Authors: Adrianne Byrd
J
ulia couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon the way she had today. After church, a good portion of the congregation migrated to Lilly’s front porch, where Lilly served tea and lemonade.
Through it all, Julia managed to keep her full name as well as her past a mystery. To her surprise, everyone seemed to respect her privacy. Out of all the people she’d met, she found Grace Webber to be the most enchanting.
Grace had been a third-grade teacher for more than forty years, and had been retired for the past six years, but she claimed that retirement wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“Oh, trust me,” Grace exclaimed with a wave of her hand. “In the beginning it was exciting. Charles and I wanted to travel across the country in a Winnebago. We got as far as Virginia before I wanted to throttle him.”
“Why is that?” Julia asked, amused.
“Because we were supposed to be heading for Louisiana.
Einstein was too proud to admit he was lost, and was determined not to read a map.”
They laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Charles asked, leaning over to kiss his wife.
“Nothing.” Grace shared a conspiratorial wink with Julia.
“Now, how come I doubt that?” He laughed.
Julia changed the subject. “If you don’t mind my asking, how long have you two been married?”
Charles wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders and beamed with pride. “We celebrated our ruby anniversary this past April.”
Julia admitted she was impressed, but hid her envy. How did couples like Charles and Grace Webber do it? Forty years was a long time “to have and to hold.” As Julia approached her thirty-fourth birthday, she doubted that she would ever find something as special as what the Webbers shared.
“So Lilly says you’re married as well,” Grace inquired. “How long has it been for you?”
It was hard, but Julia kept her smile in place. “My husband and I are no longer together.”
“Oh?” Charles and Grace responded with heightened brows and wide eyes.
Their expressions were quite comical, Julia thought, and before she could say anything further, Grace was calling her daughter to her.
“Lilly, Lilly. Come here for a second.”
Julia’s heart sank as she realized her folly. Was Grace a coconspirator in Lilly’s matchmaking designs? “Mrs. Webber—”
“Yes, ma’am?” Lilly appeared at Julia’s side. “Is there anything I can get you?”
“No, no,” Grace said quickly. “Did you know that Julia here and her husband aren’t together anymore?”
Lilly turned surprised eyes toward Julia. “Is that right? Separated?”
No, he’s dead
. “I guess you can say that. Can you excuse me for a moment?” Julia didn’t wait for an answer. Suddenly she wasn’t up for talking anymore. Why was she socializing in the first place? She was supposed to be keeping a low profile. She turned and nearly crashed into Carson.
“You don’t look so hot. Are you all right?” His hand settled on her shoulder.
Julia wanted to scream. Was the whole damn family trying to ambush her? “I’m fine. I just need to go lie down for a few minutes,” she lied.
“Are you sure? I can—”
“I said I was fine,” she snapped through gritted teeth.
He jerked back as if she’d slapped him. A few curious glances darted in their direction.
Julia immediately regretted her tone. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t know what else to day, so she went inside and shot up the stairs to her room.
Once she closed the guest room door, she slumped back against it and closed her eyes. She needed to calm down and not let her emotions get the best of her. No matter what her feelings were, she needed to make something good out of a bad situation. Despite who David was or wasn’t, there was still a part of her that mourned for him.
She opened her eyes and looked toward the closet, where her gun lay hidden—a cruel reminder of her part in his death.
“Touchdown!” Robin yelled at the top of her voice, then was quickly knocked to the ground by Bobbi in a burst of excitement.
“We won, we won!” the rest of her team boasted as they raced over to congratulate the girls.
Robin was lifted from the ground and raised up to sit on Mickey’s and Stanley’s shoulders, which was strange, since they had played on the other team.
The chants changed to her name, and Robin felt as if she were on top of the world. It had been her best game: three touchdowns. She couldn’t wait to tell her friends back home, though she doubted anyone would ever believe her.
All too soon the sun was setting, and it was time for her and Bobbi to head back to the inn.
“Are you going to be here tomorrow?” Stanley asked when he and Mickey set Robin back onto her feet.
She shrugged. “I think so. Bobbi’s dad is still working on my mom’s car,” she answered honestly, not missing the narrowed glare jetting from Bobbi.
“If you are, why don’t you come down to the youth center and go swimming with us?”
“I don’t know.” She frowned. “I don’t think my mom packed my bathing suit.”
“Oh.” Stanley looked disappointed. “Well, maybe you can come anyway. You don’t have to swim or nothing. I think they’re going to be serving hot dogs and stuff there.”
Bobbi moved over to them with her arms crossed. “We’ll be there,” she announced with her chin thrust high.
Stanley ignored her but kept his eyes on Robin. “Anyway, I know
I’d
be happy if you’d come.”
Bobbi stormed off.
Robin smiled, not because of Stanley, but because Bobbi hadn’t looked too pleased with him. “I’ll have to check with my mother first. If she says that it’s okay, then I’m sure Bobbi won’t mind bringing me.”
“Mickey and I can pick you up, if you’d like,” he offered.
Robin frowned, thinking that he seemed a bit too eager. “That’s okay. I think I’d rather go with Bobbi.”
Bobbi perked up as the boys looked over their shoulders toward her.
Stanley shrugged. “All right. I guess we’ll see you there.”
Before the sun went down, everyone had scurried off to their homes, and Bobbi and Robin were no exceptions.
Bobbi kicked an aluminum can as they traveled down the sidewalk. Its loud clanking was the only sound between them for a long while.
Robin suspected that Bobbi was angry at the way her own friends seemed not to want her to come to the swim party at the youth center. Just when Robin thought she couldn’t stand the silence any longer, Bobbi spoke.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Robin shrugged. “Shoot.”
“Do you think I’m snobby?” Bobbi sneaked a sidelong glance at Robin.
“Naw.” Robin fudged the truth, partly because she suspected that Bobbi was just seconds from bursting into tears and partly because she was beginning to like her.
“Then how come no one asked me to go to the party tomorrow?”
Robin couldn’t think of an answer or, better yet, a lie. “You know,” Robin began slowly, “there’s a chance that Stanley didn’t ask you because he’s too shy.”
Bobbi stopped and stared at Robin as if she’d suddenly grown another head. “He didn’t seem to have a problem asking you to go.”
“That’s because he doesn’t like me. He doesn’t even know me,” Robin hinted.
“Are you saying that Stanley Forrester likes me?”
Robin shrugged, unsure whether she should share what she suspected. “My mom said that when she was our age, the boys who always picked on her were the ones who really liked her.”
Bobbi continued to stare at her, and Robin could actually picture the wheels in her mind churning over what she’d told her. Judging by the twisted frown on her face, Robin wasn’t too sure that Bobbi believed her.
“Like me how?”
Was she serious? “In a boyfriend-and-girlfriend kind of way.”
Bobbi’s frown deepened.
“Are you saying you don’t like him for a boyfriend?”
“I’ve never thought about it before,” Bobbi said, lowering her gaze.
Robin didn’t believe her, but started to walk again toward the inn. “Well, I think that he’s cute.”
Bobbi’s gaze shot up to her. “You do?”
“You don’t?”
“Well, I—”
“Don’t tell me that you’ve never thought about it.” Robin rolled her eyes, enjoying the little game she’d started.
“I guess he’s cute,” Bobbi admitted, then a slow smile crept into place. “Do you really think he likes me?”
Silently, Paul and Tony sat across from each other and watched the Braves versus the Expos. Michelle had made her famous nachos and hot wings and had gone the extra mile by stocking the fridge with her father’s favorite brewskis.
Tony hadn’t known how to react when she’d told him this morning that she’d invited Paul to spend the day at their place. At first he was sure she was going to be in for a disappointment. He was certain that Paul would come up with some kind of an excuse for not showing.
But it was Tony who was surprised when Paul knocked on the door.
Initially they masked the awkward silence between them with smiles and small talk. The safe ground was, of course, dis
cussing their case. However, Tony noticed Paul’s uneasiness and couldn’t help but feel resentment at Michelle for forcing her father to do what he obviously hadn’t wanted to do.
Around noon, Michelle was rescued from the awkward situation by her girlfriends and went out to do some last-minute-detail shopping for the wedding.
“At least I’m thankful that you’re footing the bill for the wedding,” Tony joked.
Paul gave him a pained smile. “Don’t remind me.”
The game seemed extraordinarily slow. By the top of the sixth inning, neither team had managed to score.
“I like what you guys have done to the apartment.” Paul nodded, glancing around.
“Thanks,” Tony said, then took another swig of beer.
“Are you two going to be looking for a house soon?”
“We’re talking about it. The interest rates are great right now. Michelle wants to build, but I don’t know. Sounds too much like a headache, and neither of us has the time to invest in such a project.”
Paul nodded, but Tony had a hard time discerning whether the man heard anything he said, so he went back to staring dully at the TV screen.
Despite the fact that Paul worked nearly every day with Tony, he couldn’t understand why the afternoon felt like a day at the dentist’s.
He took another swig of beer and belatedly realized that Tony had stopped talking. Was it always going to be this way between them—this palpable silence that could choke a horse?
“Why did you come here?” Tony asked suddenly. “Other than because Michelle asked you.”
The question made Paul feel as though a bomb had landed in a hidden trench and he had only seconds to answer before
it detonated and blew up in his face. “I needed to come,” he said simply.
Tony grabbed the remote and turned off the television. “I’m listening.”
Paul stood in the awkward silence, trying to stifle his irritation for having to explain anything to his future son-in-law. “That’s about it.”
“I see.” Tony stood, too. “Well, thanks for stopping by. I’ll make sure that I tell Michelle that the day was a complete success.”
“What in the hell is your problem?” Paul snapped.
“My problem?” Tony thundered back. “I should be asking you that. We’ve been friends for six years, and as long as I can remember we were cool. Now that I’m engaged to your daughter, suddenly it’s a whole new story. So what is it—it’s cool to have me as your
black
subordinate, but not as your
black
son-in-law?”
“What?” Anger blazed a trail of fire throughout Paul’s body. “Are you trying to tell me that after all these years, you take me for a small-minded racist?”
Much of Tony’s bluster deflated as he visibly scrambled for a retort. “Then be honest with me. What’s changed between us?”
“What’s changed?” Paul repeated. “Where do I begin? Maybe I should start with your betrayal.”
“Betrayal?” Tony looked taken aback by the accusation.
“Yes, betrayal. What do you call sneaking behind my back and sleeping with my daughter? For more than two years you worked with me, laughed with me, and it never once occurred to you to tell me about it? Instead I had to walk in on you two, scrambling around like…” He forced himself not to finish the sentence.
“Michelle thought that it was best,” Tony said, but the excuse sounded weak even to his own ears.
“Well, that makes it all better, now, doesn’t it?” He slammed the longneck beer bottle down on the coffee table, but he hadn’t stormed out of the apartment, as he had half a mind to do. “How do you expect me to feel?” When Tony didn’t readily answer, he went on: “I’ll tell you how I feel—like the butt of some bad joke or, better yet, insignificant, unimportant, a fool—take your pick.”
Tony only stared at him.
“And no, it’s not because you’re black. It’s because I thought my daughter and I had the type of relationship where she could come and tell me about anything. And because I thought that you and I were as thick as thieves. It’s just too bad that I was the only one who felt that way.” Disgusted by Tony’s continued silence, Paul turned on his heel and headed toward the door. “Tell Michelle I had a ball.”
J
ulia moved the footstool from beside the bed and over to the closet. She then stood on it to reach the top shelf and moved the still-damp clothes in order to retrieve the .357 she’d hidden there. Holding the weapon in her hands again brought back every nuance of guilt and regret.
A part of her wished that the gun weren’t there; then perhaps she could convince herself that her last days in Atlanta had never happened.
At the knock on the door, Julia nearly jumped out of her skin. “Just a minute,” she called out. Her heart hammered in her chest while she hurried to put the gun back in its hiding place, but it was when she turned to get off the footstool that she stumbled and crashed to the floor.
The next thing she knew, the bedroom door flew open and Carson had rushed inside. His eyes darted to her as she struggled to get up from the floor.
“Are you all right?” he asked, reaching her side.
An awkward laugh tumbled from her lips, and a surge of embarrassment gripped her. With Carson’s help, she got to her feet with only a few aches and pains in her hands and legs.
“What were you doing?” he asked with a chuckle.
“Oh, nothing,” she lied with an averted gaze. “I was just going to put some more clothes up, since we’re going to be here for a little while.”
“Oh,” he responded with a dubious look.
Julia changed the subject. “Did you need something?”
“Uh, yeah. I actually wanted to come and apologize for my sister. You obviously left from downstairs upset, and after my sister confessed to me about your conversation with her this morning, I felt the need to come and talk to you.”
“Oh, that.” Julia waved him off with a nervous smile. “There’s no need to apologize. Your sister obviously sees something between us that is simply not there.”
He didn’t immediately agree or disagree, but simply smiled at her. “Lilly has the best of intentions. I guess I should have warned you that she’s known throughout Moreland as the town’s matchmaker, to many people’s chagrin.”
Julia laughed at that. “Has she been successful?”
Carson scratched at his temple. “Believe it or not, she does have a fairly high success rate. But there are a few disasters that, I’m afraid, she’ll never live down.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that.” He took a casual glance around the room before bringing his attention back to Julia. “So will we be seeing you for dinner?”
“I swear, it seems this family does nothing but eat.”
“The body needs nourishment.”
“I guess you have a point. So my answer is yes. As soon as my wayward daughter returns, we’ll get washed up and join everyone downstairs.”
Carson glanced at his watch. “Don’t worry. Bobbi knows to be back before the streetlights come on, which should be within the next few minutes.”
“You and you daughter live near here?”
“A few blocks over.” He raised his hands in surrender as if he knew her next question. “And yes, I know we spend eighty percent of our time over here. But why cook when you have Lilly?”
Julia nodded. “I guess you have a point. The woman is a master in the kitchen.”
“You haven’t tasted anything yet. My mother is doing the cooking tonight. You’re in for a real treat.”
“By the time we leave here, my waistline will never be the same.” As she spoke, she watched his eyes lower, and she suddenly felt uncomfortable beneath his scrutiny.
“Now, that would be a real shame.”
His approval filled her with surprising pleasure, and again she averted her eyes. “I guess I’ll see you at dinner.”
He gave a dramatic bow, as a gallant knight would execute to a lady, and excused himself from the room. When he had gone, it was as if he’d managed to suck the oxygen from the room.
Reluctantly she pulled her gaze from the door and tried to turn off the warning bells that rang in her head. This was insane. Forty-eight hours after David’s death, she was attracted to a small-town mechanic. She shook the thought from her head. “This isn’t happening.” Whether it was true, or a statement of denial, she wasn’t sure.
In the next second, Robin bounded through the door. Her face glowed with excitement. “Guess what? Guess what?” she asked.
“What?” Julia played along, though she suspected she knew the answer.
“We won.” Robin jumped onto the bed in a single bound and rolled onto her back with her arms spread wide. “You
should have seen me. I scored three touchdowns. Can you believe it?”
“That’s great.” Julia sat next to her on the bed, then quickly wrinkled her nose. “You hit the tub. We’re expected for dinner.”
Her daughter bolted from the bed to the bathroom. “What are we having?” she asked over her shoulder.
“I’m not sure.” Robin had never reacted this way whenever Julia cooked.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s going to be good.”
Julia nodded, privately agreeing.
Just before she heard the sound of running water, Julia heard Robin declare, “I love this place. I wish that we’d never have to leave.”
Carson returned downstairs to find that the women had deserted his father on the front porch. The crickets had already begun their nightly serenade, while the scent of honeysuckle permeated the air.
“Where did everybody go?” Carson asked, taking a seat in the rocking chair next to his father.
“Where else?” Charles jokingly asked, never taking his eyes off the approaching sunset.
It had always been this way with his father. He cherished every sunrise and sunset. Carson recalled his father telling him that after he’d returned from the war, he’d vowed he would cherish everything most people usually took for granted.
It was true. A lot of people, Carson knew, never took the time to see the beauty that surrounded them. It was something that Carson had taken to heart as well, which was why he could honestly look back on his life with Karen with little regret. They had, after all, treasured every moment they had together.
It was as if they’d known from the beginning that they were meant for each other. Since their initial meeting in grade
school, the only time they’d been apart was when Carson had left for college. The years apart had been hard, and on the same evening of his college graduation, he was on a plane heading back home.
Of course, he had received a heavy berating by his father, who claimed that he’d spent all that money on his education only for Carson to be a simple mechanic. However, Carson enjoyed the job. He considered it a good, honest living. What more could a man ask for?
“An interesting woman you found there,” his father said out of the blue.
Carson felt an odd mixture of pride and pleasure in his father’s remark. “Yes, she is.”
“Not to mention beautiful.”
“Mmm-hmm.” He bobbed his head and kept his eyes glued to the disappearing sun.
“I can see why your sister and mother are trying to play matchmakers.”
“Don’t you start in on me, too, Pop.” He noted his father’s careless shrug from the corners of his eyes. However, through the expanding silence that followed, Carson found that he wanted to talk more about the mysterious Julia.
“I get the feeling that she’s hiding something.”
Charles stopped rocking in his chair. “Do you, now? What makes you say that?”
It was Carson’s turn to shrug. “Other than that she refuses to give her last name, or that on the night I met her she wore a wedding ring and now she doesn’t, and in her eyes…”
Another silence enveloped the men before Charles prompted, “Yes?”
“Nothing.” Carson shook off the thought and drew in a deep breath. It was more likely that he imagined the vulnerability he read in Julia’s eyes.
“According to your mother, Julia admitted that she was separated from her husband,” Charles offered as an excuse.
“Which explains why she’s made no attempt to call him since she’s been here.”
Charles began rocking in his chair again, and for a spell the men allowed themselves to be lost in their thoughts.
Then Charles sprang another question. “So what’s really wrong with her car?”
Carson chanced a glance in his father’s direction, only to see him pretending to still be interested in the skyline.
“Most likely the alternator,” Carson admitted.
Charles chuckled under his breath. “Hardly sounds like the kind of thing that would keep a woman stranded, don’t you think?”
“Exactly why I haven’t bothered to tell her the truth.”
“Smart boy.”
The men shared a conspiratorial smile before bursting into laughter.
Throughout dinner, Julia sneaked more than her fair share of peeks at Carson. A few times, when Lilly caught her covert glances, Julia was singed with embarrassment. Still, she couldn’t help but remain intrigued by the man.
She also noticed that whenever he spoke to someone, he made sure he gave that person his undivided attention. And at the moment that someone was Sheri Higginbotham.
To Julia’s horror, even Sheri had caught a few of her cursory glances at Carson.
The twelve guests seated at the table fell into easy conversation with one another, including Robin and Bobbi, while Julia felt alienated. Of course, she’d placed herself in this predicament by refusing to share any information about herself. But what other choice did she have?
“So, Julia.” Rick straightened in his chair to address her from the other end of the table. “What do you think of our fair town so far?”
The rest of the table abandoned their conversations to tune in to hear what her response would be, including Robin.
“I think it’s a wonderful place. It’s small and peaceful.” She glanced at Carson again. “And the people seem to be a part of one big family.”
Carson met her gaze and smiled.
Everyone else bobbed their heads in agreement.
“I hear that you’ll be staying with us a little longer than you’d intended,” Sheri inquired with a note of disdain.
“According to my mechanic,” Julia said simply, and reached for her glass of tea.
“And what does your
husband
have to say about this unexpected delay in our ‘wonderful’ town?”
The woman might as well have punched her, for all the pain her words caused Julia. What should she do? What should she say?
“We haven’t called him yet,” Robin took it upon herself to answer.
Julia laid her hand atop her daughter’s and hoped she’d pick up her cue not to divulge further information—especially that Julia was divorced.
It worked. Robin lowered her head, then continued to eat.
“Oh, that’s right. Lilly said that you and your husband are separated at the moment. How unfortunate.”
Julia glared at the woman with clenched teeth.
“Sheri, that’s enough,” Carson admonished with a fierce look of disapproval.
“What?” She feigned innocence.
Robin pushed her plate away, then whispered to her mother, “I’m full. Can I be excused?”
“Yes, you may.” Julia removed the linen napkin from her lap, wiped the corners of her mouth, and tossed it onto her half-eaten dinner. “In fact, I think I’ll join you.”
The other guests begged Julia to reconsider, but she could not be dissuaded. Instead, she bade everyone good night and disappeared from the room.
Sheri squirmed beneath everyone’s accusing glares. “What did I do?”
Carson removed his own napkin and tossed it onto his plate, then stood from the table.
“Where are you going?” she asked with a look of alarm.
He smote her with a burning glare. “I’m going to go and apologize for your behavior,” he said, then excused himself from the room.
With long, purposeful strides, Carson caught up with Julia just before she ascended the staircase. “Julia, may I talk with you for a moment?”
Both she and her daughter stopped and turned to look at him.
“Alone,” he added.
Julia gave him a long, evaluating stare before turning to Robin. “Go on upstairs and get ready for bed. I’ll be up in a minute.”
Robin hesitated.
“Go on,” Julia urged.
“Yes, ma’am,” Robin said, then raced up the stairs.
Carson moved over to the banister. “Please accept my apology for Sheri’s behavior back there.”
“Why?” she asked, crossing her arms defensively across her chest.
“Why?”
“Yes, why?” Julia insisted. “Shouldn’t she be the one apologizing—or do you always speak for her?”
“Well, no.”
“Then I don’t accept the apology.” She turned and started up the stairs.
“Wait,” he called after her, and smiled when she faced him again. “You’re something else. Do you know that?”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
“Uh…” He scratched at his temple. “Would it be too forward of me if I asked you to join me for a walk?”
“What would your girlfriend say?” she challenged.
“Sheri is definitely not my girlfriend.”
“You might want to tell her that,” she said, then allowed herself to smile at his obvious discomfort.
“All right. I’ll go and do that right now. Wait right here.” He turned.
“I was just joking,” Julia confessed, descending the staircase.
Carson faced her again with his eternal smile. “So how about that walk?” He offered his arm.
She studied him for a moment with a list of reasons for why she shouldn’t go. Instead she slid her arm through his and said, “How can I refuse an offer like that?”