Stalking her Dreams (A Coverton Mills Romance Book 1)

by Agnes Alexander

  “No, but a friend of mine does. When we find the right thing for you, I’ll call to see what she has that will coordinate with your outfit. Now, let me show you to the large dressing room. I’ll get chairs for the ladies, because when you’re pregnant, you get awfully tired being on your feet. I know. I have four kids of my own.”

  She hurried toward the two upholstered pull-up chairs. In five minutes, she had them in the dressing room and said, “I’ll be right back with some things for your approval.”

  “Well, girls, what do you think?” Heather stood back and let them look over the yellow silk suit she’d put on.

  “No, Heather,” Juanita said. “It’s too old for you.”

  “Well, I am old.”

  “You are not. Don’t you think she can do better, Brenda?”

  “Yes. This looks like something some old lady would buy to wear at Easter, Heather.”

  Heather tried a deep pink with scooped neck and three-quarter length sleeves. “This isn’t bad,” she said.

  “It’s better than anything we saw at the mall, but I still think you can do better.”

  “Try the green one next,” Brenda said. “I like the color, and it will look good with your platinum hair.” After Heather had it on, Brenda added, “Nope. The neck is too high. It looks too hot for this time of year.”

  Six dresses later, they found a princess line steel blue dress with long, thin sleeves, scooped neck, and full skirt which flattered Heather’s size six shape. “I like it,” Juanita said. “Me, too. What do you think, Heather?”

  “I like it, but…” She looked at herself in the floor length mirror. “It’s kind of drab, don’t you think?”

  “Excuse me.” LaVonda peered into the dressing room. “I only now remembered a sample dress we got in yesterday. It hasn’t been pressed, but it’s your size and I think it would look lovely on you. Would you like me to get it?”

  “Sure,” Heather said. When LaVonda left she added, “If I don’t like it, I think I’ll settle for this blue one.” She began undressing.

  The instant Heather saw the color of the sample dress she loved it. Then, LaVonda held it for her to slip over her head. The long, sheer, fitted sleeves had ruffles around the cuffs and the low neck line showed a tiny bit of cleavage. The full skirt was sheer layers of overlapping pink, purple and orchid voile. It fit as if it was made for her.

  “This is the one,” Juanita and Brenda said almost in unison.

  Heather nodded. “Yes, this is it.”

  LaVonda smiled. “I’m so glad I remembered it. You look perfect. I know your fiancé will love it.”

  “He loves her so much he wouldn’t care if she wore a gunny sack,” Brenda said with a laugh.

  “That’s wonderful. I can tell already, you’re going to have a lovely wedding.” LaVonda looked at Brenda and Juanita. “Now, I assume you want dresses in some shade of pink, purple or violet. I’ll go call Stacey. You both look to be size eight. Am I right?”

  They nodded.

  At five o’clock, they walked out of Stacey’s shop with two maternity dresses. Juanita had chosen an orchid dress, which highlighted her dark features, and Brenda had a medium-purple dress, which made her blonde hair glisten.

  “I think we’d better call it a day,” Heather said. “I know you’re both tired and I’m sure the men are waiting for us to get home.”

  “I’m not all that tired, but I do hope they’ve decided to take us out for dinner. I really don’t want to cook, do you Juanita?”

  “Not really.”

  “Then let’s get back and turn on the charm. I wouldn’t mind going to Calabash. I’d love a good fish dinner.” Heather smiled at both of them.

  CHAPTER 30

  The front door of Heather’s condo rattled and Alex said, “Here they come, boys. Now, do you remember what we’re going to do?”

  “Yes, Poppa,” they said together.

  The women came through the door and Tim was standing nearby. “Here, Mom. Let me take your packages.”

  “Thanks, honey. Please, go hang this in my closet. I think it’s supposed to be bad luck if the groom sees it before the wedding.”

  “You can put ours with it,” Juanita said and handed him the hanging bag.

  Luke put his arm around Brenda and said, “The boys have something planned for Grammy, so let’s stand over here and watch.” He ushered her to the side of the room across from the sofa.

  In a matter of seconds, Tim came back carrying a camera. He took Juanita’s arm and guided her to stand with Tim and Brenda.

  “Grammy, come here. We got a surprise for you. Poppa’s gonna help us give it to you,” Ben said.

  “Oh, how wonderful. I love surprises. Especially from special boys like the two of you.” They giggled.

  “Sit here, Grammy.” Ben pointed to the pull up chair facing the balcony. “Now, you get here, Poppa.” He pointed to the floor in front of Heather. Tim began to take pictures of the four of them.

  Jacob ran over to the bookcase and returned with two paper crowns. “Put this on Grammy. Ben and me made them.” He handed her one.

  “Oh, how nice. I love wearing a crown.”

  “Poppa’s going to wear the other one,” Jacob explained.

  “Now, we have a question,” Ben said.

  “Okay. What’s your question? I’m sure the queen can answer it.”

  “Will you be Poppa’s queen?” Jacob asked.

  She bowed toward Jacob. “Yes, I will.”

  “Will you be Grammy’s king?” Ben asked Alex.

  “Yes, I will.” Alex bowed, too.

  “Now we’ve got to give you something to show you…”

  “No, Jacob. It’s, ‘we’re going to give you something to show the world’…”

  “Oh, yeah.” He started over. “Now, we’re going to give you something to show the world you’re Poppa’s queen.”

  “That sounds good. What is it?”

  “Can we give it to her now, Poppa?” Ben asked. Alex nodded and Ben said, “Poppa wants you to have this.”

  Alex placed a small box in the two out stretched hands. “And here it is,” Jacob said as he and Ben opened the box.

  “Oh-Oh…” Heather stammered as Tim continued to take pictures.

  Alex took the ring from the box and placed it on her finger.

  “A token of my love for my queen,” he whispered.

  “Oh, Alex.” She flung her arms around his neck.

  “There they go, kissing again,” Ben said.

  “It’s okay. Poppa loves her.”

  For an instant, Heather pulled away from Alex. “And Grammy loves him.” She looked at them. “And she loves both of you, too, so can I kiss you?”

  They both put their arms around her neck.

  “Did we do okay, Poppa?” Jacob asked when Heather let them go.

  “You did perfect,” Alex said.

  “You sure did, boys. Now, come over here and give your mothers a welcome home hug,” Luke said. “I think Poppa and Grammy want to go out on the balcony for a few minutes.”

  “Don’t wear the crowns,” Ben warned. “A wind gust might blow them off.”

  “We’ll put them back on the book case where they’ll be safe, Ben.” Alex took the crowns and laid them on the shelf. “Now, may I have a few minutes with my lady alone?” He whispered to Heather.

  “Oh, Alex. What a wonderful surprise,” she said when they reached the balcony. She was looking at the ring. “It’s breathtaking.”

  “I’m glad you like it. I was afraid you wouldn’t.”

  “What woman in her right mind wouldn’t love it? And it’s double special when it comes from the man she loves with all her heart.”

  “And he loves her the same way.” He folded his arms around her. “Now, as Ben said, here we go kissing again.”

  “Oh, yes...” was all she could say before his lips covered hers.

  She was instantly lost in his nearness.

  “Go for it man!” came a shout
from below.

  Alex let her go and they looked down at a young man giving them the thumbs up sign. Alex returned it.

  “I’m kind of weak in the knees. Could we sit down?” she asked.

  “Of course.” He pulled a chair up for her and sat in one beside her.

  “Alex, this is beautiful.” She admired her ring again. “How did you think of letting the boys take part in it?”

  “Actually, it was their idea.”

  “Oh?”

  “I told the guys I was going to give it to you tonight and we were discussing how to make it special. I thought about taking you for a romantic walk on the beach—which I’ll still do, by the way, if you like.”

  “I’d like.”

  He smiled. “Then the boys woke up and wandered out to the balcony and heard us discussing how to give Grammy a special present tonight. They got excited, and Ben asked if they could help me give it to you. I thought why not? I think Heather would like that.”

  “Heather did like that. She liked it very much.” She looked at her ring again. “I was expecting a gold wedding band.

  Nothing like this.”

  “Now if you don’t like it. We can take it back.”

  “Are you nuts? I love it. And every time I look at it I’ll remember how much you love me. I wouldn’t take it back for a zillion dollars.”

  “I wanted the very best for you. I’d have gotten a bigger one, but—”

  “What do you mean, bigger? If it were any larger it’d break my skinny finger.” She laughed. “I can’t wait to flash this finger in front of Minnie Cox and say, ‘See this? He’s all mine, and you can’t have him!’”

  Before Alex could answer, Tim stuck his head out the door. “If you two have had enough private time, how about coming in and let’s make plans for dinner. The boys are getting hungry, and I’m not only referring to the little guys.”

  “We’ll be right there.” Alex stood and took her hand. “I guess we’d better go feed our family.”

  She smiled. “I think it’s great that you’re beginning to think of all of them as family.”

  He kissed her. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  •♥ •

  Rachelle kept repeating obscenities as she stomped around the back yard of Heather’s house. “How did they manage to get away? I bet they left in the day time, but where did they go? They seemed to be happy enough to stay here and make out. I’m surprised they left. And her website didn’t have any book signings scheduled for this week.”

  She crushed a cigarette on the patio and peered in the garage window again. “At least she’ll be back, because they didn’t take her car. I’ve got to be more careful if I want to catch her here alone.”

  She dropped down in a crouch when she saw a car coming down the street. Though she was in the back, the street was curved and the lights fell across the patio.

  When it was gone, she got up and sighed. “I might as well go. It don’t look like they’re coming back tonight. I’ll have to check every night until they get here. That bitch is sure causing me a lot of trouble.”

  Looking around to be sure there was nobody nearby, she darted to her car.

  CHAPTER 31

  The next morning, the women went shopping again. They promised not to be as long as they were the day before. At Heart Strings in the Tangier shopping area, they found outfits with purple striped short pants and solid purple tops for the boys to wear. At one of the men’s shops, Heather found the perfect shade of purple tie for the men. She bought three.

  “Now there are only a couple more things we need,” Brenda said. “First, shoes. You need some sort of strappy sandal, Heather.”

  Luck was with them. They found a pair with a variety of straps in shades of purple and pink. The heel wasn’t too high, and Heather said they were comfortable.

  “Now the last thing,” Brenda said. “We want to find you some sexy new lingerie.”

  “Girls, my lingerie is fine.”

  “Heather, you can’t sleep in those granny things you like. Alex will want you to look sexy and appealing,” Juanita said. “I know as soon as I get back in shape, I’ll be wearing them for Tim. Men like that sort of thing.”

  “Juanita’s right. Luke said the other night he couldn’t wait until he could hold me close again. I know he’s anxious for our sex life to get back to normal.”

  “Girls, you’re embarrassing me.”

  “Why? You don’t expect Alex to act like a monk on your wedding night, do you?” Brenda looked at her and lifted her eyebrow. “There’s a saying in our area that the Hargrove men have always been passionate.”

  “But—"

  “No buts. Let’s go in this lingerie shop,” Juanita said. “I might find something I want to get for future use.”

  Heather ended up with four gown sets in a variety of colors. She couldn’t believe she’d actually bought these revealing things, but she secretly hoped Alex would like them.

  She knew her underwear was all coordinated and she had several outfits, but she bought a couple of lace panty and bra sets anyway. She didn’t get them because the girls were urging her to, but because she actually did need them. Especially the lavender set. She’d wear it under her wedding dress.

  In the car, Brenda asked, “Now can either of you think of anything else we need?”

  “I can’t think of anything,” Heather said from the back seat. “Where are you going on your honeymoon?” Juanita asked. “I haven’t heard either of you say.”

  “I have no idea. He said he wanted to surprise me and all I had to do was bring my passport.”

  “Wonder what he has planned?” Brenda wrinkled her brow.

  “It would help to know where we’re going. Then I’d know what to pack.”

  “Take those nightgowns and you won’t need much else. Right, Juanita?”

  “Right.”

  “Girls!”

  “Oh, come on, mother-in-law. The two of you can’t keep your hands off each other. You know you’re looking forward to being with him.”

  “If you haven’t been already,” Brenda added. “You know they were alone for a couple of nights in her house, Juanita.”

  “Yes, we were, and he slept upstairs and I slept in my room.” Heather straightened in the seat. “Not that he hasn’t asked, but I told him I wasn’t ready—and he said he could wait.”

  “Then you do have something special to share tomorrow night.” Juanita smiled at her.

  Heather bit her lip. “It still scares me. I haven’t been with a man since my divorce. What if I disappoint him?”

  “You’re not going to disappoint him. He loves you,” Brenda said.

  Heather shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m discussing this with you two.”

  “Why not? We’re going to be your best friends as well as your daughters-in-law. Besides, you and I have always been able to talk about anything.”

  “I don’t remember many of our conversations being about sex.”

  “Not many were, but you did give me some good advice about loving your son.”

  “I did?”

  “Yes. You told me to love the person he is and not try to change him, because I was asking for trouble if I did.” She chuckled. “Later, he told me you told him the same thing.”

  “I do remember, and I meant it. I’d lived for years with a man who tried to make me fit into the mold he thought a wife should fit.”

  “I love that advice. I’ve never tried to change Luke. I guess I really did love the man he already was.”

  They were passing another strip shopping mall. Heather recognized the jewelry store as the one she’d called to arrange a special gift for Alex. “Brenda, would you mind pulling into this parking lot and let me run in the jewelry store?”

  “Of course not.”

  “You girls wait here and I’ll be back in a minute.”

  •♥ •

  Alex was sitting on Heather’s balcony alone. Tim and Luke had taken the boys to the
swimming pool. He could see them sitting in the lounge chairs talking. He was pleased they were becoming friends. He knew it meant as much to Heather. Since her divorce her son and his family were the focus of her life. He knew the only wrinkle in their marriage plans was the fact she would be living almost four hours away from her son.

  Earlier today, he’d thrown out a question to Tim. “If you were to get a better job offer in another area, would you consider leaving Wynburg?”

  “Sure,” Tim said. “If it was a nice area and I was bettering my family, and Juanita was agreeable, I’d definitely consider it.”

  “Dad, you ought to talk to Neil and see what’s available in Coverton Mills.” Luke looked at Tim. “Neil is one of Dad’s best friends and a member of the school board.”

  “Maybe I’ll talk to him when we get back from the honeymoon,” Alex mumbled.

  Nothing else was said as Jacob and Ben came running into the room demanding to go to the pool.

  Now, as Alex sat and watched the young men talking below, he made a decision. He took out his cell phone and punched in Neil Parker’s number. After his friend answered, he said, “Hey, buddy. It’s Alex.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?”

  “At this moment, I’m sitting on the balcony of a high rise at Myrtle Beach watching those waves roll in.”

  “You lucky dog. We bailed hay yesterday, and I’ve been at it again since dawn today. I’ve done all I’m going to do, though. The rest is up to Red and the hands. I came in and plopped down here with a glass of iced tea. How much are you going to need for your cattle this winter?”

  “My cattle don’t drink tea, Neil.”

  He chuckled and said, “You know good and well what I mean.”

  “You left yourself wide open. I couldn’t resist. As for the hay, I’m sure we’ll need about the same as last winter. Our fields have done pretty good this year and Luke plans to bail some next week, but my herd has grown. If we need more, I’ll let you know.”

  “Sounds good. Now, I know you didn’t call to talk about my hay production. What possessed you to call me?”