Welcome to Serenity by Sherryl Woods Page A

wrong?
    Is it the car? They have money. So what?”
    “It’s not the car,” she said in an oddly choked voice.
    “Believe me, that car is the least of it.”
    “Then, what? Tell me quick, because they’ve seen us, so it’s too late for you to run.”
    “It’s your mother, Tom,” she said, still struggling to break free. “I know her. And you do not want us face-toface. You need to trust me about that.”
    He stared at her blankly. “You know my mother? How?”
    “Do you really want to waste time chitchatting about the details? I need to go before they get over here. I can explain later.”
    “Tell me now,” he said tightly.
    “I know her from Chez Bella’s in Charleston. I gave her a facial once.”
    He still looked blank. “Are you embarrassed about that for some reason? You shouldn’t be.”
    “It’s not about being embarrassed,” she said indignantly. “She sued Bella. Claimed I almost destroyed her skin. That suit could have cost me my job, my reputation. The only reason it didn’t was because Bella had heard that she’d done the same thing at another spa in town. She’s allergic to some ingredient. Her dermatologist has explained it to her, but for some reason she refuses to accept that she can’t have the same treatments that all her friends have, so she just moves from spa to spa, raising a ruckus along the way. She freaks because her skin breaks out in hives. Now, will you let me go before she and I have this out right here?”
    Tom was staring at her incredulously. “My mother sued you?”
    “Not me, the spa. She probably doesn’t even remember me, but I remember her. Now, let me go.”
    This time when she jerked away, he released her. Jeanette didn’t wait around to see whether his mother recognized her or not. All she cared about was getting away before she yanked the woman’s perfectly coifed, bleached blond hair out by its roots.

7
    “Who was that young woman and why did she run off?”
    Tom’s mother asked the instant they reached him. “She looked vaguely familiar.”
    Tom wasn’t about to bring up the Chez Bella incident, not until he’d heard the whole story from Jeanette. It would be just like his mother to make a federal case out of something like a skin rash, even if she’d been responsible for causing it by not disclosing her allergies. She’d had a habit of denying anything that didn’t suit her. It didn’t surprise him that she might ill-advisedly ignore her dermatologist’s warnings just to have the facial her friends were raving about.
    But if it had been such a big deal, why hadn’t Jeanette mentioned it before now? Surely she must have wondered if his mother and the woman who’d filed the suit were related, if not one and the same person. He had a whole lot of questions and no answers, so for the time being he just forced a smile.
    “She didn’t run off. She’s on my Christmas festival committee, so we were discussing a few details. She didn’t want to intrude on our family get-together. She knows we don’t have a lot of time.”
    His mother looked as if she wasn’t buying a word, but his father was clearly disinterested in the whole discussion.
    “So,” he said, a scathing note in his voice, “this is it?
    What we’re seeing right now is Serenity? Not much to it, is there?”
    “This is the downtown,” Tom said, trying not to sound defensive. “Those big-box stores over your way all but destroyed small, family-run businesses, but it’s coming back. The drugstore weathered the tough times, the hardware store has reopened under new management, and two other spaces have been leased since I got here. A clothing boutique is opening in one and a florist in the other. One of my main priorities is trying to attract a few more businesses into this area. And the local garden club has organized a beautification program. They’re installing all the pots of flowers at the doorways of businesses and will maintain them. Give us another couple of years and