Mallory decided not to admit that she’d fallen into the typical category where he was concerned. In her humble and objective opinion, he was both charming and way above average in the looks department.
“The thing is,” Sally went on, “he’s never stuck to one woman for any length of time. It’s always superficial and then he moves on. No one can figure out how, but his exes are all still friends.”
“I’m not sure whether you’re warning me or singing his praises.”
“Both,” Sally admitted. “He doesn’t feel the need to be with one woman when he can have them all.”
“I see.” She watched as the woman shaped her nails, then trimmed the cuticles. She needed to respond to the statement, but waited until she was sure her voice would be normal, nothing to give her away. Because the truth was that when Caleb was around, she smiled more, glowed just a little and felt a flutter in her heart that took the edge off monotony in life.
“I appreciate the warning, Sally, but I’m not looking for anyone. It’s been pointed out that I got to Rust Creek at the peak of the gal rush, but it wasn’t about finding a man.”
“Okay.” The other woman buffed her toenails. “What with you being a newcomer, I just thought you should know.”
Mallory smiled, then held still for the polish. When that step was finished, she swung her legs to the side so as not to smudge her freshly painted toes. After handing over her credit card to pay for the pedicures, she joined Lily at the nail-drying station. There was a clear plastic holder with the flyers Sally had mentioned. In bold letters at the top it said Embracing Your Inner Psychic.
She took one of the papers that had all the information and put it in her purse. Although she didn’t believe that anyone could see the future, if the whole town was going, she would, too. That was what you did when trying to belong.
And wouldn’t it be nice to know what was yet to happen? Mallory thought as an uninvited image of Caleb’s roguish grin popped into her mind.
Maybe sometime in the near future that foolishness would stop. She really hoped so.
In church on Sunday, Mallory and Lily listened to Pastor Alderson finish his sermon and make announcements. The last one was about the pancake breakfast fund-raiser being held directly after services.
“Some of our neighbors still need assistance to rebuild homes and businesses damaged by last year’s flood,” the pastor said. “We need to open our hearts and give as generously as possible to get folks who are still struggling back on their feet. See you there.”
Everyone in the packed community church stood and filed out the back door.
“Can we go to the breakfast?” Lily asked. “I like pancakes.”
“Of course we can.” Mallory gently squeezed the small hand tucked into hers, then held on tight as they were swept along with the crowd.
They slowly moved to the multiuse room where the fund-raiser was being held. At the door was a table where volunteers were taking money and handing out tickets.
“Hello, Mallory.” Thelma McGee, an older woman who had taken in many people displaced by the disaster, waved them over. Beside her was a metal cash box for the money collected. Her son, Hunter, had been the former mayor of Rust Creek Falls and the only casualty of the flood. A tree had fallen on his car, and the speculation was that it startled him into a massive heart attack, killing him instantly.
It had been a year since the tragedy, but sadness still clouded the woman’s eyes. Mallory couldn’t imagine losing a child and squeezed her niece’s hand again. “It’s nice to see you, Thelma.”
“You, too.” Thelma smiled at Lily. “And you just get cuter every time I see you, young lady.”
“Thank you.” Lily smiled shyly. “We’re here for breakfast.”
“And I’m here to take your money,” the older woman said.
Mallory paid the asking price and received two tickets. She hadn’t been here during the disaster, but this was her town now and help it she would. She handed over a twenty-dollar bill. “Just to help a little more.”
“That’s very generous, dear.”
“It’s the least I can do. I wish it could be more.”
“Everything helps,” Thelma said. “Go on in now and enjoy.”
“Thanks, we will.”
The room was big and square, with a stage at one end. She’d heard that during the crisis, cots were set up in here so that people who couldn’t get into their homes until the water receded would have a warm, dry place to stay. Today the space was filled with long tables and folding metal chairs. On the other side of the room was an area set up buffet-style for food and keeping it warm as everyone filed by and helped themselves.
“Let’s find a place to sit before we get plates,” Mallory suggested.
“Maybe Amelia and her mom are here.” Lily looked around, then smiled and pointed to a table. “There’s Caleb. We can go sit with him.”
Bad idea. The thought was followed quickly by surprise that he’d attended church even though he’d told her he sometimes did. She was being uncharitable, which showed how much good the church service had done her. Liking women and having them return the favor didn’t qualify as cause to think the worst of him.
No matter how much she wanted to paint him as a one-dimensional playboy, he always seemed to say or do something that added evidence to support the fact that he had many more layers than she wanted to give him credit for. It also seemed that in the few times she’d been exposed to him, his charm had worked its magic on her, just like it did on other women.
Before she could come up with an alternate seating arrangement, Lily had taken off in Caleb’s direction and Mallory had no choice but to follow.
She stopped behind the little girl, who was standing at his elbow. “Hi, Caleb.”
“Hey there.” He stood up politely. His hair was neatly combed and the cowboy hat was nowhere in sight. He smiled at Mallory. “I figured you wouldn’t be far behind.”
Although his expression was friendly enough, she tried to read deeper, determine whether or not he was glad to see her. She wished it wasn’t so, but she was glad to see him.
“Lily is awfully quick. She’s tough to keep up with sometimes.”
“Can we sit with you?” the little girl asked.
Mallory should be getting used to Lily’s direct, unfiltered comments and questions. Mostly she was except when it came to Caleb. “Lily, he might be saving those seats.”
He shrugged. “Travis and Anderson are around here somewhere, but they can find their own seats.”
“Cool.” Lily took the seat beside his. “You snooze, you lose.”
“I couldn’t have said it better.” He laughed. “How are you, Mallory?”
“Fine.” She was normally fast, funny and pretty good with words. It was kind of a requirement for her job. But being around Caleb stole her wit and sucked the volume out of her vocabulary. “You?”
“Never better.” He indicated the chair next to Lily. “Why don’t you have a seat? If you let me have your tickets, I’ll get your plates.”
The chivalrous offer made it impossible to keep the stutter out of her heartbeat. “Oh, that’s not necessary. I don’t want to trouble