Of course, Heather was with Alex, and Kay was with Jude tonight. Brock and Seth attended stag, though Mavis had made it clear if they wanted to bring dates they would be welcomed.
They dined on their usual charcoal steaks with the trimmings then retired to the living room with plates piled high of samples of Mavis’s array of desserts.
“Seth, you heard any more about the Lady Godiva from your barn?” Neil asked.
Seth suppressed a chuckle. “Went with Richard over to Bed, Breakfast and More the other day and he picked up a couple of clues about the two missing women there. He thinks one of them might be the victim.”
“Carolyn told me you came. Thanks for going with Richard, Seth. It made it more comfortable for her.” Jude cut into his lemon pie, one of the many samples of desserts on his plate.
“No problem. She was helpful.”
“Carolyn tries to be helpful to everybody. Despite her limitations, she’s a valuable employee. I’m glad Alex hired her in the first place.”
“Thanks, Jude. I wanted to give her a chance and she proved me right. After all, what happened to her could’ve happened to my kid.”
“You’re right about that.” Mavis sipped her coffee. “The ones of us here have been one lucky group of friends. I’m sorry Ethan and Meg can’t say the same.”
“Mavis is right. None of our children have ever been in real trouble.”
“With the exception of Ashley’s little snafu in College, my three never gave me any trouble.” Seth noticed the question on Kay’s face and went on, “Ashley was hung up on a fellow that I knew wasn’t right for her, and thank God she saw the light before she got in so deep she couldn’t get out. He turned out to be one of the leaders of a prostitution ring on campus. He only dated Ashley because he thought she was beautiful enough to bring in a lot of money. She saw the light before she was sucked in, but her roommate wasn’t so lucky. That poor girl ended up dead.”
“That’s horrible,” Kay said.
“Didn’t she meet her husband when that case came to court?” Alex asked.
“Yes, Byron was a young attorney helping with it. He was fresh out of law school and there was an instant rapport between the two.” Seth grinned. “Must have been real love, because I have two wonderful grandchildren from that union.”
“Speaking of love and unions,” Neil spoke up. “You said the other night you’d tell us about the woman you once loved. Want to do it now, or would you rather wait until the women are not in the room?”
“You don’t forget anything, do you Neil?” Seth looked at him.
“Not where my friends are concerned.”
“Maybe Seth doesn’t want to talk about it,” Brock spoke for the first time. “I know his marriage turned out about as bad as mine, even if it started out as a love match.”
“He said this love interest of his wasn’t Eve. I just wonder why we never heard about another woman in his life.”
After Neil finished speaking, everyone’s eyes turned to Seth.
Maybe it was because he knew his friends cared, or because he felt he had to get it out sometime, or maybe it was because it was Christmas Eve and he was remembering that special Christmas Eve from long ago. The one Christmas Eve they had together. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Do you remember when Eve left me and took the girls to England to visit her family?”
“Of course, we remember, Seth.” Mavis smiled at him. “I don’t know if I ever saw anyone as hurt as you were at the time. We all knew it was because you couldn’t stand the thoughts of losing your children. I wondered if you might go off the deep end.”
“I almost did, but then I pulled myself together. Remember how I would come to the farm mostly during the day?” They nodded. “Well, I was working with a lawyer in Asheville. I didn’t really want Eve to come back, but I sure wanted my girls. We knew things would get complicated, because of her being in England, but my children were United States Citizens and he thought he had a way to get them back here. As I worked with him, I got to know one of his assistants pretty well. She was the kindest and most gentle woman I’d ever seen. I was used to Eve’s selfishness and I couldn’t believe this woman was as caring as she was. After a couple of months, I realized how attracted I was to her and on an impulse, I asked her to dinner. Things between us escalated after that, and it wasn’t long until I was spending the nights I had to be in Asheville at her apartment. We had to be careful, because any impropriety on my part could have jeopardized my chance of getting my girls. Everywhere we went, she carried her briefcase and folders so if we saw anyone, they’d think we were working on the case. That’s why I never brought her to the farm or told any of you about her.”
“What happened to break you up, Seth?” Heather’s soft voice asked.
Seth smiled at her. “I never intended to break up with her. My plan was to get my children, divorce Eve, and marry Julia. She was excited about the prospect, because she loved children and I knew she’d be a great mother. Then, things changed.”
“What happened?” Mavis was gripping Neil’s hand.
“Eve came home with Hunter.”
Alex frowned. “You’re not saying that Hunter isn’t your son are you?”
“Oh, no. He’s my son. Tests proved that. Of course, I didn’t know she was pregnant when she left, but I was thrilled with Hunter. He was eight months old when they came back, but you all know Eve never cared much for the children. I told her I wanted a divorce and custody of the kids because there was someone else. I offered her money, freedom, anything she wanted. Eve said she’d see me and the children dead first. I tried begging, I tried threats, but nothing changed her mind. If I divorced her, she threatened to take the kids to England and sue me for custody on grounds of infidelity while she was pregnant. It was not just a threat. I knew if she did this, I’d never see my children again.”
“So, you gave up Julia for your children?” Jude asked.
“Not really. I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to be legally married to Julia until the children were grown, but I never intended to let her go out of my life. At first, she agreed, but that went sour when Eve hired a private detective and caught me with Julia. Eve said I had to give Julia up or she and the kids were gone. I didn’t know what to do, I wanted my children and I wanted Julia. I couldn’t make the decision, so Julia made it for me.”
“How?” Mavis sat her dessert plate down, still full of sweets.
“Julia told me to try for a month to work out my marriage. I was not to call her or come to see her or contact her in any way. I wouldn’t agree. Finally, she convinced me to do it for two weeks. I relented and said I would.” He sneered. “Sometimes, I think that was the biggest mistake of my life, because I loved this woman with everything that’s in me to love another human being. She felt the same way, or she wouldn’t have done what she did.”
The women had mist in their eyes, now, and the men were trying to act if it wasn’t touching them to hear this from a friend. Alex asked, “What did she do, Seth?”
“She disappeared. It was if she never existed. I went back to her to tell her I couldn’t live without her, but she was gone. Of course, I did everything I could do to find her. I checked with her landlord. He said she paid her rent for the next month, told him to forget the deposit and that was the last time he saw her. I asked him what moving company came for her things. He said nobody came because she donated everything she owned to The Salvation Army. They brought their truck and carted everything away. I went to the law firm where she’d worked. They said she didn’t leave a forwarding address. They wrote her a last check, which she cashed at her bank then closed her account. There was no way to trace her.”
“And that was the last you heard of her?” Kay asked.
“She left me a letter at the law firm and they gave it to me. It was a last good-bye. I still have it.” He looked at the stunned faces of his friends. “Please, folks. It’s been a long time now and I gue
ss I shouldn’t have told you. It’s just that Julia and I spent only one Christmas together and it was such a special time that I can’t help thinking about her this time of year.”
“I knew there was a reason you hadn’t been interested in other women since Eve shot you. You blame it on your crippled leg, but it’s not that. You’re still pining over Julia.” Brock took a bite of his neglected pie.
“I agree with Brock,” Alex said. “Have you looked for her since that first time?”
“Off and on for a while, but I finally gave up. I guess I didn’t want to find out she was happily married and had forgotten all about me.”
“If your love was as strong as you say it was, I doubt she has forgotten a thing.” Neil looked at everyone. “I know I don’t say it a lot, but I love this old girl, here, and I’d turn heaven and earth to find her if she ran away.”
“Thank you, old boy.” Mavis squeezed his hand.
“I don’t think it’s too late.”
“What do you mean, Brock?” Neil asked.
“You might find a woman who is happily married and has a house full of kids and grandkids. On the other hand, you might find a woman who has been pining for you as much as you have for her.”
“Are you suggesting he try to find Julia again?” Kay looked at him.
“Why not?” Neil butted in. “I bet you still have a lot of contacts, Kay. There must be something a former senator can do, especially one who found her son in a POW camp in the Middle East, then didn’t give up until she got him out.”
“Yeah, Kay. Why don’t you try it?” Brock added. She looked at everyone then her eyes rested on Seth.
“It’s up to you Seth. I’ll be happy to try if you want me to.”
Did he want to find Julia? Would she still love him? Had she forgotten him after all this time? Was she at all interested in finding him? He made the decision his heart told him to make. “I’d be appreciative if you’d try, Kay.”
C HAPTER 12
New Year’s Day, Julia was putting her dinner dishes in the dishwasher. It was raining and some of it was freezing. Most of the time she liked cold, rainy weather, but for some reason, today it depressed her. Maybe it was because she was concerned about Andrew driving home on such an unpleasant day or maybe it was because she’d refused to go with him to Asheville where he and his band had a New Year’s Eve performance at one of the hotels. Now, she wished she’d gone. At least, then, he wouldn’t be in a car coming down the mountain alone in this weather.
At the time of the invitation she felt she couldn’t take a chance. What if someone recognized her? What if she ran into Seth and his wife? She finally told Andrew she would rather stay home and rest since the after-Christmas sale at the store had been so hectic. She also said she wanted to gather her strength for the continuation of it on the second of January. He’d relented and gone without her.
She left the kitchen and went into the den. She picked up the newspaper to make sure they’d published her store ad the way she’d wanted it. She was scanning it when the telephone rang. Her heart jumped. “Lord, don’t let anything be wrong with Andrew.”
She breathed easier when she looked at the caller ID and didn’t recognize the number. “Hello.”
“Hi, slut, this is Dorie. No Happy New Year for you. I hope it’s all bad and I’m giving you fair warning it’s going to be a terrible year for you. I just wanted to let you know before the year gets started.”
Julia was shocked as she always was when Woodrow’s sister called her. They hadn’t seen each other since his funeral, and Julia hoped never to see her again. But Dorie called every three or four months to spew the words of hate she always did when she called.
“I can’t imagine what you want to warn me about, Dorie.”
“I hate you and your bastard, you know. Always have. You and him living the high life on my brother’s money. Money I need, now that mine’s about gone.”
“Dorie, how in the world could you have spent three million dollars? I know that’s what Woodrow paid you for your half of the business.”
“It’s none of your damn business where my money went, you whore.” The woman on the other end cackled, then added, “I didn’t call you to talk about my finances. I just wanted to let you know this is the year, you’re going to regret saddling my brother with that bastard son of yours, you whore.”
Before Julia could react, the line went dead. She bit her lip and shook her head. She knew Dorie would hate her and her son until the day she died, but for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why. Woodrow knew all about Andrew and the love Julia had for his father and he convinced her to marry him anyway. It had been a good choice, even if it cost Woodrow the baby sister he’d been so close to. He’d always been protective of Dorie since he was sixteen years older than her.
Julia didn’t have time to ponder the call long. The sound of the garage opening brought her back to reality. She still had the phone in her hand. She put it on the stand and turned back to her paper with a smile. Andrew would come bouncing in soon and she didn’t want him to know Dorie called tonight. It always bothered him when they heard from her.
As he came into the living room, he tossed a newspaper on the coffee table and looked at her. “In your night clothes already? You must’ve had a rough New Year’s Eve.”
“My New Year’s Eve was fine. You’re the one who probably had a rough one.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Mine was fun. Come in the kitchen and I’ll tell you about it. Well, part of it, anyway. You don’t need to know some of the details.” Before she could answer, he added, “I’m hungry. Got anything good?”
Julia followed him to the kitchen. “I went the traditional route. Pork, black-eyed peas, and collard greens. I knew that was what you’d want if you made it home to eat.”
“Sounds great. I’m tired of hamburgers.” He took a plate from the cabinet and began dishing up the food. Julia sat on the bar stool at the breakfast counter and watched him. “Well, when are you going to start telling me what fun you had?”
“My mind’s trying to clean it up a little. You know it was New Year’s Eve, and a lot of crazy things happen on New Year’s Eve.” He winked at her and she shook her head.
He laughed and went on. “There was a good crowd and we were well received. Most autographs I’ve signed at a gig.”
“Of course, they’d have to like my boy. He’s irresistible.”
He rolled his eyes at her and put his plate in the microwave. “I met some interesting people.”
“Girls, I presume.”
“Of course. What other kind of people are there?” He grinned at her. “I did meet a girl, but she wasn’t what I’m looking for.” Julia raised her eyebrows and he added, “One of the radio stations gave out prizes and one of them was free tickets to the concert and dessert with me afterward.”
“What kind of dessert?”
“Mom! I can’t believe you’d think such a thing.” He laughed. “Actually, the girl who won the ticket didn’t come. She sold it to the girl who did come because the first one needed the money for meds for her mom or something.”
“How nice.”
“That’s what I thought. I traced down her phone number and I’m going to call her next week. I didn’t have time while I was there. I wanted to get going because it was snowing great guns in Asheville today. I’m going to invite her to the next concert we’re going to do there, and I expect you to be at this one.”
“You’re going to have another concert in Asheville?”
“Yep. Gotta go back and see my twin.”
“What are you talking about, Andrew. You don’t have a twin.”
“I’ve always heard that everyone has a twin somewhere. Mine happens to live near Asheville.” The microwave dinged and he took his plate out. “You wouldn’t believe how much this guy and I look alike, Mom. He said a couple of people asked him for his autograph because they thought he was me.”
“You talked to him
?”
“Sure did.” He began eating. “He was a newspaper guy. Came to review the band. He had his girl with him so I guess they were there to celebrate, too.”
“What was his name?”
Andrew thought a minute, then frowned. “He told me, and I thought I’d remember it, but I don’t. We were so busy and talked to so many people that it’s running together now.” He took a bite of his food. “Good, Mom.”
“Thanks.”
“Now, that’s enough about me. How did you spend your holiday?”
“Of course, I worked at the store yesterday. It was busy and by the time I got home, I was tired. I did go over to Leeanna Danbury’s get together for a little while. Didn’t stay long because I wanted to get home and go to bed.”
“Left before you could get a kiss at midnight, I bet?”
“You’d win your bet. It was long before midnight.”
Andrew put his fork down. “Mom, may I ask you a serious question?”
“Of course, son.”
“I worry about you being alone. Why aren’t you interested in dating and maybe finding someone you could be serious about?”
Julia was shocked at his question, but she covered well. “Honey, I guess I’m content with my work and watching you become a famous country star.”
“I know you’ve made up your mind to settle for that, but I wonder if there isn’t a reason behind that settling.”
He looked at her and his blue-gray eyes became serious. “You’re only fifty-three, and a beautiful woman. You should have more excitement than big store sales in your life.”
Her Forever Dreams (A Coverton Mills Romance Book 3) Page 8