Jane of Austin

by Hillary Manton Lodge

  “She is. She has an appointment with a doctor this week.”

  “Good, good. You’ll let us know if she needs anything?”

  “I will,” I promised, though I knew that taking care of her myself had become a point of family honor. My brother had gotten her into this mess, and I needed to undo the damage.

  I shifted in the chair and changed the subject. “Anyway, I thought I’d stop by, say hello, and pick up Dash from the Woodwards.”

  “You’ve been gone so long! You won’t find him here—or the Woodwards, either. No need to panic,” Ian assured me before I could say anything. “They’re all fine, at least as fine as can be expected. Nina put Jane and Celia up at her hotel for the duration of the festival, and they took Dash with them.”

  “They did?”

  “Nina made sure he’s got a valet taking him for walks,” Ian said, as if relying on a hotel valet for walks was an experience every dog endured. “Young Margot has been with us, though she’s at a concert with her sisters before the end of the festival. Tonight, we’re headed to Charlie’s lake house. You’re coming, aren’t you?”

  “I…”

  “What am I saying? Of course you are. Bring Lila with you.”

  “I’ll check with Lila.”

  Ian leaned forward. “Jane’s going to be there. Nina might have to tie her up, but she’s determined for Jane to have a good time.” Ian’s gray eyes narrowed at me. “You are still interested in Jane, aren’t you? Or have you decided on Lila, now that she’s back?”

  “Lila’s like a sister to me,” I told him. “Jane…”

  “She’s single now.”

  I opened my mouth, closed it, and thought for a moment before trying again. “I might be in love with her. Hard to say. But she deserves better than someone who doesn’t know.”

  “Just come to the lake house. At the very least, she could use a friendly face.”

  “I— I’ll think about it,” I said. “When are y’all headed to Charlie’s, again?”

  “Tonight—she’s hosting us for dinner.”

  “Tonight?”

  “You said you’d think about it!”

  “I have some accounts for the restaurant I should go through—”

  “Bring ’em with you.”

  I looked at my old friend, his eyes as eager as Dash’s at dinnertime. “There’s not a lot I can say that’s going to let me off the hook, huh?”

  Ian leaned forward. “Beckett, if I thought it was in your best interests to stay home, of course I’d want what’s best for you. But you’ve been through a hard time, and you need to blow off some steam. And it just so happens, we’re planning a trip to my sister-in-law’s place and the woman you’re in love with is going too. How is this a bad plan?”

  “When did you turn into a yenta?”

  Ian’s face turned sad. “When my best friend returned from overseas convinced he was broken beyond repair and destined to be alone for the rest of his life.”

  His words landed like grenades, one after another, each one aimed at the center of my chest. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t breathe because he’d just put into words everything I had been afraid to say aloud since returning to American soil.

  “She’s special, Ian,” I said, finally. “And it’ll take a special man to be with her. I’m not sure I’m up to the task anymore.”

  “Beckett—”

  “I’m not strong enough.”

  Ian sighed as if he’d just aged several years in a single breath. “Just come to the doggone lake house, Beckett. You can have an existential crisis while you watch the sun set over the lake.”

  I looked at my friend, the pleading in his eyes. I knew I hadn’t been easy since I’d gotten home. I hadn’t been easy before I’d come home. Yet he’d included me in his life, pulling me into his orbit, patiently waiting and hoping.

  If he wanted me to go to the lake house, I’d go to the doggone lake house.

  I took a deep breath and shook my head. “Why do I get a feeling that you’re going to hold my dog hostage until I agree?”

  Ian’s mouth twitched. “The thought occurred to me.”

  “I’ll come,” I said. “Can’t let Dash think I don’t care about him.”

  “We wouldn’t want that. To be honest with you, I don’t think he’s suffered too much with the Woodward sisters. Nina said that he’s been sleeping with Jane.”

  Jealousy flashed through me. Jealous of my own dog?

  I needed to get a grip. “I’m glad Dash has been taken care of,” I said, making every effort to sound like the reasonable adult that I was supposed to be.

  “Don’t forget to see if Lila wants to come too. You know Charlie, the more the merrier. She invited Lyndsay to come along too, but she’s taking a few days to sightsee historic San Antonio with Jane and Celia’s former landlords.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t understand it myself. Seems Jane knew the wife’s brother well, or maybe Celia. I’ll ask Nina. Anyway, they asked Lyndsay if she wanted to go see San Antonio with them.” Ian leaned back in his chair. “At any rate, if we managed to bring more people than Charlie has room for, she’d sooner construct a new wing before turning anyone away.”

  “Right,” I said, though my brain considered the inherent conflicts involved if I brought Lila. If Jane were there too, that might be unnecessarily difficult, for both of them. Given time, I suspected they might make friends of each other, but with Lila pregnant with Sean’s baby and Jane fresh from her own breakup—a trip to the lake house seemed unwise.

  “I’ll talk to Lila. She may not want to travel anymore right now, and she’s got a doctor’s appointment coming up.” I rose from my chair. “I’ll be in touch.”

  Next, I drove to Roy and Betsy’s. As I pulled into their driveway and looked at their house, with its welcoming front porch, I realized something. I had people. Ian’s family, Roy and Betsy, Lila—not the family I’d been born into, but family just the same, in their own way. And maybe they’d mostly been there all along, and I hadn’t seen it. Hadn’t let myself see it.

  As I parked, I resolved to do better. If they were my people, I wanted to be one of their people in return.

  Betsy greeted me at the door with a hug. “Did you just get back?”

  “I did.”

  “Glad you’re home. We just got back too; saw the grandbabies in Texarkana.”

  I admired several photos she’d taken with her phone before she rousted Roy in from the garage. Roy groused all the way inside. “I’m trying to build you a smoker,” he said, removing his welding helmet and smock. “I can’t finish it with these interruptions.”

  “I missed you too,” I told him and was rewarded with a smile.

  “How’s that Lila?” he asked, and within minutes we were seated around their table with glasses of iced tea and warm corn bread, the latter nearly drowning beneath a layer of warm butter and honey.

  “She has cameras on you,” Roy said, pointing at his wife. “That’s how she knew to have the corn bread ready.”

  Betsy swatted her husband’s arm. “Oh, stop.”

  “When you’re not around, it’s just water and unseasoned beans around here.”

  “He missed you,” Betsy told me. “When we weren’t with the grandbabies, he was walking around hangdog, worrying after you.”

  Roy shook his head. “I don’t know where she gets this.”

  “Lila’s fine,” I told them and provided the same retelling I’d given to Ian. “She needs some R&R, but I think she’ll be all right.”

  Betsy breathed a prayer of gratitude.

  “I’m thinking of heading to Ian’s sister-in-law’s place on Canyon Lake for the weekend. Lila’s resting at my house. If she doesn’t want to be there by herself, I was thinking that maybe she could stay with you two? If it’s not an inconvenience.”

  “Of course not!” Betsy exclaimed. “We’ve got a whole guest bedroom, it’s very nice and cozy. With our boys all grown, I’d lo
ve to have her.”

  “We’d be happy to have her, even if the boys were here,” Roy said. “Set your mind at ease.”

  I explained that I told Lila I’d make her a rightful part owner in the restaurants. “I know she’ll be looking for work,” I said. “Though with the baby…”

  “First things first. Do you think there’s something in the office she could handle?”

  “I’m sure there is,” I said. “She studied business in college, same as Cameron.”

  “Then you can create a job for her and set her up on payroll and benefits, maternity leave, that sort of thing. One step at a time.”

  “Right.” I exhaled.

  “Don’t you worry,” Roy said. “It’ll all shake out.”

  I nodded, wishing I could be so sure.

  After enjoying a second slice of corn bread, I said my good-byes to Roy and Betsy before making the short drive home.

  I found Lila at the long farmhouse table, enjoying a slice of pizza.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “There’s pizza in Mexico. But American pizza?” Her eyes rolled up. “You know how sad it is to be pregnant and craving American pizza and not to be able to get any?”

  I took a seat next to her. “I’m glad you’ve got it now. Good nap?”

  “Very.” She finished the end of crust she’d been eating and nudged her plate away. “Listen. Clint called.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “He offered me a job.”

  That wasn’t what I’d expected. “Really?”

  “His admin is moving away—military spouse, you know how it goes.”

  “I do.”

  “Anyway, he asked if I’d be interested, and I said yes.”

  “You have options,” I told her. “I was just talking to Roy about where to put you at Smoky Top.”

  “For now at least, I could probably do both. I can do accounts, if they need doing. And the ordering—it’s what I used to do, and I was good at it.”

  “I didn’t realize you used to do the ordering.”

  “Until Cameron realized it would be easier to have an affair if I wasn’t around on-site, yes.”

  I winced.

  Lila shook her head. “Not your fault. Anyway, between the two, I should be able to afford a place of my own.”

  “Of your own? Are you sure?”

  “I am,” she said. “When I was young, I trusted Cameron to take care of me. And then Jake and Ben and Frankie—”

  “Frankie?”

  “A rebound. Don’t judge. And then there was Sean, and we both know how that turned out. My point is that I’ve relied on too many men to take care of me when I need to be taking care of myself. And it’s not that I don’t appreciate you—I do. To the moon and back. It’s…it’s just a thing I need to do for me, and I think I need to do to prove to myself that I can be a mom.”

  “You’ll be a good mom.”

  Lila gave a wobbly smile. “I don’t know about that yet. Maybe if I get to a point where my life doesn’t read like a cautionary tale.”

  I leaned forward on the table, palms to the surface. “It’s not that I don’t believe that you can do whatever you set your mind to. Could you just promise me, please, that you’ll come to me if you need anything?”

  She gave a wide, brilliant smile. “I promise. And I probably will. I don’t think I’ll have my act together fast enough not to need you at some point.”

  I took a deep breath, her words sinking in. A part of me wanted to argue, but the wiser part of me knew not to. If she was stepping forward after all these years, I wasn’t about to get in her way.

  “Okay. Okay.” Another breath. “The other thing I was going to tell you is that I—we—have been invited to Ian’s sister-in-law’s lake house for the weekend. Or the week. It’s open like that.”

  “Is she going to be there? Jane?”

  I felt my face flush, and from the widening smile on Lila’s face, I knew that my tan hadn’t camouflaged it. “Yeah, she’ll be there. I’m supposed to pick up my dog from her there, at least that’s Ian’s plan.”

  “Then the last thing you need is to show up with me. I’ll sit tight here; I’m fine. You go enjoy your lake house.” She spoke the last two words with an upper-crust drawl.

  “It’s not like that,” I protested, but she only laughed.

  “You have to remember, I used to be a part of that world. Feels like a lifetime ago. No, you go and have a good time. Catch up with Jane. Sweep her off her feet. There’s a lake, isn’t there?”

  “Canyon Lake is technically a reservoir, but yes,” I answered dryly.

  She leaned forward. “What you need to do is go for a swim, you know, in your clothes. Somewhere where Jane can see you.”

  “I don’t understand where this is going.”

  “Make sure you’re wearing a white shirt, that’s the most important bit. Go for a swim, and only walk back to shore when she’s looking.”

  “In my clothes.”

  “Trust me.”

  “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Every woman swoons over a man walking out of a lake in a white shirt. It’s a universal truth.”

  “I doubt that. And Jane would think I’d lost my mind.”

  “You won’t know unless you try.”

  “I hope you’re amusing yourself.”

  Lila reached for another slice of pizza. “I am, thank you very much. Just do something, Cal. If you love her, don’t let her slip away.”

  Southern Skillet Corn Bread

  1 ¼ cups coarse-ground cornmeal

  ¾ cup flour

  ¼ cup sugar

  1 teaspoon sea salt

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  ½ teaspoon baking soda

  ⅓ cup whole milk, at room temperature

  1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

  2 eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature

  1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), melted

  2 tablespoons butter, at any temperature

  To serve

  Salted butter

  Honey

  Preheat a 9-inch cast-iron skillet in a 425°F oven.

  While the skillet is heating, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir together the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients into it, folding them together. Add the 8 tablespoons of melted butter.

  Remove the skillet from the oven (make sure you’ve got excellent hand protection—it’ll be hot!), turn the oven down to 375°F. Use a spatula to spread the remaining 2 tablespoons butter around, coating the bottom and sides. Pour the batter into the skillet, and bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the corn bread is lightly browned and a tester comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

  Cut into squares or wedges, and serve with lots of butter and honey.

  Serves 8.

  26

  I must say as to what I have seen of Texas, it is the garden spot of the world.

  The best land and best prospects for health I ever saw and I do believe it is a fortune to any man to come here.

  There is a world of country to settle.

  —DAVY CROCKETT

  Callum

  I drove out to Charlie’s place myself, though Ian had offered to drive. He understood when I explained that I needed a vehicle in case Lila had an emergency. I knew she’d have rolled her eyes at my show of caution, but it seemed practical.

  Besides, it would be nice to drive back myself with Dash as copilot.

  I left later than intended and hit traffic leaving town. By the time I arrived outside Charlie’s sprawling “cabin,” a fleet of cars was parked in the circular driveway. The evening was warm, and laughter spilled over the edge of the balcony.

  “Oh, look, Beckett’s here!” came Ian’s voice.

  Several voices rose in tandem, and I took the stairs as quickly as possible to find their source.

  Charlie met me by the door; I m
ay not have seen her for years, but she looked unmistakably like her mother—open features, broad smile, and a ready—if verbose—welcome.

  “Captain Beckett! So glad you’ve made it to our little cabin! Come right in and make yourself welcome. We’re just out having an evening snack. Can I get you something? Sweet tea? Coke?”

  “I wouldn’t turn away a Coke, thank you, ma’am,” I told her.

  “I’ll get one for you right away. And leave your shoes on; we’re on the balcony.”

  She talked, I followed—and listened as she told me about how glad she and Pierce were to finally get to use the lake house, how they’d been in town too long, and the city just got to her. And especially with the new baby, it was so important for them to get away from it all and bond.

  I congratulated her on their new arrival, and she answered with a broad smile that made the resemblance to Nina even more apparent. “We’re very happy, of course, and Pierce is thrilled to pieces. Bowie is napping, but he’ll be up soon enough. He’ll want to meet you, of course.”

  “How old is he?”

  “Thirteen weeks.” Another smile. “He’s such a love.”

  If Bowie was anything like his mother or grandmother, I didn’t doubt that he really would want to meet me, despite his tender stage of development.

  We rounded the corner together, and I saw the open french doors leading to the patio.

  “Beckett! There you are!” Ian rose from his rocking chair. “I thought maybe you’d gotten lost.”

  “Between the front door and the patio?” I asked, joking, as Dash trotted over to lean against me. I bent over to rub his face and ears. “Hi, buddy,” I said, enjoying the way his eyes and tongue lolled in pleasure. “Missed you.”

  “It’s happened before,” Charlie said, handing me a bottle of Coke—a glass bottle—from an oversized bucket of beverages and ice placed on a nearby wrought-iron table. “Help yourself to the taco bar; the shrimp is in the chafing dish. Pierce whipped them up tonight. He’s so handy in the kitchen.”

  Celia lifted a hand in greeting. “Good to see you, Callum. I hope your trip went well.”

  I saw Jane then, seated next to her. I could feel my heart in my chest as I took her in. She looked—I could hardly wrap my head around it. She looked like herself, just less of it. Less present, less vibrant.