The Lullaby Sky (19 page)

“No, he just wants his plane. Forget the prayer,” Hannah said as she led the way back to Jodie’s room. “Just get out the bucket of water to cool me down. I’m so mad I could digest bullets.”

“Looks like you’ve hit the third step in the stages of grief,” Miss Rosie said. “That would be anger, and it erases denial and guilt. I called down to the convenience store and told Frankie to make us a pizza and bring it up here for dinner. Give me that baby. I’ve been itchin’ to hold her. We’ll go on in the kitchen with Birdie and the kids. When the pizza comes, I’ll bring it back to you.”

“Thank you.” Jodie handed over Bella into Miss Rosie’s care.

Hannah threw up her palms defensively. “Why? Why am I so mad? I felt guilty because I didn’t have any guilt in the courthouse. All I had was a total sense of relief, so why would I be angry?”

“What happened?” Liz asked.

“Marty showed up at the door to harass her,” Jodie answered.

“And?” Liz went slightly pale.

“And I put him going, but he tried his damnedest to put me down, and it made me angry,” Hannah said.

“Don’t let him take away the serenity you’ve found or you’ll be taking steps backward instead of forward. I’ve been reading this book about coping with divorce.” Liz held up a hardback copy. “I brought it so I could show it to y’all. I bought it so I’d understand the emotional upheaval associated with all this. No, if I’m truthful, I skipped a lot of it and went to the part about abusive situations. So I wouldn’t let him talk me out of leaving if he comes back.”

“Can I borrow it or at least write down the title? Y’all have one thing easier than me. You don’t have kids, Liz, and Hannah’s sorry ex didn’t want Sophie. I’m going to ask for restricted visitation and hope that he never sets foot in Kentucky to see my girls,” Jodie said. “My brother says that our hill relatives can make sure he’s never found if he comes around.”

“You can have it. I’m done with the part I wanted to read.” Liz handed it over to Jodie. “Now talk, Hannah. Did you ever get this mad at him before?”

“No, I was too afraid of him,” she admitted.

Liz pointed at the ceiling. “Listen.”

“What?” Jodie asked.

“The sound of a plane overhead,” Liz said. “That means he’s bought the plane and left.”

Hannah pulled her phone out to call Cal.

Cal answered on the first ring. “He’s gone. Travis did not kill him, because I wouldn’t let him come out of the office. I made fifty grand more on the plane than I gave you for the property, so I’m putting it in a 529 for Sophie’s college.”

“Thank you, Cal, but you will have kids of your own someday,” Hannah said.

“And I will take very good care of them and never let them have Darcy’s maiden name. And don’t you dare look at her right now, or she’ll know we are talking about her. The 529 is what I want to do and I already have my lawyer working on it.”

“She’s not here so I can’t look at her, Cal. Then thank you again, but save back ten thousand. I’ll discuss it with you later,” Hannah said.

“Jodie?”

“That’s right,” Hannah said.

“Gotcha.” Cal’s tone said he was smiling. “Now, go on and bitch with the girls. Travis and I are headed toward Aunt Birdie’s for lunch. I promised to let Travis read to Sophie because he was a good boy and didn’t sabotage the plane like he wanted to.”

“Will do,” she said and ended the call.

“So?” Liz asked.

“He sold the plane back to Marty for a lot more than he paid for the property, so the profit is going in a fund for Sophie’s college. And right now I wish I would have put a bomb on that plane,” Hannah said.

Jodie tucked her chin to her chest and broke out in a guffaw. “I didn’t know you had a vengeful side in you.”

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Liz tapped a finger on her forehead. “We could have looked up the instructions on the Internet and detonated the thing in the sky.”

Had they all lost their minds? There wasn’t one thing funny about the whole situation, and yet—it started as a weak giggle, developed into laughter, and soon they were all wiping at their eyes.

“God, that felt good,” Liz said.

Someone rapped on the bedroom door and then opened it. “Pizza is here. I tossed in some napkins and there’s three bottles of root beer in the paper sack.” Miss Rosie carried the box in and set it on the dresser.

“Thank you, Miss Rosie,” Liz said. “For everything.”

“Lord, honey, I ain’t had this much fun since Woodstock.”

“You went to the real Woodstock?” Jodie asked.

“Oops, that slipped out slicker’n bacon grease on a glass doorknob. You kids enjoy this.” Miss Rosie grinned.

“I’m over the anger and the guilt about no guilt. What’s the next step?” Hannah asked.

“Depression,” Liz said.

“Well, I ain’t doin’ that one. I done been down that road and I don’t like it,” Hannah declared.

“Me, neither. I might even skip all of them and go back to enjoyin’ my life in Kentucky,” Jodie said.

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Liz said.

C
HAPTER
N
INETEEN

H
annah picked up her phone and didn’t have the sudden adrenaline rush of fear that Marty would be angry about the mess in the house. When he’d shown up that morning, she’d automatically scanned the living room and fought the panic when she saw how cluttered it was. But now she didn’t give a damn. She’d come a long way in such a short time. Liz needed a project, and she was going to have a messy house by nightfall. Those quilting scraps had been shoved up in the corner of the dining room. Cutting and putting together pieces would give Liz something to do and help pass the waiting time for Jodie, too.

Liz answered on the first ring. “Please tell me you are coming down here. I am going stir-crazy.”

“Whoa.” Hannah stopped her with a word. “I was thinking more that you two would come down here and we’d do some quilting. We all need a project today. Even Jodie is getting crazy with this waiting.”

“What about Sophie?” Liz asked cautiously.

“We won’t make a big deal of it, and she has Laurel to keep her busy for the rest of the week. There’s barbecued chicken in the Crock-Pot, so we don’t even have to stop and cook at noon. We’ll just make some pulled chicken sandwiches,” Hannah said.

“You are so good at organizing things,” Liz said.

“I took a class called Living with OCD 101. I don’t recommend it. I’ll have the sewing machine up when y’all get here. You might ask Miss Rosie if she wants to join us and bring extra scissors. I only have one decent pair.”

Liz got so tickled that she snorted when she laughed. “And I bet they don’t have a sharp point.”

“Why is that funny?”

“Think about it,” Liz said, and the phone went dark.

Bella looked like a little blonde-haired toy as she crawled into the kitchen, flipped around, and sat up. She pointed at Lullaby, hidden behind a table leg, and jabbered.

“If we could understand her, that cat would be in so much trouble.” Jodie laughed. “What’s the matter? You look like you can’t remember something.”

“Oh!” Hannah suddenly smiled. “It was what Liz said about not having sharp-pointed scissors. Now I get it. I might have been tempted to stab Marty with them.”

“You did have kitchen knives, though,” Jodie said.

“Yes, I did, and the thought entered my mind many times. If I could have figured out a way without going to jail, I would have probably put a plan in motion,” Hannah said seriously. “We are going to drag that bag of quilting scraps out today and start a project to give Liz something constructive to do. You ever do any quilting?”

“Grew up going to quilting bees with my granny. Can I take whatever I make with me?”

“Sure you can. There’s tons of fabric scraps down at the hangar and over in Aunt Birdie’s storage shed, too. Aunt Birdie suggested we make throws instead of full-size quilts so we can quilt them without a frame.”

“I could just make a pretty top and take it with me on Saturday,” Jodie said. “I’m sure this fabric is a lot nicer than the scraps we get in our part of the world, which are usually just the good parts of clothing that has worn out. Do you think that would be all right?”

“I’m here,” Liz yelled right after she knocked on the door and let herself inside the house. “Are you sure about this, Hannah? I’m not completely healed up.”

Hannah raised her voice. “In the dining room. We’re about to dump the scraps on the floor. And I’m sure.”

Liz headed for the refrigerator. “I want a beer, and I don’t care if it’s early in the morning.” She opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a long-neck bottle. “I’ve been thirsty for one of these for two days.”

“Where’s Aunt Birdie? I thought she might come with you,” Jodie said.

“She said that she and Miss Rosie were going to drive into town to grocery shop since—oh, my sweet Lord! Look at all that pretty stuff,” Liz said.

“Let’s make quilt tops for Jodie to take home to Kentucky this week. We’ll always be able to make throws for our own use,” Hannah said. “And I’ve given this a lot of thought, Liz. Sophie is going to see abused women coming and going.”

“Don’t shield her but don’t make her afraid,” Jodie said. “That’s my advice. Just treat it without a lot of emotion.”

“Okay, then.” Liz set the beer on the cabinet and moved to her place at the table. “I can sit right there and cut the pieces. Jodie can pick out the way she wants them to go together and you can sew them up on the machine. I bet we could top out two a day if we just do a simple patchwork.”

“Oh, my goodness!” Jodie clamped a hand over her mouth. “Y’all would do that for me?”

“Honey, I’d try to run a marathon even in the shape I’m in to have something to do other than read books or watch television,” Liz said. “I keep worrying that Wyatt will change his mind about it all and refuse to give me a divorce.”

“Aunt Liz!” Sophie ran into the room and wrapped her arms around Liz’s neck. “I haven’t seen you in a long time. What happened to your face?”

“I had an accident, but I’m going to be all right.”

Sophie kissed her gently on the stitches and both bruised cheeks. “There, that will make it all better. Do we need to go out on the porch and sing the twinkle song?”

“I think I’ll be all right.” Liz smiled.

“Okay, but if you change your mind, you just call me or else come in my room and we will sing. Can me and Laurel have a cookie, Mama? And can we take it to my room? We’re playin’ McDonald’s with our Barbie dolls.”

Hannah handed each of them two cookies. “One for y’all to eat now and one to pretend to buy later.”

They chased off to the bedroom, giggles following in their wake. Liz inhaled and smiled, and Hannah nodded. Words weren’t needed. They had gotten past upsetting Sophie, and now Liz could come and go as she wanted. Hannah picked up the bag from the corner and dumped out an array of gorgeous fabric scraps, ranging in size from a few inches to half a yard, onto the table.

“Hey, where is everyone?” Darcy yelled from the front door. “I was out here with one of my loan officers looking at a piece of property, and my lunch hour is in fifteen minutes, so I stuck around.” She scooped Bella up in her arms. “I want a dozen just like this precious little girl.”

Bella cooed and reached for the bright colors, so Darcy set her right in the middle of them.

“That would make the most beautiful picture for Cal’s baby campaign,” Liz said.

“Oh, no!” Jodie threw up both palms. “Her face cannot be on anything or my ex will come looking for her.”

“I’m so sorry,” Darcy said with a surprising blush.

“I bet you’ll be so glad to be back in Kentucky, where you feel safe,” Liz said, smoothing things over.

“Yes, I will,” Jodie said. “Why don’t we do a six-inch patchwork? It goes together pretty fast. That sound good to you, Hannah?”

Liz picked up a piece of bright-turquoise fabric. “My granny used to make them with diagonal colored pieces, and they were so pretty. I’ll help cut squares and stack them up and then I’ll figure out the way they’ll go together to get the diagonal stripes from the bottom up.”

“Granny is going to love this,” Jodie said.

“We can all cut squares until we use up what’s here, and then we’ll start sewing,” Hannah said.

“Not me.” Darcy shook her head. “If it’s all right with Jodie, I’m taking Bella down to the hangar. She can use some fresh air, and I want to see Cal. And Miss Rosie sent her cutter so one of you can use it. She says that it’ll make things go twice as fast and the squares will be perfect. She did send an extra set of scissors, so someone can cut threads as you sew things together, Hannah. It’s in the brown bag over there by the door. I dropped it when I saw Bella.”

“You can’t take her outside. It’s too dangerous,” Hannah said. “First rule in the safe house book.”

Darcy clamped her hand over her mouth. “I forgot about that. Then I’ll run down to the hangar and be back in five with a report on how things are going.”

Jodie smoothed a piece of hot-pink material. “Would any or all of you like to relocate to Kentucky? I’m going to miss you so much. This has been such a wonderful place to get my bearings before my brother comes. Sophie called it right when she said the name of the house was Lullaby Sky. It makes us feel like we’re being rocked to sleep out in the backyard with the stars and moon smiling down on us. It takes away the turmoil from our hearts.”

“That’s so sweet,” Hannah said.

More and more, she was convinced that she was doing the right thing and Lullaby Sky was a wonderful name for her house. Patchwork House fit the shelter, because it was the place where women could patch their lives back together, but Hannah’s safe house was where they could come and find tranquillity.

“See y’all later. And she’s right, Hannah. I don’t know if it’s the house or if it’s you, but I always feel good here.” Darcy disappeared from the room.

Hannah knew how to operate the cutting tool, since it was so much like the paper cutter she used at school when she helped the kindergarten teacher. After the first couple of cuts, she figured out that the fabric should be ironed to get the squares cut perfectly, so Jodie took on that job. Liz stacked and counted them, pinning a sticky note on the top of each pile as they finished with a color.

A cross-eyed monkey could be trained to do the work, and Hannah’s mind wandered as she made the cuts. Liz and Jodie were talking about letting go of the anger and moving on to the next phase of their lives. Hannah still had a burst of pure old rage every time she thought about those cameras, bugs, and the tracking device on her old cell.

But then when she thought about that kiss she and Travis had shared, everything disappeared but joy.
Comfort and joy, like the Christmas carol,
she thought.
Why couldn’t fate have put me and Travis together in the beginning?

“You are arguing with yourself, and you know what Jerry Clower says about that?” Liz poked her on the upper arm.

“I cut my teeth on Jerry Clower and on Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton music. Granny still listens to the old classic country music, as well as the Kentucky bluegrass stuff,” Jodie said. “And I know that story that Jerry used to tell. If you’re arguing with yourself, you’re fixin’ to mess up.”

“Aunt Birdie and Miss Rosie love his humor, so we all sat through it,” Liz said. “Why don’t we cut out and label today and start sewing tomorrow?”

“Hey, ladies.” Travis rapped on the door and came in without waiting. “I’ve got to run into Gainesville. Need anything?”

“Three spools of white thread,” Hannah answered.

“Okay, anything else? Want to go with me, Hannah?” he asked.

Lord, yes, she wanted to go with him. She would love to spend time in the cab of his truck alone with him on the ride down to Gainesville and back. To see just how wild those sparks would get in tight quarters. But she couldn’t leave Sophie like that, or leave her girls in the middle of a project.

She shook her head. “We’ve got a pretty good assembly line going here. If you’re getting the thread at Walmart, you could pick up a quart of potato salad and one of that pasta salad that Sophie likes. Oh, and a package of hamburger buns for our pulled chicken. You and Cal can eat with us, since Aunt Birdie and Miss Rosie are out of pocket today.”

“Will do. Thread, two kinds of salad, and buns. I’ll see y’all at noon,” Travis said.

He’d barely cleared out of the house when Hannah felt two sets of eyes boring into her heart and soul. “What?” she asked.

“There were vibes,” Liz said.

“I could almost see them,” Jodie chimed in.

“You are both crazy. We’re all getting out of bad stuff, so how can you even think about . . .” She couldn’t say the words
relationships
or
love
.