by Sharon Sala
Ruby covered her with an afghan she took from the back of the sofa, then carried the tray back to the kitchen. By the time she came back, the pain pills had kicked in, and Melissa was asleep.
“Bless your heart,” Ruby said softly, and then sat down on the sofa, kicked off her shoes, and stretched out. It wasn’t long before her eyes grew heavy and she, too, fell asleep.
* * *
Granny’s Country Kitchen was particularly busy tonight. After the devastation of losing a beloved member of the community, and the rescue of another by a passing stranger, the conversations among the diners were more or less on the same subject.
Since Lovey had played a small part in providing shelter for Melissa and her rescuer, everyone wanted her take on what had happened. So far, she had been reassuring everyone who came in that her roof had escaped fire damage from falling debris, and that no, she didn’t know the stranger and hadn’t even caught his name. She’d been so wrapped up in finding out Melissa Dean had been one of the victims of the crash, and then with the anxiety of hearing the firemen warn her of the fire danger to her roof, the stranger had slipped out of Granny’s and was gone before she knew it.
Nearly everyone knew by now that it was Niles Holland who’d caused the wreck. The horrible irony was that he’d escaped with minor injuries only to be killed shortly thereafter by flying debris. His death brought a third victim into the picture—his grieving wife, Barbara. It was a sobering day in the little town of Blessings.
Then, to everyone’s delight, the hero of the day showed up for supper.
* * *
Lovey was at the front counter when the door opened. As usual, she looked up with a ready smile, recognizing the hero of the day. Then her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, trying to figure out why he looked familiar.
“Welcome back,” she said. “You look a whole lot different without the blood and smudges. Are you okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sully said.
“Good to hear. By the way, I’m Lovey, and I own Granny’s. You’ve been part of the conversation tonight. You saved one of our dearest residents, and for that we are so very grateful.”
“Just call me Sully, and it was pure coincidence that I was there when it happened.”
“So, Sully, are you dining alone?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then come with me and brace yourself. I’m about to introduce you to some of Blessings finest. And just so you know, your meal is on the house.”
“Thank you,” Sully said. “Your place came highly recommended. I’m staying at the Blessings Bed and Breakfast, and both Rachel and Bud sang your praises.”
Lovey smiled as she picked up a menu and led him into the dining room.
Sully was admiring the woman’s silver-white hair and guessing she stayed fit from the nonstop flow of her job.
Diners glanced up to see who Lovey was seating, and then looked again when she stopped and whistled an earsplitting note to get their attention. To Sully’s delight, the room immediately went quiet, which led him to believe this wasn’t the first time she’d done this.
“Everyone! This is Sully, the man who saved Melissa’s life!”
The room erupted in cheers, clapping, and smiles. Sully had no choice but to respond. He waved and nodded to the people complimenting him as they moved through the dining room, and as they passed Peanut and Ruby’s table, Peanut stood up.
“Welcome to Blessings, Sully. I’m Peanut Butterman, and this is my wife, Ruby. If you’re not set on dining alone, we’d love to have you join us.”
Sully smiled. Meeting a man named Peanut Butterman could not be overlooked, and the smile from the pretty woman seated at the table was echoing her husband’s invitation.
“How can I turn down such a warm invitation?” Sully said. “I guess I’ll be sitting here, Miss Lovey.”
“Good choice,” she said, and laid the menu at the empty chair. “His meal is on the house, Peanut. Y’all enjoy.” She hurried back to the front as Sully sat down.
“Thank you for the company,” Sully said.
“Of course,” Peanut said.
A waitress appeared to take his drink order, and when she was gone, Peanut pointed to the menu.
“We’ll be quiet long enough to let you read the menu for what you want to eat. Whatever you choose, you won’t be disappointed.”
Sully scanned the dinner options and immediately settled on fried catfish just as his waitress appeared with his sweet tea and a small basket of fresh biscuits.
“Have you decided what you want to eat?” she asked.
“The fried catfish dinner,” he said.
Ruby reached across the table and gave his arm a brief pat.
“While you butter up one of those wonderful biscuits, tell us what brings you to Blessings,” she said.
“Are they that good?” Sully asked.
“Just butter it and take a bite,” Peanut said.
Sully wasn’t going to argue. A hot biscuit was a hot biscuit, so he broke one in half, put some butter on it, and took a quick bite. He knew when the bite started melting in his mouth before he had a chance to chew that he’d stumbled on a winner.
“Wow,” he said.
“Told you,” Ruby said. “Now do tell us what brings you to town.”
Sully had already taken a second bite, chewed, and swallowed it before answering.
“Actually, I’m looking for someone. A couple of months ago my mother died, and while going through personal papers, I found out I’d been adopted. It came as quite a shock, and within days I decided to search for my birth mother. It’s been a journey, and the latest information I have is an old letter with a return address from here in Blessings.”
Ruby’s eyes widened, and Peanut was immediately intrigued. He couldn’t imagine not knowing something like that.
“I’m a lawyer,” Peanut said. “I’ve dealt with all kinds of custody battles, and with social services when kids were abandoned or unwanted, but I’ve never come across someone on a birth-parent search. Are you having any luck?”
“I started out with more info than some have,” Sully said. “My birth mother’s name was Janie Chapman, but she was Janie Carter by the time she got here. She signed me over to my adoptive parents on the day I was born, but here’s where the story becomes bizarre. She came home from the hospital with them, and for the next six months she nursed me and took care of me while my parents worked. Then one day when they woke up, she was gone. I want to know what happened. Why she left so abruptly. Why she had to give me up. Who my father was. You know…all the usual questions.”
Ruby was verging on tears. “That is such a tragic story. I can’t imagine what could cause her to leave so abruptly after bonding with her own baby for six months.”
Sully nodded. “That’s one of my questions, too. What triggered her sudden flight? I submitted a DNA sample to an ancestry site, then hired a researcher to help me run down facts. She’s been on the search with me from the start. Even though I knew my birth mother’s name, I’ve learned she married twice in subsequent years. I don’t suppose either one of you knew a woman by that name? She would be in her early sixties by now.”
“I run the hair salon called the Curl Up and Dye on Main Street,” Ruby said. “I don’t know anyone by that name, and if she still lived here and had not remarried, I would know her.”
“I don’t remember anyone by that name, either,” Peanut said.
Sully nodded. “Not surprised. But I’m not giving up. I still have several places to check out here, and I’ll keep asking around. Maybe my researcher will find a new clue somewhere. I’m not quitting until I get answers.”
Before the conversation could go further, their food came and they began to visit as they ate. While talking about the accident, Ruby mentioned Melissa.
“I’m the one who took Melissa
home from the hospital. I stayed with her until midafternoon, and another friend is staying with her tonight.”
Sully smiled. “There’s a bit of synchronicity with my rescue. We realized at the hospital that we’d grown up together in Missouri. Her family moved away right before I turned fourteen, so having that connection was a surprise.”
Ruby clapped her hands. “I love reunion stories! And I don’t know anyone more deserving of joy than she is.”
Sully frowned. “About Melissa. You said you took her home and someone else is staying with her. Doesn’t she have any family here?”
“She has no one but herself,” Ruby said. “You know what, Sully? I believe in things happening for a reason. And whether you find your mother here or not, I believe you were led here to Blessings to be the angel Melissa needed today. Have you two talked?”
“Just briefly in the ER when we finally recognized each other,” Sully said.
“Today notwithstanding, she is quite a survivor,” Peanut said. “She was widowed at a young age and had been living a very simple life here that bordered on poverty. She’d worked at Bloomer’s Hardware ever since she moved here, around twenty years ago. She used to clean house for an old man named Elmer Mathis to make extra money to make ends meet. Earlier this year her boss let her go so he could hire a nephew. She was angry, and with good reason, but in a panic too, trying to find another job.
“Then Elmer passed away and left everything he owned to her, and it was a godsend. Her situation has drastically changed since then, inheriting his laundry and cleaning business, his money, and the grand old home that she’d cleaned for so many years. It would have been a tragedy for her life to have ended at any cost, but it would have been such irony, considering her financial troubles were finally over.”
Sully was quiet. Knowing her story gave her even more substance than he’d already witnessed. He couldn’t wait to talk to her.
* * *
As Niles Holland’s body was being removed from the scene of the accident, Lon thought he noticed the scent of liquor on him, but with all the smoke, it was hard to tell. He wasn’t one to let suspicion slide and turned to his deputy.
“Ralph, take a camera to the impound yard and check out the inside of Niles’s car. See if there are any signs of empty cans or bottles…anything that might indicate he had been drinking.”
“Yes, sir,” the deputy said. “Although there’s no telling what’s inside that car after the explosion and the fire.”
“Well, we didn’t pick up any beer cans or bottles around here after the explosion, so if it’s not still in the car, I’m going to assume there wasn’t anything. But if there is an empty liquor bottle or empty beer cans, it will confirm my suspicions. Just check it out and take pictures, regardless. If he had been drinking, it will show up in the autopsy report.”
“Yes, sir,” Ralph said, and headed for his cruiser.
Lon still had to notify Barb Holland. The Holland residence was at the far edge of Blessings, and he needed to tell her before someone else beat him to it.
Workers from the city were sweeping up glass from the street as Lon got in his cruiser to make the notification. He took the short route to their house by going past Blessings High School and then up through the neighborhoods until he reached the west side.
The Holland home was a two-story Tudor with formal landscaping all across the front of the property. Lon turned up the driveway and drove to the house, parked, and got out. This was the absolute worst part of his job, but it had to be done. He reached the house and rang the doorbell, then waited.
* * *
Barb Holland was going through the house with a large garbage bag, removing the empty beer cans and the occasional empty liquor bottle, making certain all remnants of her husband’s secret vice stayed a secret before the cleaning ladies came tomorrow.
She didn’t know where Niles had gone, but she suspected to the club or the golf course. Those were his two favorite hangouts. She moved from their bedroom to the media room to clear out the trash cans and the empty bottles at the wet bar, then made a sweep through the den.
She was on her way down the hall when the doorbell rang. Now she was in a quandary. She could hardly drag the garbage to the door with her, and on impulse, she ran to the kitchen with it and tucked it in the pantry, then hurried back, smoothing down her hair before she opened the door. The last person she would have expected to see was the police chief.
“Good morning, Chief. What can I do for you?”
Lon took off his hat. “Morning, Mrs. Holland. May I come in?”
Barb frowned. “Why…uh, yes, of course,” she said, and stood aside as he entered, then shut the door behind him.
Now they were standing in the foyer, and the silence was worrisome.
“What’s going on? Did I forget to pay a parking ticket?”
Her lame joke went nowhere, and the look on the chief’s face was scaring her.
“Mrs. Holland, I’m—”
“Please, call me Barb,” she said.
Lon sighed. “Barb, I’m afraid I have bad news.”
Barb gasped. “Is this about Niles?”
“Yes, ma’am, and—”
She groaned. “I knew this would happen one day. I mean, he took chances every time he got behind the wheel. He was driving and drinking, wasn’t he? Please don’t charge him publicly. We’ll gladly pay the fine.”
Lon’s heart sank. Barb had just confirmed their suspicions and didn’t even know it.
“Barb…ma’am… Niles had a bad wreck. He was speeding when he came off a side street onto Main without stopping and hit Melissa Dean as she was driving past.”
Barb gasped and then staggered.
Lon caught her. “Where can we sit?”
She pointed down the hall, and Lon led her into the first room on the left. He seated her on the sofa and sat in a chair facing her.
“How bad were they hurt?” Barb asked.
“He hit her hard enough that it spun her car all the way around in the other direction. He managed to get out of his car and was sitting on a curb a short distance away, but Melissa’s car was burning and she was trapped.”
Barb shuddered. “Oh my God, please tell me she didn’t perish!”
“Had it not been for the quick thinking of a passing stranger, she would have died. He got her out and far enough away before the car blew up.”
Barb was shaking. “Is Melissa okay?”
“She has some injuries, none of which are life-threatening.”
“Thank God,” Barb said. “What about Niles?”
“I’m so sorry to tell you that he died at the scene from flying debris from the explosion.”
Barb screamed, and then covered her face and started sobbing.
“Is there someone I can call for you? You shouldn’t be alone,” Lon asked.
“Was he drunk?” she asked.
“That will be determined during his autopsy,” Lon said.
“Oh my God,” Barb whispered. “Everyone is finally going to know.”
Lon was a little startled that Barb’s first concern was people finding out her husband had been driving impaired rather than about his death.
“Did he drink a lot?” Lon asked.
She nodded, and sat for a few moments in silence, wiping her eyes and gathering her senses. Finally, she looked up at Lon and asked, “What do I need to do?”
“Nothing. You don’t have a part in the investigation. When Niles’s body is released, you will be notified. At that point, you will be free to begin planning the funeral. Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?” Lon asked.
She shook her head.
“Then I’ll be leaving,” he said. “If you have any questions or need help, don’t hesitate to call. Again, I am sorry for your loss.”
Lon left the ro
om, walked back down the hall, and let himself out.
Barbara heard the door open and close, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. It didn’t seem real. She didn’t remember if she’d even said good morning to Niles when they woke up. He’d gotten up and poured himself a drink, and she’d rolled over and gone back to sleep. They’d been married almost thirty years, and this was how it was going to end. She was heartsick.
“Oh, Niles, you fool. Leave it up to you to go out in a blaze of glory! I can’t keep your secret any longer. Once that autopsy comes back, everyone will know. I’ll bury you, but I’m not staying to be talked about. I can’t be that wife. This was going to be our forever home, but I don’t want it without you.”
Once the news got around, people would be calling, so Barb made herself get up and go back to the kitchen. She got the sack she’d stashed in the pantry and carried it out to the garbage bin. All the metal and glass clattered as she dropped it inside, but as she shut the lid, it dawned on her that she would now be responsible for getting the garbage to the curb. For a woman like Barb, it was just another blow to her ego, and the humiliation was just beginning.
* * *
Barb Holland’s life of indulgence was coming to an end.
Men from the club who had played golf with Niles were already speculating among themselves about what caused him to drive so recklessly. She knew this because Retta Durrett, one of her friends from the club, had come calling this evening and felt it her job to inform Barb that Niles was becoming a topic of gossip among their circle.
The comment struck Barb to the core, especially after seeing the glitter of satisfaction in Retta’s eyes when she’d said it.
Barb lifted her chin, her own eyes brimming with tears, and fired back.
“So, Retta, you said people are gossiping about my husband. Do you mean the same kind of gossip that you felt the need to share with me just now?”
Retta Durrett’s face turned red. “Now, Barb, I didn’t—”
Barb interrupted. “Yes, you did. So just hush your mouth, because you’ve said enough already. Surely you don’t expect me to throw my hands up in dismay, as if I didn’t already know my own husband’s strengths and weaknesses. However, since he just died in the wreck he caused, I hardly see the need for you to speak of this at all—unless, of course, your intention was to hurt me?”
