If I Only Had A...Husband (The Bridal Circle #1) Read online

  “Have they been going together long?” he asked.

  “No. Two months, maybe.”

  “That’s not very long. Maybe it’ll die out on its own.”

  Aunty Em shook her head. “I was hoping, but so far she’s only gotten worse about him, if anything. He’s turned into such a stuffed shirt. They don’t do any of the things together that she likes—tennis or biking or horseback riding. All they do is poetry. Stuff he likes.”

  Brad tried to force back that little flicker of worry. His days of watching over Penny were over. Finished years ago. He had his life and she had hers. “Penny’s an adult,” he said. “She’s got a right to choose her friends. And while Alex might not be our choice for her, we can hardly object. He’s not racing across the seawall anymore, is he?”

  “Not that we know of.” Aunty Em frowned at Brad thoughtfully. “How would you like a job?”

  Brad froze, his hand midway to his mouth. A job offer was the last thing he’d expected her to say. Maybe he had misunderstood. “I beg your pardon?”

  “I need help with my business,” the old lady said. “I got me a private detective agency.”

  He hadn’t misunderstood apparently, but all he could do was stare at her.

  “Well—” she made a face “—I will as soon as I get my license. And I’ll get that as soon as I get my certificate.”

  “Your certificate?” This conversation was making no sense.

  She leaned forward. “I want you to be my legman. On account of the two legs I got ain’t all that good.”

  Brad tried to speak, but no words would come. Maybe because no words were in his brain anymore. He should have had that cold pizza or one of those black bean burritos. Maybe they would have jolted him into wakefulness.

  Aunty Em had a private investigating business and wanted him to work for her? Maybe he hadn’t really arrived in Chesterton last night, but had stumbled through some time warp or something.

  “Uh, I’m not going to be here for long,” he said. “Maybe only for today.”

  She sat back, looking surprised. Confused. Worried. “Oh.” She picked at her cold pizza for a minute. “I thought you would help. You used to kind of watch out for Penny. I knew that, so I thought I could count on you.”

  Her voice was quiet, her tone mournful. Nope, no time warp. He remembered now. This was pure Aunty Em. She was playing him like a violin. He knew it but he still couldn’t keep the guilt from creeping in.

  “Alex seemed like a nice guy,” Brad said. Liar, a little voice inside him shouted. He hadn’t liked Alex years ago and hadn’t liked him last night.

  “Not in my book,” Aunty Em said with a sniff. “He doesn’t treat her the way a fella’s supposed to treat a lady.”

  Brad felt his heart wavering but he was not going to cave in. His life was elsewhere now. Chesterton and its residents weren’t his responsibility, not in any way, shape or form. “If Penny’s happy with him, that’s all that matters,” he said briskly.

  “Who says she is? Maybe she don’t know any better.”

  Brad went back to eating his yogurt. “Penny always had more common sense than anyone I ever knew.”

  “That was before she got smart.” Aunty Em sat up taller, looking him in the eye. “You remember what an idiot Thad was? Boy was as smart as they come in schoolwork and would get lost walking up the stairs to his room. It seems in our family you either got common sense or book smarts, never both. Now that Penny’s got herself book smarts, she’s lost all her common sense.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “You think he’s right for her?”

  “Well...”

  “Did he act like a man in love last night?”

  “No,” Brad had to admit.

  “Did he even act like a gentleman or did he run home so he wouldn’t get wet?”

  “Penny told him to go,” Brad said.

  She snorted. “Would you have gone home just because Penny had told you to?”

  This was insane. Penny did not need his help. What’s more, she wouldn’t want it. She would kick him clear across the county if she thought he was interfering in her life.

  But Aunty Em had always been so good to him. Always fed him when he came to work here. Even gave him stuff to take home to his mother and did it without taking away his pride. He owed her. And she was genuinely worried. Maybe there was some simple way to relieve her worries. There had to be. And what could it cost him—an extra day or two? No big deal.

  “What would you want me to do?” he asked.

  “Dig up stuff on Alex. Anything you can find.”

  “How would I do that?”

  “See who his friends are. Find out what the heck he’s up to. Just follow him.”

  “I can’t,” Brad replied. “I don’t have a car.”

  “You can use my old Jeep. My hip’s got to heal another month before the doctor says I can drive anyway.”

  Oh, man, she was making this difficult. “I don’t know anything about surveillance or investigating,” he told her, shaking his head.

  “I can teach you,” Aunty Em replied.

  “I’ve got to take care of Uncle Hal’s estate,” he said. All right, so he was grasping at straws.

  She just grinned at him. “That’s a perfect cover. Penny’ll never get suspicious.”

  “Easy there,” Penny called out to the crew pulling the branch off Brad’s car. “We don’t want to wreck it any more than it is.”

  Carl, her crew chief, snorted. “Can’t do it any more harm. It’s totaled already. A few extra dings ain’t gonna damage its resale value.”

  “Yeah, I suppose.” She had been half hoping that it was repairable, but she knew it wasn’t. It looked like a giant had slammed his fist down on the roof, mashing in the top and breaking all the windows. Maybe Brad had insurance, though, and would get a new car. Yeah, right. At best he’d get a new junker out of it.

  She watched for a moment longer, then went over to her truck to check the schedule. She had to stop trying to take care of him. He wasn’t poor anymore. He didn’t need her to bring him an extra sandwich or cookies for lunch.

  Swatting away a pesky mosquito, she pulled her clipboard off the dashboard. They should be done here soon and they could get on to—

  “Hey, Penny,” Carl called. “You know where Corrigan is?”

  Damn. Had word gotten all over town that she’d taken him home last night?

  “I’m not sure,” she said carefully. “Why?”

  “There’s personal items here in the trunk,” Carl said. “What should we do with them?”

  Penny hesitated. Their policy was not to deal with personal items, yet she couldn’t afford to let one of the crew go running off after Brad. If anybody had to go, it ought to be her, but she wasn’t any too anxious to see Brad again. She’d acted like a fool enough last night; she wasn’t ready to risk another mishap. Fortunately, a police car came rolling around to the back of the tavern before she had to make a decision. She saw the call number and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “It’s Toto,” Penny said. “He’ll see that Brad gets his things.”

  “Great.” Carl turned on his heels and strode toward his crew. “Come on, guys, let’s hustle. There’s still a lot to do before the sun sets.”

  Penny walked over toward the police car. “Hi, Toto.”

  “Hi, Pen.” He got out of his car and stretched. “Storm work keeping you busy enough?”

  “Too busy.” She paused. “Did Dorothy tell you about Brad Corrigan coming back?”

  He looked surprised. “Brad Corrigan?”

  “I assumed you had talked to Dorothy last night and that she told you.”

  “I did, but she didn’t.” Toto frowned. “Maybe she forgot because she was busy practicing her French again. I think she’s thinking about moving to Paris. Like soon.”

  Not if you’d ask her to stay! At times Penny wanted to shake some sense into the two of them, but she just said, “I doubt it.”r />
  “It’s all she’s ever talked about since we graduated from high school.”

  “And how many years ago was that? If she wanted to go, she would have gone,” Penny said and took a giant leap forward. “Maybe you need to give her a reason to stay.”

  Toto looked stunned. “Why would I do that?”

  “Do you want her to go?” Penny asked.

  “That’s not the point,” he returned, his words coming quickly. “We’re just friends. Nothing else. Just good friends. I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of her dreams.”

  “Uh-huh.” But was Brad that altruistic?

  They watched as her crew cleaned up the last of the debris, sweeping sawdust off the parking lot surface onto the dirt beneath the trees.

  “Boy, that car’s a wreck,” Toto said.

  “It’s Brad’s.”

  “Oh, yeah? He wasn’t in it, was he?” Toto sounded worried.

  “No, he was in the bar with us. We’re just cleaning up the mess. He’s got some personal stuff in the trunk, though. Can we just give it to you?”

  “Sure.” He took a deep breath. “So, was she excited about him coming back?”

  Penny swallowed hard. How did she play this? “I don’t know,” she said. “You know Dorothy. She’s so friendly, it’s hard to tell what she’s really thinking.”

  “Yeah. He was probably glad to see her. Didn’t he used to have a crush on her?”

  Damn Toto anyway. How could she light a fire under him so he’d fight for Dorothy? She frowned at the wreck of Brad’s car. Even if he wanted to leave, he couldn’t now. Not without a car.

  “Guess I should write up an accident report,” Toto said. “He’ll need it for insurance.”

  She watched as Toto filled out his form, walking around to secure the license number and the vehicle identification number. He looked through the broken front window.

  “Not much inside,” he said. “Just some maps on the front seat and nothing much in the glove compartment.”

  “We got a bag out of the back seat last night.”

  Toto nodded. “You know where he’s at?”

  Penny shrugged. “He stayed at my place last night, but I have no idea where he is now. Aunty Em might know.” Penny looked over at her crew, already leaving for another location. She had a mile-long list of damage sites to assess. “I have to run, Toto. We have a lot to do after last night’s storm.”

  “Okay,” he replied. “I’ll drop by the farm when I’m done here. See if I can find Brad and give him his stuff.”

  “Fine. Great.” She hurried toward her truck. “Thanks for all your help.”

  And don’t bother to let her know where Brad was. She didn’t care.

  Oh, yeah? So why did her heart just skip a beat?

  “We should paint the damn thing,” Aunty Em said.

  Brad looked from the old, rust-spotted Jeep to her. “I think it’s beyond a new paint job.”

  “Lordy, boy,” Aunty Em exclaimed. “I ain’t trying to pretty it up any. I mean as a disguise.”

  “A disguise?”

  “Everybody in the county knows that there vehicle is mine,” she said. “Alex’ll make you in a minute.”

  Hadn’t she heard anything he’d said earlier? “I really have to take care of that probate stuff,” he reminded her. “I don’t know that I’ll have time to tail Alex and—”

  “Then I guess you’ll be walking to town.”

  Brad sighed. He didn’t really need Aunty Em’s Jeep. Hell, he could buy a fleet of them just on his credit card alone, but he didn’t want to hurt the old woman’s feelings.

  “Well, like I said, I’m not experienced in tailing people but I’ll do my best.”

  “Can’t ask no more of anyone than that,” Aunty Em replied as she handed him the keys. “And make sure you hang back. I don’t want him spotting you.”

  Brad nodded as he hopped into the driver’s seat. “I’ll be back in a bit.” He turned the ignition, almost jumping out of the seat when the motor caught. “Holy catfish. You got any muffler left on this thing?”

  She just waved as he put the vehicle in gear and made his way down the lane. The old Jeep wasn’t exactly a surveillance vehicle. Hell, Alex would have to be stone deaf not to hear him coming. It would be believable then when Brad had nothing to report.

  But by the time Brad’d hit the edge of town, the noise and fumes were giving him a headache. Figuring he’d be doing everyone a favor, he pulled into the Muffler in a Minute Shop.

  “Can you put a muffler on this thing?” he asked the attendant and handed him a hundred dollar bill. “Quick?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Brad saw another mechanic in back and took out another hundred. “How about if you check the brakes while he does the muffler?”

  “How about we change the oil, too?”

  While the old Jeep got fussed over in the service bay, Brad walked over to a bench and sat down, staring at the traffic.

  “Go away, Brad, ”Penny said. “I’m doing my homework.”

  “I just want to help.”

  “No, you don’t,” she snapped back. “You want to do it for me.”

  He bit his lip and looked down at the floor. He did want to help her but he could never explain things to her. His tongue would get so twisted up that it was just easier to do it himself.

  “I don’t want you doing my homework. It’s my responsibility. I’d rather flunk on my own than get an A because you did the work.”

  “Penny, let the boy help you,” her father interjected. “That’s what he comes here for.”

  No, he came because he had to. Because he couldn’t stay away. But all Brad could do was stand there and stare at her.

  “Fine,” she said and threw her pen down. “Here. Do it. I don’t care.”

  That had all been handled so badly back then. Did she still resent him for the help he tried to give her? But look how well she was doing now. She obviously didn’t need his or anyone else’s help anymore.

  No, not with her homework. But he wasn’t all that sure about her ability to judge character. She’d been a softie back then, always falling for some hard luck story. He doubted that she’d changed. Somebody needed to look out for her, but it didn’t have to be him.

  But then who would?

  And who would once he was gone again?

  He’d found no answer to either question by the time he left the repair shop about a half hour later. The old Jeep was running much better, but he couldn’t say the same for himself. Determined not to think about Penny anymore, he drove to the lawyer’s office.

  There weren’t many cars in the parking lot. Great. He should be in and out of the office in the blink of an eye. Review the documents, sign them and fly.

  “Hi,” he said, smiling at the receptionist. “I’m here to see Matt Harris.”

  “You’ll have to come back Monday.”

  He looked around the empty office. “Are you telling me I need an appointment?”

  “Nope,” she replied. “He’s not here. He went up to Michigan on vacation. Won’t be back until Monday.”

  Oh, hell.

  “Can I help you with anything?”

  He looked at her a long moment. She could probably witness his signature. There wasn’t any reason to stay to see the lawyer. But he found himself shaking his head. “No. No, that’s okay. I’ll come back Monday.”

  Sanity returned by the time he had the Jeep back on the road. That was the stupidest thing he’d done in a long time. He should have just signed the damn papers. What was the big deal about talking to the attorney? He’d talked to lawyers before. And on the phone no less.

  He drove around a few minutes, not really ready to return to the nursery and Aunty Em. Or the reminders of Penny. No, be needed to find a shady place to sit and think.

  And as long as he was out, he might as well see what was going on with Alex. Give him something to report to Aunty Em.

  Chapter Four

  “I’m sorry
I didn’t make your poetry reading last night,” Heather said. She shifted the calico cat in her arms to her other shoulder. “I did try but only got a few blocks from home.” She smiled apologetically. “You know me and storms.”

  Penny completed her walk around the fallen tree in Heather’s front yard. She thought they could get the tree out and not damage Heather’s prize rose bed any more than it already was. “You didn’t miss anything,” she said as she made some notes.

  “Don’t put yourself down,” Heather scolded. “I bet it was great.”

  Penny looked up. “No, really. You didn’t miss anything. The power went out and it got canceled.”

  “Oh. What bad luck for you.” Heather put the cat down, then stepped carefully into the mud of her flower bed to pick up a birdhouse that had fallen from the tree. She put it on the porch, out of the way. “Are you going to reschedule?”

  Penny shrugged. “Maybe. Depends on the demand for that meeting room. Alex was going to check.” She glanced over at Alex’s house next door. “I suppose I could drop by and see if he found out anything. You think he’s home?”

  “Don’t ask me,” Heather replied. “The man’s a recluse. I never see him. And even when I actually see him, he rarely talks to me. I think I need to speak in iambic pentameter or something.”

  “Maybe he’s afraid you’re going to try to give him a cat.”

  “I’ve never approached him about one.”

  “He must be the only person in town, then.”

  Heather looked hurt. “I can’t help it if there are so many that need rescuing. If people wouldn’t dump their pets when they get tired of them—”

  Penny laughed softly. “Heather, honey, I’m teasing you. I just think Alex is kind of shy.”

  “He wasn’t when we were in school.”

  “People change,” Penny said.

  After all, she had, hadn’t she? She was running a business now and going to school... and still trying to prove she was smart. Okay, bad example. Had Heather changed? She was always scared of her own shadow and now she was a kindergarten teacher, living in her grandparents’ old house and... hiding at home when it thundered and lightninged. Dorothy was still dreaming of finding her prince in some exotic location. And Brad still had his crush on Dorothy—she was all he talked about last night. Jeez, hadn’t anybody changed?