Back Where She Belongs(39)

“Leftovers from a picnic,” he finally said, knowing their delay in explaining made it sound more significant than it should.

“A picnic. How fun,” Candee said flatly. Had Dylan and Candee ever picnicked? Not that he could recall.

“I needed a break, so we had a paintball battle. It was a thing from high school,” Tara added, trying to make it sound light, but it sounded intimate and exclusive. “Anyway, I really appreciate you talking to me about Wharton’s finances. I know it’s an imposition.”

After a pause, Candee said, “I came as a favor to Dylan.” She shot him a look, definitely pissed. “I’ll get us beers,” she said, walking away, her hips twitching angrily. Uh-oh. Bad start.

When she left the room, Tara mouthed I’m sorry at the same time he did.

Candee came back with three bottles. She held out one to him, twisted the lids on the other two and handed one to Tara.

She lifted her bottle for a toast. “To old friends,” she said, a twinkle of mischief in her eye. Hmm. He twisted the lid from his beer. Foam squirted everywhere, dousing his shirt and the floor.

Both women burst out laughing.

“Dammit, Candee.”

“Good one,” Tara said.

“Couldn’t resist. You go change. I’ll wipe up.”

He would put on a new shirt quick. Leaving them alone together was dangerous.

* * *

CANDEE WIPED UP the spill, then dropped onto the sofa and grabbed a potato chip, shooting Tara a challenging look as she ate it.

Tara sat at the other end of the couch, eating a chip, too. The stunt had been aimed at Tara, as well, she knew. They’d made Candee feel left out talking about the picnic, referencing high school, even Duster’s trick.

She decided to be direct. “I want to apologize to you for the other day. I sounded rude, I know. I was caught off guard.”

Candee shrugged, then sipped her beer, but Tara saw by the shift in her posture that Candee had needed the apology.

“Dylan talks about you a lot,” she added. “It’s obvious how much he cares about you and—”

“Don’t butter me up,” Candee said, setting down her beer with a click. “If you want him, you can have him. It’s not my concern. We’ve been divorced for years.” Her tone told a different story.

“That’s just it. I don’t want him.” Candee huffed a skeptical breath. “Well, there’s attraction, yes, but we agreed not to act on it.”

“Whatever you say.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Come on. I saw how you looked at each other. All that intimate smirking, that guilty-thrill look. I’m not an idiot.”

Tara’s face heated. “Well, we shouldn’t be doing that. There’s no point to it.”

Candee watched her for a few seconds, then finally gave a snorting laugh. “I don’t know why I’m picking on you. I’m over Dylan. I finally am.” She shook her head. “It’s just habit. Knee-jerk stuff.”

Relieved to hear her say that, Tara said, “I know what you mean. I’ve been doing that since I came back to town.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Being a brat...hypersensitive to every slight...thinking the worst of people...”

“Making googly eyes at Dylan?”

She laughed. “That, too.”

A sad look crossed Candee’s face. “He never looked at me like that. If I’d realized that before the wedding, I wouldn’t have wanted to marry him.”

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” Tara said. “I don’t know if this makes you feel better or not, but I was jealous of you when I heard you two were married. He committed his life to you, which was far more than he did with me.”

“Yeah?” Candee looked her over, sharp assessment in her gaze. Tara liked her. She was a straight shooter. She dropped her gaze to the floor, took a drink of her beer. “He wanted it to work. I know that,” she said finally, softly. “He fought like hell to hang on to me, but I wanted the real thing, not leftovers, you know?” She looked at Tara, this time her eyes were soft and open.

“I do. I really do.” She felt a snap as they connected with each other. “I admire you both for staying friends. That can’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t. Not at first. It’s easier when I stay away from the wedding album.” She gave a sheepish smile.

“For me, it’s the German chocolate cupcakes.” She picked one up and bit off the frosting.

Candee picked up one herself and began to eat it, a thoughtful expression on her face. When she turned to Tara, her expression held mischief. “Well, all I can say is lucky for you, I no longer want to scratch your eyes out.”

Tara stopped chewing and lowered the cupcake from her mouth, startled to realize how pissed Candee must have been at her.

“I’m kidding,” she said, grinning. “I’m more of a hair puller.”

Tara burst out laughing. “I like how you think.”

Candee smiled. “The truth is...I’m seeing a guy. His name’s Adam. Dylan doesn’t know yet. He’s perfect for me. At first I got scared because I kept comparing him to Dylan. That horrified me because of Dylan doing that to me with you.”

“I can imagine.”

“But after a little while, my Adam memories pushed the Dylan ones out the window. Now when I’m with him, I’m totally with him.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. Now I have to tell Dylan.”

“He’ll be happy for you, I’m sure.”

“I hope so.” She took another bite of cupcake. After she’d swallowed, she said, “You have a boyfriend?”

“Not at the moment.” She peeled away the cupcake paper. “I need to get on that. I didn’t realize I was so lonely. I have this great condo, but I treat it like a hotel. I’m living like a guest in my own life.” She stopped abruptly. “I don’t know why I said that. I hardly know you.”

“You know enough.”

“I guess so.”

Suddenly Duster jumped between them, dropping his head on Tara’s lap, flapping his tail on Candee’s.

“Duster just declared us friends,” Candee said.

“Smart dog.”

“Yeah,” she said, “though he never did any tricks for me.”

As if in response, Duster got up and reversed his position so his head was on Candee’s lap, his backside on Tara’s.

“It’s okay,” Candee said. “I forgive you, Duster.”

They smiled at each other over the dog. Finally Candee said, “So...do you hate those preppy shirts he wears as much as I do?”

They talked easily then, filling the distance between them with new camaraderie.

When Dylan came back, they were laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Dylan asked warily.

“You,” Candee said. “We were talking about you and The Wire.”

“Candee says you do the dialogue with voices. I told her about the time you sang the theme song on karaoke.”

“Great. Need a Sharpie to draw a target on my chest?”

Candee seemed to consider the idea. “Nah. I like that shirt. What do you think?” she asked Tara.

It was a light blue silk and Dylan looked gorgeous in it. “Not bad. You know they do have markers that are washable.”

“Oooh, good one.” Candee clicked her beer against Tara’s.

Dylan dropped into the love seat, his face red, though he seemed relieved. Maybe because Candee hadn’t gouged out Tara’s eyes. “Did you two go over the Wharton situation yet?”

“Not yet, no.” Tara looked at Candee. “You up for this?”

“If I can help, I will. Tell me what’s going on.”

“What we discuss can’t go beyond this room,” Tara said. “I don’t want to add to any rumors at Wharton. Today was my first day working there and I don’t want to get Joseph’s guard up.”

“I’ll keep it quiet. Don’t worry about that.”

“What I hope you can help me with is any irregularities in the financial pictures. My sister, my father and Joseph Banes were heard to be arguing in the days before the accident. I’m guessing it was related to cash-flow or taxes. Joseph’s behavior has been odd. He locked down my sister’s computer unexpectedly and might have taken files from my father’s home office. I need to know if he’s doing something questionable or illegal.

Candee nodded, thinking. “I know they asked for an extension on the quarterly tax payment. I heard my boss talking to Mr. Banes about it. That means penalties and interest. No one’s happy about that. Maybe that’s what the dispute was about. We had to put off the auditors, too.”