“Come on in. They’ve got a place for us.”
The hostess, clad in jeans and a company t-shirt, showed them to their table and took their drink order. When Phil ordered a Coke, Rance echoed the order, not sure how ordering a beer would look at this juncture.
“What do you think of Nashville, son?” Phil was a gregarious man, met people as easy as a knife through butter.
“Nice town, what I’ve seen of it.”
“If you want to be in medicine, music, or church work, Nashville’s the place to be.” Phil put his menu down and looked up when the waitress approached.
“Hi, I’m Randi. What can I get you gentlemen?” She had a pad and pen ready and spouted the special so fast Rance almost had to ask for a repeat.
Instead, he gave her his brightest smile and said, “What do you recommend?”
The flush on the waitress’s face told him he still had it. Not bad.
“If you’ve never been to Martin’s, I’d either recommend the pulled pork sandwich with slaw or the ribs with wet sauce.”
Phil nodded assent. “Can’t go wrong either way. I’ll have the ribs. Full rack, young lady.”
“Good deal. Baked potato or fries?”
“Baked potato and slaw.”
“Got it. And for you?”
“I’ll go with the pulled pork and homemade potato chips. No slaw on my sandwich. Could I get it on the side?”
“Not from around here, huh?” She laughed. “That’s all right. You’ll convert eventually. Everybody does.” Randi took their menus. “I’ll get this put right in. Need any more to drink?”
“No, thank you. Maybe later.”
“Alrighty then.”
“Nice girl.”
Phil snorted. “Gunnin’ for a nice tip, but Randi’s all right. She’s worked here since high school. Got a kid to raise, so I usually give her a pretty good tip.”
“Tell me about Dr. Rance Butler.”
Phil was getting down to brass tacks. They had chatted through the meal, and when they were both done, he pushed his plate to the side and leaned forward, waiting for Rance’s answer.
“I grew up in Charleston, only child, did well in school, and finished my third year of residency in Georgetown.”
“Stayed pretty close to home. How was that? I only ask because most of the time when someone does their internship in their own backyard, it means they want to stay close to home, and yet, here you are in Nashville, about as far as you can go and still be in the South. Not that I blame you for limiting yourself to the South.” A smile tugged at Phil’s mouth, then disappeared.
“Maybe it’s time I spread my wings a little more.”
“Tell me about your family.”
“Well, as I said––”
“Tell me what’s not on the résumé.”
Rance paused, looking the man in the eye. He wasn’t comfortable answering truthfully, but then he wasn’t comfortable with the truth at this point.
“My parents still live in Charleston. I haven’t lived there since I left high school except during breaks. I’ve been on my own since medical school at Greenville.”
He shook his head. “Good enough. Remember, in your interview, they can’t legally ask you personal questions about your family. Sometimes they’ll try to weasel info out of you that’s not their business to begin with. Got it?” He winked.
Rance gave him a half smile and a sigh of relief. “Got it.”
“Got a girl back home?”
“I . . . don’t think you can ask me about that.” Rance looked at him, unsure.
Phil laughed out loud. “Aw, interview’s over. I’m askin’ out of curiosity now.”
“Then I’ll have to answer like this. Maybe.”
Phil stopped laughing and nodded, never taking his eyes off him. “Sounds like a transition time for you in more ways than one.”
Rance snorted. “You have no idea.”
“And why is it, once again, that I would want to go out with Jake the giraffe?”
An afternoon on the beach beckoned, and so did girl time. The large beach towel laid out on the sand just down from their little pink beach house was the perfect place to set up a date between two of her favorite people, and Charly was determined to get someone’s romantic life on track if hers wasn’t.
“Lyd, he’s great. He’s quirky, like you, and if you keep saying it, you’re going to mess up and call him that to his face.”
Lydia twisted her lips and dug her fingers into the sand. Charly knew she was trying to avoid the subject.
“I’m sure he’s been called worse.”
“Probably, but it’s not nice.”
“And one thing I am, mostly, is nice.”
“I’d say mostly you’re quirky, but we’ll go with that.” Charly laughed as Lydia flicked sand onto her freshly oiled legs. “Hey!”
“Double with you and Rance?”
“Maybe.” Charly paused and started doodling in the sand. “I’ll have to talk to him when he gets back.”
“He doesn’t have a cell phone?” Lydia’s raised eyebrow made her wrinkle her nose.
“Yes, but I don’t want to bother him.”
Lydia’s lips flattened in a line. “He hasn’t called since he’s been gone, has he?”
“Nor texted.” She looked up at Lydia. “He said we needed a week, and I guess he’s sticking to it.”
“Hmm. And you have to be as tough as he is, right?”
“Well? What would you do?”
“The same thing.” She gestured with both hands lifted to the sky. “Ugh. Men, right?”
“Can’t live with ‘em . . .”
“Aunt Charly! Lyddie!” A flurry of activity ran to them in the form of one Hayes Livingston, his mother trudging behind with all the trappings of a mom and preschooler on the beach.
“Whoa there, bud! You’re getting sand all over us!” Charly laughed as she hugged her nephew and spat sand out at the same time. After the hug, he ran with his bucket and pail straight to the edge of the water, where the sand was damp, and started digging.
“Sorry, ladies, with the twins, we haven’t had much beach time this summer, and when Tom suggested he take care of the twins and me bring the tiny tornado to the beach, I jumped on it. Next summer will be totally different with toddlers, so I’d better enjoy it while I can.”
“Never apologize for beach time. We all need it, right, Lyd?” Charly grinned at her sister-in-law. “I can’t believe you fit into your old swimsuit.”
“I can’t either, except running after Hayes and caring for twins is very slimming.” She laughed and looked down at the visible stretch marks on her side. “It’s not perfect, but I’m glad I could get into it.” She rubbed the blemishes and grimaced. “I need to look for a one-piece.”
“Lucy, we were discussing men and how they are frustrating.” Lydia looked pointedly at Charly, who rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses and sighed.
“Oh, you mean the old ‘Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em?’ Been there, done that.”
“See, told you she was the one to talk to.” Lydia poked Charly in the side.
“What’s going on in your version of ‘The Doctors’ or ‘The Young and the Restless’ these days?” Lucy giggled at her own joke and wiggled her eyebrows as she made her nest on the beach towel next to theirs. She lay flat on her stomach with a happy sigh, her head on a small beach pillow. “Oh my goodness, the sun and breeze feel good.”
“Rance is in Nashville.”
“Okay, Nashville is nice. Visit? Vacation?”
“Job interview.”
Lucy lifted herself up on her elbows and grimaced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah.”
“So . . . did he tell you he was going?”
Charly nodded. “Last Saturday, after our date. He said we needed to think about things. Which is his way of saying he needs to think about things. Maybe he’s right.”
Lucy was quiet, pondering as she turned to look at Cha
rly. “Maybe he is. Maybe he wants to see how serious this thing is between you.”
Charly lifted her hands in frustration. “We just started dating. How serious could it be?”
“Humph. Remember me telling you about me and Tom? I thought I had found my one and only, only to have him ignore me for nearly a year.”
“He was going through stuff, though.”
Lydia spoke up. “You said Rance was having family issues. Might those be part of his problem?”
“Maybe.” Charly sat up and cradled her knees, resting her chin on them as she watched Hayes fill the bucket then empty it in a pile. She grinned. “He also said I made him a little crazy.”
“All right then, we have progress.” Lucy put on her sunglasses and leaned back on her elbows. “When they admit that, you almost have them in the bag.”
“Tell me I don’t have to wait a year until he comes around?”
“Hard to say. Now me, I didn’t stand around pining after Tom. First, I was hurt, then I got mad, then I started dating again.”
“Really?”
“Football coach.”
“Wow.”
Lucy looked over at her, deadpan. “He liked steak. Rare. Lots of it.”
Charly and Lydia laughed. “A real manly-man, huh?”
“I guess. When I found out Tom was definitely manly and was also good at cleaning and organizing, I knew I had hit the jackpot. With Ben, I would have been chained to the stove for the rest of my life.”
Charly nodded. “Tom does make good biscuits.”
“Oh my, yes. Better than me, and I know his secret.”
“Lard.” Lucy and Charly both said the word in tandem, and all three girls laughed.
Lucy looked out at her son and the waves and smiled. “I don’t know what I was thinking to almost let him get away. I guess God had it all along. It certainly wasn’t anything I did.”
Charly picked at the edge of the beach towel. “This is part of the problem.”
“What is?”
“God. Rance isn’t, well, I don’t think he’s a Christian.” She paused. “I think he believes, to a certain extent . . .”
“He either believes or he doesn’t. It’s not something you can work your way up to doing.”
“I know. It’s the first time I’ve ever let myself be interested in a non-believer.”
“Been there too. I dated a guy in college who didn’t believe in God or any higher power. I thought I was in love with him. We had so much in common outside of faith. He didn’t believe in anything, but he said he respected my beliefs. It took me a while to realize that while he might respect me, how could he respect God if he didn’t believe in Him?”
“What happened?”
“I told him about Jesus, and how important He is to me.” She shrugged her shoulders. “We dated a while longer, but it wasn’t the same. I think he was actually jealous of Jesus.”
“Did he ever come to Christ?” Charly was amazed at this revelation. She was so glad to have Lucy, who still had so much about her she didn’t know, for a sister.
“He did later. I saw him not long before I moved down here, at a meeting at the university. He was involved in a program working with troubled teens, making a presentation to teachers. He came up to me during the break and hugged me, told me when he met the girl who became his wife, she led him to the Lord, but I had planted the seed.”
“That’s great.” For that guy. But what about Rance? Would she plant the seed only to have someone else reap the harvest?
Lucy leaned over and put her hand on Charly’s. “I know, not very encouraging, but you never know how the Lord is going to work. He could be with someone right this minute who knows Jesus.”
Charly nodded. “That’s what Jake and I prayed yesterday.”
“Okay, you didn’t say Jake the giraffe was a praying guy.” Lydia sat up straight, her entire body on alert, bright smile on her face. “Now, tell me more about Mr. Prince, and feel free to share with him my contact information.”
Chapter Twenty-One
It had been a whirlwind, and this was the first chance Rance had to think about anything except putting his best foot forward. The longer he stayed in Nashville, the more he enjoyed it. He could imagine living here. In the morning he toured the hospital, and after lunch he had free time to explore. He rented a car and drove around different areas of the hilly city and discovered hidden gems along the way.
The downtown night-life was great, and there were no limits to the recreational activities available. Close to the Smoky Mountains, he would have plenty of opportunities for extreme sports, as well as biking, climbing, and more.
Walking around downtown after a solitary dinner, his mind finally beginning to settle down, Charly came to the forefront. Maybe he would call her. What was she doing tonight? Oh, it was Wednesday. She was at church probably.
This was why he was spending the evening alone instead of with Phil, prepping for tomorrow’s interview with the board. He had offered to come, and miss church, but Rance told him he thought it would be fine. He was enjoying a little down time.
People who went to church weren’t always the people you expected. A high-profile professional headhunter? Why not?
In this country music town, gospel music was heard right along with wife stealin’, heartbreak, and “friends in low places” to the point it all ran together. Until one particular song came up that all the country music stars and wannabes seemed to think they had to sing. Didn’t matter if it was in church, in a honky-tonk, or on the street. It was the song that caught him. Every time.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
’Twas blind, but now I see.
Why did this mess with his head? He was no wretch. He didn’t need “saving,” but why now? Was it because of his mom? His parentage?
He loved his mom and his dad, but he was angry. So angry. As long as he stayed away from it, away from thinking about it, life went on, and he was fine.
Somehow Charly was lumped in with all of this. When he asked her out, he had thought of her as a pleasant escape from all of the turmoil, but she wasn’t. She made him think, and thinking was the last thing he wanted to do.
The bar he was walking by had music loud enough to not only drown out the song he had heard earlier, but also his thoughts. That’s what he was going for, right? Something to take the edge off. Something to drown out those thoughts that didn’t serve any useful purpose except to bring him down.
He went in and made himself comfortable.
He knew better. His head pounded. His attempt to stop the train of thought leading to Charly and his family issues simply enhanced them the longer he poured the amber liquid down his throat.
He sat at the bar, flirted with the female bartender, and was rewarded with a few free drinks “because he was cute.” Whatever it took.
On his winding way back to the hotel, he felt his phone vibrate. It was Phil calling.
“Phil. How are you, man?”
“Rance, what are you up to?”
“Just a little downtime, heading back to the hotel.”
There was a pause. “You been drinking?”
“A little. Not much.”
“I’ll meet you at the hotel.”
“No need. I’ll head straight to bed, and you won’t have to worry about me anymore.”
“No, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Drink some coffee.”
“Probably good. Kinda got a headache.”
“Yeah, I’m trying to keep you from having a worse headache in the morning.”
“Thanks, Phil. See ya in a few.”
Phil ended the call, and Rance looked through his texts to make sure he hadn’t missed any. When he got to Charly’s name, he paused, willing the blurriness to leave his sight.
Charly. “I miss you, Charlotte Anne Livingston. You probably wouldn’t like me right now.”
“Ra
nce?”
Great. He’d opened the call list instead of the text list, and accidentally called her. He cleared his throat and shook his head to clear it. It didn’t work. His head pounded much harder, but the buzz made him not care as much.
“Charly? I didn’t mean to call.”
“Oh.” There was silence on the other end.
“How are you?”
“I’m . . . okay, are you?” She sounded worried.
“I’m fine. Heading in for the night, interview tomorrow. I’ll be okay.”
“Rance, have you been drinking?” Her voice was so quiet he strained to hear.
“Maybe a little, but not too much. I’m fine.”
Silence.
“Charly.”
“I’m here, Rance.”
“I’m sorry, Charly.” He said it and then started laughing. “Get it?”
“I get it.” He heard a loud sigh. Was she crying?
“Gotta go. Phil’s coming over to get me ready for tomorrow.”
“Take care of yourself, Rance. I miss you.”
For some reason, those words helped to clear his head, and the enormity of what he had done crashed down on him. “Charly?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry. I said you deserved better than me.”
When Charly heard the phone beep, ending the call, she simply sat there, staring at it, willing the tears to stop falling. She couldn’t.
She was glad Lydia was still working at the shop. She didn’t want to see anyone right now.
“Why, God? Why did You let me meet him? I never wanted to date someone who wasn’t Your child, but I thought maybe, just maybe, You could use me to draw him to You.”
The hurt and fear she felt when she realized Rance had called her by mistake because he was drunk had morphed into anger. Anger at God and anger at herself.
“I’ve worked hard for You. I’ve tried to do everything You wanted me to do, and when I try to claim Your promises? Where are You?”
I’m right here, where I’ve always been.
Carolina Grace (Southern Breeze Series Book 3) Page 14