A Sweet Magnolias Novel

Elliott knew better than to drag his mother into the middle of any problems he and Karen might be having. The two women had come to an uneasy truce, and it wouldn’t take much for it to be lost. “Will you keep Daisy and Mack, Mama? Please.”

Apparently she understood that she would learn no more about his reasons for asking, because she immediately said, “Of course. Shall I see that they get to school in the morning? They have clothes here. Your sister can pick them up and take them. Adelia’s children go to the same school.”

“If you wouldn’t mind, that would be great,” he said. “Gracias, Mama.”

“Da nada.” She hesitated only a moment before adding, “And, Elliott, whatever is wrong, make it right.”

“I intend to,” he said at once.

He hung up, then went into the kitchen where he took the dish towel from his wife’s hands. “Sit,” he said. “I’ll finish cleaning up.”

She regarded him with amusement. “Let’s see now. The trash has been thrown out. The dishes are washed. Just what is it you intend to do?”

“I’ll finish drying the dishes,” he said at once, backing her up until she was trapped between him and the counter. “And then I plan on having dessert.”

“Dessert?” she asked, her eyes widening, her breath hitching. “What exactly do you have in mind? There’s no ice cream in the freezer. I checked. You and the kids ate the last of it.”

“But you’re here,” he said. “I can’t imagine anything tastier, querida.”

His softly spoken words lit a fire in her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be going to pick up Daisy and Mack?” she asked. “They shouldn’t be out too late on a school night.”

“They’re being safely tucked into bed at my mother’s right this minute,” he assured her. “And since it seems we’re past the point when you intend to banish me to spend the night over there with them, I was hoping we could make the most of having the rest of the night to ourselves.” He searched her face. “You have forgiven me, haven’t you?”

“Mostly,” she conceded.

“But not entirely?”

“I’m going to need proof that you’ve learned your lesson,” she said.

“I doubt I can come up with the proof tonight,” he lamented.

“True. Only time will tell.”

He ran a finger along her jaw, felt her pulse scramble. “And until then?”

Slowly, her arms circled his neck, and she molded herself to him. The way they fit together was enough to have his blood pounding.

“Until then,” she said slowly, her lips touching his, “we can try this whole dessert thing and see how it goes.”

He smiled against her lips. “I already know how it’s going to go,” he told her. “I’m going to make love to my wife until she screams and begs for more.”

She leaned back and regarded him with amusement. “I never beg.”

“Bet I can change that,” he said, already dipping his hand inside her panties, watching as her eyes drifted closed and her body responded to his touch.

Even when her breathing turned shallow and her skin glowed with a soft sheen of perspiration, to her credit, she didn’t beg.

Instead, she clung to his shoulders, wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him until he was the one ready to beg for mercy.

As he walked to the bedroom with her in his arms, he thought for the thousandth time how lucky he was to have found her. She was sugar to his spice, sweetness to his passion.

And, then, just when he least expected it, she turned the tables on him, showing him unexpected heat that took his breath away. The give-and-take between them, at least in this area, was the kind that every man dreamed of.

As for the other give-and-take, the kind of communication and sharing that kept a marriage solid, he still had work to do on that, as today had shown. But for this, to keep this woman happy and content in his arms forever, he’d do whatever it took.

* * *

Karen still had questions, a lot of them, in fact, but just as she’d noted earlier, Elliott had a way of making her forget everything except the way it felt to be the center of his world.

She’d been terrified of the passion he stirred in her when they’d first met. She hadn’t been ready to let herself fall so completely, head-over-heels in love, not when her experience with marriage had been so disastrous. She’d kept Elliott at arm’s length, had almost lost him because of it, in fact. In the end, though, it had been Frances who’d made her see that he was her second chance.

She’d had a lot of second chances back then. Helen had negotiated one for her at Sullivan’s when Dana Sue had been about to fire her. Helen had also rushed to the rescue when stress had brought Karen close to an emotional breakdown that could have cost her the children. Helen had taken in Daisy and Mack, seen to it that Karen got the support she needed, then reunited them when the time came.

Then, during that terrible time when she’d been at her absolute lowest, she’d met Elliott, a man not only strong, but quietly confident, persistent and with a generous, open heart. While he’d built up her physical strength during workouts at the spa—a gift from Helen, Dana Sue and Maddie—he’d also built up her battered ego whenever she’d let him.

It had been so hard for her back then to trust that what he’d felt for her so quickly could be real. She hadn’t trusted her own feelings at all. And when his mother and sisters had objected strenuously to his involvement with a divorced woman, she’d seized it as the perfect excuse to run.

Thank God, he hadn’t let her run far. Surprisingly, the love between them had given her the confidence to face down his mother, to win her over and make her, if not a friend, at least an ally.

Now, lying beside him in bed, still warm from their lovemaking, she felt his gaze on her.

“What’s on your mind, querida?” he asked, studying her intently as his hand rested on the curve of her hip. The touch was gentle, possessive.

“Just thinking about how we got here,” she admitted. “How did you know we belonged together?”

He smiled at the question. “The first time I saw you, you stole my heart,” he said simply. “You were in my blood.”

“Why didn’t I know it that first instant, too?” she wondered. It had always bothered her that he’d been so sure, while she’d been so scared.

“You did,” he corrected.

“Absolutely not,” she argued.

His smile spread. “People only run so hard when they’re afraid, querida. And they are only afraid of feelings so powerful they can’t control them.”

She met his gaze, laughing. “Now, you’re just being smug.”

“No, I am being smart and right,” he teased. “Admit it. You were at the very least in lust with me from that first day at the spa. You didn’t want to be, but you were.”

Still chuckling, she nodded. “Okay, I’m like every other woman in there. Maybe I was just a little in lust.” She studied him. “But it was more than that for you, and I still can’t figure out why. What did you see in me? I was a wreck back then.”

“You were like no wreck I’d ever seen before,” he said. “You were beautiful and vulnerable and I wanted to be a part of making you strong again.”

She lifted an arm, flexed her biceps, then sighed. “Still not so strong.”

He tapped her chest. “It’s your heart that’s strong again.”

“You can say that after the way I freaked out today?”

He smiled. “You stood up to me, didn’t you? You said your piece, insisted on answers. You didn’t back down.”

“Not until you got me into this bed, anyway,” she said.

“We’re not here just so I can distract you,” he said. “If you have more questions, I’ll answer them until you’re satisfied.”

She grinned at that. “The questions can wait,” she told him. “I’d rather you satisfy me again the way you did a little while ago.”

His eyes darkened at once. “With pleasure,” he murmured. “Always with pleasure.”

3

Frances could not for the life of her recall where she’d left her apartment keys. They weren’t on the hook by the kitchen door where she usually left them, or on the counter, none of the obvious places. If she was late getting to the senior center, Flo and Liz were going to worry. She’d always been the most punctual of all of her friends.

She searched high and low, digging in the bottom of her purse, under the sofa cushions, checking in the bathroom, on her dresser. She eventually found them in, of all places, the freezer. She must have put them in there when she’d been getting her lasagna dinner out.

Holding the ice-cold keys in her hand, she frowned. Didn’t they say that one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s was leaving things in odd places? Just the thought was enough to frighten her.

“Stop it this minute,” she told herself sternly. “Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. It’s not as if you do something crazy like this every day.”

She tried to put the entire incident out of her mind, but over cards at the senior center, she mentioned it to Flo and Liz, forcing herself to laugh about her absentmindedness. To her shock, neither of them seemed to share her amusement. In fact, the look they exchanged was clearly worried.

Liz, who was only a few years younger, reached for her hand. “Frances, I don’t want to alarm you, but maybe you should get this checked out.”

Frances bristled. “How many times have you forgotten where you put your keys?”

“Plenty,” Liz conceded. “But I haven’t once found them in the freezer, or anyplace else particularly odd, either.”

Frances regarded her oldest and dearest friend with dismay. “What are you trying so hard not to say? This isn’t just about the keys, is it?”

“No, it’s not,” Liz said. “You’ve said and done a few things lately that haven’t made a lot of sense. I’ve noticed. So has Flo.”

Flo nodded.

“And you’ve been talking about it behind my back?” Frances asked, knowing that her indignation was misplaced. They were her friends. Of course, they’d be concerned. Of course, they’d compare notes, rather than risk offending her by mentioning some incident that might mean nothing.

“Neither of us was sure it amounted to enough to say anything to you,” Liz said gently. “We agreed just to keep a closer eye on you. Now that you’ve noticed yourself that something’s not quite right, well, maybe it would be best to see a doctor.”

Frances felt as if the bottom of her world had just fallen out. Alzheimer’s? Not a one of them had mentioned the word, but it was clearly the elephant in the room. It was the cruelest of all diseases in so many ways. She’d seen it rob friends of their memories and, worse, take them away from their families long before they were physically gone. She’d always thought it heartbreaking.

“Don’t panic,” Flo said, now holding tightly to Frances’s other hand. “We’ll go with you to the doctor. And I’ve been reading up on Alzheimer’s on the internet. There are new medicines that can help. That is, if you even have it. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re all getting more forgetful every day. Maybe this is nothing more than that.”

“Absolutely,” Liz said, then gave Frances a sympathetic look. “Whatever you’re dealing with, we’re here for you. That’s a given, okay? You’re not in this alone.”

“Will you promise me that whatever the diagnosis, you won’t say a word to anyone in my family?” Frances pleaded. “I’ll decide when the time is right for that. I don’t want them worrying unnecessarily or rushing over to Serenity to have me locked away in a nursing home.”

Neither of her friends agreed immediately.

“What?” she demanded. “Have you already spoken to Jennifer or Jeff?”

“Absolutely not,” Liz said. “But if I think the time has come that they must know and you haven’t told them yourself, I can’t promise that I won’t. I’ll push you to do it first, of course, but I won’t allow something terrible to happen to you because of negligence on my part.”

Frances turned to Flo. “And you?”

“I’m with Liz on this,” she said. “We’ll respect your wishes as long as you’re doing well and are safe. And it’s not just about you, you know. Your daughter, son and grandchildren would want to know if there is a problem. They’ll want to have as much time with you as possible.”

Frances sighed. They were right, as usual.

“Fair enough,” she said reluctantly. “But we’re probably worrying over nothing. Sometimes putting the keys in the freezer is just a sign of having too much on my mind, not a sign that I’m losing it.” She thought of her conversations earlier with Elliott and Karen, her deep concern for these two young people who mattered as much to her as her own children. That probably explained it. Her mind had been on their problems, nothing more.

“Of course,” Liz agreed as Flo nodded.

“I think I’ll head home now,” Frances said, suddenly more exhausted than she’d been in ages.

“I’ll drive you,” Flo said at once.

“I can still walk a few blocks,” Frances said irritably. “I’m not likely to get lost in a town I’ve lived in all my life.”

Liz gave her a chiding look. “She’s taking me home, too. It’s right on our way.”

Frances gave Flo an apologetic look. “Sorry for overreacting.”

“It’s understandable,” Flo said. “Any of us would be scared to even consider something like this might be happening to us.”

Frances knew that was true. As they’d aged, she and her friends had discussed every illness known to man at one time or another, but it seemed the greatest dread centered on this one.

But while she appreciated their empathy, there was one thing they could never comprehend. It was happening to her, not them. And theorizing was very different from the blind panic that had set in tonight.

* * *

It was morning before Elliott finally set aside the time to lay out the detailed plans for the gym for Karen. They’d definitely gotten sidetracked the night before.

He’d called his first two clients to push back their appointments and was in the kitchen making breakfast when Karen wandered in wearing one of his old shirts and nothing else. His mouth went dry at the sight of her. He wondered if she’d always have the power to take his breath away.

She wrapped her arms around him from behind. “Do you know how sexy you are when you’re standing in front of a stove?” she asked, resting her cheek against his back.

“You’d be attracted to anyone who fixed you a meal after you’ve spent your days in the kitchen at Sullivan’s,” he teased.

“Nope, it’s you. You’re this gorgeous guy who looks like a cover model with abs of steel and here you are, all bare-chested and wearing one of my aprons. You just can’t get much sexier than that.” She grinned. “It takes quite a man to go with the ruffles, you know.”

He laughed. “One of these days I need to buy one of those manly barbecue aprons,” he replied. “If our friends ever catch me looking like this, I’ll never hear the end of it. There’s fresh orange juice in the refrigerator, by the way.”

“You really do pamper me,” she said, releasing him. She poured two glasses and set them on the table. “When was the last time we had a quiet breakfast, just the two of us?”

“Before we got married, I think. It’s been way too hectic since then.”

“How’d you pull it off this morning? You’re usually long gone by now.”

“I rescheduled a couple of clients.”

“Were they furious?”

“No, which was a good lesson for me. I can make more time for us if I put my mind to it.”

“So can I,” Karen said. “We need to do it more often. It’s good for the soul.” She poured herself a cup of coffee, took a sip and winced.

“Too strong?” he asked.

She laughed. “You can’t help it. I think it’s in your genes that coffee’s no good unless it makes your hair stand on end. I’ll dump in half a carton of milk and it will be fine.”

When he’d set their plates of healthy egg-white, veggie omelets and whole-grain toast on the table, he sat down across from her. “Okay, here’s the deal on the gym. It’ll be a division of The Corner Spa. In addition, there will be six partners, all of us with equal shares.”

“Who?” she asked.

“Cal, Ronnie, and Erik, plus Travis and Tom McDonald, and me.”

“How much money do you have to put up?”

“We’re still finalizing all that, but I’ll be making only a minimal financial investment compared to them,” he said. “My contribution will be mostly sweat equity. The way I understand it, that’s the way it was when Maddie went into partnership with Dana Sue and Helen on the spa. I’ll run day-to-day business operations under Maddie’s oversight—at least initially—and continue seeing my personal-training clients.”

Karen looked surprised. “You’re willing to let Maddie boss you around?”

Elliott chuckled. “What do you think she does now?”

“It’s not the same. You’re an independent contractor, not a spa employee. If you got ticked off at her, you could take your clients to Dexter’s. And speaking of those clients, are you just going to abandon them?”

“No, of course not. I’ll still do the senior classes at the spa and see my regular clients. I’ll just have to lighten the number of hours I spend there, so I can spend the bulk of my time at the gym. And they’re talking about hiring someone to be at the gym whenever I’m not, so the place can be open longer hours. It’s a win-win, Karen. We stand to make out nicely financially with a share of any profits, plus I’ll be able to handle more clients since I can work with men there and still keep the women clients I have at the spa.”

“So, there’s no real financial risk at all,” she concluded, looking relieved.

Elliott knew he could let her go on thinking like that, and, in his mind, it was mostly true, but after what had already happened, he knew he couldn’t let the comment pass.

“I do have to put up some money,” he reminded her. “An initial, short-term investment to get things off the ground.”

She frowned. “So there is a risk?”

“Come on. You know none of us would be doing this if we thought it was risky, but sure, any new business can face unexpected pitfalls.”

“How much money, Elliott?”

“We’re still working that out.”

She held his gaze. “How much?” she repeated, obviously sensing that he was being deliberately evasive.

“Ten thousand, maybe fifteen,” he said eventually, then watched as alarm registered in her eyes.

“Our savings for the baby?” she asked, her voice shaking. “All of it?”

“I know to you it sounds like a lot.”

“It is a lot. It’s all we have.”

“But the payoff,” he began, only to have her cut him off.

“If there is a payoff,” she said direly. “What if there isn’t?”

Elliott felt his temper begin to fray. “Do you have no faith in me? You’re my wife. Shouldn’t you believe in me at least as much as Cal, Ronnie, Erik and the others do?”

“It’s not a matter of not believing in you,” she insisted. “It’s our savings, Elliott. What about having a baby? I thought that mattered to you.”

“We’ll still have a baby, and we’ll have more money than ever to support it,” he insisted.

“Only if this works out the way you envision it,” she said, looking as if she were near tears.

“It’s going to work out,” he insisted. “Have a little faith.”

“I want to,” she said, her expression miserable.

“Just think about it,” he pleaded. “Talk to Maddie or Dana Sue. Ask Erik. You trust him, right? They all have confidence in this.”

“I suppose I could do that much,” she conceded with obvious reluctance. The wheels in her mind were clearly still turning. “What if it goes belly-up, Elliott? Are you protected then?”

“I’ll have to check with Helen, but I think so.”

“Make sure of it, Elliott. What if there’s some humongous lawsuit or something?”

“We’ll have liability insurance,” he assured her. “Stop worrying. Helen will protect us. You can count on that.”

“You know I’d trust her with my life,” she said. “After all, she took in my kids when I couldn’t take care of them a few years ago. There’s nobody I trust more.”

“Then hash all of this out with her. If you’re not reassured that it’s all good, we’ll keep discussing it until you are. I don’t want you panicking, Karen. But you also need to understand that this is our big chance to get ahead.”

“I get that,” she said, sounding resigned but not yet convinced.

He searched her faced. “You and me, we’re okay?”

She met his gaze. “We’re okay,” she said, though slowly.

“You don’t sound very convincing. What’s that about?”

“The issue is bigger than the gym, Elliott. We haven’t been communicating, not the way real partners should. And I know you try, but I don’t think you really understand how panicked I get about money.”

“Didn’t I just say that I get it?” he asked in frustration.

“But then you ignore it,” she argued. “Promise me when it comes to things that are important, we’ll do a better job of communicating.”

“We were communicating very well through most of the night,” he replied, trying to spark a smile.

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. You never told me you were seeing Frances at those classes for seniors. You know how much she matters to me. It just makes me wonder how many other things you’ve kept from me. Your father—”

“My father has nothing to do with this,” he said curtly, bristling at the unfair comparison. “As for me keeping anything from you, that’s a bit of an overstatement, don’t you think? We hardly ever spend any time together. Sometimes days go by before we have a real conversation. By then, I’ve forgotten things I meant to tell you. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

She looked so hurt by his dismissive tone that he relented at once. And deep down he understood her point. “I’ll try to do better,” he promised. “I know that communication is almost as touchy a subject with you as finances. I shouldn’t have kept the whole gym thing from you, even to protect you from worry. And, believe me, I do get the money thing. I may not have lived through anything so drastic, but I saw for myself the toll it took on you.”

“Thank you. And, as I told you last night, Frances has promised to help us find more alone time. If we can manage these breakfasts occasionally, too, maybe things will get better.”

“Of course they will,” he said. He would see to it, because no one had ever mattered more to him than this woman who’d been through such terrible times when they’d met and now had blossomed into a formidable companion, lover and wife. She was his heart, and he’d do whatever it took to see that she always knew that. If only he could be sure it would ever be enough.

* * *

When Karen arrived at Sullivan’s, she found Dana Sue in a frenzy.

“What’s going on?” she asked at once. “Where’s Erik?”

“Sara Beth’s sick and Helen’s in court, so he has to stay home with Sara Beth,” she answered from inside their walk-in freezer. “I tried to reach Tina to see if she could come in early, because he’s taught her most of the dessert recipes by now, but she’s not available until this afternoon.”

She walked back into the kitchen, her cheeks pink from the icy freezer. “Can you believe there’s not even a stupid pie left in there? I guess we’re just going to have ice cream on the menu, at least for lunch.”

“What about brownies?” Karen asked. “Those are easy enough. You used to make them all the time until Erik got all territorial about desserts. If you can make those, I’ll get started on the specials. We’ll keep them simple for lunch. How about those ham-and-cheese panini Annie convinced you to put on the menu? Calling them glorified grilled-cheese sandwiches was pure genius. And maybe the walnut-and-cranberry chicken salad? I made that pot of navy bean soup yesterday, so it’s all set to go.”

Dana Sue sighed, her relief evident. “Thank you for bringing me back down to earth. I have no idea why I panicked there for a minute.”