Peggy Moreland - That Mccloud Woman

Alayna saw the tenseness in his shoulders, heard it in his clipped order. Avoidance. She knew the symptoms well. And knew, too, how unhealthy the tactic was.

She crossed to his toolbox, found the scraper he’d requested, then returned, holding it out to him as she studied his profile. “Divorce can be painful,” she offered quietly, hoping to draw him back into the conversation. But he didn’t bite. The only sign that he’d heard her was an increased tenseness in his jaw. His gaze remained fixed on the wall.

“Was yours a painful divorce?” she asked, angling her head to better see his face, his expression.

Jack flung the paper he’d just torn from the wall to the floor and bent to pick up the paintbrush again. His lips remained stubbornly pressed together as he swiped water over a new section of faded wallpaper with angry strokes.

His refusal to talk about his divorce told Alayna what he refused to admit. His divorce had been painful. From experience, she knew that talking helped. “Jack?” she prodded gently. “Was it painful?”

He tossed his paintbrush back into the can, then looked at her over his shoulder. “Don’t try crawling around in my head, Doc. You might not like what you find.”

Alayna refused to let him intimidate her. “Sounds as if you’ve had experience with a psychologist. Judging by your tone, it wasn’t a very happy one. Is that true?”

“Bingo,” he muttered bitterly and picked up his paintbrush again. “Paid a damn fortune to spill my guts to some tight-assed, sanctimonious stranger who sat in a chair and mumbled ‘hmm’ all the time. When that didn’t work, I paid another wad of money in attorney fees.” Slowly he turned to look at Alayna, his mouth thinned in a grim, thin line. “Now there’s somebody you might enjoy psychoanalyzing, Doc. My ex’s divorce lawyer. Smiled the whole time he was ripping out my heart and draining the blood right out of me. I’ll bet you’d get a kick out of digging around in his gray matter.”

Unaffected by his bitter tone, Alayna listened, enthralled. Jack was talking. This was good.

“Cats, children, divorce lawyers.” She ticked off each on her fingers, as if making a list, then glanced up at him, teasing him with a smile. “Is there anything or anyone else I should add to your list of dislikes?”

His scowled deepened. “Yeah. Angel-faced psychologists. They really get under my skin.” He picked up the scraper and tossed it to her. She caught it deftly in one hand. “Now, are you going to yap your jaws all day, or are you going to work?”

“Oddly enough,” she replied, unoffended, “I can talk and work at the same time. Can you?”

“Yeah,” he replied irritably, “if the topic’s interesting.” He stooped to pick up his paintbrush again, then turned his back to her. “Unfortunately, this particular one bores me stiff.”

Three

“Maudie tells me that you’ve hired a new remodeler.”

Alayna handed Mandy a glass of iced tea, then shuddered visibly as she sank onto a patio chair opposite her cousin. “Yes, and I can just imagine what all Maudie had to say on that subject.”

“Oh, let’s see,” Mandy replied, tapping a finger against her chin, as if trying to recall the details of the conversation. “Something about Frank scamming you out of thousands of dollars, and what a softhearted little fool you are. Then I believe she mentioned something about this man you hired to replace Frank being a good-looking hunk, and that she is sure you hired him just to satisfy this insatiable need of yours for wild sex and—”

Alayna snorted. “Oh, yeah,” she said sarcastically, “that was it, all right.”

“—and,” Mandy continued pointedly, trying hard not to smile, “this same man—the one, by the way, who was hired strictly for his sexual prowess—will also steal you blind, the same as Frank did.” She lifted her glass of tea, and smiled at Alayna from behind it. “I think that’s about all she had to say on the subject.”

Alayna arched a brow. “Are you sure?” she asked dryly.

Mandy tossed back her head and laughed. “No. But those are the best parts.”

Annoyed, Alayna folded her arms beneath her breasts and crossed her legs, her foot pumping like an oil derrick. “I swear. I love Maudie to death, but there are times...”

“I know, I know,” Mandy agreed, still laughing. “But she means well.”

In spite of her annoyance, Alayna found herself chuckling, too, as she thought of Maudie with her mother-hen-heart and her bossy ways. “Yes. It’s her only redeeming quality.”

Mandy nodded her agreement, then glanced around. “Where is he, anyway? I thought for sure I would be interrupting something really sordid by dropping by without calling first.”

“He went to town to pick up some supplies.”

“Oh, well. Maybe next time.” As she sipped her tea, Mandy continued to look around, making note of the changes since her last visit. “You’ve really done a lot with the place.”

Alayna followed her cousin’s gaze, smiling her pleasure at all she’d managed to accomplish. Frank had completed a lot of the work before he’d run out on her, and after only a week, Jack had done quite a bit more. “Yes, but there’s still a lot to be done.”

“All in due time.”

Alayna’s brow creased with worry. “But that’s just it. I don’t know how much time I have. I want to be ready if they should call and have more children needing a home.”

Mandy leaned over and gave Alayna’s knee a comforting pat. “You’ll be ready.” She smiled at the doubt she saw in Alayna’s eyes. “Have I told you that I’m proud of you?”

Alayna blushed, uncomfortable with the praise. “About a thousand times.”

Mandy settled back in her chair. “Well, I can’t say it enough. Few women would consider doing what you are doing, and fewer still would be able to do it well.”

Alayna scooted to the edge of her chair, reaching out to clasp her cousin’s hand in hers. “Oh, Mandy,” she said her voice filled with doubt. “I want to do this well, I really do, but I’m frightened. Billy and Molly seem to be doing well enough, but what if I somehow fail these children and do them more harm than good?”

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