“‘I can’t stop thinking about you’? Ha! Don’t kid yourself.” Eyes alight with prurient interest, Helen clapped her hands. “Well! We can’t let him down.”
Addy narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What do you mean?”
“If we’re going to have a special guest for dinner, we’ve work to do in order to be ready. I’m taking you to a day spa in Sacramento.”
“No, that’s okay.” She’d been hoping to go by Stephen’s, to finally get a good look at that white Chevy.
“Come on! You’ll get a full Brazilian, maybe do a little tanning and splurge on one of those chemical peels that don’t actually peel.”
“Anything else?”
Helen didn’t seem to hear her sarcasm. “No, that should do it. At least you already got a boob job.”
Addy didn’t bother to continue the argument over whether or not she’d had certain enhancements. “But I was going to the restaurant this morning and then making dinner.” She hadn’t been looking forward to facing Darlene again, but she had been looking forward to preparing tonight’s meal. She hadn’t cooked since she’d come home.
“Darlene can handle the restaurant. And I’ll take care of dinner.” For once, Gran was siding with Helen. “You go with your mother and have a great time.”
* * *
Addy couldn’t complain about being whisked off. She had the wax first, which was painful, but everything got better from there. She’d never been so pampered in her life, or felt more attractive once her spa experience was over. She’d had her hair and nails done, too. And, afterward, her mother—with her husband’s money, no doubt—insisted on buying her a new dress: a clingy number that would’ve been way beyond her own budget. She liked the vibrant color and stretchy fabric; Helen couldn’t get over how “flattering” it was to her figure.
“You should’ve been a model,” she said.
Addy smiled as they returned to the house. She’d actually enjoyed her mother and couldn’t wait to see Noah. Although a big lump of guilt sat in her stomach and didn’t seem likely to go away, a rebellious streak had her shaking her fist at all her reservations and telling herself she’d do as she damn well pleased for a change. Except for that one graduation party, when she’d disobeyed Gran to sneak out of the house, she’d always lived her life by carefully observing the rules. That one night had burned her badly. She’d also seen where bad behavior had gotten her mother. But she’d never wanted anything the way she wanted Noah. That forced her to risk a relationship, even though she knew they could only be together for a few months—if his interest lasted that long.
“Look at you!” Gran made a big fuss over her when she walked in. “You’re gorgeous!”
“Thanks.” The kitchen smelled of several delectable flavors. “What’s for dinner? Sweet potato casserole?”
“In addition to steak, salad and asparagus. Apple pie for dessert.”
“He’ll love it.”
Gran glanced at the clock. “He should be here any minute.”
Addy wasn’t too happy that Noah would be meeting her mother. She had no idea what Helen might say. Helen could make some sexual innuendo that would be embarrassing, or simply be too bold in her praise—of his body, for instance. Helen loved being irreverent, loved shocking the opposite sex. Guaranteed, she’d flirt with him shamelessly. But Addy couldn’t ask her mother to leave. What kind of daughter did that?
Helen made a sound of excitement and Addy turned.
“Oh, my God! Is that him?” She stood at the window, gazing outside. Noah had just driven up.
“Yes, but—”
Her mother cut her off. “Tell me he has an older brother who’s single!”
“For...for you?” Addy sputtered.
Her mother used her long nails to fluff her hair. “Doesn’t hurt to assess my options.”
Addy looked at Gran, who was too busy getting the casserole out of the oven to be paying attention. “You’re married!”
“Things change. You’ve pointed that out yourself.”
“And you got mad at me for it. You kept saying you’re happy.”
“Sometimes I’m happier than at other times. Do the Rackhams have money?”
The doorbell rang, but Addy made no move to answer it. “Mom, I know you’re joking. At least, I hope you are. But please don’t talk like that in front of Noah. And whatever you do, don’t mention a brother. I guess you don’t remember, or you weren’t in town long enough to learn, but he had a twin and that twin was—” she struggled with the memories and her sense of responsibility “—killed at the mine the night they graduated from high school. I don’t want Noah reminded of it. It’s been...hard on him.”
“Oh, right. I heard about the cave-in. It really tore you up,” her mother said, but she didn’t seem particularly sensitive to his loss or to Addy’s reaction. There was a shrug in her voice when she added, “So maybe his father’s ready for a change.”
Adelaide guessed her mother was joking again, but grabbed her arm, anyway. “Mom, I’m serious. Don’t—”
“What? Tease him?” she interrupted, obviously exasperated. “He can’t take a joke?”
“I’m just saying that...I care about this one, okay?”
Her mother sobered. “Whoa! Mom, did you hear that?”
Gran didn’t say anything, but she turned to stare. A little over a week ago, she’d told Gran she didn’t want Noah over for dinner.
“Addy’s finally met someone capable of stealing her heart,” Helen was saying. “And so soon. She just got back here. Before you know it, she’ll be settling down next to you, right where she grew up.”
“I would love that,” Gran said.
Living next to Gran had once been Addy’s dream. But she knew it was impossible. “I’ll get the door.”
23
Noah had spent much of the day calling restaurants in Davis. Although very close to the Sacramento metropolitan area, it was a small town—a college town—and the list of restaurants wasn’t so daunting that he couldn’t get through them in a reasonable amount of time. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t thought of doing the research this way before. He’d been relying on Chief Stacy to do his job while he dealt with his own problems. But after finding that note on Addy’s car, he was determined to get to the bottom of what was happening to her, because it certainly didn’t seem as if anyone else was.