Sweet Tea at Sunrise (9 page)

“I’m anxious to hear them,” Travis chimed in. “I understand they won the state band competition last year in their division.”

Sarah regarded him with surprise. That hadn’t been in her notes. Nor was it written down on anything in front of Travis, as far as she could tell.

“They won back when I was in school here, too,” she said, suddenly carried back to the day of their trium
phant return. “It just proves a school doesn’t have to be huge to have a competitive band if they have a dedicated band director. Mike Walker has been director here for nearly thirty years now.” She glanced out the window and caught a glimpse of the band’s red-and-white uniforms turning the corner. “Here they come now, everyone. They’re going to stop right in front of the grandstand to play our national anthem. Let’s listen in.”

She hit a switch to the microphone Bill had installed on the grandstand. It wasn’t exactly a top-notch sound system, yet it was clear enough to capture not only the sound of the band but also the clear, rich voice of Annabelle Litchfield, who was singing the words of the anthem.

Sarah waited until after the last note had played and the cheers had quieted before killing that microphone and turning to her unexpected cohost.

“What did you think, Travis?”

“That little girl sure has one sweet voice,” he said. “I’ve heard there’s talk she wants to try out for
American Idol.
She wouldn’t be the first Carolinian to have big success on that show, now would she?”

Once again, he’d caught Sarah by surprise. She wasn’t sure why she’d dismissed his dedication to preparation. Probably because she hadn’t seen any evidence of it firsthand, but clearly he’d done his homework. She was impressed.

“You seem to know quite a lot about our local talent,” she said. “How about filling us in on the first float? It just made the turn onto Main Street.”

The local nursery had decorated a trailer like a backyard vegetable garden. A low picket fence around
the edge added charm and made it safe for the three people on board. A woman, dressed in shorts and a tanktop, held a watering can, while two young children pretended to pull weeds and toss them into a wheelbarrow. Shock registered when Sarah realized the woman was Annie and the kids were Tommy and Libby. Annie pointed out Sarah through the window of the studio, and Tommy and Libby waved wildly. Though she couldn’t hear their voices, they were clearly shouting, “Mommy!” She waved back, thrilled by the surprise.

Apparently Travis had figured out what was going on, because he told listeners all about the float, then added that the cutest kids in town, the children of his cohost, were aboard the float.

A few minutes after the float passed the grandstand, Annie brought Libby and Tommy to the sidewalk outside the station, where they again waved to catch Sarah’s attention.

Travis announced a commercial break, then told her, “Go outside and say hello. You have a couple of minutes, and I’ll cover if you don’t get back before we’re back on the air.”

She didn’t even hesitate. “Thanks. I won’t be long.”

She ran outside and scooped up the kids, giving them a tight hug.

“Did you see us?” Tommy asked excitedly. “Did you? It was a surprise.”

“It certainly was,” she said. “And you were wonderful. You did a great job. I’m so proud of you.” She glanced up at Annie. “How’d you get talked into doing this?”

“I was supposed to help with the spa’s float, but then
the nursery was in a bind. They had a great idea, but the family that was supposed to ride on the float bailed. Maddie agreed to loan me out, and we decided to borrow your kids.”

“Why not hers or even Helen’s?” Sarah asked.

“Helen’s little girl is riding on the Sullivan’s float with Erik, and Maddie’s kids are on the spa’s. I probably should have asked, but I thought it would be a great surprise.”

“It was. I wish Walter could have seen them.”

“Oh, he did. He’s around here someplace. He was snapping pictures like crazy.”

Just then Walter rounded the corner and made his way toward them. Tommy ran for him, shouting, “Daddy, did you take our picture?”

Walter laughed as he scooped up her son. “I probably took a hundred of them,” Walter said, then winked at Sarah. “I’ll bring some prints over for you.”

“Thank you,” she said, surprised that he didn’t seem bothered that the kids had been on a float. Although efforts had been made to make sure they were safe, usually he’d be pitching a fit about the dangers. “What do you think your parents will have to say when they see the pictures?”

He frowned. “It might be best if they don’t see them. I’ll get a half-hour lecture on how they’ve demeaned the Price name.”

“I was sort of expecting that from you,” she admitted.

“New leaf,” he told her, holding her gaze. “I told you I’m thinking for myself these days, and all I could think today was that they looked like they were having a blast.”

“Me, too,” she said, relieved by the changes she’d seen lately in his overall attitude. “I need to get back inside. I’m working.” She turned to Annie. “Thanks for the surprise. It was a great one.”

“See you at the house later,” Annie said. “Why don’t you invite Travis along to the barbecue? Tom and Jeanette will be there. I think Mom and Dad have invited half the people in town. Then we’ll walk back to the green later to watch the fireworks.”

“I’ll think about it,” Sarah said, then hesitated. “What are we going to do about Raylene? I’ve tried to talk her into going, but she’s flat-out turned me down.”

“Me, too,” Annie said. “But I’ll try again.”

Sarah ran back inside and nearly collided with a tall, willowy woman who was literally perfect from head to toe—perfectly highlighted blond hair, designer sunglasses and a halter-top sundress that showed off perfectly tanned shoulders. She even had the perfect pedicure on display in sandals that had probably cost more than Sarah made in a month. Mariah Litchfield, if she wasn’t mistaken—Annabelle’s mother.

“Thank you again,” Mariah said to Travis as she backed out of the studio. Her voice was as sugary as a mint julep and twice as seductive. “I just had to run right over and thank you in person for the sweet things you said about my daughter.”

“Every word was the gospel truth,” Travis told her. He gestured toward the blinking on-air sign that was signaling the end of the commercial break. “Gotta go, sugar. You stop by again sometime.”

His low, sexy tone and the invitation he’d uttered hit Sarah like a blow to the stomach. It all sounded so
familiar. Even though she’d known deep down that she wasn’t anything special to Travis, she’d hoped otherwise. Damn the man, she thought, then bit back a sigh that would be way too telling. No, the fault was hers for taking one word he’d ever said to her seriously. He was just a big ole flirt, a label he’d never even tried to deny.

Unaware of her turmoil, he caught sight of her in the doorway of the studio and smiled his trademark grin, the one that set off butterflies. “Welcome back, sugar. We’re on the air in five.”

Reminding herself that she was a professional now, she took her seat, plastered a smile on her face and got through the final half hour of the parade, exchanging banter with Travis as if there weren’t a thing in the world wrong.

The instant the show ended, though, and Bill replaced them on the air, she bolted from the studio. She grabbed her purse and would have torn out of the building if Travis hadn’t blocked her way.

“Where’s the fire?” he asked, regarding her with a puzzled expression.

“I have someplace I need to be,” she said tightly.

“Away from me, I’m guessing,” he said, his gaze holding hers.

“Not everything is about you, Travis. I’m going to a barbecue with my kids and my friends.”

“I know. I’m going, too. I figured we could ride over together. Carpooling is good for the environment, right?”

Dismay crept over her. Annie had said she should invite him, so she’d assumed if she didn’t, he wouldn’t be there. Obviously Jeanette and Tom had thought to include him.

“As if you give two hoots about the environment,” she mumbled.

Travis regarded her with confusion. “Mind telling me what got your knickers in a twist? You were fine an hour ago.”

“That was before I heard you and Mariah Litchfield,” she blurted, then could have kicked herself. Now he’d think she was jealous, which she wasn’t. She was annoyed. There was a difference, or at least she thought she could make a strong case that there was.

A spark lit his eyes, making them dance like sunlight glimmering on the lake. “You’re jealous!” he gloated.

“I most certainly am not. I just thought you had better sense than to flirt with a woman who’s almost old enough to be your mother.”

He seemed to be having a very hard time keeping a straight face. “Sugar, I enjoy flirting with a pretty woman, no question about it, but I draw the line at going one bit further with married women. And, for the record, Mariah’s not anywhere close to being old enough to be my mother. A big sister, maybe, but that’s it.”

“Whatever,” she muttered. “If we’re going to Dana Sue and Ronnie’s, let’s go.”

“You gonna drive or should I?”

“I will,” she said. “That way, if you get on my nerves, I can run off and leave you there.”

He laughed. “Something tells me that the likelihood of me getting on your nerves is about a thousand percent. The only real questions are how long it will take, and which of my many flaws will tick you off?”

“At least that’s one thing we can agree on,” she said,
enjoying the sight of Travis trying to cram his long legs into the passenger side of the little VW bug she’d had since before her marriage. It wasn’t the ideal car for two kids, but she loved it, and it was hers, free and clear. She’d happily left that monstrous SUV Walter had wanted her to drive back in Alabama for him to fill with gas about every ten minutes.

“Sorry there’s not more legroom,” she said.

Travis gave her a considering look. “You don’t sound sorry. You sound as if you’re enjoying the fact that I might be miserable and uncomfortable.”

She met his gaze, her expression as innocent as she could possibly make it. “Oops! Caught me.”

His gaze narrowed. “Are you really sure you want to taunt me, sugar?”

She hesitated, as if giving the question careful consideration, then nodded. “Actually, I think I do. It’s satisfying. I like knowing I can get under your skin, the same way you get under mine.”

“Okay, then.” Before she could blink, he managed to turn sideways in the seat, reached out to cup the back of her head and sealed his mouth over hers. She gasped, which was a huge mistake, because he deepened the kiss. Her pulse scrambled. Her heart raced. And every single sane thought flew out of her head.

Instead, it was all about the fire licking through her, the faint stubble on his cheeks from being at the station just about 24/7 for the past couple of days, the fresh scent of soap, the way the soft cotton of his T-shirt felt when she bunched it up in her fist, his heat radiating out toward her already overheated body.

The initial anger behind the kiss gentled. He tasted
and savored. She trembled and stopped fighting it. If she’d been capable of clear thought, she might have rated it as the best kiss of her life.

When, at last, he slowly released her, he looked into her eyes. His were like a storm-tossed sea now.

“Just so you know, I have no interest in kissing Mariah Litchfield,” he said quietly. “You’re the only woman in Serenity I’ve kissed, the only one I’m interested in kissing. And before you can say hell will freeze over before I kiss you again, let me assure you that you’re wrong. This will happen again, sugar.”

“Oh,” she whispered, not sure what to make of his fierce tone.

“And also, just so you know, I am not one damn bit happy about that,” he added. “It complicates things. Work. My life. All of it.”

“I know,” she said, her own annoyance gone in the face of his admission. “Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe this was like a one-time thing because you were exasperated with me and you thought I was jealous.” She nodded, pleased with her analysis. It made sense.

He chuckled, but there was a bitter note to it. “Yeah, that’s it. You keep believing that, sugar.”

She had to, she thought, because she didn’t dare let herself believe anything else. Not even for a minute.

E
ver since he’d started spending every weekend in Serenity, Walter had been getting nonstop phone calls from his mother complaining that he was never around. He’d translated that to mean that she was ticked off that he hadn’t been available for any of the women she’d picked as prospective replacements for Sarah.

On Thursday afternoon when he saw his parents’ number on caller ID on his cell phone, he sucked in a deep breath and reluctantly answered.

“Hello, Mother.”

“Well, it’s about time you took one of my calls,” she said with a sniff.

“I’ve been busy at the mill and spending time with my children.”

“As long as you’re not getting involved with that woman again,” she said, then gasped. “Oh my God, you aren’t, are you? Surely you have more sense than that.”

He sighed. “Mother, you won. Sarah’s out of my life. Why can’t you let it alone and at least remember that as the mother of your grandchildren, she deserves your respect. Now tell me what’s on your mind.”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re free for dinner tomorrow night.”

“You know I’m going to Serenity tomorrow night,” he said, his impatience returning at once.

“Just this once couldn’t you stay here? This dinner’s important.”

“Why? I’m sure it’s because there’s someone you want me to meet.”

“Actually you already know her.”

Dread settled in his stomach. “Oh?”

“Yes,” she said cheerfully. “I convinced Patricia Warren to join us.”

She’d caught him completely off guard with that one. It was the last name he’d expected to hear. “Why the hell would you do that?” he asked, bewildered.

“The two of you were engaged before you met that little tart at college,” she said evenly. “She was always more suitable for you.”

“In your opinion,” Walter said slowly. “Not in mine. Patricia and I were over long before I even met Sarah.”

“She still loves you.”

“She told you that?” he asked incredulously. “I doubt it. I’m pretty sure she hates my guts. She was picking out silverware and china by the time I had the gumption to call things off. It was yet another situation that I allowed to get out of hand in an attempt to please you and Dad.”

“She’s forgiven you,” his mother assured him. “I’ve been able to help her see that you were young and immature back then, that you didn’t know what you wanted.”

“Actually I had a very clear picture of what I didn’t
want—Patricia. Mother, we were a very bad match then, and we’d be an even worse match now. Forget dinner. I’m going out of town, as planned.”

“I will never forgive you if you embarrass me like that.”

“Emotional blackmail isn’t going to work. You set this up, you can deal with the fallout. Tell her I had to see my children. That, at least, is probably more truthful than anything you told her to get her to agree to this farce.”

“Why are you being so hateful? I’m just trying to help you get your life on track.”

He realized with a blinding flash of insight what he had to do, what he should have done years ago. “Mother, if my life’s going to get on track, I’m the one who’ll have to put it there. Dad can’t do it. Neither can you. And I’m increasingly convinced that it will never happen here.”

“Walter Price, what are you suggesting?” she demanded with genuine dismay.

“I believe I’m saying that my future is in some other city, in some other job.”

“You can’t be serious!”

He hesitated for less than a second, then said, “You know, I think I am. About time, wouldn’t you say? Don’t worry about breaking the news to Dad. I’ll tell him before I leave tonight.”

“Tonight? You’re planning to pack up and leave for God knows where tonight?”

“No time like the present,” he said, his resolve building. “I’ll let you know where I am once I decide what’s next for me.”

“You were always too impulsive,” she accused him. “You never thought things through. If you had, you would never have married that woman and ruined your life.”

“My life will only be ruined if I stay here one more day. ’Bye, Mother. I do love you.”

He hung up before she could say anything that might change his mind. To his astonishment, instead of feeling panicked over his decision, for the first time since he’d left college and come back to Alabama, he could actually breathe again.

Sarah was sitting on the back patio with a glass of sweet tea when she heard a car pull into the driveway. She’d spent a lot of time on her own in recent days trying to make sense of that kiss Travis had planted on her and the regret he’d expressed about doing it…or even wanting to.

Now, every time she saw him, she felt even more awkward. Apparently he did, too, because he seemed to be going to extremes to avoid her. They only communicated by Post-it notes left on their respective desks.

A few minutes after she heard the slam of a car door, Walter came around the side of the house. Thankfully, his arrival no longer had the power to stir all her insecurities.

“I thought I’d find you out here,” he said. “Any more of that tea?”

“Sure.” She stood up, then took a closer look at him. There was something different about him, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “Everything okay?”

“Better than okay,” he said. “Bring me that tea, if you don’t mind, and I’ll explain.”

She returned a few minutes later with a full pitcher and another glass. She poured his, then added some to her own glass before meeting his gaze. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve left home,” he announced. “For good, I mean. Quit my job at the mill, too.”

She stared at him in shock. “You’re kidding me. How’d that happen?”

“It doesn’t matter really. You should know, though, that I have plenty of savings in the bank. This won’t affect your alimony or child support, at least not in the short term.”

“That’s not the first thing that came to mind,” she said honestly. “All I can think about is how stunned your parents must be.”

“I left Dad ranting and raving about how he’d never take me back at the mill. I hung up on Mother before she got too worked up.”

“Oh, my.” She glanced at him. “Is this somehow going to turn out to be one more thing that’s my fault?”

He laughed at the question. “More than likely.”

She nodded. “Good to know, in case they decide to come gunning for me.”

They sipped their tea in companionable silence for a while. Eventually, Walter said, “Sarah, I’m really sorry I didn’t do this sooner. We might have had a chance, if I had.”

“You had to do it when it was right for you,” she told him. “I never asked or expected you to do anything this drastic. I always understood you felt you had an obligation to your family.”

“My first obligation should have been to you and the
kids. I should have seen that making a break was the only way to save us, to save myself. I spent way too long trying to do what my parents expected of me. What kind of man does that?”

“One who loves his parents and feels indebted to them,” she said. “What now? Do you have any idea what you want to do or where you’d like to live?”

“Someplace closer to Serenity, I think. Maybe even here, so I can spend more time with Tommy.”

Sarah stilled, but even before she could react, he was saying, “Don’t make anything out of that. I meant to say Libby, too.”

“But she’s still an afterthought, isn’t she?” Sarah said wearily.

“I don’t want her to be. I love her. I’m just not sure how to deal with a little girl. I was a roughhousing kid. I had to be to fit in. Otherwise, I’d have been the kid who lived in the big house on the hill, whose parents held the power to fire the other kids’ moms or dads. I didn’t have sisters. Libby’s so delicate, even now, it scares me.”

Sarah smiled despite herself. “Trust me, she’s not all that fragile. She has the Price will of iron.”

He chuckled. “More’s the pity, huh?”

“I don’t know,” she said thoughtfully. “I think maybe it’ll be a good thing when she grows up and starts dating.”

“She’s not dating for at least thirty years,” Walter said in a horrified tone.

“You may be forced to rethink that,” Sarah told him, amused by his dismay. “Otherwise the two of you are doomed to butting heads.”

“Well, at least it’s not going to come up overnight,” he said. “Maybe I’ll have time to get used to the idea.” He turned to face her. “How would you feel if I stick around town, or at least someplace nearby?”

“I think it will be great for you and the kids,” she said honestly. “But I will ask you to do one thing for me. Don’t tell Tommy and Libby until you’re sure it’s going to work out, okay? Find a job, figure out where you’re going to live and then tell them. I don’t want them to get their hopes up and have it not work out.”

“Fair enough,” he said, then stood up. He bent down and brushed a kiss across her forehead. “Thanks. I’ll be in touch.”

“Good night, Walter, and congratulations!”

“For what?”

“The first day of the rest of your life.”

He laughed. “It is, isn’t it? I’ll be damned.”

After he’d gone, she waited for regrets to roll over her. Regrets that they hadn’t stuck it out. Regrets that it was too late for the two of them. Instead, though, all she felt was relief that Walter had made the break before he’d wasted a lifetime.

After greeting all the regulars, Travis settled into his usual booth in the back at Wharton’s. Coming here wasn’t half as much fun now that Sarah was no longer working here. In fact, lately he’d been coming by, grabbing a couple of to-go orders, then taking the food to the station for both of them.

Sarah, sadly, didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture. In fact, since the kiss, she’d been giving him a wide berth. He told himself that was the way it needed to be,
that in fact it was the way he’d intended to play it, but it annoyed the daylights out of him that Sarah seemed to agree. He was not unaware of the irony.

Today, though, he’d agreed to meet Tom for lunch. Since the station had gone on the air, they’d hardly had five minutes to catch up. Unfortunately, it seemed his cousin was running late, which gave Grace the perfect excuse to slide into the booth across from him.

“So, have you asked her out yet?” she inquired.

Travis regarded her blankly. “Who?”

“Sarah, of course.”

“She works for me. It would be inappropriate for us to date.” He sounded so darn self-righteous it was unnerving. A few months ago appropriate behavior would have been the last thing on his mind.

“Then what the dickens were you doing kissing her on the Fourth of July?” Grace demanded.

Travis was pretty sure he’d never blushed in his entire life, but he could feel the heat climbing into his cheeks now. “What kiss was that?”

“In the alley behind the station,” Grace said impatiently. “The two of you were all jammed up inside that teeny little car of hers, kissing the daylights out of each other. Or would you have me believe the quarters were so tight, you accidentally locked lips?”

“What were you doing in the alley? Were you spying on us?”

“I have better things to do than spy on people,” she said with a huff. “But I do keep my eyes open. How do you think I know so much?”

Travis debated whether to dismiss the incident as momentary insanity, pretend Grace needed to have her
eyesight checked, or just deny ever being anywhere near that alley.

“Cat got your tongue?” Grace prodded.

“Okay, I’m not going to deny the kiss,” he said eventually. “But it was a one-time thing. It doesn’t imply there’s anything going on between me and Sarah. Please don’t start spreading it around town that the two of us are involved. It would just embarrass her.”

She studied him intently, then nodded. “Okay, say I forget about what I saw. Will you tell me why on earth you’re
not
dating?”

“We work together. It’s as simple as that.” He figured sticking to his story was the only way to get everyone to believe it. Maybe even he would buy it eventually.

Grace rolled her eyes. “So, kissing a coworker, employee or whatever, that’s okay? But not dating?”

Travis chuckled at her interpretation. He could hardly defend his logic. “No, the kiss was a mistake.”

“Didn’t look like it to me, but what do I know?” she said with a shrug.

“Quite a lot,” he said. “But this time you got it wrong. Let it go, okay?”

She shook her head, her expression filled with disgust. “Some people don’t have the sense the good Lord gave a duck.” She stood up. “I’ll bring your soda and a coffee for Tom. Maybe he’ll believe this nonsense you’re selling.”

She stalked away just as Tom arrived and slid into the seat she’d vacated.

“Why’s Grace in such a sour mood?”

“She didn’t like my answers to her questions.”

Tom regarded him blankly. “Do I want to know more?”

“I don’t think so.” He hesitated, then said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“How the hell do women’s minds work? I thought I knew. I mean, I’ve dated probably a hundred different women over the years. Learned something from every single one of them, but I have to say when it comes to how they think, I’m at a loss.”

“Are we talking about Grace or Sarah?” Tom asked.

“Sarah, of course. I kissed her. I know I shouldn’t have, but I did. The thing of it is, she kissed me back. Now she’s avoiding me.” He shrugged. “Or I’m avoiding her. It’s hard to tell. We’re communicating by little notes left all over the office.”

“Have you called her on it?”

“No,” Travis admitted.

“Why not?”

“I’m thinking maybe it’s better this way. Why take chances that we’ll be tempted to kiss again? Maybe even a whole lot more?”

Tom shook his head, his lips quirking in amusement. “And you think
she’s
sending mixed messages? What about you?”

“Guilty,” he conceded.

“Let’s cut to the chase. Are you attracted to her?”

“Yes.”

“Are we talking about the kind of attraction that could lead to something more, or a one-night-stand attraction?”

“She’s not a one-night-stand kind of woman,” Travis said. “It would make it easier if she were.”

“Glad you see that,” Tom told him.