Judy Christenberry - Least Likely To Wed

“I’m going upstairs to have lunch with Mom and Drew,” she said. “If you need help, just call.”

When they’d agreed to be partners, Lindsay had no intention of marrying. She’d returned home after a year in Chicago. She’d bought the entire building and converted the second floor above the shop into a roomy three-bedroom apartment she intended to share with Kelly and Kelly’s son, Drew. But by then, Gil, who’d met Kelly in Chicago, had convinced her to marry him.

Lindsay had moved to Gil’s ranch. She’d offered Kelly the apartment at a ridiculously low rate, and Kelly had convinced her mother to move in with her and give up her waitressing jobs to take care of her grandson, sometimes also helping out in the store.

“I’ll come down again when Drew takes his nap,” Kelly added, hurrying away before Lindsay could say anything.

When Kelly entered the apartment, she heard her two-year-old son chattering to his grandmother. He didn’t always get the words right, but he was happy. And she adored him.

“Hey, little guy, how are you?” she asked as she moved into the kitchen.

He beamed at her and held out his arms. “Mama!”

Kelly gave him a hug but didn’t take him out of his high chair. Her mother was filling a plate for him full of chopped-up bites of hamburger, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Kelly wanted him to eat properly. “Mmm, mmm, good. Look at what Grandma has fixed for you.”

Mary Wildenthal grinned at her daughter. “I hope your enthusiasm works.”

“Maybe if we bribe him with cookies,” Kelly returned.

Drew squealed in excitement. “Cookie!” It was one of his favorite words.

“Oops,” Kelly acknowledged her mistake. “After you eat your lunch.”

“You’d better eat your lunch, too. I heard the high school was letting out early for parent conferences. I bet you’re busy this afternoon.”

“I hope so,” Kelly said, sitting down at the table. She felt spoiled letting her mother serve her, but Mary insisted. After holding down two waitressing jobs for twenty-five years, she said she felt lazy.

Kelly followed her mother’s advice. It meant her mother wouldn’t expect conversation, and Kelly was afraid she might let slip her difficulty with Pete. Like Lindsay, her mother thought Kelly should date.

Kelly thought the one dating should be Mary. She was only forty-one, having had Kelly when she was sixteen. Kelly’s father ran away to avoid responsibility and Mary’s strict parents had kicked Mary out of the house.

“Kelly?” Lindsay’s voice sounded on the intercom between the apartment and the dress shop. “We’re filling up.”

Kelly punched the button to respond. “I’ll be right down.” She’d barely eaten half of her lunch, and she wasn’t scheduled to work the afternoon, but a new business needed flexibility. After six months of operation their efforts were really beginning to pay off.

“But you haven’t finished your meal,” Mary protested.

“I know, but we need the customers. Come down after Drew goes to sleep,” she added. They’d gotten a baby monitor so as long as Drew couldn’t get out of his bed, they were okay. But Kelly was getting worried about his prowess these days.

“Okay,” Mary agreed.

When Kelly got downstairs, she discovered they were having a run on the prom gowns. She and Lindsay had spent more than they’d intended because they’d found a new supplier with great designs when they’d come to market in Dallas. Today, it looked like their investment was paying off.

When Mary came down, she took over the counter, ringing up customers, leaving Kelly and Lindsay to the actual selling.

The store closed officially at 6:00 p.m., but it was almost six-thirty when Lindsay locked the door behind the last customer. Since Mary had gone back upstairs a couple of hours ago to care for Drew, Lindsay and Kelly were on their own.

“We did over three thousand in sales today,” Kelly exclaimed from behind the counter tallying sales. “I bet we’re even busier on Saturday. We’re getting a lot of good word of mouth.”

Lindsay agreed. “Those gowns you found at market are almost gone. I think we should call the supplier in the morning and have them overnight some more. Today’s Wednesday. We could have them on the racks Saturday.”

Kelly beamed at her partner. “Brilliant idea! I’ll call first thing in the morning. And I’m calling Addie McCracken. She wanted that plum dress and it was too small. I can order a bigger size if she wants it.”

“Great! You have such a memory. I’d forgotten about Addie.” Lindsay paused and then added, “With that great memory of yours, it’s amazing that you forgot to mention Pete’s visit today.”

Kelly froze. That was a subject she had hoped to avoid. She attempted a casual shrug. “What’s to mention? He was looking for you, and I told him where to find you. I hope that was okay?”

“Of course it was okay. So he didn’t upset you?”

Kelly noted how closely Lindsay was watching her. “No, of course not.”

Lindsay heaved a big sigh. “Oh, good, ’cause he needs your help.”

Kelly drew a deep breath. “I don’t think I’d be very good as a cowboy. Sorry.”

“That’s okay, ’cause he doesn’t need you to round up cows. He needs you to go to the movies with him.” Lindsay smiled at her as if she’d already agreed to help Pete.

“Oh, come on, Lindsay. Pete can get a date in a minute’s time. You know how popular he is. The women in town just flock to him.” She was not going to the movies with Pete. Of that she was sure.

“You’re right,” Lindsay agreed.

Kelly released a deep sigh. “Of course I am.”

“But none of them have what you have,” Lindsay added.

“What’s that?” Kelly asked sharply.

“You don’t want to get married,” she replied, her grin triumphant.

Kelly had told her friend her feelings too many times to argue with her now. “True, but I’m not going out with him. He’s not going to use me to break some woman’s heart. He can do that by himself.”

“I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but he can’t. He warned Sheila he just wanted fun, no commitment, but she considered his words a challenge.”

“Of course,” Kelly replied matter-of-factly, understanding at once what Lindsay had had to explain to the men.

“Well, she’s been bragging about how she plans to trap him. If he doesn’t marry her, it will harm his reputation. If he does marry her, he’ll be miserable the rest of his life. The answer is to start dating a woman who doesn’t want marriage. You.”

“I don’t date.” Kelly didn’t bother to protest Lind-say’s plan. Her determined tone, she thought, would do the trick. After all, Lindsay knew her history. She understood why Kelly wanted nothing to do with a man.

“It wouldn’t really be a date,” Lindsay said. “Mostly you’d just appear in public with him. The rest of the time, you’d be watching a movie you’ve been wanting to see—and Pete would have to pay! Wouldn’t that be great? It’d only be a few times. And our entire family would be grateful.” Lindsay shuddered. “Imagine having Sheila as part of your family. How awful!”

“I don’t even know her!” Kelly exclaimed. “Do you want to come have a soda before you go home?”

“Great, but before we go upstairs, will you please help Pete—and me—out?”

Kelly glared at her best friend in the world, angry with her that she was backing Kelly into a corner. How could she refuse? Because of Lindsay, her shop was flourishing, and she and Drew no longer lived in the small trailer home. Her mother was with her and enjoying life, finally. All because of Lindsay.

But she just couldn’t say yes.