but he was no match for the manipulative threat Shelly presented. “I mean it,” she repeated, “I don’t want you worrying about this. I’ll talk to Marcus and see what he thinks. Just don’t get all sad on me; we were having so much fun today.”
“You’re right, Ty loves me. Maybe he will let her go if I ask him too. I’m not going to be able to stand the thought of her rubbing up against him all day.”
“Don’t do anything until I talk to Marcus, okay? He’s a smart guy and he knows his brother better than anyone else. He’ll know how to handle this,” Sue assured her.
The girls paid the check and headed out, stopping at several shops to check out the local wares. After Sue dropped Kelsey off at home, she thought about how to approach Marcus without sounding like she was sticking her nose in and tattling on his brother. No good ideas came to mind and she decided to just wing it. As it turned out, she needn’t have worried. Marcus was yelling for her as soon as she walked in the door.
“Red, get your butt in here,” he shouted from his office.
“You bellowed?” Sue replied dryly, flinging her purse on his desk and dropping into an over-stuffed chair.
“I didn’t know you were going into town for lunch today,” he stated calmly, getting up from his chair and walking around to the front of his desk. He extended his long legs in front of him as he leaned against it, arms folded over his chest.
“What, did the food police call?” she asked, draping one leg over the arm of the chair and swinging it. God she hated ugly flat shoes, she thought, trying to ignore Marcus’s attitude.
