gave Mary Elizabeth a hug. “Pay no attention to this old coot. I certainly don’t.”
“Frances,” King protested.
Tucker winced. He certainly hadn’t expected to make things worse between his father and Frances by inviting her here tonight. He liked her, liked the way she stood up to King and refused to let him bul doze over her. Few women—few people—had ever had the nerve to chal enge him the way Frances did. And he could see by the worried look on his father’s face that King was afraid this time he’d pushed her too far.
King stood up. “Frances, why don’t you and I go to another table, where we can have that talk we planned on having tonight?”
“Absolutely not. I’m here to support a friend. You can do whatever you want.”
Bobby appeared from the kitchen just then. Tucker saw him take note of the fact that three of the people at the table were standing, regarding each other warily.
“So, who’s having the special?” Bobby inquired cheerful y. “And who’s dining on crow?”
King scowled at him. “Very funny.”
“Wel ?” Bobby prodded. “The special’s going fast.”
“I’l have that,” Tucker said, taking his seat. “Mary Elizabeth?”
“Fine,” she said without much enthusiasm.
“The halibut sounds lovely,” Frances agreed, pushing aside King’s hand when he would have pul ed her chair out for her.
King sighed and retreated to his own chair. “Might as wel make it four.”
Bobby’s smile spread. “See now, the four of you can agree on something. Isn’t that nice?”
Tucker bit back a chuckle at King’s stormy expression. “A smart man would retreat to the kitchen about now,” he advised his brother.
“A smart man would have run like hel an hour ago,” Bobby retorted. “Guess we know what that makes you.”
Sadly, after a glance around the table at his stony-faced companions, Tucker concluded that his brother was exactly right.
7
D espite al of the awkwardness and tension, which should have been enough to give her a raging headache, Liz thoroughly enjoyed dinner once she got through the initial sparring with King. Obviously her life lately had been worse than she’d realized, if dining with a cranky man who hated her, the woman who seemed likely to be his ex-ladyfriend and a man she’d once dumped could make her feel this cheerful less than 24 hours after her husband had died.
She smiled as she sank back on the seat in Tucker’s car. “That was wonderful,” she said with a contented sigh.
“Bobby wil be delighted you enjoyed the meal,” Tucker said, his jaw stil set, his anger radiating from him in palpable waves.
“I meant al of it, every single second of sitting around that table with you, your father and Frances.”
Tucker turned and stared at her, clearly astonished by her claim. “Are you crazy?”
“It was just so normal.”
“Sweetheart, if you thought that was normal, then dysfunctionality must have reached new heights in your life.”
Her smile vanished at the al -too-accurate observation. “It had,” she said quietly.
Her solemn response clearly stunned him. Something that looked an awful lot like pity shadowed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry for me,” she snapped. “I made my own choices. I chose Larry. I chose to stay with him even after I knew he was cheating on me.”
She had blurted the comment out without thinking, but now she was glad it was out in the open.
“He cheated on you?” Tucker asked.
The incredulous expression on his face would have been laughable if the topic hadn’t been so serious. “Over and over,” she said flatly, refusing to show even an ounce of self-pity. She was done with feeling sorry for herself. That was the past, and she was going to put her life back on track, no matter what it took.
“Then why in hel would you stay with him?” He rubbed a hand across his face. “Sorry. That’s none of my business.”
“It’s okay. I promised I’d explain why I’m not
Cathy Marie Hake
Laura Fields
Tony Dunbar
Eve Gaddy
Morley Torgov
Leslie North
Lindsay McKenna
Cheryl Hollon
Anne McAllister
Donna Grant