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“You remind me of me, that’s who.” He resettled his straw Panama on his head. “I had a lot of challenges in my life, but I always faced them down.”
Ted whapped her on the back. “That’s our Meg, all right.”
By the time they reached the third green, she was wilting from the heat but still happy to be outside. She forced herself to concentrate on being the perfect caddy, along with shooting Ted adoring glances every time Spence got too cozy.
“Would you stop that!” Ted said, when they were out of earshot.
“What do you care?”
“It’s unnerving, that’s all,” he complained. “Like being trapped in an alternate reality.”
“You should be used to adoring glances.”
“Not from you.”
It was soon evident, even to Meg, that Torie was a highly competitive athlete, but on the back nine, she suddenly began missing putts. Ted never lost his easy charm, not until he was alone with Meg when he confirmed her suspicions that Torie was doing it deliberately. “That was barely a three-foot putt,” he groused, “and Torie lips the cup. Spence could be around for weeks. Anybody who thinks I’m going to let him win every match is crazy.”
“Which is obviously why Torie missed that putt.” At least someone other than herself understood Spence’s ego. She glanced around for the most recent head cover she seemed to have misplaced. “Concentrate on the big picture, Mr. Mayor. If you’re determined to destroy the local environment with this project, you need to be more like Torie and work harder to make Spence happy.”
He ignored her jab. “Look who’s talking about making Spence happy. It wouldn’t hurt you to be nicer to him. I swear I’m going to stage a public fight with you so he knows exactly how unrequited your passion for me is.”
He put a long wedge shot on the
green, tossed the club at her, and stalked off.
Thanks to Torie, Spence and Kenny pulled off a one-hole victory. Afterward, Meg headed for the ladies’ locker room, which, technically, employees weren’t supposed to use, but since it was equipped with a vast array of personal-care products sadly missing from her own collection, she used it anyway. As she splashed her heat-flushed face with cold water, Torie joined her at the sink. Unlike Meg, the heat didn’t seem to have affected Torie, who merely pulled off her visor to refasten her ponytail, then looked around to make sure the locker room was empty. “So what’s really between you and Ted?”
“What do you mean? Haven’t you heard the rumors about how I drove Lucy away so I could have him for myself?”
“I’m a lot brighter than I look. And you’re not a woman who’d fall for a guy who basically hates your guts.”
“I don’t think he hates me as much as he did. Now it’s more your run-of-the-mill loathing.”
“Interesting.” Torie shook out her long hair, then gathered it together again.
Meg grabbed a washcloth from the pile by the sink and ran it under the cold water. “You don’t seem to hate me, either. Why is that? Everybody else in town does.”
“I have my reasons.” She snapped the elastic back into place. “Which isn’t to say I wouldn’t scratch your eyes out if I really believed you were a threat to Ted.”
“I broke up his marriage, remember?”
Torie gave a noncommittal shrug.
Meg studied her, but Torie wasn’t giving anything more away. Meg rubbed the cold washcloth over the back of her neck. “Since we’re having this heart-to-heart, I’m curious how your husband would feel if he knew you were practically naked in a hotel room with Ted?”
“Oh, Dex didn’t mind the naked part—I’d just come out of the shower—but he wasn’t happy about Ted kissing me like that, even after I pointed out that I was an innocent bystander.” She disappeared into the nearest stall, still talking. “Dex got all huffy and informed Ted that he drew the line at kissing. I told Dex I wished he’d draw it someplace else because, even though I doubted that kiss was Ted’s best effort, it was still kind of fun. Then Dex said he’d show me all the fun I could handle, which, if you knew my husband, would make you laugh, but Dex was feeling crabby because, a couple of weeks ago, I’d tricked him into staying with the girls while I went with Ted to test the new GPS he made for his truck. Dex wanted to do the test run himself.”
That must have been the night Meg had seen them together. She was getting more than a little curious about Dexter O’Connor. “So your husband knew you were alone in a room at the inn with Ted?” She grabbed the sunblock. “You must have a very understanding husband.”
The toilet flushed. “What do you mean alone? Dex was in the shower. It was our room. Ted just stopped by.”
“Your room? I thought you lived in Wynette.”
Torie came out of the stall and regarded her with faint pity. “We have kids, Meg. K-i-d-s. Two fabulous little girls I love with all my heart, but they definitely take after me, which means Dex and I try to get away, just the two of us, every couple of months.” She washed her hands. “Sometimes we manage a long weekend in Dallas or New Orleans. Usually, though, it’s a night at the inn.”
Meg had more questions, but she needed to put away Ted’s clubs and collect her tip money.
She found him by the pro shop, talking to Kenny. He reached into his pocket as she approached. She held her breath. True, she’d lost his last two head covers, but she hadn’t cost him a single hole, and if that cheapskate . . .
