Threads of Steel (Bayou Cove) (10 page)

He pressed the pedal and eased the cart toward Hole One. “This is a good course. I think the game will come back to you as soon as you step up on that tee. There’re a couple of interesting holes, but I’ll warn you as we get to them.”

“Interesting?” Her enthusiasm for playing today was dwindling by the minute.

“Come on. It’s a gorgeous day. We’ll have fun. We don’t even have to keep score if you don’t want to. We can just hit the ball and walk the course if you’d like. I’m happy to be out here.”

“Oh no.
Not for the world. I might swing double digits to get that ball in, but I’m an honest and competitive golfer. We’ll definitely keep score. That way I know how much I’ll have to improve.”

“Good deal,” he said then flashed a gorgeous smile
.

He stopped the cart near the first tee, then walked around and pulled off a shaggy eagle’s head cover from his driver. She pulled a Mardi
Gras
jester off hers, but from the corner of her eye she watched him take a smooth practice swing. She groaned to herself. He was good.
Really good.

He took his sunshades off and wiped one of the lenses. “Would you feel better hitting first?”

“No, you go ahead.”

His eyes were a dark brown. The few wrinkles around them gave him a distinguished look, and she guessed he must be in his early forties.

“Your choice.”
He walked to the men’s tee, and with only a quick look in the direction of
the flag, he swung the club, hitting the ball straight and long
.

She kept her eyes on the ball as it rolled to a stop about two hundred yards down the middle of the fairway. “Wow. That’s good. I know I’m in trouble.”

“No way.
Come on. Let’s go to the ladies’ tee. You’ll have the advantage from there.”

Anna Marie hesitated. With her height and physical ability, she’d always played from the men’s tee, but since she was pretty rusty, she hopped in the cart before she made a fool of herself in front of this man.

She was a bundle of nerves as she slid out of the cart, but as she walked up to the tee, her mood lightened and the knot in her chest loosened. Inhaling a deep, fortifying breath, she tried to remember all the pointers she’d picked up throughout the years. She spread her feet, consciously straightened her left arm, leveled her shoulders and kept her head down with her eyes on the ball
.

With only one practice swing, she swung hard. Her ball went up in the air and straight, landing in the middle of the fairway.

“Hey, that’s not bad,” Doug said.

She beamed. “It didn’t go very far, but it was straight, wasn’t it?”

“Couldn’t get much straighter.”

This was going to be a good day.

By the fourth hole, she had regained her confidence and her swing, but on Holes Five and Six, she hit balls into the woods and added the penalty two points to her score, even though Doug told her to hit another ball
.

“Oh no.
Remember, I said I was an honest golfer. Those points stay.”

He nodded and grinned. “I like that.”

Doug was about as pleasant as she’d hoped he’d be and an excellent golfer. Except for the short rides in the cart from one hole to the next, their conversation stayed casual with nothing too personal. He talked about golfing mostly and the old men he played with, but nothing that gave her insight into his life.

“You play out here a lot, I gather,” Anna Marie said as they made their way to the small pavilion for a short break before starting the back nine holes.

“Yes. Like I said, I live in the neighborhood. I’m retired and have time to play. I love it.”

Maybe she was wrong about his age. “You look too young to be retired, but I guess you retired from the military.”

He nodded. “Yes. You’re a good listener. I’m forty-three. I joined the Air Force right out of high school and got my degree while I was enlisted. I had a TDY down here. I loved this area and when I brought Jennifer here with me during a golf tournament, she fell in love with it too.”

She wanted to ask him about Jennifer, but since he didn’t continue with the subject, neither did she.

“It’s an easy place to fall in love with,” she said. “Are you one hundred percent retired or do you work anywhere now?”

“I work with the space facility in Bay St. Louis on a part-time basis. They use me for a consultant. Mostly I work on special projects in their planning stages. Once they leave the drawing board, I don’t spend a lot of time over there. The arrangement suits me fine. I’d rather be out here than cooped up in an office.”

“I’m familiar with that space facility. That’s not far from New Orleans.”

“You’re right. I thought about moving to the New Orleans area when I got the position, but I couldn’t leave this town and this golf course.”

“I moved to Louisiana about a dozen years ago. A friend and I started a fashion design
business, mostly for Mardi Gras.”

“I’m impressed. You make costumes?”
             

She nodded.
“Costumes, weddings, proms.”

“That’s really interesting. How’d you get into that line of work?”

She held onto the front bar of the cart as Doug made a sharp turn,
then
relaxed again. “My mother was a seamstress on the side, something to help make ends meet. I helped her a lot. I realized I had a knack for sewing. When I moved to the city, I found a job with an established seamstress. I was her assistant while I finished my degree, but it didn’t take long before I wanted to do more. She wasn’t interested in expanding, so I left, found a partner and voila, I love it.”

“Sounds like you fell into a neat little niche for yourself. Do you like the city life?”

“I do. Now don’t get me wrong. I love this area too
.
It’s two different worlds, but I guess you can’t take this sort of living out of your system.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty great here.

Doug pulled the cart up to the pavilion where they both got off and headed into separate restrooms to freshen up.

As she came out the door, she stopped and watched him straighten their bags, then lift a small ice chest onto the cart.

She wondered what his wife had been like. This man was good looking and intelligent, and from what she’d seen of him today, she had a feeling he’d made a caring husband and father—or maybe not. If he was divorced, maybe what was below the surface wasn’t so endearing
.

She was alone by choice, and she had to wonder if he was as well. Had his wife died or had he gone through a nasty divorce as she had. Either way, it was sad to live the best part of your life without the person you worked to share them with
.

With a deep sigh, she walked down the concrete path.

He smiled when he saw her. “I picked us up a couple bottles of water and a couple cans of cola.
Even got you a diet cola.
Did I guess right?”

“Yep.
Sounds perfect.”

The last nine holes took their toll on Anna Marie, and her scorecard proved it. She pleased herself with a forty-five on the first half of the course, but by the time she finally putted the ball into the Eighteenth Hole, she wanted to throw down her club.

“Hey, don’t look so discouraged. For someone who hadn’t played in a while, you did pretty darn good.”

Shaking her head, she picked up the ball from the hole and stuck the flag pole in. “You’re too much of a gentleman, but I have to tell you, I’ve never played this bad. I’m so sorry I didn’t give you much competition.”

“I had a good time,” he said as he cleaned his clubs and pulled on the covers. “I can’t tell you when I’ve had a more enjoyable round.”

“Hey, Doug.”
Both of them turned to see three men walking toward the tee box. “It’s a good thing you’re finished. We’re about to run you off this course.”

“I have better sense than to be on this course when you old men are around.”

They all laughed,
then
one of them looked at Anna Marie. “Young lady, you must be pretty good at this game to play with him. We begged him to be in on our team for the tournament, but we weren’t good enough for him. How’d you get him out here?”

“Accident.
Strictly by accident,” she answered.

“We usually draw straws to see who gets him. It’s not often a pro gets to play on your team.” He tipped his hat. “Y’all have a good day.”

Anna Marie looked back at Doug. “Pro? What did he mean?”

He slid into the cart. “Come on. Let’s go get a drink in the clubhouse since these blabbermouths won’t be there.”

“You’re not getting off so easily. You didn’t answer my question? Are you a professional golfer?”

He looked at her almost apologetically. “Will you still play with me again if I answer honestly?”

“Oh, geez.
Now I’m really embarrassed. You saw me at my worst.”

“If that’s your worst, then I look forward to seeing you at your best. I had a good time. Forget I play professionally and say you’ll play with me again.”

Shaking her head, Anna Marie wrinkled her nose, but smiled all the same. “I can’t believe you’d want to, but sure, if I can find the time, I’d love to give it another shot.”

* * *

Just as he promised, Doug drove her to the hospital for the evening visiting hours. He walked her to the ICU doors and told her he’d be in the waiting area.

“Stay as long as you want, Anna Marie. You never know how fast they’ll have a recipient ready, and you’ll have to say your good-byes.”

Anna Marie watched him walk away,
then
walked to her dad’s cubicle.

“You’d like him, Dad. He’s a really nice guy. I think Mom would’ve liked him as well.”

She sat down next to the bed, held his hand and told him about the golf game today. Before she knew it, the nurse came in. She sat next to her with a stack of papers.

Annie Marie swallowed hard, looked at her dad, and nodded to the nurse.

After signing papers and listening to the nurse explain the next steps, she hurried out to meet Doug who sat reading a golf magazine. He looked up and smiled when she
stepped into the waiting room.

“Thank you for bringing me. They’ve scheduled the organ removals tomorrow morning at seven.” She left out the realization of what it meant for her father.

Doug walked up close and put his arms around her, and without hesitation she melted into his embrace. Unexpected tears flowed down her face, and then a barrage of sobs shook her body. Unembarrassed, she held onto his shirt and cried. She didn’t know why she cried. The man in ICU was a stranger to her, someone who had rejected her, and cast her out of his life.

Yet, he was still her father.

Finally the tears subsided. She felt herself tremble as she inhaled a ragged breath. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure why I’m crying.” She closed her eyes. “When I was young, I was embarrassed by my dad. It’s horrible to say, but I guess I was glad he didn’t live with us. When I was older, I tried to see him, but he wouldn’t talk to me. I guess he wanted the ties broken. Maybe I’m crying today because I feel guilty that I didn’t try harder.”

Doug gave her a squeeze. “There’s nothing to feel guilty about. He might be your biological father, but he wasn’t a real father.”

“I know. That’s why I’m not sure where all the tears are coming from.”

Doug held her at arm’s length. “Well, let me fill you in. You’ve been through hell and back in the last seventy-two hours. You’ve buried Miss Ellie and just signed papers to have your dad’s organs removed. I think you have every right to sob as much as you want. I’ve got a big shoulder. So you go right ahead.”

Anna Marie sniffled,
then
straightened up. “No, I’m okay. I think I’m dried up for the moment. Thanks.
Again.
I haven’t known you long and it looks like I’m already indebted to you.”

“
Ummm
.
That might be a good thing. Maybe we can even up the score if you’ll let me take you out to dinner on our way home.”

She looked down. “I’m not exactly dressed for dinner.”

“You are for where I plan to take you. In fact, we might be overdressed.”

The man’s good nature brought a smile to her face.

“If seafood appeals to you, we don’t have to go any farther than a little café on the bayou not far from here. It’s called Captain Jack’s.”

“I remember that restaurant. I can’t believe it’s still in business. It was here when I was growing up. I’d love to go there.”

“Great. We can sit on the deck and watch the boats.”

Within minutes he pulled into a crowded parking lot. “See. I told you it wasn’t fancy.

While Doug walked around the car, Anna Marie took in the faded clapboard siding of the building that must’ve been here for decades. It was the kind of place she loved to visit in the French Quarters in New Orleans, a place where traditions lived and friendships grew. She was glad she’d accepted his invitation.