The First Ladies Club Box Set

by J B Hawker

  Judy brought in cups and a teapot from the kitchen.

  “I didn’t see anything herbal, but I found some Constant Comment tea bags, I hope that’s all right,” she said to Naidenne.

  “That’s Rosamund’s favorite, so I suppose it is the most appropriate drink we could have,” Naidenne replied.

  “Are you doing okay, Deenie? Not feeling too tired or in pain? The baby doing okay?” Peggy Burk asked, hovering over Naidenne’s chair.

  “Do sit down, Peggy,” Elizabeth said.

  The phone rang and all the women jerked.

  “Hello?” Naidenne answered. “Oh, Scott, what’s happening?”

  She listened then nodded.

  “Okay. Thanks for calling. Please tell Len the ladies are here praying… I love you, too.”

  She hung up the phone and took a breath before speaking.

  “There’s no change. Rosamund is still being held hostage by the same man who took me. They identified him from the description I gave them of his tattoos. Now he’s threatening to kill her, if they don’t give him safe passage to Canada and a million dollars.”

  “I can give him the money, if he’ll let her go,” Bunny offered. “Call Scott and tell him to let the police know. I can give him two million, if that’s what it will take.”

  The other women looked at Bunny in amazement, before beginning to talk all at once.

  “Where’d you get that kind of money?” Shirley asked.

  “They won’t pay any ransom!” Gwennie insisted.

  “Wouldn’t Canada just send him back?” Olivette offered.

  “Ladies! Please,” Eskaletha stood up and brought the group to order, as if they were having a regular meeting.

  The women responded instinctively by obediently coming to attention.

  “This is in God’s hands. We’ve prayed and we’re going to stay and give Naidenne moral support, but other than that, we have nothing to offer. That was a kind gesture, Bunny, but I think Gwennie is probably right. The authorities won’t give this man what he wants.”

  “We’ve got to be able to do something!” Judy cried.

  “We can help Naidenne put away all these gifts. She can’t do it with her bad arm. Deenie, you tell us where these things go and we will put them away for you,” Elizabeth suggested.

  “Have you decided which room will be the nursery, yet?” Bunny asked, catching on and joining in Elizabeth’s attempt to take Naidenne’s mind of Rosamund.

  “We thought the small bedroom next to ours,” Naidenne replied.

  “Oh, perfect!” Shirley bubbled, joining in the effort.

  Each woman picked up a gift and stood in line awaiting Naidenne’s instructions, chatting happily about nursery decorating and the coming baby, effectively diverting her from her memories and fears.

  *

  Rosamund’s legs were quivering, forcing her to lean into Schramm for support. It repulsed her to be in physical contact with this man who had kidnapped and abused her sister-in-law.

  Schramm felt her tottering against him and pushed her to the floor.

  “Don’t move, or I’ll slit your scrawny throat,” he growled.

  Looking at his face for the first time, Rosamund felt a jolt of recognition. He looked like that man on the dark highway the night she ran away.

  If she had given him a ride, he would probably have killed her… but, then Naidenne would never have been attacked.

  “Carver Schramm!” the bullhorn blared.

  He jerked Rose back to her feet and pushed her toward the window.

  “Have you got my money? And I want a helicopter and pilot, too!” Schramm yelled.

  “You can’t change your terms, now, Schramm. We’re getting your money together and arranging a car. Why not just let the woman go?”

  “No way. I let her go and you’ll kill me. Forget that!”

  Rosamund’s legs began to tremble, again, as she was arched back against Schramm, with his knife on her neck. She could feel the sting and a trickle of blood where the sharp blade pierced her skin.

  Through the window, she could see the rows of police and FBI around the front of the house and three men with rifles on the rise across the driveway.

  If she could see those sharp shooters, they could see her. If she moved out of the line of fire, they would be able to see Schramm clearly, too.

  Rosamund exaggerated the quivering of her legs, leaning back heavily into Carver’s chest. As before, he roughly thrust her away.

  She dropped to the floor and shots rang out. Schramm collapsed beside Rosamund, trapping her legs with his weight.

  Pulling herself free, she crawled away from the body and was getting shakily to her feet when the door crashed open and FBI agents burst in.

  One man rushed to the fallen convict and the other approached Rosamund.

  “Are you alright, ma’am?”

  “Yes, I think so. Thank you, so much,” Rosamund replied, with tears coursing down her face.

  “There’s blood on you. Are you hurt?” the agent asked.

  Reaching up to her throat, Rosamund felt the wetness on her fingers. When he pushed her away, Schramm’s knife must have sliced her neck more deeply. The cut was bleeding freely.

  “I think maybe I am,” she said, staring at her fingers.

  The agent called for a medical team who soon trotted into the house with a stretcher and emergency gear.

  “This guy’s in no rush. Take care of the lady,” the agent said as he looked down on the fugitive’s body.

  There was a small bullet hole in the side of his forehead and a gaping wound in his neck. Lying there awkwardly, eyes glazed and blood oozing, Carver Schramm was obviously dead.

  When the medics rolled their stretcher out of the house with its black shrouded burden, Len let out a deep moan.

  “Rosie! They killed my Rosie!” he cried as he stumbled from the car toward the gurney.

  “No, Len, that’s not Rose. Look,” Scott called, pointing toward the house.

  The EMT was helping Rose walk to the waiting ambulance. Her neck was bandaged, and she was weak from shock, but she appeared to be fine, otherwise.

  “Rosie!” Len cried again, only this time in relief, as he rushed to her side and wrapped her in his arms.

  “Oh, Len,” she gasped and clung to him, beginning to sob.

  *

  Naidenne answered Scott’s call with some trepidation. As she listened, her expression became radiant.

  “Thank the Lord!” she exclaimed.

  After ending the call, her friends gathered around, eager to hear her good news.

  “Rosamund is safe! She has bumps and bruises and a cut on her neck, but she’s okay…and that man, that evil man, is dead.”

  “God is good,” Olivette said, while the others expressed their relief and praised God in their own way.

  “Do you need a ride to the hospital, Deenie?” Bunny asked.

  “No. Thanks, anyway. Scott wants me to wait here. He said they are just going to check her out and see if she needs stitches in the gash on her neck, then they will be right home.”

  Naidenne suddenly felt her legs go weak and needed to sit down. The horror was past, at last.

  “Are you okay?” Shirley asked when she saw how pale Naidenne was as she sagged into a chair.

  “Oh, yes. For a moment I was overcome, absolutely overcome…”

  “With relief, of course.” Shirley said when Naidenne failed to finish her thought.

  “No, not just relief. I was overcome with joy. Now, we can really get on with our lives.”

  “I suppose the rest of us should be getting on with our lives, too,” Gwennie suggested.

  “Good idea, Gwennie. Naidenne has had enough excitement to last for quite a while. We should let her have some peace and quiet.” Eskaletha said.

  “Thank you all, so much, for being here. Without your support, friendship and prayers, I just don’t know…”

  “That’s what the First Ladies Club is all about
,” Elizabeth replied.

  The women took turns hugging Naidenne and departed, leaving Shirley and Bunny the last ones to go.

  “Would you like me to stay, Naidenne?” Shirley asked.

  “No, Jack’s waiting for you at home, Shirley. I’ll stay until Scott brings Rosamund home,” Bunny insisted.

  “Thanks, Shirley. For everything. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how Rosamund is,” Naidenne assured her.

  Shirley gave each of her friends a hug.

  “I guess you’re right. My dear husband will be on pins and needles wondering what’s happening. I’d better go share the good news and put him out of his misery. Bye!”

  “You have some wonderful friends in this town, Deenie. I’d forgotten just how much I loved my time living in Bannoch. It’s all coming back to me, now,” Bunny said as she settled back on the sofa.

  Naidenne began to clear away the cups and saucers and Bunny jumped back up.

  “Oh, for Heaven’s sake! What am I thinking? Let me do that. You sit down and rest. I’ll clear this mess, then go up and turn down Rosamund’s bed for her. She’s going to need some coddling, too, after her experience. I just may have to stick around to take care of you guys, indefinitely.”

  Naidenne chuckled to herself as Bunny bustled around. She was so right about all her good friends. In spite of the recent unpleasantness, Naidenne felt extraordinarily blessed.

  Bunny trotted down the stairs with an armload of sheets.

  “I heard a car in the drive, just now. I think they’re here. I’ll just pop these into the washer and get out of the way. Rose’s bed is all fresh and ready,” she said as she scurried out to the utility porch.

  Naidenne went to open the door for her returning family. They were still clustered in the doorway when Bunny came back from starting the washer. She gave Rosamund a quick hug then made her escape, leaving the family to recover and rejoice in private.

  “Sit down, Rosie,” Len said while he eased her into a chair. “What can I get you, my dear?”

  “You’re spoiling me. All I really want is to go to bed, but I’m too tired to climb those stairs, just now.”

  “You haven’t had anything to eat since lunch, have you?” Naidenne asked.

  Rosamund shook her head, and realizing that was true, she began to feel a little hungry.

  “Once you have something to eat you will feel more up to getting ready for bed. What would you like?”

  “A cup of tea and a slice of toast sounds heavenly,” Rosamund replied.

  “I’ll get it,” Scott said. “No need for you to try to do it one-handed, Naidenne. Both of you sit here and just take it easy. Len and I will fix the food.”

  When they were alone, Rosamund took Naidenne’s hand.

  “I owe you another apology.”

  “Whatever for, now?” Naidenne asked.

  “I saw that man on the highway the night I ran off like a schoolgirl. He wanted a ride. If I’d let him get in, he would have driven right past Bannoch and never attacked you, like he did.”

  “Why, if you had picked him up, he might have killed you!”

  “Maybe that is what was meant to happen…”

  “Never. Don’t even think like that. Everything has worked out for the best and it is behind us, now. You know, Bunny told me once that she believes everything which God allows to happen in a believer’s life holds both a blessing and a lesson for the believer, but we must look for them. I think I’ve found the blessings in this for me. It’s the wonderful love of friends and family and a greater trust in His mercy.”

  “If that’s true, I know what the lesson is for me, too,” Rosamund said. “Never, ever try to buy a house out in the country.”

  Epilogue

  On a rare windless day in June, Naidenne Davidson knelt on a beach blanket, happily changing her daughter’s diaper. Hearing her name called, she turned and waved to her approaching friend, who was slogging towards them through the dry sand.

  “Hi! Scott said I’d find you here,” Bunny Banks said as she crouched on the blanket and tickled the baby’s feet.

  “When I saw the glorious sunshine this morning, I had to bring Talitha to the beach to enjoy it. She loves it. See what she can do?”

  The fresh diaper now secured, Naidenne took her daughter’s hand and pulled her into a sitting position. Talitha wobbled a bit but stayed up for a moment before reaching for a flower in the blanket’s pattern and falling over.

  Bunny clapped, “What a big girl you are, Talitha Joy! We are all so proud of you.”

  As the baby groped happily at the blanket, the two friends sat back to admire her.

  “I’m glad you came, Bunny. I have been meaning to apologize.”

  “Whatever for?” Bunny asked.

  “When you came to visit last fall, we were all distracted by, well, first, the…troubles, then this little dumpling and Rosamund’s marriage and then you went back to Houston to take care of things there, so we never did get a chance to really catch up with all the things in your life; Max’s death and all. Since you’ve been back, I’ve been so absorbed in Talitha, I’m afraid I’ve dominated every conversation.”

  “We’ve got all the time in the world, now that I’m living here permanently. Don’t worry about it. And I love to hear about the baby. You know that.”

  “Well, you’ve seen her trick for today, and there’s nothing here to distract us, so let’s talk, now.”

  “What do you want to know? Max died over a year ago. It was a shock at the time, but I’m pretty well accustomed to widowhood, now.”

  “But what was he doing in Eastern Europe? How did you find out about the crash? You never had a chance to share about any of it.”

  “At the time, I didn’t really want to talk about it. I was too confused. I hadn’t known Max was in Eastern Europe. I thought he was on another trip to Brazil.”

  “Really? Why didn’t he tell you where he was going?”

  “That was what I wanted to know. I’m afraid I was suspicious he was seeing another woman.”

  “Oh, dear! Why would you think that?” Naidenne asked.

  “Past history, I’m afraid. But, now, I don’t think that was it, at all.”

  “Why not?”

  “Max never wanted to talk about his life in the years before we got back together. I thought it was because of all his other women, but he didn’t talk much about his business, either. He said he didn’t want to bore me. When I got back to Houston after coming here last fall, I found our condo had been broken into.”

  “Oh, no!”

  “Yes, all our computers and other electronics were taken, and Max’s study was trashed. I just thought random robbers had taken advantage of my absence, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I got some strange phone calls, after that. They didn’t make sense, really, but added to all the other odd things, it’s made me suspicious. I think Max was involved in something ‘covert’, something he didn’t want me to know about. I think that’s why he was in Eastern Europe and it might even be the reason he died.”

  “Don’t you think you are letting your writer’s imagination run away with you? What sort of covert business could Max have?”

  “Oh, you’re probably right. There are just so many things which don’t quite add up, that’s all,” Bunny said.

  “Sudden death is like that, isn’t it? We always want to make sense of it, somehow. It’s too hard to accept the randomness.”

  “I guess. Speaking of my writing, I’ve started work on a new book,” Bunny remarked.

  “Did you finish the pirate story?”

  “Nah, I gave up on it. I couldn’t quite reconcile a romantic pirate adventure with my real-life pirate experience. This is a straight romance, but not one of those salacious bodice rippers. It will probably never sell, but it will keep me occupied on the odd lonely afternoon.”

  “Are you lonely since returning to Bannoch?” Naidenne asked.

&nbs
p; “Oh, not usually. Singing in the choir and serving as treasurer on the church board keep me fairly busy, now.”

  “It was such a shock when Orville Locke’s wife ran off with Bill Odem. I suppose no one was quite as shocked as Orville, though,” Naidenne said.

  “I heard he’d had a stroke. Was that what brought it on?”

  “That, and a toxic lifestyle, I suppose. If you believe my friend, Judy, it was the white flour that did him in.”

  “I’ve been doing my best to straighten out the financial records. Orville’s wife left things in a bit of a mess.”

  “It was a tragic episode for the church, but I can’t help thinking things are running much more smoothly under our current board.”

  “It was quite a coincidence when Josiah Watkins left the Trustee board at the same time as Bill’s and Orville’s positions came open. It’s not often a church finds itself replacing all the trustees at once,” Bunny said.

  “It couldn’t be helped, though. When Josiah tripped over that rake and broke his hip, he couldn’t live alone, anymore. Fortunately, his son in Eugene was able to take him in.”

  Just then a big brown dog bounded onto the blanket, knocked Bunny backwards and straddled her, licking her face.

  “Oof! Get him off!” she cried.

  “It’s such a nice day, we decided to join you. Hope you don’t mind. Texaco! Down. Sit!” Scott commanded his wayward pet, and the dog obeyed instantly, tail wagging and tongue lolling happily.

  “I’ve never asked you before, but why Texaco? Why’d you name him that?” Bunny asked Scott as he strode up and clasped the leash to the dog’s collar.

  “That’s right; you left for Houston before we adopted him. He was part of the litter Eskaletha and Elizabeth discovered in the old abandoned gas station north of town. As far as the vet can tell, he’s a high-octane blend of Rottweiler, Lab and Boxer. Today the Lab seems to be dominant. Sorry for the rude greeting, but he obviously likes you,” Scott said, grinning.

  “What happened to the rest of the litter?” Bunny asked, looking over her shoulder, as though expecting them to descend upon her at any moment.

  “Elizabeth and her husband adopted the little black runt of the litter and named him Rascal. Eskaletha has one of the pups and Judy lets the white bull terrier stay with the Falls family,” Naidenne said.