Firefly Summer

by Kathleen Y'Barbo

  Dangerous because he barely knew her, and yet he couldn’t get enough of her company. Couldn’t even find it in him to be embarrassed about what she’d overheard him telling Charlie.

  And dangerous because even after he’d run out of things to do and the daylight was waning, he still found he didn’t want to get into his truck and drive home. He did, of course, but only after he stopped by her back door and promised he’d be back in a few days to finish what he started in the barn.

  He hadn’t elaborated, and thankfully, she hadn’t asked. Because he hadn’t really started anything in the barn other than imagining what it might be like if it were cleaned up a little, had some fresh straw in the stalls and a decent roof to keep the water out.

  And a couple of Arabians like the ones he’d just bought from Bud Jones this morning.

  Trey reached for the phone and then thought better of it and tucked it into his pocket. What was he thinking? He’d only just met this woman this morning, and he was already putting his horses in her barn.

  He couldn’t explain the draw he felt. It wasn’t simply the loss they’d shared. It was something more.

  Yes, she was a dangerous woman. And he’d sworn off of dangerous women when he broke off his engagement with Vikki. The last thing he needed was to find himself tangled up with another gal who distracted him like nobody’s business and got him thinking about …

  “What am I doing pondering tangling up with Sessa Chambers, of all people?” He pressed the button to lower the window and then inhaled a deep gulp of pine-scented East Texas air. Charlie’s ridiculous question about whether he thought he might have been led Sugar Pine for a reason other than a simple apology still bothered him.

  Maybe he had.

  Or maybe he hadn’t.

  Only time would tell.

  It all led back to that second question the counselor had asked. The one where he was supposed to decide what he intended to do with the medical license that had been returned to him.

  The one he hadn’t been able to fully answer.

  Logic and good sense told him the return of that license and the support of Turner Memorial Hospital’s biggest benefactor was an opportunity he dare not waste. All those years of climbing the ladder had landed him just a step or two away from the top rung. That same logic and good sense, however, told him in order to complete the climb to the top, he had to get over whatever it was that shook his insides and rendered him useless when he picked up a scalpel.

  As he turned off the gravel road and onto the main highway that led to Houston, he felt the peace he’d enjoyed all afternoon fade away with each mile he put between himself and Sugar Pine, Texas. Somewhere in what he was feeling right now lay an answer.

  All he had to do was figure out what that answer was.

  Chapter Ten

  May meeting of the Pies, Books & Jesus Book Club

  Location: Sessa Lee Chambers’ home

  Pies: two peanut butter and two chocolate chip, brought by Bonnie Sue Tucker

  Book title: VELMA STILL COOKS IN LEEWAY by Vinita Hampton Wright

  “So I heard our Sessa’s got herself a new employee,” Vonnette said from her perch on the sofa. Coca sat on the opposite end looking like the cat that ate the canary. “Word is you interviewed him this afternoon.”

  “All afternoon,” Carly Chance said.

  “And into the evening,” Carly’s mother-in-law added.

  “Yes, I do believe I passed an unfamiliar truck when I was bringing Pansie home around five,” Mama said. “Was that your new man, dear?”

  “I do not have a new man.” She met Coco’s gaze across the room. “But I did interview a potential employee for Chambers Restoration.”

  “What’s this?” Bud Jones’ wife Annette asked.

  Mama grinned at Annette. “Oh honey, you must get out more often. My daughter has been selected by the Smithsonian for a special job. Can you feature it? My Sessa Lee working for the Smithsonian!” She beamed at Sessa. “And what did I tell you about that man in the diner? Mama was right, now wasn’t she?”

  She ignored her mother to turn her attention to Annette. “I’ve been given a restoration contract for carousel horses that will eventually be part of a traveling exhibit. I’m still stunned that Chambers Restoration was chosen. For that matter, I’m stunned that the project happened at all.”

  “I’m not. Those boys up in Washington just took awhile to figure out who needed to do the work. Of course, I credit the Lord for showing them it was you,” Mama said, and several other ladies echoed the sentiment.

  “Thank you all,” Sessa said. “I give Him all the credit as well.”

  Mama gave her a sideways look. “Now about that man you’ve hired to help you. Does he have a name?”

  “I haven’t hired anyone yet.”

  “If that’s the case, then who mowed the pasture?” Vonnette said. “Jim Bob told me he drove by middle of the afternoon and saw a fellow on your daddy’s riding mower. Said it was the same fellow he saw at the gas station filling gas cans and buying spark plugs.”

  Mama swung her gaze toward Sessa. “Is that so?”

  “That pasture was getting high and he … well, he took the initiative to do something about it.” Despite the fact Mama and Vonnette had begun to giggle, Sessa squared her shoulders and forged on. “Initiative is what you want in an employee, now isn’t it? Not that I’m saying I hired him because I absolutely did not, but you’d agree with me, wouldn’t you, Vonnette?”

  The owner of the Hairport tamed her snickers long enough to shrug. “I’d agree, but honestly, what I’d look for was a fellow who filled out a pair of Wranglers and had nice strong arms. The better to carve those horses, I do believe.”

  She and Mama once again giggled like teenagers. This time several others joined in.

  “Much as I would love to talk about the hired help, how about Coco and I get the pies that my mama did such a good job of baking? Then we can talk about this month’s book. Didn’t you all just love it?”

  “Oh, I did,” Coco said. Bless her. “That Velma, well, she reminded me so much of Sue Ellen’s mama, didn’t she?”

  “She did,” Sue Ellen agreed. “I cried in a couple of places because I thought that was exactly what Mama would say or do.”

  “And that diner,” Carly said to Sue Ellen. “Didn’t it make you think of the Blue Plate? Sometimes when I was reading the book I wondered if the author hadn’t modeled that place after it.”

  Sue Ellen turned to Sessa. “You did a good job of choosing the book. I don’t know how I’m going to pick one when it’s my turn. I think this is going to be my favorite for a long time.”

  “Much as I loved this book,” Mama said, “I really don’t think we’ve exhausted the topic of Sessa’s man. Or her hired help.”

  Sessa shook her head. “I did not hire that man.”

  “Oh, yes, Bonnie Sue,” Vonnette said. “I think you’re right.”

  Mama nodded at Vonnette. “Or whoever that handsome cowboy was that I predicted would end up being the answer to all our prayers that she would find a husband.”

  “All your prayers?” Sessa’s eyes narrowed as she surveyed the dozen or so women gathered in her living room. “Just who all was praying for me to find a husband?”

  Every hand in the room went up. Even Coco’s. The traitor.

  “His name?” Mama demanded.

  “It doesn’t matter what his name is, because he’s not going to be sticking around to make social calls, Mama. And yes, he did get Daddy’s mower working.” Several of the women exchanged knowing looks. “As I told you, I didn’t ask him to mow the field. He just decided to do it on his own. He was worried about how high it had gotten, what with a little one around.” Probably.

  “What a nice young man,” Robin Chance said. “I think I like him already. I wish I hadn’t been busy at the Pup Cake the day you prayed him into the diner, Bonnie Sue.”

  “My mother did not pray that man into the diner.” Sessa’s w
ords were sharper than she’d intended. “In any event, yes, he was a nice man. He volunteered to help, and I allowed it. But I did not hire him to work for Chambers Restoration. So I’m afraid all of those prayers were for nothing. Better luck next time, Mama.”

  Her mother grinned. “Oh Sessa girl, you always were stubborn. It’s not up to you to decide any of this.”

  “Chambers Restoration is my company. It is most certainly up to me to decide who I hire. And I did not hire Trey.”

  “So, his name is Trey,” Mama said.

  Sessa’s phone rang and she snatched it out of her pocket, grateful for the distraction but surprised she’d been carrying it around for most of the evening. Once again the number was from out of state.

  “Excuse me a minute. I need to get this.” She slipped into the kitchen, fanning herself. She loved her mama and her friends, but she hated being under the small-town microscope. By the time she’d walked over to the opposite side of the room, she felt steady enough to answer. “Hello?”

  Beyond what sounded like the low hum of indistinguishable voices mingled with street noises, there was no response.

  She tried again. Nothing.

  “Look, I don’t know who you are, but this is the second time today you’ve called. If you’re looking for Sessa Lee Chambers, you’ve found me. If you’re looking for someone else, please just stop calling, all right?”

  “Mrs. Chambers? Is that really you?” The voice was young and vaguely familiar. “I wasn’t sure if I remembered the number right.”

  “Yes, this is Sessa Chambers. Who is this?”

  Coco stepped into the kitchen with her eyebrows raised. “Who is it?” she whispered.

  Sessa shrugged, concentrating on the phone conversation she could barely hear.

  “How is …?” The line crackled and the rest of the question came out garbled.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear all of that. This connection isn’t good.”

  “Pansie,” the voice said. “I’m calling about Pansie. How is my daughter?”

  A cold wave of fear washed over her. It couldn’t be Skye. Couldn’t be Pansie’s mother. It just couldn’t. After two years of silence, Sessa and Pansie had settled into life together. She’d begun to hope things would stay the same. Maybe forever.

  “Would you please say that again?” She motioned for Coco to move close enough to listen in on the call.

  “This is Skye. I miss my Pansie-girl.”

  Coco made a face. Sessa let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Two years of silence had all but erased the fact that Pansie did indeed have one parent still living.

  A parent who had more right to the child than Sessa did.

  “Skye,” Sessa said slowly, “where are you?”

  “I’m at work. Hey, sorry but I’ve got to get back inside and finish my shift. Tell Pansie her mama loves her and hopes to see her soon.” Then the line went dead.

  Numb, Sessa let go of the phone. Coco caught it before it landed on the tile floor and then started pushing buttons.

  “What are you doing?” Sessa said wearily.

  “I’m making sure neither of us can lose that number.” When she finished with Sessa’s phone, Coco handed it back to her and then pulled her own out of her pocket. “You and I are the only two who have this girl’s phone number, at least as far as we know, right?”

  “I suppose so.” Sessa stared at the name on the screen.

  Skye.

  Not Skye Chambers because Ross hadn’t married the woman who bore his child. Just Skye. For the first time, it occurred to Sessa that she didn’t even know the last name of the woman who gave her precious grandchild life.

  Skye had a last name. And parents. And maybe even an extended family.

  All of these people were related to Pansie, and at least in the case of the grandparents, had as much right to the child as Sessa did. The breath went out of her at the thought, and it took a supreme act of will to inhale and exhale again.

  “Sessa? Sessa, honey, say something. Are you all right?”

  Pressing the button on the top of the phone, Sessa watched the screen go black as the device shut down. Only then could she respond.

  “No.” She forced herself to breathe, keeping the knowledge close to her heart that Skye had chosen her, had left Pansie in her care. “But I will be.” She managed a smile. “We’re keeping this between the two of us.” At Coco’s sober nod, she continued. “Then I’m fine.”

  Coco hauled her into her arms and squeezed her hard. “Yes, you are fine, Sessa Lee Chambers, but before we go back in there, I want you to just stop and realize that nothing is going to get past God. Do you understand? Much as you love that baby girl, He loves her more.”

  “Of course.”

  “You need to remember that the next time she calls, because it’s likely she will. Now tell me what she said.”

  Stepping back, Sessa told her. Still shaken by the surprise phone call, she wrapped her arms around her waist. “How long do you think soon is?”

  Coco shook her head. “Honey, I wish I knew, but you cannot spend your time worrying about it. You do know that, right?” At Sessa’s nod, she continued. “And you also know that whatever happens, you and that precious child will not have to face it alone.”

  “I know that,” Sessa said. “And I love you for it.”

  “I love you, too, but I have a bone to pick with you.”

  “And what is that?”

  She sent Sessa a narrow-eyed glance. “You never did call me this afternoon after that man left.”

  Sessa went with the subject change, not wanting to think about Skye any longer.

  “Either you forgot, which you never do. Or you broke your promise, which you never do. Or …”

  “Or?”

  “Or that man stayed all day, and you didn’t have time to call before I got here.” She paused just long enough to give her a sweeping glance. “Sessa Lee Chambers, you had a man here all day. Girl, I am going to need the details. Spill it!”

  “Hush,” she managed. “Yes, he was here until just before Mama brought Pansie home.”

  “I knew it! So did you apologize to him?”

  “I tried but he wouldn’t let me.” Coco opened her mouth to speak, but Sessa kept talking. “And you’ll be happy to know he said it was he who should be apologizing to me.”

  “Well now,” she said on a rush of breath. “I surely didn’t expect that. So he came all this way to make amends with you?”

  She shrugged. “He did.”

  “Interesting. And you really didn’t hire him?”

  “He said he was going to help with the restoration work once he cleared the acreage, but I don’t plan to let him.”

  Coco gave her a we’ll-see-about-that look. “So what happened next?”

  “He was outside working the whole time. First he fixed Daddy’s mower—”

  “So I understand.”

  Sessa affected a teasingly irritated expression. “Do you want to tell this story, or shall I continue?”

  Coco shook her head. “Go ahead. Tell it.”

  “All right, as I was saying, he got the mower running, but it took awhile. Then he mowed the field behind the shop. I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted.”

  Coco was grinning like crazy.

  “What?” Sessa demanded.

  “I’m just trying to imagine what you were doing while that handsome man was going back and forth in the field. I’d say from the kitchen you’d have a decent view of him, but with the book club meeting here tonight, you couldn’t have stood there all day. However did you manage to tear yourself away from the window?”

  Sessa shook her head. “You’re impossible.”

  “I’ve heard the claim made, but I don’t agree.” A ruckus rose on the other side of the door, and the likely cause was Mama or Vonnette or both. “You’d better give me the short version, because those two old ladies are going to barge in here demanding pie pretty soon, claiming their blood sugar
’s getting low. Or something to that effect.”

  “I fixed him sweet tea and ham sandwiches but otherwise pretty much left him alone all day.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes. Seriously.”

  Coco seemed to be having trouble digesting the news. “Okay, well I’ve got two questions.”

  “Go ahead.” Sessa pulled the pies closer and started slicing them. “Either help or I just might be too busy to respond.”

  “First question,” Coco said as she grabbed the dessert plates. “Is he coming back?”

  “He said he was.” Sessa counted out the correct number of napkins, added two to the stack, and then tossed them onto the tray with the pies and plates.

  “I knew it.” She scooted out of the way as Sessa picked up the tray and moved toward the door. “Okay, so second question.”

  “Come open the door,” Sessa said.

  “Second question.” Coco moved around her to grasp the doorknob. “When he was out there cutting grass, he had to have gotten warm on your daddy’s mower. Did he …?” She made to turn the knob but didn’t open the door. “That is …?” She made a show of looking around as if someone might be listening. “Did he take his shirt off? Because he sure looks like he might be as pretty under that shirt as he is with it on.”

  “Coco! You are impossible. Open that door right now.”

  She shook her head. “Answer the question, Sessa. We had a deal.”

  Sessa smiled. “All right. No. He did not take off his shirt while he was on my daddy’s mower.”

  Her face fell. “Well darn. I was hoping for a nice description.” She still didn’t move. “So what is this about having a bone to pick with me?”

  The tray was getting heavy. Just like the one she held this afternoon in the field. Sessa balanced it against the counter and met Coco’s confused stare.

  “Praying for a husband for me, Coco? Really? You of all people?”

  She shrugged. “Just because I married a guy who didn’t keep his promise doesn’t mean I don’t want you to find one who does.”

  A shared beat of understanding passed between them. Coco knew that beneath her independence, Sessa still harbored a secret hope that she’d find someone who interested her past a first date. “I guess that makes sense.”