“I don’t know why I didn’t think of our blood types and go back to the charts,” she said.
“Do you think you need to do a DNA for sure?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I want Granny to own up to it, and I want to hear it from Seth’s mouth. So I’m waiting them both out.”
Logan heaved a breath of relief. “God, I’m glad that’s over. Hamburgers are probably cold. Do you want to toss them into the creek to feed the fish and go get something else to eat?”
She shook her head. “Cold burgers, soggy fries, and even warm beer won’t be nearly as bad as not telling you about this whole thing without breaking the privacy rules at work.”
He brought her hand to his lips. “What else haven’t you told me?”
“Classified.” She giggled. “But Logan, the past has to surface, not for our sakes but for theirs. Granny, Jesse, and Seth need to get over themselves and grow up.”
“At eighty-two years old and with a grudge that’s been going on for the better parts of their lives, I don’t see that happening, but I do see a wedding in our future.”
“And possibly a new job.” She told him about Seth’s offer. “We’d have a house and the money would be fantastic.”
He opened the bag and removed the food. “That’s your decision, Emmy Jo. Do you like working with one elderly client as much as you do with all your patients? If you decide to do this, would you be able to go back to the health place if it doesn’t work out? I think it’s a wonderful opportunity and if I was in your shoes I’d do it, but I’ll support you in whatever you decide. Now let’s talk about the wedding. I’m so ready to be with you all the time instead of just an hour here and there.”
At that moment, Emmy Jo didn’t care if they were on a creek bank or in a five-star hotel—she was with Logan. Divine intervention or fate or destiny, whatever it was called, had put her in Seth Thomas’s pathway a few weeks ago, she was sure of it. Maybe it was so that nothing would shake her marriage to Logan.
“I can’t wait, either, darling.” She wrapped her arms around him, shut her eyes, and let her heart do double time when their lips met. After several minutes she pulled away. “What’s wrong?”
“Gramps had a fling with Tandy. That your grandmother was not the result doesn’t change the fact that he thought she was all these years. My grandfather left your great-grandmother high and dry. Are you going to hold that against me?”
“No, I am not,” she said with conviction. “Are you going to hold it against me that the town recluse is my great-grandfather and that his mother was a prostitute?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then we’re even, I suppose. Now let’s eat. I’m starving,” Emmy Jo said.
“Since you aren’t going to break up with me for keeping secrets, we need to use some of that time before the wedding to go to the courthouse to get our passports started for the honeymoon,” he said.
“Then let’s get with it. I’m so excited that we’re really going on a cruise,” she said.
“But first the cupcakes.”
She pushed him over on his back and snuggled up against his side. “You can take the cupcakes home with you. I want to make out before we go to the courthouse. I miss being in your arms so much.”
“Have I told you that you are the most beautiful woman on the earth?” He got lost in her eyes. “That sounds corny, but it’s the truth.”
“And the truth will prevail.” She grinned as she brought his lips to hers.
That evening Emmy Jo worked with the story, staring off into space every few minutes. “Oh, what tangled webs.” She recited part of a quote that Tandy came up with often. “If this was really fiction, no one would believe it,” she said. “There’s too much sadness and too little happiness and up until now there is no happy ending. But I’m writing it for Seth, so I’m going to tell it like I feel it.”
Taking a short break, she worked the kinks from her neck and checked the time. It couldn’t be midnight, and yet the clock on the nightstand beside her bed said that it was exactly 12:34. She and her grandmother had always played a game when those numbers came up on the clock. Whoever saw them first got to make a wish. She figured Tandy had been asleep for hours, so she shut her eyes tightly.
Emmy Jo closed the laptop and put it away, turned down the covers on her bed, and slid in between them. Forgetting all about her heritage, she thought about the house where Mary had raised her children. On Sunday she would finally get to see the inside of Seth’s cabin, and she could better describe what had happened in that living room where Mary had died. And on Tuesday, Tandy was going to say the words. And then Seth was going to do the same thing. Procrastination was over.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Oma Lynn, how old are you?” Emmy Jo asked as she stirred sausage gravy for breakfast.
“That’s a rude question. I’m fifty-seven years old, and I’ve been working right here for Seth since I was forty-three. I didn’t plan to work this long when I took the job, and I’ve told him that in another year at the most, he’d better find someone else. He said that he offered you a job. Will you be taking this over this as well as being his assistant? I think he should hire a cook and housekeeper in my place.”
“I agree with you,” Emmy Jo said. “So you knew Rose, my grandmother?”
“I knew her very well. We were friends.”
Emmy Jo stopped stirring. “Really? Why didn’t you mention that before now?”
“You didn’t ask until now, and if that gravy burns, you’ll be in big trouble, because the biscuits are almost done.”
Emmy Jo went back to doing her job. “What was she like?”
“She was a beautiful person, inside and out. Had a sweet nature about her. Tall and slim, blue eyes like yours.” Oma Lynn checked the oven. “Pour the gravy in a bowl and fill the skillet with water so it won’t be so hard to clean.”
Emmy Jo followed orders. “Who fathered Crystal?”
Oma Lynn pulled the biscuits out. “A boy who came through Hickory working in the oil well business. Give me a minute and I’ll think of his name. Didn’t Tandy tell you all this?”
“She’s pretty tight-lipped about the past,” Emmy Jo answered.
“Newton. That was his name. Johnny Newton. He rode into town on a motorcycle, and she was working at Libby’s place in those days. They hit it off right away and when the job was finished, they were, too. I never knew why she didn’t marry him. They seemed crazy about each other. Then she found a job over in Graham as a secretary in a real estate place and had Crystal.”
“Then Rose got killed in a car wreck, right?” Emmy Jo said. “But I want to hear about things y’all did as friends. Did you talk boyfriends, or did she tell you when she found out she was pregnant?”
“Honey, that was more than forty years ago and a lot of water has run under the Hickory Creek Bridge since then. We didn’t tell each other every detail of our daily lives. We were friends, but not close enough that she was a bridesmaid at my wedding.”
Emmy Jo pressed on. “Who do you think Rose’s father was?”
“That part is something you’ll have to ask Tandy. Far as I know, she never told a living soul who Rose belonged to. Not to speak ill of your great-grandmother, but it could be that she didn’t know. She was pretty wild in those days,” Oma Lynn said. “Now let’s get this breakfast on the table so you and Seth can get about the business of reading the morning newspapers.”
“One more question.” Emmy Jo whispered, “What happened to that woman he was going to marry? The one he built this house for?”
“I never asked,” Oma Lynn said.
They’d barely finished breakfast when the whirring noise of a helicopter sounded overhead, getting louder and louder until it finally settled down on the roof. Seth got up from the table and left his walker behind. The elevator doors opened, and Seth motioned for the doctor to follow him into the office.
“Well, look at you!” The doctor smiled.
“Gett
in’ better. Got to get a release from you if I’m to get serious about my bucket list.”
The doctor winked at Emmy Jo. “So you’ve made a list. What’s first? To drive?”
“That would be nice, but I have an assistant who can do that. I was thinking maybe a trip to the Grand Ole Opry or else a cruise. You comin’ or not, Emmy Jo?” Seth looked over his shoulder.
“Slow your horses, old man. I want to hear what the doctor has to say,” she said.
Dr. Everson glanced over his shoulder at her.
She shrugged. “He’s liable to tell me that you said he could drive now.”
“Well, crap! A man can’t get away with nothing around here,” Seth grumbled.
Emmy Jo helped pull Seth’s pants down so the doctor could check the incision and was amazed at how well Seth had healed. Maybe that strict schedule was therapeutic after all.
“Well, it’s looking really good, and you are moving around very well. I’d say you are ahead of where you’d be in therapy. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”
“Thanks.” Seth smiled.
“How’s those allergies?” the doctor asked.
“All better. Whatever was tossing around pollen must have gotten done. Thank you for asking,” Emmy Jo said.
The doctor took time to listen to Seth’s heart and lungs and take his blood pressure. “I’ve got forty-year-old men who’d trade places with you any day with these vital signs.”
“With a broken hip?” Seth asked.
“Hips heal,” Dr. Everson said as he pulled up Seth’s pants. “Y’all have a good day. See you next time.” And he was gone.
“That was great news,” Emmy Jo said.
“I was hoping he’d say I could drive now.”
“Maybe next time.” She rolled his walker over to him. He tried to wave it away, but she shook her head.
“I can do without it,” he said.
“Probably, but just use it as a brace to get up and down.”
“As my assistant I want you to make some phone calls and book two places on a cruise leaving the Sunday after you get married.” That surprised her more than him not arguing about the walker.
“Two?”
“You heard me.” He took two steps toward the door.
“I’ll need the name of the person going with you and his or her passport number.”
“Well, shit!” He stopped and frowned. “It’s a surprise. How do we get around that?”
“I’ll have to see what I can do.” She smiled. “Whoever it is will need either passports or a valid birth certificate. You’ll have to spring the surprise on them in time for them to get that taken care of before it’s time to leave.”
“How long does that take?” he asked.
“Logan and I went to Graham to the courthouse yesterday and got ours started. They said we could have it in three weeks if we paid extra, so we did,” she said.
“Okay, then, I want to leave three weeks after your wedding,” he said. “I don’t have a passport, either, so we’ll go to the courthouse together the Monday after you and Logan are married.”
“But you were in Germany with the army,” she said.
“Yep, went over there and came back without one. Army is one thing. Civilian travel is something different,” he said.
“Better make it four weeks to give them time to get here,” she said. “We’re getting married on June 10.” She pulled out her phone to check dates. “So how about the second of July? That way you can see fireworks from the ship on the Fourth. What are you thinking about? A five- or seven-day Caribbean?”
“Hell, no, I want one of them long things that takes us around the world. If we’re going to do this thing, I want to do it up right. What good is a bucket list if you’re only going to commit to seven days?”
“Seth!” she said hoarsely. “You are talking sixty to ninety days. You wouldn’t be back on US soil until mid-October.”
“Then you wouldn’t have a lot to do as my assistant until then, would you? Give you and Logan plenty of time to get adjusted to married life,” he said.
“I’ll see what I can get arranged. You are sure that the other person will go with you?”
“No, but someone will.” He grinned. “Now let’s go read our newspapers.”
He read through two newspapers before he spoke again. “Are you giving my offer some serious consideration?”
“I am,” she said. “Do you think Logan and I could look at that farmhouse on Tuesday at noon?”
“Sure you can, but it’s getting a face-lift. Last folks that lived there left it in a bit of a mess, so my contractors are working on making it livable again. And speaking of that . . .” He paused.
She was as smart as she was sassy and was figuring out things way too fast, so he had to approach the next subject carefully. His hands went clammy, and his chest tightened.
“Speaking of what?” She laid her paper aside.
“Your wedding and that book. You don’t have a place yet, do you? Time is getting real short and you still have to get your dress. Why don’t you have the wedding here? I can call a caterer to do the waffle brunch that you mentioned and set up some chairs. Maybe call a landscaping company to come plant purple flowers everywhere. We can have an arch hanging with lilacs and daisies and cut flowers everywhere there is a place, maybe even put some of that filmy stuff up over the aisle for you to walk under. It could be real romantic.” He stopped to take a breath.
“You’ve given this a lot of thought, Martha Stewart. Why would you do that?” Emmy Jo asked. “And besides I don’t have the money for all that stuff you just said.”
“I can’t take money with me when I’m dead. You’ve helped me, Emmy Jo. I can’t ever repay you, but I can finance part of this wedding,” he said. “You buy the dress and the cake. I’ll do the rest if you’ll let me.”
“Seth, do you realize that would mean people in and out of your home? And where would the reception be?”
He felt as if he’d awakened from a deep sleep to find his mother still alive. There were problems, yes. But there was also peace and happiness in his life. It had come about gradually, but helping Emmy Jo meant more to him than anything. She’d lifted the burden of sadness from his heart, which was something that money and power couldn’t do. He wanted to lift the financial burden of a huge wedding from her heart and give her a wonderful day that she’d remember forever.
He took another deep breath before he went on. “I was thinking we could send my cars over to Willard’s for a couple of days. Then the designer people could turn the garage into a reception hall. It’s air-conditioned, and we could have tables set up there and on the patio, maybe move the furniture out of the living room for more tables and give the kitchen to the caterers for a couple of days.”
“Sweet Lord! Have you lost your mind? That’s thousands of dollars. Do you know how many people would come to the wedding just to get a glimpse of this place? It’s been a mystery for so long that everyone would swarm up here,” she whispered.
He couldn’t keep the grin from spreading. “And that way everyone in Hickory will know that you’ve broken the Massey curse, right? What better way to get them to come to your wedding? Say the word and I will put it in motion.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“That’s what I like to hear.” He nodded. “Go get that book and show me some more pictures. Can I keep it to show the wedding planner?”
She raced off and was back in a flash. She laid the book in his lap, pulling her chair up close to his side. He reached for the notepad and pen he kept by his chair.
“Seth, I can’t do this,” she said, withdrawing a little.
“Why?” His heart fell to his toes, aching all the way down.
“The money,” she said. “I’d always feel that I was taking advantage of our friendship, and I would never do that. It means too much to me.”
“If it means anything to you, let me do this,” he said. “You said we’re friends. Plea
se.” He wanted so badly to be her grandfather in every sense of the word. Dammit! If Tandy didn’t say the words soon, he was going to, and to the devil with what Tandy thought of it. “I can make one phone call and the planner I talk to will then visit with you. If you don’t like anything I’ve suggested then do it your way, but have it here. And we’ll need to get the invitations sent within the next week if we’re going to be right according to etiquette.”
She giggled. “Masseys and Thomases don’t exactly get things done the Emily Post way.”
“So what do you want to do different than what I said?” he asked.
“Not one thing. It sounds like a fairy tale,” she said.
“It should. Do you want any sort of horse-drawn carriage bringing you from Tandy’s to the wedding?”
She held up a palm with a giggle. “That’s going too far. I’ll get dressed right here in my bedroom upstairs. I’m only doing this on one condition, you realize. That’s if you’ll walk me down the aisle and give me away.”
Seth thought his poor old heart would stop beating right then and there. “I would be honored, but I want to leave this open. If you change your mind later, then I will understand and there’ll be no hard feelings.”
He was going to get to play the role of a grandfather. He’d never known such joy in his whole life. She had no idea about the gift she’d just given him.
“Why would I change my mind?” She eyed him carefully.
“We are both caught up in the fun and excitement, but between now and then you could have a change of heart. I’d understand,” he said.
“I won’t,” she said, putting a warm hand on his shoulder. “I never thought I’d say this, but I truly do value our friendship so much and I appreciate everything you are offering and doing for me. Now tell me, exactly how is this worded on your bucket list? ‘Do a good deed for a kid who doesn’t have a father’?”
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