I was about to comment on how delicious the lemonade was when I hear the doorbell ring.
“I’ll get it,” I offered. I’d already gotten everyone to lug all of my heavy stuff upstairs, so I wanted them to keep resting. I got out of my seat and went to answer the front door.
“Angeline!” I remembered telling her I’d be moving in today, but I didn’t know if she said she’d be coming.
“Kari! Ashley called me and said you guys were just about finished with the move. She told me to stop by for a little gab.”
I smiled and told her, “Come in, come in. We’re all out on the back porch. Ash made some fresh lemonade. It’s delicious. You can head to the back and I’ll grab a glass for you from the kitchen.”
Angeline knew her way around the house since she and Ashley were so close. The two of them got to know each other because they both were teachers. They taught in different schools – Ash taught first-grade and Miss Angeline was in charge of the preschoolers – but given the town was so small, it was easy for the two teachers to find one another.
I’d also been getting closer to Angeline. She’s been thinking about legally adding Judge Houston’s surname to her own. The whole thing was a bit of a scandal for the town. Angeline recently found out that she was the (no longer) secret daughter of Judge Houston and Miss June – something neither father nor daughter knew about.
Ever since this was revealed, Angeline has been visiting Houston in prison – she’s really the only person who has stood by him or shown him any kindness. I remembered a whole lot of people in town reveling in Miss June’s murder – she wasn’t a very well-liked community member – but once the murderer was revealed, everyone quickly turned on the judge. In fact, when everyone thought it was Ashley, they pretty much left her to the dogs, too. It seemed small towns could be fickle. But, I was impressed by how Angeline was standing by Judge Houston. Even though he did a bad thing, I guess he was still her father and she didn’t want to lose him just after she got to meet him.
I took the glass I got from the kitchen to the backyard to gave to Angeline. When I got there, I found John standing up like he was getting ready to leave. As I handed the empty glass over, I looked at everyone to see what I’d just missed. John filled me in.
“I have to head out. I have a teaching engagement at a church one town over.”
John went around to nearby towns and in Appleton itself, teaching retirees, homemakers, really anyone who wanted a bit of lesson, about painting landscapes and fruit baskets. I’d been wanting to try out one of his classes, but work kept me super busy. I have it penciled in to find time to sign myself up.
“Have fun!”
We all said goodbye. Gladys walked her husband out but was back pretty quickly.
“Do you feel like an official Appletonian yet, Kari?” Angeline asked me.
I didn’t think I had fully integrated myself into the culture of Appleton – a lot of the quirks of this small town still surprised me sometimes – but I was getting used to it more and more every day. Plus, I found myself really enjoying how different everything was from my hometown in the Bay Area.
“I think I’m getting there. I’m really growing to love this town.”
“Well, we’re happy to have you,” Gladys added. “Especially because you’re fiercely fighting to preserve it. I wish some native Appletonians had your spirit when it came to the town’s history.”
Ever since I thought of becoming a resident of this historic neighborhood, I’d joined Gladys on her mission of local historical preservation.
“I couldn’t stand by and let such a lovely town have its beauty erased by some developer.”
Gladys and I had succeeded in keeping Miss June’s next-door property – the house that sits between hers and Ashley’s – from being taken over by Mr. Anderson’s company. I wasn’t entirely sure what his plan for Appleton was. Whenever I visited him, he would always say he wanted to bring life back to this sleepy hamlet, but it wasn’t hard to see that he was motivated by money. The only thing was why he was so adamant about Appleton. Gladys wasn’t an easy person to go up against. Whatever he wanted to get done here was pretty important to him.
“You really are something Kari Jacobs,” Gladys said, tipping her lemonade glass to me.
I had never planned on getting so invested in Appleton’s history, but when I got sidetracked at the nearby plantations, my interest was piqued – even before I got into town. And even with my job, I managed to find myself some extra time.
It also helped that my Aunt Tavey set me up pretty nicely. She was one of those TV judges, the most popular one in fact. Everyone was drawn to her acerbic wit and clever jokes. I hadn’t seen or heard from her in a while, but I’d recently gotten a check curtesy of her.
What Aunt Tavey had done was – if the royalties from her show accumulated over a certain amount – I’d get the excess. And since Judge Jacobs had been in syndication, every once in a while, I’d get some extra money in the mail. It had been a while since I’d gotten one, though. That must have meant that there had been a surge in the ratings recently. It was nice to get an economic windfall, but I’d rather see or at least talk to my aunt. I hadn’t been able to get into contact with her for a while. I just hoped she was okay.
Being Tavey’s niece had always been pretty great – she was always nice to me and a very big part of why I had decided to become a lawyer. Not a lot of people knew we were related. When I moved to Appleton, my colleagues at Winston, Yancey, & Philpot had known I was related to a famous judge – it was a little harder to hide from those in the legal business. But lately, the cat got out of the bag and all of Appleton knew that I was related to Judge Jacobs.
It made me a bit of a local celebrity – something that had also happened when I was defending Ashley. I was not a fan of the attention or the questions. Whenever I was out of town, someone would ask me about Judge Jacobs – what did she like, what was she like, why did she suddenly disappear from public life, etc. The typical questions everyone always asks. Even if I could get the answers, I probably wouldn’t share them, but I wouldn’t know because I had a lot fewer answers than I would like.
Aunt Tavey wasn’t just shrouded in secrecy from her fans, it extended to her family as well.
The money I had received wasn’t going to let me retire or anything, but it really did show up in a pinch. It gave me what I needed to amicably get out of my lease, so I could move in with Ashley.
The apartment was cozy for me, but it was going to get tiny for Shortbread. He was bound to get pretty big and I knew that the space in my old place would soon be a bit straining for him. I loved how much fun he was having in the backyard, running around and stretching his legs like he deserved. Shortbread’s comfort would have been enough of a reason for me to move, but Ash practically begged me to move in.
And I had the perfect gift in mind to thank her for everything she’s done for me. I felt like, at that point, she had more than paid me back for my legal services.
The residuals from Aunt Tavey’s show would be just enough for this extra special birthday present I had picked out. I’d been saving up for it and, suddenly, I had the money I needed. Ashley, hands down, was the kindest person I had ever known, and I didn’t think that it was simple Southern hospitality. I knew this gift would just tickle her pink. I wanted to honor Ashley with a gift that I was sure she would love.
Chapter Two
Sunday
Ashley had gone to church in the morning. She had tried to get me to go with her that morning – as she did every Sunday. I was pretty sure Ashley had put herself on a mission to get me into the Sunday spirit, but my family was never particularly religious, so I never felt inclined to go. My lack of enthusiasm did nothing to keep Ashley from trying, and I wasn’t annoyed or anything like that. Maybe she could even get me to say yes one day. She was way too sweet when she asked for anything, so I could see my resolve easily slipping.
I was waiting for her to get home so I
could show her what I had gotten for her birthday. It had been hard keeping it to myself for so long. I’d almost given up and just told her, but I really wanted it to be a complete surprise, so I managed to keep it in.
I heard the door opening and sat up quickly from the couch. Shortbread was a little faster than me and ran over to the door to greet Ashley. I could hear her greeting him, her sweet voice carrying its way over to me.
“Hey little man! Where’s the other one, huh?”
Ashley came around to the living room and took the spot next to me. She took a deep breath and looked at my face.
“You missed another good sermon, Kari. I’m going to get you into a pew one of these days.”
I just shrugged. “Maybe you will, but we’ll have to talk about that later because I’ve got a little something special planned for you,” I ended with a bit of a singsong voice.
I was bubbling with excitement and I could see the gears in Ashley’s head turning. She wouldn’t figure it. There was no way. I had kept it very much under wraps and made sure not to drop even the smallest of hints. Anyone who knew anything was on a need-to-know basis. Ashley could be pretty observant, so I had to make sure to be careful.
When it was obvious she wasn’t going to figure out what was going on, Ashley just straight asked, “What is it? Can you please, please tell me? Like it’ll still be a surprise just I’ll get it now instead of later.”
The begging wasn’t going to get me. I wouldn’t let it.
“You’ll find out once we get there. We’ll just have to get into my car and maybe, maybe, on the way, things will be illuminated.”
Ashley stood up, I could see that she was resigned to me keeping the secret.
“Let me change into more comfortable clothes and then we can go to this mystery place, so you can tell me what that clever mind of yours has in store for me?”
I nodded, and Ashley went upstairs to her room to get out of her church clothes.
I grabbed my purse which was already ready to go and sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Ashley didn’t take too long to get ready, but she looked a lot better than comfortable. I was comfortable in my joggers and white t-shirt. Ashley had on a beautiful flowy dress and she had put her hair up in a bun. I wasn’t sure if it was the debutante in her or the Southern belle, but I had never seen Ashley in leisurewear.
She was always dressed like company was coming over and I had been company until very recently, but even with just the one day I’d been living with her, Ashley was dressed well until it was time to go to bed. Even her pajamas were elegant, though. If I was more invested in my appearance, maybe I’d try to keep up, but most of my efforts went into my work attire.
“You always look gorgeous,” I commented.
I liked complimenting Ashley because she would always get a light blush and then say something along the lines of, “Oh, this old thing. I just threw it on.” I also loved her false modesty. She was definitely aware that she looked amazing.
I grabbed Shortbread, put his leash in my bag for later, and the three of us headed out to the car. I started the car and then pulled out of the driveway. I could see Ashley eyeing me and I guessed that she was looking to see if I would pull out my GPS. I had anticipated this and made sure to know the route before today. I planned the heck out of this surprise and nothing was going to ruin it now.
She smiled slightly and noddded. I assumed she had caught on and decided to just fully go along with the outing. About five minutes into the drive, we started a conversation.
“How are you liking your new place?” Ashley asked.
“You know I love your house. I was there almost more than I was at my old apartment. I’m so happy you asked me to move in.”
I hadn’t had a roommate since my undergrad. Living on my own had been nice, but a roommate like Ashley was like a gift from the universe.
“I’m glad you like it so much,” Ashley chuckled. We talked the rest of the way, the drive taking about forty-five minutes. I could see the moment when Ashley began getting ideas about where we were going. She still didn’t ask, which I really appreciated. I loved how she was getting into the idea of the surprise just like me.
The sign for Red Rivers Puppy Plantation came up and I pulled into the driveway. As we drove towards the house – the driveway was very long – Ashley asked her first question in a while.
“I see we’re at Red Rivers. Are we here for a nice lunch perchance?”
I shrugged, not quite ready to reveal all. I parked the car not too far from the door and all of us got out to head towards the door. Before we were all the way up the steps, Henry, the butler for Red Rivers, opened the doors for us.
“Miss Jacobs, Miss Butler. How lovely of y’all to grace us with your presence.”
Everyone knew we were coming since I’d called ahead, but they were also very aware that Ashley did not know what was going to happen. A few seconds after Henry greeted us, the Great Danes, Snickerdoodle and Macaroon rushed out and came to say hi. Shortbread was super happy to see his parents and Ashley was tickled to get some sweet doggie kisses.
“Miss Sylvia and company are currently in the drawing room, if the two of you will follow me?”
We got all the dogs inside and then we followed Henry down to the drawing room.
“Ladies, Miss Jacobs and Miss Butler are here to see you.”
I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get used to being announced. I didn’t hate it, it was just weird.
Miss Sylvia got up and out of her seat and gave me a huge hug.
“Kari! How wonderful to see you again! You must visit more often.”
Miss Delilah and Miss Ginny were next, giving the same sentiment. I hadn’t really visited since my last time here. I’d called a few times but getting out to Red Rivers was a bit of a trek and I had gotten very caught up in work. I did feel a little bad, though. Miss Sylvia really was a sweetheart, as were Miss Delilah and Miss Ginny.
“Sylvia told me why you’re here,” Ginny said giving me a bit of a wink.
Ashley clearly caught that, but, lucky for me, the cat wasn’t let out of the bag. Thankfully, Ginny remembered that it was all meant to be a surprise. She looked a lot better since the last time I saw her. She was a lot more lucid and it looked like everyone was pretty good friends at this point. I was happy for all of them.
“Ginny!” Delilah whispered, lightly elbowing her friend. While Ginny was pretty obvious, I didn’t mind the lack of subtly given she didn’t give anything away.
“Oh, Delilah, it’s just a little fun!” Sylvia laughed.
She pointed at me like she just had a revelation.
“Henry will bring us some refreshments.” And like he knew we were talking about him, Henry popped in with a tray of fresh iced tea and cookies. “Now I’m going to go upstairs and retrieve what we talked about.”
Sylvia gave me a wink and Ashley saw that too. It seemed subtly wasn’t the word of the day for anyone, not that I minded too much. I’d forgotten how fun these gals could be.
We all took seats around the table in the drawing room while Sylvia headed upstairs.
“Dear, you must tell us how you’re liking Appleton!” Delilah exclaimed. I sat back with a glass of iced tea and a chocolate chip cookie. I took a small bite and sip before answering.
“It’s really nice. I’ve made some great friends,” I said, motioning towards Ashley, “and work has been great. It was a bit of a bumpy start, but everything turned out okay.”
Ginny’s eyes lit up at my statement. “I remember hearing about that!” She turned her head towards Ashley, “Poor dear, I hope all that unpleasantness wasn’t too taxing.”
Ashley smiled and shook her head. “It wasn’t too bad. I mean, in the beginning I was very worried, but with Kari in my corner everything turned out okay. She’s really the best friend a girl could have.”
I blushed, a little sheepish, but I took the compliment because it was so nice.
Before I could say anything more, Sy
lvia was back with my gift to Ashley in her hands. We all turned to her and Ashley gasped when she saw the puppy wriggling around. She went between looking at the dog, Sylvia, and me.
After a few seconds, she asked, “Who’s that?”
“This is Biscotti, little Shortbread’s sister,” Sylvia answered.
“Can I hold her?”
“Of course, hun!” Sylvia handed the young dog to Ashley and she nuzzled into Biscotti’s fawn-coated fur.
She was making all the cute little sounds she made whenever she held Shortbread.
“Oh, she’s such a cutie.”
I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer and I finally spat it out, “Well, she’s your cutie!”
Ashley looked at a little confused and then she suddenly understood.
“Oh my goodness, really?”
I nodded.
“Like, really, really? She’s mine, mine?”
I nodded again. The tears started to flow right then, and I was worried it may have been a little too much.
“I can’t believe you went to all this trouble!” Ashley said, thanking me through tears, basically bawling.
“Don’t worry about that! It’s your birthday and I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Biscotti is a present from me to you and I’m so happy that you love her so much.”
“Love her! She’s family! Biscotti is a certified Butler member from now until forever.”
She was basically talking to the dog at this point and I just let it play out. Sylvia got back into her seat and we let Ashley revel with her new friend. I knew Ashley would love to have a puppy of her own. She was always loving on Shortbread and I could tell she’d make a perfect dog mom. Plus, I thought it would be nice for Shortbread to have a friend – and his sister to boot. I was sure they’d be the best of friends.
Eventually, Ashley stopped crying and she calmed down a bit. That was good since there was a part two to her gift.
“I wanted to let you know that we also enrolled Biscotti in obedience classes. In fact, she’ll be going to school with Shortbread. The four of us will get to go through this together.”
Kari Jacobs Box Set Page 18
