Small Town Romance Collection: Four Complete Romances & A New Novella

by Brown, Carolyn

  "Sure," she said. "But you'd better let me have some time to get this hair under control if you want me to be ready for church and keep my smile pasted on for pictures, too."

  Clancy stood up and bowed. "Your wish is my command. I'm outta here."

  All four of them paraded into the church just moments before the morning services began. The minister, Dillon Williamson, had graduated just a year after Clancy and Angel, and this was his first year as a preacher in Tishomingo. He preached from Matthew 5, about the Sermon on the Mount, and Angela could almost feel the heat rising from the pews as he came to the part about judging one's neighbor. Then she realized that she'd done just that. She'd decided what people's attitude toward her would be before she even talked to them. It was pretty silly to think she would be the only one who'd changed by the time she'd come back to Tishomingo with Clancy.

  Angel smoothed the skirt of her ecru linen suit and felt the security and warmth of Clancy's hand over hers as he reached across his lap and held her left hand with his and draped his right arm around her. Tom and Meredith sat beside them, only their shoulders touching, like a couple who had been married for twenty years instead of less than a week.

  "Nice to meet you, Angel," the minister shook hands with her at the back of the church. "We hope Clancy brings you again real soon."

  "Thank you," she smiled brightly. "Maybe he will."

  The caterer had been busy while they were at church for an hour. Lace cloths covered round tables for four, arranged around the pool. Bouquets of fresh roses and daisies decorated the middle of each table, already set with silver wrapped in a crisp white linen napkin. Just outside the dining-room doors, a long table held barbecued brisket, chicken and ribs, baked beans and potato salad, along with several trays of fresh fruit, cheese, and raw vegetables. The three-tiered wedding cake, topped with a pair of porcelain love birds sitting in an orange blossom nest, was the centerpiece for the longest table, with a silver coffee service on one end and a silver punch bowl on the other.

  "Just a little informal lunch?" Angel raised an eyebrow at Clancy when they walked out the patio door. "Lord, I ought to run in my room and put on the only party dress I brought along. I didn't think I'd be needing anything formal at the beach. Or Tishomingo."

  "You look fine." Clancy checked her out, from her high-heeled sandals, to her shapely legs and then on up to the light brown silk dress suit, to the plain gold chain around her neck. Then he slowly made his eyes leave the place between her breasts which he would've liked to kiss right then, and go up to her face. Softly rounded, with a full mouth and flawless skin, flashing green eyes full of mischief, and to the top of that thick, curly hair, which she fussed and fumed about and he thought was adorable.

  "I'd say you'd probably look good in a burlap sack tied up in the middle with a piece of rope," he said seriously, but his twinkling eyes gave him away and she slapped his arm.

  "Oh, hush, what do you know?" she said, but her heart was happy.

  "I know a beautiful woman when I see one," Clancy said honestly, taking her in his arms for a long kiss in spite of the catering crew around them. "Whew, I thought I was going to die before I could get another kiss." He wiped his brow dramatically.

  "Clancy, you are full of bull—"

  He put his fingers over her mouth. "Here comes Wilma Jones. If she hears you say that entire word, she'll drop down on her knees and commence to praying for your soul right here and now," he whispered in mock seriousness, then turned abruptly. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Jones. Would you remember Angela Conrad? She lived here when we were in high school,"

  Clancy said, bringing Angel to stand beside him with his arm around her shoulder.

  "Nope, can't say as I do." Mrs. Jones shook her head. "Pretty woman, though, Clancy. If you had half a brain, you'd keep her close to you. Now, where is your mother? I want to offer my congratulations. Some folks is talking about her marryin' up with Tom, but they're just jealous because they don't have someone treat them that good." The old woman shook her finger under his nose as if she were preaching him a sermon.

  "Whew, close call," Angel giggled when she was out of hearing distance. "I think I like Mrs. Jones. She says what she thinks."

  "Yep, she does. Don't you remember her from church when we were in school?"

  "Clancy, I didn't go to this church. I went with my granny to the Methodist church over on the other side of town," she reminded him.

  In a few minutes, most of the people Meredith had invited were milling around among the tables, visiting as they drank punch. Several stopped by to be introduced to Angel. Some remembered her vaguely; others didn't. But in a while, she began to feel more comfortable. Then Tom and Meredith appeared together at the back door and Tom clapped his hands three times to get everyone's attention.

  "Merrie and I want to thank you for coming to share this special time with us," he smiled brightly. "We're truly glad you are here. I know you're all hungry and we appreciate you waitin' while the photographer snapped a few pictures of us. He's got a real strong camera. My ugly mug didn't even break it! Now, let's all form a line right here and start eating." He took Meredith's hand in his and led her to the food table.

  "Clancy!" his mother called to him across the pool. "The photographer is waiting for you and Angel inside. I told him to be sure to take your picture together before he leaves." She pointed through the glass doors.

  Clancy looked at Angel somewhat hesitantly. No matter what, he didn't wanted to pressure her but Angel nodded in agreement.

  "Let me freshen my makeup and lipstick. I'll just be a minute."

  She passed Clancy's old bedroom and heard women talking. She started on past the door which was cracked just enough for her to see three women sitting on a bed, when she heard her name.

  "Well, Janie told me that Melissa was pregnant," one of the trio said. "And it's not her husband's baby. She went down to Florida to try to get Clancy to marry her again, but she found Angel down there with him. I hope his mother knows what Clancy is getting into."

  "Oh, Meredith's got her head so far up in the clouds, she wouldn't know straight up from backwards right now," the second one said.

  "Well, don't knock it!" the third woman added tartly. "I've lived alone ever since my Frank died, and I don't like it. If I'd known Tom Lloyd was lookin' for a wife, I would've been out at that cemetery so fast it would make you swoon, Linda. Meredith is a good woman and she was a good wife to that first husband of hers. He was rich as Midas, too. But uppity. Can you imagine the late Mr. Morgan out there on his knees doin' yard work or lookin' at Meredith like she was a queen? Lord, I'd lay down on the freeway and die a happy woman for just one day of a good man lookin' at me like that."

  "Don't change the subject. Do you really think Melissa and Clancy are through?" The first voice sounded incredulous.

  "Of course they are! They shouldn't ever have gotten married in the first place. Melissa's always been hateful. But I don't remember this Angela much. I think she was one of those kids who blend with the background in high school, but she sure doesn't now. I'd love to have that figure she's got," the lady said and Angel almost giggled out loud.

  "In my opinion Melissa has gone too far," one of them said. "I heard her husband's thrown her out. This is one time that spoiled brat isn't getting her way. But we'd better get on out to the reception before the food's all gone. Those women with husbands should be through the line now and us old widow women can have what's left." She stood up and Angel barely had time to ease the bathroom door shut before they paraded down the hall and out the door.

  She checked the mirror and was only slightly surprised to see two round spots of color on her cheeks. It had been a long time since anyone or anything made her blush. She reapplied her lipstick and went back to the living room where Clancy waited patiently.

  "Well, this will be a pleasure." The photographer eyed her, impressed with what he saw. "Don't often get the opportunity to look at someone this pretty through the lens."

&nbs
p; She blushed again, and Clancy laughed. "Is that a touch of red I see on the cheeks of this brazen hussy," he whispered so low only she could hear him. "The same one who—"

  "Shhhhh," she hissed, and spoke to the photographer.

  "Thank you. Now where do you want us to stand?"

  "How about here by the fireplace? Clancy, stand behind her and put your arms around her waist. Lean back just slightly, Angel," the man said, posing them with authority, "tilt your head just a little. Now look at me with those big, green eyes and don't smile," he said, and she smiled beautifully.

  "Works every time." His flash lit up the whole room.

  "Now let's do one in the antique chair. Sit down, Angel. Clancy, you stand behind her with your hands on her shoulders."—He demonstrated—"Like that. Very good."

  In fifteen minutes, they were finished and back outside just in time to follow the three talkative women through the food line. Angel piled her plate as high as Clancy did, vowing she could eat a whole cow if someone would knock the horns off and heat it up on a charcoal grill for her. She even whispered in his ear that she'd worked up an appetite the night before, and then it was Clancy's turn to blush.

  "Oh, that's Angela Conrad. She was Clancy's high school sweetheart before he and Melissa got married," they overheard one man telling another as they walked past.

  "Well, when he gets tired of her, he can send her over my way," another one said with a chuckle.

  "Oh, Raymond, you're too damned old to know what to do with her," the man beside him chided. "Besides, what would someone that pretty want with an old coot like you? I heard tell she's got an oil company and enough money to buy this whole town and plow it under for a garden if she wanted to."

  "Gossip, gossip." Clancy rolled his eyes as they sat down at one of the tables.

  "But it's nice gossip." Angel picked up a napkin and spread it out over her lap, then reached across the table for another one to set beside her plate. "I'm messy when I eat ribs," she said, "but I love them!"

  "You love any food!" He laughed.

  "You would, too, if you'd lived for a whole year on pork and beans and wienies," she said haughtily. "Besides, I'm one of those fortunate women who can eat whatever she wants and not worry about calories or fat grams. I'm so active and burn them so fast, I can eat what I want. And I love to eat. . . so I'm goin' to!"

  "Yes, ma'am." He picked up a rib and bit into it, grinning at her.

  "Let me have your attention." Tom tapped the edge of his glass with his fork. "The caterers are bringing a little champagne toast around to your tables now," he said, as women dressed in white slacks and tops brought silver trays with fluted crystal glasses of champagne and set one beside each person. "I would like to propose a toast to my new bride." He raised his own glass high in the hot afternoon breeze. "To my Merrie, who has made me happy at a time in my life when I thought happiness was just a dream I had lost forever. May we celebrate our fiftieth anniversary together," Tom winked at Meredith and clinked his glass against hers. "I love you," he said, as he looked into her eyes, not caring who heard him.

  "Now, don't swallow it all in one gulp, I've got another toast," he said hurriedly. "This is to my wife's son, Clancy and his Angel. They were high school sweethearts, and now they're back together again. To you two kids. May you find the same happiness Merrie and I have found." He raised his glass high toward them and then polished off the rest of what was in it.

  "Thank you." Clancy rose to his feet. "And a toast from me if anyone has anything left in their glasses. If not, raise your hand, and the caterers will be around to fill it again. To my Mama, who's been my friend as well as my parent. I thought my father was the most wonderful man in the whole world, and I have to admit, I didn't think I'd ever like anyone else taking his place. But Tom has made a place of his own, both in Mama's heart and in mine. So to Tom, my new friend. And to Angel—my one and only." Clancy clinked his glass with Angel's and tossed back the champagne in one swallow.

  He had barely sat back down when one of the caterers brought him a cordless phone. "For you, sir. The phone rang in the kitchen area and one of my helpers answered it. The caller asked for you," he explained, and disappeared.

  "Hello?" Clancy pushed the button and waited.

  His eyes suddenly filled with tears and his chin quivered. "We'll be there in an hour and a half," he said. "Yes, she's with me. I'll bring her, too. Tell him we're on our way."

  Angel looked at him with questions in her eyes. He'd gone from carefree and happy to looking just like he had that afternoon when he'd met her at the cemetery. The world seemed to be weighing on his broad shoulders, and there was no way out from under.

  "What's wrong?" she asked.

  "That was Anna. Red's had a heart attack. They've got him in the hospital in Denison and he's asking for the two of us. I was wondering why they weren't here."

  Tears started down her cheeks, streaking her makeup and landing on the linen suit in great drops. "I'll get my things together, Clancy," she said quietly. "We can leave in five minutes. And take a suitcase. We'll stay at my apartment in Denison. There's no need for you to come back here until Red's condition is stable."

  Fourteen

  Red's wife met them at the hospital door. Angel had never seen her look so upset. Anna's makeup was smeared from tears and her gray hair was uncombed. And the skin tight jeans which were her trademark had long since lost their perfect crease from top to bottom.

  "How is he?" Angel hugged her old friend tightly and felt Anna's thin shoulders shudder as she gave way to a whole new set of sobs.

  "Red's goin' to make it. The doctor's said this heart attack was just a little one, but it sure scared me. While we were waiting for the ambulance, I realized that I didn't even know how much I loved him until I nearly lost him. I thought he was gone, Angel. I really thought he was gone," she cried on Angel's shoulder. "Oh, Clancy," Anna broke one arm away and brought him into the hug. "He started asking for you a couple of hours ago. I told him to wait till mornin', but Red said to call you right now. Only immediate family is allowed in intensive care, but he's pitched such a fit, they said you two could go in if it will calm him down."

  "Are you sure?" Angel drew back and looked at her. "We don't want to upset or worry him. Most of all, we don't want to excite him. Maybe we ought to wait till tomorrow morning."

  "Nope. Red intends to see Clancy tonight," Anna said. "I'll go with you up to the floor where he is, and wait in the lobby until he visits with you. The nurses damned sure would never allow all three of us in there at once. They said you could only stay five minutes. He's done told me what he intends to say, and I agree with him, Clancy. So listen to him. And besides, he's afraid to go to sleep before he speaks his mind."

  They found Red in a quiet room at the end of the intensive care ward. An oxygen tube was stretched around his freckled face and attached under his nose. An IV dripped into his sinewy left arm, which had seen more hard work in its sixty years than most men saw in one lifetime. A green line wiggled across a television monitor to their right, recording his heartbeat and keeping track of everything going on inside that part of Red few people knew. He looked so much smaller in a hospital bed than he did when Angel had wheeled and dealed with him over oil wells. When he sat across a conference table from her, haggling over the price of a well, he seemed to be ten feet tall and made of steel. Tonight he looked like someone's grandpa, with wispy red hair turning gray, and deep wrinkles around his mouth.

  "Afternoon, you two kids." Red smiled brightly at them, a little color returning and his eyes regaining a bit of their normal sparkle. "Glad you come down here. Saves me a trip up to your place, because I was determined to see you even if it hare-lipped the governor."

  "Red, you old devil." Clancy bent over the bed and hugged him gently, then Angel did the same. "You've given us a scare. Angel cried all the way down here, and I couldn't swallow the lump in my throat."

  "Good, "Red said. "I'm glad y'all love me that much. It'll mak
e what I've got to say a lot easier. Now I've been asking—even begging—you to come to work for me, Clancy. You've always been like a son to me and Anna—the son we couldn't have."

  The older man paused dramatically for effect and continued.

  "Not that you've been around much lately. But you're a grown man with your own life to live and maybe you liked teaching high school kids. But the time has come for me to ask you a kind of a favor. Clancy, I'm too old for the stress of running an oil company. I've got to slow down."

  "All right," Clancy nodded. "I was going to call you next week with my decision anyway—"

  Red held up a hand.

  "Now hear me out. I'm talking about more than just a job. I figure I've got a few years left, and anything I can't teach you, Angel can. She's smarter'n me, anyway, but I'm older and I've got more experience, so you're goin' to learn from me first. Me and Anna had our wills drawn up a while back, and Texanna Red will be yours when I'm gone. All of it, lock, stock, rigs, and barrel.

  "And the time has come for you to start learnin' how to run it. You're throwing away that degree in geology and chemistry, as far as I'm concerned.

  "Now Patty told me last week about you two. You and Angel can be competitors or you can be partners. I don't give a damn if later on down the road you consolidate Texanna Red and Conrad Oil or if you keep them separate and fight over who makes the most money. And I want you to know how to run the company so I won't cash in the chips worryin' about some smart woman like Angel takin' advantage of your stupidity. And I'd like to see my two favorite people together before I die." He shut his eyes and breathed deeply, putting on a touch of a show but convinced that neither Clancy or Angel could figure that out.

  "Red, I'll work for you, and you don't have to leave the oil company to me," Clancy almost blushed again.

  "Get on out of here," Red whispered dramatically. "Come see me tomorrow. First I have to teach you to run it. Half of the company is yours right now, the rest when I'm gone. Maybe before that day, I'll get to bounce a grandbaby on my shaky old knees?"