Love Lessons in Good Hope : A Good Hope Novel Book 14

by Cindy Kirk

  They did the same until all three glasses were filled. Somehow, Charlotte got his dad to sit down while she put the bread plates on the table, then the bowls filled with the stew.

  Charlotte inhaled deeply. “Everything smells amazing.”

  “You must not have had much for lunch.”

  “It seems like hours since I last ate,” Charlotte admitted.

  “I’m glad you could join us.” Stan held out his hand.

  Adam saw the confusion on Charlotte’s face. “We, ah, hold hands and pray before every meal.”

  “What a nice tradition.” Charlotte grasped Stan’s hand, then held hers out to Adam.

  When their hands were linked, Stan bowed his head, and Charlotte followed suit.

  Thankfully, Stan didn’t make the prayer long, but he did add at the end, “Thank you for blessing us with Charlotte’s presence at this meal,” before murmuring, “Amen.”

  “Amen,” Adam echoed.

  The butter made its way around the table, and the conversation began.

  “My parents never prayed before meals,” Charlotte told Stan, slathering a piece of bread with butter. “Not that we ate together often as a family.”

  “I feel it’s important for family to have this time, to acknowledge the blessings in our lives and to share about our day.” Stan appeared to choose his words carefully. “Not everyone feels that way.”

  “You know the old adage about children being seen and not heard?” Some of the light left Charlotte’s eyes. “My parents belonged in that camp.”

  Stan scooped up a spoonful of stew. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “Some half sibs.” Charlotte waved a dismissive hand. “My parents are divorced, and both have remarried. They’re not good about staying in touch.”

  “What about you?”

  “I tried, but…” Charlotte shrugged. “They always had a lot of excuses for why getting together wouldn’t work. It took me a while, but I finally got the hint.”

  Adam shifted in his seat. Though he knew his dad was attempting to get to know Charlotte, it was starting to feel more like an interrogation. He shot his father a sharp glance, which Stan ignored.

  Breaking off a piece of bread with his fingers, Stan cocked his head. “Where do your parents live?”

  Charlotte’s gaze turned thoughtful. “My mom was in Connecticut and my dad in San Antonio. That was several years back, so they might have moved.”

  Charlotte’s voice might have been matter-of-fact and her expression composed, but Adam knew what it was like to feel unwanted.

  He had to force himself not to reach out and take her hand. Instead, he settled for a long drink of tea and a supportive look.

  “Will you tell them about the baby?” Stan asked.

  “She just said they weren’t in contact,” Adam reminded his father.

  “But this will be their grandchild,” Stan protested.

  “I’m not sure yet. I haven’t made a decision.” Charlotte’s expression remained serene, even as her fingers tightened around the glass of tea. “Right now, only the three of us know. That’s how I’d like it to stay for now.”

  With an ease he envied, Charlotte steered the conversation away from herself.

  As they made their way through the stew and the bread, Charlotte listened attentively to Stan’s rambling tales about Adam’s boyhood.

  “Practically every night, we’d play catch, or I’d pitch the ball to him.” Stan’s face went soft with memories.

  “He made me run after the ball after I hit it.” Adam tried to scowl, but couldn’t pull it off. “Told me the running built strong leg muscles.”

  “Was the weakness in your legs bad even back then?” Charlotte inclined her head, her gaze fixed on Stan.

  Adam stilled. Though he’d been open with her about his father’s health issues, he’d left out one important bit of information—his dad didn’t like to talk about his affliction.

  “You know about that, do you?” Stan shot a glance at Adam.

  Pink tinged Charlotte’s cheeks. “I didn’t realize it was a secret.”

  “Naw.” Stan waved a hand. “Not a secret. I just don’t talk about it much.”

  “Then we won’t talk about it,” Charlotte said promptly.

  “You’re practically family, and I don’t mind discussing it.” Stan leaned forward.

  Adam sat there, amazed as his father started at the beginning, giving Charlotte chapter and verse of the course of his illness. His dad didn’t skimp on details, even including the post-polio syndrome symptoms that had shown up forty years after his initial diagnosis.

  Had he even known that Stan’s symptoms started at age five, and he’d been afraid to tell his folks? Or that they’d held a big party when the doctor said he was cured?

  “I went for many years without any symptoms.” Stan smiled. “I lived my life, met Mary—that was my first wife—got married.”

  “Did you have any children from that marriage?” Charlotte asked, using a paper napkin to daintily dab at the edges of her mouth.

  “Mary and I were never blessed.” Stan leaned back in his chair. It was clear from the pain that flashed in his eyes how much he’d loved his wife. “I lost her to cancer. Hardest day of my life when we put her in the ground.”

  Placing her hand on Stan’s, Charlotte gave it a squeeze. Her eyes never left his. “I’m sorry for your loss. I realize those are only words, but I can see how much you loved her. It’s a gift, finding that kind of love.”

  “Yes. Yes, it is.” Stan cleared his throat. “I hope the same for you. And for Adam.”

  Charlotte merely smiled and took another bite of bread.

  Adam knew the time had come to change the subject. His father must have had the same thought.

  Stan cocked his head. “I understand from Adam that your original plan was to be a single mother.”

  Charlotte stilled, then carefully returned the bread in her hand to the plate.

  “That’s correct.” She met Stan’s questioning gaze with a firm one of her own. “I hoped to get pregnant next year using in vitro fertilization. I never intended to get pregnant the night I had sex with your son.”

  Stan’s weathered cheeks colored. He held up a hand, obviously shocked by her candor. “That’s not my business.”

  “It is your business,” she insisted. “I need you to understand I didn’t set out to trap Adam. I wouldn’t do that to any man. As he clearly discussed this with you, Adam likely also told you the reason I planned on being a single mother. I didn’t want a man involved in raising my baby.”

  “And now?” Stan asked.

  She slanted a glance in Adam’s direction, and a tiny smile lifted her lips. “In this specific situation, I’ve begun to see the value.”

  “My son is a good man. He’ll make a wonderful father.” Stan’s face took on an earnest expression. “He’d be a good husband.”

  “I’m sure he will.” Charlotte cleared her throat and took a long sip of tea. “Someday.”

  Adam knew his dad meant well, but he needed to stop pushing.

  As if Stan realized the same, he switched topics. “Tell me what you like best about working with Marigold.”

  By the time they finished the cherry crumble, then cleaned up the kitchen, Charlotte and Stan were laughing and joking with each other like old friends.

  “It’s a beautiful night. If you don’t mind,” Adam glanced at his dad, “I’d like to take Charlotte out on the porch.”

  “You could join us?” Charlotte turned to Stan.

  “You kids go on ahead.” Stan made a shooing motion with his hands. “I’m going to put my feet up and read the paper.”

  When they reached the porch, Charlotte headed straight for the swing.

  Adam sat beside her, resting his arm just above her shoulders. “Having you here is nice.”

  “It has been nice.”

  Something in her tone put him on alert. “Is something bothering you?”


  Most women he knew would have said no, then made him guess until they finally shared what was on their mind. The look in Charlotte’s eyes when she shifted to face him told him she wasn’t into playing such games.

  “I saw the disappointment in your father’s eyes when he brought up my original plan to be a single mother.”

  It surprised Adam to realize just how much his father’s good opinion mattered to her.

  “Let me tell you a secret. My father is a romantic at heart. He’d like nothing better than to see you madly in love and married. To see me madly in love and married.” Adam toyed with a lock of her hair. “But now he understands the situation. And he’s grateful.”

  “Grateful?”

  “That you’re letting me—and him—be a part of this pregnancy.” Adam planted a kiss against her temple. “Just know, in his eyes, you’re already family.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  That Sunday, Adam took Charlotte’s hand as they wove their way through the booths set up in the town square. Though many of those who came to Good Hope for the summer season left prior to the Labor Day weekend, a surprising number were still in residence.

  Which, Charlotte decided, accounted for the number of people flooding the town square. Who’d have thought a Labor Day Weekend Blast, with the high school brass quintet providing the music, would be such a hit?

  “Who organized this?” Charlotte had participated and even helped organize numerous beauty fairs and trade shows over the years. She knew the work it took to make any kind of event featuring multiple vendors come together.

  “Today is just one of many events overseen by the Cherries.”

  Charlotte vaguely recalled hearing something about the Cherries the last time she’d lived here. “The Cherries do all the holiday promotions.”

  Adam rubbed his chin. “I believe the actual name of the group is the Women’s Events League, though most everyone just calls them the Cherries.”

  Though Charlotte knew she’d be busy with the salon, and eventually with a baby, this sounded like the kind of group that’d be advantageous for her to join. “Can anyone belong? I mean, is it made up of business leaders or—?”

  “I don’t know the answer, but I know someone who does.” Adam stopped in front of a tent decorated with moons and stars.

  The sign said “Madame Gitana, Fortune Teller.” Inside the opening to the tent, Gladys stood. Dressed in flowing robes and a headdress, a crystal on the table, she motioned them inside.

  Chandelier earrings boasting an assortment of purple stones dangled from her ears. A half-dozen gold bracelets etched with symbols Charlotte couldn’t decipher encircled the woman’s bony wrists.

  The smell of sage and cedar hung heavy in the air, and the spiritual music playing in the background added to the otherworldly atmosphere.

  “Charlotte was asking about the Cherries,” Adam told Gladys.

  The fact that he didn’t appear surprised by either Gladys’s garb or alter ego told Charlotte this wasn’t a one-time masquerade.

  “Aren’t you a founding member or something?” Adam prompted when Gladys didn’t immediately respond.

  “You sit there.” Gladys fixed her eerie pale blue eyes on Adam, pointing a long nail at a folding chair against the side of the tent.

  When the older woman’s gaze shifted to her, Charlotte felt the impact like a punch.

  Gladys gestured with her head toward the chair closest to her. “Sit.”

  “You’re busy.” Charlotte lifted her hands, palms out. “We didn’t mean to disturb you. We can discuss the Cherries when you come for your hair appointment.”

  “Madame Gitana requests that you sit.”

  Charlotte wasn’t sure if it was hearing Gladys refer to herself in the third person or the fact that the purple ball on the table seemed to glow that had her dropping into the chair.

  She slanted a glance in Adam’s direction, and he offered an encouraging smile.

  “You have come to learn your future.”

  “No. We just—” Charlotte shook her head and started to rise, but Gladys’s steely-eyed gaze had her sinking back down onto the wooden chair. “Sure. Why not?”

  Charlotte forced her shoulders to relax, telling herself this was nothing more than a fun adventure. She and Adam would talk about this later and laugh. He’d probably tell her tales of all the times Gladys’s predictions hadn’t come true. Though Charlotte had no doubt Gladys would keep a few general enough to hit the target.

  She was congratulating herself on keeping this real when Gladys unexpectedly took her hand.

  Charlotte jolted before emitting an embarrassed laugh. “You startled me.”

  Gladys didn’t laugh. Instead, her pale eyes seemed to be lit by a distant glow. “What would you like to know?”

  Business, Charlotte thought. Focus on the salon. Since she’d yet to hear from Leticia, she assumed the California opportunity was dead in the water. “Will my new business venture with Marigold be successful?”

  Gladys’s gaze shifted to the crystal.

  “Does it give you the answer?” Charlotte asked.

  “The crystal is made from natural amethyst quartz. It is merely a tool for freeing my third eye.”

  “Can’t do without those third eyes,” Charlotte joked, then immediately fell silent when Gladys lifted her gaze.

  The woman’s blue eyes looked almost black in the light. “Yes.”

  “Yes?” Charlotte prompted when Gladys didn’t elaborate.

  “It’s not the salon that weighs heavy on your mind.”

  A shiver traveled up Charlotte’s spine.

  “It is within you to succeed.” The dark, glowing eyes didn’t waver from her face. “It’s the other that worries you.”

  Keeping it general, just as Charlotte had expected. Trying to dig for details about other issues so she would elaborate. Charlotte would give her nothing. Nothing that the woman could spin and then claim was a miraculous vision. “I’m afraid I don’t know what ‘other’ you’re referring to.”

  There, she thought, let Madame Gitana try to work with that bit of nothing. Feeling quite smug, Charlotte sat back and felt the tense set to her shoulders ease.

  “You’ve wanted a baby for some time.”

  The words, coming out of the blue, had everything in Charlotte going cold. Still, she managed to keep her face impassive. “A baby?”

  “Your efforts began in San Diego.” Like her, Gladys’s expression gave nothing away.

  Resisting the urge to cast Adam a questioning look, Charlotte reassured herself that she could trust him to keep his mouth shut.

  Still, Gladys had to have heard about her pregnancy from someone.

  Stan. The realization hit like a lightning bolt.

  Adam’s father had blabbed, and Gladys had caught wind. Now the older woman was seeking verification.

  “I don’t know what you’re referring to.” Her cool tone could have frozen ice. Showing emotion, any emotion, would likely encourage the woman, but Charlotte was fighting a losing battle for control.

  How many people had Stan shared her personal information with? As far as Charlotte was concerned, one was too many.

  “You didn’t plan what happened here, but then, the greatest blessings often are not planned.”

  Charlotte clenched her jaw, forcing herself not to speak.

  Gladys studied her for several heartbeats before continuing. “Worry dogs your steps and causes dissention. A visit from an outsider will force you to choose. That choice will have long-reaching consequences for you and the baby boy you carry. Be smart.”

  With a jerk, Gladys straightened, and the hands that she’d been hovering above the crystal dropped. She blinked as if coming out of a trance.

  Then her gaze fixed on Charlotte. “We’re done.”

  Charlotte rose slowly from her seat. How was she supposed to respond? Thank you hardly seemed appropriate.

  “Have a pleasant afternoon,” Charlotte said through gritted teeth. />
  She felt Adam’s hand settle on her shoulder and had to resist the urge to shrug it off.

  “We’ll get going,” he told Gladys. “You have quite a line forming outside.”

  Shifting her gaze, Charlotte saw the line through the slit in the curtain that Gladys had drawn. She was thankful Gladys had spoken softly, doubting anyone from that distance could have overheard.

  “How much do I owe you?” Adam asked.

  Charlotte wanted to slap down his hand when he reached for his wallet.

  “A free-will offering.” Gladys pointed to a large glass container stuffed with bills. “With proceeds going to the Giving Tree.”

  Adam added a twenty to the mass of bills.

  Gladys offered an approving nod. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

  Charlotte said nothing. Could say nothing. The anger bubbling inside her had stolen her voice. She’d trusted Stan to understand that this was her news to share in her own time. Instead, her pregnancy was undoubtedly the talk of Good Hope by now.

  At least she knew the news was out. She wouldn’t be blindsided like this again.

  She kept her steps slow as she left the tent, even managed a smile at the people waiting in line. Instead of pausing or asking Adam what booth he’d like to visit next, she kept walking, jerking away from his attempt to take her arm.

  Not until they were far enough away that there was no possibility of anyone overhearing did she stop. She whirled. “We need to go to the farm right now. I’m so angry with your father.”

  Shock had his eyes going wide. “What did he do?”

  “You heard Gladys.” Charlotte took a breath and fought for control. “He’s obviously been talking about my pregnancy. If Gladys knows, I have no doubt everyone else in town does, too.”

  “My dad wouldn’t say anything.” A muscle in Adam’s jaw jumped.

  “How else would Gladys know?” Charlotte expelled a frustrated breath. “Don’t say she’s psychic, because I don’t believe in all that mumbo jumbo.”

  “My father would not betray your trust.” His gaze searched hers, and his voice was warm with reassurance. “We’ll find out how this happened. Then we’ll figure out how to deal with it.”