by Ava Miles
“You think we’re that close?” she asked him.
He prayed they were, because after tonight, he didn’t think he could wait much longer to be with her.
Chapter 17
Sadie felt like she was in the center of a tilt-a-whirl. Meeting Me-Mother had been emotional enough. But then Shelby had told them that Vander was planning on going to Haines today to find their daddy…
She couldn’t quilt fast enough. Purple and orange squares lay around her in what would look like a mess to other people, but she saw the pattern she’d designed for Shelby. She was pretty proud of it. The abacus pattern would make Shelby laugh, and given her love of numbers, it had seemed the perfect design.
Shelby was coming over for lunch, so she’d need to hide everything away soon. Sadie had invited all her siblings, but Susannah had promised to accompany Jake to some recording gig, and J.P. was meeting with a client about a new recording contract.
Right now, all she wanted to do was wrap her family up in the largest, most colorful quilt possible and hold them tight. Even though she wanted to find their daddy, with every step forward, she feared they would tear the stitches that had always held the fabric of their family together.
Her enchilada casserole was in the oven, the cream of chicken and mushroom soups bubbling with the enchilada sauce and cheddar cheese. Sadie wished she could have gone into the craft store this morning and stocked yarn or something—anything to keep busy—but she wasn’t due there until one o’clock.
Her phone rang, and when she saw that it was her mama, she dropped it in her lap. It bounced off her knee and onto the floor. She wrung her hands, trying to decide if she should answer it. Her mama had left her a couple of voicemails, which Sadie had listened to and deleted promptly out of guilt. To appease her mama, she’d texted her, saying she was busy with the store and her quilting. She’d lied. Again. Surely she was going to hell in a hand basket.
But how in all that’s sacred was she supposed to talk to Mama right now? She wasn’t like Shelby—everyone in the family could see right through her.
The phone stopped ringing, and Sadie knew it was going to voicemail again. She picked up the phone and waited for a message to appear. When it did, she listened to it, her heart hammering in her chest.
Sadie, honey, I was hoping to catch you since it’s your late day. I miss you. I was in between seeing people today and wanted to hear your voice. Give your mama a holler when you get the chance. Love you.
Guilt wrapped around her like tangled yarn. Oh, she was a horrible person.
Her doorbell rang, and she jumped. Her paranoid mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was Mama. Then she remembered Shelby was due to come over for lunch. She stuffed all her quilting materials back into her basket and hustled to the door.
When she opened it, her sister rushed inside and wrapped her up in a hug. “I’m coming apart.”
Sadie squeezed her for all she was worth. “Me too!”
“How do people handle this?” Shelby asked, letting her go. “Wait! Is that enchilada casserole I smell?”
“I went all out!” Sadie said, ushering her inside. “I’ve done nothing but work on your quilt and cook since the crack of dawn. I’m not sleeping. I’ve never been on edge like this.”
“I’m going out with Vander once we find Daddy,” Shelby said in a rush, standing in the center of Sadie’s small living room clutching her purse. “And that has me feeling crazy too. He asked me last night.”
“Last night?” Sadie exclaimed. Even Susannah had noticed the attraction between Vander and Shelby. She’d asked Sadie about it when they’d gotten back from Memphis. “It makes sense now. You texting us last night that Vander was going today. I thought he’d only called you.”
“He kind of had,” Shelby said. “Let me set my purse down, and I’ll explain.”
They sat on the couch, cuddled close. Her sister told her about the pictures and take-out and then pretty much blew her mind when she described Vander’s tragic past with his own daddy.
“He was murdered?” she asked. “Good heavens! I feel for that man. I can’t begin to imagine such a tragedy.”
“I thought our daddy leaving us was awful, but can you imagine what it would have been liked if he’d been murdered?”
“That poor man. That makes me like him even more.”
“I know!” Shelby said, patting her chest, a few breaths shy of a good panic attack if you asked Sadie. “I mean, I’ve been attracted to him since we first met, but I’m starting to really like him. Like big L like. He’s a good man, and he isn’t put off by me being sassy or over-the-top either. He gives as good as he gets. I can’t wait until he kisses me for real.”
“He kissed you?” Sadie squeaked.
“In his hotel room in Memphis,” Shelby said. “Truth is, I kissed him. He’s been very…honorable about everything. Talks about his code of conduct, not dating clients. But seriously, the way that man looks at me…”
“It’s like you’re the only birthday cake in a one hundred mile radius,” Sadie said, fanning herself. “I’ve seen it. I’m glad he…you…”
“Oh, heavens, are you stuttering?” Shelby asked. “Of course, he thinks I’m planning on sleeping with him. I told him I’m not that kind of girl.”
Sadie was sure her eyebrows shot straight up to her hairline. “How did he take that?”
“I think he laughed,” Shelby said, falling back against the sofa. “I can’t remember really. My head was buzzing after I told him not to flatter himself.”
Sadie didn’t know much about men—it was the part of her education she wished had been given more attention. But when your mama was a preacher and you went to a Christian school, no one really told you much of anything that was useful except to tell you what went where, that it was a sacred act, and you should never, ever do it outside of marriage.
Of course, she’d been in a three-year relationship in college she’d thought would lead to marriage. Randy, the boyfriend she’d met at a Christian social night, had been aptly named since all he’d done was talk about how randy he was for her. She’d finally told herself God would forgive her after getting randy herself. But then she’d caught Randy kissing the Vacation Bible School organizer their junior year and broken things off. Now she didn’t date anyone at church.
Putting together hundreds of patches into a beautiful design for a quilt was easier than figuring out men. After Randy, Sadie wasn’t sure she wanted to date a man who professed he was a good Christian man. Her daddy supposedly had been one too. They didn’t seem to measure up. Better to go out with a man who didn’t profess to have any such values. That way she couldn’t be disappointed. Her only problem was looking for men like that. She didn’t know exactly where to find them. Tattoo parlors? Dive bars? She was scared of those places. Sure as shooting, it wasn’t easy to find men in the circles she normally hung out in—quilting, crafting, and the like.
“At least Vander is honest,” Sadie said. “All men want sex. I’d be suspicious of a man who says he doesn’t want sex in the beginning. That’s what Randy said to me, and I fell for it. I bet he was getting it from someone else at church.”
“Randy the Dandy,” Shelby said, using their nickname for him. “Beats Nick the Prick.”
All the pent-up emotion was making her kooky, and she started laughing. “We’re a pair, talking about the sorry excuses for men we’ve had. We’re so college cliché, giving it up as soon as we left home. What were we thinking?”
“We were curious, in love, and thinking we wanted sex,” her sister replied.
They continued to laugh hysterically, but soon they wound down.
“Now, I understand why Vander left for Haines today,” Sadie said. “He was eager to get started with you. I think that’s lovely.”
“Me too, actually,” Shelby said. “I get all girly whenever I think about it, but then I remember he’s going there to find Daddy.”
“At least you have that half a minute o
f joy,” Sadie said, the bubble from their laughter bursting. “I’m having trouble finding anything to be grateful about. I ducked another call from Mama.”
“Me too,” Shelby admitted. “It’s like we’re so close to knowing…the full truth…meeting Daddy. I’m…holding out until I have all the facts, I guess.”
“Once we have all the facts, what are we going to tell her?” Sadie still didn’t know.
“I know we agreed to talk about what more we might do for Me-Mother,” Shelby said, “but it will get mighty complicated with Mama if we keep seeing her.”
Sadie thought about it a moment. “It will, but she surprised me so much in that one meeting. I’d like to get to know her more.”
Shelby nodded. “I want to find her another place to live, no matter how much trouble it causes us with Mama.”
“That’s a possibility to discuss another time,” Sadie said, worrying about how she might contribute financially. “I still wonder what happened between her and Mama. When I think about her vehemence, it’s like I’m looking at circles instead of squares for a quilt.”
“I’m confused too,” Shelby said, pulling a pillow against her chest. “I keep wondering if Mama could have done something. I mean, she was basically our age when this happened. Look at me. I make mistakes all the time.”
“Me too! Like ducking Mama.” Sadie hung her head.
“This will be over soon,” Shelby told her sister. “Vander will find Daddy. I just know it!”
Sadie’s insides lurched. “I know he will. It’s just…I don’t know what we’re supposed to do after Vander finds him, now that we know he’s alive. I hated not knowing that.”
“I suppose all we can do is take it one day at a time,” Shelby said.
“Serenity now,” Sadie breathed out.
“Amen, sister,” Shelby said, taking her hand. “We’ll know soon enough.”
Yes, if there was one thing Sadie knew about Vander… He was not a man to waste time.
Her sister was one lucky woman.
Sadie hated that she felt a little left behind in the love department herself.
Chapter 18
Haines, Tennessee wasn’t the kind of charming small town that made city folk reconsider their lifestyle. The sidewalks had been cracked by too many weary footsteps along the dusty Main Street. A hodgepodge of water-starved weeds wound out of those puzzle-like pieces of concrete.
Vander had seen towns like this before. The people were hurting for work, struggling through each day. As he parked the pickup truck he’d rented in front of the small whitewashed building this town called a police department, he was conscious of the eyes on him. It was a hot and muggy day, and people were hustling into the few businesses still clinging to life, mostly the bank and the diner and the beauty parlor, it seemed. Maybe they were just seeking air conditioning.
A stranger was in town, and the whole town was likely already abuzz with speculation about who had come calling. He fitted his cowboy hat on his head a little better as he walked into the police station, completely in his cover, only this time he was going to say he was Shelby’s fiancé. Charlie had thought folks would respond better if it looked like he was joining the family.
“Can I help you?” a fire-haired woman asked when he crossed the worn threshold.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, coming over and taking his hat off, worrying the rim to appear nervous. “I’m looking for my fiancée’s daddy, and his mama mentioned he’d sent her a card from this town. I’m… My girl, Shelby, she’s never met her daddy, and I was kind of hoping I could bring her to him as a wedding gift. Do you think…do you think you could help me? I didn’t know where else to start, being a stranger in these parts.”
His accent was one of the many he’d honed for work in rural areas, and judging by the way she’d tilted her head to the right, the fire-haired woman was already eating out of his hand. “Oh, that poor thing,” she said.
“I’m Toby, by the way,” he said, thrusting out his hand. He never gave a last name unless pressed for it. If she were to look up his name, which she had the resources to do, she would discover he’d lied. Not helpful. The truck was from Enterprise, so he couldn’t be traced easily. Vander could always say his car was in the shop if someone pressed him about why he was riding around in a rental. “And my girl is named Shelby, Shelby McGuiness. Her daddy is named Preston McGuiness.”
One of the deputies moseyed out—moseyed because he sauntered with his hands on his police belt like he was the shit around here. “What’s going on out here, May?”
“This man is trying to find his fiancée’s daddy as a wedding gift,” May explained. “It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Vander made himself duck his head and kick at the ground. “I’d do anything to make my Shelby happy. Here, let me show you a picture of her.”
Pulling a worn photo from his pocket, he handed it to May. After making a copy of one of the photos he’d taken the other day, he’d worried it with his fingers most of the way here to give it the appearance of age and care.
“She and I have good jobs in the city, but we’re both small-town people at heart. I miss being out in the country. Isn’t my Shelby beautiful?”
“She’s lovely,” May said, handing it to the deputy. “What’s her daddy’s name again?”
“Preston,” Vander said. “Preston McGuiness.”
The deputy handed the photo back to him. “Don’t know of anyone by that name in this here parts.”
“His mama was afraid of that. That’s why she done gave me this here photo of him,” Vander said, patting his other jean pocket as if looking for the photo. After a moment of “searching,” he took it out. “It was taken two years ago.”
He made sure to hand it to May since she was so eager to help him. When she looked at it, her eyes widened to the size of coins. “Why, that’s Wallie Blevins! Isn’t it, Greg?”
The man peered at it closely. “That’s Wallie, all right. What did you say—”
“Lenore thought he might be using a different name,” he said, heading off the deputy. “Can’t say why. And honestly, I can’t say I care. All I want is to reconnect my Shelby with her daddy. If the reconciliation goes like she hopes, she wants him to walk her down the aisle at our wedding.”
Vander experienced an odd shiver at the thought. It wasn’t…unappealing. He forced himself back to the task at hand. Falling into character was a little too easy, and he needed to keep his wits about him. Greg still had questions about his veracity.
“Wallie keeps to himself mostly,” Greg said, running his hand across his mouth like he was ruminating. “I wonder why he’s using a different name.”
“Maybe he’s running from something,” May said, taking the pencil from behind her ear and doodling absently on the steno notepad on her desk.
“His mama doesn’t think it’s anything like that,” Vander rushed to say in his fake accent. “Like I said, I don’t care about his past none, anyway. I just want to talk to him and see if he’ll meet my Shelby. She’s got a big heart.”
He thought back to last night, how he’d opened up about his father’s murder. She did have a big heart, and he was starting to like it as much as he did her playfulness and her beauty. All together, it was a killer combination, and one he was falling for pretty fast.
“Wallie takes his lunch in the diner most days,” May said, pointing to the faded red sign across the street. “He and Pauline Talbot have been seeing each other for a while now. She’s been a waitress there for some thirty years, and all her kids have left the nest. I’ll take you over there. Greg, can you mind the phones while I step out?”
The man nodded, and Vander extended his hand. “Thank you for your help.”
Vander opened the door for May, and they walked outside together. He put on his cowboy hat even though they were crossing a short distance because he was still in character, and it was what men who wore them did. May made small talk, asking where he was from originally
, where he lived now, and what he did for a living. He did his best to keep his responses brief, turning the topic to her whenever possible.
When they entered the diner, May called out, “Pauline, come on over here. I want you to meet someone.”
There were eight people seated in the small diner, and all of them turned to look at the new arrivals. Vander made himself doff his cowboy hat and nod in their direction.
A blonde-haired woman thin as a rail, likely from being the only waitress in this washed-out joint, rushed forward. “Hello, May. And who’s this here handsome man with you?”
She said it in a way that was complimentary and not flirtatious, something a long-time waitress might do to garner tips and keep the patrons coming back.
“This here is Toby, and he’s looking for his fiancée’s daddy as a wedding present.”
Pauline gave a heartfelt smile. “Well, if that isn’t the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. What about you, Amos? Ever hear anything more romantic?”
“Can’t say I have,” the older man sitting at the counter said, paused over his French dip, not bothering to pretend he wasn’t listening.
“Turns out, his fiancée’s daddy is your Wallie,” May said brightly. “Isn’t that the most incredible coincidence?”
The woman’s smile faltered. “I…of course it is.”
Vander watched as she swallowed thickly. He suspected she didn’t know Wallie had children. She likely didn’t know he was living under a false name.
“Of course, Toby here said Wallie’s real name is… What was it, honey?”
He made himself smile, seeing the woman’s shoulders tense up. “Preston McGuiness, ma’am. His mama told Shelby—that’s my girl—that he sent her a letter from here in town last Christmas. As I told May, I don’t care about why he’s calling himself Wallie. All I want to do is talk to him for my Shelby. She’s wanted to find her daddy her whole life. May said he sometimes stops in here for lunch. Is he coming today? Because I would be happy to wait for him.”