Free FLOWERS and CAGES by Mary J. Williams Page A

gone.
    "My clever girl. I don't know where you get it. I can barely change a light bulb. Your father wasn't any better. But he gave you his red hair and green eyes." Smiling, Sherry smoothed a hand across Colleen's cheek. "I see him every time I look at you. Now that is a gift."
    And that was why Colleen loved her mother. Scatterbrained, archaic in her thinking about the roles of men and women, and lost in her own world so much of the time. Out of the blue, Sherry could say something so sweet that it made Colleen forget all her faults.
    Then in the next instant, her mother would turn around and make Colleen want to pull out her red hair and cross her green eyes in frustration.
    "I understand you're dating a criminal."
    "I'm not dating anyone. I had dinner with an interesting man. A very famous man." To illustrate her point, Colleen tapped a few keys on her mother's computer. When the YouTube video began to play, she turned the screen. " The Ryder Hart Band . I know you like their music."
    "Infamous is more like it." Sherry had that stubborn set to her jaw that Colleen recognized only too well. Easily influenced, the fleas that a well-meaning friend had planted in her mother's ear would not be easily removed. "You were seen together last night and this morning. Did you spend the night with that—?"
    "Drummer?"
    "Jailbird."
    Colleen had to laugh. "That term went out with Jimmy Cagney."
    "Answer the question, Colleen."
    "The last time you asked about my sex life I was sixteen. Do you remember my response?"
    Sherry's painted red lips tightened. "You told me it was none of my business. If you'll recall, I didn't agree. That hasn't changed."
    "Mom." Deciding to change her tactics, Colleen put a friendly arm around her mother's waist. "You know me. Would I associate with a dangerous criminal? I looked up the trial and read the notes."
    "On the internet?" Sherry scoffed. "Nothing but secondhand information. Why didn't you ask me? I was here that summer."
    Colleen was well acquainted with her mother's dicey memories. Sherry added or subtracted details to fit her idea of the truth. The gossip she heard at the salon always played a big part—the juicier, the better. To save herself a trip down that particular road, Colleen threw her sex life under the bus.
    "I did not sleep with Dalton, Mom. His car broke down, and I rented him the T-Bird. I picked him up at his hotel this morning. That was what your informant witnessed."
    With the enthusiasm of a brand new lottery winner, Sherry threw her arms around Colleen. Pulling back, her face wreathed in happiness, her mother nodded sagely.
    "I understand that a woman has needs, Colleen."
    Oh, God , Colleen tried to keep from wincing. If the earth opened up and sucked her in, she would be eternally grateful.
    "Leave my needs out of it, Mom. Please."
    "I simply want you to know that I understand. Dalton Shaw is a good-looking man. He's rich. Famous."
    "Before you go any further." Please don't go any further . "Dalton won't be in town for long. A few days at the most. What could happen?"
    The answer was not one that her mother would want to hear. Sex could happen. If Colleen had her way, it would happen. But for her mother's sake, she kept that fact to herself.
    "A few days? That's all?"
    "Less than a week. By Monday, probably sooner, Dalton Shaw will be back in Los Angeles where he belongs."
    "That's for the best, Colleen. A man like that can only bring you heartache."
    The subject closed to her satisfaction, Sherry launched into a detailed account of her last book club meeting. They were always more about gossip than literature. Tuning her mother out, Colleen took a package of sliced turkey from the refrigerator and began to assemble her lunch. Heartache ? Not likely. She wanted a little fun and excitement. Dalton was the perfect man to break the tedium of her daily life. He had nothing else to offer, and she wasn't looking for more.
    Lifting the sandwich to her mouth, Colleen smiled as she took