Sweet Tea at Sunrise (22 page)

“But I have some paperwork to do.”

“You won’t get it done with my mother ranting for the next hour,” Travis told her.

“I could provide backup,” she offered.

He chuckled. “Nothing I’d like to see more than that, but no. It’s my family drama.”

“You’ve been dragged into mine,” she reminded him. “Walter will be here at two-thirty.”

“Yet another reason for you to leave,” he said. “Go home and take a nice long bubble bath. Thinking about that will get me through the next couple of hours.”

“If I stay in the tub that long, I’ll shrivel up like a prune.”

“You only need to promise you’ll do it in order for me to get the picture,” he assured her. He closed his eyes. “Yep, there it is. The image I was hoping for. Very sexy!”

Sarah laughed. “You’re a little crazy, you know that, don’t you?”

“Does that bother you?”

She reached up tentatively and touched his cheek. “Not half as much as I expected it to.”

It was a rare night when all of the Sweet Magnolias—young and old—could get together these days. All of them had busy lives and too many of them had young children. Apparently, though, Raylene had spent the day organizing it.

“I was going a little stir crazy for some adult company,” she admitted sheepishly when Sarah got home. “I called everyone, and they all said they’d come. While the kids were napping, the sitter ran to the store and picked up everything we’ll need. She’s taking Libby
and Tommy over to Annie’s and will watch them and Trevor tonight.”

Sarah was startled and pleased that Raylene had taken the initiative. She wasn’t entirely sure what it meant, though. Was Raylene ready to take the next step and ask for help? Rather than pressing her, though, she merely asked, “You haven’t already made the margaritas, have you?”

Raylene looked genuinely horrified by the suggestion. “Absolutely not. That’s Helen’s job.”

“Whew! I’m glad you remembered that. And the guacamole?”

“Stop worrying. Dana Sue’s making it. I know the pecking order in this group. Those two and Maddie have a practically lifelong system. I’m not about to tamper with it. I’m just glad they’ve welcomed us into the margarita-night tradition.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Sarah said.

That night, she repeated the same thing when they were all gathered together. “Do you know how rare it is to have two generations get along as well as we all do? I feel so blessed.”

Annie feigned a scowl. “It’s easier for you. You don’t have to bare your soul in front of your own mother.”

Dana Sue sat up a bit straighter. “Do you have secrets, young lady?”

Annie chuckled at her mother’s exaggerated indignation. “You bet I do, and they will never come out in front of this crowd.”

“Now that’s a fine thing to say,” Maddie said. “You’re married to my son. I want to know any secrets the two of you might have.”

Annie blushed and tried to avoid Maddie’s gaze.

“Oh my gosh, you’re pregnant,” Sarah blurted without thinking. “How long? Does Ty know?”

Annie whirled on her, her stunned expression giving away the secret even before she demanded, “How on earth did you figure it out? I only found out today after using about four different home pregnancy tests.”

“Then it’s true?” Maddie asked, even as Dana Sue sprang up and ran to hug her.

Then Maddie and Dana Sue were embracing. “We’re gonna be grandmas,” Dana Sue exulted. “Can you believe it? Not that we’re not already, because of Trevor, but this will be ours, together, if you know what I mean.”

Annie shook her head. “This is exactly why I wasn’t ready to tell you yet. Suddenly it’s all about the grandmothers, and not one bit about me.”

“Oh, of course, it’s about you,” Sarah said, giving her a hug. “You’re going to have a baby! This is so exciting. You never did say, does Ty know?”

Annie shook her head. “Since it’s still pretty early, I wanted to see the doctor and get final confirmation. Then I’ll tell him in person. The team will be home this weekend, though, honestly, if I make the mistake of trying to tell him on the day he’s pitching, it’ll probably go in one ear and out the other. All he can think about is the opposing team and his notes on the batters and whether his stupid fastball is losing some of its pace.”

Maddie gave her a sympathetic look. “I remember days like that. I’ve never known a kid to concentrate on a game the way he did. Cal says that’s how he knew Ty was going to be great.”

“Well, as long as I get my timing right, he’ll only be concentrating on me,” Annie declared. “I’ve already bought the lingerie to be sure of it.”

Maddie and Dana Sue clapped their hands over their ears. “Too much information,” Dana Sue said.

Annie gave her an amused look. “Mom, how exactly do you think we made this baby?”

“I try not to think about it,” Dana Sue told her. “And you really do not want to ask your father that question. As much as Ronnie loves Ty, he still has mixed feelings about his baby girl being married.”

Raylene had been fairly quiet during the excitement, but she regarded Annie with surprising longing. “This means a baby shower. Please let me plan it, okay?”

“It’s way too soon to be thinking about a baby shower,” Annie said. “Let me at least grow a bump before we even start talking about a shower.”

“But when the time comes, you will let me plan it?” Raylene persisted.

“Sure,” Annie said, though she looked puzzled by her insistence. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Raylene said, but there were tears welling up in her eyes. She tried to brush them away, but Sarah caught her.

“Raylene, what is it?” she asked quietly as the others went back to talking.

Raylene just shook her head. “Not now. Leave it alone, okay?”

Sarah backed off because she looked so distraught, but the minute everyone had left, she cornered Raylene in the kitchen. She gestured toward a chair. “Sit down and tell me what had you so upset earlier.”

“Just forget it, please. It’s over and done with.”

“Not if it still has the power to make you so sad. Tell me.”

Raylene sat down and closed her eyes. Tears leaked out and spilled down her cheeks. In all the months she’d lived with Sarah, in all the times they’d talked about the past, tonight was the first time Sarah could recall her crying. When she’d arrived, she’d been defeated, then eventually angry, but sad was something new. It gave Sarah a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Raylene?” she prodded more gently.

“The last time,” she began in a halting voice. “When Paul hit me that last time, I was pregnant. I was only as far along as Annie, more than likely.” When she opened her eyes, they were filled with despair. “That night I lost the baby.”

“And that’s why you finally left him and came home,” Sarah concluded.

“Hurting me, that was one thing, but our baby,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “How could I stay after he killed our baby?”

“Oh, sweetie,” Sarah murmured, gathering her close. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“No,” Raylene said fiercely, pulling away. “Don’t be sorry. Not for me, anyway. It was my fault. I put my baby at risk.”

“You were living with a monster,” Sarah said.

“But I knew what he was and I didn’t make myself leave,” Raylene said. “I should have gone the second the doctor told me I was carrying a child, but stupid me, I thought maybe Paul would be happy about it and maybe we’d finally have a real marriage. Instead, he was
furious. It was the worst argument we’d ever had. How can I ever forgive myself for letting that happen? I’m the one who didn’t deserve to go on living.”

Suddenly it all came crystal clear for Sarah. “And that’s why you’ve stayed shut up inside this house, because you don’t think you should have a life of your own. It’s more than just being afraid of Paul. You’ve been punishing yourself all this time.”

Raylene shook her head, then said, “I guess. Maybe. I don’t know. I can’t seem to sort it all out.”

The admission was all it took for Sarah to make a decision. “Then it’s time to talk about all this with someone who can help you. I’m calling Dr. McDaniels in the morning.”

“No,” Raylene said. “I’ll do it.”

Sarah studied her doubtfully. “You will?”

“I promise. I’ll do it soon.”

“Tomorrow would be good,” Sarah pressed.

A fleeting smile touched Raylene’s lips. “Does Travis know what a nag you are?” she asked.

“Actually he does.”

“And yet he still cares about you,” Raylene said, feigning astonishment.

“Why not?” Sarah retorted. “You do.”

“Right this second, not so much,” Raylene insisted, but the sparkle was back in her eyes.

Maybe, Sarah thought, Raylene was finally ready to take the next step toward reclaiming her life.

A
fter spending the afternoon first with his mother and then with Walter, Travis could have used a drink…or ten, but instead he had his show to do. Since thinking about Sarah had gotten him through the awful confrontation with his mother and the reasonably civil, if awkward, meeting with Walter, he decided to keep her front and center while he was on the air.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to dedicate this pretty little ballad by Mr. George Strait to my morning cohost. Sarah, this is just about how far I’ll go to prove my love to you.”

No sooner had the song begun than his private line lit up. He knew even before glancing at the caller ID who it was.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Sarah asked, sounding scandalized.

“I’m courting you,” he said mildly. “I thought we’d established that.”

She sighed heavily. “Do you think maybe you could do it a little more privately?”

He chuckled at the frustration in her voice, but she
had left the door open for more. That was something. “Have dinner with me Saturday night at my place,” he said. “You agree to that, I won’t say one more word about you on the air tonight.”

“I think there are probably too many loopholes in that promise, but okay,” she said. “I’ll deal with one crisis at a time.”

“Seven o’clock?”

“We could settle the details when I see you tomorrow,” she said.

“I think I’d like to pin this down while you’re in an amenable mood.”

“Seven is fine.”

“’Night, sugar. Nice to know you listen in when I’m on the air.”

“I can’t help it. I never know when you’re going to set off a fire I’ll need to put out.”

“Gotta run. George is just about finished up. I think this time I’ll go with Brad Paisley’s “Waitin’ on a Woman,” ’cause it seems like that’s what I’ve been doing ever since I hit town.”

“If you say that on the air, our date’s off,” she warned.

“Oops,” he said unrepentantly as the hit song began playing. “The microphone must have been open.”

“You enjoy taunting me entirely too much,” she accused.

“Yes, I do,” he admitted. “’Night, sugar. Sweet dreams. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He smiled as he ended the call. That little interlude might have been brief, but it had surely wiped away all the lingering frustration from dealing with his mother and Sarah’s ex-husband.

Though talking with Sarah the night before had improved his mood, unfortunately the effect didn’t last through his phone call to his father first thing in the morning. Truthfully he had no idea what he could possibly say to Greg to get him to rethink his disastrous plan to marry Trina now that there was a baby involved, but he’d promised his mother he’d try.

“I assume your mother’s been to see you,” Greg said, his tone resigned.

“How’d you guess?”

“Because she’s always run straight to you. What I can’t figure out is when you’re going to refuse to get involved. Our lives are not your problem.”

“Believe it or not, I actually get that, but for once I happen to agree with Mom.” He decided to be blunt. “Trina’s after your money, Dad. Remember, I’ve known her a lot longer than you have. If I didn’t believe it before, I certainly do now that she’s tried to seal the deal by getting pregnant.”

“You know, son, you and your mother have never given me half enough credit. Don’t you think I can read a woman like Trina, after all the experience I’ve had over the years?”

“Then why on earth are you marrying her?”

“Because that’s what men in my generation do. If we create a child, we accept responsibility for it. Why do you think your mother and I married? That’s what has her in a tailspin, you know. She recognizes that there was only one other time I let things go this far, and it was with her. In some twisted way, until now she took a certain amount of satisfaction in thinking our relationship was unique.”

The announcement wasn’t news to Travis, but it still rankled that his very existence had thrown these two mismatched people together.

“Look, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be responsible, just that you don’t need to marry Trina to take care of your baby. We might all have been better off if you hadn’t married Mom.”

“Maybe I’m hoping for a second chance to get it right,” Greg said quietly. “I was a lousy father to you. I wasn’t around. I let your mom put you in the middle of all our drama. I was—and still am—a terrible role model. I’d like to do better this time. Maybe this old dog can finally learn a few new tricks.”

Travis heard the sincerity in his voice. He certainly couldn’t argue with the sentiment. “And you and Trina? How’s that going to work?”

“I know what you’re asking,” he said. “We understand each other. I know what she wants and needs from me. She’s terrified of being poor. She wants to hang on to her respectability. She’s grateful to me for giving her that.”

Travis was incredulous that his father would settle for so little in return. “And that’s enough for you?”

“You really don’t want me to get into the rest, do you? I’ll just say she makes me feel young again, and leave it at that.”

“Enough said,” Travis told him. The last thing he needed to hear about was his father’s sex life with a woman he used to date himself.

“Tell your mother she needs to move on,” Greg said. “No matter what I’ve done over the years, no matter how many times I’ve told her that we were through, for some
reason she’s held out hope that was going to change. It’s not.”

“Have you ever told her that in so many words?” Travis asked.

“Too many times to count,” Greg said wearily. “Your mother doesn’t hear anything she doesn’t want to hear. Not from me, anyway.” He hesitated, then said, “I’m sorry. Now I’m doing what I accused her of doing, using you as my go-between. Forget my request. I’ll see her myself and settle this once and for all.”

Travis knew how that would go. By tonight he’d have had a second sobbing phone call from his mother. It would almost be easier to intervene himself.

Almost as if he could read Travis’s thoughts, his father said, “Don’t take her calls today, okay? There are half a dozen men at the club who’d be happy to give her a shoulder to cry on. I’ll make sure she turns to one of them for a change.”

“You’re going to break up with Mom, then set her up on a date?” Travis asked, astonished. Was it any wonder he had a jaded view of relationships?

“Son, I broke up with her years ago. This will just reinforce the message. As for setting her up, she’ll never know I’m behind those men calling at an opportune moment. Despite what she thinks, I do care about her. I know I’ve done my part to make her life miserable, but she’s wallowed in that misery for long enough now. Worse, she’s used you as her sounding board to keep it alive. That ends today.”

Travis didn’t honestly believe his father could make good on that promise, but when the day passed without a call from his mother, he began to think that maybe
Greg’s strategy had worked. When another day went by with no frantic calls, he was sure of it. For the first time in years, he could focus exclusively on his own life and stop worrying about this endless game his mother and father had been playing with him serving as referee.

Mary Vaughn had finally cajoled her doctor into letting her go to The Corner Spa for a facial, a manicure and a pedicure. She took Rory Sue along as a thank-you for her hard work lately, showing real estate to prospective buyers. Rory Sue had made her first official sale on Sunday. Though she still didn’t share Mary Vaughn’s excitement for the business, the thought of splitting the commission with her mom had stepped up her interest.

“How’ve you been feeling?” Jeanette asked as she massaged a soothing lotion onto Mary Vaughn’s face.

“Frustrated,” Mary Vaughn replied. “How about you? You look amazing.” She surveyed Jeanette in the mirror, then added with a note of wistfulness in her voice, “You’re actually glowing.”

She had more of a baby bump than Mary Vaughn did, too. She was already wearing stylish maternity tops that clung to her rounded tummy.

“Where’d you find that top?” Mary Vaughn wanted to know. “I’ll have to send Rory Sue shopping for me, since there’s no way I can go. I had to plead my case just to come here for a couple of hours. I told the doctor how relaxing it would be.”

Jeanette regarded her with concern. “Next time you’re feeling in need of some pampering, you don’t have to come in here. I’ll come to the house, and I can send over the manicurist, too.”

Mary Vaughn regarded her gratefully. “You’d do that?”

“Of course, I would. You’re a valued customer, aren’t you? To say nothing of being my friend. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about what it must be like for you to be shut away at home. Why don’t I grab some chick flicks from the video store and bring them over one night? We can eat a half-gallon of ice cream and cry off the calories.”

“You name the night,” Mary Vaughn said eagerly. “I’ll make sure Sonny has other plans.”

“So, what have you been doing to keep yourself busy?”

“I’m napping too darn much, for one thing. And I’m keeping up with my real estate business as best I can. Rory Sue handles the appointments, but I put the deals together.” She grinned. “And you’ll never believe this, but Liz and a couple of her friends have been coming over to play cards. Flo Decatur’s been by with her twice now.”

“Helen’s mother?” Jeanette asked incredulously.

“Yep, me and the seniors,” Mary Vaughn said jokingly, then sobered. “But you know what? It’s been a lot of fun. They’re so thoughtful to do it, and I swear I learn something new about this town’s history from Liz every single time she stops by. I think she’s trying to prepare me to take over for her as an activist, but she’s so remarkable, I doubt anyone will ever be able to replace her.”

“Travis just adores her,” Jeanette said. “He says letting her stay on in the guest house was the best decision he’s ever made. He won’t admit it, but I think
it’s because she spoils him rotten by cooking all his favorite dishes and bringing them over to him.”

“He’s picked her up at the house a couple of times, and it’s wonderful to see how he dotes on her,” Mary Vaughn said. She glanced up in the mirror to make sure Rory Sue wasn’t close by, then added in a low tone, “I wish my own daughter showed that much appreciation for her elders.”

“Come on now,” Jeanette chided. “She came home to help out, didn’t she?”

“And complains bitterly about it whenever things don’t suit her. I’d hoped maybe she’d meet someone or at least build a friendship with Sarah, Annie and Raylene, but it hasn’t happened. She’s too much like me, I think. She won’t appreciate the value of friends until later in life. It certainly took me long enough to realize what I was missing by not having the kind of friendships you found with Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue.”

“And you,” Jeanette told her.

Mary Vaughn felt her eyes sting with tears at Jeanette’s declaration. “Come on now. Don’t say stuff like that. I’m weepy enough these days. My hormones are on a perpetual roller coaster.”

Jeanette gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Tell me about it. Just imagine the kind of sobbing we can do on movie night. It’ll be a relief to Tom that for once he won’t have to cope with me going all weepy out of the blue.”

Mary Vaughn met her gaze in the mirror. “I usually hate messing up my makeup, but it’s going to be worth it to cry my eyes out without poor Sonny thinking I’m having a breakdown.”

“Amen to that,” Jeanette said knowingly. “Tom
watches me as if I’m so fragile that one wrong word will unhinge me. Worse, he’s right.”

“I’ll check Sonny’s schedule and call you with a date,” Mary Vaughn promised. “Hopefully one night next week.”

When she left the spa with Rory Sue an hour later, not only did she feel pampered, but making plans with Jeanette had been just the boost her spirits needed. Maybe she’d try one more time to get Rory Sue together with Sarah and the others. Her daughter needed to discover that girlfriends were every bit as important as having the right man in her life.

Though it had been years since she’d actually dated, Sarah recognized that dinner with Travis at his place on a Saturday night was a real milestone. She’d even made arrangements for the kids to spend the night with their dad, so she had all night long for this date. There could be no pretense that she and Travis were getting together tonight strictly for business. Even if he hadn’t made his intentions perfectly clear, the sparks these days were all but impossible to ignore.

And if her own impressions weren’t enough, half the town seemed to be fully aware of what was going on between them. Expectations were high, especially at Wharton’s, where she suspected Grace actually had some kind of pool going. Sarah was scared to ask what the bet was.

She stood at the front door, trying to make herself leave the house. Raylene looked up from the book she’d been pretending to read and feigned shock that she was still there.

“I thought you’d left,” she said.

“I can’t seem to open the door,” Sarah admitted.

“Well, speaking as someone who faces that fear all the time and loses, I’d suggest you just do it fast, or you’ll wind up shut away here with me.”

“Not amusing,” Sarah said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“You have cold feet,” Raylene said readily. “You know if you go over to Travis’s tonight, it’s not just about dinner. And once the two of you do the wild thing, there will be no turning back. You’ll have to face the fact that it’s serious.”

“For me, at least,” she conceded. “I fell for him even though I tried so hard not to. He makes me feel…” She searched for the right word and came up with one that was both simple and meaningful. “He makes me feel special.”

“Because you are.”

“I can’t stop thinking about his past, though. And about his father. Do men like that ever really change, or are they just masters at making whoever they’re with at the time feel special?”

Raylene put down her book and regarded her seriously. “Sweetie, you know as well as I do that life doesn’t come with guarantees. Neither does love. You just have to lead with your heart.”

“That’s the part that’s terrifying,” Sarah admitted.