Читать книгу In God's Own Time - Ruth Scofield - Страница 12

The two unknown cars in the drive told Meg her mother’s bridge game was most likely still in progress. But who of Audrey’s friends owned that cherry red fifties Ford Thunderbird?

Meg glanced at her watch. Four-thirty. Surely they couldn’t mean to stay much longer. Perhaps she could hurry her mother’s friends out with a mention that Audrey’s strength wasn’t up for marathons yet. She really didn’t relish the idea of making polite conversation.

All the way home she’d had Kelsey on her mind, but there seemed no way around what Linda had implied; Linda wanted everyone to think she and Kelsey were a set. And in spite of what the girls had said or wanted to believe, Meg thought things might be rather serious between Kelsey and Linda.

Well, why not? Why wouldn’t Kelsey have moved on to a new love after Dee Dee died? Meg’d been gone from her hometown for a long time Long enough not to know exactly whom Kelsey might be interested in anymore But her heart sank with the thought of it being supercilious Linda Burroughs.

Oh, my! That was small-minded of her. She sounded as bad as Lissa and Aimee. And to even fret over it meant she’d allowed too much hope from the girls’ proposal into her thinking.

Meg let the screen door slap shut behind her as she entered the kitchen with her arms full of groceries and her thoughts swirling. How could she have let herself in for this kind of hurt all over again? Her heart shrank a little more with each passing moment, until she thought it no bigger than a lemon.

“Meg, is that you?” Audrey called, out of the murmuring voices from the living room, as Meg stepped through the back door. “What kept you? I thought you’d be back long before now.”

“Yes, Mom, it’s me.” Meg set her bag of groceries down on the kitchen counter. Spotting several of her mother’s best iced tea goblets beside the fridge, she wondered about how much bother Audrey had gone to in entertaining the bridge set. Probably, though, Sandy Yoder had taken care of serving the tea and cookies. “We needed a few things from the grocery store, and I picked up the cleaning.”

“Well, come along in, dear. I’d like you to meet someone.”

“Be right there, Mom.” The phone rang. Automatically Meg lifted the kitchen extension. “Hello.”

“Meg?”

Her heart lurched into her ribs as she recognized the low voice. Maybe it hadn’t shrunk so much after all.

“Hi, Kelsey.” She made a huge effort at keeping her tone casual.

“Hi.” Hesitation followed.

“Everything all right with the kids?”

“Yeah. They’re fine. In fact, I wanted to thank you again for all the clothes and stuff you bought ‘em. The girls have preened over them every day since you took them shopping.”

“You don’t object to the makeup for Lissa, do you?”

“Uh, well, yes and no.” Humor laced his voice. “I guess I’m a typical daddy. If you’d asked me beforehand, I would’ve said she’s way too young yet. But then, since I know you wouldn’t have bought it if that were true, I guess I have to face the fact that she’s no longer Heather’s age.”

“Well, get your boots out, Kels. Lissa will be knee-deep in boys before another year passes.”

“That’s what scares the daylights out of me.” He paused, and Meg could hear him breathe for a moment She wasn’t used to an uncertain Kelsey, and her senses sharpened. What was it? “Meg, I’m in town and I thought maybe—”

“Who is it, Meg?” Audrey called. “Can’t you hurry it along?”

He was in town before meeting Linda, Meg assumed. Linda had said—strongly implied, anyway—they had a date tonight. Yet he’d called her. Something was on his mind. She put her hand over the receiver and called, “I’ll be there in a sec, Mom.”

A sudden girlish giggle trilled out from the living room, followed by a masculine chuckle. She turned toward the sound, wondering who was there besides the usual card-playing crowd.

“I’m sorry,” Kelsey murmured. “Have I called at a bad time again?”

“Not for me, Kelsey.” Never “But Mom’s bridge group is here, so I suspect she needs me to fetch something for her. I just came in five minutes ago from errands and things.”

“Oh.” He honestly sounded disappointed. “Ah, that’s good, then. I mean that she’s up to that much excitement. Audrey must be feeling more herself.”

“Yes, she is.” What had he been about to say? “She’s even considering taking up walking for exercise.”

“I hear walking is great. And she won’t need you around much longer.” A sudden lighthearted note entered his voice. Now why would he be especially happy about that?

“No, I suppose not.” But while the thought seemed to brighten his outlook, it suddenly depressed her more than she would have imagined. If her mother no longer needed her, there went her excuse to delay her return to England. And until that moment she hadn’t realized she’d wanted one.

“Meg—” Her mother stood in the kitchen door frame.

“Be right there, Mom. Sorry, Kels, but—”

“It’s all right, Meg, I heard. You need to go. Just tell me something.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Can you meet me for coffee at Betty Jean’s Café before church in the morning? I can drop off the kids early for Sunday school and there’s something…um, ah, a matter I’d really like to discuss with you.”

“Sure, Kelsey. What—oh, never mind. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She hung up the phone and headed toward the living room, ready with a smile for her mother’s friends. To her surprise, Sandy Yoder, Ginny Hames and Babs Dunning acknowledged her presence with all the eagerness one might a piece of used furniture. Instead, their attention focused on the tall slender man who rose with old-fashioned politeness, pushing his glasses onto the top of his thick gray hair.

“Meg,” her mother spoke with a gentle warmth in her voice, “I’d like you to meet Paul Lumbar.”

So this was the new man in town who was currently turning all the over-fifty feminine heads. “Hello.” She offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice meeting you at last, Meg. Your mother speaks of you so often.” He proved to be as charming as rumor had claimed, Meg thought thirty minutes later as she saw the collected company out. And he’d invited them to dinner after church the next day. Her mother had accepted for both of them before Meg could make an excuse.

“Mom, are you sure you’re up to a long day tomorrow?” Meg asked as she carried the remains of the snack tray back to the kitchen. “Church and dinner out?”

“Oh, I think I’ll be all right. Especially if I have an early night tonight.”

“Okay, just checking. But don’t plan on doing anything else afterward but coming right back home.”

“All right, dear. Just as you say. Now I think I’ll rest a bit before supper if you don’t mind.”

Meg turned to stare after her mother. What was in that charm potion Paul dished out, anyway? Audrey had been all sweetness and light the whole afternoon.

At ten minutes to ten, Clive called, catching Meg just after she’d finished her shower. Her mother had dutifully gone to bed at around nine.

“Clive, what are you doing calling on a Saturday night?” she said as she pushed her wet hair from her face. “It must be—” she glanced at the clock on her bedside table “—nearly five in the morning there. Sunday. Is there an emergency?”

“It’s lovely to hear your voice, too, Meg, luv.” Clive’s teasing chuckle rippled over the line “No, it’s not an emergency. Why can’t I call you on a Saturday night? You weren’t planning to be out, were you?”

“No, but you usually are. I’m surprised you’re still awake, but I am glad to hear from you. I don’t suppose you went into the office today—er, yesterday—did you? I faxed you with some thoughts on the Half Moon connection.”

“Well, as it happens, I’m not up before dawn. I’m not even in London. I’m still in the Virgin Islands.”

“You are?” She sat on the bed and reached for her comb. “I thought you planned to fly home yesterday.”

“I did, but I changed my mind. Thought I might fly to New York to have a meeting with Lansing and Jonas.” He mentioned another of their clients. “Just wanted to touch base with you before morning.”

“I see.” She plumped another pillow behind her back. “What’s wrong, Clive? Isn’t Serenity as nice as the photos?” She spoke of the private resort property on an outer island that Clive had gone to investigate for the Neels Corporation, one of their oldest clients. She’d planned make the trip a month ago before her mother’s illness had sprung up.

“Nothing like that, Meg. The place is even lovelier, though it’s a little overpriced and needs a bit of updating.”

“No hidden swamps, sink holes, big-time hotels falling over the property line or anything?”

“No, that isn’t it.” He laughed at her penchant for looking for the worst possible feature of a location before working up to the best. “Serenity passes muster on all the check points. Flowers, sun and sea from all sides, just as promised.”

He launched into a discussion of the finer points of the conference resort he and Meg were recommending to the Neels corporation. “The only problem is the place is really too large for their needs at present and Lazarus Neels is jumpy about the price being over their heads. You know how he hates long-term debt”

“Old Lazarus putting on the breaks, is he?”

“A bit. Wish you’d talk to him, Meg. He seems to listen more closely to the positives when you do the presenting.”

“Did you remind him of the climb their company has made over the past three years?”

“Yes. And his daughter Jane did, too. She’s excited about buying Serenity and sees all the possibilities. But the old man remains overcautious. I tell you, Meg, if we don’t wrap this baby up in the next month, Lazarus will back out of the buy altogether.”

“But if they continue to go forward at their current rate, they’ll grow into it within the next three to five years without breaking a sweat. In which case, they’ll be very grateful to us for finding it for them.”

“I know, I know. Said all that. Sounds better coming from you.”

“Hmm. Perhaps we could suggest offering something to ease him into it.”

“Like what?”

“Like a time share for the first five years.”

“You’re kidding.”

Meg didn’t answer as she thought rapidly, tapping a pencil against a discarded magazine.

“You are kidding, aren’t you Meg? He’d never go for it. Times shares…” He sounded as though she’d said something disreputable with a nasty smell to it.

“Not the old kind where a corporation holds the strings, Clive. I’m thinking of time shares with another company—one, or at most, two other companies Neels would retain control over the property.”

“Something more like a lease?”

“Something in between, I think. If we find someone Lazarus respects, someone reliable, of course, with whom he’ll be comfortable. A mid-sized company, though smaller than Neels, would do it. It would give Neels all the right buttons. Prestige and all that.”

A long silence followed. “Just might work. Jane understands the potential of owning Serenity,” Clive enthused. “The idea of having their own conference and training center located where there’s sun, sand and water in a continually warm climate makes her feel they’ll have something, a place for learning and for holidays to entice their employees and clients alike to stay loyal to them.”

“Her instincts are right. Overall, a good choice I should think,” Meg agreed.

“But we have to convince the old man…”

Meg sighed. “All right. Will a phone call do it?”

“It may. But Lazarus plans to be in New York for the Lansing and Jonas meeting, and I thought—You know he likes you, Meg. Thinks you’re a ‘fine piece of womanhood.’”

“That old flirt,” Meg responded with a laugh. Then she pursed her mouth in thought while her usual excitement rose. This had been her package from the beginning, and she wanted to see it through. The best part of any deal was tracking it to a successful conclusion. Besides, it was unfair to put the Neels off any longer, or Clive, for that matter. He had his own accounts to see to.

Clive was still talking. “And since your mother is so much better, I’d hoped you might fly in for a face-to-face. It would only take a couple of days, Meg. I’m convinced you’re the one to cinch the deal.”

Meg rolled off her bed, reaching for a pad of paper from the side table, already thinking of a company in the north of England that might be interested in joining Neels in an island venture “Well, give me a day to make some arrangements here, okay? I’ll call you when I know I’ll be coming.”

Meg hung up, wondering how her mother would react to her leaving for a few days after promising her a whole month. Perhaps Sandy or one of her mother’s other friends would spend a few days with Audrey while she was gone. Two days should do it. Three at the most.

But there was a larger problem looming than what a mere two days could cover, and Meg hadn’t yet given much thought to the answers. She couldn’t stretch her leave of absence from work much longer than the month she’d asked for, yet the idea of leaving her mother to live entirely on her own again concerned her. She and Jack were Audrey’s only living relatives, and neither of them were within easy distance. Besides friends, who would be close by for her mother when she returned to England?

Perhaps it was time they found someone to share her mother’s house or else suggest her mother move in with Jack or Meg. Although Audrey wouldn’t welcome either suggestion, Meg was sure. Audrey loved her independence.

She made a note to talk with Jack and Kathy about the matter and closed her notebook.

But it wasn’t the problems surrounding her mother’s care or the usual excitement of finding all the components necessary to complete a business agreement that crowded her mind as she fell asleep later. No, she had no doubt those solutions would work themselves out with a little extra finesse on her part What made her heart flutter was the knowledge she would see Kelsey again in only a few hours. She wondered why that was still true after all these years, why she hadn’t fallen out of love with him. Or why she’d never found a man to supplant Kelsey’s place in her heart.

But she hadn’t, and that was that. Now she wondered what bothered him, what was on his mind. What did Kelsey need from her?

What if Lissa and Aimee had told him of their proposal?

She sat straight up in bed, wide-eyed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with—not anxiety. Of course not. She was a grown woman and experienced in worldly attitudes. Such a small thing to cause a tizzy.

Her hands flew to her flushed cheeks, and she jerked them away, then dropped them into her lap.

Oh, what if they had. How mortifying! For her and for Kelsey.

Oh, Father, please, please don’t let either of us be embarrassed in this situation. The girls are so young and they haven’t a clue as to how I’ve felt all these years. Or Kelsey, either. Please, Lord, help me to think clearly in the morning and not hope for the impossible or…anything at all…or make an utter fool of myself.

She lay back down, curled on her side, with the sheet pulled up to her chin. Well, she’d just have to laugh it off. Surely she and Kelsey could share the joke together like the old friends they were.

They didn’t have to let it create a mountain of embarrassment.

Turning over, she punched her pillow. She’d wear her new buttercup yellow dress with the high waistline. It didn’t make her figure look much slimmer, but it went well with her coloring.

No—she’d wear the navy linen. She looked slimmer in it.

By eight the next morning, Meg had settled for a casual soft blue print skirt with a solid blue knit top to match her eyes. Betty Jean’s Café sat on a corner in the old part of town only two blocks from church. It boasted an old-fashioned family menu in a sixties setting Most of its customers came from long habit and loyalty. Meg slipped into the booth opposite Kelsey at exactly the appointed time.

Without his usual straw cowboy hat or his sometimes baseball cap, his gleaming auburn hair lay smoothly brushed against his head. He had dressed in a suit and tie, attire he seldom wore. He had little requirement for it, she knew; few farmers did. Granted, the outdated brown suit and solid green tie could never pass as anything more than very conservative, but he’d dressed up, just the same.

She’d caught him a second before he looked up. His downcast gaze appeared thoughtful, and his mouth had settled into a solemn expression. She blinked, wondering if he planned on going to a funeral

Then he smiled at her, and her heart went on its leapfrog game.

“Morning, Meg.”

“Hi, Kelsey.” She glanced at his almost empty coffee cup. “Have I kept you long?”

“No, not really. Lissa and Aimee needed to be at church early because the junior choir is singing for this morning’s service.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” She owned up to a tiny bite of disappointment. He hadn’t dressed up for her; he planned to attend church to hear his girls sing. “Where are the boys? And Heather?”

He signaled for the waitress to bring coffee. “Heather was invited to Miss Maybelle’s, her Bible teacher, for Sunday morning breakfast along with three other children entering kindergarten next year.”

“Ah, yes. I remember Miss Maybelle. She coached me in every Bible verse-and-fact contest while I was in grade school. I’m amazed at her faithfulness and tenacity.” She chuckled. “And longevity. Does she still own that property to the south of you?”

“Uh-huh. I’ve asked her if she wants to sell it several times, but she isn’t ready to let go of it yet. Been in her family too long. But she lives in town now.” He picked up his spoon, set it down again and glanced away. “The boys had pancakes already and now are riding their bikes in the park. I told them to check in with us in thirty minutes.” He glanced at his watch. “Twenty-five now.”

“With strict instructions not to get dirty before church, too, I bet.”

“You got it. I guess that kind of parenting never changes, does it?”

“No, I suspect not.”

The harried waitress finally came to their table, filled their coffee cups, left containers of fresh cream and rushed away. Kelsey stared after her with impatience. “Did you want something to eat? A donut or something?”

“No. I ate breakfast with Mom before I left.”

“It’s okay to leave her alone now?”

“Yes, she’ll do fine for a short period of time. In spite of her protests to the contrary, she likes her time alone. Anyway, she plans to attend church this morning.”

He nodded and stirred two creams into his cup and two sugars.

“My goodness, Kelsey,” she teased, trying to ease his unusual tension. “If I put all that in my coffee I’d be a butterball in no time at all. I have to watch all my calories as it is.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that, if I were you. You look good, Meg. Really good.” His expression remained earnest, though he tried for a smile, as though making fun of his own effort at complimenting her. “Didn’t I mention that the other day?”

“Um, I don’t recall hearing it. Thank you.” He’d paid her a few offhand compliments when they were younger, but she’d always thought them in the nature of a big brother. This was of another kind altogether

“Well, you look very nice this morning. All the time, really.”

She tipped her head and stared at him over her coffee cup.

“Thank you, Kelsey.”

“This is no good” He set his cup down suddenly, letting the liquid slosh over its rim. “If I drink any more of this stuff I’ll be so jittery with caffeine the kids’ll think they have a snapdragon for a dad.”

She laughed, the sound bubbling out of her spontaneously. He joined her, his lips spreading in a genuine smile, while his eyes took on their mossy look.

“What is it, what’s the matter, Kelsey? I’ve never seen you so…jittery. It’s not like you. Can I help?”

“Actually, you can. I mean…” He brushed back the neatly trimmed hair above his left ear, sighed and leaned back. His expression turned determined. “We’ve been friends for a long time, Meg. Good friends, I like to think. I’m just going to shoot straight, okay?”

“Sure, Kels. Fire away.”

“I overheard what Lissa and Aimee said to you the other night. Out on the drive. I’ve been thinking about it. About Linda…”

“Oh.” She swallowed hard and put down her cup, willing the rising blush to abate quickly, or better yet, wishing to hide it altogether. But it was no use, so she rushed into a response. “Oh, Kelsey, I wish—Don’t be angry with the girls. They mean well, you know, and they’ll get used to Linda in time. She’s really a good person, and she’ll make a wonderful effort to…”

She lost her momentum as he staunchly shook his head.

“No. Linda’s a nice woman, Meg, but she’s all wrong for the kids. She has no patience for them, and they don’t get along with her girl. Besides—” he looked at her with a growing realization, a frown puckering his brow “—I’d make her a lousy husband. No real respect between us, you see. While with you—”

“With me?” she squeaked out.

“Meg—” he held her gaze “—why haven’t you married by now?”

“I don’t know.” Clasping her cup hard to keep her hands still, she felt mesmerized with the intimacy of this conversation. “Just never found anyone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with when it came down to the nuts and bolts of a commitment, I guess.”

“Are you ever sorry?”

Dropping her gaze, she hesitated for a long moment.

“Sometimes.”

“Don’t you want to?”

How could she answer that? “Well, I always thought I would. Like most women, I suppose.”

“Would you consider it, Meg? Marrying me?”

Looking up, she could only blink at him, wondering if she’d hear her morning alarm go off at any moment

“The thing is, Meg—” he straightened and reached across the table to pry her fingers from her cup “—I think the girls are on to something. We could make a go at marriage. You and I.”

Meg looked at his callused hand holding hers, his fingers strong and steady, his nails clean and neatly pared. Her own hand trembled.

“The way I see it,” he continued, “we could form a kind of partnership. I haven’t much to give you but myself, but I’d be a faithful husband. And you’d be close to your mom, that’s something to consider.”

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about that,” she murmured absently.

“We have a lot of advantages on our side, Meg—we’ve known each other for years, respect each other. I don’t have to tell you anything about Dee Dee or question the fact you’ll be good to my children. You’re fond of them, and they love you.”

“I’m not sure about the boys. Or Heather.” She made her comment in jest because she didn’t know as yet how else to respond. But for once he answered seriously

“They’ll love you when they know you better. As much as the rest of us do. In God’s own time, you’ll see As you said a moment ago, they’ll adjust to a mother’s hand. And you understand how to handle Heather.” He grinned his old teasing grin. “As Aimee said, she need’s unspoiling. Maybe we all do.”

The boys would love her as much as the rest of them? Did that include him?

Even if it did, that didn’t necessarily mean Kelsey was in love with anyone but Dee Dee’s memory. Could he ever fall in love with another woman?

A sudden rapping on the window beside their booth brought their faces about like puppets, startling them from their concentrated attention on each other. Thad and Phillip. They beckoned eagerly, their muffled voices telling them to come see the old cars driving through town on their way to a car rally.

Meg’s usual sharp mental switches eluded her as she tried to take in what the boys wanted while a long-held breath whooshed from her lungs. Kelsey had just asked her to marry him. She’d heard the very words that had filled her thoughts and fueled her longings for days. Would it be wrong to marry Kelsey for her own selfish desires?

Oh, but she wasn’t kidding herself. He’d never have thought of asking without the kids’ prompting, and he wasn’t offering anything like a romance.

But did that matter? They were two rational adults who looked at life’s practical needs first. Kelsey thought they had a shot at building a good marriage. At a fulfilling, long-lasting relationship based on friendship.

Now it was up to her. Now she had to discover if she had the courage to chance getting her heart broken. Because if she married Kelsey and he never fell in love with her, that’s exactly what would happen