Mary Jane flapped a hand. “Well, whatever.”
“So let’s grab a seat before they’re all gone.” Lindsay pointed toward a table in a far corner. “Go for that one.”
This Italian restaurant was her favorite, and she ate here often. Today, however, her favorite waitress wasn’t here, nor was the manager. Both always gave her preferential treatment.
“Whew, I’m glad to be out of the heat!” Mary Jane exclaimed. “Darn, but it’s hot. And muggy.”
Lindsay flicked a strand of red-gold hair out of her eyes and stared at M.J. “It’s supposed to be, my friend. It’s summer.”
“Well, you can have summer. Sometimes I wish I lived in the North Pole.”
Lindsay frowned. “Uh-oh, things must be bad at work. I hear an underlying whine in your tone. Anything I need to know about?”
“Nah, except I’m overworked and my boss is an asshole.”
“Mary Jane!”
She didn’t look the least bit contrite. “Well, he is.”
Lindsay grinned. “Aren’t most men, at some time or other?”
The waitress appeared at the table, and once they had placed their orders and were alone again, Mary Jane shook her bobbed dark blond hair and said, “So tell me what’s going on.”
“You mean with Peter?” Lindsay asked innocently.
Mary Jane almost spat out the sip of water she had just drunk. “Now, why would I ask you about that prick? You know my opinion of him.”
Lindsay’s grin widened. “We’re awful. You know that, don’t you?”
“No, what we are is truthful.”
Lindsay merely shook her head.
“So has your idea gelled yet?” Mary Jane asked, switching the subject.
Lindsay kept a straight face. “Idea?”
“You know what I’m talking about—that certain thing you were going to tell me about. Your secret, if you will.” Mary Jane snapped her fingers. “Duh. Ring a bell?”
“Of course it does, silly. I was just giving you a hard time.”
Although Mary Jane grinned, there was a perplexed look on her face. “My, but you’re full of vinegar today. Whatever’s going on sure suits you. I haven’t seen you this relaxed in a long time.”
“I haven’t been this excited in a long time.”
Before Mary Jane could respond, the waitress brought their food, refilled their water glasses and shuffled to the next table.
“Let’s eat first,” Lindsay said. “Then we’ll talk.” She peered at her watch. “Hey, do you have time? It’s later than I thought.”
“No, I don’t have the time.” Mary Jane shrugged. “But screw ’em. I’m not going to be in any hurry. I’ve given that office overtime galore, none of which I’ve been paid for.”
“Atta girl.”
Mary Jane sighed. “What’s it really like to be a lady of leisure?”
“Hell.” Lindsay’s tone was flat.
Mary Jane’s grin fled, and her eyes lost their twinkle. “Oops, you took that personally, and it wasn’t meant that way. I was just teasing.”
Lindsay forced herself to lighten up. “I know that. You don’t have a malicious bone in your body.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, but not toward you, anyway.” Mary Jane paused. “Am I missing something here? I mean—”
“It’s me, M.J. I guess I’m beginning to see a side of me that I don’t like.”
“Why, that’s ridiculous. Good Lord, after what you’ve been through, I think you’ve accomplished a miracle just to get up every morning.”
“Some days I still think I have a long way to go.”
“Don’t you dare get down on yourself,” Mary Jane warned fiercely. “Why, just a minute ago you seemed on top of the world.”
Lindsay’s mouth turned down. “Well, that’s a bit of an overstatement, but I really do have something on the burner that I’m excited about.”
“So let’s hear it.”
Lindsay told her about her plan for battered women and their children.
When she finished, Mary Jane’s face was glowing. “I think that’s great.” Mary Jane paused again, her face losing its animation. “Uh, have you told your daddy?”
“Yep.”
“Not good, huh?”
Lindsay gave a sarcastic laugh. “You got it.”
“Now why am I not surprised?”
“I won’t bore you or humiliate myself by repeating his reasons for not backing me. But the bottom line is that he had a conniption.”
“I bet a more apt description is that he was frothing at the mouth.”
Lindsay grinned, in spite of the fact that her stomach was clenched in knots. “You’re right, he was.”
“So are you going to scrap it?”
Lindsay could hear the disappointment in Mary Jane’s tone, which strengthened her resolve not to let her friend down. But most of all, not to let herself down. “No, I’m not.”
“Praise the Lord!” Mary Jane exclaimed.
“Shush,” Lindsay whispered, looking around to see if anyone had heard M.J.
“Ah, you worry too much about what other people think. But you come by that honestly. That’s Cooper’s modus operandi.”
“And Tim’s.”
“Like father, like son. What can I say?”
“So will you help me?” Lindsay asked. “If this idea comes to fruition, I’m going to need lots of volunteers.” Her features sobered. “Actually, I’m going to need a lot of everything.”
“What do you mean, if?”
Lindsay’s eyes clouded. “You know how hard it is for me to buck Daddy.”
“Dammit, Lindsay, he’s dominated you long enough.”
“I know. But I’ve spent so many years pleasing him that it’s hard to stop now.”
“But now is the time to stop. This idea is great. When you talk about it, your face lights up, which is something I haven’t seen since you—” Mary Jane broke off, then added, “Never mind about that.”
“I know you’re right.” Lindsay took a deep breath. “It’s just that I wanted Daddy’s approval, as well as his help.”
“I’ll jump aboard, that’s for sure. What about Tim? Do you think he’d help?”
“Are you kidding? He’s got too many problems of his own to care about anyone else.”
Mary Jane’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything.
“For months I’ve had all these ideas dancing around in my head like sugarplums. Now I’m ready to put them on the computer and get officially organized.”
“Do you think Cooper’ll try and sabotage the project?”
Lindsay sipped on the cup of fresh coffee the waitress had just poured, all the while