Finding Love in Payton (3 page)

She sipped her tea, pausing to reminisce. But he
hadn't really seemed that way, had he? And the way
his voice had softened when he said he'd stop by Beagle's Books hadn't seemed fake at all.

Dinah tried to recall if she'd had those same feelings
with Neil, but she couldn't remember. Neil had been
terribly handsome, but always larger than life and
more than a little childish. He'd lived for each day as
if it had been his last while she had worried about
their future.

Perhaps it was inevitable that he would get into an
accident by driving too fast at night while she was at
home-nursing their new baby.

No, that wasn't fair, she chided herself. She'd loved
him. She'd loved his sense of adventure, his spontaneity. She'd loved how he would bring her flowers for
no reason and give her backrubs for hours.

But she'd also learned that his sense of adventure
and spontaneity could also be a detriment. He'd forget
doctor's appointments or dinner dates. He'd buy something cool for his car but forget about the electric bill.

They'd learned to make do, but it had been difficult
at times. He'd done what he wanted and she'd done
what had to be done.

But then one day he was gone, and she was still
there, holding on to what was left of her life. Alone.
The emptiness of it all still made her ache.

"Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma," Bryan called out.

With a sigh, Dinah set down her cup and hurried to
his room. Thankfully she'd had twenty whole minutes
to herself. More than enough to feel recharged.

"Hey, Bry," she said, pulling him into her arms and
inhaling his sweet baby scent. "Up already?"

"Ma-ma-ma-ma."

"That's right. I'm your mama. And I love you," she
said. "Ready for some dinner?"

He smiled broadly, reached out and grabbed hold
of her shirt.

"How does chicken sound?"

"Ma-ma-ma-ma."

She laughed. "I guess it sounds just fine, huh?" And
promptly put all thoughts of any other man, even
blond, blue-eyed ones, out of her head.

ccHappy Birthday, Missy," Jeremy said, kissing his
sister-in-law on her cheek.

"Thanks," she said, almost glowing with delight.
"I'm so glad you're back from school."

"Me, too," he replied, thinking once again that
Missy was the best thing that had ever happened to
his brother. Kevin had hardly moved more than a foot
from his wife the whole time they'd been at his parents'. In fact, he looked almost glowing himself.
Something was up with the two of them.

His mother seemed to think the same thing, because
she had hardly taken her eyes off her eldest son and
his wife during the last hour. "More cake?"

"No thanks, Mom," Kevin said.

"You sure? I'll get it for you."

"Positive."

"I'll have some," his sister Joanne said.

"It's in the kitchen, dear," their mom said with a
wave of her hand.

Joanne stood up and shared a look of bemusement
with Jeremy. "Guess I can see where I stand around
here."

Jeremy stood up as well, following her into the
kitchen. "It's not your birthday, Jo," he said, just to
get a rise out of her.

Playfully she stuck out her tongue. "Hush, little
brother, or I'll tell Mom you've been talking about
living here until Christmas."

Just the thought of that set his teeth on edge. "You
wouldn't dare."

Grinning, she teased, "Tell me something good and
I won't."

That was Joanne. Always full of mischief and
games. His eldest sister was red-headed, terribly smart,
and terribly accident-prone. Her husband Stratton, a
physician, seemed tailor-made for her. Her outgoing
nature complemented his reserve to a tee.

But at the moment, Jeremy had another woman on
his mind, one he couldn't seem to ignore from the first
moment he saw her. "I met someone today."

Interest sparked in her eyes. "Who?"

"Dinah Cate." He paused for a moment, trying not
to sound too eager. "Do you know her?"

She tilted her head to one side, her long braid swinging with the motion. "I do," she said, her voice
tinged with surprise. "Her last name used to be Ryan.
I went to school with her."

"And?"

"She's got a baby, Jeremy."

"I know that."

Her lips pursed. "She's great. Owns a bookstore."

"Ever been there?"

"More than once. Dinah's a friend."

Her reticence set his teeth on edge. "Well? What do
you know about her?"

Joanne fussed with some dishes in the sink. She
placed a few in the dishwasher before turning to him
again. "Why are you so curious about her?"

He handed her a glass to stack in, now curious about
why she was so hesitant to give him any information
on the woman. "I don't know. I guess because there's
something about her I find attractive."

"She's quite a bit older than you. Five years."

"Just like you are?"

Her cheeks pinkened. "I guess I sound ridiculous,
huh?" Joanne glanced back towards the party; the rest
of their family was laughing about something Cameron said and passing around Mary Beth and Cameron's new baby.

"A little," he agreed, though he had to admit the
difference in ages did bother him a bit.

Jeremy watched her actions with more than a little
bemusement. "I like her," she finally said. "She was never one of my best friends, but I hung out with her a
lot when we were younger. Her husband was Neil Cate.
He was very popular, great. Kind of a daredevil, always
willing to do something for a dare or a laugh. Dinah and
Neil were a great couple." Her expression sobered.
"Neil died about two years ago in a car accident."

"That had to be hard on her."

Joanne nodded. "I think so. But ... she got through
it okay. Her mother's a doll, Mom knows her real
well. And her dad hangs out at the club a lot. She
sews really well. I've asked her to do some things for
the museum now and then ..." Her voice drifted off,
and Jeremy waited for her to finish her thought. "Don't
get me wrong, but don't you think you should be looking at someone else?"

"Looking at someone else? Like who?" Cameron
said as he entered the kitchen.

Both Jeremy and Joanne groaned at the intrusion.
Cameron was second oldest in the family, and while
not quite as uptight as Kevin could be, certainly not
afraid to tell either Jeremy or Joanne what he thought
about things.

And Joanne didn't seem to have any problem including him in the conversation. "Jeremy is interested
in Dinah Cate."

"Really?"

Jeremy bridled at his brother's bemused expression.
"I'm not interested in her. I met her at the grocery
store."

"You seem awfully interested in her, asking lots of
questions and such," Joanne pointed out.

"What kind of questions?" Cameron asked on his
way to the remains of the birthday cake.

"I wasn't asking a lot of questions," Jeremy said,
picking up a plate as well. "We were just talking."

"I like Dinah," Cameron stated, looking at Jeremy
directly. "Always have. She's got a level head and a
pretty smile."

Joanne rolled her eyes. "Cam, like that means anything."

Cameron laughed. "It does. She's been through a
lot. Got a lot of responsibilities, too," he said before
eyeing his little brother with some concern. "Look, if
you need a date, I think Mary Beth knows a few girls
just out of college who are going to teach at her
school. Do you want me to see if she can set you up
with one of them? She said they're real cute."

"No." Jeremy couldn't believe he was even having
this conversation with his siblings. He couldn't believe
they were telling him he was too young to be interested in Dinah. Like he couldn't deal with a grown
woman's responsibilities. "Forget I ever said anything."

"You still going over to the country club tomorrow?"

"I am," Jeremy answered. "Payton said he'd hire me
for the summer, waiting tables in the restaurant."

"I heard he just hired a fancy new chef from Houston, Texas."

"Can't wait to meet her."

"Jeremy, can you stop by the museum later on this
week?" Joanne asked, finally slicing a monster piece
of cake.

"Why?"

"I've got a favor to ask you."

Immediately he felt a band of suspicion wind
through his stomach. "Such as?"

She swallowed. "Civil War reenactment."

Jeremy looked at his brother in alarm, though Cameron was already sporting a deer-in-the-headlights
look. "Pardon me?"

"We're going to do a march through town, and
some people are coming in who want to take some
pictures for a book or something that they're doing.
I'm going to need all the men I can get."

Somewhere in there was an insult. He was sure of
it. "Thanks. I guess."

"Cam's already promised he'd be there."

Cam's fork stilled mid-air. "I said I'd try, Jo."

"And Kevin? Dad?"

She looked away. "I don't know about them.
They're both awfully busy."

"But I'm not?"

"School doesn't start for three months. Come on
Jeremy, I'm going to need you."

"I don't know."

She winked. "I'll help you with Dinah."

"Help me? You just practically made it sound like
she was old enough to be my baby-sitter."

"I won't do that anymore. I'll help you get a date
with her."

"I can get my own dates."

"I'll put in a good word for you."

He raised an eyebrow. Joanne and practiced
speeches didn't necessarily go together real well.

"I'll ... I'll get Stratton to. Everyone listens to what
he says."

That had credence. Everyone did listen to Stratton,
and he was a great guy. "I'll stop by this week. After
I get my schedule from Payton. Hey, you want me to
tell him hi for you?" he asked, unable to resist teasing
her about her ex-boyfriend.

"Please do," she said sweetly.

"We better get on back," Cameron interrupted.
"Missy's about to open her gifts."

And with that, Jeremy followed his brother and sister, almost jealous of their happiness and stability.
And, for once, their age.

As the June sun poured through the front window,
Dinah finally took a break from her paperwork and
paused to enjoy the early morning sunshine. She loved
early summer in Payton. It wasn't too hot yet, the trees
and bushes still sported dozens of blooms, and the
days were long enough to feel like she had time to
spare after work.

June was also great because Valerie, her sometime
baby-sitter, was home from college and could help
with Bryan four days a week. Her mom enjoyed him,
she knew, but Valerie's presence made everyone feel
like there was a little more time in the day, and Bryan
absolutely adored her.

"We're off to the park, Dinah," Valerie said cheer fully as she picked up Bryan's bag of tricks. "Then
home to a bath and a nap."

"Great. I'll be home around six," she said, glancing
up from a stack of catalogs.

"Take your time."

Dinah knew that neither would miss her, which
made her feel both relieved and amused at the same
time.

But she'd have plenty of opportunity to wade
through her stack of mail and invoices now. Absently,
she petted Bonnie, the beagle the shop was named
after, and worked for a solid hour before any customers arrived, then smiled happily when they came with
a vengeance.

She poured coffee for them into oversized ceramic
mugs, helped select books, and chatted with her customers about recipes and such as they made their purchases. Every once in a while Bonnie got up from her
cedar filled dog bed to be petted.

She was just helping Mrs. McClusky put her books
in one of her canvas bags when Joanne Sawyer came
in.

"Hi there Mrs. Mac, Dinah," Joanne said with her
usual breezy smile in place.

"Joanne," Mrs. Mac said. "I'm not due in to work
for another hour."

"Yes, ma'am," Joanne said with a gleam in her eye.
Dinah had to laugh; Mrs. Mac was a large woman with
the disposition of a ornery goat. And she just happened to be Joanne's husband's receptionist at the doctor's
office.