Sweet Tea at Sunrise (25 page)

“She can’t be considering taking Walter back,” Travis grumbled. “She has to know what a mistake that would be.”

“No worse than you walking away without a fight,” Bill said.

“Has she said anything to you?” Travis asked. “Do you know for a fact that her feelings for Walter are changing?”

Bill rolled his eyes. “Forget Walter, you idiot. Sarah’s yours unless you decide your pride is more important than getting her back.”

“My pride’s not the issue. She told me flat out she doesn’t want a future with me.”

“The way I hear it, she said she’s scared to risk a future with you.”

“The same thing,” Travis said, then frowned. “Where’d you hear that, anyway?”

“Wharton’s, of course. Grace is having a field day over this. I think the pool over whether you’ll reconcile or not is somewhere around five hundred dollars.”

Travis wasn’t shocked that there was a pool. Nor was he sure he wanted to know the current odds for a reconciliation.

“Did you place a bet?” he asked Bill.

“Thought about it,” Bill admitted. “But I’m not convinced you’ve got the sense God gave a duck.”

“Thanks,” Travis said, annoyed.

“Just telling it like I see it.”

“It’s not as simple as me trying to sweep her off her feet, you know,” he said in his own defense.

“You sure about that? Because what I know for sure is that if you do nothing, it’s a hundred percent certain you’ll lose her.”

Bill’s words lingered in his head, mocking him for the next few days. By Sunday afternoon he was sick of his own foul mood. He was also determined to make Sarah see the light, that they were the ones who’d determine what kind of future they could have. Not his jerk of a father, that’s for sure.

By the time he reached her house, he’d worked up a full head of steam. He was more than ready to state his case for the two of them living happily ever after.

Then he saw Walter in the backyard with the kids. Sarah was nearby. The scene was so darn domestic, he almost turned around and walked away. Some kind of need to torture himself kept him in place. To make matters worse, Walter paused beside Sarah’s chair, then leaned down and kissed her like he meant it. She didn’t pull away, and Travis’s heart plummeted. Was it possible he was too late, after all?

He stood there, wallowing in his own misery for about sixty seconds, and then his temper kicked in. He was no better than Sarah, leaping to conclusions, ready to give up without a fight. That simply wasn’t going to happen. He’d come here to convince her they had a future, and he intended to do just that.

To get his temper under control and solidify his strategy, he made himself go for a walk so he could remind himself just how badly he wanted Sarah in his life. For a man known for glib chatter, this time he wanted to make sure his words were exactly right.

Filled with renewed resolve, he went back, assured
himself that Walter had gone, then walked into the kitchen where Sarah was in the middle of dinner preparations.

“He doesn’t deserve you, you know,” he announced, startling Sarah so badly she dropped the carton of milk she was holding.

Her gaze met his. She didn’t even try to pretend she didn’t know who he meant. “No, he doesn’t,” she replied calmly, her eyes sparkling. “What about you? Do you think you deserve me?”

“Damn straight,” he said at once. “What I didn’t deserve was to have you blaming me for things I’ve never done. From the minute we met, I haven’t so much as looked at another woman. Rory Sue practically threw herself at me, and was I tempted? Not even a little bit.”

She blinked at the ferocity of his words, but she didn’t interrupt.

“Keep this in mind. I dated a lot of women, yes, but I was never in love with any of them. Not even close. The only woman I’ve ever loved is you.”

He could see tears welling up in her eyes then, but he needed to hammer his point home, before she started trying to rebut every word he’d said. “If you need more time for me to go on proving it, fine. I’ll wait. But I will not let you walk away based on some crazy theory about what might happen down the road. I know exactly what I want, Sarah Price, and what I want is you.” He risked taking a step closer and touched her damp cheek with a tender caress, then lowered his voice. “I choose you.”

Her lips curved then, the smile lighting up her face. “Okay,” she said simply. “I choose you, too.”

Travis stared at her in shock. “That’s it? Okay?”

She nodded, grinning. “You convinced me. Well, you and Raylene and even Walter, who surprisingly enough is on your side. If you hadn’t come over here today, I’d decided to come looking for you so I could tell you I’d been a fool.”

“You could have said something sooner,” he murmured, pulling her into his arms.

“And ruin that pretty speech you were making? No way. I wanted to hear every word.”

“I have more,” he admitted. “Want to hear them?”

“Absolutely,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I will never, ever want you to be less than the best you can be,” he promised. “If that means you and I butt heads from time to time, well, at least it will be a fair fight.” He caressed her cheek, his voice turning tender. “And we will butt heads, you know. There’s not a doubt in my mind about that. Our marriage is going to have enough fireworks to keep the whole town on the edge of their seats.”

She faltered as his words registered. “Marriage? Did you just say marriage?”

He nodded. “If you’re interested.” He shrugged as if her answer didn’t matter a bit, even though it meant everything. “Well?”

“For a man who’s always been full of sweet talk, words seem to have failed you now,” she said.

“I have a whole stockpile of them, if that’s what you want to hear. I love you, Sarah Price. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I want you and the kids to move in with me and fill that big old house with more kids. We’ll let Liz spoil them to death as their surrogate grandma. I want to grow old with you and sit side by
side on our front porch, still arguing about just about everything.” His gaze locked with hers. “How am I doing? If it’s not enough, I’ll go on the air tonight and tell the world the same thing. That way you can hold me accountable from now to eternity.”

She smiled at that. “Not much about this courtship has been private,” she said. “I think I’d like your proposal to stay that way, just between you and me.”

“Then, will you marry me, Sarah?”

Her smile spread. Her eyes sparkled, but still she said nothing. She just tilted her head and studied him in a way that made his palms sweat.

“You know,” she said eventually, “I believe I will.”

Travis let out a whoop, then scooped her up and twirled her around the kitchen. “You sure I can’t go down to the station and tell the whole darn town?”

She laughed. “Why not? I wanted the proposal private, but I think it would be a shame if Grace wound up scooping our own radio station with the news, and you know she will if we don’t do this now.”

Which is why Travis McDonald cut off George Strait in midsong to announce that Ms. Sarah Price was going to be his wife. And she interrupted to suggest that he’d taken his own sweet time about asking. Which gave the residents of Serenity even more than usual to talk about first thing in the morning when they arrived at Wharton’s.

By the time
Carolina Daybreak
went on the air Monday morning, the whole town was buzzing with the news. The station’s phone lines rang off the hook throughout the broadcast. Half the town stood across the street in the square trying to catch a glimpse of Sarah and Travis where they sat in the studio sipping sweet
tea and gazing at each other, barely remembering to change the music that was playing.

“We could give them something else to talk about,” Travis suggested, pulling Sarah into his arms at the end of her show.

She lifted her face for his kiss, but just as he was about to claim her mouth, he had second thoughts. He gave a little wave to the crowd, then deliberately pulled down the shade in a gesture meant to declare the show over.

Their future, however, was just beginning.

1. For most of her marriage to Walter Price, Sarah was subjected to a barrage of verbal abuse from him and from his parents. Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you handle it? Is verbal abuse just as demeaning in its way as physical abuse?
   
2. Dealing with in-laws can sometimes be difficult. What is your relationship like with yours? If the road has been rocky, has your spouse taken your side?
   
3. Self-esteem is a huge issue for Sarah. Have you ever struggled with self-doubts? Were they in a particular area like work or relationships? Or were they general, affecting all areas of your life? How did you work this out? Did your friends play a role in making you see yourself in a new light?
   
4. Travis is the kind of man for whom pretty words come easily. Because of that and her own issues, Sarah has a great deal of difficulty taking him seriously. Have you ever crossed paths with a flirtatious man and wondered if you dared to trust his sweet talk? What did it take to convince you he meant what he said?
   
5. Travis’s father is marrying a much younger woman and cheating on her only weeks before the wed
   ding. Do you think his marriage to Trina stands even a tiny chance of succeeding? How do you feel about older men marrying younger women? Or older women marrying younger men?
   
6. Ultimately, Sarah has to take a leap of faith, because there are no guarantees about the future. Have you ever felt you were taking a leap of faith? About what? How did it work out?