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She regarded the Demon earnestly. “You shouldn’t have seen what you did, Button. But you need to know there was nothing wrong with it. Well, almost nothing . . . I mean, we’re adults and not teenagers. And when a mature woman is with an attractive man . . .”
“Yeah? You think I’m attractive?”
When was he going to learn to keep his big mouth shut? She cud
dled Button to her breast and regarded him critically. “I’m sure you think it’s silly to explain this to an infant, but no one really knows how much babies understand.”
“Somehow I don’t think that she’s going to understand this for a few more years.” He thought about throwing himself in the shower, clothes and all.
She returned her attention to the baby. “Mat and I are responsible adults, Button, and we know . . .” She paused just when he was starting to enjoy himself, and sniffed the Demon’s breath.
“She smells like . . .” She whipped some orange slime from the corner of the baby’s mouth and examined it. “She’s been eating cheese curls! Oh, God! She ate them off the floor. Is there any ipecac in that first-aid kit?”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re not giving that baby ipecac. Come here, Demon, before she threatens you with a stomach pump.” He took the baby, even though he was feeling less than charitable with her.
“But—”
“Look at her, Nell. She’s as healthy as they come, and a little floor dining’s not going to hurt her one bit. When my sister Ann Elizabeth was a baby, she used to eat pieces of gum that had already been chewed. It wasn’t so bad when she did it in the house, but she scavenged on the sidewalk, too.”
Nell blanched.
“Let’s go rescue the Waynes before Lucy can finish them off. And Nell . . .” He waited until she was looking at him fully, then he gave her his slowest, most dangerous smile. “As soon as the kids are asleep, we’re going to pick up exactly where we left off.”
11
LUCY LOVED THE Waynes. They were dopey, and Bertis had already lectured her on covering up a pretty face with all that makeup, but they were nice, too. The whole time Bertis had been lecturing, she’d been giving Lucy homemade cookies and patting her shoulder. Lucy especially loved the way Bertis kept touching her, since nobody but Button touched her anymore. Even Sandy had hardly touched her unless she was drunk and needed help getting to the bathroom.
Lucy liked Charlie, too, even though only a moron would wear socks with sandals. He’d called her Scout when she’d helped him move the picnic tables together. A little more to the right there, Scout.
She wished she could give Button to the Waynes, but they were too old, so she was still stuck with Jorik and Nell.
She looked up from the silverware she’d been putting on the table and saw them coming toward her with Button. They looked funny, and she studied them more closely. Nell had a red mark on the side of her neck and her mouth looked puffy. When she saw that Jorik’s mouth looked that way, too, her spirits soared.
Nealy inwardly groaned as she spotted the knowing look on Lucy’s face. The teenager was too smart for her own good. She concentrated on maintaining a pleasant expression while she tried to figure out what had just happened to her. Even more important, what was she going to do about it?
America’s First Lady would have pulled out a yellow pad and come up with a plan, but Nell Kelly wasn’t as well organized. Mat intended to pick up where they’d left off, which was exactly what she wanted, too, but it was too soon. Wasn’t it?
She decided to worry about the food allergies Button might get from eating cheese curls instead of dwelling on the tall, gray-eyed man at her side who was turning her emotional world upside down.
“Why, look who’s here! Now, Nell, why don’t you sit there with the baby, and Mat, you go bring that cooler outside. Every time Charlie tries to lift anything heavy, his hernia kicks up.”
“You make sure you lift with your knees,” Charlie said. “Hernias aren’t anything to mess around with.”
Nealy smiled. No one ever talked about hernias in front of her.
“You look so familiar, Nell. She looks familiar, doesn’t she, Charlie? Have you ever been to Fort Wayne?”
“She looks like Cornelia Case, even though not everybody thinks so.” Lucy shot Mat a trenchant look just before he disappeared into the Waynes’ motor home for the cooler. “Now I’m stuck with a lame power drill.”
“Good gracious, you do! Look at her, Charlie. She looks just like Mrs. Case. Why, the two of you could be sisters.”
Nealy definitely didn’t want the conversation continuing in this direction. “I’m sorry I didn’t have anything to bring with me for dinner. We’re a little short on groceries.”
“Now, don’t you worry about that. We have more than enough.”
As the meal progressed, Nealy found herself thinking of all the state dinners she’d helped plan, formal affairs where each place setting held as many as twenty-seven items. Not one of them could match the pleasure of this evening. She and Mat kept exchanging glances so full of wordless communication it was as if they’d known each other forever. Lucy giggled at Charlie’s teasing. Button toddled around the table so she could visit everyone and, inevitably, found her way into Mat’s lap.
Nealy was entranced with the Waynes. Bertis had been a homemaker all her life, and her conversation was filled with stories about her children and grandchildren, her church, and her neighbors. Charlie had owned a small insurance agency and recently passed the reins to his oldest son.
