The Accidental Encore Read online

  “Just leave those in the sink,” Craig instructed. “I’ve got to empty the dish washer.”

  Before Leah left the kitchen, she turned at the doorway and looked at Allie. “Are you going to be here for awhile, Ms. Allie?”

  Allie felt put on the spot. She typically helped Mark with the dishes and stayed to talk after dinner, but couldn’t imagine hanging out with Craig. “Uh…I probably need to hit the road.”

  “Could you come up before you leave?” Leah asked.

  The girl wanted to talk, that was crystal clear. “Sure.” Leah smiled and dashed up the stairs, leaving Allie alone with Craig and only half finished with her meal. She cleared her throat and took a sip of wine. He’d finished his first helping and was scooping a second onto his plate. “So, you must be looking forward to getting back to your own life.”

  He dropped the serving spoon and pursed his lips, considering her question. “Yes and no.”

  When he said nothing more, she felt obligated to ask, “Okay, how yes and how no?”

  “Yes, because I get a lot more work done when I set my own hours. No, because I love Leah and I don’t consider taking care of her a burden.”

  “I didn’t mean to imply that you would.”

  “I know you didn’t mean to, but I also know that’s what you thought.”

  She set her fork down and took a breath to get a hold on her temper. What was it about this guy that riled her up every time they spoke more than two sentences to each other? “Craig, I don’t know anything about your life or what your burdens may be. I was simply trying to make conversation.”

  “So was I. I’m really bad at small talk mostly because I stopped worrying a long time ago about hurting someone’s feelings when I speak.”

  “How freeing that must be not to concern yourself with anyone’s feelings.”

  He shook his fork at her again before setting it down and taking a sip of beer. “You know, that right there is exactly why I speak my mind. That sounded like a simple statement of fact, when it was really an insult.”

  “No, it was a statement of fact. When I insult you, Craig, trust me, you’ll feel insulted.”

  “I wonder,” he said. He pushed his plate away and sat back in his chair, cradling the beer between his work roughened hands. “Why do you have to use the Internet to get dates?”

  The question was so off-topic, so personal, she merely stared at him with a bite of chicken dangling in front of her face. “What?”

  “You’ve got to know you could snap your fingers and men would come running, so why do you go to the trouble of dating online?”

  “I…it’s complicated.” She set her fork down. “And totally offensive for you to assume I could snap my fingers and men would line up at my door.”

  “Let me guess,” he said and tipped back in his seat like a five year old who couldn’t sit still. “You’re picky and don’t want to date someone without reading over his resume.”

  “Actually, I hate online dating.”

  “You do?”

  “Think about it, smart guy; I know every possible interest from a guy’s profile. I already know what he likes to eat, how much he exercises, if he likes pets, and if so, what kind. I know if he likes to read or watch movies or hang out with friends. I know about the size of his family, where he’s from, what his religion is, and where he went to college.” She was on a roll and began ticking her list off on her fingers. “I know if he has kids, wants kids, hates kids, and I have a decent idea about his dating history. All I have left to ask is what side of the bed he’d like to sleep on and believe me, most guys are more than willing to show me.”

  She took a deep breath to continue when she realized he was staring at her with a look of wonder on his face. She felt her cheeks heat, averted her eyes, and shrugged. “It takes all the fun out of discovering those things.” He continued to stare at her while casually sipping on his beer. “For example,” she continued, “this one guy took me out to dinner and ordered chicken and I already knew it was because he didn’t eat red meat. How boring is that?”

  “Pretty boring.”

  “Sorry. Hot button issue with several layers of regressed anger. I’m not usually this hostile.”

  “You mean honest?”

  “Well…”

  “Look, Allie, I’m not expecting an apology. I told you I prefer honesty.”

  “Then you’d hate online dating.”

  The line between his brows was back and he dropped the front legs of his chair on the tile with a thud. “Well, there goes plan A.”

  “Plan A?”

  “To tell Mark I’ve signed up for online dating. He’s been on my back about getting out there. He’s been on my back for years, but ever since the engagement, and specifically the wedding, he’s really been on my back.”

  “What’s plan B?”

  “Plan B is to avoid him and the topic for as long as possible, which is probably the best course of action considering I’m going to have to make myself scarce after the newlyweds get home.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They need time, just the three of them, to figure out how this is going to work.”

  “I’ve never met Carolyn,” Allie said. “But Mark doesn’t seem like he’d be with a woman who wouldn’t put Leah first. He loves her too much.”

  “Yes, he does. Leah doesn’t really know Carolyn either.” He set his beer on the table and looked into her eyes. “Sorry I jumped on you about that. Leah wanted to talk about it and I’m glad you were here for her. For everything.”

  “Well.” The apology came out like everything he said: without preamble and right to the point. He sure knew how to stifle her instinct to hold a grudge. “Thank you for apologizing.”

  “When I’m wrong, I say so.”

  “Then I’m waiting for another apology.”

  “For?” he asked.

  “You seriously don’t know?” When he continued to smirk at her, she said, “My girls? My outfit? Does any of this ring a bell?”

  “You want me to apologize for being honest?”

  “No, I want you to apologize for being crude.”

  “They don’t call it the ugly truth for nothing.” He stood up and carried his empty plate to the sink. “You seem like the kind of woman who wants to be heard. You could have any man you want, and what you want is for someone to listen. You weren’t going to get that—you’re never going to get that—dressed like you were.” He held up his hands. “It’s not because your outfit was offensive or slutty, but because it’s the cross you bear for the way you look.”

  What was she supposed to say to that? It wasn’t a compliment and it certainly wasn’t an apology, but he’d hit on her biggest weakness with men. She did want to be heard.

  She stood up and brought her plate to the sink. He turned around and leaned his hip against the counter so they were face to face. “I think you should try online dating, Craig.”

  “I thought you said I’d hate it.”

  “You would, but I think you need some interaction with the opposite sex. By not getting back out there, you’ve forgotten how to communicate with women.”

  He straightened into a cocksure position. “You think I don’t know how to communicate with women?”

  “You had a wife at some point, so I’m pretty sure you did. Let’s just say you’re a little rusty.”

  “Because you don’t like what I have to say?”

  She patted his shoulder. “You can’t prove me wrong until you get back out there.”

  ***

  Leah looked up from her notes on the forms of democracy when she heard a faint knock on the door. “Come in,” she said.

  Allie poked her head through. “You busy?”

  Leah patted a spot on the bed in invitation for Allie to join her. She watched as Allie hiked up her fancy pants and sat Indian style facing Leah. “How’s the studying going?”

  “Pretty good. I think I’ve got it down.”

  “Did you want t
o talk about something before I go home?”

  “Yes. I wanted to ask about your stepmother. Are you close with her now?”

  Allie seemed surprised at the question. Her eyes bulged and she made a funny fish like expression with her lips. “Not really, but that’s mostly because I didn’t make it easy for her. I was upset about the divorce, and she was the best person to blame.”

  “Did your parents split up because of her?”

  “No. My parents split up because they didn’t have anything to say to one another when they weren’t fighting.”

  “Oh,” was all Leah could think to say. “That doesn’t sound like much fun.”

  “It wasn’t.” Allie reached over and patted Leah’s knee. “My stepmother, Suzanne, she was always nice to me, making cookies and offering to make my favorite meals. I didn’t like the fact that instead of listening to my mom and dad argue about my mom working all the time, my mom just stayed at work all the time. I didn’t like the fact that my dad could move on and get happy when I was so miserable. And when Suzanne got pregnant, I didn’t like the fact that they would have their own family when he still had me. So I was never very nice to her, even though she was always nice to me. My dad couldn’t understand my behavior, well…he never really tried, and things just went from bad to worse.”

  Allie unfolded her legs. “I’m not trying to scare you, Leah, I’m just trying to make you understand that you have a big say in how successful this relationship with Carolyn is. My situation was different because I wasn’t always with my dad and Suzanne, so I didn’t have to change my behavior. I got to escape for a while until my next visit and my mom, because she hated my dad, always backed me up. Carolyn will be here with you and your dad all the time. The harder you try to make it work, the easier it’ll be on all of you.”

  “Uncle Craig said that Carolyn’s probably as scared as I am of her living here.”

  “He’s probably right. Looking back, I can see that Suzanne was scared. She was always trying to make me like her because she loved my dad and he loved me. I’m the one who made it hard.”

  “It’s weird to see him with her,” Leah admitted. “Kissing and stuff.”

  “Yeah, but that’s just because you’re not used to it yet.”

  Leah twisted the pencil in her hand and tried to think of how to admit what she felt without it sounding strange. “I sort of feel like I’m being replaced. Like I wasn’t enough for him.”

  “Oh, Leah.” Allie put her hand on Leah’s shoulder. “Your dad’s not replacing you. He’s fallen in love again and that’s a wonderful thing. He’s a young man with a big heart and a lot of love to give. Just because he loves Carolyn doesn’t mean he loves you any less.”

  “But I don’t need anyone else.”

  Allie crossed her arms over her chest and stared down her nose at Leah. “You’re not planning to have a boyfriend? Ever?”

  “Well, yeah.” Leah felt her cheeks heat. “At some point.”

  “And when you get this boyfriend, do you think you’ll stop needing your dad?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then why would you think your dad doesn’t need you just because he has a wife?”

  Leah took a deep breath. She thought of her dad and all the ways they took care of each other. It wasn’t going to be the same with Carolyn around to take care of her dad the way Leah was used to doing. “I do a lot of stuff for him. He’s always calling me his conscience and his alarm clock.”

  “Maybe, instead of thinking of all the bad ways things are going to change, you can think of the good ways things will change.”

  “What good ways?”

  “Come on,” Allie said. “I’ve heard you complain about having to make dinner. I know sometimes you’ve felt left out because other girls complained about their mothers and you couldn’t complain.”

  “So now I’ll have someone to complain about?”

  “And someone to share girl stuff with.”

  “Hummm.” Leah slid down her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She’d never let her dad paint over the clouds her mom had painted when she was a baby. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  “Nobody said this was going to be easy, Leah. But it’ll be a whole lot easier if you start off with a positive attitude.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I can do that. For my dad.”

  “For you, too, okay?”

  “Yeah,” Leah admitted. “For me, too.”

  Chapter 12

  Craig saw the Mercedes pull up to the curb and knew he only had a minute or two more to use the clamp saw before Davis swept in for his weekly review. The kitchen demo was well underway, so if Stacy had changed her mind again, she was out of luck. Craig cut the power and lifted the safety goggles from his eyes as Davis rounded the walkway whistling like a man without a care in the world.

  “Hey, man,” Davis said as he surveyed the damage. “Wow. This is going to cost me some serious time and money.”

  Craig wiped his brow with his sleeve. Even with the cooler air outside, he’d worked up a sweat. “When your wife decided she wanted to go from a rehab to a refurb, I told you it wouldn’t be cheap.”

  “Nothing about Stacy’s been cheap since the day we met,” Davis said. “Isn’t it always that way with women?”

  Did he really want Craig to answer that or just nod his head in agreement? God knew Julie had loved to spend money. “Don’t get all freaked out because it looks like a mess. This is just the initial tear out.”

  “I’m not. You were right about the wall and this was my idea. How far is this going to set us back time wise?”

  Craig did some mental figuring. “Kitchen work is precise and a lot depends on the pace of the subs. Did you look over that list of cabinet companies I gave you?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to waste my time on stuff like that. You pick one and I’ll be fine with it.”

  Craig bit back his sarcastic retort. Davis had been the one to insist he pick the cabinet contractor in the first place. “I’d go with Steen & Sons. They’ve done work for me in the past. They’re good and they don’t dick around.”

  “Fine, fine. Go with them, then.”

  “I’m going to need to set up a meeting with you and them at least once to pick out countertops and wood finishes.”

  “That’s Stacy’s department.” He put his hands inside his trench coat and eyed the clamp saw as if it were alive and could eat him at will. “I’ve got a friend I want you to meet. He’s bought an old house along the river that needs a lot of work. I told him about you and he’s not the kind to drag his feet and interview a bunch of contractors. If I say you do good work, then you’re as good as hired.”

  Craig nodded. “Appreciate that.”

  “But,” Davis said with a wink, “I expect this job to take priority.”

  When Craig said nothing, Davis chuckled and swung his head from side to side. “I gotta tell you, man. You’re one hard nut to crack. I thought you’d jump at the chance for another job.”

  “I am,” Craig said. “I appreciate your recommendation.”

  “But…” Davis asked.

  “But I don’t want to over-commit. I’m not looking to take on workers. I like being a one man shop.”

  “You can’t handle both jobs?”

  Craig could handle both jobs and a dozen more with his hands tied behind his back. But getting bigger, working with a crew, and juggling multiple projects held little appeal. “I can handle both. I prefer to do one job at a time.”

  “You must not have the bills I have to pay.”

  “I’ve got plenty of bills. I just don’t let work take over my life. Been there, done that.”

  “The beauty of being a bachelor,” Davis decided and slapped Craig on the shoulder. “When you’ve got a wife and a couple of kids in private school, work takes over whether you want it to or not.”

  “Bring your friend over anytime,” Craig said. “I’ll be happy to take a look at his job.”


  “I’ll do that, man. Let me know about the cabinet guy.”

  Craig watched Davis walk out to his car and pull away from the curb before starting the saw and getting back to work. He’d had a wife and a lot of bills to pay years ago, and working like a dog to keep the wolf at bay had nearly destroyed everything. It probably had destroyed everything. The greatest regret of his life was that he’d never know.

  But why shouldn’t he take on more and more work? If he wasn’t willing to jump back into the dating pool, he may as well spend more time at work. He wasn’t going to be able to come up for air at Mark and Leah’s anymore.

  As he started up the clamp saw and watched the blade move back and forth, he knew that his reaction was knee jerk and not based in reality. He’d buried himself in work years before and ended up with a broken marriage and an assload of uncertainty when the world came crashing down. Damn it, Mark was right. He needed to get back out there. The best way to do that, the easiest way, led him straight to Allie.

  Convenient that she was coming over that night for Leah’s lesson—her last before Mark and Carolyn returned. He’d suck up his pride and ask her to help him get started. She must know how to navigate her way around the various online dating sites.

  He still couldn’t understand why a woman like her even bothered with online dating. Did she own a mirror? Yeah, she seemed a little insecure about her looks and she could certainly use a little softening around the edges, but most guys—at least guys with a set of eyes in their head—would overlook her prickly manner.

  And there he was thinking about her again. “Not your type,” Craig mumbled to himself over the hum of the saw. A beautiful, high-maintenance woman with high-dollar taste and a boatload of baggage was the last thing he needed in his life. The best she could do for Craig was to set him up for online dating so he didn’t spend his days thinking about her and wondering what the hell was wrong with the men in her life.

  ***

  “Why are you in such a good mood?” Melissa asked Allie. They had just taken their seats in a crowded deli near Allie’s house. Melissa sat back after wrestling Henry into the high chair.