“Like he was still here. We’re both a little sentimental when it comes to our people, aren’t we?” Her lips trembled with her smile. “Well. I think we must wait on the Lord to see what He has for us. Who knows? There may be a home out there that will house a nine-foot-tall wardrobe for my grandbabies to play in.”
“Now you’re talkin’.”
“Course, that means I’ll need to have some grandbabies.”
Tom’s face warmed. “Yes, ma’am.” Emphasis on “have” noted.
Kentucky wedding shower an unmitigated success? Check. Surprise South Carolina shower planned? Check. Bridal shower and bachelorette day planned for the weekend before the wedding? Check. Constant communication between Lucy and Sarah all summer long? Check. Any possible word from Tom?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Juggling. Lucy was juggling, and clumsily, she thought. Juggling her dad’s estate, of which she was the sole beneficiary. Sarah’s wedding was tossed in there, and she was determined to be the best maid of honor in maid-of-honor history.
Then there was her peace of mind. She didn’t have much of that. She was praying. Oh, how she was praying. But where was God? Did He really have a plan? Was she even a part of His plan?
When those questions came, she decided to clean out another closet. She couldn’t deal with it when there were so many other things on her mind. She needed concrete tasks to do. Something with an end to it.
Having Sarah home for a few days for the shower was great, and now she was back to packing up the house and going through things. Organizing for better living was much more fun than organizing for leaving your home for the past fifteen years.
“God, why didn’t Sarah plan her wedding for July instead of October?” She heaved a sigh.
Chapter Nine
July
“It’s so hot the ice cream truck melted.”
His mother laughed at her son’s answer to the usual July question in South Carolina – how hot is it?
“I imagine it is, son. We’re needin’ rain, aren’t we?”
“I’m not complaining. Haven’t had to mow the yard in two weeks, but Charly’s doing a good job of keeping after the garden.” Tom sat down at the kitchen table, took off his baseball cap and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Well, I guess we’ll see rain when hurricane season hits. I do want it pretty for Sarah and Jared’s wedding.” She set a glass of ice water in front of him, careful to feel of the edge of the table and calculate the placement of the glass. She could see shadows and outlines, but other than that she did everything by feel and by memory.
“Thank you, Mama. I’m parched.” He had trimmed around the “for sale” sign that made him sigh every time he drove up the driveway. Between what little yard work there was and rinsing dust out the air-conditioning unit it was about as much outside work as a man could do on what was forecasted to be the hottest day of the year.
“How are the wedding plans coming?” Mom always asked about the wedding. For his part, Tom would be glad when it was over. Things had been a little strained between himself and Jared.
“They’re coming, I reckon. I try to stay out of the way.”
“Tell me you’re not planning one of those bachelor parties.” It was a statement, not a question, and it made Tom chuckle.
“No, Ma’am. Jared told me at the beginning he wanted nothing of the kind. I was glad.” Really glad. Getting married was no reason for a man to indulge in what went on at traditional bachelor parties. “Maybe we ought to invite all the guys to a party and have a prayer meeting, instead.”
His mother laughed. “That would serve ’em right, wouldn’t it?” She sobered. “You know, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“No, it wouldn’t. Tell ya what. When I get married, I’ll tell Jared that’s what I want.”
“Maybe you should do that before you decide to get married. Maybe pray up a bride.” His mother was being funny now. They hadn’t talked about the topic of his matrimonial prospects in a while.
“I’m sure you’re covering that.”
“Yes, son, I am.” She paused. “I really like Lucy. She seems like a sweet girl.”
Here it was. “Yes, ma’am, she is.”
He didn’t say more, and he took a long swig of his water to keep from having to talk. They sat there a minute, not saying anything.
Dead air. Silence, in a room with his mother, had never been a problem, but this time he wanted to scoot the topic off of Lucy, which meant he had to come up with the next topic.
“Any bites on the house?” There. Maybe that would get her off the topic of marriage.
“Not since the first week. Maybe we’re asking too much. Maybe such an old house scares people off.
“I’m sure Jared will have his people on it.”
“I know he will. I don’t want him worrying over it with the wedding coming up.”
Tom laughed. “Believe me, everything that can be planned to the –nth degree has been planned. That’s Sarah for you. She’s got this four-inch binder with every wedding detail known to man. Except for the honeymoon.”
She chuckled. “Where are they going?”
“No clue. Jared won’t tell anybody. I hope it’s not because he doesn’t have a plan yet.”
Her eyebrow raised in speculation. “I doubt it. He can be cagey, that one. He’s got something up his sleeve.”
Chapter Ten
August
The Crawford and Benton company open house was at hand. The weather was iffy and the drought broken as August and September marked the rainiest months on record in South Carolina. So far, everyone had said their prayers for good weather, and had been busy sprucing up properties all over Georgetown County.
Working at her desk on homework for her last real estate class before the wedding, Sarah grinned as she typed, sensing a tall, good-looking business partner and fiancé standing in the doorway, waiting for her attention. “I know you’re there, Jared.”
“Sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“That’s okay. I’m almost finished.” She clicked on “save,” backed it up on her flash drive, and looked up from the computer. “What can I do for you?”
“Want to ride out to look at a house with me? I got a lead on a property coming available, and thought we might want to check it out.” His eyes glittered with excitement.
“Sounds like fun. I’m done with my paper, my inbox contents have turned into outbox filler, and until you put more in there, I’m officially caught up.”
“Good. I thought I’d lost you to paperwork there for a while. You do know you don’t have to complete a week’s worth of paperwork in one—” Jared stopped to look at his watch then looked at her with an arched brow, “. . . morning.”
“I know, but I also figure the end of the week will be completely crazy with the open house, I have a dress fitting tomorrow, and Lucy’s coming the next day. With all that, I won’t get anything else done. Am I right?”
Jared smiled at her warmly. “You’re right. We’d better escape while we can, maybe mix a little business with pleasure?” he asked, leaning across her desk and wiggling his eyebrows.
“Why, sir, whatever did you have in mind?” She smiled at him, batting her eyelashes for good measure.
“I was thinking maybe we pick up some lunch and go for a picnic before we check out the property. How does that sound?”
“I could definitely eat. What is it about writing a paper––no, let me rephrase that––finishing a paper that makes a person feel like she hasn’t eaten in a week?” She leaned down and reached into her desk drawer for her purse.
“Relief? I remember when I completed the licensing courses, I was so relieved. I had graduated from college with honors, and yet these classes had the potential to impact my life, which made me a complete wreck.”
Walking down the corridor of the office, he put his hand on the small of her back, winking at her as she tossed her head around to flash him a brilliant s
mile. “I guess that’s it. So, where’s this property?”
“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out,” he said mysteriously.
“Hmm, a surprise, huh? I’m game. And I’m hungry. KFC?”
Jared chuckled at her as he shook his head. “Sounds good to me. You can take the girl out of Kentucky, but you can’t take Kentucky out of the girl, huh?”
“You got that right, mister!” She beamed as she swept out the front door, Jared holding it open for her.
Riding in Jared’s “work” vehicle, the luxurious, black, Ford Expedition he used during the week, Sarah relaxed in the comfortable leather seats and sighed as she took in the sunny day. She was glad to get out of the office for a while. The week before had been rainy, and there had even been reports of flash flooding in Charleston, with people working in the downtown area having cars flooded out, stranding them at their place of business until they could be rescued by individuals driving larger vehicles. When it was not raining, it had been gloomy, and she had suffered a bout of nerves as she began her second big project of the licensing course. Could she handle the career she had chosen?
But today, the sun was shining, the surf had gentled, and she was done with her first real estate course. Wedding plans were on track. It was a good day. As they went through the drive-thru at Kentucky Fried Chicken, she leaned her elbow on the arm rest and smiled as she looked across the vehicle at Jared, thinking back to that first picnic they had shared.
It had been an impromptu lunch date, the first day she had visited the offices of Crawford and Benton, and the day after she had met Jared Benton on the steps of Pilot Oaks, the antebellum mansion she and her family had inherited from a distant relative.
Taking the bag of food from him as he waited for his change, she opened the bag and inhaled the aroma of the fried chicken and biscuits. Her mouth watered as she smelled the spicy goodness.
“Everything look okay?”
“I don’t know about that, but it smells dee-vine,” she said. “Did you get coleslaw?”
“Of course.”
She smiled as they headed back onto State Road 17. They passed Brookgreen Gardens on the left and the entrance to Huntington Beach State Park on the right. This familiar territory was beginning to feel like home. “So, where’s this property?”
“You’ll see.” His face had a pinkish cast.
“You seem awfully excited. I know you love real estate, but you don’t get this pumped about a new property.”
They were going to Murrells Inlet, to the summerhouse at Pilot Oaks for their picnic. Sarah’s curiosity and Jared’s excitement made the picnic much shorter than usual.
After clearing away the wrappers and bags and stowing them back in the SUV for disposal later, Sarah looked across at him as she buckled her seatbelt again. “Okay, the suspense is killing me.”
“I know.”
He chuckled when she rolled her eyes and released a loud sigh. Jared pulled away from the brick gates of Pilot Oaks and instead of accelerating, he slowed down.
Sarah whipped her head around in surprise. “There’s a property available on this road? And I didn’t know about it?”
Jared laughed as he pulled into the driveway of a large white house.
“It’s your house! Jared! This is the property you were talking about?” Sarah bounced in her seat, leaning forward in excitement.
“I had told the owner a while back if she ever decided to sell, that I would appreciate it if she would give me an option to buy it, and now Miss Alma is thinking about selling.”
She sat, mute, as they drove up the long drive to the white frame house with red brick trim and rambling red rosebushes on either side of the wide, welcoming steps.
“It’ll probably seem smaller to me now.”
She sensed a hesitation in him. He was worried she wouldn’t like it. Who wouldn’t love this beautiful house? “I can’t wait to see it.”
Jared looked across at her with a tender gaze. The teasing expression of earlier had given way to a look of love and longing that set her heart aflutter. “I want to show you every inch of this place. One day, I want to show it to my children and to my grandchildren.”
The lump in her throat threatened to choke her, and tears threatened to fall as she reached across to take his hand in hers before they left the vehicle. “I love you, Jared.”
“I know, and I love you too,” he said, leaning in to kiss her on the lips as he squeezed the hand she had grasped. Smiling joyously, he quirked his eyebrows up and said, “Shall we?”
Sarah laughed and her face warmed as thoughts of their home and future came to her unbidden. She knew she would follow this man anywhere, and a request as simple as this one was easy to fulfill. Nodding her head, she smiled as he gestured for her to stay put as he got out of the vehicle and circled around to open the passenger-side door.
After smoothing out her skirt from the ride over, she nodded her head when his eyes asked her if she were ready. Taking her hand, he led her up the walkway, and into what could very likely be her future.
Chapter Eleven
The scent of old-fashioned roses wafted across the porch as they mounted the steps. The elderly lady who opened the door took one look at her guests and started smiling as she pushed to open the screen door in order to give Jared a hug. “That sure didn’t take long,” she said, quirking an eyebrow on her well-worn, thin face.
“Miss Alma, I would like you to meet Miss Sarah Jane Crawford, my business partner, and Sarah, this is Miss Alma Ruth McGinty. She’s been taking care of my house for the last fifteen years or so,” Jared said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. McGinty,” Sarah said, shaking the frail hand that held a firmness unexpected in such a small woman.
“Call me Miss Alma, dear. And do you go by Sarah, or Sarah Jane? When I was a girl, my mama called me Alma Ruth, but since I got old, I’m plain old Miss Alma.”
“Please, call me Sarah. I only get called Sarah Jane when I’m in trouble.”
Miss Alma gave Jared a pointed stare. “Well, son, you’ve kept this young lady hidden away from me. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Jared grinned. “I apologize, Miss Alma. Sarah came last summer but didn’t move here until fall.”
“And you wait until now to bring her around? And if I hadn’t called you about this big old house, who knows when I would have met your young lady?”
“She’s got a point, Jared.” Sarah batted her eyelashes at him in acknowledgement of this lady’s assumption that Sarah was more than a “business partner.”
“I know when I’ve got two women ganging up on me.” Jared held up his hands in surrender.
“Good boy. And so you know, I had heard a little bit about your new business partner from Prudie. I hear there’s to be wedding bells soon.”
“I had a feeling you had heard.” Jared pursed his lips in good humor. Turning toward Sarah, he said, “Prudie and Miss Alma have been friends for over fifty years and have talked each other out of getting married more times than I want to think about. For some reason, if Prudie thought she liked a man, there would be something about him Miss Alma didn’t approve, and if Miss Alma thought she’d found ‘the one,’ Prudie considered herself beholden to find a flaw in the poor guy.”
“And we were right about every one of those ya-hoos,” Miss Alma said with a determined shake of her head. “That is, until Harold came along. We had held out hope for marriage and a family, and I found marriage for a short time. It was hard losing him, but you know, Prudie and I found happiness in lots of other ways. God is good.”
“All the time,” Jared completed. “Since Prudie never married, and Miss Alma has been a widow for as long as I’ve known her, they’ve decided it’s their life’s call to find me a wife. You never know how prayers are going to be answered, do you?”
Sarah smiled.
“That’s right, boy. You never know.” Miss Alma grinned at the blush on Sarah’s face and patted her hand
. She seemed to sense it was time to change the subject. “Now, I think I called you over here for business-talk, not matchmaker talk. Am I right?”
“You are, and that’s why I’m here. I do apologize for not coming around sooner.”
Miss Alma nodded. “All’s forgiven. Here’s the deal, Jared. I know you think I’m going to live forever.”
“You mean you’re not?”
“Who would want to? No, I’m ready to meet my maker, I can tell you. Oh, calm down.” She waved a hand, dismissing his objections. “I haven’t gotten a death sentence. I’m old. I’m in better health than my mother was at my age, but I can tell I’m slowing down. This big house is getting to be too much for me, and I’d like to see a family living here that loves it while I’m still around to bug ’em.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“You may think I’m too old to think for myself, but believe it or not, I’ve got my eye on a sweet little first-floor condo up the road toward Litchfield Beach. There’s an ocean view, no upkeep, and I would be able to soak up the sun on my own private patio. I think my knees would thank me.”
“Now, Miss Alma, you know I never said you couldn’t think for yourself. Have you been talking to Mary Ann Livingston?”
“I may have had a conversation with her at the Missionary Union meeting. She told me what she had planned, and it gave me an idea it might be time to ease things up for myself a little bit. She may be blind, but I’m just plain old.”
Jared chuckled. “I’m wondering if there’s something in the water, all you ladies wanting to downsize.”
“I could see you were wondering if I’d thought this through.”
“Can’t blame a guy for looking after his women folk, now can you?”
“No, I can’t fault you for that, and I appreciate it. Sarah, honey, watch out, or he’ll have you wrapped in cotton wool so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
Carolina Mercy (A Southern Breeze Series Book 2) Page 6