by Ava Miles
Jake felt a warm hand touch his arm, and he knew who it was before he even looked to the side. The power of Louisa’s touch was well known to him.
“Hey, sugar,” she said, embracing him. “I’m so happy for y’all. It’s the answer to one of my greatest prayers.”
Jake got all choked up. “You had a lot to do with it. Thank you. The words don’t seem like they’re enough, but they’re all I have.”
“Oh, they’re enough all right,” she said, and then stepped back to let the others offer their congratulations.
J.P. gave him a bear hug and said, “It’ll be nice to have someone else help with the McGuiness girls.”
Just then, Shelby and Sadie let out ear-piercing squeals.
“Three weeks!” Shelby yelled.
Amelia Ann, Tory, and Tammy all rushed over, and he watched as Susannah gestured with her hands, probably filling them in on the news.
“I like a man who doesn’t dither,” Rye said, slapping him on the back. “If you ask me, Tory and I did way too much of that. Sure, she was finishing her doctorate and all that jazz, but I would have whisked her off to Vegas in a heartbeat.”
“And been permanently prevented from ever having children,” Clayton said, shaking his hand. “Congratulations, Jake. I know you and Susannah are going to be very happy.”
He knew they were too, and as he made his way through the rest of the evening, he felt like his life was finally coming together.
Chapter 28
Finding a wedding dress for one woman was tough enough, but finding three wedding dresses in one day was the looniest notion ever, if you asked Shelby. And yet, somehow, Susannah, Tammy, and Amelia Ann managed to do just that on a blustery day in Nashville with all of the women from their extended family in tow.
Eight hours after their shopping trip had begun, Shelby’s feet were aching from all the bridal shops they’d visited. The restaurant they’d chosen to celebrate their shopping success was warmly lit, quiet, and it boasted some of the best drinks in Nashville.
“I love my dress,” Amelia Ann cooed out, awash in what Shelby termed “the bridal glow.” If she hadn’t suspected the others would judge her, she’d have said it rivaled afterglow.
“The organdy looks gorgeous on you, honey,” Tammy exclaimed, sipping her champagne cocktail. “Clayton will be a puddle on the ground when he sees you.”
“And J.P. too, sugar, when he sees you in that silk A-line,” Amelia Ann said, tapping their glasses together in a toast. “It’s classic.”
Shelby eyed Susannah, who was busy texting.
“Are you waxing poetic about your dress to your fiancé, honey?” Shelby drawled, trying to bring her sister back to the group. “If I weren’t so happy for you, I’d be tempted to put an ice cube down your shirt to help you focus.”
Usually Susannah stowed her phone when they got together, but she and Jake couldn’t bear to be apart without sending near-constant texts.
“Thank you for your restraint,” her sister said, her bridal glow only dimming a couple watts as she put her phone away. “I was seeing what he’s up to, is all. Why ever would I say anything about my dress? But he’ll go crazy when he sees what I’m wearing. Don’t you think I look like a fairy princess in it, Mama?”
“That and more,” Louisa said, holding a sleepy Annabelle against her side.
They hadn’t had the heart to make the little girl stay home with her brother, whom Dale was watching. Not when there was this much special shopping to do. Annabelle had been extra helpful picking out Tammy’s wedding dress, and she’d promised more than once not to tell anyone—including Rory—what any of the dresses looked like. Now she was all tuckered out, the poor thing.
“We should get this little one home,” Tammy said, rising and picking Annabelle up. “I feel like a bad mama, bringing her to a cocktail bar.”
“It’s a restaurant, Tammy,” Margaret informed her daughter. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about that.”
Shelby signaled for the check, but Margaret shook her head.
“This is on me,” she said, giving Tammy and Amelia Ann a warm smile. “I’m so grateful to be here to share in this special occasion with my two beautiful daughters. I’m…I love you both…so much.”
Knowing how much animosity had existed between Margaret and her daughters for much of their lives, Shelby felt herself tear up a bit at the emotion in the woman’s voice.
After they paid the bill, they bundled into the two cars they’d taken for the excursion. When they arrived at Rye’s house—mission central—they said their goodbyes and took off for their separate cars.
Sadie stopped Shelby with a hand on her arm before she could open her BMW.
“What?”
Her sister heaved out a breath. “I’ve prayed on it some, and after hearing Susannah talk about having J.P. take her down the aisle, I’ve decided I want to talk to our brother about looking for Daddy.”
She’d also had thoughts of their daddy today. Tammy and Amelia Ann would be shepherded down the aisle by Hampton, but Susannah was going to have to have J.P. do the honors. If they had tried to make contact with him long ago, back when Shelby had first thought about it, maybe their daddy would have been the one…
“Did you see the look on Mama’s face when Susannah mentioned it?” Shelby asked.
“Yes,” Sadie answered with an emphatic nod. “I wanted to ask Mama what she knew right then and there. So much so I was afraid I’d scream.”
Okay, now she was being overdramatic, but that was Sadie. “Do we have to do this now?”
“J.P. is going to be in a good mood, what with knowing that Tammy bought her wedding dress today. He’s likely to be more receptive.”
She couldn’t disagree with her sister’s logic.
“All right,” Shelby said, “but you’re going to have to swear not to get too dramatic or maudlin. He hates that.”
“Me? I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Her tone suggested she was truly clueless. “I’ll meet you at his house.”
“Dale was taking care of Rory, so he should be alone,” Sadie informed her. “Tammy took Annabelle home for a nap.”
“Unless one of the guys went over,” Shelby finished. “Let me text him.”
Since she was dreading this conversation, she rather hoped he might be hanging with the boys. But no, he fired a text right back with an invitation for them to swing on over.
“See you there,” she said.
“Drive slowly, so I can follow you,” Sadie called out. “I want to arrive with you.”
She got in her car, shaking her head. What did her sister think she was going to do? Spill the beans before she arrived?
They made it there five minutes later than Shelby normally would because Sadie was the most law-abiding citizen on the planet.
“You drive like an old maid,” Shelby informed her as they walked to J.P.’s front porch.
“Don’t call me an old maid,” Sadie said, nudging her in the ribs. “I’m already fit to be tied, thinking about talking to J.P. about this.”
“Me too,” she said, and they reached for each other’s hands as their brother answered the door.
“Somehow I expected to see more joy on your faces,” he said, kissing both their cheeks. “I take that to mean there was no luck in the dress department. Tammy only mentioned she was going with y’all to look.”
“Ah…” Shelby said, casting Sadie a glance. “Then mum’s the word on this end.”
“That’s not why we’re here,” her sister added.
J.P.’s brow knit as he studied them closer. “Best come on in. Can I get y’all something to drink?”
If Shelby hadn’t already consumed a cocktail, she would have asked for a glass of wine. “Sweet tea would be lovely.”
“For me too,” Sadie agreed, releasing their handhold to give Charleston a good rubbing behind the ears.
“I’ll fetch us some,” their brother said and headed to the
kitchen.
“Do you want to tell him?” Sadie asked in a harsh whisper, “or shall I? I think you should start with Gail’s news. J.P. respects her.”
Gail had only asked her once if she’d come to a decision about contacting a private investigator. One of the many things Shelby valued about her was that she knew when to be pushy and when not. “I’ll kick it off. You add your two cents.”
“What are the two of you whispering about?” J.P. asked. “Y’all are worrying me.”
Their brother stood in the doorway, three glasses in hand, eyeing them with concern. Charleston must have sensed it because he went over and nudged J.P. in the leg.
Shelby and Sadie took their glasses from him, but suddenly the tea didn’t seem like a good idea. She set hers aside, and Sadie did the same.
J.P.’s eyes narrowed as he placed his glass on the end table by theirs. “If sweet tea can’t make this better, I’m beyond worried now. Let’s have it.”
Shelby offered up a silent prayer and then asked, “Have you ever thought about finding Daddy?” she blurted out.
His face blanched, and since he was the steadiest force on the planet, Shelby felt immediate regret.
“Where’s all this interest coming from?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Considering the change in his body language, Shelby worried he was more closed to the conversation than Sadie had thought.
“We’ve been thinking about it a spell,” Sadie interjected, wringing her hands. “But truth be told, I’ve been wondering about Daddy my whole life. You were supposed to tell him about Gail first, Shelby.”
“I…forgot,” she said lamely. Somehow saying those words to her brother had shorted her brain.
Her brother took a moment to rub Charleston behind the ears. “Let’s sit a spell, shall we?”
They took up their sweet tea and walked into the music room. Shelby spotted one of Annabelle’s dolls sitting on the window seat. She clutched a pillow to her chest when she and Sadie sat on the couch. J.P. took an adjoining chair. All the sweet teas were arranged on the table, still untasted.
“Best start from the beginning,” he said calmly, but Shelby noticed his hands had fisted in his lap. “Let’s start with what Gail has to do with this.”
Shelby summarized her discussion with Gail, and then Sadie proceeded to tell him what Shelby would have called the long version of events, even going back to her high school genealogy project. Good heavens. Shelby let her talk, but each time she got a little dramatic, she’d put a hand on her thigh. Her sister took her cue and dialed it back.
J.P. listened the whole time, not interrupting once.
“And then there was all the talk about you walking Susannah down the aisle today…”
Sadie trailed off, and J.P. made a humming sound.
“I can see how that might have gotten you to thinking,” their brother said. “What about you, Shelby? How long have you been thinking about this?”
“For a long time as well,” she said simply.
“We know this would hurt Mama,” Sadie said, their shoulders touching now, mostly out of comfort.
“It would, but I can see why Gail’s news and the planning for Susannah’s wedding stirred you up,” J.P. said softly. “Have y’all decided to hire a private investigator?”
“We wanted to talk with you first,” Sadie said. “You’re…”
“I’m?” he asked, looking at her intently.
She bit her lip, which looked to be wobbling all the sudden. “Well…you’re rather like our brother and daddy all wrapped up in one.”
His mouth flattened and then he stood. “Come here, you two.”
They flew off the couch and into his arms. He wrapped them up and kissed them both on the head.
“Susannah got so mad at us when we mentioned it,” Sadie said, crying softly. “We don’t want to hurt anyone, J.P., I swear. We just want to know what happened to him and if he’s still alive.”
“And although I want to know about his family’s medical history, that’s not the only reason I want to look for him,” Shelby felt compelled to admit.
His chest rose with a deep breath, and then he set them both back so he could look at them. “I don’t know what you might find if you look. You know everything I know. I’m sorry you haven’t made your peace with it, but I understand where you’re coming from.”
“Have you really made your peace with it, J.P.?” Shelby asked.
“Mostly,” he said after a time. “I have some moments that creep up on me, but they don’t come too often anymore.”
“I’m happy for you,” she told him. “But we don’t have that same peace. If we decide to look for Daddy, it might give us that.”
Sadie nodded in solidarity.
“And it might not,” he said and sat back down. “He’s been gone decades.”
Shelby had thought of that. “I realize that. Do you know if Mama ever looked for him?”
“She did,” he told them. “She was as confused as everyone else.”
Her belly quivered. “Did the…did she ever contact the police?”
He leaned forward and put his hands on his knees. “What are you suggesting, Shelby? That there was foul play?”
“There could have been,” Sadie shot out, rushing to her defense. “That’s the point. We don’t know. All I keep doing is imagining. I want the truth. Darn it all, we deserve the truth.”
More silence followed as J.P. folded his hands in his lap. Shelby knew he was praying for guidance.
“If you want the truth, then you should do what your heart tells you to do.” He stroked Charleston, who had taken up sentry duty by his side. “But you need to understand what could come out of this. It might be nothing, or it might be something. Both could hurt.”
“We already hurt, J.P.,” Sadie said, her voice breaking, which made Shelby take her hand again.
“If we move forward, we don’t have to tell you what we find if you don’t want to know,” Shelby said. “Same goes for Susannah.”
Their brother stewed a time more. “And Mama? If you discover something, what will you do about her?”
She and Sadie shared a look, and she could all but feel her sister’s heart being pinched right alongside hers.
“Do you think we should tell her what we’re planning?” Shelby asked quietly.
“No!” Sadie said, jerking her hand away. “She never wants to talk about this. Why stir her up when we don’t know if anything will come of it?”
Shelby kept her gaze on J.P.’s. “Well?” she prodded.
“I don’t think you should tell her about hiring someone,” he said, rising and grabbing his sweet tea, which he downed in three gulps. “As for later…I honestly don’t know.”
Since her mouth was dry, she reached out for her sweet tea. Sadie did the same, her eyes troubled.
“Maybe we should pray on it some more then,” Sadie concluded, clutching her glass to her chest. “I would hate to hurt Mama.”
“But you’re hurting too,” J.P. said, proving yet again that he was the best brother out there.
“Do you think we should go through with it then?” Shelby asked, all of the pros and cons swirling in her mind.
“Are you going to be able to stop thinking about him? Susannah’s wedding is likely to stir it up more. And what happens when it’s your time to walk down the aisle?” He looked at them with gentle eyes. “You don’t want this to weigh on you on your wedding day.”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Shelby declared. Her own wedding? It seemed light-years away.
“Me either,” Sadie said, “but he’s right. I will be thinking about it on my wedding day, and I don’t want to be crying about it.”
On that they agreed.
“So we’ll look into hiring someone,” Shelby concluded, and Sadie nodded. “Gail recommended someone she’s used in the past.”
J.P. studied his boots thoughtfully, and Shelby waited to hear what he was working out
in his mind.
“Wait until Susannah is married a spell,” J.P. said in a grave voice. “We’ve gone a long while without knowing anything; a little more time won’t hurt. I don’t want any news of Daddy to mar her happiness.”
J.P. was right. “We can do that.”
“It’s only reasonable,” Sadie agreed. Then a thought struck her. “You’re getting married too. Do you want us to wait for you as well?”
His face softened and he shook his head. “That’s mighty sweet of you, but I’ll manage. Besides, I don’t think you could wait that long.”
“We would for you,” Sadie echoed.
“I know, and I’m glad you trusted me enough to talk to me about this,” their brother said, walking over and putting his hand on both of their shoulders. “It couldn’t have been easy.”
“Heavens no,” Sadie said, getting up to give him a good hug.
“We trust you,” Shelby said as she stood and put her arms around both her siblings.
They rocked in place for a spell, and when they broke apart, Shelby felt more grounded. J.P.’s support for their plan meant the world.
“Do you want to be a part of things?” Shelby asked him. “The hiring and the…um…process.”
He crossed his hands behind his back and didn’t answer all at once. “I don’t know. When the time comes, ask me again. I’ll pray about it in the meantime.”
They all would, in their own way, she guessed.
“We’d best be going,” Sadie said, picking up their glasses and taking them to the kitchen.
Left alone with J.P., Shelby leaned in and hugged him again. When she was little, his hugs were the best comfort in the whole world. That hadn’t changed much.
“I know it was hard on you,” she said, “seeing our side of things.”
He chuckled. “And yet it’s my biggest life lesson. You took me to a new level of listening and openness tonight. For a moment, I wanted to tell y’all to let it go.”
“So you have moments of weakness like the rest of us,” she teased gently.
“As if there was any doubt,” J.P. said and released her when Sadie returned.
They embraced again, and Sadie brushed away more tears as he walked them to the door.