How about taking some of these pecan tassies along home for your dessert? Miz Callie got to her feet, grasping the plate of cookies. Ill wrap them up for you. Shed headed into the house before he could refuse.
Dont bother arguing, Georgia said, apparently interpreting his expression. You can never defeat my grandmothers hospitality. Bodines are noted for being stubborn.
Ive noticed. Something sparked between them on the exchangemaybe an understanding on both their parts that there was a double meaning to everything they said.
She was an interesting woman. If she werent so determined to believe that he was some sort of legal ogre, he might enjoy getting to know her.
He realized he was looking at her left hand, pressed against the edge of the table. The white band where a ring used to be stood out like an advertisement.
He hadnt given up wearing his wedding ring. Rodney kept pushing him to get into the dating scene, and putting the ring away was the first step. He wasnt ready to do that. What was the point? Thered never be another Jennifer. A man didnt get that lucky more than once in a lifetime.
The silence had stretched on too long, but surely it was as much Georgias responsibility as his to break it. He tapped Lindsays shoulder. Come on, Lindsay. Well order in pizza tonight, okay?
For a moment he thought shed ignore him, but then Miz Callie came out with the cookies.
Here you are. She handed the paper plate to Lindsay. You carry those home and have one for dessert after your supper, yheah?
Lindsay got up promptly, good manners surfacing. I will. Thank you, Miz Callie. She glanced at Georgia, but didnt repeat her thanks. Ill see you tomorrow.
Thatll be fine, sugar. Miz Callie touched the blond ponytail lightly.
Georgia rose. Ill walk down with you. I need to get something from my car.
Miz Callie sent her a glance that said she didnt believe a word, but she didnt attempt to deter her. He didnt believe it, either. Georgia had something she wanted to say to him in private.
He followed her down the steps. Lindsay hurried ahead of him along the sand, her gaze fixed on a flight of pelicans overhead. Hed be amazed if those cookies reached home in one piece.
He took a few steps away from the stairs, Georgia moving next to him.
I didnt realize you lived so close. Georgias gaze was fixed on his rental. The Fosters owned that house when I was little. They had five children.
There are a few kids in the neighborhood now. He watched Lindsay stop and stare at the pelicans as they swooped close to the water. But Lindsay isnt getting acquainted as easily as Id hoped. Your grandmother is the only person shes really gotten to know.
Miz Callie is worth as much as a gaggle of kids any day.
That sounds like personal experience speaking. Maybe meeting his daughter had softened her attitude toward him.
But she looked at Lindsay, not him. I was pretty shy as a kid. With my grandmother, there was no pressure. I could play with the other kids if I wanted to, but she never objected to my sitting in the swing with a book, or helping her make cookies in the kitchen.
Sounds ideal. He spoke lightly, but he thought Georgia had revealed a lot about herself in those few words. Again he had a glimpse of someone he might enjoy getting to know, if not for the fact that she saw him as the enemy.
I suppose thats how my grandmother came to hire you, Georgia said. Getting to know you through Lindsay.
I suppose. He kept it noncommittal. The truce was over already, it seemed.
Havers and Martin have been the familys attorneys for a couple of generations. It seems a little odd that she came to you instead.
Does it? The spark of anger in her eyes amused him.
Her jaw tightened. I dont believe I heard exactly what it is youre doing for my grandmother.
You dont really expect me to violate my clients confidence, do you, Ms. Bodine?
She stopped, her fists clenching, anger out in the open now. No. She bit off the word. I dont expect anything from you, Mr. Harper.
She spun and walked quickly back toward the beach house.
Georgia slung her suitcase on the twin bed in the little room under the eaves that had always been hers, the movement edged with the antagonism Matthew Harper had brought outa quality she hadnt even known she possessed. Shed spent a lifetime unable to confront people, even her own mother. Especially her own mother.
She caught sight of the pale band on her finger in her peripheral vision as she put T-shirts in a drawer. She still had to break that news to Mamma.
Oddly enough, she hadnt had any trouble making her anger clear to Matthew Harper, maybe because she didnt care what he thought of her. Or maybe her love for Miz Callie overrode every other instinct.
Frowning, she shoved the drawer closed. Whatever Matt had in mind, he wouldnt be easily deterred. Shed seen that kind of type A personality in action before. In a way, Matt reminded her of James, although he didnt have her former fiancés charm. Jamess smile could make you think he cherished you above all others. The only time it had failed to work on her was when shed walked out of the office, knowing things were over.
Anyway, this was about Matt, not James. The only time shed seen any softening in Matt was when he looked at his daughter, and even then his gaze was more worried than loving.
No, she wouldnt be able to dissuade him. She had to find out what Miz Callie had him doing for her before she could learn if her familys suspicions were on target.
She hadnt gotten anywhere with her grandmother over chicken salad and Miz Callies feather-light biscuits. Dinner had been an elaborate game, with her grandmother determined not to talk about her plans and Georgia equally determined not to talk about her breakup.
Maybe now they could relax and get things out into the open. She took a last look around the room, windows open to the evening breeze, and then hurried down the stairs.
Miz Callie was on the deck, a citronella candle burning next to her to ward off the bugs. She looked up with a smile as Georgia came out.
All done unpacking? Did you speak to your mamma and daddy?
She nodded, not eager to get into what her parents had to say. Theyd taken turns talking, Mamma on the extension, so that it had been like being caught between two soloists, both vying desperately to be heard.
Theyre fine, she said, knowing Miz Callie wouldnt believe that. She touched the shells on the glass table, still there from her grandmothers impromptu lesson with Lindsay. Do you want me to put these away?
I want you to relax and enjoy. Miz Callie tilted her head back. Did you ever see so many stars?
Obediently she leaned back in the chair, staring heavenward, her mind still scrambling for the right way to bring up the things that concerned her. After a moment or two, the tension began to seep out of her. How could anyone sit here surveying the darkened sea and the starlit sky and fret? The surf murmured softly, accompanying the rustling of the palmetto fronds and the sea oats.
I dont even notice the stars in Atlanta. Too many city lights.
Miz Callie made a small sound of contentment. They seem to put us in our places, dont they? When I look at the heavens which Thou has created, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained, what is man that Thou are mindful of him, or the son of man, that Thou visiteth him?
I dont even notice the stars in Atlanta. Too many city lights.
Miz Callie made a small sound of contentment. They seem to put us in our places, dont they? When I look at the heavens which Thou has created, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained, what is man that Thou are mindful of him, or the son of man, that Thou visiteth him?
Her grandmothers gentle voice brought a lump to her throat. Thats always been one of your favorite psalms, hasnt it?
Miz Callie nodded, and the silence grew comfortably between them. Finally she spoke again, eyes still on the night sky. I am worried about that child.
The change of subject startled her. You mean Lindsay?
Shes so withdrawn. You must have noticed how she was when she saw I had someone here.
Shes probably just shy. She knew how that felt.
Grief. Miz Callie moved slightly, hand reaching out to the glass of sweet tea beside her. The childs still grieving her mothers death.
So Matt was a widower. She hadnt been sure, since he still wore a wedding ring, but it had seemed implicit in the interactions with his daughter.
Maybe he was wrong to take her away from everything that was familiar to her, just for the sake of his career.
Miz Callie turned to look at her in the dim light. Georgia Lee, you dont know a thing about it, so dont you go judging him.
When Miz Callie spoke in that tone, an apology was in order. No, maam. Im sorry.
Her grandmothers expression eased. I suspect he felt it was time for a fresh start. Sometimes that happens.
Sometimes a fresh start is forced on you. What was she going to do after this interlude? Go back to Atlanta and try to find another job?
And sometimes you just know its the right time.
Something in her grandmothers tone caught her attention. Is that why you want to move to Sullivans Island permanently? Because you want a fresh start?
Miz Callie waved her arm. Who wouldnt want to live here, simply, instead of being enslaved to a lot of things? She said the word with emphasis.
So thats why youve been giving stuff away at the Charleston house. A frightening thought struck her. Miz Callie, youre not dying, are you?
For a moment her grandmother stared at her. Then her laugh rang out. She chuckled for several moments, shaking her head. Oh, child, how you do think. Were all of us dying, some of us sooner than later, but no, theres nothing wrong with me.
Then why
Her grandmother sighed, apparently at Georgias persistence. Do you remember Mary Lyn Daniels?
Georgias mind scrambled among her grandmothers friends and came up with an image. Yes, I think so. Shes the one you always say has been your friend since the cradle, isnt she?
Was, Miz Callie said. She passed away this winter.
Im sorry. She clasped her grandmothers hand, aware of the fragility of fine bones covered thinly by soft skin. She should have known about that. She would have, if shed come back more often. Did Mary Lyns deathis that what has you thinking of making so many changes?
Her grandmother smiled faintly. This isnt just about grieving my friend, darlin. At my age, Ive learned how to do that. I know Im going to see them again.
What then? She leaned toward her, intent on getting answers. There must be some reason why you feel such a need to change things.
Miz Callie stared out at the waves. Id go and sit with Mary Lyn, most afternoons. Seemed like all she wanted to do was talk about the old days, when we were children here on the island. Her memory of those times was clearer than what happened yesterday.
Im sorry you had to go through that. She choked up at the thought of Miz Callie sitting day after day with her dying friend. Small wonder if it made her reflect on her own mortality.
It was good to sit there with her and remember those years. Miz Callies tone was soft, far away. But sometimes shed start in on things she regretted. Old hurts never mended. Relationships lost. She shook her head slowly. I dont want to be like that at the end. And Im thinking maybe God used Mary Lyn to show me its time to right old wrongs and make my peace with life.
Miz Callie, I dont believe you ever did anything that needs righting. She hadnt been ready for a conversation about life and death tonight, and she was swimming out of her depth. If thats why you want to move here to the island full-time, I can understand, but I know theres more. That doesnt explain you hiring an attorney nobody knows to handle business no one knows about.
Miz Callie sighed, suddenly looking her age and more. Then she leaned over to put her hand on Georgias.
Georgia clung to that grip: the hand shed always held, the one that had reassured her as a child. Now it felt cool and delicate in hers.
All right, Georgia Lee. I know youre worrying about me. Tomorrow.
Tomorrow what? she asked, confused.
Matt is comin tomorrow to meet with me. You can sit in with us. Ill explain everything then.
But, Miz Callie She didnt want to wait. And she certainly didnt want to hear about itwhatever it wasin front of Matt.
Tomorrow. Her grandmothers voice was tired but firm. Im not goin over it twice, sugar, and thats that. Youll hear all about it then.
Georgia clamped her lips shut on an argument. Tomorrow. Shed have to be content with that.
Chapter Three
Georgia sat in line for the drawbridge leading back onto Sullivans Island, glancing at her watch as if that would help. Shed be late for the meeting with Matt if she didnt get moving, and she didnt want Miz Callie to say anything to him that she wasnt there to hear.
It was a good thing Miz Callie had reminded her to bring the cooler for the groceries. The closest supermarket was in Mount Pleasant, across the Cooper River from Charleston proper, across the Intracoastal Waterway from Sullivans Island. Not far, but not just around the corner, either, so islanders tended to stock up when they went.
At least once she got to the house, the secrecy would be over. Miz Callie would come clean with her so that she could resolve this situation, whatever it was, and get back to her own life, whatever was left of it.
A tall sailboat moved serenely past, and the bridge lowered into place. With a sigh of relief, she rumbled across the bridge and back onto the island. Right, then left, then left again, and she pulled up to the house.
She went up the stairs slowly, laden down by the many bags of groceries she was attempting to take in one trip. She fumbled with the door, staggered in and found that Matt was already there.
He rose, coming quickly to help her with the bags, his dress shirt and dark tie reinforcing the fact that this was a business visit and not a neighborly call.
Where do you want these? He followed her into the kitchen.
She nodded toward the counter. Let me put things in the refrigerator, and then Ill join you. She waited for an argument from him, but none came.
Good. I think you should be in on this.
He sounded sincere enough. Or maybe he was just accepting what he couldnt change. She slid the milk and a bag of perishables onto the shelves and closed the fridge. Then she followed Matt into the living room.