“Why do you say that?” Cassie asked, stopping Bill when he would’ve slunk away.
“Because I won the coin toss.”
They both turned to Kate and spoke in unison again. “Coin toss?”
Kate’s eyebrows were pretty arches, but her smile lacked warmth as she glanced at Bill and then patted Cassie’s forearm. “The coin toss over who would inform you what this man said to his friend.”
Bill tried to pull away again, a hunted quality coming into his eyes. She pegged him with a look, but her reply was directed at Kate. “Tell me.”
“Your ex-husband, bless his heart, approves of Divine Drip. In fact, he said, judging by your bank accounts, it’s proving to be one of the most lucrative businesses in the town. He’s also discovered from an acquaintance who works for a local appraiser that the large parcel of land your mother received as an inheritance a couple of years ago when your grandmother passed—and you stand to inherit from your mother—is about to increase substantially in value due to its proximity to a development that’s in the works. I’ll spare you his crass language, but your sex appeal hasn’t hit the ‘downhill slide’ as he feared it would after your hysterectomy. In fact, he referred to you as a ‘very…late…bloomer,’ but bloom you have. In summary, and I do quote this time, your ex-husband said, ‘I wouldn’t mind having a piece of all three.’”
Cassie blinked in shock and then turned to Bill. “You pig.”
Bill stood dumbly, probably trying to figure out a way to spin the situation, and Grandma Kate patted his forearm. “Now would be a good time to retreat, dear. There may be meat cleavers in the kitchen. Oh, where did you say you got that Christmas cactus? It’s simply lovely.”
His reply was his back as he stalked out the door into the light sleet that was falling.
Commiseration and sympathy filled Kate’s eyes as she held out her arms to Cassie.
“Thank you, Kate. I’d never have taken him seriously, but…”
“No woman enjoys discovering her womanly attributes have been discussed as if she was so much beef or property. I hope I made the right choice in confronting him in front of you, rather than waiting to tell you once he’d gone,” she said, her eyes filled with empathy.
Cassie smirked. “Considering how much he’s been pestering me to meet with him, to talk about reconciliation, even trying to get our kids to help him, I’m glad you did. Now there can be no doubt in his mind I’d ever take him back. What a pig.”
“A real oinker. I saw the smarmy way he was talking to you just now, as if he thought he was charming you. Men of his sort always have an angle. If he tries to mess with you or your business, Cassie, you come straight to me, okay?”
“I doubt he’d try, but what could you possibly do?”
“Never you mind, honey. Just know there are bigger sharks in the ocean than Bill Resendez.”
“Thank you, Grandma Kate.”
“Now, I think we’re both ready for a cup of coffee and a fritter.”
Cassie carried their laden tray to the table and served them herself while declining to join them. She needed time to ponder what had been said.
No…this is definitely wallowing.
She hated that she was hurt. She knew what the man was like, and it was one of the reasons she was now grateful she was no longer married to the snake. But it still hurt to be spoken of in that manner by him.
The worst part of all of this was that her friends, including Grandma Kate, whom she respected so much, had heard him say such things regarding her personally.
Ruminating over Bill’s games distracted her as the afternoon wore on and the gray skies grew ever darker. She was wiping down a shelf in the glass case near closing time when the front door opened, letting in another frigid blast of air. The sharp clip of high heels sounded on the tile, and Cassie shook her head, wondering who in their right mind would wear heels in such icy weather. “Welcome to Divine Drip, how can I—help you?” She recognized the woman from the front page of the food section of the major newspaper in San Antonio. Cassie’s heart thudded as she stepped out from behind the counter and held out her hand. “Hello, Ms. Jones.”
Ignoring her outstretched hand, Hermione Jones sniffed deeply as she cast a look around the seating area and then toward the tidy kitchen before leveling her dismissive green gaze on Cassie.
Those must be contact lenses. No one was born with eyes that green.
“So this is what Ivan’s leaving me for,” Hermione Jones snipped, her frown and thinned lips communicating she thought Divine Drip was a dump.