And he’d committed the start-up money for Cal’s Little League proposal. He put it into the Parks and Recreation Department budget with the council’s blessing. He’d promised to coach that second team, too.
All in all, despite his short time here, he felt as if he’d already made a contribution to Serenity. With so many irons in the fire, though, he’d had little time to hunt for a house or to pursue Jeanette the way he’d wanted to. That only added to his stress, which increased the necessity for these nightly runs. He usually made his way through town, then looped around the lake, which was surrounded by azalea bushes that he suspected filled the landscape with vivid color in the spring. There was usually a group of women sitting in the gazebo chatting in the fading evening light. He’d grown so accustomed to seeing them there that he always greeted them, even though he recognized none of them. He knew they’d be gone as soon as darkness fell, as would the last stray couples who’d been enjoying an evening walk.
He was pushing himself on a final lap around the lake when his cell phone rang. He was tempted to ignore it, but the police and fire departments had the number in case they needed to reach him in an emergency, so he stopped and bent over to catch his breath as he glanced at caller ID. His mother. It was her fifth call today. He’d managed to evade the others, but clearly she didn’t intend to give up.
“Hello, Mother,” he said, giving in finally.
“What’s wrong with you?” she demanded. “It sounds as if you’re out of breath.” She sounded more irritated than worried.
“You caught me in the middle of my run. What’s on your mind?”
“Have you found a house yet?”
“I haven’t had time to look,” he told her.
“Which is exactly why I wanted to do it for you,” she said, clearly miffed. “But I was told in no uncertain terms to butt out.”
“I seriously doubt Mary Vaughn phrased it that way,” he said.
“Well, of course not. She’s a lovely woman. She’s available, too, I believe.”
Subtlety was not his mother’s strong suit. “I’m aware of that,” he told her.
“Have you asked her out?”
“Mother!” he said, a warning note in his voice.
“Well, surely you’re not considering going out with that little strumpet, Jeanette whatever-her-name-is.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” he said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
He was about to cut off the connection when he heard her call his name insistently. He relented and put the phone back to his ear. “Yes?”
“Okay, I didn’t mean to get your dander up. I know that’s exactly the wrong thing to do. After all these years of watching you and your father, you’d think I’d know better. You’re like a child. You’ll do exactly the opposite of whatever I suggest just to spite me.”
“Was that supposed to be an apology?”
She sighed dramatically. “I’m sorry,” she said without much sincerity. “I didn’t call about any of this.”
“Then why did you call?”
“The drapes for your office are ready. I’d like to bring them over tomorrow. I thought afterward we might have time to look at a few houses.”
This time his sigh was as dramatic as hers. “Bring the drapes if you want, but I don’t have time to go house hunting tomorrow,” he said.
“Well, surely you’ll at least be able to find the time to have lunch,” she said.
He thought about that. Sooner or later he and his mother were going to have to spend some time together. She was not the sort of woman to let anyone push her aside forever, especially one of her own children. Though she was sometimes her own worst enemy in those relationships, she tried her best to be a good mother in the only way she knew how. It had taken him thirty-five years to recognize that.
“We can have lunch,” he said. “On one condition.”
“What?” she asked warily.
“That we include Jeanette and you promise to be civil to her.”
“Absolutely not,” she said at once.
“Okay, then, no deal.”
“Thomas McDonald, I do not appreciate your attempt to blackmail me into spending time with a woman I can’t abide.”
“You barely know her.”
“Just the same, I have no desire to know her any better,” she said stubbornly.
He knew it was vanity and pride more than snobbery that made her so determined to keep Jeanette at arm’s length. Surely she was embarrassed over the fiasco she’d created at Chez Bella’s. At least that’s what he wanted to believe.
“And it doesn’t matter to you that she’s important to me?” he asked quietly.
She gasped. “How important?”
“I’m not one hundred percent certain yet, but right now I’d have to say very important. And I would very much appreciate it if you would at least give her a chance. Come on, Mother, it won’t be the first time in your life you’ve had to be polite to someone you’re not fond of. You do it all the time for the sake of one charity or another. Can’t you do at least as much for me?”
“Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I have no choice,” she said grudgingly. “I’ll be at your office at eleven-thirty to drop off the drapes. Make a reservation for lunch at noon. Tell your little friend not to be late.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, hiding his amusement at her dictatorial attitude. He recognized it as an attempt to have some control over the situation.
He hung up, pleased with himself for setting in motion a truce between Jeanette and his mother. Unfortunately, though, only one side had agreed to a meeting. Something told him Jeanette was going to be a much tougher sell.
* * *
“Oh no, no way!” Jeanette said, staring at Tom as if he’d grown two heads or, at the very least, lost his
