Hacienda Moon (The Path Seekers) (12 page)

11

Saul arrived at 6 p.m. sharp on Saturday evening, unlike Eric that didn’t show up on his proposed start date. Tandie wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Saul standing outside her door at the exact time he gave.

She’d spent most of the week chewing the inside of her mouth and fighting an urge to take a pill to calm her nerves. She kept telling herself that just one was all she needed to take the edge off. What would that hurt? Even though nervous tension filled her chest, she placed the bottle back inside the medicine cabinet. The first victory of the night was done. But the second one, getting through her first date in almost eight years, was going to be the toughie.

The royal blue dress she wore trailed across the floor as Tandie walked to the door. Frieda had spent the last two days scouring Independence Mall with her,
looking for the right blue outfit. She also made it a point to tease Tandie about having Jungle Fever.

“Seriously, who uses that term these days?” Tandie had teased back.

“Sex therapists. If we tease them about old cheesy terms like that then it works better than a charm, girlfriend. We need some way to make patients loosen up,” Frieda said and shrugged. 

“Whatever you say.” Getting out of the house felt good; but heading out to a place filled with people who called her a witch made Tandie anxious.

When the tires of Saul’s Mercedes SUV crunched across the gravel driveway, Tandie almost hyperventilated. Glancing at Breena’s photograph, she inhaled deeply, adjusted her curls that Frieda pinned up in a loose chignon, and opened the door. Saul stood outside, waiting with a boutonniere in his hand. He wore a dark gray tuxedo with tails trailing behind him. The shirt underneath the suit was black. The dark clothing paired together with his light hair made a striking combination. A bright smile lit up his entire face after glancing over Tandie’s outfit. “You are stunning beyond words.”

You can do this. He’s human, not a monster. That means he won’t bite or mutilate you. So calm down.

Removing the flower from inside the box, he placed it in her hands. It was a bluish-lavender rose. “I’ve never seen a flower like this before,” Tandie gushed.

“A blue curiosa. Very hard to find, and very rare, like your eyes: one brown, one green. Truly unique,” he said, silencing her with his intense gaze.

“I’ll be wearing an awful lot of blue tonight,” Tandie said, trying to smile through her flushed face.

Laughing softly, Saul said, “It’s not for your dress, Tandie. This little beauty is for my suit. That way the other men will know who you belong to tonight. Help me pin it on.”

Concentrating on keeping the pointed end away from his well-toned chest, Tandie set to work pinning the flower on his collar. “There. All done,” she said without looking at him. She felt his gaze studying her intently. An awkward moment passed; and then Saul lifted her chin up so his deep blue gaze bore into her bi-colored eyes. “It’s perfectly all right to live a little. Just a taste of life is all you need. Things will start to get better. I promise.” His smile made her want to believe him; but the ache in her chest wanted to keep her a prisoner to the grief.

They stepped outside. He opened the car door and turned to face her. “I will make every single male envious tonight, and perhaps a few females too.”

Face flushing, Tandie smirked and said, “I believe this is the part where I pick on you about how you probably use that line on all of your girlfriends.”

“Girlfriends? You flatter me with your assumptions,” he said and opened her door wider.

* * *

The Governor’s Ball took place in the Thalian Hall, another marvelous structure preserved from the historical days. It was an old theatre recently renovated. Inside the building, dinner tables were set up along the middle of the main floor. Saul stopped to greet at least fifty people before they found their table. Over half of that group was females he brushed off as they passed by. Stares and more than a few glares came from all directions, but Saul didn’t falter a bit.

As the night wore on, Tandie got the chance to meet the Governor, a few of Saul’s local business partners, and more of his female playmates. The women didn’t make their annoyance with Tandie too obvious; but they found creative ways to let her know they had played a role in Saul’s past.

Tandie started to fidget in her seat after spending a couple of hours watching various plays taking place on the stage in front of the hall. 

During the intermission, Saul leaned forward and said, “You eat like a little bird. You haven’t even touched your calamari or your red velvet cake. I admire your ability to resist such temptations.” 

“Actually, birds eat twice as much of their weight. My grandmother used to always tell me that I eat like a hamster. I pile things on my plate, and then I come back to munch on them later. That way I am the one controlling the temptation.” Tandie held Saul’s gaze this time, refusing to lower her eyes, even though her face was on fire. 

After a long moment, he broke the connection and grinned. Even in the candlelight, Saul’s brilliant smile lit up the table. “Are you not having a good time? We can leave if you’re ready.”

“Oh no. I don’t want to interfere,” Tandie lied. She desperately wanted to break out of this crowd filled with the kind of people that reminded her of her ex-husband’s colleagues.

Coming back to Castle Hayne so many times made her think of Grandma Zee’s little cottage sitting along the outskirts in the swampland areas of Castle Hayne. The memories of her grandmother perishing in the fire made her think of Baby B.

As another hour passed, Tandie was no longer able to sit still in her seat. “All right, I’ve decided. We’re leaving.” Saul stood and came over to pull out Tandie’s chair.

“I’m okay. Really, we don’t have to leave.”

He leaned in close, his spicy cologne drifting around him. “We’re going. No arguments.” If she didn’t know better, she might think Saul was a knight in disguise, coming to rescue the damsel.

On the way out, Saul and Tandie were approached by several people that questioned him about his early departure. Just as he did the women from earlier, Saul brushed them off too.

Inside the car, the air between them changed. She could almost feel the heated energy even before Saul made the first statement. “I’m sorry you didn’t have a good time,” he said suddenly.

“That’s not true. I had a great time,” Tandie lied, yet again.

“Want to tell me why you’re teary-eyed?”

“Not really.”

He sighed deeply. “Tandie it’s perfectly all right to open up once or twice a lifetime.”

“My grandmother’s old house isn’t far from here,” Tandie admitted. “I haven’t been there since I returned to the area.”

“Why not? I’m sure your relatives would love to see you,” Saul said.

“None of my father’s relatives live here in this area. Grandma Zee’s other son lives in Hawaii. My mother’s people still live in Egypt, but she never talked about them. And I have no idea whether my father is dead or alive.” She scoffed at the thought. Deep down inside, she knew he was still living.

Grandma Zee’s funeral was mysteriously paid for, and the house she left was partially restored. Why her father chose to hide from his daughter and mother was something Tandie would never understand. It was an ache, a pang that plagued her relationships on all levels. Her grandmother spoke fondly of both her two boys; but Tandie could tell from the way her face lit up that her father was her favorite.

“My grandmother had a little garden I used to tend to for her, even after she died.”

“Where is this place?” Saul asked, making Tandie curious about his questions.

“It’s near the swamplands. Why do you ask?”

“Because we’re headed that way,” Saul said as if this were a trip they took together every day.

“I’m not ready to go back there,” Tandie said, tingles creeping up her neck. Saul continued driving toward the coastline. “You don’t even know where it is.”

“No. But you’re going to tell me how to get there, unless you’d like to ride around all night.” He gazed over at her with an expression that meant every word of what he just said was true.

Anger and fear and a strange sense of relief stirred in Tandie’s chest. Since she’d already learned he was the kind of man who would do exactly what he said, she gave in and told him the address. She didn’t want to drive around all night with Saul while she was more than ready to go home.

Twenty minutes later, the Mercedes eased to a stop in front of the cottage. Part of the roof was still covered by the tarp her father’s estate lawyers had the workers put on it years ago. The small walkway leading up to the front door bore cracks in the cement. Before it was burned on one side, the Cape Cod style house was painted a crisp white. Now the exterior had faded. The siding was a dingy color, a symbol of the way Tandie’s life had changed since she lost her daughter. Considering all the damage, traces of the lush garden her grandmother labored over still lingered along either side of the property’s borders.

The day Tandie received the call from Grandma Zee’s caretaker, six years ago, was both the best and worst day of her life. Sad because of the tragedy, yet happy because she had just learned that she was pregnant with Breena. But it was a bittersweet joy. The woman who took care of Tandie for most of her life would never get the chance to see the baby.

“I’m not ready for this,” Tandie whispered, glancing over the house’s exterior. The strangely colored moonlight gave it an eerie glow.

“Yes, you are,” Saul ordered, and then got out, walked around, and opened Tandie’s door. 

“Why are you doing this? You barely even know me.” Tandie stepped out of the car and faced Saul, waiting for his answer. He wore the saddest look she’d ever seen on him, the oil tycoon who was always smiling.

“I understand what it’s like to be a victim of your past. It’s a clever way for fate to cripple you in the future.” He glanced deep in her eyes for the longest moment and she found herself wanting to know more about the millionaire with the sad eyes. “Now, let’s go inside.”

“What? We’ll fall through the floor,” Tandie said with a slight shrill in her voice.

A subdued smile flashed across his face. “No, we won’t. Someone has already completed quite a bit of construction on this old house. Come take a look if you don’t believe me.”

Tandie didn’t want to look, or notice anything about the house. She only wanted to go home and get away from this man who wanted her to face things she wasn’t ready to see.

A vision surged through her mind. It was a picture of her grandmother sleeping soundly on the sofa, her wrinkled brown skin looking peaceful. The coroner’s report said her grandmother died long before the fireplace shot out the spark that set the house ablaze; so she didn’t suffer. Tandie never really knew how old her grandmother was; but she seemed wise beyond her years. She told Tandie that her mutt-blood made her look younger than her bad knees made her feel old. 

The vision faded, bringing back memories of her daughter’s death along with her grandmother’s. The image was a small, but powerful one. Sobs started in her chest first, making her feel as though she might hyperventilate. “I can’t go in there. I just can’t.” Leaning against Saul’s chest, she found his embrace comforting as though she could allow herself to grieve for just one stolen moment.

Saul took Tandie’s face in his hands, caressing her cheeks with a gentleness that made her feel safe. Why were his hands so soft? They were very different from Eric’s weather beaten ones or even her ex’s water-logged skin. Everything abou
t Saul Chelby was different from any man she’d ever known.