The Lullaby Sky

by Carolyn Brown

  There were no answers, but she did wonder as she shut her eyes and fell asleep what it would be like to have a man like Travis in her life forever.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Darcy . . . ,” Cal started.

  “Cal . . . ,” she said at the same time.

  “You go first,” he said.

  “She could have died. He might have killed her if Miss Rosie hadn’t gone down there with a gun in her pocket,” Darcy said.

  Cal nodded.

  “While I was getting my job stuff done so I could leave for the rest of the week, I kept thinking about how quick life can end,” Darcy said.

  “You took the whole week off?” Cal asked.

  “It’s supposed to be family emergency time. But the folks at the bank know that Liz and Hannah are even closer than sisters to me and that I don’t have real family anymore, so they cut me some slack.” She paused, and the silence in the room was so heavy that it hung right above their heads like smoke in an old cowboy bar. “Being an only child sucked when we were growing up. If it hadn’t been for Liz and Hannah, I’d have lost my mind when my parents died.”

  Cal scooted his chair over close enough that he could hold the hand that wasn’t stuck through the bars and clasping Liz’s. “I can’t even imagine life without my two overbearing sisters and my dad.”

  Darcy shrugged. “We’ve all had our crosses to bear, but today I’m . . .”

  Another long, pregnant silence.

  “My turn,” Cal said. “I’ve had some time to think, too, and to hell with the crosses that we’ve all had to bear. We’ve been there for each other since we started school. Today I’m going to go past the cross and bare my soul, Darcy, so get ready to either laugh at me or hug me.”

  Darcy took a deep breath. Was he about to tell her that she was his best friend and like a sister? That he’d found the woman of his dreams and wanted to bring her to Crossing to live forever?

  “Here goes,” Cal said. “I’ve been in love with you since first grade, maybe before that. I want us to date—to find out if it’s real or imagined or maybe a little of both—but I’ve been terrified to even ask you to dinner. But I’m asking now. Life is short and I need . . .” He paused again and looked right into her eyes.

  Darcy was totally speechless.

  He leaned in slightly and brushed a sweet kiss across her lips.

  What a time to have both her hands out of commission. She wanted to touch his face, tell him she felt the same way, but she couldn’t do either.

  “Me, too,” she said breathlessly.

  “You, too, what?” he asked.

  “I can’t remember when I wasn’t in love with you. This is all backward. We should date for months and then say those three magic words,” she answered.

  “None of us ever do things the conventional way, do we?” He cupped her chin and brought her lips to his for a passionate kiss that set every nerve in her body to humming. And the sparks didn’t stop when he moved away. “Why did we wait this long?” he asked.

  “Because you deserve one of those pretty trophy wives,” she said.

  “And you deserve a man who is not a fashion designer.”

  “Who says?”

  “Right back at you,” he said. “This does mean you’ll go to dinner with me, right? And that we might be dating?”

  “This means that yes to dinner and hell, yes, to dating.” She grinned.

  “About damn time,” Liz said strongly, but she didn’t open her eyes.

  Hannah slept with no dreams—bad or good. When she first awoke, she had no idea if she was really awake or still asleep, not even when she looked up into Travis’s eyes. It came back in short flashes—the kiss from the night before, Liz was in the hospital, and she was cuddled up next Travis.

  “Feel better?” he asked.

  “Much, but it’s been more than two hours, I’m sure. We should go back inside and let Darcy and Cal leave for a little while,” she said.

  “But I like it right here, all alone with you to myself,” he said.

  “Me, too, but we have to play fair,” she said. “I should call the house again and check on Sophie and our guests on the way back inside.”

  “You’ll feel better if you talk to Sophie, but I’ll guarantee you that she’s being well taken care of,” Travis answered. “Aunt Birdie would have called you if Sophie so much as skinned a knee.”

  “I know, but I want to talk to her.” Hannah pulled the phone from her hip pocket and hit the right number to call the house phone.

  She sat up and then scooted out of the van and leaned against the tree. Miss Rosie picked up on the fourth ring and gave her all the news from Crossing. A moving van was sitting in the front of Wyatt’s house, and two men were loading it with all the contents. A Realtor sign from Denton was in the front yard.

  Then Hannah told her about the policemen and the story Wyatt had told them.

  “Sorry sumbitch is going to walk free, ain’t he?” Miss Rosie said.

  “Oh, he’ll have a day in court for assault, but I reckon he’ll get a fine and maybe community service or probation, since it’s his first offense. If Liz had documented the other abuses or went to the hospital before, things might be different. The policeman told us that his girlfriend didn’t look like she’d take crap off him. I hope he’s right. How’s Sophie?”

  “In hog heaven. She’s got a playmate and me and Birdie have a baby to go all gaga over. Jodie has been cleaning all day. I worried about her on that crutch, but she gets around real good with it and she says that cleaning is the least she can do. I’d take her home with me to live forever, but she needs to get back to her people. I called the hospital a while ago and talked to the charge nurse. They’re going to release Liz into Birdie’s care after ten tonight, so y’all bring her on to the house,” Miss Rosie said.

  “Shouldn’t they keep her another day?” Hannah asked.

  “We can take care of her better than they can. She needs lots of sleep, a pain pill every four hours, and good food. I’ve got to go. It’s my turn to rock that precious little Bella.”

  The phone went dark and the doors of the van slammed at the same time.

  “Everything all right?” Travis asked.

  “Oh, yes. The universe does not mess with Aunt Birdie and Miss Rosie,” she said. “And they are going to let us take Liz home tonight after ten.”

  He put an arm around her shoulders and together they went back into the lobby of the hospital and caught the elevator up to Liz’s floor. Hannah was so shocked when she walked into the room that Travis pulled her tightly to his side to keep her from falling.

  Liz was sitting up in the bed with a tray of food in front of her. “Hello. Did y’all have a good rest? I was starving, so I ran Cal and Darcy out of here to the cafeteria.”

  “Holy smoke!” Hannah said.

  “I look like hammered owl shit, but I assure you, darlin’, I’ve been through this before. Maybe not as bad, but at least I can know this is the last time.” She gently put a forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, swallowed, and then said, “And something good is coming out of this. Darcy and Cal have admitted that they’ve been in love with each other for years. I think they’re dating now.”

  Hannah quickly crossed the room. “I’m in shock that you are even able to sit up.”

  “Just don’t make me laugh. It hurts my ribs,” Liz said.

  “Stop talking and eat before your food gets cold,” Travis said.

  Liz shook a fork at him. “No man will ever boss me around again, not even you, darlin’.”

  Travis chuckled. “That’s the Liz I knew in school.”

  “Are you sure you feel up to going home?” Hannah asked.

  “Honey, this time I even get the good pain pills. Always before I had to make do with over-the-counter stuff.” Liz’s attempt at a grin turned into a grimace. “Besides, my insurance will fuss if I lie up in this bed too many days.”

  Hannah smiled and changed the subject. “Te
ll me more about Darcy and Cal.”

  “Nothing more to tell.” Liz said. “Six more hours and I can go home. Let’s send Darcy and Cal out on their first date, and we’ll watch reruns of NCIS until they release me. I love Gibbs.”

  “I still can’t believe you’ve made this kind of turnaround since we left a few hours ago,” Travis said.

  “It was that good stuff they put in the IV. I asked if I could take a bottle of it home with me, but they said I’d have to make do with pills,” Liz said between bites of mashed potatoes and meat loaf. “This isn’t nearly as good as what you make, Hannah, but it’ll do in a pinch. How’s your new guests? Is Sophie all right?”

  “Doin’ great. You worry about you,” Hannah answered quickly.

  “I don’t have to worry anymore. I’ll heal just like you are doing. With the support of y’all, I can do this and come out on the other side stronger and wiser,” Liz said.

  “Yes, you can,” Travis said.

  Hannah could have hugged Travis right there for those three words of confidence in her and Liz.

  The next morning, Hannah stretched and rolled her neck from side to side, shifted from her back to her side, and pulled the cool sheet up over her shoulder, all without opening her eyes. She liked sleeping in the guest room even better than the new bedroom. Her eyes popped open with a sense of violation all over again. Marty had known from the cameras that she didn’t sleep in their marital bedroom when he wasn’t there.

  She threw the covers back, slid out of bed, and shivered. With his oversize ego, he probably told himself that it was because I couldn’t stand to be in there without him. But good grief! I read Fifty Shades of Grey in that room, and he would have seen that.

  Giggles out in the yard made her go to the window and pull back the curtains. A blast of sun hit her in the face like an old-time flashbulb on one of those square cameras. She blinked several times and whipped around to look at the clock beside her bed. Surely that wasn’t right. It couldn’t be ten o’clock. She hadn’t slept past six thirty in years.

  She looked out the window again. The sun was already halfway to the top of the sky, and it, unlike clocks, did not lie. The laughter grew louder, and then Travis came into view on a riding lawn mower. He’d hitched up the trailer behind the mower, and Sophie and Laurel were riding in it. Two glittery masks from a kindergarten party covered their upper faces, and they held up a couple of brightly colored whirligigs in the air to catch the morning breeze. Lord, have mercy! That child was not supposed to be outside.

  She rushed down the stairs to find Jodie and Cal deep in conversation at the kitchen table. “The girls are outside.” She panted.

  “But they have on masks. No one knows who Laurel is but one of Sophie’s church friends,” Cal said. “It’s okay, Hannah. Travis is going to make them come inside after a couple of rounds.”

  Hannah went to the back door to watch them, her heart still racing in her chest. The giggles stopped, and suddenly two girly voices and a deep drawl drowned out the sound of the mower engine with the lyrics of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” The little girls looked up at the sky and held their sticks even higher. “He can’t do that. He cannot take Laurel outside.”

  Cal stepped out on the porch and motioned at Travis to bring them inside. “Hannah is worried,” he yelled loud enough for the whole county to hear.

  Travis brought the mower around and helped the little girls out. They whined for one more ride, but he shook his head.

  “You girls come on in and play in your room a little while,” Hannah said.

  Travis had a puzzled expression. “What are you worried about? I give Sophie rides all the time.”

  “You know the rules. Laurel can’t be outside,” she said.

  “I got permission from Gina. She said if the girls were wearing costumes and masks it would be all right, but not to keep them out more than a few minutes. She said that it might be best if Sophie was outside some each day so things wouldn’t look suspicious,” Travis said. “I would never do anything to jeopardize Sophie or any of the folks that come here, Hannah. Trust me.”

  “I was so scared.” She shivered in spite of the summer heat.

  Travis laid a hand on her shoulder. “I can imagine. Gina called to ask me to come to the shelter today and talk to a teenage boy who stepped in when he caught his father beating on his mother. The man turned on the boy, who got whipped pretty badly. She thinks that I can help. While I was talking to her, I asked about the ride. I never thought of you waking up and being afraid. I’m sorry.”

  Two words Hannah had never heard from Marty. Not once. It was always her fault that she got hit. Sometimes he kissed her afterward and said that it would never happen again if she’d learn her job as his wife, but he’d never given her an apology. Her pulse settled down enough that she could breathe.

  “Are we okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, we are okay. I need a cup of coffee.” She turned around and went back inside the house.

  “Muffins are under the tea towel and the third pot of coffee is going. I slept in late, too,” Aunt Birdie said from the kitchen table.

  “How late?”

  “All the way to seven o’clock. Thought my alarm clock was broke. Darcy and Liz were still asleep, so I left a note on the table for one of them to call me when they get up. I think they need a little time to talk without me hovering around.” She folded the paper neatly and slammed it down on the table. “Not one damn word about Wyatt in today’s paper. Has he got connections with the mob or something? They should be sharpening up the guillotine to chop his sorry head off this morning. Not even a mention in the police blotter.”

  Hannah carried the plate of muffins and a cup of coffee to the table. “Wyatt knows everyone in Cooke County. Remember, he was a policeman for a while before he and Liz got married and he started driving trucks.”

  Miss Rosie came into the house by the front door in a huff. “Did you see the morning paper? I can’t believe this.”

  “He’ll get his just due. He’ll buck up against the wrong woman and that will be the end of it.” Hannah buttered a blueberry muffin and bit into it. A month ago if someone had told her that her friends would come and go in her house like this, she’d have thought they should be committed to an asylum.

  “Well, bring on the woman,” Miss Rosie said.

  Aunt Birdie’s phone rang, and she pulled it out of the bibbed pocket of her overalls. “Just push the button on the coffeepot, sweetheart. It’s all ready to go, and there’s muffins on the counter. Bacon and sausage is in the refrigerator if you want to cook. I’ll be home in a little bit.”

  Hannah pushed the plate of muffins toward Aunt Birdie. “Blueberry is my favorite and then cranberry with a touch of orange juice in the dough.”

  “Mine, too. Where’s Jodie? I want to hold that baby. Birdie gets more time with the baby than I do,” Miss Rosie said.

  “I’m not sure where she is.”

  “In Sophie’s room,” Travis supplied.

  Aunt Birdie shook her finger at Rosie. “I do not hog that baby. You’re the one who always whines when your time is up with her.” Aunt Birdie poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. “Are you all right, Hannah? I been thinkin’ maybe this thing about having abused women in your house ain’t such a good idea. It brings back all the pain and fear that you had when Marty was around. I saw how you was with Liz.”

  Before she could answer, Sophie and Laurel blew into the kitchen like a small Texas tornado, giggling and twirling and asking for a cookie. She handed them each one and they took off back to the bedroom.

  “Well?” Aunt Birdie asked.

  Hannah gave her a blank look and then remembered the conversation they’d been having before the kids romped inside. “Oh, that. I think it’s helping, actually. Even though it breaks my heart to see Liz like that and to see Jodie with a broken leg, it’s bringing closure—maybe only a half an inch at a time, but it helps.”

  Wiping sweat from his fore
head with a red bandanna, Cal came into the house, bypassed the coffeepot, and headed straight for the refrigerator. “Sweet tea?”

  “In the pitcher. Help yourself,” Hannah said.

  “I’ll stick to designing clothes. It’s hot out there on that mower,” Cal said. “You can have it back, Travis.”

  Aunt Birdie reached for another muffin. “I’m going home. Oh, and one more thing. Liz says that she’s not leaving the house until her face is back to normal and that Sophie is not to see her until then. You can come and go, but leave Sophie at home. She doesn’t want her to get scared. This week won’t be a problem. She’s got a new kitten and a new friend, but next week you might have your hands full with her.”

  “Send her to me if she wants to get out. We’ll tell her that Birdie has the mumps.” Miss Rosie smiled.

  “Don’t you dare.” Aunt Birdie gasped. “I ain’t never had them or the chicken pox neither, and you saying that might jinx me. Lord, I don’t need them crazy things when I’m eighty years old.”

  “I’ll plan some things to keep her busy.” Travis poured a glass of tea and downed it all without coming up for air.

  “Looks like it.” Aunt Birdie waved over her shoulder as she left.

  Travis leaned against the cabinet. Sweat plastered his dark hair to his neck and forehead. His glasses were smeared, but his blue eyes searched hers as if asking permission to open the doors into her heart. “With that in mind, we should plan to take Sophie into town on Saturday after Jodie’s brother takes her away from here. We could go to the zoo and maybe to that new kids’ movie and then for pizza.”

  “You should keep working on Cal’s new apartment and work space,” Hannah said. “We can’t give her special things every time someone leaves.”

  “But this is her first live-in little friend, and she’ll be very sad. Next time we won’t do something big. Please, Hannah.” He grinned.

  “If we work two extra hours each day, it would make up for the eight hours we’ll lose on Saturday and give our construction crew a whole weekend to waste their paycheck,” Cal said. “I bet we could get more work out of them if they know they’ve got two days off and money in their hot little hands.”