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She nodded again.
“One more thing . . . after we’re done eating, you’re going to look her straight in the eye and beg her to let you throw that stupid Frisbee around.”
“Sure.” Lucy was starting to feel lots better because he wouldn’t care about all this if he didn’t like Nell so much. Maybe Button was going to have a home after all.
Considering its disastrous start, Nealy’s picnic turned out well. Lucy offered a quiet apology, which Nealy quickly accepted. Then she and Mat proceeded to eat everything Nealy put out, including the tortellini salad, although she noticed Lucy saved hers until last and puffed out her cheeks while she was chewing. Button enjoyed all her food, but especially her banana, which she rubbed into her hair with glee.
They’d barely finished eating before Mat said, “Where’s that Frisbee? Let’s see how good yo
u are, Nell.”
“You two go ahead while I clean up Button. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Lucy and Mat set off for a grassy space just beyond the picnic tables. Nealy watched them as she changed Button, but she hesitated just as she was about to join them and decided to put Button in a baby swing instead. Let Mat and Lucy have this time together.
She wasn’t surprised by Mat’s athleticism. He threw the Frisbee behind his back, made graceful catches, and in general enjoyed horsing around. Lucy was more of a surprise. After the first few awkward minutes, a lively young teenager surfaced. Lucy was a natural athlete, quick and agile. Mat alternated between taunting and praising her.
You’ll never catch it. I’m way too good for you. Hey, not bad for a smart aleck . . . Whoa, you got some spin on that one. Okay, ace, see what you can do with this . . .
Something inside Nealy ached as she watched them. Lucy’s brown eyes shone, her child’s laughter floated on every wisp of breeze. She looked young and happy, like the girl she should have been rather than the one she’d been forced to become. When Mat had to walk over to the playground to rescue an errant throw, Lucy followed him with her eyes, and her yearning was so intense it could only have come from the loneliest of hearts.
She thought of her own difficult relationship with her father. Because he was so manipulative, she saw herself as his victim. Now she found herself wondering what part she’d played in being victimized. It was pathetic to be First Lady of the United States and still so concerned about pleasing Daddy.
Maybe if she hadn’t been so young when she’d lost her mother, it would have been easier. Although she and her stepmother had a cordial relationship, it had never been an intimate one, which made her father even more important in her life. She’d frequently protested his manipulations but never completely defied him, not until she’d walked out of the White House four days ago. Had she been afraid that he wouldn’t love her if she rebelled? She promised herself that, from now on, James Litchfield would have to accept her on her own terms or be moved to the fringes of her life.
“Come on, Nell,” Mat called out. “Set the Demon in the grass over here and see if you can keep up with us young folks.”
Feeling as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders, Nealy joined them. Although her skills didn’t match theirs, they tolerated her, and she had a wonderful time.
Eventually, Mat threw his arm around Lucy’s shoulders and rubbed her head with his knuckles. “Time to get back on the road, ace. You did all right.”
Lucy beamed as if he’d given her a priceless gift.
Button soon fell asleep in her car seat, and Lucy curled up in the back with her book. Nealy took her time putting away the last of the picnic food. Without the children as a barrier, she felt awkward around Mat. Just thinking about those hot words he’d uttered last night, the intimacy of his caresses, made it hard for her to meet his eyes. She didn’t like herself for it. Thirty-one was too old to be insecure about sex.
She realized how accustomed she’d grown to keeping people at a distance, but it was an act of self-preservation for First Ladies who lived in an age of tabloid journalism and tell-all memoirs. In the past few years, even her friendships from childhood had suffered.
Maybe what she enjoyed most about being Nell Kelly was that Nell didn’t have to worry about anyone’s place in history. She could just be herself. Nell, she realized, wouldn’t have a problem talking to Mat after last night’s delicious escapade.
She moved to the front and sat in the passenger seat. “Do you want me to drive for a while?”
“Not on your life. You’ll decide that Button can’t enter kindergarten if she hasn’t seen Lincoln’s law office in Springfield or the riverboat in Peoria.”
“There’s a riverboat in Peoria?” She’d already seen Lincoln’s law offices.
“It sank.”
“You’re lying. Let’s do it, Mat. Let’s go to Peoria. It’s such a perfect symbol of middle America. It’ll be like a pilgrimage.”
“Iowa’s just as good a symbol of middle America as Peoria, and that’s the only pilgrimage we’re going to make.” He glanced over at her and those smoky gray eyes took a leisurely stroll from her chest to her toes. “Besides, we can’t make love in Peoria.”
Nell Kelly, the hussy, extended her legs just a little bit farther. “There is that.”
“There sure is.”
He’d definitely liked her legs. She smiled to herself. “Lucy loved throwing the Frisbee with you.”
“Yeah. She’s a pretty good athlete.”
