Sweet Gone South

by Alicia Hunter Pace

  Where was she? He sat up and the clock beside him shouted 8:12. Oh, damn, no wonder she was gone. He jumped up, all set to rush into Emma’s room, but had to stop to find his sleep pants. It had also been a while since he’d slept naked.

  “Lanie!” he called out as he burst into Emma’s room. She was going to be late for school. But the bed was made and the curtains tied back. He made his way through the silent living room toward the kitchen. All the curtains were open and everything looked bright and inviting. Why had he never opened the curtains? In the kitchen, the dishwasher hummed and there was a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon on the counter. There was no coffee made but he preferred Phillip’s espresso from downstairs. He poured a glass of juice and ate the eggs. The Merritt Times Daily and the Birmingham News lay on the kitchen table in pristine condition. If Lanie had read them, she had put them back as good as new. He liked that. Carrie had always worked the crossword puzzle, tore out articles, and left it in shambles all over the house. He quickly flipped through both papers. Good. There was nothing about his engagement or his marriage. His first marriage. That was a phrase he thought would never apply to him. He shook the thought away.

  The brief announcement that had appeared in the papers yesterday had contained the bare bone facts and a quote from the senator. And that was all, except for a harmless little spiel in the Merritt society column.

  Standing in the kitchen alone, Luke realized he wasn’t in a hurry. Surely he should be doing something but it seemed there was nothing to do. He wouldn’t mind filling the time with sex.

  He grinned to himself like a sixteen-year-old who had just discovered pleasures of the flesh. Their first time together, Lanie had been so tense, he’d wondered briefly if she was a virgin. The second time, she was still tentative, but more relaxed. By the third time, she’d been eager and the sex had just gotten better. In fact, last night she had made the first move, donned in a scanty black garment that he suspected Missy had given her. Too bad she was gone. Maybe he could talk her into taking the day off. She was worried about being behind on candy making but surely he needed sex more than Merritt needed chocolate. But first he was going to get some coffee and go for a run.

  As he headed back to the bedroom to dress, he caught sight of their luggage stacked neatly by the door. Lanie must have unpacked for all of them this morning. That was something he could do — take it down to the storeroom.

  Downstairs, he dropped the luggage outside the storeroom and made his way toward the smell of coffee. Maybe he and Lanie could sit down and have coffee together and he could talk her into going back upstairs.

  But as he neared the door of Lanie’s office, he heard a chorus of feminine laughter. Lanie, Tolly, Missy, and Lucy sat crowded around her desk with coffee and a plate of muffins. He’d never run into the four of them together this early, though sometimes Tolly stopped in for coffee. They must have really wanted the scoop. Did women talk about the quality of their sex lives? Was Lanie reporting in on his skill? If so, would it be a good report?

  “Good morning,” he said.

  All the women muttered pleasant good mornings as he stepped over and laid a hand on Lanie’s shoulder. She was dressed in one of those awful outfits — lime green with gummy bears. Should he kiss her in front of her friends? Would it embarrass her if he did? Would it embarrass her if he didn’t?

  She smiled up at him. She didn’t seem to have embarrassment or kissing on her mind. “Would you like some espresso?” She picked up an insulated carafe from desk.

  “Thank you.” Take that, cheerleaders! See how she brought me a mug? She likes me.

  “Cinnamon muffin?” She held the plate out.

  “No, thanks.” He leaned on the door jam. “I ate the eggs and bacon you left upstairs.”

  “I would have called you while the food was hot, but I figured you’d rather sleep.”

  “Sorry I slept late,” he said. “Since I took off today, I intended to take Emma to school.”

  “It was my pleasure,” she said. “She asked for you, but I persuaded her to let you sleep. Pam is working today so Missy is going to pick her up so I can get caught up.”

  “Thank you,” Luke said to Missy, “but I can get her.”

  “Oh, Luke, let her come with me. She and Beau haven’t seen each other in three days.”

  Well, he’d wanted help and he had it — so much he felt out of control.

  “All right.” He turned to Lanie. “How’s your day progressing?”

  “I’ve got a big order that I need to have done by two,” Lanie said.

  So much for morning sex.

  “You look like you’re going to run,” Lucy said.

  “That’s my plan.” He looked at Lanie. “Unless you need me for something right now.”

  “No.” Lanie waved her hand like he was a fly who needed shooing away. “Enjoy your day.”

  “There’s nothing I can do to help you? It’s been a while since I brought in sugar from the storeroom.”

  “Phillip did it last week.”

  “I’ll bring you some lunch, then.”

  Lanie hesitated and exchanged a look with Tolly.

  “That would be great!” she said a little too enthusiastically.

  “What?” He looked from Lanie to Tolly.

  “Nothing. What do you mean?” Lanie said.

  “Do you and Tolly have plans?”

  More hesitation. “No. Yes. Not really.” Lanie bit her lip.

  “It’s nothing,” Tolly said.

  “Oh, good cow!” Missy said. “Tolly brings Lanie’s lunch every Monday unless she’s in court. On Fridays, we all go to the diner together at eleven before Beau and Emma get out of school. That’s our schedule.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Tolly said. “We’ll do it tomorrow when Luke goes back to work.”

  “No,” Luke said. “Go on with your plans. I have a lot to do anyway. I’ll just put up the luggage and be on my way.”

  As he unlocked the storeroom door, he heard the scraping of chairs and melody of farewells, followed by strains of The Candy Man. Too bad it wasn’t against the law to have a Candy Man door chime. It should be. He located a stepstool behind the door and was about to mount it with Lanie’s suitcase in hand when she appeared at the door.

  “Let me have that.” She took the bag from him. “I’ll hand it to you, once you’re secure.”

  “I can do this. Don’t you need to make candy?”

  “I don’t want to have to stop again to take you to the hospital. You do have a history of falling off ladders.”

  “I wouldn’t call this a ladder.” He took the bag from her and stored it on top of the corner shelving unit.

  “If you crash into that pottery wheel, you might end up with more than a broken arm.” She handed him his black leather bag and then Emma’s monogrammed pink polka-dotted duffle.

  Just to be belligerent and prove he could stand on a stepstool without incident, he turned sideways and leaned on the shelf. “So you have a lot of call for a pottery wheel, do you?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “No. I bought it during my art phase. I had put some pieces of pottery in a gallery. When one sold, I thought I had a career. But I never sold another one.” She looked at the floor. “They weren’t very good.”

  He turned and looked at the neatly labeled plastic containers on the shelves. “Glass blowing. Quilting. Knitting. Papermaking. Sandcasting. What’s sandcasting?”

  “Do you really care? I wasn’t any good at that, either.”

  She had told him about the time she’d spent between leaving college and going to work at Heavenly Confections, but he hadn’t realized she had remnants of that life. He couldn’t imagine wasting time on self-discovery. He’d always known he’d be an attorney, always hoped he’d be a judge.

  �
�Well, it’s lucky for the people of Merritt that you didn’t turn out to be a potter. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have such good candy.” He jumped down from the top step and replaced the stepstool behind the door.

  “I’m the lucky one to find the only thing I’m good at.”

  “Only?” He lightly stroked her ponytail. “I can think of at least one other thing you’re exceptionally good at.” She turned her wide eyes up and wrinkled her brow, as if she didn’t know what he meant. Maybe she didn’t. “You’re great in bed.”

  Her lips parted in surprise and her face broke out in a blush. Surely, she knew the chemistry between them was extraordinary.

  “Really?” she whispered. “Do you really mean that?”

  Damn! She didn’t know.

  “Yes, Lanie. I really mean that.” He’d vowed never to compare Lanie to Carrie, but if he had been going to — well, he wasn’t.

  “Thank you!” She threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Luke, for telling me that.”

  He laughed to lighten the mood and hugged her back. “It’s just the truth. Sure you have to do that order? We could go back upstairs.”

  She pulled away. “No. Can’t annoy the Flower Guild. But it was nice to hear.”

  He tipped her chin to give her a brief goodbye kiss, but she opened her mouth and deepened it. Then she abruptly pulled away, gave him a sunny smile, and trotted off, her gummy bear print clad bottom swaying. As she went, he watched her lift her right hand and run her finger over the ring on her left hand. A little of the warmth in his groin made its way to his heart.

  It was a long time until lights out tonight. Luke stepped out the back door and began to stretch. Yep, Carrie was howling at the moon, setting fires, and screaming at angels.

  And he began to run.

  • • •

  Lanie slipped one hundred fifty rum truffles into the walk-in cooler. Once they firmed up, she would decorate them with tiny pink marzipan tulips and they’d be all ready for the Christ Episcopal Flower Guild spring dinner. She’d begun to think she wouldn’t finish in time to have lunch with Tolly because it seemed like everyone in town had stopped in this morning. Most of them had been more interested in finding out “if it was true” than in buying candy and insisted Kathryn call her out so they could admire her ring and lament the loss of the Candy Land floor. But she didn’t care about the floor anymore. How could she? Great in bed, he’d said. Great in bed!

  The musical door chime sounded and Tolly entered carrying a bag from Lou Anne’s.

  Lanie got two bottles of water from the case beneath the counter and hurried to the table where Tolly was unpacking the bag.

  “Where is everyone?” Tolly asked.

  “Kathryn’s at lunch and Phillip is in the back working on the website. No customers because there’s no one left in town who hasn’t already been in this morning.”

  “Nosy, huh?” Tolly passed her a sandwich. “They were out of chicken salad so I got you a club sandwich.”

  “Thanks. I’m starving. I guess if you’re dating a football coach one minute and engaged to a judge the next, people will wonder.”

  “Hm.” Tolly took the top off her container of chicken and dumplings. “They will.”

  Lanie unwrapped her sandwich. “But maybe we’ll get to eat without being interrupted.”

  “Like we were this morning, when Luke walked in, just when you were getting to the good parts?” Tolly looked around. “Is His Honor likely to pop in again?”

  Lanie laughed and bit into her sandwich. Had ham and turkey always been so good? “No. He went for a run right after y’all left. Then he came back, showered, and left again.” He’d been sweaty, bright-eyed, and very, very appealing. Was she turning into a sex addict? Or just trying to make up for what she’d missed?

  “What’s he doing?”

  “No idea. Marcia Tate and Sophie Ann McGowan were here when he came back.” Marcia was a nice woman, but a huge gossip. Sophie Ann had never been accused of being nice. “I didn’t have much time to talk. Besides, who wants to talk in front of those two — even about something that doesn’t matter?”

  “Really,” Tolly agreed.

  “Anyway, Luke kept asking what he could do to help me, so I gave him a grocery list. I assume he’ll eventually go to Big Starr.”

  Luke had mentioned that he liked chicken potpie and she was going to make some for dinner, along with hearts of palm salad and banana pudding. So many times, she had imagined making dinner for the family she thought she’d never have. Of course, she’d been cooking for them but that had been when they were her pretend family. Now, that the bad sex specter had been banished it was real — or would be. While she cooked, Emma would play in the kitchen or maybe Luke would take her to the park. Either way, she couldn’t wait to sit down at the kitchen table and watch them eat the food she had made. Later, they’d put Emma to bed. Then, Lanie hoped not too much later, she and Luke would go to bed. Should she wear the nightgown Lucy had given her? Or save it for another night?

  “Hey!” Tolly snapped her fingers. “Come back! I want information.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” She took another bite of her sandwich. “I was just thinking about cooking dinner.”

  “He should cook. He’s off.”

  “I don’t think he can cook. Anyway. Where were we this morning?”

  “You were about to tell us about talking to his parents.”

  “That went really great.” She was still amazed at how warm Luke’s parents had been. She’d also talked to Arabelle and gotten the same reaction. “If they weren’t happy, they’re good actors.”

  “I’m sure they’re relieved Luke isn’t alone anymore.”

  “Maybe. The senator joked about getting free candy and Gail said they couldn’t wait to give us an engagement party.” Lanie took a drink of her water.

  “When is this shindig?” Tolly pulled her iPhone from her purse and starting stabbing at the keyboard.

  “Third Saturday in June, two weeks after they get back from Japan.”

  “Got it.” Tolly put away her phone. “I’ll email Missy and Lucy when I get back to the office. What did your parents say?”

  “They were surprised. Maybe a little alarmed. I hadn’t told them Luke and I were dating. But after they talked to him, they decided he wasn’t an axe murderer and didn’t feel the need to jump on a plane to find out if I’d taken leave of my senses. They’re anxious to meet him but they’re content to wait until the party. All-in-all, they were relieved. They thought nobody would ever want me.”

  “I heard that.” Tolly sighed. “My mother interrogates me about my prospects at least twice a month.”

  “Maybe you’ll meet someone at this party. I gather there will be a lot of people invited, but I’m actually looking forward to it. Things are going almost too well. It’s scary.”

  “Don’t borrow trouble.”

  “Says you,” Lanie laughed. “That’s your hobby.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The afternoon was quieter. Lanie was able to get all the candy made for shipping and replenishing the shop. It might be time to think about hiring someone to work with her in the kitchen. She didn’t have time to take on an aspiring chocolatier, though she would like to do that in the future. But she could train someone to make some of the simpler candies, leaving the artisan work to her. And the chocolate stars. She’d never give that up, unless one of her siblings decided to take an interest.

  Everyone else was gone when Luke’s Porsche appeared in front of the shop. A white SUV pulled in beside him. Lanie stopped closing out the register in case the SUV owner intended to buy something. It was after five, but not by much. When a minute passed and neither a customer nor Luke came in, she stepped over to look out the window. Luke and Brett Edwards, the owner of the local Volvo dealership, were standing b
y the SUV talking. When Luke caught sight of her, he motioned for her to come out, then opened the passenger door of his car and lifted Emma from her car seat.

  Just like the first time I saw her. Lanie stepped out the door and Emma ran to her, giggling.

  “Hi, Mommy!”

  Would there ever come a time when her heart wouldn’t turn over at hearing that? “Hi, angel girl.” Lanie swung Emma into her arms and kissed her curls. “I missed you!”

  “My daddy came to Beau’s house to get me!”

  “Did you have fun?”

  Emma nodded emphatically. “Me and Beau saw a squished frog and we helped Beau’s mommy make cookies.”

  “I hope one didn’t have anything to do with the other.” Luke stepped up and laid a hand on Lanie’s shoulder.

  “Me too,” Lanie said. “Hi, Brett. Were you coming to the shop? No squished frog candy today, I’m afraid.”

  “And that was just what I was hoping for. Oh, there’s my ride.” A truck with Edwards Volvo on the side stopped behind Luke’s car. “Thanks, Luke. You folks enjoy.”

  “What?” Lanie asked as Brett climbed into the truck.

  “I bought you a car,” Luke said proudly and gestured to the Volvo SUV.

  Emma squirmed in her arms and Lanie set her on the sidewalk. “Stay away from the street, Emma.” Then she turned back to Luke. “You bought this for me? I already have a car.”

  “More correctly, I bought you an SUV.”

  “Why?” This was not hitting her exactly right. There was nothing wrong the five-year-old Camry that had belonged to her grandmother.

  “We need something with more room. Come and look.” He opened the door on the driver’s side. “See? It has a navigation system.”

  Because it’s so easy to get lost in Merritt.

  “Leather seats with built in warmers,” he went on.

  Because we wouldn’t want your royal ass to sit on plain cloth or get cold.

  “A docking station for your iPod.”

  Except I have no iPod.