Carolina Mercy (A Southern Breeze Series Book 2)

by Regina Rudd Merrick

“Mama, you’ve got me to depend on. I can help with the place.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I know, and you’re doing a great job. But you know what? I’d rather have grandchildren to love on than a big, old, drafty house.”

  Tom was glad his mother couldn’t see the red he sensed infusing his complexion. “There’s plenty of time for that.”

  “Don’t give me that. I know exactly how old you are. To the minute, if you give me time to do some figurin’. I’ve sensed something different about you lately.”

  “You’re imagining things. When would I have time to find a wife with my job and . . .” He stopped. He was about to say “and two places to see to.”

  “Exactly. That’s why Charly and I have been talking.”

  Tom stood up from the table. “Behind my back?”

  “Yes. And sit back down. We’ve been talking behind your back because you would keep this place going and die an old man with nobody and nothing like old Alex Crawford did. That is not what I want for my baby boy.”

  Tom snorted. Alex Crawford. Sarah Crawford’s unknown uncle who left them an estate and business partnership worth millions. Old Alex had done all right for himself and blessed his extended family to boot.

  “Money doesn’t buy happiness. You know that.”

  His mother sat there and waited for Tom’s breathing to even out.

  “Okay, what have you and Charly been plotting behind my back?”

  “You make it sound like we’re planning a murder. You are so much like your daddy.” Another wistful smile lit her face.

  If giving up the home place of her own ancestors would put a smile on her face, who was he to argue?

  “Well, thank you for the compliment. Maybe one day I’ll be as laid-back as Dad. He could make everything seem right with a grin and a wink, couldn’t he?” He squeezed his mother’s hand.

  “I think it’s time to sell the place, and Charlotte and I can find a smaller house, on one level, that would be easier for me to take care of. I don’t want Charly tied to this place either.”

  “I don’t think she minds.”

  “Not now, but what about when she meets ‘Mr. Right?’ He might not be ready to take on a mother-in-law and the family history.”

  Tom pulled his mother’s hand to his lips. “I don’t think she would marry a man who didn’t appreciate her heritage, and yours.”

  “Face it. It’s a heritage of broken-down aristocracy. We never recovered from Reconstruction, and then the farm depression and the Great Depression had us losing more than we could ever gain. Now we’re down to this house and twenty acres. Not much to show for a plantation, is it?”

  “Have you thought about where you’d like to live?” As his mother perked up, he laughed. “Of course you have. Why did I have any doubt?”

  “Don’t worry; we’re not moving in with you.”

  “You could, you know.” Tom was dead serious. He was prepared to give it all up. The dream. The family. Look at Paul in the New Testament. He never married, and in fact, told the churches in his letters it was better not to marry, if possible.

  But could he? Into his reverie, his mother’s voice came through.

  “Charly’s been reading me listings from Crawford Real Estate.”

  “Of course she has. Please tell me you haven’t gotten Jared in on this.”

  “Not yet. We’re not that underhanded.” Her emphasis admitted her secrecy.

  “The jury’s out on that. So, condo? Beach house?”

  “We’re thinking North Litchfield or Murrells Inlet. Maybe one of those ‘patio homes?’ I know it gets pricier the closer you get to Myrtle Beach, but I don’t want Charly to have too much of a drive to school.”

  “You don’t think you would regret it?” He knew how regret could color every aspect of life. It was the last thing his mother needed. “Don’t you think you would get bored in a little one-story house and a patio when you’re used to all this space?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. The idea of not worrying about stairs, maintenance? That doesn’t sound boring to me.” She dipped her head and sighed. When she raised her face toward him, she gave him a gentle smile. “I think I would regret more saddling my children with a burden. You don’t think of it as such now, but later, you will. Your daddy was proud to be connected to the place, even by marriage, but unlike Scarlet O’Hara’s father, he knew it wasn’t ‘the land’ that was the legacy. It was his children and his faith in his God. There were times even he wished we weren’t tied to this place.”

  Tom considered her words. His father wished for freedom?

  “Did you know when your daddy and I were younger, we planned to go into mission work?”

  Tom stared as his mother left that bit of information on the table. “What happened?”

  “We were living in a little apartment, expecting you, excited about going to seminary to learn how to be missionaries, when we got the news that my daddy had died.” She shrugged. “Mama couldn’t stand the thought of leaving the house, so we moved in with her, and I’m still here. Oh, we made a good life, and your daddy made the best of it, but there were times I wish I had stood up to my mama and talked sense into her about her situation.”

  “You mean like I’m trying to do?” Tom looked at his mother with a wry smile. He wondered, sometimes, how much his mother’s vision loss affected her understanding dry humor.

  “Very funny.”

  It was apparent that Mom’s blindness was not a communication issue between mother and son.

  “Tom, my sweet boy.” She closed her sightless eyes as she held his strong hands in her slight ones, rubbing the backs with her thumbs. “If I thought it would be a blessing to you or to Charly, I would stay here. I think God’s trying to tell me to let go. Let go of all the stuff that makes up what we call life, stuff that isn’t real life at all. We think of heritage as something almost spiritual, but the only heritage that counts for eternity is the one we have through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

  There was silence in the room as Tom looked down at his mother’s hands, once strong enough to pick him up and fix whatever was wrong. Now it was up to him to care for her. It was his job, wasn’t it? He was the man of the family. He squeezed the slender fingers and sighed.

  “Mama, I’m here to take care of you.”

  “No, son, you’re not. I love you, and I depend on you for too many things, but I have to depend on God, not my children. He’s got things for me to do, blind or not. And more importantly, to me, He’s got things for you to do.”

  Tom started to speak.

  “Son, I’ve made up my mind. I’ve been in a funk for too long. I can’t see, but I can feel myself coming out of the fog of grief that’s ruled me ever since your daddy passed. There’s an excitement in me that I haven’t felt in a long time. Let me have this. It’ll be hard to give up the old place, but you know, now that I can’t see, it doesn’t really matter where I am. I’ll have the memories of this place with me for the rest of my life, as will you and Charly.”

  “I don’t want you waking up one day and regretting it.”

  Mary Ann smiled. “I won’t. I’ve had regrets in my life. I don’t think this will be one of them.”

  Tom sighed and leaned back in his chair. “All right. Should I call Jared?”

  “That would be nice, son. How about we have Jared and Sarah over for dinner, and we can talk about it with them? And doesn’t Sarah have her friend here, getting ready for the wedding?”

  His heart started beating a little faster. He was glad his mother couldn’t see his face that was no doubt getting redder. “Uh, yeah. Sarah might not be able to make it . . .”

  “Nonsense. Invite her friend too. I want to meet this girl. Anybody that makes you stammer like a schoolboy must be an interesting person to know.”

  Tom stared at her. “Mom?”

  She smiled. “Seriously, Tom. You’re going to have to get a little smoother if I’m ever going to have grandchildren.”

  Chapter Five


  “Would you relax? You’re going as my best friend, not a woman who wants to throttle her son.” It was obvious Sarah was trying to pull Lucy out of the nervous state she was in. “Mary Ann is a wonderful lady. You’ll like her, and you’ll love the house. I can’t wait for you to see it.”

  “I feel weird.” Honestly, the nerves had more to do with being with Tom on his home turf than intruding on what seemed to be “family time.”

  Sarah’s phone buzzed, and when she saw the display, her face lit up. Lucy quirked an eyebrow at her friend’s bemused expression. “Jared, I presume?”

  Sarah nodded as she answered. “Hi, Jared. I’m putting you on speaker.”

  “Okay. Are you girls ready? I’m about to leave the house.”

  “Ready when you get here. Lucy’s being weird about it.”

  Lucy glared, which scored her a wrinkled nose from Sarah. She whispered intensely. “I am not.”

  Jared’s snort was heard over the telephone. “Tell her if it helps, Tom’s being weird too.”

  Lucy leaned toward the phone in Sarah’s hand and spoke loudly. “It doesn’t help.”

  Sarah laughed. “Never mind her. We’ll be on the front porch waiting. Love you!”

  She pushed the button to end the call and turned to Lucy. “I think—”

  “I know what you think. Let me get my purse. Weird? Humph.”

  When they drove up the drive to the Livingston place, Lucy’s breath caught. Was this how Sarah felt when she first saw Pilot Oaks? The lengthening shadows gave the house a mysterious, other-worldly look that could have been any time in history. Or at least until two cars and a satellite dish next to the house came into view.

  “This is amazing.” Lucy was in awe.

  “Isn’t it? Part of it is pre-Revolutionary War. Much older than Pilot Oaks.” Sarah sighed. “I love when a house has such history, and to think that the last two hundred years that history has been tied to Tom’s family. I don’t know if I could sell it or not.”

  “Sell? They’re going to sell this piece of their family?” Lucy’s mind raced with emotions as she compared this to her house in Summerville. It was her home, but it wasn’t part of her heritage. This? This was heritage.

  “Mary Ann is legally blind, and Tom’s sister, Charlotte, is about to start college. It’s too much for them to deal with.” Jared gave her a sad little smile. “They’ve never had a lot of money. When Tom’s dad, Hayden, died, they realized how little there was.”

  Jared parked the car in the drive that circled next to the front walkway. Tom tamped down his nervousness and came out of the house to greet them. Lucy was here, at his ancestral home. What would Mother think of her?

  “Come in, come in. Mother’s been looking forward to this all week.” Tom held the screen door for them. “Charly’s outdone herself. Mother talked her completely through pork roast and green bean casserole.”

  “Tom, honey, is our comp’ny here?” Her erect back and slender frame held pride and breeding, her sightless eyes dim but beautiful.

  “Mother, Jared and Sarah are here, and I’d like to introduce you to Lucy Dixon.”

  Lucy took his mother’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Livingston. Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

  “Oh! You’re a little woman like me, aren’t you? My daughter and I are both small, and Tom took after my Hayden. Big, strapping men. Handy to have around when you need to reach the top cupboard.” Mary Ann gave a little laugh, and her smile transformed her face.

  “The women in my family were all taller than me. I must be a throwback.”

  Mary Ann patted Lucy’s hand. “That’s all right. It’s all about quality, not quantity, right?”

  Lucy laughed. “Yes, ma’am, it is. You have a beautiful home.”

  “Bless you, Lucy. It’s a bit much for me now, as you can tell, but in my mother’s day? Oh my, it was a showplace.” She paused and squeezed Lucy’s hand. “I was sorry to hear about your father’s passing.”

  Tom was interested in her interaction with his mother. She looked up and captured his glance, and she blinked as she turned back to his mother. “Thank you. It was sudden.”

  Tom stopped staring and came to himself. “I think Charly’s got dinner on the table, if you’ll join me in the dining room? We pulled out the good stuff for you guys.”

  Sarah smiled. “You didn’t have to go to so much trouble for us. We’d be happy with a paper plate on the front porch.”

  Mary Ann waved a hand. “Nonsense. We’ve got this china, and I’m determined to use it while I can. Too many folks have good stuff and they keep it packed away to ‘save’ it, but I say, use the good stuff and enjoy it.” With a gesture, she gathered them to the table and made her way to her seat at the head of the table.

  Charlotte brought in the pork roast and set it proudly on the table. After wiping a bit of perspiration from her forehead, she smiled at her brother and their guests. “Welcome to our feast! Oh! You must be Lucy!”

  “Nice to meet you, Charlotte?”

  “Call me Charly. Everybody does, especially family.”

  Tom’s lips curved in a grin at these two girls together. They were close to the same height. Charlotte’s hair was a shade lighter and much longer than Lucy’s. When he looked at Lucy, he might be looking at Charly in another ten years.

  He seated Lucy at his left at the long table, with Charly across the table on the other side of Mother. It had become second nature to make sure she wanted for nothing, Charly filling her plate and quietly telling her where each item was on her plate, and Tom paying attention to her glass, a dropped napkin, or anything he could help her with. No one would ever know that the beautiful blue eyes weren’t taking it all in.

  As they finished the meal that everyone proclaimed to be delicious, Charly started clearing the table, Sarah and Lucy working alongside. When they came back in with dessert and coffee, Mother straightened her spine and directed her attention to Jared.

  “Jared.” She spoke and then paused. She looked emotional as she cleared her throat.

  “Yes, ma’am?” He spoke softly and cordially.

  “Jared, I think it’s time to make some changes in our living situation.”

  “So I’ve been hearing. Tom said you’ve got the idea you’d like to sell your place.” She had Jared’s full attention. He glanced at Charly and Tom from time to time.

  “Yes.” She cleared her throat gently and took a deep breath. “There was a time I would have imagined living here long enough to have my grandchildren around me, as my mother did, but practicality skipped her generation and landed on me.” She laughed and then sighed. “I used to think I had to keep it up for posterity. My posterity is in my children. My heritage isn’t here, it’s in Heaven. Nobody can take that away from me. A house, on the other hand, can be a burden if you let it.”

  “I understand, Ms. Livingston.”

  Tom had to speak. “I don’t want you to do something you will regret later.”

  “A house is stuff. And stuff isn’t permanent. You know that.”

  “Mother has spoken.” He squeezed her hand. “What would Grandma say?”

  “Well, she’s been turning over in her grave ever since I first thought it.” She crooked a feisty eyebrow and harrumphed. “When she was confined to her bed toward the end, her main concern was that your children grow up in this house like her children and her daddy’s children had done. She was the most impractical woman I’ve ever met. I loved her dearly, don’t ever think I didn’t, but I realized a long time ago that broken-down aristocracy is nothing to take such pride in like she did.”

  “I know, Mother. I was teasing, a little.” There was a tinge of pain at the thought of losing the homestead. But he hadn’t lied. He was teasing. A little.

  While Mom talked to Jared and Sarah about the house and their upcoming wedding, Tom offered to take Lucy on a tour of the house before it got dark.

  “Are you sure you don’t need to be in on the
conversation?” Lucy was concerned. She had observed him through dinner and the ensuing discussion. He winced a little. He was troubled, she could tell.

  Tom gestured toward the porch swing. “No, we’ve talked about it, and she wants to be independent while she can. That includes finances.” They sat down on the swing, Tom keeping it moving slowly with one foot while Lucy’s crossed feet dangled.

  “That’s one thing I didn’t have to deal with. My mother died when I was thirteen. Dad was all I had, and he took care of all the details.” The heaviness around her heart was beginning to grow as she talked about him.

  Tom shifted toward her and reached for her hand. “Here I am, worrying about my mother selling out and moving away from the home place, and you . . . you’ve lost everything.”

  She gave him a sad smile. “Not everything. I still have Grandmommy and Sarah. And most of all, I have a great big God. Sometimes He feels a little far away, though, you know?” A tear began to drop, and it irritated her. “Oh, bother. Why do these pesky tears stay so close to the surface?” She shook her head vigorously and took her hand from Tom’s to smooth out her tissue for another run.

  He chuckled. “You amaze me, Lucy. You have a strength I don’t know if I have.”

  Her head tilted, and she gazed at him. “You do, you know. You make people feel safe. Like they matter.” She arched her eyebrow. “And sometimes they wonder if they made any impression at all.”

  “Oh, you made an impression, all right. A lasting one.”

  Chapter Six

  “What did you say to that?”

  Sarah and Lucy were sitting cross-legged on the antique iron bed in the guest room where Lucy had taken up residence.

  Lucy raised an eyebrow and gave her a disgusted look. “I said nothing. He’s going to have to work for it if he wants to win me over.” She shook her head at Sarah’s incredulous stare. “I mean it. He’s a great guy, but talk about somebody needing to get in touch with his feelings.”