Stealing Taffy (Bigler, North Carolina #3) - Susan Donovan Page 0,18
noticed that Tater Wayne had been present. All she’d noticed was how beautiful and happy her big sister looked in that simple cotton summer dress, a bouquet of wildflowers clutched in her hand. She’d also noticed the dark flash of hate and warning in J.J.’s eyes as soon as he got a glimpse of Tanyalee. Truly, the way he’d stared at her nearly made her turn right back around and chalk it up as a failed assignment. But she’d pressed on, hugging her sister and handing over the set of blue-checked dish towels that she knew would match her kitchen curtains.
Tanyalee was dragged back to the present when she heard the driver side door of the Lexus shut with a velvety smooth thump. A man who looked like a rich relation of Tater Wayne’s walked up the drive, his hands in the front pockets of his pricey trousers. Tanyalee rose to her feet as if in a daze. “What the—”
“Hey! Welcome back, Taffy! I heard you was back an’ I thought I’d stop by and say howdy.”
This just wasn’t right. Was this some kind of joke? This man was not the Tommy “Tater” Wayne she knew. Where were the dirty workman’s clothes? The yellowed or missing—teeth? The beater pickup truck? And why was he wearing a black eye patch over his trademark crazy eyeball?
“Shoulda gone out with him before he won the Mega Millions,” Aunt Viv whispered in Tanyalee’s direction, a twinge of glee in her voice. “He’s already off the market. Some nice police lady, I hear.”
“What are you talking about?” Tanyalee would have to deal with Aunt Viv’s bizarre misinformation later, after she sorted out this shocking turn of events for herself.
“Taffy!” He hugged her tightly, and that’s when Tanyalee noticed a few additional details about her old friend. He smelled like high-priced men’s cologne instead of Miracle-Gro. His button-down shirt was fine silk instead of dirty flannel. His teeth—a full mouth of them—were straight and sparkling white. And his hair was washed, cut, and styled to gentlemanly perfection. “Dang, but it’s good to see you!”
“I…” Tanyalee couldn’t get her mouth to shape words. How was this kind of transformation even possible in ten weeks? Had he really won the lottery? “Tater? What happened…? You’re so incredibly … Are you on some kind of reality show or something?”
Tater looked embarrassed.
“He’s our local celebrity,” Aunt Viv said with pride. “And I’ll always be able to say ‘I knew him when.’”
Tater Wayne kissed her wrinkly cheek. “Oh, Miss Vivienne. Stop now.” He looked at Tanyalee with one clear blue eyeball, a small smile playing on his lips. “I ain’t a celebrity and I wouldn’t be caught dead on no TV show. I’m the same man I always been. My numbers hit is all, but it ain’t nothing to brag about.”
Tanyalee couldn’t help herself. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. “Are you shitting me, Tater?”
“He goes by Thomas now, honey,” Viv corrected her.
“Right,” Tanyalee said, thinking that Tater was allowed to be Thomas but she was still stuck with Taffy? Did she have to win the lottery to receive the same courtesy?
“How’s that pretty police lady girlfriend of yours?” Viv asked.
Tater’s face went scarlet, which made Tanyalee entertain the possibility that Viv wasn’t completely out of her mind.
“She’s real good, Miss Vivienne. I’ll tell her you inquired about her.”
“Well, now. That would be nice.”
Tanyalee must have been openly scowling, because Tater—Thomas—shuffled his feet and put his hands back in his pockets. She took some comfort that at least something was the same about her old friend—he was still on the shy side.
“Yeah. I’m dating this real wonderful woman,” Tater said, his voice soft. “Her name is Kelly and she’s the supervising special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration out of Asheville.” He didn’t try to hide the pride he felt in saying her job title.
Tanyalee shook her head. “What? How did the two of you meet?”
“Uh…” Tater’s eyes flashed toward Aunt Viv as if asking for permission, and Viv nodded her approval. “We met at Cheri and J.J.’s wedding.”
“Oh.” And just like that, a wave of powerful sadness washed over Tanyalee and the chitchat was over. She decided she’d have to get the details about Tater’s new life some other time. “Well, I’m gonna turn in for the night. It was so wonderful to see you.” She kissed Tater on the cheek, getting another whiff of the former handyman’s much improved fortunes. “Good night.”