Teresa laid a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “That’s what sisters do. I’m glad we have each other.”
“Amen to that.” Kayla felt much better, but she still made a batch of raisin-filled cookies to keep herself busy until it was time to get ready for her first real date. What she and Denver had done couldn’t even be considered dating. They’d sneak around during their noon hour at school and have sex in the back seat of his car. If there was a pep assembly at school the last hour of the day, they’d sneak into the auditorium and have sex behind the stage curtains. Denver always loved the thrill of doing something he shouldn’t.
Strangely enough, Kayla’s nerves had begun to settle down when it came time for her to start getting ready that evening. What Teresa had said about what sisters do had run through her mind all afternoon. Kayla realized that she hadn’t been a very good sister, either, in the time she’d lived with Miss Janie, so she couldn’t fault Teresa for anything.
I loved being here, she thought, but I had so much anger in me those years; my attitude stunk. I was a lousy daughter to Miss Janie and a worse sister to Teresa.
Half the battle of getting through a tough situation is admitting that maybe part of it was your own stupid fault. Miss Janie’s voice was strong in Kayla’s head.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said aloud.
“Who are you talking to?” Teresa popped into her room as if on cue.
“Miss Janie and I were having a visit,” Kayla answered. “Would you twist my hair up, please? You do it so much better than I do.”
“Sure. Be glad to.” Teresa pointed toward the chair in front of the dresser. “And by the way, you sure look pretty in that dress. Aren’t you glad that you bought a couple of outfits with your paycheck?”
“Yep, but if it hadn’t been on sale for half-of-half, I wouldn’t have bought it.”
“There you go, and three, two . . .” Teresa giggled.
“Why are you counting down?” Kayla asked.
“One!” Teresa finished a few seconds before the knock came to the door, and they could hear Noah telling Will to come on into the house.
Kayla’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”
“I heard the gravel crunching when he drove up and his car door slam. You’re so worried about everything that your heart was probably pounding too hard for you to hear. You’ll be fine. I have faith in you,” Teresa said.
“I’m damn sure glad someone does,” Kayla muttered. “If you’ve got any points with Him”—she pointed toward the ceiling—“you might put in a prayer for me.”
“I will, but you don’t need it.” Teresa gave her a reassuring hug and headed back across the hallway.
Kayla was halfway down the stairs when she realized that Will was standing at the bottom of them, staring up at her.
“Oh. My. Goodness.” He held out his arm for her when she reached the bottom step. “You are even more gorgeous than you were in paint-stained jeans last night.”
“Y’all have a good time,” Noah said, and disappeared into his office.
Kayla looked up at Will. “Thank you. You clean up pretty good yourself.”
“Aww, shucks.” He ducked his head like a little boy might. “I ain’t used to pretty women sayin’ things like that to plain old Will Barton.”
“Don’t you talk about my friend like that.” Kayla looped her arm into his. “He’s one handsome fellow, and I like him a lot, so don’t be putting him down.”
“Is that so?” Will laid a hand over hers, and together they went out to his SUV. “I thought I’d let you choose where we eat tonight.” He opened the door for her.
That was a new twist from what she was used to with Denver. When they had the money to go out for something other than hamburgers, he made the choices, and usually it was a steak house.
Do not compare men. Miss Janie’s voice was back in her head. Will is rock solid and kindhearted, but he won’t ever be as dangerous and thrilling as Denver was to you in the beginning, so it’s not fair to him.
Kayla had closed her eyes and was nodding when Will got into the vehicle.
“Are you listening to music in your head?” he asked.
“No, I was listening to Miss Janie,” she said truthfully.
“Shh . . .” He put his finger on her lips. “Don’t tell anyone, but I hear voices, too. They usually give me really good advice.”
His gentle touch sent a jolt through her heart, releasing even more of those icy chains. She knew that she could so easily fall for this guy, and she had to tell him about her past even before they had supper together.
“I’m choosing Sonic,” she said.
That was a safe place, she thought—a place where folks ordered from their vehicle. A carhop brought out the food, took their money, and went on to the next customer. It was probably the cheapest place in Sulphur Springs and wasn’t where guys took women on a date to impress them. No point in making him spend a lot of money if this was going to end up being their first and last date.
“I believe I can afford to take you somewhere nicer than that,” he protested as he started the engine and drove away from Birthright.
“I want to talk before we go out. I have things to say, and if I don’t get them out, I won’t enjoy the food,” she explained.
“I have a better idea then. Let’s go to the park. You can say what you want to, and then we’ll go have some Italian at Roma’s Restaurant,” he told her.
He drove to Cooper Lake State Park and nosed the SUV into a spot that overlooked the lake right beside a concrete picnic table. The setting sun made a path of orange across the still waters of the lake.
“Shall we get out and sit at the table?” he asked.
“I’d like that,” she answered.
He was the perfect gentleman again, opening the car door for her and then ushering her to the table with his hand on her lower back. She had no doubt that the heat from his handprint would still be there the next day. A soft breeze blew the hem of her dress up, and she held it down with one hand, tucking it under her thigh when she sat down on the table, her feet on the bench. The pungent smell of wet grass where the lake water splashed, keeping it moist, filled the air. A few tree toads joined their voices with dozens of crickets to provide music for her ears. Somewhere off in the distance, she could hear the putting of a motorboat, probably folks out at night, doing some fishing.
Will sat down beside her and took her hand in his. “Look at me, Kayla.”
She looked up into his eyes, and the words tumbled out so fast that she had to take several deep breaths before she got finished. “I told you what kind of mother I had and how afraid I’ve always been to have children. I’ve probably scared the hell out of you by saying that. We are barely in the dating stage, but I’m afraid you’ll rethink going out with me after what I told you.” She held her hands tightly in her lap.
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed each knuckle. “I wish we had been better friends when we were in school and I hadn’t been so afraid to ask you out, and then we’d be way past this point in our relationship. I know how much you love old folks, and I’m guessing that you like little kids, so I’m not worried about your fear of motherhood, darlin’. I’ve been just as scared about fatherhood. I have had wonderful examples, but I have no idea who my biological father is or what kind of genes he might throw into the already-muddy pool. We’ll simply have to trust each other and leave the rest up to God.”
She was astounded. Of all the scenarios that had played out in her head throughout the day, that certainly wasn’t even on the list. “Are you serious?” she whispered.
“Oh, yes, I’m serious, but I’m also starving. If that’s all you have to tell me, can we, please, go have some Italian? I said you could pick, but I want to go someplace where we don’t eat in the car,” he teased.
“Yes,” she said, and smiled at him. “And thank you.”
“You, my sweet darlin’, are welcome, but the thanks go to you for going out with me tonight
. I’m lucky to get a second chance with you. I was and still am a pretty big nerd.” He pulled her up to her feet and kissed her on the forehead.
Every one of those chains around Kayla’s heart fell away, and she felt ten times—no, a hundred times—more blessed than Will could ever know.
Teresa got tired of waiting for her sister to come home and went out to sit on the porch at midnight. She heard a car out on the road and thought Kayla was finally back, but then a car door slammed and the sound of the engine faded.
“Probably someone who’s been out partying too much and lost their supper,” she muttered. In a few minutes she heard faint crying sounds coming from the backyard and went to investigate. The whimpering got louder with each step she took, and all she hoped was that, surely to goodness, no one had left a baby on their back doorstep.
When she rounded the corner, she saw Noah sitting on the porch step with a puppy in his arms. He caught her gaze and pointed at the dog. “Look what found us this evening. I imagine someone dumped it out on the road, and the little thing went to the first light it saw. Think we should take her to the pound up in Sulphur Springs or keep her?”
Teresa sat down beside him, and the puppy licked her hand. “I don’t think we have a choice. She found us. We didn’t find her. She wants to live here. Man, she’s got some big feet.”
“If we keep her, she will have to be an outside dog,” Noah said, “because she’ll grow up to be half the size of a Shetland pony. She looks like a cross between a yellow Lab and one of those big old white sheepdogs to me, with maybe a little plain old mutt thrown in for good measure.”
“Why would anyone throw something like her away?” Teresa asked, then wondered the same thing about herself and Kayla.
“Who knows.” Noah shrugged. “But their loss will be our gain. I’ve always wanted a pet, but I want one we can keep inside. Will talked about a dog. Think he’ll adopt her?” He hugged the puppy and let it lick him in the face. “I’ll go into town tomorrow and get her some good dog food and some bowls, but she’ll have to make do with leftovers tonight. She looks pretty well fed, and she’s got teeth, but I imagine she was nursing her mama this morning. We might keep her here until Will can get moved in, if he’ll take her.”
Teresa had often thought of getting a pet, too, but she hadn’t wanted to leave even a cat alone, as many hours as she worked. This puppy would be one more thing she’d have to leave behind if things didn’t pan out for her and Noah. She decided right then that she wouldn’t get attached to the animal. Then it looked up at her with big, sorrowful brown eyes, and she lost a piece of her heart.
“Can I hold her?” she asked.
Noah passed her right over, and the puppy licked her face until she giggled and put it down on the grass. Then it chased fireflies and stalked crickets for the next hour while Noah and Teresa laughed at its antics.
She couldn’t help but envision their children playing on a summer evening—little dark-haired children with Noah’s blue eyes and maybe her high cheekbones. She had never wanted children with Luis, but now the thought of having babies with Noah put a smile on her face.
Whoa! Slow this wagon down! The pesky voice in her head shouted so loudly that it hurt her ears. She shook her head to get the visual out and laughed when the dog came running over to plop down in front of her and then promptly fell asleep. Noah scooted over next to her and draped an arm around her shoulders. When she looked up at him, he lowered his lips to hers in a fiery kiss that raised the temperature of the already-hot night by at least ten degrees. When that one ended, he deepened the next one and picked her up to settle her on his lap.
They were so lost in one another that if the dog hadn’t jumped up and barked, neither of them would have heard someone walking across the kitchen floor.
Teresa jumped out of Noah’s lap and was standing three feet from him out in the yard when Kayla came through the back door.
“You said you’d wait up and you did, but Noah didn’t have to stay up, too,” she said.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Noah said. “Look what showed up. We’ve got a puppy.”
“It’s cute.” Kayla yawned. “I’ll get excited about the new baby tomorrow. Right now I’m going to bed while I’m still in a state of eutopia . . . No, that’s not right . . . It’s euphoria, like when you’re walkin’ on clouds, right?”
“That’s right,” Teresa answered. “What happened tonight?”
“I’m going to church with him and his parents in the morning. Thanks for waiting up for me, but right now I’m going to bed so I can have sweet dreams of Will. We’ll talk more in the morning, and you were right about talking to him. Everything is right with the universe.” Kayla grinned and then disappeared.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kayla tried on all three of her nice outfits on Sunday morning, but she wasn’t satisfied with any of them. They were all lying on the bed when Teresa knocked on the bedroom door and poked her head inside.
“Need help with your hair?” she asked.
Kayla rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “I need help period. I wore that dress to the reunion, and you loaned me that one”—she pointed to the slim dark-green skirt and cute sleeveless blouse—“for the funeral. That leaves the third one, and it’s really too tight.”
Teresa crooked her finger at Kayla. “Follow me.”
“In my underwear?” Kayla frowned.
“Noah has already gone downstairs. The smell of coffee woke me up.” Teresa disappeared.
Kayla looked both ways and then darted across the hallway.
Teresa opened her closet doors and brought out a flowing, multicolored, gauze skirt that skimmed her ankles, an olive-green shirt with a lighter green undershirt, and a pair of sandals that matched the shirt. “Here, wear these,” she said.
“Where did all that stuff come from?” Kayla asked. “When you loaned me a dress for the reunion, you only had a few things in your closet.”
“The other day, when I drove up to Sulphur Springs to the grocery store, I noticed a little thrift store with a ‘Going out of business’ sign on the window, so I took a few minutes to go inside. Sit down and I’ll twist your hair up.”
She motioned toward the rocking chair, laid the clothing on the bed, and kept talking as she started in on Kayla’s hair. “That was the last day the place was going to be open. They handed me a brown paper bag at the door and said I could fill it up and only pay five dollars, so I did. Stuff was pretty well picked over, but Noah mentioned that Sam wanted us to go to church with him, and I knew you would be going out with Will, so I crammed it full.”
“I’m not taking what you planned to wear, am I?” Kayla asked.
“Nope. There now, see if you like that,” Teresa told her.
Kayla went over to the mirror and gasped. “I love it. How did you learn to do hair like mine?”
“I had a couple of black patients in the nursing home, and I used to get them all fancied up when we had a party,” she said.
“Well, bless their hearts, and I mean that in a good way,” Kayla said as she got dressed and took another peek in the mirror. “Oh, Teresa, I’m so sad that we weren’t sisters before now.”
“Me too,” Teresa said. “But we weren’t the people that we are today. Back then we were just two discarded girls. Now go get a muffin and some milk so that your stomach won’t growl in church.”
“Miss Janie used to tell us that.” Kayla turned away from the mirror. “For years I thought it was a sin if my stomach grumbled in church.”
“So did I.” Teresa led the way out of the room.
When they reached the kitchen, Noah was coming in from the back porch. “Well, you sure look nice this morning.” He smiled at Kayla.
“Thanks to Teresa.” She picked up a muffin from under the cake dome and poured herself a glass of milk.
“I can’t believe what I just heard, and it was said with heart,” Noah teased.
“Shhh . . .” Teresa laid her forefinger over h
is lips. “Don’t jinx it.”
Kayla giggled. “And don’t expect it every day.”
She finished eating, poured herself a cup of coffee, and had taken the first sip when the doorbell rang. She set the cup down, put on her best smile, and started down the hall.
“Got breakfast ready?” Sam yelled.
“No, but it will be in a few minutes,” Teresa hollered back. “We’re in the kitchen.”
“I’m bringin’ company with me,” Sam said.
Kayla had almost never seen Sam in anything but bibbed overalls, so her focus was on him wearing khaki slacks and a plaid shirt. She didn’t even see Will until he said, “Good mornin’. You sure look beautiful.”
His deep drawl sent sweet shivers up her backbone. “Thank you. That shirt sure brings out the color in your eyes.”
“I do the best I can with what I’ve got to work with.” He grinned. “Are you ready?”
“Want a cup of coffee before we go?” she asked.
“I’ve got two Starbucks lattes in the car,” he said. “Hope you like caramel with extra foam.”
Kayla had never bought Starbucks in her life. Lord have mercy! Those things cost as much as four cups of coffee at a convenience store.
“I love caramel, so I’m sure I’ll like it.” She picked up her purse.
He ushered her out to his SUV with his hand on her lower back. “I told Mama you were coming with me today. I’m glad you didn’t stand me up. That would have disappointed me and her both.”
She slid into the seat and fastened the seat belt with shaking hands. In less than an hour, she would meet his parents, sit with them at a church she’d never attended, and then have dinner with them. That was as scary as the day she’d walked away from Denver, and yet she was more excited than she’d ever been in her life.
“Will you teach Sunday school this morning?” she asked.
“Not today,” he answered. “The preacher’s wife is stepping in for me. We’re just attending church this morning. I usually try to get the folks back to the center by four so they can get a little nap before their supper is served. I was wondering if you would walk through my new house with me after we get back to Birthright. I could use some help before I buy paint. I like the idea of white, but I’m not sure.”
Miss Janie’s Girls Page 26