The Lullaby Sky (27 page)

She threw off her nightshirt and dressed in khaki shorts and a bright-red tank top before heading to the kitchen in her bare feet. Travis was already there, and the coffee was ready.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He poured a cup and handed it to her. “Big day in Crossing. How long has it been since you’ve had cotton candy?”

“Our senior trip to Six Flags. We shared a bag, remember?” she answered.

“It was purple, and you got more than I did,” he teased.

She touched him on the upper arm. “I’ll let you have the lion’s share today to make up for it.”

He drew her to his side and kissed her on the top of the head. “I already have the lion’s share just being here with you and Sophie. Where is the princess? I heard her running in the foyer.”

“In Mama’s room. I told her that we might go to Virginia sometime, maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas. I didn’t set a date in stone, because we don’t know who’s going to win that bet about Darcy and Cal’s wedding. I did tell her that she could see her great-granny on the computer screen. She’s all excited about it.”

“Yes.”

She looked up at his strong jaw and his twinkling eyes. “Yes to what?”

“If you go to Virginia, I want to go with y’all.”

Hannah smiled. “Of course you are invited.”

“When I’m with you, all is good. When we are apart, I’m lost. I do not like that feeling,” he drawled.

“That may be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.” She rolled up on her toes, cupped his face in her hands, and brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss that left them both speechless.

“That meant something,” he said. “At least it did to me.”

“It did.” She laid her head on his chest. “It means that I know the difference in loving you and being in love with you. I know what you were talking about, Travis. I’m looking forward, but I need to do it slowly. And it means that I doubt if the fireworks tonight will be nearly as spectacular as your kisses or having you in my life.”

“When did you know?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. It wasn’t one of those instant moments. At the river that day when we were fishing, I listened to what my heart was telling me, and it was like a warm blanket around me on a cold night. But don’t think for one minute that what we have is just a comfortable feeling. You leave me breathless when you kiss me, and there’s sparks all over the room when you look at me,” she said softly. “But I cannot rush into this, Travis.”

“We can go at a snail’s pace as long as I know you’re right there beside me.”

“Always,” she said.

E
PILOGUE

Thanksgiving

H
annah awoke to the aroma of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. She quickly threw on a robe and tiptoed down the stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Warm spiced cider waited in the Crock-Pot and cinnamon rolls were cooling on the table, along with a carafe of milk and a pot of coffee. Patsy wore an apron with a turkey on the front over a lovely burnt-orange dress.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” She hugged her daughter. “You’re the first one up and around, but I expect the smell of cinnamon will wake the others before long.”

“It’s better than an alarm clock, Mama. Are we eating at four?”

“Tradition,” Patsy said.

“Good morning,” Aunt Birdie and Miss Rosie said in unison as they came in the back door. “This looks wonderful. Is that spiced cider?”

“It is. Help yourselves,” Patsy said. “It’s so nice to have a houseful on Thanksgiving. This is the way it should be.”

“And you will come back at Christmas, right?” Aunt Birdie asked.

“If the airports aren’t closed down with ice or snow. I’ve also promised Sophie that Hannah will bring her to Virginia for spring break. Her great-grandmother wants to meet her.” Patsy nodded. “She loves their video chats, but she says she can’t hug Sophie on a computer screen.”

Hannah could feel Travis’s presence long before he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to his chest. She’d thought that the effects of his touch might lessen as the months went by, but they only got more intense.

“Good mornin’, beautiful,” he whispered in her ear.

“Good mornin’ to you.” She wiggled around so she could wrap her arms around his neck and give him a proper Thanksgiving kiss.

“I think they are in love.” Miss Rosie chuckled.

“In love is different than loving,” Travis echoed Hannah’s often-repeated phrase.

“Of course it is,” Patsy said.

“Thanks, Mama.” Hannah stepped away from Travis. “Now, what can I do to help?”

“You and these folks can sit down and have warm cinnamon rolls for breakfast. This is your day, and you aren’t going to help do much of anything. Besides, everything else is ready except the big old bird. I’ll put him in the oven after breakfast and cook him slowly while we go take care of business. Ten o’clock will be here before you know it. Pull up a chair.”

“Ten? I thought you said four,” Miss Rosie said.

“We have a little surprise up our sleeves for ten this morning.” Patsy’s smile looked as innocent as a newborn lamb.

“We are taking pictures of the whole bunch of us. So after breakfast everyone needs to get dressed,” Hannah said.

“You are saying that we can’t take pictures in our pajamas?” Liz teased.

“I’m framing one to go above the credenza,” Hannah said.

“Enough said.” Liz smiled.

“This is a very special day,” Patsy said.

“Hey! Oh. My. Sweet. Lord! I have not had your cinnamon rolls since we were all in high school.” Cal quickly pulled out a chair and sat down. “And is that mulled cider I smell? This is heaven.”

Darcy stopped in the middle of a yawn and sat down in Cal’s lap. “It is cider. I helped Patsy put it together last night.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Can you believe it’s only a few more weeks until I get to marry this man?”

“The only reason that she’s marrying me is because she got tired of running away from me.” Cal separated a roll from the others and put it on a plate. He fed the first bite to Darcy, who rolled her eyes in appreciation.

“Just like I remembered. You have not lost your touch, Patsy.”

“Good! I was telling the rest of them that Hannah and I have a little surprise ready at ten this morning. We want to take a few pictures before the Thanksgiving Day parade starts.”

“Pictures of the whole bunch of us,” Patsy said. “We’ve got a professional photographer coming. Y’all pull up a chair and have a cinnamon roll.”

“Would not turn down an offer like that for anything,” Aunt Birdie said.

“We should have pictures of all of us. This is our first Thanksgiving all together since we were seniors in high school,” Darcy said.

Patsy took a second pan of rolls from the oven and set them on the table before she sat down. “So, Liz, how’s school going this year?”

“Wonderful. And I love living in Aunt Birdie’s house—I can’t tell you what it means to me that it is now the safe house.”

“But Mama, we don’t say anything about it in front of Sophie. She went to church and told her friends about her new friends who lived in our house. That’s why we had to move the operation,” Hannah explained.

“I’m not a bit surprised. I bet everyone thought she was talking about her imaginary friends, didn’t they? But it is much safer for the women to be across the street, especially when school starts and Sophie is with kids every day.”

Travis chuckled. “We were saved by Sophie’s imagination.”

“We were saved by Liz. The fact that she’s living in and taking care of that big house for me means me and Rosie can go places in our ‘retirement.’” Aunt Birdie made air quotes around the last word. “It’s nice to be able to go on a cruise or a senior citizens’ trip up through the East Coast to see the foliage. Things are working out in Crossing, even if it did take a while to get it all done.”

Miss Rosie poured a second cup of coffee and reached for her third cinnamon roll. “We are getting to be regular old gadabouts.”

“I think that is wonderful.” Patsy laughed.

“Who’s got a secret?” Sophie wandered into the room and crawled up in her grandmother’s lap. “When does everyone come for the pictures?”

“After breakfast.” Hannah poured a small glass of milk and slipped a cinnamon roll onto a plate for Sophie.

Sophie put a bite of the gooey bun in her mouth and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Did you make this, Granny, or did God?”

“Now, that’s a charmer.” Cal chuckled. “But I have to agree with her. They are heavenly.”

“Granny, promise me the pictures won’t take too long and make me miss the floats in the parade. They are my favorite part,” Sophie said.

“I promise. Only about half an hour, tops,” Patsy answered. “So, Darcy, you are planning a Christmas wedding? What day should I book my flight?”

“We are getting married on the twenty-third. That’s the Friday before Christmas, which is now less than a month away. I would be so happy if you could be there. Would you help Aunt Birdie and Miss Rosie cut and serve the wedding cake?”

“I’d be honored,” Patsy told her. “How big is the cake?”

“Huge,” Cal said. “It’ll be four feet from top to bottom. But it has to feed the whole town of Crossing and about half of Gainesville.”

“And I’m quitting my job a week before the wedding. I’ll be working full-time for Cal as his financial adviser,” Darcy said.

“And I understand he designed and made your dress?”

Darcy beamed. “He did, and it fits beautifully, but he still can’t see me in it until the wedding. His assistants did all the fittings.”

Cal kissed her on the neck. “You are knock-down gorgeous in jeans, sweetheart. I can’t even begin to imagine you in that beautiful creation I made just for you.”

“Jealous?” Travis teased.

“Hell, no,” Hannah murmured.

Everyone had changed into their Sunday best promptly at nine forty-five. They filed into the living room, where the photographer was setting up a tripod with a camera on the top.

“Y’all go on in and have a seat. I’ve got to run up and help with Sophie’s hair. It’s being a blister to get fixed this morning,” Hannah said.

“I’ll go with her. We won’t be long,” Travis said.

Patsy was busy combing Sophie’s hair and putting a wreath of white baby rosebuds on her head like a crown when they arrived in her bedroom. “Well, what do y’all think of this princess?”

“I think she needs to put on the dress before she’s a real princess.” Travis grinned.

Patsy unzipped a clothes bag and fluffed out a taffeta dress with beading at the top.

“Oh. My. Goodness.” Sophie clamped her hands over her cheeks, mimicking Darcy to a tee.

Hannah dropped down on her knees in front of Sophie. “And I have something I really need to ask you. I want you to be real honest with me and tell me the truth.”

Sophie crossed her arms over her chest. “I did tell the truth. Laney was at our house and she wasn’t one of my friends that nobody can see but me. And so was them other folks.”

“It’s not about that. It’s about Uncle Travis. I love him very much and I want to marry him today, but . . . ,” Hannah paused.

“Oh. My. Sweet Jesus.” Sophie squealed as she dramatically slapped a hand on her forehead. “Then he will be my daddy, right? Do I get to change my name again?”

“What do you really, down deep in your heart, think of that?” Patsy asked.

“I think I’m the luckiest girl in the whole world and this is the bestest day of my whole life,” Sophie said. “Do I get to call him Daddy?”

Travis ran his forefinger across his eye. “I would like that, but you don’t have to.”

“Well, I want to. Do I get to be in the wedding like I get to be in Aunt Darcy’s?”

Hannah slipped the dress down over Sophie’s head. “I thought you might like to wear this new dress and stand in the front of the living room with me and Travis when we get married. What do you think of that? It’s Thanksgiving, and I’m thankful for you and for Travis and my mama and all my friends. We thought we’d get married today right here at Lullaby Sky.”

Sophie shucked out of her boots and skirt and tossed them in the corner. “I love this day, Mama. Now can I please have a baby sister?”

“We’ll see about that later on down the road.” Hannah smiled and straightened up to give her mother a hug. “Mama, thank you so much for arranging this.”

“I’m delighted to do it and that you are wearing my dress. It means so much to me.”

A phone rang, and Travis automatically reached for his hip pocket then shook his head. “It’s not mine, and I need to go get dressed. See you in the living room in a few minutes.” He brushed a kiss across her lips.

“And it’s not mine,” Patsy said.

“It’s Mama’s phone,” Sophie said as she fished around in Hannah’s purse and handed it to her. “Answer it, Mama.”

“Hello,” Hannah said cautiously, since the number came up as unknown.

“This is Arabella. I have some news. Marty and his dad have been arrested for tax evasion. The government has finally got enough on them to bring down their whole banking system. Everything they own, including their bank accounts and all their credit cards, has been frozen. He’s looking at years in prison if he’s found guilty, and his parents will be right in the same boat with him.”

“What does this mean for us?” Hannah asked.

“It means that you were wise to get your child support in a lump sum, because if you hadn’t, there wouldn’t be anything at all. And it means that neither of us has to worry about this anymore. Mama Lita says he is going away for a very long time. He can’t even afford a lawyer. They’ve appointed one of those free lawyers for him.”

Hannah fell back on the sofa. “Oh. My. Gosh.”

“Do you think that once the trial is over I could bring my daughter to see you and Sophie?” Arabella asked.

“I’d like that. I wish you were here today. I’m about to marry Travis,” Hannah said.

“I wish I was there, too. I’m not one bit surprised that you are going to marry him. I could see the love in his eyes for you,” Arabella said.

“And your daughter?”

“She’s doing so well,” Arabella answered. “You go get married and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.”

“Thank you, Arabella, for everything,” Hannah said.

Closure had been hers for months now, and she wasn’t sure how she should feel about all the news, but she would not let it spoil the best day of her life.

“I felt so guilty at first, because I was happy that he finally got what he deserved for the way he treated both of us,” Arabella said. “Now I just feel guilty that I don’t feel guilty. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, it does.” Hannah said. “I felt the same way that day when I left the courthouse after the divorce. And I kind of have that same feeling today. There’s a sense of relief that I don’t ever have to worry about him kidnapping Sophie.”