by Mary Campisi
Pop laughed and saluted her. “Will do.” He turned to Tess and said in a loud whisper, “You can help.”
How did he even know if she would be here at the end of summer, when The Bleeding Hearts Society held their annual sales event, if she didn’t know herself? Right now, she had no idea where she’d be, but before she left this building, she had to clear the air. Tess wished Christine had been able to attend today. She’d had her own share of grief with this town and the man she loved and was a source of comfort and reassurance to Tess. Unfortunately, Anna had a doctor’s appointment, which left Bree, and while Bree was a good friend and meant well, she’d never known the heartache of losing the man you loved.
When Mimi paused to let Wanda Cummings, The Bleeding Hearts secretary, catch up with her notes, Tess stood and cleared throat. “Mimi, would you mind if I spoke a moment?”
A hush swirled about the room faster than a midsummer thunderstorm. Wanda Cummings set down her pen. Bree gasped. Some members stopped nibbling their sweet rolls. Others gulped down their hibiscus tea. Ramona Casherdon grew very still and Pop fidgeted in his chair. No one spoke until finally, Mimi Pendergrass removed her green polka-dotted reading glasses and said, “Why, of course, dear. You go right on ahead and take as much time as you need.”
Tess nodded. “Thank you.” She looked around the room, her gaze darting over Cash’s aunt, settling on Bree, who offered a smile of encouragement. “I’ve been running from my life for eight years: hopping planes, overscheduling, moving so fast I didn’t have time to think. Or feel. I sold lipstick and made a lot of money doing it. I’d probably still be selling it if my company hadn’t been sold and I’d gotten the boot.” She took in the surprised looks and continued. “It’s the best thing that could have happened to me because it forced me to think about my life.”
She took a deep breath and pushed out the words she’d kept inside for too long. “You all know what happened eight years ago, and you also know how it split the town, pitting one person against another. Even relatives couldn’t agree on what was right and what wasn’t. I was the cause of much of that grief, not Cash, even though I blamed him. I should have stayed despite my grief over losing my brother, but I didn’t.” Her voice dipped, turned raw. “And I lost more than a fiancé. I lost hope and a chance for what I wanted most: a family with the man I loved. You all know I ran away from this town, but you don’t know what I did, and that’s what I want to tell you.”
“Tess!” Bree’s eyes were bright, her face shocked. “You don’t have to do this.” Her eyes grew brighter. “Please. Don’t.”
Tess offered a faint smile and said, “Thanks, Bree, but I do. I should have done this a long time ago.” She fixed her gaze on Ramona. “I took off to my sister’s, and you can all guess how that turned out. I love Riki, but she’s not good at big-picture things,” she paused. “Or consequences.”
“I don’t see how your confession will benefit anyone but provide fodder for town gossip.” This from Ramona Casherdon who locked gazes with Tess.
Ramona didn’t want her to continue? Now that was truly bizarre. The woman should have been spattering testimony to Tess’s horrible character and dirty secrets. So, why wasn’t she? Why did she look almost compassionate? Tess skipped past Ramona and honed in on Bree’s belly until her vision blurred. “When I was at Riki’s, I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t know what to do and even thought about an abortion.” She paused to let the words sink into the listeners’ heads. “I went to the clinic but I couldn’t go through with it.” She blinked, blinked again and kept her gaze on the pink cotton stretching over Bree’s rounded belly. “The next day I lost the baby. The doctors said it was an ectopic pregnancy. There were complications and I spent days in the hospital, feverish and so sick.”
Tess cleared her throat, pushed out the last painful bits of confession. “When I went for my checkup, I was still having trouble. Pain, tenderness. It seems there was scarring and...” Say it. Just say it. “The doctor said I might never be able to get pregnant. So. Now you know. And I’m sure you figured out by now that Cash knew nothing about any of this until last week.” She tried to smile, but her lips wobbled and fell flat. “I think you’ve all guessed about me long enough. Still, I wanted you to hear the truth.” She nodded and eased into her chair.
Pop scratched his head and nodded. “Where’s that leave you and Cash?”
“Yes, where does that leave the two of you?” Wanda Cummings scooted her ample figure forward in her chair and leaned toward Tess.
What to say to that? “Cash and I aren’t…he doesn’t…”
“He has to!” Bree’s words burst into the room in a rush of hope and anguish. “He still loves you, I know he does. We have got to find a way to make him see how much he needs you.”
Pop slapped his hand on the table and said, “Dang right we do. I promised Lucy there’d be a wedding and on my wife’s favorite roses, there’s going to be one.”
Tess darted a glance at Ramona, held her gaze. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“I heard he’s planning to stay here, set up shop with Nate Desantro,” Wanda Cummings murmured. “Isn’t that what you told me, Pop?”
Pop and his tales. Apparently he knew how to spread news faster than the Magdalena Press. He scratched his head again and appeared very interested in dissecting a piece of sweet roll. “I might have said something along those lines, but there’s always room for misinterpretation.”
“I know what you said.” Wanda stuck her pointy chin in the air and challenged Pop to dispute her words.
He shrugged. “So you know. That ain’t the problem now, is it? The problem is getting these kids together when hurt and pride is standing in the way. Like my Lucy always said, ‘Even love that blooms eternal runs into patches of crabgrass.’ And there you have it.” He picked up a piece of sweet roll, popped it in his mouth.
“My.” Mimi Pendergrass shook her head, making the red-ball earrings she wore bob and dance. “I think you’ve got The Society’s support.” She slid a sideways glance at Cash’s aunt, who remained still and silent. “Or at least most of them. Answer a question for me, Tess. I know it might be a tad embarrassing but you’ve shared more today than most people do in twenty years. So, I’m going to ask you straight out. Do you love Cash? Do you want another chance with him?”
Love him? She loved him so much it hurt when she breathed. Did she want another chance? Well, that was like asking Pop if he had an obsession with pizzelles. Tess opened her mouth to speak, but emotion suffocated the words, so she simply nodded.
“Well then,” Mimi Pendergrass picked up a pen and turned all business, “what are we going to do about that? Anyone have a plan?”
Tess stared at Mimi, not sure she’d heard right. The Bleeding Hearts Society was going to formulate a plan to get her and Cash back together?
Wanda Cummings let out her thoughts in a gush. “We can invite him here and take turns telling him why he and Tess should give it another go. And I’ll give testimony to the joys of being married to the same person for,” she paused and laughed, “too many years to remember.”
“Thank you, Wanda.” Mimi jotted down a few notes. “We’ll take that recommendation under advisement. Anyone else?”
Bree raised her hand and when Mimi nodded, she said, “I have old pictures of Tess and Cash. Do you think it would help for him to see them? Maybe he’d remember how happy he was?” She paused, her voice dipped. “How happy he could be again?”
No, he will not want to see those pictures or those memories.
Ramona Casherdon’s voice split into Tess’s thoughts. “I have something to say.” The woman met Tess’s gaze, held it. Then she did something Tess was certain she’d never witnessed before: she smiled. “Tess, I want you to marry my nephew.” The smile stretched. “You belong together and I’m sorry it took me so many years to realize it.”
“Hallelujah!” Pop stood and raised his arms above his head. “Those are the sweetes
t words I’ve heard in a long time. Thank you, Ramona.” He placed his bony hands on the table, spread his fingers wide, and leaned forward. “We’re gonna get this boy and we’re gonna get him good.”
“Pop?” Mimi’s voice said she was clearly confused with Pop’s agenda.
“Letters, Mimi. Letters. The whole town’s gonna write the boy letters on why he and Tess belong together and they’re gonna share their own love stories. Short and sweet.” He grinned, swept a hand around the table, “Or long and lusty.”
And that was how The Bleeding Hearts Society figured out a plan to reunite Daniel “Cash” Casherdon and Tess Carrick.
***
The letters began arriving two days later, handwritten in blue ink, black, red, even lime green, all addressed to Daniel Casherdon, all having to do with love and starting over. And Tess.
He counted fifteen letters in the last three days, with three more today. What the hell was going on? Was everybody in Magdalena going to send him a letter, imploring him to make things right with Tess? It’s not that he needed reminders of his ex-fiancée because he’d been thinking of nothing else since that day in the barn when Nate confessed that living without Christine would be the real torture. Damn, that was serious stuff that could emasculate a guy if it got in the wrong hands. Except Nate didn’t seem to care who knew how he felt about his wife. Maybe because he’d almost lost her.
Well, Cash had lost Tess, no “almost” about it. But what if they could make it right, get that “second chance” with each other? The most peaceful moments he’d experienced in years were the times when she’d stayed with him in the cabin, sharing a meal, conversation, a bed. Paige had called twice, saying she forgave him for being so harsh with her and offering to visit whenever he liked, for however long he liked. She didn’t mention the fact that he’d run out the door calling another woman’s name. Apparently, she’d categorized that behavior under the “harsh” category and had forgiven him that, too.
Tess would not have been so generous. She’d probably have pulled out his gun and aimed it at his crotch, threatening to pull the trigger if he looked sideways at a woman. Paige was more about seduction and bending a man to her ways, while Tess had always been about confrontation and talking first, seduction and bending later. But the time she most needed to confront and talk had been after JJ’s death, and yet, she’d run away.
Cash grabbed a letter and tore it open. What would this one say? Who would it be from? He knew all of the senders, or at least recognized the family names. Some were heartfelt; others humorous; still others quoted poems, lyrics, and Scripture. When he received the first batch of letters, he’d almost tossed them in the trash. But then he opened one, and then another, and continued on until he’d read all of them. The sentiments stayed with him as he put a coat of varnish on a rocker or buffed out a row of spindles. These people had good hearts and they cared, rare qualities in today’s society. He unfolded a letter and read.
Dear Cash:
You and Nate have been friends a long time, despite an eight-year hiatus. That boy was going down a bad path of misery, bursting with enough anger and resentment to fill a pond. But then, miracle of miracles, Christine walked into his life. Now how’s that for trouble? You see them now all lovey-dovey, but don’t go thinking it was all rosy for them because it was more thorns than petals. But then one day they really looked at each other, really talked, and really fell in love. I’m sure you know the other near-disaster that happened after they were married. Almost tore poor Nate apart. But they worked through it and their love is stronger than steel.
You and Tess belong together, like Nate and Christine. Give love a chance. We’re all cheering for you.
Fondly,
Betty Rafferty
Cash set that one aside and reached for another.
Cash:
Lucy and I had our share of struggles, but we never let the crabgrass strangle us. Grab onto Tess’s hand and pull her out of the weeds. You two belong together, barefoot in a field of clover.
And as my Lucy used to say, “Be happy with the life you got, not the one you didn’t get.”
Pop Benito
The third letter was not a letter at all, but a photograph of Tess, Gina, and Bree, laughing into the camera, arms flung around each other’s waists. His gaze zeroed in on Tess and the gown she wore: her wedding gown. Had they taken this the night he’d shot JJ? Maybe at the exact moment the boy drew his last breath? Cash stared at the photo so hard and long his eyes hurt, then he flipped it over and looked on the back. You and Tess need to smile again. Gina.
“Hello. Hello.”
Cash turned to find a young girl standing on the other side of the screen door with a shoebox in her hands. She was small-built with thick black hair and glasses. “Hi.” He tossed the picture of Tess, Gina, and Bree on the table and made his way toward the girl. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Lily.” She smiled up at him as he opened the door and thrust the box toward him. “These are from Pop. He said they are supposed to sweeten you up.” The smile spread. “He’s silly.”
So, this was Lily Desantro, Nate’s sister. Christine’s, too. He only seen her once or twice, when she was a baby. “Come on in, Lily. I’m Cash.”
“I know.” She glanced around the family room and kitchen. “Do you have a clock?”
“On the microwave. Why?”
She headed toward the kitchen and the digital display on the microwave. “Four-o-five. Nate said I can only stay five minutes and then I have to go find him in the barn because he doesn’t want me to bug you.”
Cash laughed. “You aren’t bugging me.”
Her blue eyes grew shiny behind her thick glasses. “Can you ask him if I can stay longer? I don’t want to ask because he’ll get all frowny.”
“Okay, I’ll ask. Now how about we see what Pop sent that’s supposed to sweeten me up?” He lifted the shoebox and peeked inside even though he had a pretty good idea what was in there. Sure enough, three stacks of pizzelles sat on a folded paper towel. Cash removed two pizzelles, handed one to Lily. “My favorite.” He bit into one, chewed. “How about a glass of ice tea or lemonade?”
“Sure. Lemonade please.” Lily scooted onto a kitchen chair and munched on her pizzelle. “Cash?”
“Huh?” He plunked a couple of ice cubes in each glass and poured the lemonade.
“I don’t think you have a pig head.”
He almost dropped the pitcher when she said that. Cash swung around and stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
She shrugged. “Pop said you had a pig head.” She paused. “He said things could work out if you weren’t a pig head. What does that mean?”
Good old Pop. He called it like he saw it. And he saw Cash as pig-headed. “You’ll have to ask Pop.”
Lily let out a little puff of breath, like that was not what she wanted to do. “Okay.” And then, she glanced at the letters scattered on the corner of the table. “What are all those pieces of paper?”
“Just letters.”
“Uh-uh.” She leaned forward and located the picture of Tess, Gina, and Bree. “Not this one. Ooohhh.” She pointed to the trio, her voice soft, almost reverent. “Tess. She’s beautiful.” She glanced up, studied him. “Pop said she was your girlfriend. You were gonna marry her and then it all went south. What did he mean, ‘went south,’ and why didn’t you marry her?”
What the hell was Pop doing, chronicling the rise and fall of Daniel Casherdon, complete with commentaries? “You should ask Pop,” he said in a quiet voice. Was every person he met going to dissect his past relationship with Tess Carrick?
“Can’t you tell me, Cash?” Her eyes turned bluer, her voice softer. “And can’t you fix it so it doesn’t go south?” She lifted the photo and traced Tess’s face. “So maybe you can still fall in love and get married. And live happily ever after.”
***
Tess lugged the suitcase outside and was negotiating the porch steps when Cash barreled down
the street in Will’s old truck, well above the posted speed limit. He pulled in the driveway and hopped out, moving toward her with determined steps and a fierce expression on his face.
He stopped at the bottom of the steps and said in a voice raw with emotion, “Don’t go. Please. I can’t lose you again. Will you give us another chance? I don’t want to live in the past anymore.” He paused, sucked in a deep breath, and plowed on. “I need you in my life and I’ll take anything you’re offering. If we can’t have kids, we’ll adopt. If we can’t adopt, we’ll foster. Hell, we’ll babysit Nate and Bree’s kids, and who knows, maybe one day, Gina’s? Or we’ll get a bunch of dogs.” He held his hands out to her, palms up. “Anything. Just don’t leave me again.”
Tess released her hand on the suitcase and moved toward him. “I’m not going anywhere.” She offered him a hesitant smile. “But if you’ll keep talking like that, I’ll pretend I am just to hear more.”
He glanced at the suitcase and the boxes stacked on the front porch. “What’s all this?”
“Mom’s having surgery next week and I’m delivering her suitcase to Uncle Will’s so she can recover there.” She cleared her throat and said, “Supposedly she’s staying at his house because he only has one flight of stairs and she has two here. I’m not so sure I buy that, but I’m happy for them.”
“Oh.” The faintest pink crept up his neck, landed on his cheeks. “And what about the boxes?”
“JJ’s.” Her voice dipped. “Mom and I thought it was time to pack up his clothes. Somebody might get some use out of them.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, the pink on his neck and cheeks turning five shades deeper. “Good idea.” His gaze zeroed in on the boxes.
Obviously, he was regretting the adrenaline-fueled profession of “need and can’t live without you” he’d just delivered on her front lawn. Well, he wasn’t getting out of the truth this time, and neither was she. Tess touched his cheek, traced the line of his jaw, stepped closer. “If I pretended I was leaving, would you tell me again how much you need me and want to be with me?”