Page 77 of A Twist of Faith
Chapter 16
Hit you! You infamous creature, how dare you accuse me of such a thing? It is you who have hit me. You have wounded me to the heart. (Pygmalion, Act 4)
Dee’s phone buzzed as soon as she and Reese pulled into the church parking lot for Sunday service. She shot him an apologetic look and glanced down at the number. A groan rolled from her mouth before she could stop it. Alex? On a Sunday morning? Was he only now getting her message?
“I’m sorry, Reese. Why don’t you and the kids go inside and I’ll be there in a minute.”
Reese’s brow crinkled into worry lines. “Everything okay? Is it your mama?”
“No, it’s my supervisor.”
“That Alex Murdock character?”
Dee grinned at the description. Character was one way of putting it. “Yes, the very one.”
“He sure does make a fuss over you, doesn’t he?”
Dee couldn’t look at him, afraid he might recognize a liar when he saw one. “We have a fairly pressing situation to rectify. It will only take a minute or two.”
A storm brewed on Reese’s countenance and he jerked his chin down in a nod. “Alright. I’ll leave you two alone.” He slid from the truck and turned to unhook the children. “Come on young’uns. Dee has an important phone call to make.”
The edge to his voice stung like a slap to her face. Angry? She’d never seen him really angry before. And at her? Dee slid the phone back in her purse. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I may not speak clearly all the time, but I can read nonverbal communication loud and clear. I’ve been duped before.”
“What? Duped?” Her first thought teetered toward the wager and then spiraled to his wife. “You wait one minute. What are you suggesting?”
Reese didn’t answer until both kids stood outside the truck. “Private talks? Lunches together? Visits?” He propped his hand on the top of the door and leaned inside the cab, jaw wound tight. “He needs to talk to you an awful lot. That’s all I’m sayin’.” He slammed the door.
Oh, no, he didn’t! Dee jerked off her seatbelt and met him around the front of the truck, her heels clipping across the uneven asphalt. “You were saying a whole lot more than that.” She dug her finger into his chest. “Jealous, are we?”
“I ain …” He growled and watched the kids run up the church steps. “I’m not jealous. I don’t have no reason to be jealous. If you want Mr. Big hair and plastic face, I can’t compete, and Iain’tgoing to.”
“Reese Mitchell.” He marched toward the church, but she grabbed his arm. “What is all this?” She waved a palm toward him and lowered her arms, bewildered. “Have I ever given you reason to think I care about Dr. Murdock? Any justification for you not to trust me?”
Her question stopped her cold. Her stomach tangled into a knot, heat draining from her limbs. Trust her? No, she wasn’t trustworthy. Her entire relationship with Reese hinged on a lie, a trick. The shadow of the church’s steeple fell across the asphalt in front of her like a sign from God. Wasn’t there something in the Bible about no liars in the kingdom of Heaven?
Reese’s shadow moved forward to block the steeple, his voice low. “The two of you seem awful close. He calls you all the time. Comes to see you. He’s acting like—”
“Acting like what?”
Reese’s eyes narrowed. “Like he’s a whole lot more interested in you than for research and Charlottesville.”
Dee laughed. “I can assure you, Alex Murdock is only interested in my research. The visits? The calls? They’re part of his job.”
Reese’s expression wrinkled with doubt and the realization gave her self-scrutiny another kick. His wife broke his heart through deception, but Dee wouldn’t be compared to her. She’d offer Charlottesville as payment for the wager. The consequences of her forfeited dream hurt her alone.
“I care aboutyou,Reese.” She squeezed his arm. “I’m not interested in plastic.”
The thundercloud in his countenance dimmed and his lips twitched on one side. “So, are you saying you’re into a more organic kind of guy? Home grown?”
A twinge of guilt still gnawed a worry pain in her stomach, but a smile won the battle on her face. She’d make it up to him. The whole wager. He never needed to know. “Mr. Mitchell, I don’t believe in wasting time or energy on anything. And I think we’ve already established at heart I’m a country girl, so homegrown suits me just fine.”
“I like hearing that a whole lot, darlin’.” He took her wrist, thumb skittering over her palm. “And I’m sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion. Sometimes, I just—”
She raised her hand to stop him. “Just because you’ve forgiven someone, it doesn’t mean the memories are gone, right?”
Reese rubbed his jaw, squinting. “That sounds familiar.”
