AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mr. Zane had to leave early this morning.”
“Oh.” She didn’t bother to hide her disappointment.
Mrs. Applegate opened the refrigerator and took out a plastic container filled with orange juice. “He asked me to tell you he made several notes on the remodeling plans.”
Lesley took a sip of the juice the housekeeper poured for her. “Great. I’ll look them over and get back to him directly. You wouldn’t happen to know which day would be best for me to stop by, would you?”
“Mr. Zane…”
“Yes?” Lesley prodded.
“He said it would be best if you mailed any changes to him. He wanted me to tell you that his schedule is full, and that he doesn’t have any time to meet with you again.” The housekeeper looked decidedly uncomfortable. “I know for a fact that isn’t true. Mr. Zane has plenty of time. All he thinks about is this project.”
Lesley swallowed down the bitter pill of rejection. “I see.”
“I’m sorry, dear.”
“No, no,” Lesley responded with false enthusiasm. “Tell him for me that I’ll be happy to mail the plans. And—” she hesitated and set the glass of juice aside “—tell him goodbye for me.” Her voice faded to a thin thread of sound.
“It’s his leg,” Mrs. Applegate insisted. “Some nights it hurts him something fierce, and he isn’t himself. He must have had one of his bad nights because he didn’t look like he’d been to bed. Be patient with him.” The older woman’s eyes pleaded with Lesley.
“I can only do as he asks,” Lesley said.
“But he doesn’t know what he really wants,” Mrs. Applegate insisted. “Not when his leg’s aching. Now, you listen to me, dearie, life is much too short to give up so easily.”
“Thank you for the hospitality, Mrs. Applegate, but I need to get back to the city.” She smiled at the older woman and left the kitchen.
Zane had made his feelings clear. He didn’t want to see her again.
* * *
Candy Hoffman hated to admit it, but Carl’s words had hit their mark. His question about whether she was male or female had hurt far more than she’d wanted to let on. She’d driven away with a lump in her throat that felt as if it would choke her. But she refused to give Carl the satisfaction of reducing her to tears. By heaven, she was a woman. All right, she didn’t dress in fancy frilly things the way others did, but that didn’t make her something she wasn’t.
Leave it to Carl Saks to find her weakest link and verbally attack her. Well, she was going to teach that man a lesson. The local Grange was sponsoring a dinner and dance Saturday night and for the first time since her father died and she took over running the feed store, Candy planned on attending.
Although she felt awkward, she put on makeup and dressed to the nines. The skirt, the same one she’d worn in college, was a little snug around the waist, but it still fit. She tried to remember the last time she’d worn it and realized it must have been five or more years back. The black leather boots went well with the outfit. She hadn’t done much with her hair in the past couple of years and was surprised how easily it took to a curling iron.
When she was finished, she squirted on a little perfume and coughed when the fumes got in her nose. She’d had the bottle for ten years or better and was amazed it hadn’t completely dried up, although it was about as potent as moonshine.
When Candy pulled into the Grange meeting hall parking area, she looked around at the cars parked in makeshift rows across the thick grass. Although she told herself she wasn’t looking for anyone in particular, it wasn’t the truth.
She was hoping Carl would be there. She wasn’t sure how she felt once she realized he hadn’t come. At least his truck wasn’t in sight. It was just as well, really. She didn’t know if she could look the man in the eye, especially after the insolent way he’d kissed her. Especially after the brazen way in which she’d responded.
Candy parked her truck and climbed out of the cab. Music blared out from the open doors of the meeting hall, the country-and-western song loud and discordant. The sun had set and cast a golden glow across the horizon in a swan song.
Inhaling a deep breath, she swung her purse strap over her shoulder and headed toward the meeting hall. From the corner of her eye she saw three men sitting on the open tailgate of a truck. They companionably shared a bottle of cheap whiskey. She made a path around them. Not that she expected trouble. In fact, if they asked her to join in, she just might be tempted and avoid the stupid social altogether.
The dancing was in full swing when she stepped inside the Grange. She paused in the doorway, feeling out of place, and glanced around. No one appeared to notice that she’d arrived and none of her friends seemed to be around. Rarely had she felt more alone.
“Candy?” Slim Daniels, one of the men who worked at the feed store, strolled past and did a double take. “Is that you?”
“Shut up, Slim.”
“My, but you look…” He hesitated as if he wasn’t sure how she looked. “Pretty,” he concluded.
“I said keep your mouth shut,” she snapped.
He chuckled and moved on.
