Big Girls Don’t Cry (Dundee, Idaho #6)(37)
Author: Brenda Novak

Her complete bewilderment made Isaac want to break Keith’s jaw. “Let’s stay until our lease is up,” he said. “If you still hate it, we’ll figure out Plan B.”

She lifted her chin. “Okay. Six months.”

He squeezed her shoulders. “Nothing’s going to feel good right now, Liz. Nothing, okay?”

“I know.”

The doorbell rang. “That’s Fred,” he said. “I’ll get it.”

“Wait.” She grabbed his arm again.

“What?”

“You haven’t given him or anyone else my name, have you?”

“No, I rented the house in my own name. Why?”

“Because I don’t want Reenie to know I’m here yet.”

“She’s going to find out soon enough, Liz.”

“I just…I need to talk to Keith first. Okay?”

“And say what?”

“I deserve that much, Isaac. One last private conversation with the man I married before I face the hatred of the whole community.”

He couldn’t argue with her there. “You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t volunteer the information to anyone.”

She nodded and seemed to relax a bit. “Good.”

A dispute over the Ping-Pong game sent Liz hurrying downstairs while he strode through the empty living room and opened the door. But if it was Fred, he was an excellent cross-dresser. A short, plump woman with dark hair, who had to be close to sixty, stood on the porch next to a large wicker basket.

“Hello,” she said brightly. “I hope you don’t mind my barging in on you so soon.”

“Not at all.”

“Fred told me you’d arrive this afternoon, so I’ve been watching for you,” she explained with a genuine smile. “I wanted to be the first to welcome you to the neighborhood.”

Welcome them? Isaac straightened in surprise. Her simple gesture sure felt good. “Thank you.”

“Moving is so difficult. I thought it might make things a little easier for you if I provided dinner tonight.” She handed the basket to him. “There’s a casserole inside you’ll need to heat up before you eat. But the rest is ready.”

He could smell cake as he set the basket inside the door. “Smells great,” he said. “We really appreciate your generosity.”

“It’s no trouble.”

“Which house is yours?”

“The one across the street.” She motioned to the elegant house he’d noticed earlier. “My husband and I live alone now. We have two children, but they’re all grown.”

“Your home is lovely.”

“I enjoy decorating almost as much as I enjoy company,” she confided. “We’ll have you over as soon as you get settled.”

“We’d like that.”

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Isaac Russell. And you are…”

“Celeste Holbrook.”

“Holbrook?” he repeated, his voice going high on the last syllable.

Faced with his stunned reaction, she hesitated briefly. “Yes, my husband’s in the state senate, so he’s in Boise a lot. But if you ever need anything, I’m usually home.”

“You’re very kind,” he muttered, but he wasn’t concentrating on his words. He was picturing this woman’s beautiful daughter—as she’d looked the night they’d had dinner together, and then later, when he’d had to tell her about her husband.

If Celeste was surprised or confused by the sudden drop in Isaac’s enthusiasm, she didn’t let it show. She had impeccable manners and simply interpreted his response as her cue to leave. “Well, I don’t mean to keep you. I know how busy you and your wife must be.” She reached into the pocket of her wool coat and withdrew a piece of paper, which she handed to him. “I typed up some information that should be useful.”

He thought of Liz in the basement, and her desire to lie low for a few days, as he read what Celeste had provided. She’d listed the day they had garbage pickup, directions to the grocery store and post office, even the number to Ernie’s Lawn & Garden Maintenance.

“My number’s on the bottom,” she said. “Call me if you think of anything else I can do. I noticed you have children. I’m a good babysitter,” she added with a wink.

He didn’t correct her impression that he was the husband and father of the family. “Thanks,” he said again. Then he closed the door and pressed two fingers to his forehead. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

Isaac lowered his hand to find Liz watching him from the other side of the room. “We just moved in across the street from Reenie’s parents.”

REENIE SAT in the corner booth at the Arctic Flyer, toying with the ice-cream sundae Lucky had insisted on buying for her and trying to keep Lucky’s baby from squirming out of the high chair. Reenie would have met her half sister at Jerry’s Diner, where they got together for lunch nearly every week, but word had it that Keith’s mother was looking for her. Earlier, Reenie had ducked two of Georgia’s calls at home—and slipped out the back of Hannah’s photography studio the moment she spotted her mother-in-law coming in the front. She simply wasn’t prepared for more of what her own mother had already dished out: Are you sure you don’t want to give Keith another chance? What would it hurt to wait a few months before making a decision? You’re letting hurt and anger rule your head. Why does everything have to happen so fast?

More than anything, Reenie didn’t want to explain to Keith’s mother that she’d already filed for divorce a week ago. Admitting that she was ending her marriage would make it more difficult to keep what had happened a secret because she would face the inevitable “Why?”

But maybe Georgia wanted to talk to her because she already knew about the divorce. Keith could’ve received the papers this morning, Reenie mused. According to the attorney, if Keith signed them without raising any other issues, everything could be final in three more weeks.

If he’d received the papers, Keith would be after her instead of his mother.

“I tried getting hold of your mom to see if she’d like to join us, but she wasn’t home,” Lucky said when she finally joined Reenie in the booth, carrying a chocolate-dipped ice-cream cone in one hand and a stack of napkins in the other.

“She was probably at her new neighbor’s,” Reenie said. “They arrived a couple hours ago, while she and I were on the phone, and she hurried off so she could deliver them dinner.”