by LoRee Peery
Geneva’s chest ached with the fullness of listening to him.
“A cardinal’s red flash at the birdfeeder caught my eye. I couldn’t believe what I saw.” He squeezed her hand and watched her reaction. “The male cardinal cracked a sunflower seed. Left the shell, and carried the seed to his mate in a nearby bush.”
“That’s a beautiful picture, Rainn. I had no idea cardinals did such a thing. And I imagine I’ve seen more cardinals in my long life than you have.”
She raised her free right hand and turned so she could trace the scar below the arch of his left brow.
The whole outdoors faded away. Geneva’s world at the moment sat before her. She swallowed. Hard.
“Think cardinals mate for life?” His breath whispered over her wrist, setting her pulse to the erratic rhythm only Rainn created.
He answered her unvoiced question when she followed the course of that white scar a second time. “I ran into a low hanging branch playing football when I was fourteen.”
“Ouch.”
“You can kiss it now and make it feel all better.”
Geneva stretched higher, using the glider arm for easier access. The feather-light kiss wasn’t enough. She wanted to experience his whole face with her lips. She journeyed: forehead, right brow, temple, nose, cheekbone, jaw.
Poised above his lips, she drew in a breath, waiting for instinct as to how to touch them. But she didn’t get that opportunity.
He planted a blazing kiss, right on target. Any further thought of gentle exploration blew right off the porch.
They got carried away in the world of kisses and it took some time for Geneva to come to her senses. “Wait. Stop. Someone might see.”
He slumped back and ran his fingers through his hair. The silvery curls she loved bounced right back.
“I don’t care if the whole town of Platteville walked by and applauded. Woman, you excite me. I want you in my life.” Rainn stroked her wrist. “Look me in the eye and say you don’t feel the same way.”
“I can’t.”
“I can feel how fast your heart is beating.” He touched her arm, his fingers as soft as butterfly wings. “You can’t say you don’t want me.”
“I do. I do. But—“
“There are no buts.”
“Rainn, you and me, how can it work?”
Geneva threw her hands in the air, counted three deep breaths and felt somewhat calmer before she spoke again. “I can get sick. Look at Lanae. Anything can happen. I don’t expect you to take care of me when I’m an old lady and you’re still virile.”
“I refuse to go there again. No one knows what can happen. I could have some serious health issue just the same as someone twelve years older. Only God knows the day we will leave this earth.”
She jumped up to distance herself. Her skirt caught under his knee. He didn’t attempt to free it.
She braved a look into those rich brown eyes.
He slipped her that killer smile and walked his fingers up her arm, tucking one casual fingertip under her sleeve, and left it there.
She tried not to move. Seconds ticked by.
“You’re making a bank of church windows here instead of a sun catcher. I’m convinced we’re meant for each other.” That must be his way of saying mountain out of a mole hill. His finger caressed her arm as though it had a mind of its own. “You. Geneva. Elaine. Carson. I’m interested in you. You alone attract me.”
He enunciated each word with a tap. All protest seeped out the bottom of Geneva’s feet. At the sound of voices coming from the kitchen, he backed away, gaze riveted on hers until he entered the house.
She pulled herself together. Then followed. Lanae’s voice brought her to a standstill, with her hand on the doorknob.
“Pretty hot and heavy out there for the whole town to see.”
“I wouldn’t care if the whole world saw us.” Rainn spoke to Lanae but looked over his shoulder at Geneva. His voice softened. “Think you can knock some sense into her?”
Rainn on My Parade
15
Geneva gasped at the sudden onslaught of emotions. She tried to hold them in, but they weren’t about to be contained. The bath sponge dropped to the tub floor. Her shoulders sagged and she lowered her head, all energy to fight the feelings flowed down the drain.
Her undoing was wrapped up in recalling Rainn’s touch of her fingers. He expressed such tenderness while kissing them, as though they were young and straight and cherished. Now all sane thoughts of resistance became nonexistent.
She sagged against the cool tile and squeezed her eyes tight. She covered her mouth. But the tears welled up from her solar plexus, and filled her chest cavity.
There was no stopping the outpouring flood: way too much to get out. She gave up trying to hold back the sobs.
God created her to be romanced.
Bret had failed in that area.
Rainn. Oh, Rainn. You bring me to life.
Since Moselle left home after high school, she’d drifted through life. She’d more or less existed before Rainn, unaware of the joy she could feel as a result of him reaching her soul. She had kept busy at church through the years, but she’d not put time and energy into the pursuit of any personal relationships.
She had floated through time.
Then, she and Lanae started Frivolities, and Geneva had something to be excited about. The business was where she’d planned to use her energies.
Lanae’s call through the open door brought her back to the here and now.
“I didn’t hear you knock. What did you say?” Geneva managed through her tear-clogged throat.
“I asked if you are all right. I’m up for a chat if you need one.”
The door closed before she could respond. Geneva tapped her forehead against the warming tile while trying to pull her emotions in check.
She pushed away from the wall and scrubbed her hands over her face. She reached for the facial cleanser, and felt every one of her half-century years.
Giving in to hormonal crying jags at her age took a lot of energy. She’d have to see how the talk with her sister progressed before deciding if tears had been the release she’d needed.
When Geneva got to the kitchen, Lanae sat at the table with tea for two, along with peanut butter melted on toast.
“Now, spill it. I heard you crying.”
“My mind is racing. I can’t decide if Rainn only needs me to help with Mia, or if he really needs me in a relationship.” She lifted her teabag, circulating the herbals of chamomile and lemon through the steaming water.
Lanae bowed her head. “Lord, You have helped me with so much lately. I know how pain or indecision or turmoil can get us all worked up and out of tune with Your will for us. Geneva needs Your help now. She has no idea how in the world Mia, as special as she is, would ever feel at ease in a place like Frivolities. Mia does need someone to keep an eye on her at all times, both protecting her, and protecting the merchandise. And Geneva needs to spend the bulk of her time at the shop. Please give her peace to fill the roles You have placed before her. And we thank You for the food and drink set before us. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“Thanks, Sis. Mia and Rainn are a package. He wakes up something womanly in me, something sleeping or nonexistent when I was married.”
“I agree Rainn may need you, but have you ever caught the way he looks at you?” Lanae ate a slice of toast in four bites.
Geneva knew all about appetites.
“That’s part of the problem. One look from him, one slanted smile, and I lose all focus. I suspect he can guess what he’s doing to me.” Never, ever, had she been so turned on, so full of womanly desire.
“Wouldn’t you think it’s time to do something before you burst into flames then?”
“Give him up? Or confess how I feel and toss the risk of censure over our ages?”
Lanae blew on her tea and sipped. “You could ask him to marry you.”
Now that was a sobering thought.
<
br /> Other married women she’d known had been blessed in their relationships. Over the years, Geneva had found it so hard not to be covetous. She knew from Lanae’s hints that she and her husband, Keith, had been so on fire that in all the years since he was a soldier, she’d never seriously looked at another man, believing their passion could not be matched.
Geneva’s thoughts skittered from sister to daughter. As teens, Moselle and Eric had such heat going that Moselle almost hadn’t been able to resist his advances. But the Lord gave her strength to deny their combined teen hormones. Even though her heart seemed broken then, Moselle was now about to embark on a lifetime of loving him.
A lifetime of loving him.
“What I wouldn’t give for a lifetime of loving Rainn.” She looked up while finishing her tea. “The phone must have rung and we didn’t hear. There’s a message.”
Lanae was closest so she got up to push the button. Rainn’s voice jarred Geneva up from the table. “My parents called. Any chance we can talk?”
****
Rainn shook his head, trying to absorb his parents’ interest in finally acting like grandparents. Talking to Geneva had calmed him down after their last call. He stopped his SUV and parked in front of Sharpe Elementary, his mind going back to his feelings when his parents had contacted him after they’d been informed of Lindsay’s death. His father had the audacity to inform Rainn he had done all that was required of a brother. Mia would be in good hands with him as guardian. Jay and Adeana Harris saw no need to come back to the lower forty-eight earlier in Lindsay and Mia’s lives. They must have closed the case of their daughter Lindsay and her daughter long before their retirement travels.
Had they changed their minds about being in Mia’s life because of Geneva?
Like his art, Rainn wanted Mia to be an admirable product by the time he finished shaping her, with God’s help. It was a sure bet that his parents had never desired the same thing for his and Lindsay’s futures.
Why shouldn’t he consider himself a better parental choice for Mia than Lindsay? Lord knew their father hadn’t been a good example for him and his sister. And now that Geneva was part of his life, he felt Mia’s future was secure. He was thinking marriage. He loved Geneva’s nurturing side as much as her business side. If things got busy at Frivolities, he and Geneva would figure out a way to keep Mia safe, as well as the Frivolities merchandise.
At the sound of the school bell, he rolled down the window. His niece was one of the first children out the door. He was curious as to how she interacted with other kids. He hoped to observe Mia in her own environment, see what she was exposed to. He sat erect when he realized her usual smile was absent.
The first, “You’re stupid!” catapulted him out of the vehicle. He moved so fast the driver’s door remained open.
Moisture pooled above Mia’s bottom lashes. Her lips pinched, her shoulders straightened, and she came to her own defense. “My Uncle Rainn says that God don’t make stupid people.”
That stopped him in his tracks.
Mia said it without meeting their eyes, but her voice was strong. She rubbed her wrists furiously against her sides. “God makes special people, and Mia is smart in lots of ways.”
One boy in the circle looked shamed and focused on his shuffling feet.
The other two sneered.
All three boys turned and ran at Rainn’s approach. Mia took a stance, shoulders slumped.
He zeroed in on her face, keeping his voice as light and low as he could. “Hi, my big girl. Everything going your way?”
Instead of her usual ear-to-ear grin of greeting, she nodded. “Can Mia go swing, please?”
He rarely predicted what she would say. And just like that, her attention turned from her schoolmates. He knew it was best to not second guess any female. “Sure.”
He reached for one of her hands at the same time he gave a tug on her backpack. “Let me lighten your load, But—. Oops, that’s the kitten’s name.”
She quieted the swinging hands and slipped the bag off her shoulder, slanting a hint of smile. “I want to go home to Button.”
Rain released his grip on her hand to zip a compartment, swung the bag over his other shoulder, and enfolded her hand once again. He whispered a silent prayer of thanks for her use of first person, and for the fact she wasn’t wailing.
His thoughts jumped back to his parents. He questioned again why he hadn’t believed their first reaction following Lindsay’s death. His parents hadn’t planned to come to any kind of service, for their own daughter, no less. Saw no point. His father’s words had been something like, “When we can, we’ll work our way toward the middle of the country.”
At least, they’d changed their minds on that one. Rainn ground his teeth, feeling the clench in his jaw.
It had taken all the self-control he could muster not to let his father know all that had built up in Rainn’s mind over the years when they had ended up coming to the memorial service.
He may get the chance to speak his mind, but the phone wasn’t the way to do it. He’d face his father like the man his father never prepared Rainn to be. No wonder he had gone through life so turned off family. His parents’ lack of involvement in Lindsay and Mia’s lives left a lot of empty holes.
Mia just might be all right after all. And she didn’t need the help of interfering grandparents who really didn’t care.
****
Geneva scurried through the department store to check out novelty buttons. On her way to the notions department, the odor of strong hair spray hit before she caught sight of a young woman in a skimpy, hot pink chemise, too bare on top for fall weather. Her short, ruffled denim mini-skirt swayed above long legs. The woman trucked along on four-inch sandals. Geneva couldn’t resist a thorough look. Out of the corner of her eye, she counted six studs in one ear, and tried with all her might not to look into the woman’s face.
She didn’t pay attention to the little girl at the woman’s side at first. The next glance revealed the woman’s three tattoos. One wrapped each leg—left thigh, right calf. The colorful one, high on her back, glistened in half yellow and bright blue.
Thank God Moselle had never gone that drastic. Stop judging. You don’t know her.
“I said, stop clinging to me,” the woman spat, and gave her leg a shake.
Geneva cringed, and focused on the little girl’s reaction. The beautiful tow-headed girl released her hold immediately, but stayed so close against the woman’s leg, she must have felt the child’s clothing brush against her.
Geneva studied the little one, guessed her to be three or four. Her hair was tangled, a rat’s nest at the crown, with uneven bangs. Her clothes were so dingy and mismatched, the flowers in the shirt grayed with the muted colors of the shorts. Geneva could hardly believe the condition of the girl’s clothes, compared to the way the woman was dressed.
“Why didn’t you brush your hair like I told you before we left?” The woman growled under her breath.
“I couldn’t find the brush.”
“Don’t lie. I told you exactly where it was in the bathroom.”
The reprimand pierced Geneva’s heart. She wanted to stare her in the face and try to figure out what made this woman the way she was.
Geneva guessed her to be around thirty, close to Moselle’s age. She wanted to tell her there’s joy and peace in Jesus.
She yearned to let her know that motherhood is a privilege, not a right. That God had chosen her to be that particular little girl’s mother.
And like a thunder clap, with its deep vibration that rattled windows, Geneva heard a voice in her soul.
My choice for Mia’s new mother is you.
She was so upset she left the store without looking at novelty buttons.
At her front door, she almost expected Mia to greet her. Geneva sought emotional control. At least, she tried to suck in air. The breath came shaky and shallow. Gathering a deeper breath proved impossible for her lungs at the moment. She discovere
d she had no desire to face her empty house.
What would it be like if both Mia and Rainn met her at the door? The very idea. A picture of him in her home, filling it with his unique brand of masculinity, sobered her. Her chest heaved and her heart flip-flopped.
Soon, she’d have her house all to herself. After Moselle’s wedding, Lanae planned to move into the loft above Frivolities.
At the thought of Frivolities, Geneva figured she might not have enough energy to put into loving Rainn after a full day at work.
Then again, his love should energize her.
She convinced herself she’d imagined that voice in Walmart. It hadn’t come from deep yearnings of a lonely woman’s soul at all.
Or…from God. Right…?
The blink of the answering machine light greeted her. At the push of a button, Moselle’s harried voice bounced off the kitchen walls.
“Mom, when are you going to get a cell phone? I have no idea where you are. Aunt Lanae didn’t come in and she won’t answer the phone. I made a mess of your precious coffee machine this morning and for some reason the computer is locked up and I think there’s a mess-up with a Christmas order and Karin and I were supposed to get our dresses fitted at one o’clock and—”
Geneva heard a puff of air and she pictured Moselle’s bangs flying up with the exhalation. “Call me,” she finished.
Geneva erased the message, grabbed the cordless phone, and slung off her bag and jacket on her way through the living room. The purse hit the floor and the jacket ended half on, half off the recliner arm.
Lanae had been in the shower when she left earlier, so Geneva thought all was well. But Lanae didn’t answer Geneva’s knock on the guest bedroom door. She opened it and peered in. Humid, hot air hit her. They had put in a portable electric heater months earlier because Lanae was so easily chilled.
Lanae lay curled up in a ball, crocheted afghan on top of her comforter, with only the top of her salt-and-pepper hair peeking above the mound.
“Lanae? Honey?”
She didn’t answer when Geneva spoke her name. Lanae had been so full of life that morning.