Down by the River

by Lin Stepp

  Grace looked wistful. “I made each of my children a bank with his or her name on it for Christmas one year when I was learning ceramics. The children were small then and really loved their banks.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why I made so many after that, though. I found thirty-four of them when I unpacked my ceramics boxes.”

  She scratched her head. “I think I made them for a civic group bazaar or something. But they didn’t all sell.”

  “Well, never mind.” Sam gave her a hug. “They’ll sell here. This mountain area is a great place to sell crafts. People come here expecting to find handmade items to buy and take home. They’ll love your things. You wait and see.”

  Grace looked around in pleasure. “Seeing them all again, I’m glad I didn’t simply haul them off and chuck them like the children suggested. They almost convinced me that crafts had gone out of style.”

  “Pooh. Crafts will never go out of style.”

  Sam picked up a bib apron to examine it. “Which of these crafts do you still do, Grace?”

  Grace shrugged. “I guess I could do any of them. I still have the patterns, the tools, a lot of leftover materials.” She smiled. “Charles even indulged me and bought me my own kiln when I did so many ceramics. I brought it with me, and I have kept all my molds. Everything is in the back of the shop and in the storage closets.”

  “Well, get ready to craft again, Grace. It will be nice that you can make more of the things that people like and buy the most.” She gave Grace a little punch. “And maybe you’ll get creative and make some new things you haven’t tried before.”

  Looking around the little shop, Grace wondered if Samantha and her mother were right—if anyone would actually buy all these things she’d made.

  Remembering Samantha’s problems, Grace directed their discussion back to Ruby again. “How is Ruby handling your family’s receiving this note from Crazy Man? She’s only four. Does she even understand it?”

  Sam actually laughed then—a good sound to hear. “I think she’s all right, Grace. After pouting from being scolded, she started to enjoy all the attention she’s gotten. I think she’s begun to feel like a local celebrity. She tells everyone who stops by now that Crazy Man wrote a note about her.”

  Grace giggled. “Leave it to Ruby.”

  “Actually, Daisy has been more upset by all of this than Ruby. We’ve had to have several talks about sexual issues I probably wouldn’t have talked to her about until she was older if this hadn’t happened. Daisy is only ten. But she’s asked honest questions, and I felt I should answer them. Do you think I did the right thing?”

  Grace nodded. “Yes. Talk to your girls while they’re young. When they get older they begin to think they know it all. It’s harder then sometimes.”

  Samantha sent Grace a knowing look. “You miss Margaret, don’t you?”

  “I do. I miss all my children, but especially Margaret, since she was still living at home. I felt terrible she wouldn’t come with me—that she stayed at the house in Nashville with Elaine and Elaine’s family.” Grace sighed. “Despite Margaret’s high-strung temperament and outspoken ways, she and I have always been close until now. She was my last child—and much younger than the others. I do miss her.”

  “I’m sorry.” Sam patted Grace’s arm. “Maybe when she comes back over here for college you’ll see her more often and get close again.”

  “That’s a long time away, though.” It wasn’t even mid July yet.

  Sam looked at her watch. “I guess I’d better get back. I need to help Bebe with dinner. Good luck with the store opening Thursday. And thanks for hosting our get-together on Friday night. We decided on six as the start time. Will that be all right? I know you’re having the grand opening of the shop from eleven to four Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Should we have made the time later?”

  Grace shook her head in the negative.

  Samantha acknowledged that and continued on. “All right, then. I think Roger and Jack were making a few calls and working on the guest list when I left. We’ll let you know when we have a count. But everyone will bring things. You won’t have to do much more than provide the place. We’ll get tables and chairs from the church and haul them over to the yard to set up. It will be fun. Don’t you think so?”

  “I do. I’m looking forward to it.”

  She walked Samantha out and let the dogs nose around in the shrubbery before she went back to work in the shop.

  Later than evening, Grace was sitting in the library at the front of the house making up a list of things she wanted to do before Friday, when she heard a knock on the front door. The dogs pricked up their ears and jumped off the couch, where they’d been curled up beside Grace napping. They woofed softly—obviously wishing they could bark more aggressively.

  Grace eyed them in warning. “Don’t even think about it, you two,” she said to them firmly. She had trained them since they were small not to bark every time someone came to the door or to jump on people when they came into the house, either.

  Grace stood up, knowing she needed to answer the door. Remembering the stories about Crazy Man, she looked over at the clock on the desk cautiously. It was seven at night and starting to get late. Who would come to the house this late?

  A familiar voice rang out. “It’s Jack, Grace.”

  Grace walked into the front entry and opened the door with relief, glad to see Jack’s familiar face.

  As she opened the door, he reached down to take the proffered paws of the corgis in greeting, talking to them both affectionately.

  Grace smiled at him, letting her glance run over him while he petted the dogs. Her heartbeat escalated like it always did whenever Jack was around.

  He looked up to catch her assessing glance before she could hide it. “Well, it’s nice to note you’re so glad to see me,” he said lazily, giving her a smug grin.

  She bristled. “I was just pleased it was someone I knew. After all that talk about Crazy Man, I got a little spooked when I heard someone at the door so late.” She turned and started back toward the library. “Come on in. I’m in the library. Have you eaten, Jack?”

  He grinned. “Entirely too much. Bebe believes making a feast soothes everyone whenever there is a family crisis. Tonight was no exception.”

  Grace looked past him out the door. “Where are the girls?”

  “They’re spending the night with Daisy and Ruby. Samantha thought it would be good for all the girls to have a little fun tonight—to take their minds off things. They had settled in to watch some fairy princess movie when I left.” He chuckled. “Chick stuff.”

  With a wave of prickly apprehension, Grace wondered what Jack Teague was doing at her house so late—with his girls safely settled at the Butlers to spend the night. It made her nervous to realize she was alone in the house with him.

  She led him into the library off the entry hall—somewhat cautiously now—gesturing him to an easy chair while she settled back down on the small sofa nearby. She purposefully left the front door of the house open, too, except for the screen, to let Jack know, subtly, that she assumed he wouldn’t be staying long.

  He settled back in the chair and stretched his legs out. “I’ve always liked this room with its wall of books and cozy chairs. Makes you want to settle down to read a good book.”

  The dogs came over to curl up happily beside Jack’s chair, getting a few more scratches in the process. They obviously had no apprehensions about Jack at all.

  “What do you like to read, Jack?” Grace tried to make polite small talk and not let her eyes drift over him. He wore tan shorts and a brown golf shirt that exactly matched the chocolate color of his eyes.

  “Mysteries. Thrillers. Maybe an occasional Western. What about you?” He reached down to casually scratch the dogs behind their ears again.

  “I like mysteries, too. And historical romances. It’s interesting to visit other eras and places in a book.” She smiled and then shifted with discomfort, picking at a speck of
lint on the sofa arm to occupy her hands and try to distract her thoughts.

  Like a silly teenager, she found herself wondering if Jack might try to kiss her again. Was he still attracted to her? Her eyes shifted to his face with her thoughts.

  Jack caught her eyes with his, studying her.

  Grace twisted her hands in her lap nervously now.

  “It’s getting me all excited, Grace, watching you fidget and worry about what I might do while I’m visiting you here.” He gave Grace one of those devilish smiles that lit up his dimples and crinkled his eyes.

  Annoyed, Grace sat up straighter, trying to regain her composure. She felt a slight flush rise up her neck as she did. “Perhaps the direct approach is better with you, Jack. What are you doing here, anyway?”

  He leaned back and grinned at her. “Now, that’s not a very neighborly way to act, Grace. I brought the guest list over to you.”

  Jack pulled a folded sheet of paper from his back pocket and handed it across to her. “There will be seventeen coming on Friday night, Grace. The Teagues—including the girls and I, Ma, and Bebe—from across the river. From the River Road and Creekside there will be Vincent Westbrooke and the Butlers: Roger, Sam, Daisy, and Ruby. From the next house down, Sally and Berke Carson plan to come, but not Berke’s mother Jo. I think Sally said she had a cold. Then from the last house on the River Road there will be the Clark clan: Gavin and Freda and their four kids, Kyleen, Dean, Stacy, and Julie. That’s it—our small neighborhood in a nutshell. You’ll sort them out Friday if you don’t know them all already.”

  He ran his hands through his hair as an ending. Grace followed the motion, fighting the thought that she wished her own hands were there.

  Mentally she scolded herself for the direction of her thinking and tried to relax. She put on a plastic smile. “It sounds like a good group. I think I’ve met almost everyone, although I know some better than others.”

  His eyes assessed her lazily. “If you’ll look on the list, Grace, you’ll see what food everyone has volunteered to bring. It’s a lot. Roger, Berke, Carson, and I are in charge of the grilling, and we’re buying the hamburger meat and buns. We’ll also come early and bring over the tables and chairs we’ll need from the church. Vince and Gavin Clark are helping with that, too. All the families are bringing fixings, sides, desserts, coolers full of drinks and ice, paper plates, utensils, and cups.”

  Jack angled in his seat and stretched his legs to prop them on the footstool in front of the little sofa where Grace sat. She tried not to focus on his legs so near hers.

  Mentally she chided herself. He’s only here being a good neighbor, telling you about this gathering coming up on Friday. Why are you so conscious of him? Of every move he makes. You’re acting like a silly schoolgirl! Stop it, Grace.

  Jack’s voice floated over her thoughts. “Samantha told me to tell you to make a couple of pitchers of that great fruit tea of yours, if you would. She knows you’re opening your shop Thursday and Friday for the first days of business. She doesn’t want you doing anything more, although she said you probably would anyway.”

  Grace listened politely, trying to concentrate on what Jack was saying. Whatever was wrong with her? You’d think she’d never been alone with a man at night before!

  A small silence descended before Grace realized Jack had stopped talking. She looked up and saw him watching her.

  He dropped his feet off the stool and stood up then. In a quieter voice he said, “I’m going home now while I can, Grace Conley. If I stay in this sizzling tension any longer I’m going to pick you up and carry you back to the bedroom and work off some of this agony.”

  She knew her eyes had grown wide and her posture rigid.

  Jack smiled lazily. “Don’t you think you should walk me to the door, Miz Conley?”

  Grace stood to her feet, her legs feeling wobbly and rubbery. She unconsciously smoothed her hands down the front of her shirt, trying to straighten it.

  Jack’s eyes followed her hands as they passed over her breasts. “That did it,” he said. In two seconds, he had taken the few steps separating them, grabbed her by the arms, and leaned down to kiss her with a kiss that could never be termed polite.

  Grace grasped the front of his shirt to hold herself up. An explosive passion seemed to wash over Grace’s senses. She heard some gasping little breath escape her before Jack crushed her closer against him, his mouth devouring hers and his hands roving up under her hair and then down her back and lower. When he pulled her more tightly to him, his hands cupped under her hips, Grace felt herself grow dizzy with sensation.

  Jack pulled back from her for a moment to look down into her eyes with a searing gaze. Their eyes locked tightly, and both of them were breathing heavily.

  Just as he leaned back toward her with a seductive, satisfying smile, a voice behind them said sarcastically, “Well, well, isn’t this an interesting situation to find my mother in.”

  A cold bucket of water tossed over her wouldn’t have more quickly arrested Grace’s passion. Jack backed away with a regretful shrug and turned around.

  “Margaret.” Grace tried to greet her daughter in a bright and normal voice—but knew her voice sounded strained. “I had no idea you were coming, dear.”

  Margaret rolled her eyes. “That’s certainly obvious, Mother.”

  Forgetting their normal manners, Sadie and Dooley barked a greeting and clicked across the hardwood floor to weave around Margaret’s legs in pleasure.

  “No barking,” Margaret reminded them. But Margaret leaned down to greet them both affectionately.

  Struggling to recover her equilibrium and her manners now, Grace started her introductions, trying to steady her voice. “Jack, this is my daughter Margaret Jane. Margaret, this is my neighbor who lives across the river, Jack Teague.”

  Jack lazily and calmly reached out a hand to take Margaret’s. “I’m delighted, Margaret. I can see you inherited your mother’s beauty. I am charmed to meet you.”

  Grace felt nettled. Nothing seemed to rattle this man. She still felt shaky and weak-kneed, and he seemed calm and unruffled.

  “I am so pleased you decided to come see me.” Grace went over to give Margaret a hug now. “How long will you stay with me?”

  “I’m not sure.” Margaret shrugged casually and smoothed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her blond hair was pulled back in a smooth ponytail, and she wore white shorts and a black T-shirt that said: Beethoven Rocks.

  Grace smiled. “Well, you can stay as long as you like. Why didn’t you call?”

  “I left impulsively. Elaine and I had a fight.” Margaret wrinkled her nose. “Elaine got all bent out of shape about something that happened. We had a few words, and then Frank got into it.” Her voice had grown expressive and dramatic now.

  She waved her arms. “You know how Frank is. So pompous and self-righteous. I don’t know how Elaine stands to live with that man. He goes on and on.”

  Margaret leaned against the side of a wing chair and made a face. “I finally got tired of it and possibly said a few things I shouldn’t have.” She shrugged.

  Grace smiled. Possibly said a few things was hardly the right way to describe what Margaret had probably let loose at Frank. She tended to get wound up.

  “What brought on all this little hoopla?” Jack asked.

  Margaret looked toward Jack in surprise, seeming to remember then that he was still there.

  She flicked her eyes up and down him, sizing him up—Grace knew that look—before she continued. “Well, I was watching the girls after lunch while Elaine ran out to the store. The girls were playing with some blocks and stuff, busy and happy, and I was practicing the piano.”

  Margaret paused. “It was a Tchaikovsky piece, and I got caught up in the movements and got absorbed.” She lifted her eyebrows expressively. “And then the next thing I knew Elaine was rushing in the room shrieking and freaking out. Evidently, Ava and Sophie had gone out into the backyard. I guess I didn’t h
ear them. And they were playing in the fountain with their clothes on when Elaine drove back up.”

  Margaret flopped into the wing chair she had been leaning against, the dogs settling on the floor close to her feet. Grace and Jack, following her signal, sat down again, too.

  Margaret continued her story. “It was really no big deal. That fountain isn’t even two feet deep at the edges. You’d think I purposely took them out onto the freeway and left them there from the way Elaine was overreacting.”

  “Were they all right?” Grace asked anxiously.

  “Of course.” Margaret gave her an annoyed glance. “That’s the whole point. They were just playing around in the water. Of course, they shouldn’t have been. Ava knew better and she knew they weren’t supposed to even go outside alone without me. Or climb into the fountain with their shoes and clothes on. But that didn’t stop them. Oh, no, the little brats. And Elaine wasn’t even mad at them at all. Only at me. Frank was even worse. He came home from work to jump on me. So after twenty minutes of his ranting and raving, I just went up to my room and packed some stuff and took off.”

  And came to me, Grace thought with pleasure.

  Jack laughed, enjoying the story. “How old were these little girls?”

  Grace answered that. “Ava is three and Sophie is eighteen months. The water in the fountain is not very deep to adults, but it would be waist deep to little Sophie.”

  “I know. And they both might have drowned!” Margaret parroted Elaine’s voice, complete with shrieks and hand gestures. “I’ve heard it all. And I’m certainly sorry they slipped outside while I was playing piano. But what was I supposed to do about it after the fact? Wear sackcloth and ashes and wail and flail myself with switches?”

  Grace watched Jack’s mouth twitch. He was getting a good look at Margaret’s dramatic take on life.

  Margaret blew out an exasperated breath. “I must have said I was sorry a hundred times. But it wasn’t enough. They had to launch into a reiteration of all the ways I was so often irresponsible. Honestly, Mother, I was totally over it.”