"Is Laura totally traumatized by this whole experience?" Georgia leaned over and touched her mother's arm.
"I can't say that I blame her if she is. It's been a terrible burden for her to have carried around, Gary harassing her, threatening her, all the time trying to go about her business, raise her child, run the inn— not to mention the emotional trauma of having her mother so very ill. I'm hoping that Dr. Jeffers will prescribe a long rest for her. Not that I'd expect her to take one.''
"I think she needs the comfort of the inn right now more than she needs to go away."
"And you, sweetie?" Delia leaned over and patted Georgia's hand. "What do you need right now?"
Georgia smiled, watching Matt jog across the front lawn, Artie trotting playfully at his heels.
"Oh, I think I just need to go back to Pumpkin Hill and watch a few good movies." Georgia smiled. "And I need to dance. Dancing would definitely help."
"Are you thinking about going back? Professionally, I mean." Delia raised a concerned eyebrow. Georgia had seemed so much happier now. She'd almost hate to see her go back to the troupe. Of course, if that was what she wanted…
"No. Not right now, anyway. I have a different agenda right now." Georgia sat down in the chair next to her mother. "I'm registered to attend a two-week workshop for dance instructors in New York. I leave next Thursday. I'm really looking forward to it. And I'm looking for a new location for my studio. Matt will be meeting with an architect tomorrow morning to go over the renovations to the barn for the new clinic."
"What a shame. You did so enjoy dancing there."
"I'll enjoy dancing wherever I go. Matt has dreamed of opening this clinic for years. I'm thrilled and excited for him. I don't mind if I have to find another place for my dancing school. Matt's clinic is much more important. I can find a storefront."
"Well, perhaps I could help you look…"
Georgia laughed. "Thank you, Mom, but I think I can find a place."
"Oh, but sweetie…"
"I'll be able to take care of it, Mom. I have the rent from my condo."
"Will you ask for my help if you need it? I'd be happy to float a business loan, you know."
"I promise, if I need help, I will ask." Georgia glanced at her watch, then frowned. "I hope Matt comes back soon. I had wanted to be back at the farm before evening. I want to stop and pick up my pig at the neighbors'. I'm sure Spam wonders where I am. I miss Pumpkin Hill, Mom. I understand totally why Laura and Matt want to keep it in the family. I can't wait to get back."
"And I hate for you to leave. I'm almost afraid to let you out of my sight," Delia hugged Georgia tightly to her. "I'm afraid to turn my back on either you or Laura. To think how close we came to losing you both—my first baby and my last…"
"Don't, Mom. It's done. Gary's being watched closely and I doubt that he'll try anything else. He's said on national TV that he'll give Laura her divorce. Finally, she'll be free of him."
Delia pushed a long strand of yellow hair back from her daughter's forehead and smoothed it behind one ear, just as she had a thousand times over the course of her lifetime. The thought that that precious life had come so dangerously close to being snuffed out—along with that of the daughter who had been lost to her for so long—made Delia physically ill every time she thought of the week's events. Later she would deal with that terror and the stress it had inflicted upon her. For now, she would be strong, unflappable, in charge, the way the Mom is supposed to be.
"Laura deserves a chance to be happy with someone who truly cares for her," Delia said, forcing calm into her voice. "As do you, my darling girl."
"I am happy with someone who truly cares for me, Mom." Georgia kissed her mother's cheek.
"I'll have to speak with Matt. I need to know that he will take good care of you."
"Now, Mother, I'm not sure that I need someone to take care of me. I'm a grown woman," Georgia reminded her.
"Darling, we all need to know that there's someone who can take care of us from time to time. Not to lean on, certainly, but in times of crisis it's good to know that there's someone you can trust, someone to just hold you up a little till the worst of it has passed."
"And what about you, Mother? Have you finally found someone to hold you up just a little, just till this passes?"
"Perhaps I have, sweetie," Delia smiled thoughtfully. "Perhaps I have."
"Mom, you've had a rough time these past few days, too. Now that this ordeal is over, I think you should think about taking a week or two off. On an island someplace, with nothing to do except lie on a beach and listen to the water lap against the shore."
"My thoughts exactly," Gordon appeared in the doorway. From his jacket pocket he pulled an envelope. "Plane tickets."
"Why, Gordon…" Delia turned to him, clearly taken off guard. "Tickets to where?"
"It's a surprise." He beamed. "Suffice it to say that Georgia has the right idea. You desperately need some time away, and I'm determined that you shall have it. Pack lots of beach wear. Think tropical. Think casual. Think the day after tomorrow."
"That soon? I'll need to pack…"
"Then I suggest we leave for Westboro first thing in the morning."
"But, Gordon, my girls…"
"Are fine now." His voice softened and he touched her arm gently. "Georgia is going back to her farm, and Laura is re-opening the inn tomorrow."
"But you had planned to have a new diver start this week…" Delia protested.
"Tucker will be here. I think I can safely leave things in his hands. As can you, my dear. You won't need to worry about Laura with Tucker here to watch after her."
"Mother, Gordon is absolutely right. You're out of excuses. You'll simply have to go," Georgia shrugged.
"Go where?" Laura joined them on the porch.
"Gordon is taking Mom on a trip. A getaway to a tropical beach." Georgia grinned.
"Wonderful," Laura nodded approvingly. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know. Gordon planned it. It's a surprise." Delia smiled as if still getting over the shock that someone had done for her what she might do for others.
"Will the trip require a passport?" Laura's dark hair slid from the clips that held it back from her face, and , she raised her hands to re-secure the long strands.
"Yes," Gordon nodded.
"It will?" Delia turned to him, her eyebrows raised in a question.
"Yes. You do have one…?"
"Of course. Hmmm. A tropical beach for which I'll need a passport—Mexico, perhaps?"
"Don't bother asking. I'm not going to spoil it for you. But I think you'll love it there." Gordon said.
"I'm sure I will." The smile spread slowly across Delia's face, one side to the other. "Oh, I'm certain I will. Well, I suppose I should call Mrs. Colson and have her ready a few things for me."
Delia winked at Gordon, then kissed both of her daughters' foreheads on her way into the inn.
"That's lovely that you've planned something special for Mom, Gordon," Georgia told him. "She's always doing such things for us. It's wonderful to see the tables turned."
"Your mother is such a very special lady. And she's been through so much over the past week. I think she needs a little time away. I was hoping you'd approve."
"Approve?" Georgia and Laura exclaimed in unison.
"I for one am delighted," Georgia assured him, and Laura nodded in agreement.
"Absolutely. Now," Georgia leaned forward and whispered, "you can tell us where you're taking her. We won't tell. Promise."
"Sorry, girls," he laughed. "It's a secret."
"But what if we need to get in touch with her…"
"Tucker has the phone number of the hotel where we'll be staying." Gordon laughed. "And don't think you'll sweet talk it out of him, either, Laura. He's been sworn to secrecy."
"Well, I guess it would take some of the thrill out of being swept away to a secret place if your children know where you're going." Laura conceded.
"Ah, t
here's Tucker coming up from the beach. Excuse me, I need to go over a few things with him before I leave." Gordon crossed the front porch with an easy stride and bounded down the steps and across the lawn.
"Now, is Gordon the most incredible man?" Georgia sighed. "The most perfect man for Mother?"
"He really is," Laura nodded enthusiastically. "And he does seem to adore her."
"And she is certainly sweet on him. And oh, to have him plan a romantic vacation for her…" Georgia sighed again. "I'm so happy for her. She deserves the very best."
"I think she's found the very best." Laura's eyes followed Gordon as he crossed the street and stood on the sidewalk talking to Tucker. "And you!" Laura asked, her eyes taking on a bit of a mischievous glow. "When were you going to tell me about you and Matt?"
"Oh." Georgia grinned. "I was going to tell you. that time Matt and I came to the inn to go over the plans for Zoey and Ben's party. But then, you were so pleased that we were just being pleasant to one another, that we thought maybe we'd put off telling you for a while. Since you almost seemed to think that somehow you were bringing us together, we thought we'd play it out."
"So?"
"So… what?"
"Is this a fling? An infatuation?"
"I am head over heels in love with him," Georgia admitted. "Hopelessly, totally…"
"Well." Laura sat back in her chair, not having been quite prepared for that response. "Well."
Georgia laughed.
"Well." Laura cleared her throat. "When I said I'd hoped that someday I'd be able to blend my two families, I'm not certain that this was what I had in mind."
"Does it bother you? Are you upset?" Georgia leaned forward to touch Laura's arm tentatively. It had never occurred to her that Laura would be less than thrilled.
"No. No, not at all. I'm very happy for you. I'm just surprised that so much happened that I was unaware of." Laura took both of Georgia's hands in hers. "I couldn't be happier for you. And Matt, I take it he feels the same way about you? Well, of course he does." She smacked her forehead with her open palm. "I guess anyone could see that. Came around pretty well, for a stubborn cuss, didn't he?"
"Remarkably well." Georgia laughed. "He couldn't resist me. Laura, it's hard to explain, but it's almost as if we belong together, as if we were waiting for each other…"
"And to think, that if Delia hadn't found me, you wouldn't have found each other," Laura mused. "Funny how things work out, isn't it, how one thing leads to another?"
"Mom always said that life was a long chain. Everything that happens is just another link. That good can come out of the worst situations…"
Laura's gaze drifted past Georgia to the end of the drive, where Tucker was packing a duffel bag into the back of his car.
Georgia watched Laura's face. "Seems Mom's not the only one who's falling for a sea-faring man," Georgia observed.
"Maybe, once this whole thing is over," Laura said softly.
"Laura, it is over. Gary is yesterday's news. You talked to Mom's lawyer, he's preparing the papers for you as we speak. Your divorce will go through without a hitch this time. The FBI is tracking Gary's cronies—they've identified the man with the bald head and the tattoo—and they'll be keeping an eye on him from now on. He can't hurt you, Laura. There's nothing he can do to you. It's time to move on. Tucker is a wonderful man and he's crazy about you. He risked his life for you, Laura…"
"So did you."
"That's different. You're my sister. I'd do the same for Zoey. You don't think in situations like that, you just do, when someone you love is at risk. And you pray that it turns out all right."
"You were really brave, Georgia, to march up to that door like that."
"Truthfully, I didn't expect for anything to happen. I really thought I could just ring the doorbell, and buy Tucker and Jeremy a little time to come around the back of the house." Georgia's stomach turned at the memory of it. "I never thought I'd end up in there with you."
"I'm so sorry, Georgia," Laura's eyes filled with tears. "I never would have had you in that danger. If I had thought for one second that things would have gone that far…"
"Laura, why didn't you tell anyone about the letters that Gary was sending you? Why didn't you at least let Matt know? Or me? If it hadn't been for Jody fishing them out of the trash, we would never have known."
"It sounds so stupid now. I just thought that as long as I did what Gary wanted me to do—stay married to him—that I could keep my mother and Ally safe. I just didn't want anyone hurt because of me." A look of pain crossed Laura's face, marring her beauty with its shadow. "Look what I did to you. You could have been…"
"Don't ever say that. You did nothing to me. Nothing. Laura, Gary is responsible, not you. Don't ever for a minute think that anything that happened was your fault."
"Georgia, you could have been killed."
"So could you. But at his hand. Not yours." Georgia went over to Laura's chair and leaned against the arm. She stroked Laura's dark hair. "You are not responsible for his actions. I wish you had told someone when Gary first started harassing you. Maybe it would have stopped then, before it got out of hand. Maybe not. After seeing what he is capable of doing, I don't doubt for a minute that he'd have made good on his threats against you or Ally or your mother. I understand why that was a chance you didn't want to take. But I do not believe that you could have stopped him, not this past week, anyway."
"The whole thing is so insane. I still can't believe any of it really happened." Laura bit her bottom lip. "Georgia, he's had people watching me all this time.''
"If Tucker hadn't come along, hadn't been staying here at the inn, we may never have found that out. Gary was apparently so crazed to think that you had another man…"
"And I didn't, Georgia. Not in the way Gary thought I did, anyway. I've been too afraid to even look at another man."
"Well, I hope you're over that, because that Tucker Moreland is one fine sight. Just look at him, Laura…" Georgia pointed toward the drive. "Great body, great face, and a man willing to fight dragons for you. What else could a woman ask for?"
"Nothing." Laura shook her head. "There is nothing else anyone could ever want in a man."
"Laura, show a little enthusiasm here. We're talking about a man to die for." Georgia leaned over and tilted Laura's face upward so that she could read its expression. "Oh, no. What's that face for?"
"He just has to think I'm the stupidest woman in the world." Laura got up and began to pace.
"Because you let a psychopathic bully frighten you?"
"Because I married the psychopath in the first place."
"Laura, when you met Gary, was he outwardly manipulative?"
"No, of course not."
"Did he threaten and abuse you?"
"Certainly not. I never knew what he was really like. I never knew what he was doing…"
"Then why would Tucker—or anyone, for that matter—hold it against you?"
"I just feel as if I should have known somehow. That maybe there were signs that I missed, things that I overlooked…"
"Laura, you're being too hard on yourself. You didn't know. Let it go. Move on with your life. It's time." Georgia smiled. "The future is glorious. I read it in your tea leaves."
"When?"
"Do you remember after we got back here, after the police station, Jody brought us all tea? I told her to save the cups. She did. She even remembered which was whose. I read them this morning." Georgia hesitated for a few seconds, then asked, "So, aren't you curious? Don't you want me to tell you what I saw?"
"Okay." Laura tried to force a smile.
"Well, for starters, there was a dragon. Near the rim, which as you know is a significant placement."
"What does a dragon mean?"
"It means that there are new beginnings ahead," Georgia took Laura's hand, "that wonderful opportunities will come to you after some challenges."
"Well, I hope it means past challenges. I think I've had all I can
deal with for a while." Laura nodded. "What else did you see?"
"I saw a sun, which is a symbol for great happiness."
"Anything else?"
Georgia watched Tucker slam the trunk of the car before he headed back to the inn. "I saw another horse's head."
"You did not," Laura's eyes widened. "You're making that up!"
Georgia laughed, then kissed her sister on the cheek. "Meet him halfway, Laur," Georgia whispered in her ear. "Don't let him leave without knowing that he matters, that he has a place in your life."
"He does. I don't want him to leave."
"You're going to have to tell him that."
Georgia waved to Tucker and stood back to let Laura pass.
"Tucker," Laura called to him. "Wait…"
Whistling, Georgia went inside the inn to look for Matt. It was time for them, too, to get on with their lives, to put the nightmare of the past week behind them, and to go back to Pumpkin Hill.
twenty-seven
From somewhere beyond the kitchen window, a wren was singing a long and cheerful song. Georgia leaned her elbows on the sill to listen. It was bliss to be at Pumpkin Hill early in the morning, alive and well and grateful for all of it.
Especially alive, she reminded herself as she unlocked the back porch door and stepped outside. She frowned. Matt's truck was gone. He wouldn't have gone back to Shawsburg without telling her. Georgia went back into the kitchen, and scanned the counters. Had he left a note that she had missed? The counters were empty. She was just about to go back upstairs to look for a note there, when she heard the truck drive up.
"Hey!'' Matt called to her as he opened the passenger door and lifted out a dark bundle. "Spammy just had her first truck ride."
Matt placed the little pig on the ground and she raced to Georgia, grunting loudly all the way as if complaining about the fact that she'd been left with strangers and scolding Georgia for not coming to get her sooner.
"Oh, Spam," Georgia laughed and dropped to her knees, the pig trying her best to climb into her lap. "I'm glad to see you, too. I missed you." She looked up at Matt. "I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be hugging a pig."
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