Charlie Foxtrot (Book 2 of Love is War Series)

Chapter 6

“Have the green beans. I know it’s weird to have that as a flex, but I make a great casserole,” Muse gushed. “I did the stuffing, too. I found a new recipe and bullied Mary into letting me make it instead of her normal one. I thought adding walnuts and olives gave it a more savory taste. I’m loving it.”

Auden smiled back at her and nodded. “Thanks, Muse. And thanks for having me. Your house is gorgeous!” She looked around, almost in awe of the mansion. Yes, house was a bit of an understated word. This was more like an estate with a new cottage just having been built in the back. Cottage was also an understatement, because the outbuilding was more like a regular-sized ranch-style home. It boasted 3 bedrooms, an office, and 2.5 baths. There was a large kitchen and smaller dining room, and the living room was twice the size of any of the bedrooms. Clay had had his team working on it for a home for Jim. It was sort of a bonus for his friend, and the man only needed to furnish and move his stuff in. He was putting it off, and since he was in the East Coast of Florida this week, it would probably take another couple of weeks for him to make the transition from the main house to what Clay still called ‘the cottage’.

At first, Jim thought it was going to be a home for the gardener and his family, but when he’d asked Clay about it, the man looked at him a little strangely, like he was nuts to think he’d let anyone but friends and family live behind his gates. He’d further explained that since he was married now, he was probably going to ask Marietta to be nanny to his future children—when he had them—and hire a new housekeeper. Plus, he would need the extra rooms for what he hoped was a large family. He’d hated his small one-child home growing up. It had been lonely, and he’d only realized he'd had a half-brother he could have palled around with growing up six months previously. Even if Michael was illegitimate, he’d wished he’d had him when he was playing by himself in his bedroom as a child. He thought his father regretted that too.

“Thanks! I love what you did with the stuffing. Does it have wine in it too?” It was darker than the normal dressing she was used to, slightly sweet but still delicious.

“Yes. Red wine enhances the flavor, along with the nuts and olives. There is celery and raisins, which some people think is odd, but I find that it’s like a meal in itself.”

“I agree,” Mary said with a smile. “I’ll admit, I was dubious, but I think I’ll incorporate this recipe more often, even when you’re not around to help, Muse.”

They were all having dinner at Clay and Muse’s home. Clay was the only man around, and he was content enough to listen to the ladies’ chat and get a better read on Auden. He was still trying to put his thumb on what was different about this young woman, but maybe it was because she was Mary’s niece and he was a little protective over his housekeeper. He knew she’d had a hard life and treasured her living kin above all else, though he’d considered her family far longer than how he’d known they were tethered by common blood through his brother.

As he watched, he noticed that Auden was much more comfortable with Muse and Marietta than she was with him, even though he’d been on his best and most amicable behavior. Not quite sure if it was because he was her employer or a man—or both—he let his mind wander over what he knew about. It wasn’t much, so he listened as he ate slowly, nodding at some comments and agreeing with Auden’s assessment of each dish as she complemented them. She was dead-on most times, because the meal was an outstanding one.

Every person had their favorite dishes, and the London broil, stuffing, potatoes and green bean casserole was close to becoming one of his. The meat was tender and cooked to perfection, the potatoes creamy and light, the stuffing flavorful and rich, and the green beans light enough to not feel like a lead ball in his belly. It was nearly perfect as a meal.

“How’s work been so far, Auden?” Muse asked quietly. “I know old battle-ax boss is here, but I’m sure he would want to hear both the good and the bad about your experiences so far. It helps with morale and improvements he could make.”

Auden blushed prettily. “I like it fine, actually. Everyone is really nice, and I’m learning loads of stuff.” She made a face. “I’ve worked in a few office settings. Dental records or chiropractic techniques and physical maladies made me a little bit of a hypochondriac working in medical offices. You can’t imagine all of the odd symptoms you can have that are caused by other diseases or viruses. Did you know that sometimes you can detect HIV early just by seeing a certain rash? It’s nuts. Enough to make you bookmark WebMD for later perusal. I think I caught a complex at my last place. I’m glad to be gone from there. I tried not to look, but I had to make sure that all the paperwork was where it should be before filing it away. Doctors see so many patients, they sometimes goof.”

Muse was sympathetic and nodded her head. “I can’t imagine. I used to be a server, and even then you could lose your s**t and f**k up someone’s order. After my first day, I wanted to quit after I lost all my order receipts because I bent over in the bathroom to pick something dropped on the floor.”

Auden’s brows rose. “Did you ever find it?”

“Yes, thankfully. One panic attack, ten minutes crying, and my boss finally helping me look and we were able to track them all down. They were in a clump behind the trash can in the bathroom. I think they got kicked there after I picked up the towels someone had tossed on the floor. People are such slobs when it’s not their own home.” She tutted and shook her head, frowning. “It got better after that, thank God.”

They started to talk about previous jobs, and Clay added more scotch to his glass after Muse began to regale their guest with some horror stories from her working days. Since she was a housewife only now and used all her free time to spend with her family or at the Carrollwood Players, she could look back and laugh at her hardships. And some of the stories were horrifying.

“I don’t want to make fun of anyone’s bathroom habits, but you would think that the man would have at least let his server know that someone had had explosive diarrhea all over the men’s room. When we heard screaming coming from the women’s room because he went to use a stall in there, it was mayhem.”

Auden snickered and began to enjoy herself immensely. Muse was great to converse with. Open, and genial, and quirky at times. More importantly, she made you feel welcome in her home, like if it was an extension of your own, even when Clay was a silent and foreboding presence in the background. It was as if Muse was the sander and Clay the wood that needed polishing. It made her see that he wasn’t all authoritarian and business. He was human underneath, even though Aunt Mary had admitted as much.

Plus, she knew just as much about Clay’s transformation as anyone did, though she kept that to herself. Lots of times, Aunt Mary would tell her stories or air her views to her, and she usually let her vent until she wasn’t sounding so frustrated. Sometimes she had something to say or a suggestion, but she usually found that Mary just talking was enough to get her calm once again.

“I don’t know,” Mary said, though Auden had no clue what she was talking about. “I prefer my little bouts of retail therapy in small increments. Don’t bring me on some all-day binge. My feet will hurt and I’ll get grumpy.” Indeed, she did look aggravated just thinking about it.

“Still, I could use some new clothing,” Auden volunteered. “I want to get a few more outfits for work. I have barely enough to wear, and that’s with Friday being casual.”

“Well, why don’t we go on Saturday?” Muse suggested. “I need to get some new clothing for summer anyway. I mostly wear just capris or sundresses in the summer now, but I’ve put on a little weight over the holidays.” She blushed prettily but still kept a small smile on her lips. “I could use you guys’ opinions on it, and Clay has to go out of town this weekend. What do you think?”

Auden paused for a moment before her grin widened across her face. “Sure, why not? I mean, I’ve been putting it off since Christmas, and I do have a couple of Visa gift cards I can use. I can finally use up some of my Christmas gifts.” She laughed.

“Afternoon or morning?” Muse was practically bouncing excitedly in her chair, her hands splayed on the top of the polished wood of the expensive dining room table. If she had nails, she would have been digging in good enough to etch scratches on the top. “If we start at, say, 10 AM, we can grab something to eat in between hitting stores. Plus, I want to look at more shoes. I think I’m starting to swell in my feet as much as I am in my belly.” She laughed, looking a little giddy.

Clay thought this was good. Outside of a few friends from Carollwood Players and Mary, his wife didn’t socialize much. Either too busy rehearsing or practicing her roles if she was at home, or spending time with Mary or Clay in her downtime. Plus, she visited her father and brother often enough that she kept her schedule full.

With that, they finished making their plans and eating, taking their dessert—a homemade cheesecake with strawberries and whipped cream—in the dining room and then talking in the sitting room. Clay excused himself to get ready for his trip this weekend. He would be flying to Texas for a meeting with a big client who was wanting to open a new superstore on the north side of Tampa. It was almost like a Walmart and Target, but the business was newer and only had a few stores located in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, Galveston, and Houston. They were getting ready to break ground in a few months in San Antonio, but were trying to expand to other states. Since Florida always had a booming tourist influx, it wasn’t surprising the owner had decided to move eastward instead of west to California. It helped that it was cheaper there too.

It was a big contract, and if they liked Clay’s work, they could expand throughout the state, and he’d be more likely to get more business from the owner. To ensure that, Clay was going to meet with the CEO himself instead of sending someone else. It was lucky that Jim would be back the following week since Clay wasn’t certain he’d be back in time for work on Monday. Since the meeting was going to be at a nice restaurant in downtown Dallas, he was staying in the city and would use Uber and Lyft to get around.

As the women were downstairs and probably making plans for shopping, Clay was in his bedroom, refolding clothing to fit into his carryon. He hated to check bags if his trip was short enough because he didn’t want to wait around the bag carousel, so he’d use a garment bag and a carryon if he could hack it.

While he rolled up his clothing to keep it from wrinkling, he toyed with the idea of buying a private jet. It was something he fancied he might just do some day, but he was doubtful it would be used enough. Jim had explained that he could rent it for tourists or other businesses when it wasn’t set to be used, but he was leery on the prospect. What if he needed it at the last second and it was scheduled with someone else?

Whatever he did in the future, he would talk it over with his wife, who was downstairs right now and hitting it off with his new employee.

He smiled and stuffed more underwear into his suitcase, just enough for a week’s stay.

I mean, you never knew what the future held for you.

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