by Ava Miles
“No, no one did.”
“Well, you seem to have a whole bunch of people on your side now,” Louisa said. “I hear your husband and daughter are wonderful, and I already know Riley and Jess are. I hope you’ll join us for Sunday dinner with your family. I…don’t ever want to stand in the way of that. That’s really what I wanted to say to you. I know we’re not related per se, but I’d like to be your friend.”
The offer made Paige’s heart tighten. “I think I would like that.”
“Good,” Louisa said, taking a sip of her coffee.
“There’s something I need to say too,” Paige said, setting her coffee on the floor. “I’m not my mother, and while her actions were hers…I can’t help but feel responsible sometimes.”
Louisa shook her head and set her coffee aside. “Lay that to rest, child. You’re not responsible. Any more than I’m responsible for Preston.”
Paige felt the sorrow well up. “Still…I’m sorry you were hurt.”
Louisa stood up and held out her arms. “I’m sorry you were hurt too.”
Somehow she found herself standing, held spellbound by the love emanating from this woman’s eyes, a love she’d never seen in the eyes of her own mother.
She walked into Louisa’s arms, and they held each other.
Chapter 26
Everything seemed to be coming together in Sadie’s life almost as though by design. Her whole world seemed to be expanding, and like Jess and Haley’s princess playtime, she felt very much like a magical princess herself these days. Of course, it had helped her see each girl’s princess quilt better in her mind. And she’d started conceiving a superhero quilt for Riley, her hero…
They were talking marriage! It sent a little thrill through her every time she thought about it. And that wasn’t the only cause for celebration. Mama had up and welcomed Paige into the family, and today all of the McGuiness siblings were going to see their grandmother together.
But when they parked on the dirt road in front of Me-Mother’s trailer, it was hard not to see that everything wasn’t coming up roses for some. This trailer park was populated with people with broken dreams.
“It’s too bad none of the assisted living facilities worked out. Maybe she’ll let us buy her a place in Nashville and hire a helper,” J.P. said, turning off the engine. “This place…”
Sure as shooting, it wasn’t as shiny as a new penny, but Me-Mother had closed down all talk of moving after learning none of the places they’d found in Nashville would accept No-no. The rare few would only do smallish dogs, certainly not a bulldog. When J.P. had offered to take No-no, saying Me-Mother could visit him whenever she liked, she’d been adamant. Then I’ll stay here, and there’ll be no more discussion. They were still trying to find a solution that would work.
“Paige?” Shelby asked, turning around from the front seat. “Are you okay? We had a quite a shock when we arrived the first time.” In fact, Paige had had a week of them, what with her meeting with Mama, but she said she felt much better after her talk with Louisa. “You can change your mind about wanting to go in. No one would think any less of you.”
“No, I still want to meet her,” Paige said, still holding Sadie’s hand in the back seat they were sharing with Susannah. “You prepared me as well as you could.”
“Nothing ever prepares me for this place,” Susannah said, looking out the window. “The children need new clothes and shoes. This is the part of the South you can’t tell anyone about. The poverty…I wish…”
“We do what we can,” J.P. said, sitting back heavily in his seat. “Maybe we can find a local church or community group to work with to improve the conditions down here. But that’s for another day.”
“I’m glad we brought her the lap quilt,” Sadie said. “It’s sure to brighten up her place.”
“Yes,” Paige murmured, her gaze still fixed out the window. “I know I didn’t do much, but thank you for letting me help.”
“Nonsense, you did plenty.” Sadie let go of Paige’s hand to unbuckle her seatbelt. “We should go in. I can see No-no in the window. Me-Mother knows we’re here.”
“We’re a little early,” Shelby said, checking her watch, “but I don’t think she’ll mind none.”
They’d made good time. The roads had been clear, and the weather good. Sadie had felt Paige’s nerves the entire three hours. Someday everyone’s spouses and significant others would come with them again, like they’d done before, but for Paige’s first meeting with her grandma, everyone had thought it best for it to only be the five of them. Mama had promised she’d join them someday soon.
The five of them…Sadie liked how their numbers had changed. The McGuiness family had five siblings now, and they’d shared the news with their friends at church this morning since Mama had met Paige and wanted to unseal the last secret, so to speak. This meeting with Me-Mother felt like the perfect next step. Not too bad for a Sunday.
“Ready?” Sadie asked Paige. “She’s going to love you. Trust me.”
They left the car with their gifts—the quilt wasn’t the only one—and walked down the dirt path that had become a natural walkway. The area around the trailer was lined with weeds, and Sadie wondered if it was worth asking Tammy to pick out some flowers to plant to brighten the space. Their grandma couldn’t water them, she expected, but there were plants that thrived in harsh climates.
Standing in front of Me-Mother’s door, Sadie couldn’t think of a harsher climate. Rusty car parts and appliances worn out from use littered the yards of other trailers. Mama had told them to always look for the beauty, but in this place, it was hard to see any under the patina of neglect and wear. Weeds flourished, and if there was one truth about weeds, it was that they overtook everything in sight rapaciously.
Well, their presence would hopefully bring some joy to the older woman. J.P. was lifting his hand to knock when the door opened. Their grandma stood there in a light yellow cotton dress with her trusted dog at her side. No-no was calm, and Me-Mother’s smile was radiant. Tears were already gathering in her eyes.
“Oh, my sweet grandbabies,” she said in a hoarse voice. “It’s good to see y’all. And Paige… Oh, honey, I’m so sorry for what my boy done, but seeing you… It makes my heart sing. You’re beautiful. Come here, child.”
Paige stepped forward and brushed at the tears streaming down her face. “Hello. I’m…happy to meet you too.”
Me-Mother cupped her face. “I know I’m a sight, but you don’t need fear me none. Everyone told me how lovely you are, and they’re all great judges of character. They saw past this old girl’s walls when we first made an acquaintance. It was quite a shock, but we managed that first time. We’ll manage this time too. Come in and give me sugar. Each of you.”
Paige kissed her cheek and then stepped aside for everyone to follow suit. J.P. closed the door and gave No-no a good scratching behind the ears.
“You look good, Me-Mother,” he told her. “You been taking care of yourself like I asked you?”
She seemed to beam. “Yes, you sweet boy. I’ve been soaking my feet in those Epsom salts you brought me last time, and it helps bring down the swelling. And you brought me another honey-baked ham. How kind. Y’all shouldn’t spoil me.”
“We’re not spoiling you,” Shelby said. “The ham is from Vander. He said to tell you he’ll be up for a visit soon.”
Me-Mother looked at Paige. “I’m particularly fond of Shelby’s man. He comes up and visits me from time to time. Although why he spends his time with an old woman like me, I’ll never know.”
“Me-Mother, don’t talk about yourself like that,” Sadie said, handing Paige the present to hold and crossing to hug her. “We visit you because we love you. Of course, if you moved to Dare River, we could all see you more often.”
The older woman’s eyes narrowed. “We’ve done talked that to death, child. I won’t leave No-no here. Heck, with y’all blowing into my life like you done, I have a sight more to look forward to
than I used to. I might live longer because of it. That’s more than enough for me.”
“Paige and I made you something, Me-Mother,” Sadie said, gesturing to Paige.
Her sister extended it, and the older woman pressed the gift to her belly like it was a cherished child. “Oh, you done spoil me too much.” She unwrapped it carefully and then looked at Sadie and Paige. “Y’all done made me a quilt? Oh, you precious children.”
“Open it up,” Sadie said, helping her with it. “The others haven’t seen it yet. Only me and Paige.”
“Sadie did most of it,” Paige said, wringing her hands.
“Oh, land sakes,” their grandma said, extending it out in full. “You made me puppies. Oh, my…” She started to cry softly. “No one has ever made me something this special before. We had homemade clothes, growing up poor, but this… Oh, you sweet girls. Thank you! Thank you!”
She pressed the quilt to her chest and came over and kissed both of them on the cheeks.
“I brought you oranges,” J.P. said, holding up a burlap bag. “Does that rate a kiss?”
“Only one,” she teased. “These girls are going to get kissed and often today. I mean, I just can’t believe this. The stitch work is so fine, and the dogs… No-no, they’re a fair bit cuter than you are, but I still love you.”
She lowered the quilt to show the bulldog, and he barked, causing her to give a teary laugh. Susannah and Shelby were wiping tears from their eyes as well, and Sadie nodded when they looked at her and Paige.
Shelby mouthed, “It’s beautiful.”
Sadie felt a familiar pride spread through her. She and Paige had made that together. “We’re a good team.” She took Paige’s hand and swung it like they were little girls. She wished they’d known each other then. They could have played like Haley and Jess.
“Let me put this somewhere safe. It’s too precious to leave out. I made lemonade and iced tea for y’all. Would one of you girls mind helping me?”
J.P. put his hand on her arm. “You find a place for the quilt and then come sit. We’ll serve. Where would you like to sit and chat? Outside?”
“Outside would be lovely,” Me-Mother said. “I’m hoping those hot and humid days are behind us. I’m going to put this on my bed. It will make me happy to have it cover me while I sleep.” She headed down the hall.
“Susannah? Why don’t you go outside with everyone while Shelby and I prepare the drinks? Who wants iced tea?”
He counted the show of hands, and Sadie wanted to hug him for taking charge of things like he usually did.
“I can help,” she offered as their grandma returned with a grin on her face.
“I can get the drinks as good as any of y’all,” J.P. responded. “Me-Mother knows I’m not one of those chauvinists.”
The older woman barked out a laugh. “Where were you when I needed help with laundry, boy? No man I’ve ever known helped out with the household chores. All right, girls, we’ll let him have his way and go outside.”
“Save a chair for me beside you, Me-Mother,” J.P. said with a wink.
“Cheeky boy, he is,” Me-Mother said with a smile. “Paige, you come and sit on the other side of me. I want to hear all about you.”
Sadie took a spot in the shade and smiled as Paige told Me-Mother about Mark and Haley and showed her some pictures. The love she had for them seemed to banish the worst of her nerves, and Me-Mother’s kind smile ushered them the rest of the way.
Paige didn’t mention Jess or Riley, even though they were in some of the pictures, and Sadie knew it was out of respect for her new role in their life. Next time, maybe she’d tell Me-Mother all about her new man and his daughter.
Love was a miracle, and seeing Paige and Me-Mother get acquainted was a bona fide one for sure. Sadie bowed her head and gave a moment of thanks.
When she raised her head, she noticed an old car parked a couple blocks up in the back road akin to an alley. The shadow of the driver struck her. He was watching them. She didn’t know how she knew, but she felt it. Goosebumps flashed over her arms. The inside of the car was dark with the noonday sun raining down on it, and she squinted to get a better look. Why was he parked so oddly and staying inside his vehicle?
After another few minutes, her pulse started to race. Hope began a drumbeat in her heart. Without thinking it through, she lurched to her feet. Her legs seemed to have a mind of their own, and they wanted to talk to the man waiting in the car.
“I’ll be right back,” she cried, racing down the back road.
The man’s silhouette shifted, and she knew he’d looked away from her. But he didn’t start up his car. A cry of joy wanted to burst from her lips, and when she was a block away, she knew why.
Her daddy was here! He’d come to see them. Had he changed his mind? God, she hoped so. She’d prayed for it for months.
This had to be a sign, didn’t it?
Her feet covered the distance between them quickly, and then she was standing a few feet from his old Chevy Impala. Strength flooded into her veins, almost as if the earth under her was pumping nourishment from every root under her feet. She’d waited for this moment her whole life, and everything around her seemed to still.
He turned his head to look at her, and she felt her heart clench.
“You’re my daddy,” she said across the distance between them.
“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” the man answered in an insolent drawl, leaning his hands on the tarnished steering wheel.
The comment, and the way it was delivered, siphoned every drop of hope from her.
“You’re visiting Lenore. You shouldn’t be. She’s none of your concern. You’d best mind me on that, girl.”
The arrows of his words, powered with hate, seemed to fall before they reached her. She studied him, taking in the similarities between him and J.P. He still had most of his hair, but it was gray and thin and a touch greasy, like he hadn’t washed it for days. His black work shirt was tattered around the edges, and his old jeans were as faded with age as he was. Booze and stale cigarettes touched her nose, the smell adding to the bile churning in her stomach. His mouth curled in a snarl, and his hazel eyes were hard and mean.
J.P. might resemble this man, but it was the only thing they had in common.
“You’re a coward,” she told him, her voice resounding with inner strength.
“What did you say to me?” he asked, leaning closer to the open window between them. But he didn’t open the door. He didn’t come out.
Anger exploded in her veins. “If you had any courage, you’d come and meet us instead of skulking here like you are,” she told him, the sun hot on her shoulders.
“Lenore tells me you wanted to move her to a nicer place to live closer to Music City,” he said, and spat out the driver’s window. “La-di-da. Maybe you should give me money and a new place seeing as how I’m on the run because of y’all. That asshole private investigator ruined a good job and woman for me. I deserve some compensation.”
Sadie couldn’t believe her ears. Then she thought about Riley and what he’d said about Mandy. Is this the way he’d felt? “Compensation? You have some nerve saying that after what you did. To us and to Paige.”
“Paige? Who the hell is Paige?”
“She’s our sister, and a better human being than you’ll ever be.”
“I’m Paige,” Sadie heard, as her sister came and stood beside her. “I’m the child you and Skylar Watkins made.”
Her father spat out his window again. “I don’t recognize you as my kin. I don’t claim you none. Do you hear me, girl?”
Paige flinched next to her, and Sadie took her hand. The shadows of her siblings appeared in her peripheral vision, and then they were all standing next to her and Paige in a solid line in front of their daddy.
“Y’all are just like your mama,” he cried out, “causing trouble, expecting too much. Self-righteous as all get out. I don’t claim any of you as mine now that I see what you’ve become.”
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br /> “Good!” Sadie shouted back. “Because you’re not our daddy. You don’t deserve to be.”
“Deserve?” their daddy drawled out. “You have a nerve, girl. Someone needs to teach you a lesson.”
“You’d better watch your tone with my sisters, mister,” Shelby said, “because I have the urge to give you a piece of my mind, and trust me when I tell you…you’ll be crying by the time I’m done.”
“He’s not worth it,” J.P. said, stepping in front of them. “You’re done hurting anyone in this family, and that means Lenore too. If I ever hear you’ve come around again with your tail between your legs, talking about what you deserve and who you’re gonna give a lesson to… Well, man, you’re going to wish to God we’d never met again this side of heaven.”
“And you say you’re a bunch of good Christian people,” he replied, starting his car. “You’re just like your mama.”
“Thank you,” Susannah said in a hard tone. “That’s the kindest thing you’ve said so far. Now git on out of here like my brother said.”
“Trash!” Their father raked his gaze over them. “You’re all nothing but trash. And that includes you too.” He shifted his hateful eyes to Paige. “What’s your name? Patty? You’re as much a bitch as your mother before you.”
“You don’t talk about Paige like that!” J.P. ground out, gripping the side of his car. “She’s worth a hundred of you and then some. Now, you git on out of here and never come back.”
“You don’t tell me what to do,” he called out, putting the car in gear. “I’m your daddy, boy.”
J.P. stepped back, and his shadow seemed to tower over the car. “No, you aren’t.”
Dirt spewed up when their father hit the gas and raced off down the back road. Sadie felt the dust settle over her face, the grime reminding her of the hateful words he’d spewed at them. She wiped it off with thorough hands.
“He’s nothing,” she whispered, sick to her soul at the realization.
