Reprise Read online

  “Need a word. Club business.”

  Jayce nodded and backed up, looking into the room. The blonde woman named Trinny was standing in the doorway to the bathroom, that cute blonde kid in her arms, wrapped in a bath towel. The ends of her hair were wet and sticking to her neck, a clear indication they were messing with bath time. The little boy was sitting in the middle of one of the two double beds, hand-held video game vastly more important than anything else going on.

  “We’ll head next door,” Trinny said, sounding tired.

  “Trin—”

  “No, I know. Club business.” She didn’t sound particularly upset, but that statement spoke volumes about her level of annoyance on the subject.

  She grabbed a scrap of flannel off the foot of one bed, muttered “JJ, come,” and then squeezed past Jayce in the doorway. “I’ll send Buck over,” she said on the way.

  “You should follow her,” Harlon said quietly. “This won’t take long.”

  Jesus, talk about feeling like an interloper. “No, I can wait in the truck—”

  “Mal, go with Trinny. Please, give me some peace of mind.”

  With a sigh she backed off and followed the little wisp of blonde woman who had moved two doors down, yet even though it seemed she didn’t expect to be followed she held the door for Mal once her knock was answered. The little boy moved to an arm chair in the corner of the hotel room without looking up from his game, and as Mal stepped inside behind him Gertie was standing at the door smiling, taking the little girl from Trinny.

  “Meeting of the minds next door,” Trinny mumbled, and the bathroom door opened. “Buck, you’ve been beckoned.”

  When the dark-haired man smiled Mal felt herself smiling as well. Jesus he reminded her of her Harlon all those years ago. He kissed his wife on the cheek then without a word headed for the door.

  “Might as well take a seat,” Trinny told her, laying out a pair of cute pink flannel pajamas on the room’s only bed. “Sounds like they might be calling in for a meeting.”

  “I hope everything’s okay,” Mal said, parking her ass on a chair at the small table next to the room’s window.

  Gertie handed a very naked and sleepy little girl over to Trinny, who started tucking her into her PJs. “No point asking. They won’t tell you anything anyway.”

  “I don’t need to know anything. They’ll keep us safe.”

  Trinny gave Gertie a look that suggested she thought her friend was soft in the head but said nothing else. She got her daughter ready for bed and tucked her under the covers then sat across from Mal.

  On the floor next to the bed was a car seat, baby Davie passed out inside, oblivious to the world. Gertie checked on her son then sat at the third chair. “Makes me wish I was drinking. Hanging out with the girls again.”

  Trinny shook her head. “No, you don’t. You’re doing great, Gertie.”

  “Yeah.” She rested her chin in her hand, eyes going down to her son. “It’s getting easier every day.”

  “So, now that you’re at our mercy, Mal. It’s time for the grilling.”

  She looked up, startled, catching the slightly evil glint in Trinny’s eye. “What?”

  “We need to know your story.”

  Mal laughed. “I really don’t have a story.”

  “You stood up and sang at Tiny’s father’s funeral,” Gertie pointed out. “You’re not a random person from this town.”

  “Knuckles knows her,” Trinny went on, talking to Gertie. “Which means Tiny introduced them before we all got here.”

  “And they must have hung out because Knuckles decided he likes her, too.”

  “That’s right.”

  Mal had to laugh but she kept it down. “I’m not interesting, honestly.”

  “You have a lovely voice,” Gertie said softly, her smile so wonderfully genuine Mal felt instantly close to her because of it. “You made me cry.”

  “Thank you. I’m in a band. We play most of the week at the bar downstairs.”

  “Have you ever recorded anything?”

  “No. Sang back-up on a few albums back when I lived in Nashville. Closest I got to being ‘discovered.’”

  “This is all interesting, but how do you know Tiny?” Trinny broke in.

  “That’s rude. We were talking.”

  Trinny ignored Gertie and rolled right on. “You and Tiny spent the time between dinner and just now together. And I know the look of a woman who’s been good and fucked. So what’s the story?”

  “Jesus Trinny, you’re worse than Jolene.”

  “Someone’s gotta pick up her slack.” Trinny ignored Gertie’s stricken look to that. “How do you know Tiny? I mean, I heard you call him Harlon so you’ve known him quite a while.”

  “I knew Harlon back when I was...I was only twenty when I met him, actually.”

  Trinny’s eyes got wide. “Really? Here in Cleary, then?”

  “Yeah. It was a lifetime and a half ago.”

  “I can’t imagine Tiny that young,” Gertie mused, eyes wide. “What was he like?”

  Mal shrugged. “A lot like he is now. More closed off. He seems a lot more...expressive now.”

  There was a pregnant pause and then the two women cut up into “trying to be quiet” giggles, doubled over and clutching their stomachs. Gertie’s eyes were even filling up.

  Mal was startled. “What did I say?”

  “He’s more expressive now? Jesus, that’s hilarious.” Trinny shook her head. “Does Buck have any beer in here?”

  “Couple of bottles in the fridge.”

  “Do you mind if I have one?”

  Gertie waved a hand. “Go ahead. Bring Mal one.”

  “So if Tiny’s all expressive with you now, we definitely need to know the history there.” Trinny passed a beer to her and she took it without really thinking. “You knew him, what? Fifteen years ago?”

  Mal had to laugh at that, opening the beer. “Well, thank you for that. But it was almost thirty years ago. And I was sure he was going to be the man that I married.” She took a sip of beer, then froze. Both women were staring at her like she was an alien. Again. “What?”

  Trinny tilted her head. “The part where you said you were going to marry him.”

  It never occurred to her that Harlon might have mentioned her somewhere in his new life, but this confirmation that his friends knew nothing of her and their tumultuous story gave her pause. She couldn’t decide if it was good or horrible.

  “Why didn’t you get married?” Gertie asked, her eyes wide like she was watching a romantic but tragic movie.

  “It just...didn’t work out.” She had no idea if she should be sharing this. Harlon had kept her a secret all this time, and if he didn’t want her known amongst his friends that was fine with Mal. Even if it did sort of hurt.

  “No, that won’t cut it. Why didn’t it work out?”

  She swallowed another mouthful while Trinny’s question hung in the balance.

  “Maybe she doesn’t want to discuss this.” Gertie stopped when there was another knock at the door. She opened it to admit Rose, who was wearing a sweatshirt and flannel pants that she still managed to make look like negligee.

  “The man wants me with you guys,” Rose said around a yawn, closing the door behind her.

  “Pull up a part of the bed,” Trinny instructed. “You won’t wake Libby.”

  The tall woman moved with impossible grace to the side of the bed, sank down on the side and leaned back on the headboard, legs out in front of her. The blonde girl fussed a bit, but rolled into Rose’s side and put her head on the woman’s thigh. Rose smiled and stroked her hair. “What’s the big thing? What’s happening now?”

  “Big enough they won’t tell us anything,” Trinny said. “But we’re working on the secret life of Mal and Tiny at the moment.”

  Rose’s eyes got wide and she looked instantly awake and revived. “Oooh. This should be interesting.”

  “Just spill,” Gertie advised. “She won�
�t stop until she’s satisfied.”

  “I don’t know. If Harlon didn’t tell you any of this it obviously doesn’t matter—”

  Trinny interrupted. “That probably means it really does matter, actually.”

  “They always keep the important things secret,” Rose agreed. “Tank said when a guy doesn’t talk about a woman to the group it means she’s important.”

  “Don’t scare her, guys,” Gertie begged. “I like her.”

  Mal smiled at that.

  Trinny shook her head. “This is Tiny. The man of no words and no talking. No smiling.”

  Gertie scoffed. “Tiny smiles.”

  “Only when Mal’s around,” Rose said slyly, her smile a little too knowing.

  Shit. “We got involved,” Mal started slowly. “And...I got pregnant.”

  They waited, and she left it at that.

  “No fucking way is that the whole story.”

  “Trinny!”

  “No, fuck that. Sorry Gertie, but my kids know not to swear and Davie ain’t at that point yet. But there’s more to all this than that sad little sentence. There was a baby? What happened?”

  There was no way she was getting away with not giving them more information, so Mal decided to bite the bullet. She had no idea why, but these strangers seemed like the kind of women that were either on your team or not, and being honest was likely a good way to get on their good side. “My parents were not happy. I mean, I was twenty. But unwed and pregnant was not their vision for me, so...they kicked me out.”

  “Shit,” Gertie whispered, hand on her chin like she was shocked. “I’m so sorry.”

  Mal waved a hand in dismissal. “Harlon took over then. He moved me in with his parents, then bought us a house.”

  Trinny blinked. “His parents took you in?”

  “Yeah. The Grays were amazing to me. His mom became my birth coach, his dad was our realtor. We ended up moving in right across the street from his folks, but even that didn’t seem weird. He drove truck, he was working a lot when I was pregnant and he didn’t want me alone.”

  “Well damn,” Rose chuckled. “I never would have expected that from Tiny.”

  “I didn’t either,” Mal admitted, settling in her chair more comfortably. “I think it was during that pregnancy that...I really fell in love with him. And I think that’s when the same thing happened for him.”

  “But...what happened? You aren’t together.” Gertie’s eyes were wide, still lost in the plot of that movie.

  “I had the baby late at night.” Mal swallowed. “Tiny was out of town. He hauled ass to get home for it. He just made it in time.”

  “And the baby?” Rose asked, hands running over her belly.

  “A daughter. She was perfect.” When she swallowed it was like she’d taken too big a mouthful of bread. It hurt. “Angelina Anabelle.”

  -oOo-

  “You did good, honey. So good.”

  Her eyelids fluttered at his voice, and his hand tightened on hers. She licked her lips and turned her head to the side, the lights doing a hazy dance as she did so. Her mouth rushed full of saliva and she slammed her eyes shut as the urge to throw up ebbed away.

  “You okay?”

  “Water,” she croaked. Jesus, she was so parched.

  “Okay, one sec.”

  There was rustling next to her, and when a plastic cup’s rim was pressed to her bottom slip Mal gratefully parted her lips to let the water in. She took a good swallow then turned away.

  “You get enough?”

  “Yeah.”

  The cup made a tapping as it was set down. Then her hand was taken in two large, dry ones and brought up. Harlon’s beard scraped the back of her hand as he kissed it. “You wanna see her?”

  Her? Oh yeah, the baby. That’s what was going on. Holy shit. They don’t mess around with the drugs in the hospital. As soon as she remembered where she was and why, her body let its state be known. Her top half normal, the bottom feeling like it’s swollen to three times its normal size. So uncomfortable.

  She opened her eyes as she heard a little noise, somewhere between a sigh and a cough, and Harlon turned from the bassinet against the wall with a pink blanket bundled in his huge arms. Immediately she pushed herself up higher on the bed. All discomfort was forgotten.

  “Oh wow,” she whispered, arms coming up as Harlon placed the mass on her chest.

  Harlon chuckled as he ran a finger over their daughter’s dark swatch of hair. “She’s loud. When she cries she sets off the whole ward.”

  Mal smiled, eyes running over the little being in her arms with almost panic. She pushed the blanket out of the way and took one little hand in hers.

  Harlon read her mind. “Ten fingers, ten toes. A girl, as you’ll notice.”

  “She’s beautiful.” And she was. From the pale blue veins visible through her super-soft baby skin, to her heart-shaped mouth and wrinkled up nose. Her little lips were working like a goldfish and Mal had to laugh.

  “The nurses said she’d likely want to feed soon. Should be safe by now.”

  “Okay.” She let Harlon loosen the neck of her gown and she shoved it down, freeing her breast and presenting a nipple to her daughter. She pulled a face, pushing at Mal’s pale, soft skin, and starting to make terrible noises.

  “What’s wrong?” Mal asked, sounding panicked.

  “Don’t stress, babe. She’ll clue in.”

  “They’re supposed to latch on. They’re supposed to know.” Mal’s heart started racing. “Something’s wrong.”

  Harlon pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Honey, please don’t stress. She’s so perfect. Just take a breath.”

  She knew she was being irrational. She remembered the talk about her stress could also stress the baby. Maybe he was right; maybe she was pressuring the both of them.

  She relaxed her body, realizing she’d been squeezing the little bundle a bit too tight. Harlon’s fingers were at the back of her neck, applying a bit of welcome pressure. Oh, that felt lovely.

  “Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train…” she began, singing low and soft. A lullaby would likely be better but her mind was completely void of any such songs.

  That’s when that miracle happened. That little mouth latched on, hands pressing into Mal’s skin as she drank.

  “Wow.” Harlon breathed, and Mal finally really looked at him. He looked exhausted, and she remembered that he’d driven eight hours the day before and likely hadn’t slept since rushing back when she called in a weeping panic to tell him her water had broken. His mom had been at her side until he’d finally rushed into the delivery room. She remembered some parts, like him holding her hand, letting her squeeze as hard as she could. She’d also screamed into the side of his neck, she remembered that too because his smell had been so reassuring.

  Now his eyes, with the dark bags underneath, were fixed on their daughter, mouth hanging open in amazement. He caught her studying him and grinned. “How cool is that?”

  She looked down at Angelina, her thumb tracing over one tiny arm as little fingers grasped at the skin of her right breast as though it might be taken away at any moment. “This is amazing.”

  He leaned over to kiss her temple. “You’re amazing, honey. Jesus, that was intense. I knew it would be but...holy shit. You had me scared.”

  “Sorry.” No idea why she apologized, it just felt like it needed to be said.

  “Don’t be. I have a whole new respect, that’s all.”

  Mal swallowed hard. “This is scary, Harlon.”

  “Yeah, it is.” His hand went over hers again, cradling their child. “That’s why we’re both doing this. Two is better than one, right?”

  “Right.”

  Then they both watched their daughter eat, and she continued. “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose…”

  -oOo-

  Mallory jumped as Trinny cleared her throat. “Sorry, what was I saying?”

  Trinny smiled. “You weren’t s
aying anything. You faded out on us there.”

  “I was just remembering the first time I held her.”

  “What was it like?” Rose asked, hands still soothing her own stomach.

  “I can’t even describe it. You spend nine months cooking up this little person, but really, your whole life is what leads up to it. Like it’s the whole point of every day that came before. That was the why.” She shook her head. “That sounds lame.”

  “No, that’s what it’s like,” Gertie confirmed, her smile warm and reflective. “It’s a sudden love that almost chokes you, it’s so intense.”

  Trinny held the redhead’s hand for a moment.

  “When my back hurts and my ankles feel like throbbing hams I want to curse it,” Rose mumbled, head down towards the new life she was harboring. “Then he kicks. And I tell Tank. And I see my old man falling to his knees just to put his hands on my stomach and feel it. That’s what’s amazing to me right now. That even though he’s not the one carrying this baby, he’s so astounded at every development.”

  “What happened to Angelina?” Gertie asked, voice small. “I’m guessing that’s where this story turns.”

  It took a minute, but she’d already gone this far. “One morning I woke up, and she didn’t.” Mal swallowed and tried on a smile for the other women. “Fifteen weeks. That’s how long she lived.”

  “Did they figure out what it was?” Trinny asked, eyes looking wet. Mal averted her own gaze.

  “It’s crib death when they can’t find a specific reason. So...that’s what’s on the death certificate.”

  “Oh my God, Mal. I’m so sorry.” One of those women that seemed to feel things for other people deeply, Gertie leaned forward and took Mal’s hand. “Oh God.”

  “That explains a lot,” Trinny mumbled, elbow on the table between then, chin in hand.

  Rose’s voice was quiet, too. “Explains what?”

  “Tiny.” Trinny dropped her hand. “He’s always loved babies. I’ll never forget that big bear coming through the door of the hospital room, picking up Jayce Junior like he’d handled babies his entire life. Honestly, he’d barely spoken to me before JJ was born. Even after I married Jayce. Then the baby and he was...always there. And the kids loved him. They could tell he was comfortable handling them.” Trinny swallowed and tried to give Mal a smile back. “He really wanted to be a dad.”