The Lullaby Sky

by Carolyn Brown

  “I do,” she said softly as she fought back the tears. Not once when Marty danced with her at those fancy parties had she felt the way she did right then with the soft grass under her feet.

  It would be so easy not only to love Travis but to fall in love with him.

  Hannah arose early on Thursday morning to a quiet house. The week had gone by in a flash, but then, the whole month had done the same thing. Could it have really only been a short time ago that she was petrified in that courtroom? And after June was finished and July began, would she stop counting the weeks, the days, and the hours since that day?

  She tiptoed down to the kitchen and found a note propped up on a box with ten doughnuts left out of the original dozen that let her know that Travis had filled his coffee thermos and the machine was ready to turn on for the second pot of the morning. Evidently he’d made a run to the convenience store that morning before he headed off to the hangar to get to work on Cal’s new place. Things were coming along so well that Cal was hoping to get moved into his loft apartment by July Fourth.

  Every other word out of Darcy’s mouth was Cal, or else something about the new apartment. Hannah didn’t need a road map to know that the bed in the loft was what Darcy was most interested in.

  She raised the lid to the doughnut box and removed one, eating it standing up while the coffee dripped into the pot. She licked her fingers and reached for a second one.

  “Good morning. We finally get a minute alone?” Patsy ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it up into a ponytail on the top of her head. “Anything planned for this day, or do we get to stay home and visit?”

  Hannah ran water over her fingers and dried them on a paper towel and then poured two cups of coffee and carried them to the table. “We’re having everyone over for hamburgers and hot dogs tonight. Travis and Cal are grilling, but it will be a late supper, because they’re working until at least six thirty. The only plan I have is to walk down there and see how the new business and apartment are shaping up. You got something you want to do?”

  “I do.” Patsy nodded. “Did you get up early and go buy these?”

  “Travis did,” Hannah answered.

  “He’s a good man. Don’t ever make the mistake of judging him by Marty’s standard.”

  “I won’t,” Hannah said. “What do you want to do today?” Hannah set the box on the table and removed a third one.

  “I have about six old friends who have planned a get-together in Gainesville. We are going to meet there at two o’clock, take in the antique stores downtown, and then have supper and go back to the closest one’s house for coffee and dessert. I need to borrow your car and I may be late getting home.”

  “No problem with you taking my car, but we can talk right now, right? I don’t feel like I’ve had nearly enough one-on-one time with you,” Hannah said.

  “We can talk. You never did get around to telling me about this Arabella person. I heard all about Jodie and Elaine but not the last one.” Patsy fished out a doughnut and dipped it into her coffee.

  Hannah started at the beginning and tried to tell Patsy about the emotional roller coaster as well as the order of the events of that evening and the next morning. “It felt like much longer, Mama. And yet, by the time she left, I’d made a friend from what I thought was an enemy. My heart is broken because Sophie will have a sister and never know her.”

  Patsy reached across the table to lay a hand on Hannah’s arm. “It’s best that way. Fate brought you and Arabella together. One never knows how it might bring Sophie and her half sister together. Maybe another one of Marty’s women will shoot the son of a bitch, and then the way will be open for Sophie and her sister before they are adults.”

  “Mama!” Hannah chided.

  “One can only hope. Now, let’s talk about Travis. Y’all looked like you belonged together out there dancing under the stars. But don’t get in a hurry about anything. Follow your heart, but go slow.”

  “You saw us?” Hannah blushed.

  “I looked out the window and it was a beautiful sight.” Patsy smiled.

  “I could fall in love with him. He’s so good to Sophie and me both,” Hannah said honestly.

  “But what happens when you are in his arms—sparks or just a nice comfortable feeling?”

  “Fire. Pure, white-hot blazes like I never ever felt with Marty,” she said.

  “Then it’s worthwhile. I thought he was the one for you in high school.”

  “You never said anything.” Hannah frowned.

  “My mother refused to let me date or marry the love of my life. I married your father and she loved him. He was a good man and a wonderful father, but the spark that I felt with the other boy was never there. I promised myself I would never interfere in your love life, much to my dismay for the last few years. I thought I would die when I found out that Marty was abusing you.” Patsy paused and then went on. “I saw my daughter go from a slightly shy woman with a big heart to one who would hardly lift up her head.”

  “He had a pretty good hold on me with Sophie,” Hannah said.

  “I know that, and it’s the only reason he’s still breathing. I want to see you happy, and I have no doubt that Travis can make you happy. But for his sake as well as yours, you need to be whole again before you make a major life-changing decision about anything.”

  Hannah laid her hand over her mother’s. “I agree with you, Mama.”

  “Good, now let’s go outside and watch the grass grow while we drink our coffee. It’s a beautiful morning. When Sophie crawls out of bed, we’ll go take a look at the hangar.” Patsy squeezed her hand and swallowed. “I have a confession before we go.”

  “Which is?” Hannah asked.

  “Travis helped me keep tabs on you, so I’ve known how he feels about you, and my advice is still the same.” Patsy picked up her cup and headed outside.

  “So y’all have been talking behind my back?” Hannah didn’t know whether to be angry or love both of them even more for caring so much about her.

  “We have, darlin’.”

  “Well, all I can say is that I’m just glad for the progress I’ve made and for the friends and family who’ve gotten me to this point.”

  “Me, too, Hannah.”

  July Fourth sneaked up on Hannah. She’d gotten so used to having her mother with her that she hadn’t given herself time to think about the day that Patsy would go back to Virginia. So that Monday morning when Sophie bounced on her bed and woke her up just after sunrise, she finally had to face the fact that today was Patsy’s last full day in Texas.

  “Oh, no!” She buried her face in her pillow.

  “What is oh, no, Mama?” Sophie asked in a worried voice.

  “Your granny goes home tomorrow.”

  “Oh, no!” Sophie fell face forward into the extra pillow. “Say it ain’t so, Mama.”

  “It is, Sophie, but she wants us to come to her house for Thanksgiving, or if not then, maybe Christmas. You’ve never been to Virginia, so what do you think?”

  “Would it take a long time to get there?”

  Hannah cut her eyes over at Sophie, but all she could see was a mop of curly black hair covering her face. “Only a few hours, because we would probably fly in an airplane.”

  “Nooooo!” Sophie sat up so fast that her little eyes took a moment to adjust. “We can’t get in an airplane. It might take us to Father and he’ll be mad at us.”

  Hannah quickly popped up and drew Sophie into her lap. “Not Father’s airplane. That’s gone. This would be a big airplane like what your granny came on. They go all different places.”

  Sophie’s dark-brown eyes locked with Hannah’s. “Promise.”

  “I promise, and you’ll get to see your great-grandmother. That’s Granny’s mama.”

  It had been six years since Hannah had been out of the state of Texas. She and her mother used to go to Virginia every year during Christmas break and for a week during the summer. After Hannah graduated from high scho
ol and got a job in the admissions office at the hospital, she and Liz rented the apartment in Gainesville. Hannah’s father died, and her mother moved to Virginia. She still went to see her mother and grandmother at Christmas until Marty came into her world and life changed drastically.

  My life in a nutshell, she thought as she rocked back and forth with Sophie in her lap as if she was still a tiny baby.

  “Granny has a mama!” Sophie gasped. “How old is she? Did she ever see a dinosaur?”

  Hannah stiffened her lip to keep from laughing. “You’ll have to ask her sometime when we go to Virginia, or better yet, when Granny gets home, maybe she could take her computer to the place where your great-granny lives and you could talk to her on the Internet. I bet she’d like that. But today we have the parade and the fireworks this evening and the Crossing festival. Maybe we should get dressed and go make breakfast so you don’t miss riding on the church float.”

  It took two leaps for Sophie to leave her mother’s lap and land on the floor. “I’ll wake Granny up. I want to wave right at her when I’m on the float, so she’ll need her coffee to get awake.”

  Hannah stretched, rolling her neck from side to side. The weatherman had said it would be a sunny, hot holiday, which was exactly what Independence Day should be. Sophie would be ecstatic over the small carnival set up in the lot beside the convenience store. There were several kiddie rides along with ponies and a few vendors just waiting to take money to win a stuffed animal or a rubber duck.

  She threw off her nightshirt and dressed in khaki shorts and a bright-red tank top before heading to the kitchen in her bare feet. Travis was already there, and the coffee was ready.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” He poured a cup and handed it to her. “Big day in Crossing. How long has it been since you’ve had cotton candy?”

  “Our senior trip to Six Flags. We shared a bag, remember?” she answered.

  “It was purple, and you got more than I did,” he teased.

  She touched him on the upper arm. “I’ll let you have the lion’s share today to make up for it.”

  He drew her to his side and kissed her on the top of the head. “I already have the lion’s share just being here with you and Sophie. Where is the princess? I heard her running in the foyer.”

  “In Mama’s room. I told her that we might go to Virginia sometime, maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas. I didn’t set a date in stone, because we don’t know who’s going to win that bet about Darcy and Cal’s wedding. I did tell her that she could see her great-granny on the computer screen. She’s all excited about it.”

  “Yes.”

  She looked up at his strong jaw and his twinkling eyes. “Yes to what?”

  “If you go to Virginia, I want to go with y’all.”

  Hannah smiled. “Of course you are invited.”

  “When I’m with you, all is good. When we are apart, I’m lost. I do not like that feeling,” he drawled.

  “That may be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.” She rolled up on her toes, cupped his face in her hands, and brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss that left them both speechless.

  “That meant something,” he said. “At least it did to me.”

  “It did.” She laid her head on his chest. “It means that I know the difference in loving you and being in love with you. I know what you were talking about, Travis. I’m looking forward, but I need to do it slowly. And it means that I doubt if the fireworks tonight will be nearly as spectacular as your kisses or having you in my life.”

  “When did you know?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure. It wasn’t one of those instant moments. At the river that day when we were fishing, I listened to what my heart was telling me, and it was like a warm blanket around me on a cold night. But don’t think for one minute that what we have is just a comfortable feeling. You leave me breathless when you kiss me, and there’s sparks all over the room when you look at me,” she said softly. “But I cannot rush into this, Travis.”

  “We can go at a snail’s pace as long as I know you’re right there beside me.”

  “Always,” she said.

  EPILOGUE

  Thanksgiving

  Hannah awoke to the aroma of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. She quickly threw on a robe and tiptoed down the stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Warm spiced cider waited in the Crock-Pot and cinnamon rolls were cooling on the table, along with a carafe of milk and a pot of coffee. Patsy wore an apron with a turkey on the front over a lovely burnt-orange dress.

  “Happy Thanksgiving!” She hugged her daughter. “You’re the first one up and around, but I expect the smell of cinnamon will wake the others before long.”

  “It’s better than an alarm clock, Mama. Are we eating at four?”

  “Tradition,” Patsy said.

  “Good morning,” Aunt Birdie and Miss Rosie said in unison as they came in the back door. “This looks wonderful. Is that spiced cider?”

  “It is. Help yourselves,” Patsy said. “It’s so nice to have a houseful on Thanksgiving. This is the way it should be.”

  “And you will come back at Christmas, right?” Aunt Birdie asked.

  “If the airports aren’t closed down with ice or snow. I’ve also promised Sophie that Hannah will bring her to Virginia for spring break. Her great-grandmother wants to meet her.” Patsy nodded. “She loves their video chats, but she says she can’t hug Sophie on a computer screen.”

  Hannah could feel Travis’s presence long before he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to his chest. She’d thought that the effects of his touch might lessen as the months went by, but they only got more intense.

  “Good mornin’, beautiful,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Good mornin’ to you.” She wiggled around so she could wrap her arms around his neck and give him a proper Thanksgiving kiss.

  “I think they are in love.” Miss Rosie chuckled.

  “In love is different than loving,” Travis echoed Hannah’s often-repeated phrase.

  “Of course it is,” Patsy said.

  “Thanks, Mama.” Hannah stepped away from Travis. “Now, what can I do to help?”

  “You and these folks can sit down and have warm cinnamon rolls for breakfast. This is your day, and you aren’t going to help do much of anything. Besides, everything else is ready except the big old bird. I’ll put him in the oven after breakfast and cook him slowly while we go take care of business. Ten o’clock will be here before you know it. Pull up a chair.”

  “Ten? I thought you said four,” Miss Rosie said.

  “We have a little surprise up our sleeves for ten this morning.” Patsy’s smile looked as innocent as a newborn lamb.

  “We are taking pictures of the whole bunch of us. So after breakfast everyone needs to get dressed,” Hannah said.

  “You are saying that we can’t take pictures in our pajamas?” Liz teased.

  “I’m framing one to go above the credenza,” Hannah said.

  “Enough said.” Liz smiled.

  “This is a very special day,” Patsy said.

  “Hey! Oh. My. Sweet. Lord! I have not had your cinnamon rolls since we were all in high school.” Cal quickly pulled out a chair and sat down. “And is that mulled cider I smell? This is heaven.”

  Darcy stopped in the middle of a yawn and sat down in Cal’s lap. “It is cider. I helped Patsy put it together last night.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Can you believe it’s only a few more weeks until I get to marry this man?”

  “The only reason that she’s marrying me is because she got tired of running away from me.” Cal separated a roll from the others and put it on a plate. He fed the first bite to Darcy, who rolled her eyes in appreciation.

  “Just like I remembered. You have not lost your touch, Patsy.”

  “Good! I was telling the rest of them that Hannah and I have a little surprise ready at ten this morning. We want to take a few pictures before the Thanksgivin
g Day parade starts.”

  “Pictures of the whole bunch of us,” Patsy said. “We’ve got a professional photographer coming. Y’all pull up a chair and have a cinnamon roll.”

  “Would not turn down an offer like that for anything,” Aunt Birdie said.

  “We should have pictures of all of us. This is our first Thanksgiving all together since we were seniors in high school,” Darcy said.

  Patsy took a second pan of rolls from the oven and set them on the table before she sat down. “So, Liz, how’s school going this year?”

  “Wonderful. And I love living in Aunt Birdie’s house—I can’t tell you what it means to me that it is now the safe house.”

  “But Mama, we don’t say anything about it in front of Sophie. She went to church and told her friends about her new friends who lived in our house. That’s why we had to move the operation,” Hannah explained.

  “I’m not a bit surprised. I bet everyone thought she was talking about her imaginary friends, didn’t they? But it is much safer for the women to be across the street, especially when school starts and Sophie is with kids every day.”

  Travis chuckled. “We were saved by Sophie’s imagination.”

  “We were saved by Liz. The fact that she’s living in and taking care of that big house for me means me and Rosie can go places in our ‘retirement.’” Aunt Birdie made air quotes around the last word. “It’s nice to be able to go on a cruise or a senior citizens’ trip up through the East Coast to see the foliage. Things are working out in Crossing, even if it did take a while to get it all done.”

  Miss Rosie poured a second cup of coffee and reached for her third cinnamon roll. “We are getting to be regular old gadabouts.”

  “I think that is wonderful.” Patsy laughed.

  “Who’s got a secret?” Sophie wandered into the room and crawled up in her grandmother’s lap. “When does everyone come for the pictures?”

  “After breakfast.” Hannah poured a small glass of milk and slipped a cinnamon roll onto a plate for Sophie.

  Sophie put a bite of the gooey bun in her mouth and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Did you make this, Granny, or did God?”