She stared at him, mostly because his face was less than two inches away from hers.
Suddenly, the door banged open, and one of the most gorgeous men Sara had seen outside of a fashion magazine sauntered into the house. He was as tall as Jeffrey but with broader shoulders and more swagger.
When he opened his mouth, he spoke with the sexiest Southern drawl Sara had every heard. "You too scared to introduce me to your new girl, Slick?"
"Course not," Jeffrey said, slipping a proprietary arm around Sara's waist. "Honey, this is Spot. He and Possum were my best friends growing up."
"Still waiting on this one to finish," the man said, feigning a punch at Jeffrey. "And it's Robert now."
Possum called from outside, "One 'a y'all fetch me them burgers from the fridge."
Robert said, "Slick, why don't you handle that?" then took Sara by the arm and led her down the hall before Jeffrey could stop them.
Robert opened the screen door for Sara, asking, "How was your trip over?"
"Good," she told him, though that was debatable. She cast about for something positive to say. "My God, what a gorgeous yard."
Possum beamed. "Nell loves being outside."
"It shows," Sara said, meaning it. Lush flowers bloomed all over the place, spilling out of pots on the deck, climbing up the wooden fence. A huge magnolia tree shaded a hammock at the back of the yard, and several holly trees added contrast to the fence line. Except for the barking dogs next door, the yard was an oasis.
"Whoa," Robert said, bumping into her as the dog shot past them.
"Tig!" Possum yelled halfheartedly as the dog dove into the pool. She swam a lap across, climbed out, then rolled around in the grass, kicking her legs in the air.
"Man," Possum said. "What I wouldn't do for that life."
The woman sitting by the pool looked over her shoulder. "She learned everything from Jeffrey." She indicated the chair beside her. "Come sit by me, Sara. I'm not as horrible as Nell."
Sara gladly took the offer.
"Jessie," the woman introduced herself. She indicated Robert with a lazy wave of her hand. "That specimen's my husband." She pronounced the word "huzz-bun," managing with her tone to make it sound slightly pornographic.
Sara offered, "He seems nice."
"They all do at first," she said offhandedly. "How long have you known Slick?"
"Not long," Sara confessed, wondering if everyone here had a nickname. She was getting the distinct impression that Jessie was probably worse than Nell. She was just more polite about it. Judging by the woman's breath, a liberal dose of alcohol was responsible for her mellow tone.
"They're all a tight little group," Jessie commented, leaning over to pick up a glass of wine. "I'm new in town, which means I've only been here twenty years. I moved from LA during my freshman year."
Sara guessed from her accent she meant Lower Alabama.
"Robert's a cop, just like Jeffrey. Isn't that nice? I call 'em Mutt and Jeff, only Jeffrey hates being called Jeff." She took a healthy swallow of wine. "Possum runs the store over by the Tasty Dog. You should meet his and Nell's children, especially the oldest. He's a beautiful little boy. Children are such a joy to have around. Isn't that right, Bob?"
"What's that, sugar?" Robert asked, though Sara was certain he had heard her.
Nell sat down beside Sara, handing her a bottle of beer. "Peace offering," she said.
Sara took it, though beer had always tasted like swill to her. She forced herself to make an effort, saying, "You've got a beautiful yard."
Nell inhaled deeply, then exhaled, "The azaleas bloomed and went away quicker than spit. Neighbor's never home to take care of his dogs so they bark all day. I can't get rid of the fire ants by the hammock and Jared keeps coming in with poison ivy, but for the life of me, I can't figure out where he's getting it." She paused for another breath. "But thank you. I try."
Sara turned to include Jessie in the conversation, but the other woman's eyes were closed.
"She's probably passed out." Nell fanned herself with her hand. "God, I was such a bitch to you."
Sara did not argue.
"I'm not normally so testy. If Jessie was awake, she'd tell you otherwise, but you can't trust a woman who drinks a whole bottle of wine before four in the afternoon, and I'm not just talking on Sundays." She swatted a fly. "She tell you about being new here?"
Sara nodded, trying to keep up.
"You should be glad she passed out. Couple'a more minutes she'd be telling you how she always depends on the kindness of strangers."
Sara took a sip of beer.
"Slick hasn't been back here in forever. Left town like he was running through hell with gasoline britches on." She paused. "I guess I was mad at him and took it out on you." She put her hand on Sara's chair. "What I'm saying is I'm sorry I showed my ass."
"Thank you for apologizing."
"I near about cracked up when you said that about the balloon animals." She laughed. "He told me you were a doctor, but I didn't believe him."
"Pediatrician," Sara confirmed.
Nell sat back in the chair. "You have to be smart to get into medical school, right?"
"Pretty much."
She nodded appreciatively. "Then I'll assume you know what you're doing with Jeffrey."
"Thank you," Sara told her, and meant it. "You're the first person I've met who's said that."
Nell turned serious, looking at Sara with something like pity. "Don't be surprised if I'm the last."
Chapter Six
During the five hours she spent at Nell's, Sara found out more about Jeffrey Tolliver than she had in three months of dating him. Jeffrey's mother was a confirmed alcoholic and his father was serving time in prison for something no one was very specific about. Jeffrey had dropped out of Auburn two classes away from graduating and joined the police force without telling anybody why. He was an excellent dancer and he hated lima beans. He was definitely not the marrying kind, but Sara did not need Nell to tell her this. Jeffrey radiated the words "confirmed bachelor."
Considering Nell had managed to mumble most of these details under her breath during a particularly competitive game of Trivial Pursuit, Sara was only privy to the headlines and none of the details behind them. It was pitch dark by the time they left the group, and as Sara and Jeffrey walked down the street toward his mother's house, she tried to think of a way to find out more.
She settled on "So, what does your mother do?"
"Different things," he said, not offering anything else.
"And your dad?"
He switched her suitcase to his other hand and wrapped his arm around her. "You seem like you had a good time tonight."
"Nell's just full of insight."
"She likes the sound of her own voice." He slid his hand to her hip. "I wouldn't believe everything she says."
"Why is that?"
His hand slid lower as he nuzzled her neck. "You smell good."
She got the message, but did not exactly change the subject. "Are you sure your mother won't mind us staying over?"
"I called her from Nell's a few hours ago," Jeffrey said. "You remember when Nell was telling you my life story?" He gave her a look that said he knew exactly what had been going on with Nell, though Sara had to assume Jeffrey would not have taken her to meet his friends without knowing exactly what would happen.
She decided to call him on it. "This is a pretty cheap way for me to find out all about your life without you having to say a word."
"I told you, I wouldn't believe everything Nell has to say."
"She's known you since you were both six."
"She's not exactly my biggest fan."
Sara finally picked up on the tension between them. "Don't tell me you dated her, too?"
He didn't answer, which she took for an affirmation. "It's right here," he said, indicating a house with a beat-up Chevy Impala parked in the driveway. Even though Jeffrey had called ahead, his mother hadn't bothered to leave on any lights for them. The house was completely dark.