He didn’t know that he could, but if he wanted answers he’d have to try. Eventually. “I’ll think about it.”
“Well, when you do, think about this.” Ms. Aurora bundled the soiled sheets up and headed for the door. “It’s not your deafness that’s holding you back. It’s your attitude.”
Chapter Ten
“We’re here.”
Thea could barely keep her eyes open, her body heavy with exhaustion from the past week of caring for a houseful of sick kids. She drew in a deep breath and willed herself awake as she glanced over to the driver’s seat and found Beau Daniels pushing the gearshift into Park. She struggled to sit up. “Sorry, I wasn’t very talkative. I guess the week’s caught up with me.”
His mouth curled into a slight smile. “I’m used to it. Edie’s at that stage in her pregnancy where if she’s not sick to her stomach, she’s asleep on the couch.”
Thea smoothed her wrinkled skirt down over her knees. “So what you’re saying is everything is absolutely normal.”
“Yes.” His smile widened. “And don’t worry. You weren’t the only one who fell asleep on me.” He nodded toward the backseat.
Thea turned slightly to see that Momma’s hat had fallen down over her eyes and her mouth was pursed as she released small, almost ladylike, snorts of air. Her features were relaxed, not tensed into the frantic stiffness Thea had seen in her mother in recent days. Once she got them some lunch, maybe she could convince her mother to take a nap. Thea knew she could use one herself.
Beau got out of the car and walked around to open her mother’s door, then Thea’s, before stepping to the trunk to retrieve their suitcases. Both she and her mother were waiting by the time Beau joined them, a bag in each hand.
“That was so kind of you to bring us all the way out here.” Momma snapped open the clip of her patent-leather purse and dug out her wallet. “How much do I owe you?”
Oh, no! Thea stepped forward, her arm coming around her mother’s shoulders. “Momma, I don’t think that’s—”
Beau interrupted, bowing slightly. “Mrs. Miller, just the pleasure of your company is all the payment I need.”
Momma blinked, then broke out into a wide smile. “Well, aren’t you a sweet boy! Though your boss might not be too happy with you, passing up a fare and all.”
“Momma, why don’t you go on up to the house while I settle things with Beau?”
Her mother nodded and shot another smile at Beau before turning toward the house.
“I don’t think anyone’s used sweet or boy in the same sentence to describe me since I was in diapers,” Beau said, as they watched her mother struggle with the door for a moment before disappearing into the house.
Thea chuckled. “No, but then you’ve been teasing little girls almost from the moment you could walk. Remember how you use to pull my ponytail in Mr. Miley’s science class?”
“Only because I knew it would get a rise out of Mack.” Beau laughed. “He’s always been an easy target where you were concerned.”
Mack was protective of her even then? “You must have read too much into the situation. Mack and I, we were just friends back then.”
“Really?” Beau’s smile widened as if he had a multitude of secrets he’d like to share. “You remember Todd Armstrong?”
Thea went completely still. Of course she remembered Todd. Junior year, she’d been almost certain the boy was going to ask her to the Junior/Senior Prom. But just as suddenly as he’d started paying attention to her, he stopped. Next thing she heard, Todd had asked Barbara Emerson. Thea had ended up taking another girl’s shift at the movie theater and working that night. “What about him?”
“Word got back to Mack that Todd was bragging about how he was going to take you up to Kennesaw Mountain on prom night. I’d never seen Mack so mad. He took that kid out behind the boy’s gym and told him if he even looked at you funny, Mack would knock him into next week.” Beau chuckled. “Now that I think about it, he did that to every guy who thought about taking you out.”
No wonder she’d never had a date in high school. All this time, she’d thought it was her, or her family’s reputation that had scared the boys off. To think it had been Mack! She would wring the man’s neck the next she saw him. Protective, huh! More like overbearing, butting into her business. She snorted out a breath. “I should...”
“Come on, Thea. Mack did you a favor. You didn’t want to go out with a jerk like Todd.”
Maybe, but it didn’t take the sting out of missing the prom that night, of watching the other girls walk by in confections of satiny blue or silky white from the ticket counter at the movie theater, the boys she’d grown up with dressed in suits and ties. She’d been in her silly uniform, working that night at the movies. Her heart skipped a beat.
Alongside Mack.
His father had taken ill by then, so Mack had taken the job to earn extra money to help his mom out with the bills. It said a lot about him, about the kind of person he was, working so hard to take care of his parents while he worked on his grades to get into college. But then he hadn’t gone to college after all. Did his accident keep him from accepting the scholarship he’d gotten from the University of Georgia?
“You know, you’re doing the right thing marrying Mack.” Beau’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. “He’s always been sweet on you, and it’ll just be better for all of you in the long run.”
When had Mack had the time to confide in his friend about their situation? “At least it will give Sarah the stability she needs.”
“And quiet all the talk going on in town.”
Thea felt her jaw tighten. “Let’s see how that goes.”
Beau pushed his hat farther down on his head. “I wasn’t sure Mack would tell you.”
“Mack’s honest with me, Beau, just like I have to be honest with him. It’s the only way this marriage is going to work.” She crossed her arms over her waist. “But I do believe Mack would try to protect me from the worst of the gossip.”
“You’re right. It’s why he didn’t drive you home himself. He didn’t want to generate more rumors.”
She’d wondered why Beau had brought them home. “So, how bad is it?”
He grimaced. Yes, she’d put him in an awkward position, but she needed to know what they were dealing with. “You know how folks are,” he finally answered. “A pretty nurse and the town’s sheriff holed up in a house for almost a week. It gets people to talking.”
When he said it that way, it sounded so...scandalous! Like something her sister would do. The kind of thing Thea had worked hard all her life to avoid. “They did know we had a chicken pox outbreak on our hands, didn’t they?”
“Yes, but you know how people are. Take a couple of nice people, throw in a few unfortunate incidents and add some busybodies with nothing better to do with their day than gossip, and they’ll cook up a scandal that’ll travel faster than a jackrabbit during hunting season.”
Her breath hitched. She’d hoped it wasn’t as bad as Mack had made it out to be, that with time the rumors would die down and this marriage he’d proposed wouldn’t be necessary. But from the way Beau described it, it was even worse than she’d thought.
Mack was right. Even if they could get the judge to allow someone unmarried to have custody of a child, neither of them would be considered a good candidate to adopt Sarah with these rumors hanging over their heads. Marriage seemed their only choice to quiet people’s tongues and bring Sarah home. And even with a marriage, there would still be some who would never forget. If Judge Wakefield allowed them to adopt Sarah, she might have to live with the rumors, the kids from school who’d taunt her, tell her how her real mother had abandoned her. How her adoptive parents were forced to marry.
And what about Mack? He’d built a solid reputation in this town. Not only could he l
ose Sarah, the town council might decide he wasn’t fit to be their sheriff. She couldn’t live with herself if she caused him trouble. “Mack’s not going to get fired, is he?”
Beau shook his head, oblivious to the turmoil going on inside her. “The news of your engagement has stemmed any talk of relieving him of his duties for now.”
She nodded, but found no relief in his words. Because of her, because of her family’s reputation, Mack had become the focal point of shameful gossip that could even now cost him his job and steal any hopes he had of adopting Sarah.
And now he was stuck marrying her.
Thea swallowed hard against the knot in her throat. She should never have come home, should have built a new life as far away from Marietta as she could, where she couldn’t hurt or disappoint the people she cared for. Like Eileen, and now Mack.
If there’d been any other way around this mess, she’d have taken it, but she’d do whatever it took to save Mack’s sterling reputation, to save his job.
Even marry the man.
“Have faith, Thea. This situation hasn’t taken God by surprise,” Beau said.
Thea gave a humorless chuckle. “No, but it sure has thrown me for a loop.”
Beau studied her for a long moment, then sent her a slight smile. “The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced you are the perfect person for Mack. You don’t mind saying what you think. Mack needs that in the people closest to him. He admires it.”
“Then he’ll be admiring me a lot.”
Beau laughed. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the two of you fell head over heels in love.”
Thea snorted softly. “Spoken like a man who’s hopelessly in love with his wife.”
“Guilty as charged.” He bent the brim of his hat toward her. “See you later.”
Thea waited until the car engine revved up before waving one last time, then turning toward the house. Edie Daniels was a very blessed woman to have someone like Beau to love her as deeply as he obviously did.
A sense of disappointment settled over her like a heavy quilt at the memory of Mack’s response to her questions about love. He’d once believed in falling in love. She’d heard him talk countless times about finding that special girl, someone he could settle down with and raise a family. What had changed his mind? Who had hurt him so badly that he’d lost faith in his own happily-ever-after?
Thea picked up the suitcases Beau had left at the front door and walked inside, her shoulders heavy, the weight of the emotional roller coaster she’d been on this last week or so pushing in at all sides. What she wouldn’t give for a long hot bath and a good book to read. She eyed the stairwell that led up to the bathroom where the claw-footed tub beckoned her.
But there were bags that needed to be unpacked, laundry sorted, lunch made. Thea gave one last wistful glance up the stairs before turning toward the kitchen.
“Thea, is that you? I thought I heard the front door.”
Her heart sank. Momma had done so well at Ms. Aurora’s, had even been a help with the children at times. Had she already forgotten that they’d driven home together? “Yes, Momma. It’s me.”
“Is that nice Worthington boy with you?” Pots and pans clanged together as she dug through the cabinets, her best hat lopsided on her head. “I saw the way he was smiling at you across the breakfast table this morning, like you were the sweetest thing since sugar was invented.”
Momma was more than confused, she was hallucinating. Mack had barely glanced at her over his bowl of oatmeal this morning, too busy answering questions from Ellie and the twin boys to pay her much mind. Meanwhile, Thea had had her hands full, feeding Sarah watered-down oatmeal that ended up on her blouse rather than in the baby’s mouth. “Mack was more than likely watching me because Sarah was in my lap. If he was smiling, it must have been at her.”
Her mother sat back on the kitchen floor. “No, this was when you were at the sink, getting cleaned up. Reminded me of how your father used to look at me, as if he couldn’t get enough of me.”
Had Momma, in her confusion, seen something in Mack’s glance, tenderness or affection maybe? Wishful thinking on Thea’s part. But perhaps she could use this chance to ease her mother into their marriage plans rather than springing it on her all at once. She’d discussed it with Mack and he’d agreed, even told her to take as much time as she needed to get her mother used to the idea. Who knew how much her mother absorbed these days? But Thea had resolved to try to explain.
She picked up the dish towel that had fallen from the stove and threw it on the countertop. “You remember Mack and I told you we’re courting, don’t you, Momma?”
“Of course I do, which is why I thought he might come by this afternoon. Gentlemen who are interested usually call around suppertime so they’ll be invited to stay.” She glanced up, her hands going to her hat and plucking it off her head. “Do you think I should make some chocolate chip cookies, just in case? Your daddy just loves my cookies.”
Momma baking cookies? She’d barely known where the kitchen was when Thea was growing up. Thea walked over to where her mother sat and helped her to her feet. “Mack’s got a lot to do at his office today. Why don’t I make us grilled cheese sandwiches, then maybe we could take a little nap. I know I could use one.”
“Well, I am a bit tired.” Momma pulled out a chair from under the table and dropped down into it before glancing up at Thea, a confused look crossing her expression. “Where’s the baby?”
For the fifth time today. “Sarah’s back at Ms. Aurora’s, remember? She’s going to stay there until Mack and I can bring her home.”
“Why?” Momma’s salt-and-pepper brows crinkled together. “I don’t understand.”
Thea walked over to the counter and snatched a stale loaf out of the bread box before carrying it back to the table. “Sarah doesn’t have a birth certificate, remember? Without one, I can’t prove she’s Eileen’s little girl, so I can’t take custody of her without the court’s approval. A judge won’t allow a single woman to adopt a baby so Mack and I are going to adopt Sarah together.”
“Adopt?” Momma straightened in her chair. “But that’s our baby!”
Thea settled a hand on her mother’s shoulder. “Momma, Mack and I have it all worked out. Sarah’s going to be okay, and we’ll be able to bring her home soon. Everything will be fine.” Thea wasn’t sure if she said that for her mother’s benefit or her own. This whole “marriage in name only” had thrown her usual orderly world off-kilter.
Maybe a grilled cheese sandwich and a long nap would put things into perspective. She walked over to the icebox, opened it, pulled out butter and cheese, and set them on the table.
But she couldn’t find a frying pan. She crawled further inside the cupboard, picking through the pots and pans until she finally found a small one in the back corner under some cookie sheets.
“Do you always climb around inside the cupboard?”
Thea jerked up and yelped as the crown of her head met a low-hanging plank. Stars exploded behind her closed eyelids as a sharp pain echoed through her head, then dulled into an ache.
The inside of the cupboard went dark as Mack sat in the cabinet doorway. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
Something—either the endearment or the hint of concern in his voice—made her heart flutter so hard she thought it might stop. Somewhere along the way, her feelings for Mack had changed. Or maybe they had laid dormant all these years, waiting for the right moment to bud and bloom into the love she’d always dreamed of while she was growing up.
“Thea?”
“I’m fine,” she whispered. But she wasn’t. She was falling in love with a man who didn’t think himself worthy of being loved.
“You want me to come in there and get you?”
The thought made her smile. “And have us both get stuck? I don�
��t think so. Just give a minute to brace myself.”
“Okay, but if you take too long, I’m coming in there.”
And he would, Thea had no doubt of that. Because Mack had a soft spot for her. He worried about her. He would do anything in his power to protect her, even marry her if need be. But was that enough to build a life with this man on?
Maybe.
She backed out of the cupboard slowly. Before she could stand on her own, Mack pulled her free of the cabinet, his hands gently clasping her arms, his gaze locked on her. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Thea nodded, despite the ache knocking around in her head. “I may have a small knot on top of my head, but it will serve me right for scrounging around in the cabinets like that.”
“Let me see.” Without any warning, Mack cradled her face in his hands and tilted her head down. Sharp needles of awareness lanced through her as he gently massaged his fingers against her scalp, tenderly working his way back until his fingertips closed over the knot. “You didn’t cut yourself, so you won’t need stitches, but you could use some ice for that bump.”
Mack lifted her head up, studying her eyes. “Look at me.”
Common procedure to check for concussion, but it felt like much more. Thea couldn’t breathe, could barely think as Mack’s fingers slid through her hair, catching her behind her neck and holding her still. His eyes studied hers, their vivid blue depths a warm indigo.
“Thea? Are you all right?”
Momma. Thea took a step backward and banged into the cupboard. Mack put out a hand to steady her, then stepped away to put some distance between them. “I’m fine, Momma. Just a little clumsy today, that’s all.”
“You’ve always been something of a klutz,” her mother answered in that sharp tone Thea recognized from her childhood. “Let’s hope the baby doesn’t pick up your bad habits.”
Thea leaned back against the cabinet as if struck. This was the woman she remembered from her youth, sharp-tongued, always finding fault in everything she did.
She couldn’t look at Mack, couldn’t bear to see the pity in his eyes. She’d never wanted him to know this about her mother, never wanted him to look at her any differently because she couldn’t live up to her mother’s expectations. No one could.
The Baby Barter Page 15
