“Mama, we hit something and the boat turned over. I flew through the air. It scared me to death.”
Melanie trembled and held her child close.
Courtney pushed back. “We were in the water forever. And it was cold.”
“Are you okay now?” Melanie looked her over to assure herself that she was.
“I’m warm now. I didn’t get hurt.”
Melanie squeezed her once more. She was still shaking from the ordeal. “Honey, sit here. Let me find out about Mr. Hicks.” Melanie approached Monroe and Elmore’s sons. Claire hadn’t arrived yet.
“He’s in surgery,” Monroe said. “There is internal bleeding, as well as some broken bones.” Monroe looked as haggard as the boys. They had warm blankets wrapped around them, too. Melanie hugged the boys and said a prayer.
“I’m so sorry about Elmore,” she said. “Words won’t express how very, very grateful I am. Thank you.”
“Dad thinks a lot of you, Melanie. He woulda done anything for you.”
Melanie prayed that didn’t include giving his life. Courtney came over beside her and they got the boys coffee while they waited. When Connie arrived with her mother, Courtney went to sit with her. She noticed that Bruce had already slunk away.
“Everything okay at the farm?” Uncle Milton asked the Hicks boys.
“We’ve got to go and see about the animals. Didn’t have time to earlier.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Uncle Milton said. “Stay with your mama. She’ll be here soon. Me and my boys’ll take care of the farm.” Uncle Milton turned to leave.
“You’ll need the keys,” the young man said.
Uncle Milton turned as Elmore’s son dug into his pocket and dropped a set of keys in his hand.
Shock froze everyone in place. Conversations stopped. Noise diminished to nothingness. Melanie nearly dropped her coffee. Uncle Milton offering to do something for a Hicks. And lightning didn’t strike him dead.
He must have felt the curiosity in the room because his eyes avoided Melanie’s and everyone else’s as he and his sons left. Only then did shocked conversations resume.
Never thought I’d see the day. As I live and breathe, were only some of the phrases Melanie caught.
Gail approached her. “I’m going to take Courtney home with me. She can stay with me, or with my sister if she wants to be around other kids. She looks really tired. And I know you’re going to be here a while.”
Courtney was sitting in a corner with Connie. Melanie really didn’t want her child out of her sight, but she didn’t know how long they’d be at the hospital. When Gail approached Courtney, the child ran to Melanie.
“I want to stay with Connie, Mom. Can I, please?” Courtney said. “She’s really upset about her grandfather. And I’m worried, too.”
“Of course, sweetheart.” Courtney dashed back over to console Connie. “She’ll be all right here,” Melanie told Gail.
“Then I’ll stay a while in case she changes her mind.”
Melanie sat beside Gail and it wasn’t long before Monroe sat on the other side and took her hand, giving her comfort as they waited.
Mrs. Claire arrived and Aunt Thelma sat with her.
Elmore was in surgery six hours. By the time the doctor came out, Uncle Milton and his boys had returned.
Everyone tensed until the doctor told them the surgery had gone well. There was a collective sigh of relief. But Elmore wasn’t out of the woods quite yet. He’d be in intensive care for a couple of days at least.
Melanie felt as if someone had picked her up and squeezed her dry.
Uncle Milton offering to see to the farm while Elmore was in the hospital gave Melanie a glimmer of hope that the feud would end. But why did a tragedy have to occur before the man changed? At least she hoped he’d changed—that he wouldn’t go back to his old ways once Elmore was back on his feet. Only time would tell.
Anthony came up to the house and knocked on Monroe’s door.
“I’m going to leave for a little while and help with the morning feeding at the Hicks farm. I’ve already fed the alpacas and I’ve checked them over to make sure they’re okay.”
“Fine, but you don’t need to check in with me.”
“Well, since you were here…”
“Just do things as you do when I’m away. I’m glad you’re here, though. I wanted to talk with you a moment.”
“Okay.” Anthony came into the house and closed the door behind him.
“I was thinking that you’ve done a great job with the alpacas, especially considering that you’ve had no supervision.”
Anthony nodded. “You’ve got a great herd. One to be proud of.”
“How many alpacas did we have when you took over?”
“Around fifteen.”
“And it’s grown to fifty already?”
“I wrote you letters telling you that I was using the profits to buy additional alpacas. And I didn’t sell all of the offspring each year. I was trying to build up the herd. I hope it’s not a problem.”
“On the contrary. You’ve succeeded too well. I’ve been thinking you deserve a bonus. How about I give you half of the profit from the breeding of our prize-winning alpacas, and sell you as much of the herd as you want—at half price?”
Anthony looked as if he were going to faint. “But…but that’s too generous.”
“If you weren’t so conscientious, we wouldn’t have made nearly as much. The herd wouldn’t be nearly as large.” Monroe extended a hand for a shake.
Anthony pumped his hand eagerly and smiled. “I never dreamed…”
“As soon as we sell the young ones, you’ll get that bonus.”
“I can’t believe it.” He shook his head and repeated, “I just can’t believe it.”
Monroe’s gesture wasn’t totally altruistic. He figured with the bonuses, Anthony would be more likely to continue to work the alpacas when he began his own farm. Monroe didn’t even want to begin to think about having to find a replacement. It was a stroke of luck for him to have Anthony in the first place.
“And I want to be the first one to buy two of your crias.”
“A sale is a sale.”
“I never dreamed I’d be able to buy them so quickly.” He headed to the door. “I won’t be gone long.”
“Take all the time you need.”
As Monroe watched Anthony leave, he wished it would be as easy dealing with Melanie. It felt good doing something positive for another person.
Monroe’s grandmother had called and he stood by her house. He found her sitting on the porch with a tall glass of lemonade. Mrs. Pearl brought out a glass for him. The day was hot and the drink hit the spot.
“How did the trip go?” she asked.
“Fine.”
“So you’re going to take the job?”
“We’ll see.” He could see the disappointment on her face. “I’m not deserting you,” he said, but he didn’t want to reveal anything until after he spoke with Melanie.
If his grandmother’s chin got any higher, it was going to touch the ceiling. “Don’t let me stand in your way. I can take care of myself.”
“I know.” He’d gotten used to her. He didn’t want to leave her alone. She should be surrounded by family.
“Your sister called.”
“What did she want?”
“She’s coming for the Fourth. Said she was staying a month.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Shocked me, too. Remember when she said she wasn’t going to ever let any grass grow under her feet?”
“She meant every word.”
“You got that right. I meant to tell you, I think I lost a few years when Courtney went missing. I hope Bruce leaves and never comes back.”
“You know how the wind can pick up over the lake. It’s happened to me. Besides, the boat capsized when it hit a log. Can’t blame him for that.”
“I can blame him for anything I want. He should have been paying a
ttention. But I blame the mayor most of all. Getting Courtney all worked up and Bruce probably won’t visit her again for another year or two. The only time he sees her is when Melanie takes her to see him.”
Monroe shook his head and glanced fondly at his grandmother. “He’s missing a lot. Courtney’s a wonderful little girl.”
Soon after the boating accident, the mayor made a hasty retreat out of town with the excuse that his wife needed a vacation. Many people, especially Uncle Milton, blamed the accident on him, even though it was obviously not his fault. Melanie tried to dissuade them from blaming anyone, but they continued to say that if he hadn’t called Bruce, he and Courtney wouldn’t have been out on the lake. Melanie countered with the fact that she had asked Bruce to spend time with Courtney, so it was more her fault. But when did Uncle Milton ever listen to her? Now that the feud was unofficially over, he had to have someone to fight with.
The whole situation was giving Melanie a headache.
Monroe came by her house after Courtney’s bedtime.
“Things are finally settling down, thank goodness. The whole town is buzzing with your generosity to Anthony. He is so thrilled.”
“Nothing more than he deserves.” Monroe leaned against the counter.
Melanie approached him and laid her hand against his chest. “You’ve got quite a heart in there.”
“You think so?” He pressed his hand over hers and she felt the rapid beat.
“I think you have a lot of your grandmother’s generous spirit.”
“With you standing so close and smelling so good, I’m beginning to think of only you.”
Melanie linked her hands around his neck and lowered his head for her kiss. How she loved that man.
“With all that’s going on we haven’t had time to discuss your trip,” Melanie said when they were both heated. “How was it?”
“Better than expected.”
“You accepted?”
“It’s provisional. I told them I would only accept it if they built the subsidiary here.”
Melanie’s heart leaped in her chest. “Here? In Summer Lake?”
Monroe nodded. “They’re doing a study to see if it’s possible. They also have a terrific benefits and stock-options package,” he said. “Maybe I needed to go through the trauma of the last two years so that I could appreciate what you mean to me,” he said.
Melanie sat before she fell.
“If I’d met you years ago, we wouldn’t have lasted. There wouldn’t have been other women, but I was so absorbed in my work, there wouldn’t have been room for a family. I would have neglected you the way I neglected Dorian. I needed this chance to grow.”
“Hey, we don’t get test runs in life. We learn as we go. Believe me, I’ve made my share of mistakes.”
“I left a door wide open for Aaron to walk into my home like a thief.” He curled a lock of her sable hair around his finger. “I’m a different man.
You’ve destroyed my shadows.”
“What?”
He took Melanie’s hand in his. “I promise you, I’ll be an attentive husband. If you marry me.”
Startled, Melanie’s gaze jerked to his.
“Will you marry me, Melanie?”
“I thought…”
“What?”
She smiled. Her hands trembled as she held them together.
“Do you love me?” she asked.
“Is there any doubt? I’ve juggled my world to fit yours.”
She closed her eyes briefly. She’d never thought to hear him say he loved her. “I love you, Monroe. Yes. I’ll marry you.”
“Melanie, I have to go before the city council. We have a lot of work ahead of us and we still might not be able to build Emerson’s subsidiary here.”
“You can’t work out all the problems ahead of time.”
“I need to work. In my field.”
“If you have to leave, I’ll leave with you,” Melanie promised.
“But the town needs you.”
“I need you. And who says it won’t work out? We need a company like Emerson here. Small towns have to find a way to create jobs to keep their own. It’s no longer a farming community. We have to find other ways to support it. The town can’t rely on other places to support them. People are going to find a way to provide for their families. Either we bring legitimate jobs, or they will go somewhere else.”
“I’ll pick you up early tomorrow so we can tell Eudora together. We’ll bring Courtney.”
“You want to shock her at breakfast?”
“The old grouch needs a shock.”
Melanie chuckled.
“Can’t you see it? We’ll need a nice hotel, more restaurants. More jobs. I think it’s time for the residents of Summer Lake to move into the twenty-first century—and that is what I’m going to build my campaign on.”
“Congratulations, Madam Mayor.” Monroe loved to hear her talk and dream. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’ve never kissed a budding politician before.”
Melanie linked her arms around his neck. “Maybe you need practice.”
“Umm. Lots of practice.” The distance between their mouths diminished until his lips were just a whisper away. “No reason we can’t start now.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you Ben Rogers for information on alpacas, Sandy my career-long critique partner, my husband and my family for their continued support.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-7066-7
SWEET SOUTHERN COMFORT
Copyright © 2006 by Candice Poarch
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