Читать книгу Sacred Ground - Adrienne Ellis Reeves - Страница 11

“Drew, I’m so proud of you, man,” Gabe said as they walked home from church. He nodded to a couple who spoke to them in passing.

“Why? What’d I do?” Drew said in surprise.

“You kept your cool when we were introduced to Miss Gray and acted like you’d never seen her.” Drew was growing too fast for the investment of a suit but he looked fine in his tan slacks and navy sport coat.

Drew’s face lit up and his laugh was one of pure youthful enjoyment. “Yeah, that was something, wasn’t it? She looked like she was gonna faint. I sure didn’t want to make her feel any worse, so I just played along with you.”

“You handled it like a man and I know she must have appreciated it.”

“I’m not a clunk all the time, you know.” Drew hid his pleasure with bluster.

“All that stuff the preacher said about Great-Grandfather was pretty cool. I kinda wish I could have met him.” There was a wistfulness in his voice that found an echo in Gabe.

They crossed the street and as they came to their block, Drew said, “This might not turn out to be too bad. I didn’t expect people to be so friendly. Jeff sounds like he’s okay. He’s just four months older’n me and he likes swimming, too.”

Gabe felt relieved. One of his concerns in coming to South Carolina had been about Drew finding friends. He’d have to check Jeff out, but meanwhile all systems seemed set to go.

“Your turn to fix lunch,” he reminded Drew as they were upstairs changing their clothes.

“Do I hafta?” Drew grouched automatically.

“Yeah, you have to. There’s plenty of food in the refrigerator. Call me when it’s ready.”

Gabe had decided to use this opportunity to introduce Drew to cooking responsibilities since he wouldn’t be going to school on a regular basis.

He’d made arrangements with Drew’s school for home studies and tests. He didn’t know how that was going to work out but at this point it wasn’t high on his list of priorities.

Drew produced monster sandwiches and chocolate-chip cookies for lunch. He drank a quart of milk while Gabe had apple juice.

“Not bad,” Gabe said when the meal was over.

“Best thing is no dishes to wash.” Drew gathered up the paper plates and napkins and sailed them into the trash can. That was a compromise Gabe had agreed to. Dishes were only for dinner. Paper ware for everything else.

Valerie and Jeff came by for Drew promptly at five, assured Gabe they’d take care of him and gave him Valerie’s cell number. The movie started at six, then they’d eat and should be back around ten, Valerie said.

Gabe went up to the bedroom and began a thorough search through every piece of clothing in the tall dresser. Each shirt, underwear, pajama set, pair of socks, handkerchief and scarf was gone over. He’d told himself at the outset that he must be methodical, so he took his time.

His CD player provided music for the laborious task and meanwhile he let himself relive what had happened at church.

Walking to church with his brother in the March sunlight and then being met by all kinds of people who smiled and said, “Hello,” as if they knew him had lulled him into a pleasant sense of comfort. It had taken one critical instant to snatch him rudely awake.

The deacon who’d officially welcomed him and Drew was about to let them proceed into the sanctuary when he called a woman over to meet them. Gabe scarcely heard the introduction, he was so shocked.

All he could take in was that the girl who had spilled potato salad on his jacket and embarrassed him to the max lived right here in Grayson. She was standing right there in front of him. What were the odds of that happening?

Thankfully Drew hadn’t said anything. The girl looked like she was about to faint so he cut the moment short and went on into the church. Drew had said, “That’s the same lady from the restaurant, isn’t it?” Gabe had nodded a yes.

The service began and since it was so similar to his mother’s church service, he knew when to make the right responses as part of the congregation.

He’d been touched and surprised by the minister’s remarks about Great-Grandfather. There was something to be said after all about small towns where people stayed all of their lives.

The minister began his sermon. Gabe couldn’t have said what it was about because he was thinking of the girl whose last name was Gray.

How awkward was it going to be with both of them living in Grayson? He thought the deacon had said the girl knew everyone in the community. That meant she had status and it also meant they’d be bumping into each other while he was here. That could be a problem.

Did she have a job? He could find out and avoid the place. He didn’t mind being cooperative for the brief time he’d be in Grayson. She, on the other hand, had a life here. He’d keep a low profile and that should take care of it.

Satisfied with this conclusion, he’d stood for the final prayer, had a short but friendly exchange with the man who’d sat next to him and exited the pew almost into the arms of the girl he’d vowed to avoid.

She’d looked totally different. Her eyes shone with a friendly smile and her color was back. She was stunning in a navy blue outfit that looked like it had been made for her.

She’d said she wanted them to meet some people and took them around as if they were celebrities. That’s when he found out her name was Makima Gray, because people kept calling to her. The deacon was right, she was well-known.

Gabe finished with the dresser and found nothing out of the ordinary. Next was the closet. It didn’t take too long to go through the pockets. His great-grandfather apparently had emptied his pockets as a habit.

Gabe handled each garment then took all the shoes out to see if there was something hidden in them. Shoes made good hiding places. He even examined the bottoms, remembering stories of hollow heels. He felt silly but he couldn’t afford to pass up any possibility.

Makima had been wearing some nice shoes with three-inch heels and she’d walked confidently in them. He always noticed women’s shoes; you could tell something about a woman by the shoes she wore.

That Alana. She certainly was different from Makima. Makima had a sort of dignity about her even under stress while Alana was all gaiety and sparkle. The deep red pants outfit she’d worn had clung to her slim body. She wasn’t as tall as Makima and didn’t have her sister’s curves. Her shoes had been black sling backs and he’d bet she could have a date every night of the week if she wanted it.

He wondered how the sisters got along. Their brother, Bobby, seemed to be the quiet one of the siblings. He’d seemed to be all wrapped up in Valerie Wolf.

As Gabe searched through the rest of the room, even looking under the mattress, he speculated what Makima could possibly want to talk about with him that involved a business matter. She had seemed very serious about it.

By the time Drew came in he’d finished the room and had gone downstairs to have a bowl of chili and a salad.

“Have a good time?” Gabe asked.

“Yeah.” Drew opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of ice cream. “Want some?”

“Sure.”

Drew filled two bowls. “There was this guy in the movie who had to find out who was kidnapping little kids for ransom,” he began. “And the cool thing was that it was a bunch of high school seniors who cracked the case.”

Gabe was accustomed to listening to Drew’s analysis of the movies he liked. When Drew finished, Gabe said, “How’d you and Jeff get along?”

“Fine. He’s coming over tomorrow after school.”

We’re both having company tomorrow and we’ve only been here two days, Gabe mused as they went up to bed.

By the time Makima was ready to go to her appointment on Monday she’d tried on and discarded three different outfits. One was too dressy, the second was too informal and the third would do but that was all. She hadn’t been this nervous getting ready for a presentation to a foundation, she thought as she selected a fourth outfit.

This would do, or maybe she was tired of her indecision. The deep violet wool jacket with a shawl collar had pants to match. With them she wore a silk georgette blouse in a geometric floral print. She found some earrings with a single violet stone and decided to wear her new suede sling backs with the covered buckle and a matching bag. Looking at her image in the full-length mirror she felt ready for a business appointment with Mr. Gabriel Bell.

As she walked up the familiar steps of Mr. Zeke’s house, sadness overcame her. This was her first time back since he’d passed away. All her life she’d come up those steps and crossed the porch to ring this bell. As a little girl the porch had seemed so wide.

The door opened promptly just as it used to do but this time it was Gabe Bell who welcomed her in. He looks like he belongs here, she thought.

He wore dark pants with a striped pullover sweater and everything about him was well groomed.

“It’s nice to see you again, Makima. Please come in.”

“Thank you.” She instinctively turned left into the living room. “Oh, you’ve opened the curtains. I’m so glad,” she said involuntarily.

Gabe looked puzzled. “Great-Grandfather never opened them?”

“Not much as he grew older, and it was so dark in here. It’s lovely to have the light again.” She gazed around the room as if seeing old friends once more.

“Please have a seat and let me bring you something to drink,” Gabe said. “Tea, coffee, soft drink?”

“Water will be fine, thanks.”

He served the water on a small tray with a napkin and sat down opposite her with his own glass.

“I gather you’ve been here many times and are familiar with the house,” he said.

“I’ve been coming here all my life,” she said simply. “That’s why it made me feel sad when I walked up the steps today. It’s my first time here since Mr. Zeke passed.”

“I understand,” Gabe said and waited for her to continue.

“Miss Sarah used to call me her little girl. My father was principal of the school where she taught and they were great friends, which is one reason my parents allowed me to visit. Our house is on the street behind the church, so it was easy to walk or ride my bike over here.” She took a sip of water and saw amusement in his eyes. What had she said that was funny?

“I suddenly had this picture of you with your hair in braids whizzing along on your bike.” The openness of his smile invited her to smile with him at the picture and she smiled back before resuming her story.

“Miss Sarah had one daughter, Elizabeth, who died as an infant. But I guess you know all about that. Then she had two boys, but she’d always wanted a girl, so I was her make-believe daughter or granddaughter and we spent a lot of time together. Mr. Zeke was very kind to me, too. I used to follow him around to see what he was doing. After Miss Sarah died I came by often to keep him company. He’d explain to me how he fashioned parts of this house.”

“You can tell he loved working with wood,” Gabe said. “I’m finding out a lot about him little by little.”

This was the opening Makima had been looking for.

“This may or may not be something you knew about, Gabe, but Mr. Zeke had promised to sell me some property.” No, he hadn’t known about that. She saw that instantly and girded herself for battle.

Gabe sat straight in his chair. “He promised to sell you some of this property where we are or did he have some more?”

“It was this property we always talked about,” she said firmly.

“What was it for?”

“The Grayson Medical Clinic.”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

“The need for it came about because of a tragedy, as is so often the case.” Her tone softened and she relaxed in her chair.

“The youngest child in our family was my sister June. She was eighteen, getting ready to go to college. On a Saturday night she and three friends went to a football game at South Carolina State in Orangeburg. A drunk driver hit the car when they were almost home. June was sitting in the passenger seat in the front and that’s what took the impact. Everybody in the car had some injuries but June died because we couldn’t get her to the hospital in Swinton in time.”

“I’m sorry,” Gabe said “When did that happen?”

“Three years ago. Since then I’ve made the establishment of a medical clinic here in Grayson a priority.”

“By yourself?” Gabe sounded a little disbelieving.

“No, everyone in Grayson is helping and there’s a board.”

“How have you progressed so far?”

“We have ten folders with details which I’ll be happy to show you another time, but I can tell you that we’ve gone through most of the legal procedures. We’ve met with medical authorities and building contractors. We’ve written many grant proposals and met with quite a few foundations.”

“Have you raised much money?”

“The first large sum was the insurance that was paid for June’s wrongful death. Our family gave it as seed money. Since then we’ve added money from grants, foundations, organizations and frequent fund-raisers.”

Gabe turned his glass in his hand. “Where does this property come in?” He fixed on her with a direct stare.

Makima knew this was the moment of truth. He had to believe as she did that Mr. Zeke had intended to sell her what she needed.

“I asked Mr. Zeke to sell us a part of his property for the clinic. I’ve never considered any other place because this location is perfect and there’s something about it that draws me. I know that doesn’t make much business sense but that’s the way I feel.”

“What exactly did he say, Makima?” Gabe asked.

“He said, ‘We’ll see.’ I didn’t have the down payment yet, so I didn’t go beyond that, but each time I reminded him, he said, ‘It’ll still be here.’ In other words, when I had the money ready he’d sell it to me. Then he died quite unexpectedly, so I’m coming to you.” Makima took a deep breath and said a silent prayer as she waited for his response.

“How much property do you need?” he asked calmly.

“We can’t afford more than five acres.” Makima allowed herself to hope that this was going to work. It had to work for the sake of the whole community.

“It’s a worthwhile project and I wish I could help you, Makima, but I can’t.” Gabe looked at her with sympathy.

Makima flinched as if she’d suffered a blow. She couldn’t give up. The clinic had to be fought for.

“Why can’t you?” she asked.

“The will doesn’t permit it.”

“Mr. Zeke’s will?” Her eyes flashed. “That’s hard to believe. You are his heir, aren’t you?”

“Of course or I wouldn’t be here,” he said stiffly.

“You’re his heir and you can’t dispose of the property?” That didn’t sound reasonable to her.

“As I said, I can’t help you.” His voice was now formal and cool.

“Can’t or won’t? I’d hoped for more understanding and cooperation from Mr. Zeke’s relative.” She stood up. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time, Mr. Bell.”

Gabe escorted her to the door in silence, opened it and said, “Thank you for coming, Miss Gray.”

She felt him watching as she walked across the porch and down the steps, then got into her car.

What was she going to do now? She had to have that property.