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Lucy picked up her fork. Dragging the utensil through her green beans, she said, “Well I hope not. I could’ve gotten them into any track in the country with VIP badges.”
“See there,” Mrs. Carpenter said. “I told you. The two of you need to see Lucy before you take up stock car racing.” She nodded toward the stairs. “They’ve got hours of footage from the races upstairs. You ought to get them to show you everything they’ve collected.”
“Why don’t you?” Lucy asked, turning in her chair and facing the older lady.
Mrs. Carpenter shook her head. “Not a chance. These two fine and upstanding men promised me a week’s paid vacation. I’ve gotta hurry now and get this place cleaned up so I can take off.”
“When did we do that?” Rex asked, looking at Luke. “Last I heard she wanted the weekend off.”
“Got to thinkin’ about it,” she clucked, acting a little too giddy. “Might as well take a week, maybe two.”
“What are you talking about?” Luke asked. “We didn’t discuss this.”
Mrs. Carpenter shrugged. “I’ve got some things I have to take care of, and Lucy, I guess you’re gonna have to look out for my boys. These two are grown men, but they ain’t used to taking care of themselves. You may have to teach them how to do a load of laundry and cook ’em dinner every now and again.” With a jovial spirit, Mrs. Carpenter reached behind her back and untied her apron.
“You can’t be serious,” Luke said, apparently at a loss.
“Oh, but I am,” Mrs. Carpenter reassured him. “Lucy has been the first woman to walk in here in I don’t know how long. I intend to take advantage of this. Sorry about your luck, child.”
Rex squirmed. Instead of arguing with Mrs. Carpenter or correcting her again, he said, “You know what, you’re right. You need a vacation. You haven’t had one in a good number of years.
“Luke, go get the checkbook and pay Mrs. Carpenter. I’m going upstairs and see if I can’t find this sweet little angel her toys. When I get back, we’ll talk about that dessert none of us want to miss. Assuming, of course, Mrs. Carpenter has already left us to entertain our sweet and pure little angel.”
Lucy balked at that. What she’d give to show Luke and Rex just what she’d learned in a short period of time.
“I can’t get out of here fast enough,” Mrs. Carpenter said, winking at Lucy. “You and I will catch up when I get back from my break. What do you think?”
Lucy took a bite of broccoli casserole and observed. This was planned to a fault. That’s what she thought. Lucy should’ve been a nervous wreck. Instead, she was very excited. Why wouldn’t she be? She knew damn good and well what toys she’d left there.
Much to her surprise, she couldn’t wait to use them again. She hoped the batteries were fresh and the McDavid men were horny. Considering their past history together? The odds were in her favor.
Chapter Five
Luke returned with a check in hand, hoping Mrs. Carpenter was intuitive enough to realize this was one time she couldn’t offer a quick solution to the damage they’d caused. In matters of skinned shins, Mrs. Carpenter was a pro, but this was different. They weren’t talking scratches and bruises. They’d broken Lucy’s heart, and mending the holes they’d left there would take some time, not to mention tender loving care.
Luke stood just inside the enclosed porch watching Lucy as she slowly turned scrapbook pages. “This is from the Saltville Horse Show,” she said. “I think it was the summer of ’97.”
“You’re right,” Mrs. Carpenter said, tapping her finger on a laminated page. “I remember that July well. Rex had a new sports car, and we couldn’t keep him in the saddle. He wanted to cruise and pick up women.”
“Imagine that,” Lucy muttered.
Luke peered over her shoulder, and she flipped to the center of the book. The next picture was one he remembered well. It was the day before his twenty-first birthday, and Lucy refused him a drink of alcohol but offered him a kiss instead. He’d declined, pissed because she wouldn’t give in and pour him a drink of liquor. He lost out in the end, just as the black-and-white snapshot portrayed.
His brother earned the smooch and the shot of whiskey. Luke never wondered which tasted better.
The next image was another priceless moment. He was about fourteen, which meant Lucy would’ve been fifteen and Rex would’ve been around eighteen. They were posing next to a solid black Shetland pony. Lucy traced the photo as if she were trying to remember something. Suddenly, she looked up. “What was it we said about Luke and Shetland ponies?”
“I don’t recall,” Mrs. Carpenter replied, staring at the check Luke passed her way.
Lucy grinned, acknowledged Rex’s reentry by a wave of her finger, and said, “I bet he remembers.”
“Yep,” he replied, smirking. “I sure do.”
* * * *
Lucy closed one eye, as if that alone would restore her memory. “Wait a minute. I know what it was.” She studied the picture again. “We teased Luke and called him the Shetland pony. He was the shortest fellow in our group, but he had this larger-than-life personality. He may have been little, but he always stood out in a crowd.”
“You know why, too,” Luke remarked, his carnal tone deliberate.
