Overheated

CHAPTER ELEVEN

AFTER THEY PURCHASED THE phone, Larry wanted to make sure that David didn’t feel left out. So he’d offered everybody a ride in his airplane.

Crystal graciously wedged into the backseat with Jennifer, and David spent the entire hour in the copilot’s seat with his nose pressed up against the glass.

Afterward, they stopped for burgers at a fast food restaurant. It was nearly bedtime when they stumbled laughing up the stairs to Crystal’s apartment.

“Can Rufus sleep on my bed again?” David called as they piled through the doorway.

Feeling unaccountably good, Larry draped his arm loosely around Crystal’s shoulders. Then he stopped short at the sight of Crystal’s mother standing in the kitchen.

She took in Crystal and the kids, and then her gaze stopped on Larry.

“Larry Grosso,” she confirmed, her expression not nearly as welcoming as it had been the last time they talked.

“Stella,” he responded with a nod, guiltily removing his arm.

“Grandma, Grandma,” David cried, breaking from the pack. “Uncle Larry took us for a ride in his airplane.”

All three adults froze on “uncle.”

“It was awesome,” said David.

“Hi, Mom,” Crystal quickly put in, moving forward.

“I see you have the kids,” said Stella.

“They’re staying over,” Crystal explained.

Larry gestured behind him to the door. “I guess, maybe I’d better-”

“Nonsense,” said Stella, eyes glittering. “Since you seem to be part of the family.”

Larry looked to Crystal, and she sent him a clear “it’s now or never” look back.

“I’ll put the kids to bed,” Crystal said, ushering the children toward the spare bedroom and closing the door behind them.

In mere seconds, Larry was alone with Stella, and the silence boomed hollowly around them.

She folded her arms over her chest. “I didn’t realize you were dating my daughter.”

Well, that certainly cured the silence problem.

“We started off as friends,” Larry said honestly.

“Uncle Larry.”

“I don’t think David knew what to call me.” He thought about offering Stella coffee or tea, but realized she was more the hostess than he. Pretending otherwise might offend her.

“I know your brother,” said Stella.

Larry nodded his acknowledgement.

“And I know your nephew.” She paused. “And I know you’re a lot older than my daughter.”

Larry moved toward the living room, uncomfortably hovering in the entryway. “I realize that, too,” he said.

“And what are your intentions?”

“I have no intentions.” Right now his only intention was to spend as much time as humanly possible with Crystal. He hadn’t allowed himself to look beyond that.

“She wants children,” said Stella.

“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”

“So, you’re only interested in a fling. Is that it?”

“No.” He realized the word had been sharp and forced himself to tone his voice down. “No. I’m not only interested in a fling. I like your daughter very much.”

Stella harrumphed her skepticism.

Larry glanced toward the bedroom door, willing Crystal to join them again.

“Stella.”

“You like my daughter?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You want to do right by her?”

“Of course.”

“Then don’t encourage her in this.”

Larry took offense. This relationship was hardly one-sided, and Crystal was perfectly capable of making up her own mind. “I don’t think you understand.”

“I understand perfectly,” said Stella. “You are not good for my daughter. Oh, she might be bowled over by your family and-”

“Wait just a minute.” Larry had hardly used his famous family to entice Crystal into his life. Crystal, quite frankly, wasn’t the slightest bit in awe of his family.

“No, you wait a minute,” said Stella, gesturing at the center of his chest with her index finger. “Crystal is my daughter. She’s already had her heart broken when Simon died. She doesn’t need that to happen again. Her life is just starting. You are nearly ready to retire.”

Larry drew back at that. “I am nowhere near ready to retire.”

The bedroom door opened. “Wash your face and brush your teeth,” Crystal called as the kids trotted down the hall.

Smiling, she looked at Larry, then to her mother, then back to Larry. Her smile disappeared. “What?”

He glanced to the open bathroom door and gave his head a slight shake.

The three stood in silence for a moment, then David raced down the hall, arms out, making airplane engine noises. “Come on, Rufus,” he called to the dog. “We’re going in for a landing.” He flung himself onto the bed.

“Come on, boy,” Crystal called to Rufus as a flannel-clad Jennifer made her way more slowly down the hall and into the bedroom.

Kids settled, Crystal reappeared, clicking the door shut behind her. “Something wrong?”

“I was saying-” Larry began, but was cut off.

“You’re too smart to be getting yourself into something like this,” snapped Stella.

“Mom, we’re not-”

“Where can it possibly lead?”

Crystal moved into the living room. “You’re embarrassing me, Mom.”

“What’s embarrassing is you taking up with a man twice your age.”

“He’s not twice my age.”

But Larry had already done the math. It wasn’t that far off. He and Crystal were ready to accept the difference, but if Stella and Steve’s reactions were anything to go by, how well was the rest of the world likely to react?

Larry didn’t care for himself, but Crystal shouldn’t have to put up with it. And there was the question of children. Even if he did want to start over, which he didn’t, he’d had a vasectomy. After Steve was born, the doctors told Libby that her high blood pressure might make it dangerous for her to have more children. Larry had made sure there was no risk to Elizabeth’s health on that front.

“Mother,” said Crystal. “Larry and I have had exactly three dates.”

He made it four, but wasn’t about to quibble.

“So now you’re saying it’s just a fling.”

“I’m saying it’s a date.”

“Four dates,” said Larry, earning a glare from Crystal.

“It’s too soon for you or anybody else to press the panic button,” she said.

“What about children?”

Crystal held up her hands. “Stop. I know you want more grandchildren.”

“This isn’t about me.”

Crystal started to laugh. “Then who is it about?”

Stella looked affronted. “You, of course.”

“Good. Then we can stop talking. Because I’m perfectly fine with dating Larry.”

Stella opened her mouth, but she seemed to have temporarily run out of arguments.

“Was there a reason you’re here, Mom?”

Stella blinked. “Kenny Carmichael.”

Larry knew Kenny was the major player in the Softco purchase.

Crystal sighed. “He wants to let me go.”

Stella gave her head a little shake. “There you go. Jumping to conclusions. Just like you always do.” She looked to Larry. “You see why I worry about this girl?”

Under no circumstances was he taking a piece of that.

“Kenny wants you to work more hours.” She glanced around. “And you can stay in the apartment, of course.”

“I can?” Crystal asked in a small voice.

“It’s in the sales agreement.”

“That’s very generous.”

Stella nodded. “We’re your parents. We want what’s best for you.” She gave Larry a pointed look.

He wanted what was best for Crystal, too. But he didn’t know how to convince Stella that was true.

“Good night, Mom.” Crystal moved forward to give her mother a kiss on the cheek.

Stella didn’t look happy, but most of her anger seemed to have abated. With a warning glance in Larry’s direction, she headed for the door.

When it shut behind her, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sorry about that,” said Crystal.

“Nothing for you to be sorry about.”

“She’s always been, well, a straight shooter.” Crystal flopped down on the couch. “She’s never put much stock in emotion. You know, I think she’d have gone with arranged marriages if she’d had her way. The man’s job, his family connections, family history of diseases and longevity.”

Larry eased down next to her on the soft sofa. “You know, my son reacted in much the same way the other day.”

Crystal twisted her head. “Steve doesn’t want you to date me?”

“He thinks I’m having a midlife crisis.”

She was silent for a few heartbeats. “Are you?”

He reached up, smoothed back her hair and smiled. “You mean am I going to come to my senses one day soon and realize you’re not good enough for me?”

“Something like that.”

“Never happen.” He paused. “You on the other hand, could easily, and quite rightfully, come to your senses.”

She shook her head, taking his hand in hers. “Never happen,” she whispered.

“It’s way too soon to know that.”

“No, it’s not.” She kissed his hand and rubbed it up against her cheek. “I’m falling in love with you, Larry.”

“Not the greatest idea,” he warned.

“That’s what you have to say back?”

“No.” He turned to fully face her. “What I have to say back, is that I’m already in love with you. But that doesn’t mean our detractors are wrong.”

“They don’t understand,” said Crystal.

“On the contrary. They understand perfectly. They just don’t happen to think we’re a good idea.”

“Good thing they don’t get a vote.”

“They’re our families.” And they’ve made some perfectly valid points. “You want children.”

“Someday,” she agreed.

“I can’t have children.”

He could see the surprise in her eyes. “You have Steve. Men can-”

“I had surgery,” he explained.

“Oh.”

He tried to gauge how the revelation had affected her. “Nothing about this is simple.”

She put on a brave smile. “It’s simple at the moment. We’re not going to do what my mother did. People don’t go on three dates-”

“Four.”

“-and decide their entire future. We’re going to Pocono. We’re going to have a great time together. And we’re not going to worry about anything else.”

Larry hesitated. She was right. People didn’t have to decide their future up front. But he also knew that the more time that went by, the greater the risk one of them would get hurt.

He could handle it, if it was just him. He couldn’t handle it, if it was Crystal who paid the emotional price.

“Things can change,” she continued. “Look at my employment and my apartment situation.”

Larry couldn’t help but smile. “Wasn’t that a waste of a day?”

“We learned a lot about the seamy side of Charlotte.”

“Sweetheart, those were things I didn’t really want to learn.”

“Pocono,” she repeated. “I’ll even stay in that fancy-ass castle suite with you,” she cajoled.

“You will?”

She nodded.

He sighed. What was he going to do, cancel the weekend? Not much chance of that.

“You going to work tomorrow?” he asked.

She nodded. “Better talk to Kenny and make myself some money. You?”

“I have to head up to Myrtle Pond and work on the house.” He’d been putting it off all week. “Pick you up on Friday?”

She nodded, as he started to rise.

“You don’t have to leave,” she pointed out.

Oh yes, he did. “The kids are in the next room, and I have this sneaking feeling your mother’s waiting to see my taillights exit the parking lot.”

Crystal gave in graciously, and he headed home, telling himself Stella, Steve and Dean were all wrong, and that Crystal might change her mind about children.

The scientist in him knew he was grasping at straws. But the mathematician in him understood chaos theory. Despite all the complications, he couldn’t completely discount the notion that he and Crystal might have been preordained.

AFTER DROPPING THE KIDS off for the second-last day of school, Crystal spent the morning alternating between working on her cookbook and daydreaming about Larry.

He couldn’t have children.

What did that mean?

Did it mean anything at all? They’d barely started dating. It was way too early to be thinking about a white dress, a dog and a picket fence.

As if he read her mind, Rufus rose from where he was sleeping on the mat and padded over to the sofa. He nudged her laptop a few inches and rested his head on her knee, squinting his eyes against the breeze that wafted in through the open window.

“Okay, so we’ve got the dog part already,” she told him, scratching between his ears, trying not to feel maudlin at the choice between Larry and children.

For goodness sake, she didn’t even know if the choice was hers to make yet. Their feelings were deep, but it was the first blush of romance. And Larry was clearly having second thoughts, after her mother and his son had expressed their opinions.

Rufus gave a heartfelt sigh that seemed to echo her own emotions.

He’d spent the night sleeping on the foot of David’s bed, and David hadn’t made a peep. The dog had clearly bonded with David. As he had with Larry. Crystal smiled. He’d even started spending more time with her. Memories of his original owner must be fading.

She leaned down and cupped his head with her hands, stroking the damaged ear. “We’re going to be okay, you and me,” she promised.

His brown eyes gazed up at her with trust and adoration.

There was a knock on the door, and Rufus immediately went on alert. He didn’t bark, but he trotted into the kitchen, positioning himself at the end of the hall, watchful while Crystal moved to the door.

Through the sheers on the window, she could see a strange man on the porch. The man didn’t look particularly dangerous. He was about sixty-five, wore a neat business suit and was carrying a briefcase. Still, she was glad of the dog’s presence.

She twisted the lock and opened the door, wondering if he was selling something. Her little apartment tucked behind and atop of the Softco complex didn’t normally attract salespeople. But you never knew.

“Ms. Crystal Hayes?” the man asked.

“Yes?” Her curiosity grew.

“I’m Fred Smythe, attorney for Mr. William Chandler.”

The name meant nothing to her, and for a second she wondered if it was a scam of some kind. She leaned against the end of the door, her skepticism rising.

“Can I help you with something?”

“I tried to call but I seem to have the wrong phone number.” He glanced around. “Would it be possible to come inside and talk?”

“I don’t think so.” She felt Rufus’s body against the back of her knee and wondered if her body language had brought him closer. Smart dog.

Fred Smythe cleared his throat and straightened his tie. “In that case.” He paused. “I’ll get right to…Mr. Chandler was involved in an automobile accident on May twenty-second.”

Were they looking for a witness? “I didn’t see-”

“He was, unfortunately, killed in the accident.” The man’s gaze strayed to Rufus. “I understand you may have been caring for his dog?”

Crystal’s stomach hollowed out, and her shoulders slumped. They’d come for Rufus?

No. She couldn’t let them.

“May we talk inside?” Fred asked again.

“Of course,” she choked out, stepping back to let the man in.

She gestured to her small kitchen table. “Please.”

Fred glanced around before taking a seat on the small, wooden chair, laying his briefcase on the table.

Crystal sat across from him, while Rufus took a position at her feet. She swallowed, folding her hands on the tabletop. “Do they want him back?” she rasped. “The family?”

Fred flipped open the clasps on his briefcase. “Mr. Chandler didn’t have family.”

Hope rose within Crystal.

“I was left with the task of finding the right home for Aldo.”

Rufus perked up at the sound of his name.

Crystal looked down at Rufus. “Aldo?” she asked him.

He cocked his head and blinked at her, seeming to confirm she’d finally got it right.

She patted him on the head. “Aldo,” she repeated. “Never would have guessed that one.” Then she turned her attention back to Fred.

“You were a difficult woman to find,” said Fred.

“I found him tied up to a tree,” she explained. “I left my name at the Treatsy-Sweetsy.”

“It took them a while to remember you had. And the scrunched napkin was difficult to read.”

Crystal thought back to the young clerk. She could see how the napkin might have gotten lost. “I guess I should have called back again.”

She glanced back down at Rufus, Aldo. Maybe, subconsciously, she hadn’t wanted to be found. She certainly knew that she didn’t want to give him up now, for David’s sake if nothing else.

“I have this nephew,” she told Fred, “he and Rufus have really bonded. And, well, Rufus and I…” She scratched between his ears. “It took us a little while longer, but we’re pretty cool now, too. Is there, like, an application form or something I could fill out to try to keep him?” She just hoped it didn’t involve a credit check.

If money was an issue, maybe she could get Larry to apply. They could have joint custody or something. And Larry had a backyard. He might be an all-around better candidate.

“You want to keep the dog?” asked Fred.

She gave a quick nod. “Absolutely. He’s a wonderful dog.”

Fred glanced at Rufus, took in the food and water dishes and the leash hanging on the coat hook in the hallway.

“You’ve spent some money on him?”

“A little bit,” she answered. “Just the essentials so far. We did rent a crate to fly him to Dover.”

“You took the dog to Dover?”

Crystal smiled as she remembered the trip. “He loved the seashore. Didn’t quite know what to do with the salt water, but he played fetch forever.” She brought herself back to the present. “I know I’m in an apartment, but there’s a wonderful park right behind us, with a pond. Rufus loves to walk, and he plays with my nephew when he comes over. He even sleeps at the foot of David’s bed.”

“David?”

“My nephew. He and my niece sleep over sometimes.” It seemed to Crystal that kids involved in Rufus’s life would be a good thing.

“And you’re not looking for any money to care for the dog?”

Crystal drew back, startled. “Money from who?”

“From Mr. Chandler’s estate.”

“No. Of course not. I never even met Mr. Chandler.” Then she had a thought. She leaned forward. “Would you like me to buy Rufus?”

Since Larry had sprung for the cell phone, Crystal could come up with some money for the dog. Not a lot. But then Rufus didn’t seem like a show animal or anything.

A smile grew on Fred’s face. “There’s no need to buy Aldo. Mr. Chandler’s express wishes were that I find a loving home for his best friend. I believe I’ve found that in you.”

Crystal’s chest tightened, and she was forced to blink back a couple of ridiculous tears. “Thank you,” she told him, stretching forward to clasp his hands in hers.

Fred shook his head, looking uncomfortable. “No need to thank me. It’s my job.”

“Thank you all the same.” She reached down to pat Rufus, or Aldo, or whoever he wanted to be.

Fred opened his briefcase and slipped on a pair of reading glasses. “There is a small matter of money.”

She nodded. “Okay.” Maybe there was a fee or something. No problem. She got to keep Rufus. That was all that mattered.

“Mr. Chandler left provisions for Rufus’s care and feeding.”

Crystal didn’t understand.

“In fact,” said Fred. “The bulk of his estate was set aside for that purpose.”

“You’re giving me money?”

“Yes.” He pulled out a sheaf of papers. “Five million, six hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars.”

She stared at him, trying to turn his words into something that made sense inside her head.

“Aside from a few bequests to charitable and service organizations, Mr. Chandler left his estate to his dog. Or, rather, to the new owner of his dog.”

“That’s insane,” said Crystal. “I can’t take that money. Dog food is maybe twenty bucks a week.”

Fred gave her a wide smile. “Nevertheless, this will is a legal contract. You want the dog, you get the money.”

It was a ridiculous amount of money. “Why didn’t you keep him?”

Fred peered over the top of his glasses. “My task was to find him a good home, not to keep him. Besides, it would have been a blatant conflict of interest.”

Crystal subconsciously pulled back. “It’s a conflict of interest for me, too.”

“No, it’s not.”

The thought of that much money simply made her panic. She couldn’t spend it on herself. It would be wrong. And she’d never manage to spend it all on Rufus. Even if they chartered him his own plane to NASCAR races, she’d never spend it all. They’d have to rent him doggie VIP suites, with all you can eat goose-liver pâté.

Which would be ridiculous.

“You said something about charities?” she tried. “Could I donate the money to Mr. Chandler’s favorite charities?”

Fred nodded. “You could. But you might want to consider setting up something in his name. A charitable foundation for abandoned pets, for example.”

What a great idea. “Could you help me do that?”

He closed his briefcase and replaced the glasses in his pocket. “I’d be very pleased to help you. But I want you to give this some thought. And remember, there’s nothing wrong in spending some or all of the money on yourself.”

Crystal shook her head.

“Mr. Chandler’s only wish was that Aldo have a loving home.” He glanced at the dog. “I’m delighted to know I’ve been able to arrange that.” He rose from his chair and handed her a business card. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you,” she said, numbly staring down at his name. Then she rose and looked up at him. “Thank you for Rufus.”

She couldn’t wrap her head around the five million dollars. And she didn’t have to. She’d let Fred take care of the details of a charitable trust. All she needed was enough money for dog food.