It was Josie. At least he thought it was. As she approached—a smile assuring him it was really her—he goggled at her appearance. Her hair was pinned up in some exotic style that left ringlets cascading around her face and neck. Her skirt more than covered her knees and flowed gracefully around her. The blouse had feminine ruffles and a demure neckline. Yet the outfit worked on Josie because it was gypsy-like.
And she wore the necklace and earrings he’d given her.
“Wow.” It was all he could manage.
She twirled around. “Thank you.”
“Where’s Lisa?”
“She’s not far behind me. I made her dress up, too.”
“Did it infuriate her?”
“More like embarrassed. I reminded her she wouldn’t know a soul here.”
The door opened, and a panicked Lisa peeked her green head in. No matter what she wore, it wouldn’t change the fact that she had that wild head of hair. Although, she had smoothed it tonight. No spikes.
He motioned her in. She obeyed. And as with Josie, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Self-consciously, arms crossed in front of her, Lisa walked to where they stood. She wore the outfit of a prep-school coed. A knee-length plaid skirt. Tailored red blouse. Stockings and flat shoes. The only concession Josie had allowed was a belt that looked like a chain, and not nearly as dainty as Josie’s new one. He expected to see a padlock holding it together.
“Wow, Lisa,” he said.
“Don’t say a word. I know I look stupid.”
“Not at all. You look…”
“See, you can’t even come up with words bad enough.”
“No, seriously…” He looked past her green hair to the girl. To the young woman who was stripped of her rebellious, protective shell at the moment. A pain knifed his chest. “You look beautiful.”
The hopeful look she gave him intensified the stab. “You’re not just saying that?”
“No. It’s like I can see more of the real you. And you’re beautiful.”
“So black’s not my color?” She smiled and her arms relaxed until she loosely clutched her hands in front of herself.
“I’m afraid not. Though I know you love it.”
She shrugged. “I can live without it.”
Josie beamed at him. “Then maybe Mike can take you shopping all by himself and get you some nice bright clothes. Red is great on you.”
“I’ll think about it,” Lisa said, fighting a smile.
“We’re ready for the Miller party,” the hostess said. “Follow me.”
The next hour and a half was one of the most pleasant Michael had ever spent. The food was excellent, the service impeccable. And the conversation easy. In fact, it had been rather entertaining.
Josie had been her usual fun self, yet she’d handled the evening as if she weren’t at all nervous. He had expected her to be uncomfortable in this setting. Something she’d said previously about going to Magnolia’s, though, had made him wonder if she’d dated a man who’d taken her there. Maybe she was used to fine dining from that relationship. The thought gave him pause. Surely they wouldn’t have shared such a strong attraction if there was another man in the picture.
“You know, Josie, I’ve never asked you if you have a relationship that Lisa and I are keeping you from.”
Lisa glared at him the way she had that day when he’d gotten too close to Josie in the water. “Uncle Michael, that’s none of our business.”
Josie waved off Lisa’s comment. “It’s okay, Lisa. I don’t have any special relationships. Just a few good friends.”
Was she being vague on purpose? “Friends, huh? Men friends?”
“Quit sounding so pathetic,” Lisa said. “We’ve had such a good time. I mean, it’s like we all got along really well tonight. Don’t mess it up, Uncle Michael.”
“Come on, you two,” Josie said. “It’s okay. There is no man in my life now. Let’s remember that we’re here to help Lisa get ready to go home.”
Lisa sat straighter, motioned the waiter for more coffee for Michael, then asked for a pot of hot tea. “How am I doing?”
Josie couldn’t believe the change. “You’re certainly capable of accompanying your uncle to family and business dinners. I guess you have to decide if that’s what you want.”
Suddenly serious, Lisa looked at Mike. “Did my mom, like, hate all the bank functions and country-club dinners? Is that why she went…well, kind of wild?”
He ran his thumb over the rim of his coffee cup. “Honestly, I don’t think she ever gave any event half a chance. Seems to me she was unhappy for as long as I can remember.”
“Was Grandmother hard on her like she is on me?”
Josie’s teeth clenched and she had to force her jaw to relax. What I wouldn’t give to have five minutes with the woman!
Mike’s mouth tilted with an ironic smile. “As impossible as it may seem, your grandmother has learned a lot over the years. She was even harder on your mom. They started fighting around Patricia’s twelfth birthday and never stopped.”
“Why couldn’t Mom just get over it when she was grown up? Why all the booze and stuff—whatever it was that made her look so sick?”
With kind, compassionate eyes, he looked directly into his niece’s eyes. “She had lots of emotional problems. Depression. And who knows what else.”
“And she used drugs?”
“Yes. But we were never sure what all she was on.” He paused. “Can you see why I worry about you now?”
“Do you think Grandmother and Grandfather act like they do because they worry about me like they did my mom?”
He looked thoughtful, as if weighing his words before saying them. “It’s different with you. They worry because they love you. They’ve mellowed a lot since Patricia. With her, they did the best they knew how.” He shook his head. “She just seemed born to rebel. She rejected them, their lifestyle, and everything they stood for. They never could seem to get past it and love her anyway.”
“Which was what she needed most,” Josie said without thinking.
Grief flashed across Mike’s face. “You’re exactly right.”
Then, just as clearly as if God Himself had spoken inside her head, Josie saw that she had done the same thing to her parents. She’d never liked the way they lived their life and had rejected them because of it. She’d run off and never looked back.
Now she knew how that must have hurt them. Even though they had stifled her, had tried to mold her into something she wasn’t, she could have reacted better.
Lord, thank You for showing me this. Is this why You brought Lisa and Mike here? To show me that Mom and Dad aren’t the only ones at fault in our messed-up relationship?
Josie watched, amazed, as Lisa let Mike touch her arm and didn’t move away. It wouldn’t be long before he could hug her. Tonight was a big step.
The exquisite dinner sank to the bottom of her stomach like a big blob of oatmeal. The end of their time together was that much closer.
Against their wishes, Michael followed Josie and Lisa back to the house. Once they opened the front door and waved, he drove away, disappointed that they hadn’t asked him in. They claimed they were worn out from work, and that they had to get up early. He was probably being paranoid, but he suspected they wanted a girls’ night in. Lisa had mentioned something quietly to Josie about a video and popcorn.
Back at his bleak motel room, he tossed his jacket on a chair, removed his tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt. As he sprawled flat on his back across the bed, he played back his conversation with Lisa. Maybe having more insight into her mother and grandparents would help prepare her for going back home.
Speaking of home…
He should probably call his parents to check in.
Instead, he reached for the remote and turned on the television. He hadn’t changed the channel from a cable news station since he’d gotten there. He muted it, uninterested in hearing about the bad going on in the w
orld that day.
Dad will expect me to call. But he had kept in touch with Gary. According to him, everything was okay. Michael knew, though, that his dad wouldn’t approve.
He kicked off his shoes, then flipped the channels until he found an old movie. Without the sound, the drama was humorous. After a half hour of guessing what the actors were saying to each other, he scrolled up and down the channels once again.
When he landed on an old Leave It to Beaver show, he stopped and turned the volume up. After a few good laughs, he hit the off button and got ready for bed.
He climbed under the covers and glanced at the phone. Thinking of going back to twelve-hour days at the bank was depressing. How had he ever thought he could find contentment in that?
It was going to be tough to go back to doing it. But he would. Because it was who he was. It was his duty.
Being gone for the last six days, he’d fallen down on that duty. But now he had a duty to Lisa, as well. And she was much more important, wasn’t she? Gary seemed to think so. Surely his parents would agree.
Besides, Gary was thriving. His parents, and the bank, would survive another day without him.
He switched off the light. It’s merely one more day. It’s not like I’m leaving the family business.
Chapter Nine
When Michael arrived at Josie’s house at 6:00 a.m. the next day, he followed the sound of music and found her on the back deck in the early morning cold, hunched over a book at the table. A cat, maybe the one that had scared him so badly his first night in town, wove in and out, around her legs, trying to brush against them as Josie tried to avoid contact.
He cleared his throat.
No response.
“Excuse me.”
“Come back later,” she said, intent on her reading.
“What are you doing?” he asked over the music.
“I’m trying to have my devotional time,” she said, then huffed a sigh as she leaned back in her chair.
“Oh, sorry. Where’s Lisa?”
She turned down the praise music that sounded vaguely like something he’d heard on a Christian radio station. “Asleep. Go on in.”
He entered through the back door into the kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee brewing teased his taste buds.
After passing through into the family room, he approached Lisa’s door and knocked.
“Go away,” she said in a sleepy voice.
“Time to get up for work.”
“You go for me.”
“You’ve got to earn your keep.”
“Pay Josie some rent. I’m tired of working so hard.”
“Get up. I’ll be waiting outside with Josie.”
“You won’t get her away from her prayer time.”
“Then I’ll join her.”
Lisa’s laugh reverberated through the closed door. “I’ve got to see that.”
“Come join us.”
He followed his taste buds back to the kitchen and poured two thermal mugs of coffee. He found creamer and sugar on the table and, assuming she used both, doctored her coffee. Once he’d backed out the screen door and placed one cup beside Josie, he sat near her on a cold plastic chair. The cat skittered away at the commotion.
After a couple of minutes, she opened one eye and stole a peek at the cup of coffee. “Amen,” she said, then grabbed her mug and inhaled the steam. “Mmm.” She took a sip. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Thanks for letting me finish. Why are you here at the crack of dawn?”
“I fell asleep so early last night that I woke up at five this morning.”
“Are you getting lonely over at the motel? Because I’ve got a stray cat I’ll gladly loan you for company.”
“I’m okay,” he said because he hated to admit he’d wanted them to invite him to watch videos last night. “So, do you do this every morning?”
“I try to. When do you pray?” she asked just before sipping her coffee.
“Not often enough. I’ve found myself praying more lately, though, for guidance with Lisa.”
“Good. You two will need lots of prayer when you go back to Charleston together.”
“I imagine we will. Will you continue to pray for us, Josie?”
She studied him over her mug, and her eyes looked sad. “Of course. Every day.”
Not wanting to think too much about leaving, he stared into the misty backyard. “It’s beautiful out here this time of day.”
“Yes. This is my worship time between Sunday services.”
“A choir could sure use your talents. Why don’t you sing in the one at your church?”
She shook her head, then swallowed another sip. “I’ve just never taken the step to join, but might do it soon. I definitely feel God’s presence in the music. Stayed with me all week.”
He smiled, feeling as if he’d accomplished something. “Good. I hope you will.”
She stretched her legs out straight and flexed her ankles. “You know, you might enjoy this morning ritual. Try something new, like praise music and prayer on your back deck.”
“My housekeeper would faint.”
Josie laughed. “So, Mike, has God called you to work at the bank?”
“I have no idea.” He’d said it so quickly and definitively that he surprised himself. But he knew without a doubt that he spoke the truth. “I can’t say I’ve ever felt God leading me that way. My family led me into working there. From the time I was about fifteen, I knew that’s what I would do. But I suppose God uses our parents to direct us.”
“Have you tried asking God what He wants for your life?”
“You say that God called you to help runaways. How did you know?”
“Through reading my Bible. Through getting to know God better each day in prayer and by spending time with Him. I don’t know. It all just fell into place when my church said they needed someone to help with that ministry.”
“So you didn’t hear a voice coming from the sky?” He grinned at her, but wouldn’t be at all shocked to hear her say she had.
“No. No audible voice. Just confirmation that I was on the right track. Those girls showing up here in town gave me the chance to act.”
“So God could have brought me here. Maybe God’s calling me to take a bigger part in Lisa’s life. But what about my lifetime calling? What about when she’s grown and on her own?”
“It might help to focus only on the present. Pray and study the Bible. Get to know God. He’ll show you your calling.”
Just when Michael thought his course was set, that he had his life in order, God threw in a wrench to remind him He was in charge.
First Lisa had been that wrench. And now Josie was doing the honors.
Unfortunately, Josie was making him think about a future that might not include the bank. A future with glimpses of more than Throckmorton family duty.
But whatever his calling, Michael felt sure it would lead right back to Charleston. And Josie’s call would keep her here in Gatlinburg.
The thought of living 350 miles from this wacky, charming woman left him colder than the early morning fog on this first day of April.
April Fool’s, Throckmorton. The joke’s on you.
Later, after a busy day at the diner, Josie reflected on how weird sharing the morning with Mike had been. But in a nice way. She’d had an especially smooth day at work. Maybe he’d been praying for her.
And Lisa. Of course he would pray for his niece. His commitment was to Lisa, after all. He didn’t owe Josie a thing.
Everything’s for Lisa. Everything’s for Lisa.
If everything was for Lisa, then why had Josie come home from work and showered with peach bath gel and shampoo, then lotioned up with peach-scented lotion? And why had she put on her best jeans and the aqua-colored sweater that always led to compliments on her brown eyes?
Why had she brushed her teeth twice and left her hair down?
Lisa sure didn’t care how Josie
smelled or dressed.
Everything’s for—
“Let’s go, Josie. He’ll be waiting.”
Surprised to see Lisa standing in the doorway, Josie said, “You’re awfully excited to see your uncle.”
“I’ve been doing some thinking about Uncle Michael. I’ve got an idea about how it’ll all work out.”
“How?”
Lisa started to put her chain-link belt through the belt loops of her new jeans, but it wouldn’t fit. “I’ve been all wrong about you two.”
Josie raised her brows in question.
“Instead of fighting the fact that you two like each other, I’ll cash in.”
“Cash in, huh? I’m afraid to ask.”
“If Uncle Michael falls for you, then you’ll be able to talk him into letting me live with him.” She shrugged. “I’ll just let nature take its course.”
This wasn’t at all what Josie needed to hear. If she didn’t have Lisa fighting the feelings she had for Mike, her heart would be more at risk. “You’re kidding, aren’t you, Lisa?”
“Nope.” Her eyes sparkled. “I’ve got big plans.” She tugged on Josie’s arm. “Let’s go. You look perfect.”
“I don’t really care how I look.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I don’t.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Lisa said without a hint of the anger she’d had the day they’d fallen in the river and Mike had almost kissed Josie.
Little did Lisa know, Josie had been telling herself that she didn’t care how she looked. All afternoon.
It wasn’t working.
When they arrived at Mike’s motel, he stood outside the office reading a newspaper.
“Sorry we’re late, Uncle Michael. Josie was primping.”
“Was not.”
He leaned toward her and inhaled. “It was worth it. You smell delicious.”
Josie studied Lisa’s reaction. Where was the disapproval? Was she really over it so quickly?
“Let’s go, you two. You can smell each other later,” Lisa said.
Mike looked at his niece suspiciously. “Okay. You seem in a hurry.”
Lisa grinned. “I just had a really good day, and I’m looking forward to tonight. Let’s go get a funnel cake to share.”
Her Unlikely Family Page 11