Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Tully stayed home the following day from work to recover from her twisted ankle . . . and kissing Jaxon.
What had she been thinking? Just because he’d said some really sweet things about it being okay to be herself that was no cause to jump him like a desperate love-starved woman. Just thinking about it made her want to hide under her bedcovers for the rest of her life.
Unfortunately, there was no hiding in a small town.
A little before nine o’clock in the morning, someone came knocking at her door.
Figuring it was either her granny or her daddy, she quickly got out of bed and hobbled into the living room.
As she’d predicted, her ankle felt much better and she was able to put a little weight on it.
“Just a minute!” She grabbed the pile of clean clothes and carried them to the spare bedroom where she dumped them on the bed before closing the door. Then she hobbled to the kitchen and grabbed the tub of dirty dishes and shoved them in the cupboard beneath the sink.
She released a shriek of surprise when she turned and saw Magnolia peeking in the window of the kitchen door.
Today, her sun bleached hair was in a high ponytail that made her look even more like Malibu Barbie.
She flashed her mega-watt smile and held up a tray with two to-go cups and a white paper bag Tully recognized as coming from Grounds For Divorce.
If the grease stains on the bottom of the bag were any indication, it was filled with mini deep-fried cinnamon and sugar donuts.
Her stomach growled loudly as she hobbled to the door and opened it. “Hi, Maggie. I was just straightening up.”
“No need to straighten up for me.” Magnolia glanced at the cupboard where Tully had placed the plastic tub of dishes.
“Neat trick. I’ll have to remember that for when my daddy comes home from work and I’ve made a mess of the house.
” She held up the cup tray and bag. “I brought you a caramel latte and some mini donuts from Grounds For Divorce. The sisters said they were your favorites.”
“They are. Thank you so much, but you didn’t have to do that.”
Magnolia lowered the bag and tray. “Are we still going to act like we’ve never been friends?
Because I’m sorry for talking you into stealing those Nutty Buddies.
And I promise I’m an upstanding citizen now that won’t get you into trouble with your daddy.
” She hesitated and her eyes turned sad. “I just really could use a friend.”
Tully hesitated for only a moment before she nodded. “Yeah . . . me too.”
A big smile spread over Magnolia’s face. “Should we spit pinkie hug on it?”
Tully laughed and held the door open. “How about if we skip that and just fill up on mini donuts.”
“Deal!” Magnolia hurried in and set the coffee and bag on the table. “So how’s your ankle? When I heard you’d sprained it, I thought you’d be bedridden or at least on crutches.”
“It’s much better today. Just a little sore.”
“Well, you still shouldn’t be standing on it.
” Magnolia pulled out two chairs. “Sit down and put your foot up.” Once Tully did, she took a chair on the end of the table and opened the bag of donuts.
“These are yummy, are they? I can’t believe the A-Sisters are bakers now.
They were the wildest women in Texas when we were kids.
I thought for sure they’d do something more exciting than owning a coffee shop.
” She popped the tiny donut in her mouth, and a second later, her eyes widened as she chewed and swallowed.
“Oh my Lord. That’s the most sinful thing I’ve ever put in my mouth . . . well, almost.”
Tully choked on the sip of latte she’d just taken and Magnolia laughed.
“Sorry. I’ll keep the details of my sordid past to myself until we get reacquainted.
And speaking of sordid details . . . what is up with you and Jaxon Hennessy?
You two certainly looked like you wanted to do something sordid in the bookstore a few weeks ago.
And I can’t say as I blame you. Those Hennessy boys are pure temptation.
” She smiled slyly. “I think Dawson has a thing for me. He comes into the bookstore at least three times a week and we all know that a bad boy like him isn’t coming there for books. ”
“Actually, I think Dawson does love to read. I remember him always being in the school library.”
Magnolia squinted thoughtfully. “Hmm? That sure doesn’t fit.” She shrugged. “But people probably didn’t think I’d turn out the way I did either. So tell me about Jaxon. Are y’all fooling around?”
Tully started to deny it and then something stopped her. Probably the strong need to confide in someone.
“That depends on what you call fooling around.”
Magnolia’s eyes widened with excitement as she grabbed another donut. “Details. I need details.”
Tully thought it would be hard to share all the confusing emotions she had about Jaxon. But once she started talking, it was like popping open a shaken can of soda. Everything came spewing out. From her preoccupation with him as a teenager to their make-out session on her couch.
Magnolia seemed to be enthralled with the story.
She pressed one hand over her heart. “Aww, that is just so sweet. You’ve been crushing on him since you were a teenager.”
“I wouldn’t call it a crush. It was more like infatuation.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
Tully conceded the point. “Anyway, my crush ended when he robbed the gas station.” She paused. “Or was accused of robbing the gas station.”
“I heard about that. Accused? The townsfolk seem convinced he did it.”
Tully had once been convinced too. Not anymore. “I think the townsfolk have trouble letting anything go.”
Magnolia nodded and started to take another donut, but then stopped herself.
“Absolutely not, Magnolia Hastings. You’ve had plenty.
” She pushed the bag closer to Tully. “I bet the townsfolk are still talking about our Nutty Buddy heist. Is that why you don’t want anyone knowing about you and Jaxon?
You don’t want the townsfolk finding out their deputy has a thing for a criminal? ”
“Jaxon is not a criminal!” Her adamant response surprised both her and Magnolia.
Magnolia got a knowing twinkle in her eyes. “If he’s not a criminal, why are you hiding the way you feel?”
It was a good question. One she had an answer for.
“He’s not staying, Maggie. And there’s no way I could ever leave Promise Springs.”
Magnolia’s eyes softened. “It is a nice little town. I’d forgotten how nice until I came back.
But why does your relationship with Jaxon have to be serious?
Why can’t you just . . . have fun together while he’s here?
” Before Tully could absorb her words, Magnolia glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Shoot! I need to skedaddle.” She got up and leaned over to give Tully a tight hug. “Get some rest and call me later.”
Tully didn’t get much rest. After Magnolia left, one person after the other showed up to check on her: Birdie with a tuna casserole that didn’t look fit for consumption.
Her daddy with lunch from Sloppy Joe’s that did.
Charlene with a bouquet of Calla Lilies.
The townsfolk with more casseroles and baked goods than she could eat in a year.
After she was through with her visitors, her mama called.
“Hey, my sweet girl. Your daddy called and told me you’d sprained your ankle running. I’ve been trying all day to get ahold of you. Obviously, the phone service is still horrific in town.”
“I’m fine, Mama.”
“Goodness sakes, Tully, you need to be more careful when you’re out for your runs.
And I hope you took your pepper spray with you.
Promise Springs might be a small town, but there can still be bad folks lurking around.
Not to mention, stray animals. Remember when that wild pig charged Billy Rich’s nephew when he went for a run? Poor man never did come back to town.”
Tully’s heart swelled just listening to her mama ramble.
As an adult, she knew people got separated and divorced.
She just never thought her own parents would.
She missed her mama. She missed her so much.
Her heart jumped with joy when her mama offered to come take care of her .
. . until she remembered that nothing got past Laura Gentry.
Her mama would figure out in no time that Tully was involved with the Hennessys and renovating Honky Tonk Heaven.
As much as she missed her mama, Tully wasn’t ready to have her parents find out about her plan and try and talk her out of it.
“No need to come back, Mama. My ankle already feels much better. By tomorrow, I’ll be good as new.”
It was easy to hear the hurt in her mama’s voice. “Oh, well . . . then I guess I’ll just check in tomorrow.”
Hating to hurt her mama, Tully quickly threw out another invitation “Maybe you could come back for the summer. You could stay with me. You wouldn’t have to stay with daddy . . . unless you wanted to.”
There was a long pause before her mama spoke. “Oh, sweet girl, I know you’d like to see your daddy and I get back together. But I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.”
Tully’s heart sank. “What do you mean? Have you decided to get a divorce?”
Her mama sighed. “I had hoped we could get things figured out, but it’s not looking that way.”
“What do you need to figure out, Mama? Daddy loves you and wants you back.”
“I know. But sometimes love isn’t enough, Tallulah.
Sometimes people have to make sacrifices to make the other person happy.
I spent a lot of years sacrificing things I wanted for your father and his career.
I think it’s time that someone did a little sacrificing for me.
” Before Tully could ask what she meant, her mama ended the call.
“Now you take care of yourself and call me tomorrow. I love you, Tallulah Grace.”
* * *
The next day, Tully’s ankle was only slightly sore. Since her shift wasn’t until later that night, she ended up cleaning her entire house and doing four loads of laundry before she left for work.
She patrolled the town three times, before she finally gave in and drove past Honky Tonk Heaven. No lights were on, and without a key, there was no way to get in, but she parked anyway and just sat there looking at the building . . . and thinking about what Magnolia had said.
But why does your relationship with Jaxon have to be serious? Why can’t you just . . . have fun together while he’s here?
Kissing Jaxon had been fun. Tully knew that if Dumplin’ hadn’t interrupted, things would have gotten even more fun.
But was she the type of woman who could just have fun without strings and expectations?
And did Jaxon even want to have fun with her?
Or had he just gotten caught up in the moment?
He certainly seemed to be in a hurry to leave.
Her phone rang startling her out of her thoughts. It was pathetic how quickly her hopes rose, and then quickly died when she saw it was her daddy calling and not a certain Hennessy.
“Hey, Daddy. What’s up?”
“The silent alarm went off at the hardware store. I’m heading over there now.”
“I can go check it out. I’m the one on night patrol this week, Daddy.”
“No. I’ll do it. You’re still getting over your hurt ankle. But I would like you to drive past the Hennessys and see if there’s anything suspicious going on.”
Her stomach felt like it sank all the way down to her boots. “The Hennessys? Why would you think they’re responsible for the alarm going off at the hardware store?”
“Because they’re trouble, Tully. You know that.”
Her indignation was similar to when Magnolia called Jaxon a criminal. “They were trouble when they were kids, Daddy. They aren’t kids anymore.”
“Jaxon wasn’t a kid when he robbed Mickey’s.”
Tully had never gone against her daddy. Ever. But she did so now. “I thought you believed in justice.”
“Excuse me?”
She took a deep breath before she continued. “I’m just saying that if you didn’t have enough evidence to hold him, maybe we should at least give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“I don’t know who has been putting foolish notions into your head.
But the truth is that Jaxon robbed Mickey’s that night.
I saw him leaving with my own two eyes. He might have gotten away with it, but I’ll be damned if he gets away with it again.
Everyone knows they ran out of money for the renovations.
Desperate men do desperate things. I’ll check out the alarm and you keep a watch on the Hennessys’ house. ”
She should have told him the truth about giving the Hennessys a loan, but she didn’t.
“Yes, sir.”
As she hung up and slipped her cellphone into her shirt pocket, she felt frustrated and angry. Not just at herself for not being strong enough to tell the truth, but also at her daddy.
He had always taught her a good law officer was objective and impartial.
And he wasn’t being impartial now. He was letting what happened ten years ago influence his objectivity.
Maybe Jaxon had robbed Mickey’s when he was a teen, but that didn’t mean every time an alarm went off in Promise Springs, Jaxon was responsible.
Jaxon wasn’t that same troublemaking kid.
And maybe he had never been.
She knew what her father wanted her to do. He wanted her to sit on the other side of the bridge that led to Hennessys’ and watch the house.
Instead, she drove over the bridge.