Chapter 21
Caleb
I didn’t see the jackasswhen I walked into the Lucky Duck to order our to-go dinner, but coming out of the bathroom and passing the register, there was Elijah Shaw sitting at the first shiny red booth with his back to me. When he turned his head, the profile was unmistakable—even through fringes of the potted palm standing behind the booth.
Another planned pop in to insert himself into Aneka’s life?
I started over to say something, but his phone conversation stopped me dead.
“Everything is fine. I told her about the test and dropping hints there’s more to it,” he paused while whoever he was talking to answered him. “No. No. I can’t rush it. I can get her to Houston in the next couple of weeks and ask her to come to church with me. She’ll do it. She’ll want to help, but we can’t tell her what I’m going to say.”
The other person spoke again, and he nodded along.
“I’ll get her to a couple of services, and then we’ll do the announcement. Trust me. She won’t want any more bad press. She’ll be angry, but what’s she going to do? Divorce me all over again,” he grumbled and waited. “I know. I thought I could, but she’s not taking me back. Not now with the new boyfriend. What an ass.”
Ass?
And Aneka thought he didn’t curse. I laughed.
I’d been nice to that fucker.
Elijah shifted in his seat and turned. I stepped back, but I knew he’d see me. “Don’t worry, I know how important her appearance is to the donors. I’ll get her there.”
He froze, eyes fixed on me.
I waved.
His voice went up two levels in volume.
“My health and our family mean everything to Aneka. She’ll remember that in the end. Listen, I’ve got to go.”
Elijah stood and stepped forward.
I leaned on the register display, looking down at the row of pies to gather my strength and keep from tossing the guy into the street through the plate-glass window.
“Haven’t you lied to her enough?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” He sniffed.
“Of course you do. I heard you, and not just that last bit about how your health—which is obviously fine—means to Aneka,” I said through grinding teeth.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You must have misheard.” The jackass had the nerve to grin.
“Do you think I won’t tell her?”
“She’ll think you’re jealous.”
I dropped my volume and hissed at him. “You’re pretending to have cancer.”
“My doctors do want to follow up on some tests. I don’t need to prove anything to you. She wants to be there for me, and that’s what bothers you, isn’t it? You can buy everything in this God-forsaken little town except my wife.”
“Ex-wife. And buying her isn’t an option because she’s not a piece of property or a cardboard cutout of a supportive wife for you to prop up next to you whenever you get your ass in a sling.”
Worry flashed in his eyes, and I saw the moment he landed on a new tact. He dropped his chin and glared.
“Do you really want to stand between her and the family she’s built? We can put our life back together. Give our kids the family they deserve. You have all the money in the world and being in Bliss with the Fourth of July bunting and quilting bees will get old. You’ll move on, and then where will she be? It may not make sense to you, but she and I are a team.”
“No.”
Her voice came from over his shoulder. I hadn’t even seen her walk in. Elijah whirled around.
Aneka looked at me first. “I called the house, and your housekeeper said you were picking up our dinner, so I walked over from city hall. Didn’t know I’d trip over my ex-husband. I thought he was in Houston where he belonged.”
When she turned her attention back to Elijah, he squirmed, wilting under the heat of her examination.
“Look, ‘Neka—”
She held up her hand. “Don’t. I had an interesting conversation with Vanessa this afternoon.”
“Vanessa? I thought you two weren’t talking,” he said.
Her eyes lit up with her broad, beautiful smile. “We weren’t until today.”
“I can explain.”
“I’m sure you can, but I don’t want to hear it. Go home.”
“But—”
Some patrons walked in and said hello, swiveling questioning looks at all of us before proceeding to a table. Aneka lowered her voice and pushed up into his face.
“Go home and spend your time figuring out what’s next in your life because I’m not tapdancing for you in some bullshit show of repentance, so you can keep using the congregation’s faith as your personal ATM. Spend some time figuring out how you’re going to back out of telling your kids you might have cancer. I won’t tell them what you did, but they’re smart. They’ll figure out what a lying piece of trash you’ve been unless you can stop behaving like such a lying piece of trash.”
Elijah’s jaw hung open. Then she backed up and stepped around him without giving him another look.
“You got our food to go?”
She had me so mesmerized it took a second to realize she was talking to me.
“I did. Should only be another minute,” I replied.
“Thank God. I’m starving.”
“I’m sure. Being a barracuda is hard work.”
She laughed and stepped next to me, tucking her arm in mine.