Tempting Janey

Nine

This had not been a good day.

Janey almost asked herself what else could possibly happen. But fear of jinxing herself further kept that question at bay.

Robin had left drill team practice and come home, burning up with fever and shaking with chills. After giving her some over-the-counter medication to bring the fever down, Janey had called the doctor. Robin was now on a strong antibiotic.

Janey thought her daughter might need to be in the hospital, but the doctor had assured her that home was the best place for her, that the hospitals were full.

Although he had eased her anxiety somewhat, Janey had kept Robin under close scrutiny, dashing upstairs between customers to check on her.

Now, Hazel had come to work. Since the store wasn’t busy, Janey had been certain that would free her up. Wrong. No rest for the weary. Not long after Hazel had arrived, the toilet in the downstairs bathroom had stopped up. Water had soaked the carpet. Janey had cleaned up as best she could, but it remained a mess.

Now she was waiting for the plumber. And not very patiently, either.

“When it rains, it pours,” Hazel said, her brows furrowed in concern.

“I won’t argue with that.” Janey eased onto the bar stool at the far end of the counter and ran her fingers through her already tousled hair, then cast her eyes toward the stairs.

“You should be upstairs yourself. You look exhausted.”

“I am, but I’ll make it. It’s Robin I’m worried about. She’s so sick.”

“That stuff is everywhere.” Hazel shivered. “I sure don’t want it.”

“Would you rather not be here?” Janey asked, thinking that if Hazel deserted her, she would just turn the sign to Closed and forget it. That was the beauty of owning your own business. Yet she really couldn’t afford that luxury.

As it was, Sweet Dreams still hadn’t come up to its sales potential, which both worried and aggravated her. If that other candy store materialized in the mall, then she would certainly be in a world of hurt. She had meant to call Gwen and see if she’d heard any more about that, but she hadn’t had the time.

“Why, I wouldn’t think of leaving you,” Hazel said in a rather huffy tone. “If I get the crud, then I’ll just get it.”

Janey half smiled. “Thanks, Hazel. I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything, except to take care of your daughter. I’ll see to the plumber and the store. Now skedaddle.”

Janey didn’t hesitate, dashing back upstairs and into Robin’s room. Her daughter was sound asleep but her face was still flushed. Janey crept to the bedside and laid a hand on Robin’s forehead. The girl was still warm, but her temperature was definitely down.

Sagging with relief, Janey sat in the rocker across the room, leaned back and closed her eyes. Soon they popped back open. Even though she was dead tired, sleep wouldn’t come. She was too wired, had too many things on her mind. Robin’s relationship with Keith had her nearly crazy, especially after the stunt he’d pulled last week when he’d taken Robin out to dinner.

The second her daughter had arrived home, Janey had known something out of the ordinary had taken place. Robin’s eyes were wide and filled with excitement. Janey’s heart had taken a nosedive. What was her ex up to now?

Seconds later she knew.

“He did what?” Janey realized her voice had almost reached the shouting level, but she didn’t care.

“Mom, calm down.” Robin’s eyes widened even more. “You’re stroking out over nothing.”

Janey’s lips thinned. “You can’t keep them.”

Robin gave her a dumbfounded stare, then stuttered, “But…but they’re diamond studs.”

“I know what they are. That’s why you have to give them back.”

Robin’s expression became more confused. “But why?”

Janey drew an unsteady breath, knowing she was probably handling this all wrong. At the moment, she was operating on pure emotion, but she couldn’t help it. Damn Keith and his bribes. That was exactly what this was. The only missing piece of the puzzle was the reason. She didn’t know what he was up to, but it was no good.

“Robin, those earrings are at least a carat apiece.”

“So?” Tears rimmed Robin’s eyes.

Janey ignored them. “So, he can’t just go around giving you expensive jewelry like that.”

“Why not? I’m his daughter.” Now Robin was almost shouting.

“It’s your turn to calm down,” Janey said, struggling to gain control of the eroding situation.

“You’re just jealous,” Robin cried, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

“That’s not true.”

“You’re just jealous that he loves me!”

“Oh, honey, I want him to love you,” Janey responded with a catch in her voice and a pain in her heart. “It’s just that I don’t want him trying to buy your love.”

“How can you even think that, much less say it?” Robin lifted her head in a defiant gesture, and her eyes sparked. “Anyway, I don’t care if he gives me anything or not. I’d still love him.”

There was so much pressure in her chest that Janey could barely breathe. She had indeed handled this all wrong. She knew that, but she couldn’t call back her words. All she could do was try to make amends, amends she wasn’t sure Robin was interested in hearing.

“Look, honey…”

Robin backed up, her lower lip trembling. “No, Mom. Don’t say any more. I just don’t understand why all this is happening, why you and Dad just couldn’t have stayed married. It’s…it’s all your fault!”

With that, Robin turned and left the room.

Now, as Janey jerked her mind off that awful conversation and back to her daughter, who was still sleeping soundly, she felt that same awful pressure in her chest.

She hated it when there was a breach between her and Robin. And there had been since the brouhaha over the jewelry, which to date hadn’t been resolved. Robin hadn’t returned the earrings, but she hadn’t worn them, either.

Maybe her reaction to the whole thing had been jealousy, Janey told herself. But she didn’t think so. She would admit, however, that it sometimes smarted that she wasn’t able to buy more frivolous things for Robin.

Still, Janey hated to think that she had stooped so low. Closer to the real reason was Keith himself. He was a user and a manipulator. And he wanted something. What that something was, she still didn’t know. That was what frightened her the most.

To make matters worse, she and Robin remained at odds over Chad. Robin was smitten with the boy; she chattered about him constantly. All Janey could do was hold her tongue until the phase passed. But it wasn’t easy; she still didn’t trust Chad. Thank God, she trusted Robin.

She wondered if Robin had said anything to Keith about Chad.

Janey shook her head and focused her attention back on her sleeping daughter, while trying to sort through her own mixed emotions. Perhaps she should have ignored Robin’s pleas and stayed in Colorado.