by Sharon Sala
“That’s not all,” Cathy said. “Last night, Junior Cooper uploaded the video of our little altercation in the parking lot at the Crown. Mavis said it went viral. I’d bet good money you become the hero of the moment because of it.”
The smile slid off Duke’s face. “Uh, well, I’m not sure all that is necessary,” he said.
Cathy burst into laughter, and was still laughing when Jack and Hope walked in.
“What’s so funny?” Jack asked, and then looked at his brother and started grinning. “What did you do, Duke?”
Duke frowned. “Why does it have to be something I did?”
Hope hugged him. “Because, darling…you are so good at putting your foot in it.”
Cathy shook her head. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. Long story short…the video of what happened yesterday was uploaded to social media, and it went viral last night. I just told Duke there was every possibility that he was going to be the darling of the internet for some time. I think it just startled him. And I’m sorry for laughing at you, sweetheart.”
Duke grinned wryly. “Hey…if I have to spread myself around a little to satisfy my fans, I guess I can pull it together enough to participate.”
They were still laughing when he took the last of the pancakes off the griddle, but the conversation soon changed to the food and the day, and they all forgot about what was going on beyond their walls.
Chapter 16
Unfortunately, Blaine’s day of hell was just beginning. He was at breakfast when his phone signaled a text. He glanced at it and noticed it was from one of his casino managers. Thinking there must be a problem at the casino, he pulled it up, then frowned.
The message was vague, but the manager had sent a link.
Boss. You need to see this ASAP.
So Blaine clicked on the link, then quickly realized it was the confrontation between Cathy and Gage Brewer. But the shocker came when he plainly heard her say his name, and that he had threatened to kill her. His heart stopped. When she asked Brewer if he was the hitman her husband sent to take her out, he groaned.
And then his maid brought in the morning newspapers and the first one he opened had a story on the front page with a still picture of the confrontation, and his name and his ex-wife’s name front and center.
“What the fresh hell is this?” he shrieked, and grabbed his phone and called his lawyer. The call went straight to voicemail, which infuriated him, so he called him again, and again, and again, until the call was finally answered.
“Hello.”
Blaine frowned. The terse tone of his lawyer’s voice did not sit well with him.
“Why the hell didn’t you pick up? I need you.”
“I was making love to my wife, and she takes precedence over everything, including you. Now what do you want?”
Blaine wanted to argue, but something told him this was not the time to denigrate a woman, especially when one had just thrown him into his own personal pit of hell.
“I’m sorry. But I have a thing happening that needs to be stopped.”
“I already sent a lawyer to get your PI bonded out today,” he said.
“It’s not that. The whole thing is all over the morning papers, and the video is on social media. Her words, saying I threatened her life. Her words, saying I sent a hitman to kill her. I need a gag order immediately.”
“Why? The words have already been said. The world has heard them. Your smartest move is to keep your mouth shut and leave her the hell alone. And that’s advice coming from your lawyer.”
“But she can’t prove I said them,” Blaine argued.
“And you can’t prove you didn’t,” he said. “You caused this by stalking her…which, may I say, makes you look guilty as hell. How long did you have her watched and tailed before she left Vegas?”
Blaine didn’t answer.
“Once she was gone, why did you care where she went? She wasn’t bothering you. She wasn’t interfering in your business.”
Again, Blaine was quiet.
“Think about it, Mr. Wagner. Think very carefully. You need to hire a public relations firm to clean up your image and quit worrying about a woman who divorced you. If she files charges against you, you are going to have a hard time explaining why you felt the need to stalk her for all these months…and why you sent someone all the way across the country to find where she went. You, sir, are teetering on the brink of a personal disaster. And that’s speaking as your lawyer, of course. If you have need of my services, you know how to reach me.”
Blaine hung up. His heart was hammering against his chest in panicked irregularity. If anything happened to her now, he would be the first one the authorities would blame.
He got up from the table and walked out onto the terrace beyond the breakfast room to get some air. He needed to think. Maybe a long trip abroad would be the answer. Just let everything die down, and by the time he came back, this would all be old news.
Just as he was feeling like he’d settled on a plan that would work, his phone rang again, and when he saw who was calling, it occurred to him that he might not be able to run far enough or fast enough to get away from what was coming down on him now.
So he took a deep breath and shifted the tone of his voice into one of authority.
“Hello. This is Blaine.”
“Mr. Wagner. We need to talk.”
Blaine sat down on a bench out on the terrace, gripping his phone in white-knuckled fear, listening to the displeasure and the thinly veiled threat in the Chairman’s voice.
“You made a very dangerous mistake, and we are not pleased,” the Chairman said. “Any shadow of indiscretion on you comes back on us as well. You see that, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir, I understand, but let me assure you that none of this is true,” Blaine said.
“Don’t lie. You aren’t good at it. What you need to understand is that we expect all of this to go away ASAP. If you persist in your pursuit of this woman, then I advise you to get your affairs in order.”
Oh Jesus. “I have no intention of engaging her further. I will be traveling abroad for the next few months, giving all of this time to fade away,” Blaine said.
“Consider yourself warned,” the Chairman said, and hung up.
Blaine’s stomach roiled. He stood, then lurched to the side of the terrace, leaned over the railing, and threw up until there was nothing left in his belly but the fear of God the Chairman had just delivered.
* * *
It was just after 9:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning when Jack saw a white delivery van coming up the drive.
“Hey, isn’t that the delivery van from Franklin’s Flower Shop?” he said.
Hope looked out the window as the van stopped in the front yard, and then Mr. Franklin got out and went to the back of the van. When he appeared again, he was carrying a very ornate arrangement of flowers, all in autumn colors.
Jack opened the door as Harold came up the steps.
“Wow, that’s some bouquet!” Jack said.
“I was told Cathy Terry was here,” Harold said. “These are for her.”
“Yes, she’s here. Hey, Cathy!” Jack yelled.
Cathy was in the kitchen peeling potatoes, and stopped to wipe her hands before hurrying toward the living room as Duke came down the stairs to join them.
“What’s going on?” she asked, and then saw the flowers. “Good grief!”
“Delivery for Cathy Terry,” Harold said. “Myra got the call late yesterday evening, and the orders were specific…that they be delivered to you today. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone,” he said.
Duke took the vase.
“Where should I put this?” he asked. “It can’t go on the dining room table because we won’t be able to see over it.”
“We’ll make a place for it on the sideboard next to Mercy’
s pies,” Hope said.
Duke did as she asked, and then plucked the card from within the bouquet and handed it to Cathy.
“Here you go, honey.”
“I can’t begin to imagine who these would be from,” she said as she opened the little envelope and then pulled out the card. She scanned it, then gasped.
“Oh, my lord!”
“What?” Duke asked.
“Listen to this,” she said, and read it aloud.
Cathy, we have only good memories of your kindness during our business dinners, and wish to express our sincere apologies for your suffering. You have our word that you will not be bothered again. Happy Thanksgiving.
“But who’s it from?” Duke asked.
Cathy looked up, her eyes wide with shock. “This would be Blaine’s business partners. I’m thinking they delivered an ultimatum he will not be able to ignore.”
Duke whooped with delight, then swung her off her feet and turned her in a little circle.
“This is fantastic! Your instincts to confront the PI were on target, and look what came of it,” he said. “Your running days are over.”
Cathy was in tears, but they were happy tears.
“I didn’t think this day would ever come,” she said.
Hope clapped her hands. “Best news ever!” she cried. “Now let’s go have breakfast! We have lots to celebrate.”
The turkey had been in the oven since 5:00 a.m., but breakfast was simple bowls of cold cereal. It had been Duke and Jack’s tradition that all of the cooking on holidays was devoted to the dinner being served, and Hope had gone along with it years ago when she first joined the family. Now Cathy was part of the tradition, eating cornflakes with the rest of them, while the wonderful aroma of roasting turkey filled the room.
* * *
Lon and Mercy arrived just after eleven. Mercy came in wearing black pants and a loose turquoise shirt that accentuated her height and beauty. As always, she was the epitome of elegance. She was laughing as she entered, carrying a pie in each hand and teasing Lon about putting his thumb in the pecan pie on purpose.
The pies went on the sideboard next to the ornate bouquet. Once they heard the story about why it had come and who it was from, Lon was secretly relieved.
It had occurred to him that more trouble might follow Cathy, and he was ready to protect her and Blessings in any way necessary, but this seemed to signify she would not be bothered by her ex again.
“Hey! There are still more to bring in,” Mercy said, and sent the men back for the second load.
Two more pies were added to the sideboard, along with a big container of homemade rolls.
Mercy gave her sister a hug, then patted Hope’s little tummy.
“Baby’s first Thanksgiving, and he doesn’t even know it,” she said.
Hope grinned. “We don’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl,” she said.
“If it’s a Talbot, it’s bound to be a boy,” Mercy said, and then smiled at Cathy. “I’m so glad you’re here to have dinner with us today.”
“So am I,” Cathy said. “I keep pinching myself to see if I’m dreaming. This is the nicest town, with the nicest people I have ever known in my life.”
“And I am the nicest of all,” Duke said, and kissed her on the cheek as he walked past with a stack of dessert plates for the sideboard.
Cathy blushed but she was grinning, while everyone else laughed, mostly at Duke for just being himself.
* * *
People all over Blessings were gathering around their tables with their family and guests.
Big Tom Rankin got to go home the day before Thanksgiving. He had a lot of healing ahead of him, and Ethel had rescinded her vow not to move in with them and was in their spare bedroom next to Tom, to nurse him back to health.
Albert was so grateful his daddy was still alive that he didn’t mind the fact that Ethel was in the house. He went into Blessings and got Thanksgiving dinner from Granny’s and brought it home for them to eat.
Dan and Alice Amos had their little family, plus their neighbor, Elliot Graham. After they’d weathered the hurricane together, Elliot had become a fixture in their family.
As always, Lovey Cooper was serving Thanksgiving dinner at Granny’s, and for the first time, she had family of her own to share it with. Her son, Sully Raines, and his wife, Melissa, were setting up the small banquet room for Lovey and her family and friends.
Ruby and Peanut were joining them as always, and Vera and Vesta from the hair salon were eating there, too. Mabel Jean had gone home to her family.
Johnny and Dori Pine’s house was nothing short of mayhem with Johnny’s two little brothers, Marshall and Beep, and Dori’s son, Luther, who was now walking and talking and following the “big boys,” rolling all over the living room floor while watching the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV.
Jake, Laurel, and Bonnie Lorde were having ham for Thanksgiving because Bonnie was afraid her pet chicken, Lavonne, would get her feelings hurt if they cooked turkey.
Bowie and Rowan James arrived in a red Mustang the night before Thanksgiving to spend it with his granny Pearl and his aunt Ella. It was an interesting twist to be the first overnight guests in the house Bowie rebuilt for them after the hurricane. Pearl cried when they drove up, so happy to have her grandson, Bowie, and his new wife back in Blessings, even if it was only for a couple of days.
The Wilson family was celebrating big this year. After Melvin Lee’s meltdown and his daddy’s return to the family, his daddy’s new job with a local plumber put him home every evening.
Melvin Lee was anxiously waiting for his mama to call them to come eat. He’d been smelling that turkey cooking all morning and was certain he might actually starve before everything was done. It was his best day ever, because his grandma was riding herd on his siblings while Mama and Daddy cooked dinner together. He couldn’t remember a better Thanksgiving in his life.
And so it went all over Blessings. People were gathering together, or making the trip to Granny’s Country Kitchen to have their holiday meal in the company of friends.
The Bailey family had gone to the nursing home to have dinner with their father, Mylo. It would likely be their last Thanksgiving with him. Even though the old man didn’t know who they were anymore, they remembered him, and such was the circle of life.
* * *
They were down to dessert at the Talbot farm, and telling stories about holidays past, when Duke asked Cathy what her Thanksgivings were like when she was still living in Alaska.
Cathy laughed. “Nothing like this, I can assure you, and there were only the three of us. Once we didn’t even celebrate it at all because we forgot about it, and one Christmas we celebrated on the wrong day. Time didn’t mean the same thing there that it does now. It was sunup and sundown, and staying focused on surviving in between.”
“You didn’t even have a calendar?” Jack asked.
“Usually,” Cathy said. “But think about it a minute. If the days aren’t marked off as they pass, you lose track. And if you need something dry to start a fire and it’s been raining for days, or snow is up past the windows and the fire went out because of a downdraft, you use the driest thing you have for tinder because getting warm is more important than what day it is. At that time, the driest thing in the cabin was a page from the calendar. So if we burned up October or November, Halloween and Thanksgiving went begging. And then you don’t know how many days have come and gone, so you still have December on the calendar, but you don’t really know when it is. That’s when Mama would just pick a day and call it Christmas.”
“I am in awe,” Duke said.
Cathy pointed her fork at him. “That was then, and this is now. I will expect a Christmas present and a birthday present,” she said.
Duke’s eyes darkened. “I will give you presents every day
of your life, just for the pleasure of seeing you smile.”
And just like that, Cathy was looking at him through tears.
“Awww, honey, don’t cry,” he said.
Hope patted Cathy’s arm. “Women cry good tears and bad tears. Those are good tears.”
“Nothing is forever,” Lon said. “Just be grateful for each day you have together. And on a happier note, Cathy, have you read the piece the Tribune did on you yesterday?”
She shook her head. “No. It was embarrassing enough just being in a public brawl.”
Mercy arched an eyebrow and then shook her head. “Oh sugar…that was not a public brawl. I used to work in a bar in Savannah that catered to bikers and truckers. Those were brawls.”
Cathy sighed. “Well, it’s still hard to let the world see your dirty laundry.”
“You need to read it,” Mercy said. “You’ll feel better about yourself once you do. The new owner did a fabulous job of telling your story. You came across as very brave while dealing with a scary situation. I predict you will have even more fans than you did after you took out the rabid coyote…which by the way was so badass.”
“Truth,” Lon said. “And Duke, my friend…you need to check out the video on YouTube because you’re gathering yourself quite a fan club. Most of them are women, but there are plenty of men giving you a thumbs-up, too, for taking care of business.”
“Lord,” Duke said.
Cathy laughed. “I told you.”
Jack rolled his eyes…pretending dismay. “I will never live up to my big bro’s reputation.”
“Oh…I think you’re doing okay,” Hope said. “You’re the one who’s gonna be a daddy.”
Jack grinned. “You’re right! And I’ll take that any day. I’ll also take a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream, please.”
“You want more? After all we’ve eaten?” Hope asked.
“The first piece was pecan. We don’t want the pumpkin pie to feel left out.”
“I second that,” Duke said, then got up from the table to bring the coffeepot back to the table.
When he got to Cathy, he not only added a little coffee to her cup, but the lingering touch on the back of her neck as he paused at her seat gave her shivers. She would not be sleeping alone tonight.