Merry Anna’s phone rang, and she knew that ringtone. It was Kevin. “Tara, can you excuse me? I need to take that call.”
“Sure. Go on.”
Merry Anna grabbed her phone and stepped out on the porch. “Hi, Kevin. What is it now?”
“That’s not a very welcoming greeting.”
“Because lately any call from you ends in an argument, and I’m kind of over that.”
“Well, I just wanted to check in on this wager. Have you realized yet I can’t live on this amount of money?”
Even his voice bothered her now. “Quit your bellyaching. I’m just fine, and I’m only working part-time. Get a job, Kevin, because what I’m realizing is the money is not the issue. In fact, I’m happier on less. Give it a try.”
“There is no way you are living on that,” Kevin snarled. “I don’t believe it for one minute.”
“Well, you’re just going to have to, because it’s true.” Merry Anna was tired of the ongoing argument.
“You’re not using any credit cards?” he challenged.
“Not a single one,” she said in a confident tone. “I can show you the bills.”
“Fine.”
“So, you’ll leave it be? Accept the alimony and never bring it up again?”
“I don’t think this wager has been fair. I think we need to extend it through the summer. Anyone can skimp for a month or two,” Kevin whined. “We’re talking forever here.”
His words stabbed her. He seriously planned to live forever off her money?Jerk.“You know what? This has been so easy that I will extend it just so you don’t think I haven’t been fair, but might I remind you that you cheated on me? You haven’t pulled your weight in years, and the last thing you deserve is this fair shake that I’m giving you. So I will prove my point, and in September we will shut the door on this conversation for good. Understood?”
“You don’t have to be so bitter.” His words were spat with anger, and then he hung up without a goodbye.
She dropped her phone from her ear and stared at it. Her hand shook.I have every right to be bitter.
Merry Anna turned off the ringer on her phone and stepped back inside. “Sorry about that.” She watched Tara scroll through another website. “How’s it going?”
“Great. I just found the perfect hardware for the bathroom cabinetry. By the way, I heard they’re having a potluck lunch at the church on Tuesday. Want to go with me?”
“Oh, I’d love that, but I have plans. Adam is going to teach me how to bake a strawberry pie on Tuesday.”
Tara turned and faced Merry Anna. “Would that be the Adam from the horse ranch? The cowboy?”
“Yes.” Merry Anna could see the assumptions boiling over in Tara’s mind. “No, no. It’s nothing like that. Neither one of us is interested in anything more.”
“How long has it been since you dated? I’m practically a hundred, and I know men lie to get that first chance.”
“I was married to my high school sweetheart. We just got divorced. I never dated anyone but him,” Merry Anna said. “We were always together…until now.”
“Oh goodness. You need me around here.”
She imagined Tara in a big fairy-godmother dress with a magic wand and wings. She politely kept that thought to herself.
“Adam is handsome and very well-spoken,” Tara said. “I really enjoyed negotiating the deal on the house with him. He’s quite smart.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Well, I’ve been around the block a time or two with house projects. I’m no spring chicken,” she said with a laugh. “I sold real estate for years, and my husband and I flipped housesbefore it was trendy. We completed lots of projects over the years, and we met all kinds.”
“Are you flipping this house?” Tara could probably make a huge profit once she finished all those projects.
