A Woman Like Annie. Inglath Cooper

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ Annie helped Tommy climb onto the booth seat, waited while he scooted toward the wall, then sat down herself.

      Corbin was back in less than a minute, sliding into the other side of the booth. Before Annie could say a word, Tommy raised his gaze from his Nintendo game and said, “We’re gonna talk bizness.”

      Unexpected though it was, the comment served as an effective icebreaker. The man across the table smiled and said, “So we are, but why don’t we order our dinner first?” He pulled three menus from the stand next to the wall and handed one to them.

      “I can’t read,” Tommy said, but appeared impressed that it had been assumed he could.

      “Maybe your mom can take a look at it then.”

      “Sure, honey,” Annie said, anxious to decide on something so she could focus on her speech. “Let’s find something you’ll like. How about the macaroni and cheese?”

      “Uh-uh.”

      Annie ran her finger down the list of tonight’s specials. “Mashed potatoes?”

      Tommy shook his head again, this time with more emphasis.

      “A hamburger?”

      Another headshake.

      “How about some soup?”

      “No.”

      Annie heard the dissatisfaction in her son’s voice, recognizing where it was headed. For the most part, Tommy was an angel of a child. But ever since J.D. had left, temper tantrums had become a way of life. There was no predicting them, and Tommy’s counselor had told her that she should simply let them run their course, that they were the boy’s way of punishing her for the changes since his father had left. Another notch on life’s belt of unfairness since J.D. had made that decision all by himself, without any help from her.

      “Okay,” she said in a reasoning tone, praying that she could head this off, “how about a grilled cheese?”

      “No,” he said, his voice growing louder.

      This was not going at all as planned. Sitting across from her was the man who held the fate of this town in the palm of his hand. Annie figured she had one chance and one chance only to get him to at least consider not selling Corbin Manufacturing, and how on earth was she going to do that with Tommy throwing a fit beside her?

      “You know what my favorite thing here was when I was your age, Tommy?” Corbin’s question was casual.

      Tommy looked up, no doubt intrigued that a man as big as the one sitting in front of them could ever have been his age. “What?”

      “Pancakes.”

      “For supper?”

      “For anytime. In fact, I think that’s what I’ll have tonight.”

      Tommy pondered that for a moment, then looked at Annie and said, “Can I get pancakes, Mama?”

      “May you have them. And yes, you may,” Annie said. In another less-than-admirable motherhood moment, she would have let him order jelly beans if that’s what it took to head off the storm about to erupt.

      Tommy went back to his game, his bad mood dissipating as quickly as it had started.

      Annie breathed a silent sigh of relief. “Thank you for your patience, Mr. Corbin. I realize this isn’t what—”

      “It’s Jack. And this is fine.”

      Jack, then. His response wasn’t the one she would have expected. Her own self-painted portrait of Jack Corbin, playboy extraordinaire, did not include the ability to deter little boys from temper tantrums with the finesse of a conductor leading an orchestra through Beethoven’s Fifth. Guys who drove Porsches didn’t do that, did they?

      Charlotte appeared then with their drinks, an iced tea for Annie and a hot chocolate with an extra bowl of marshmallows on the side for Tommy.

      “Another of your favorites?” Annie asked, surprised and more than a little appreciative.

      “Hot chocolate’s nothing without the marshmallows.”

      Annie had no doubt that Jack Corbin had just moved up another level in Tommy’s estimation. Next to chocolate cake, marshmallows ruled.

      “Careful now. It’s hot,” Annie warned while Tommy filled the cup with as many of the gooey treats as it would hold.

      “What can I get for you?” Charlotte asked. “I’ll take you first, Mayor.”

      Food was the last thing Annie wanted, so she said the first thing that came to mind. “A tossed salad, please. Thousand island on the side.”

      “All right.” Charlotte scribbled on her pad. “And the gentlemen?”

      “We’re having pancakes,” Jack Corbin said as seriously as if he’d just ordered the two of them the best steaks on the menu.

      Tommy beamed.

      Charlotte looked at Annie and said, “Unpredictable, too? Two stacks of pancakes coming right up.”

      As soon as she’d headed off toward the kitchen with their order, Tommy said, “Do people always get to order pancakes when they talk about bizness?”

      “Not always,” Jack said. “But I’d have to say it’s a pretty good idea.”

      Annie smiled and smoothed down a wayward strand of Tommy’s hair. Her son had managed to defuse some of the nervousness she would have no doubt been feeling had she been here alone with Jack Corbin. She’d been lucky to get the man to meet her at all, and she couldn’t afford to waste any more of the limited time she had to make her case.

      “Jack.” She cleared her throat and willed her nerves to settle. “I know I mentioned this in my letters and calls to your attorney—”

      “All of them?” he interrupted.

      Was he teasing her? The thought tripped her up a bit. “Ah, yes, I’m sure. I would like to reiterate again just how much Macon’s Point would like to see Corbin Manufacturing remain in business. A great many of the people who live here rely on your factory for their—”

      “My daddy’s famous.”

      The announcement came from Tommy who had looked up from his game and was waiting for a reaction.

      “He is?” Jack asked with a raised eyebrow. “What’s he do?”

      “He plays baseball.”

      “Tommy, honey, Mr. Corbin and I are discussing—”

      “For what team?”

      “He used to be with the Braves, but he got hurt.”

      “Is your daddy J. D. McCabe?”

      Tommy nodded, so proud that Annie’s heart hurt.

СКАЧАТЬ