LOVE in a Small Town

by Janet Eaves

  Her eyes closed for a second and he waited. It seemed she was weaving back and forth.

  “I can’t…I mean, we can’t have… Brad, about having a baby….”

  Baby?

  Before he had time to contemplate that notion any further. Suzie passed out in a dead heap on the deck floor.

  ****

  The past hour of his life was filled with frantic phone calls, an ambulance ride, juggling emergency room questions, and a very pissed off Suzie.

  She lay on the gurney in the center of the small examining room of the ER while he sat off to the right. Her arm was thrown over her eyes and forehead. She hadn’t looked at him for a while.

  “You look cute in that little flowery gown,” he offered.

  “Oh, shut up. Brad Matthews, I can’t believe you brought me here. I am fine.”

  He stood and went to her side, carefully lowered her arm to see her face—in case she decided to deck him—and gently laid it at her side. For good measure, he threaded his fingers with hers and caressed her knuckles.

  He planted a small kiss on her forehead. “Sweetheart, you’ve been sick for a few days, vomiting and everything, and you passed out like a sack of potatoes falling to the floor in half a second flat. You scared the shit out of me.”

  “But I’m fine. It’s just the flu. And I hate hospitals.”

  “Well, it’s almost over now.”

  She sat up. “You have no idea. They poke and they prod and they take blood and your temperature and make you pee in a cup and check your heart and your throat and your ears and then run this thing with icky goo all over you and…do you have any idea how much this little hospital bill will cost me?”

  “Don’t you have insurance?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll cover it then”

  “No you won’t! I’ll not let you do that for me. I can’t have you….”

  “What?”

  “Pay for me like that. I’m an independent woman and I don’t need anyone to….”

  “What if we were married?”

  That shut her up.

  “Excuse me?”

  “What if we were married?” he repeated. “Would you let me pay for you if we were married?”

  “Well, I…uh… Brad Matthews, is this a proposal?”

  “Damn straight.”

  Tears welled in her eyes again. Hell. Not more tears.

  “Well?”

  “What about the lodge? What about all that?”

  “Minor problem. You were right. I should have looked into renovation long ago. My ego wants me to always think about bigger and better. Your way is much nicer and quainter and more…us.”

  She sat a little straighter. “Us. You mean that?”

  “I do.”

  “You’re not going to back out of it.”

  “What, the marriage?”

  “No, silly man. The lodge thing. You won’t change your mind, right, because if you change your mind I’ll take back my promise to marry you.”

  “Did you promise to marry me?”

  “I…um.”

  “I need an answer, Suzette.”

  She chewed on her lip. “Brad, I need…I mean…you should know that…I need to tell you that….”

  A brisk knock sounded at the door and a young male intern entered.

  “Ms. Schul?” He glanced from Suzie to Brad and back again.

  “Yes?”

  He stepped to the opposite side of the gurney from Brad, grasped her hand, and looked down at her. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better. This is all stupid. I’m not really sick. I had the flu over the weekend and I’m a little weak. It was warm outside, and the sun was beating down on me, and I hadn’t eaten much in a few days and….”

  “How is your nausea right now?” He gazed at the clipboard in front of him.

  “Well, almost non-existent. Just a little twinge once in a while, but it’s okay.”

  “Manageable then?”

  “Yes.”

  “Usually happens in the mornings?”

  “Um…maybe. I don’t really remember.”

  Finally, the man looked up and his face broke into a smile. “Good news, Ms. Schul. You are fine. Your tests came back normal. You’re a very healthy woman and the baby is okay, too.”

  Baby. At that word, Brad’s lips stretched into a smile so big he thought he might not be able to contain it.

  The doctor turned toward the door. “My nurse will be in momentarily to give you instructions and a prescription for the nausea.”

  Brad watched Suzie’s eyes grow wide. She bolted straight up. “Wait. Wait! Did you say, baby? I mean, you can’t have said baby, did you?”

  He turned and smiled. “You didn’t know? I’m not surprised. You’re recently pregnant but everything looks fine. You were having a little morning sickness.” The doctor turned to Brad. “Have you noticed any mood swings lately?”

  Brad swallowed. Suzie glared at him. “Ah…well, maybe a little.”

  The doctor chuckled. “Don’t worry. It only lasts nine months. Usually.” Then he left with a soft click of the door.

  Suddenly, it felt like the wind had been taken out of his sails. Brad clumsily backed down in the chair behind him. A baby.

  “Brad Matthews don’t you dare pass out on me.”

  Not trusting himself to stand, he pulled the chair closer and took Suzie’s hand in both of his. Then on impulse, he reached up to caress her tummy. “A baby…” He marveled at the miracle of it all. Christ, now he felt like crying.

  Suzie was pregnant. It was real. He was going to have a family. They were going to have a family. His plan, all of it, was coming true.

  Suzie’s mouth hung open. She looked awestruck.

  “We’re pregnant,” he said to her.

  She shook her head. “No, it’s impossible, Brad. There has to be some mistake. I’m not pregnant. I can’t be pregnant.”

  What in the world was she talking about? “Suzie, you heard the man. You’re pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.” Then he frowned. “It is we, right?”

  She reached over to the supply cart and threw a bandage roll at him. “If I’m pregnant, Brad, you can be assured that it’s we.”

  “Then why would you say it’s impossible, because that night we didn’t use protection. Hell, I thought you were on the pill. Didn’t you tell me that months ago?”

  “I know. I did. It’s…” She slumped against the bed. “Brad, I didn’t want to tell you. I never thought I could get pregnant. For years I never got pregnant with Cliff. I always thought there was something wrong with me and since I couldn’t get pregnant and couldn’t give you the family you wanted that….”

  Brad put up his hand. “Suzie, shut up and kiss me.”

  “What?”

  “Come here.” He pulled her closer and then took her lips in an all-consuming kiss. Within seconds, he was up on the gurney, spooning with her, holding her close and kissing her face.

  “We’re pregnant,” he whispered. “It’s real. You and me. Just like old times. Kind of.”

  “Yes, it appears so,” she added softly. “And this baby needs a home with both parents who don’t fight and are, well…married.”

  He nodded.

  “Yes, Brad. The answer is yes. I’ll marry you.”

  Epilogue

  “Well, he was a man with a plan. He knew what he wanted and damned if he didn’t make it happen.” Suzie smiled at her husband who in turn patted her growing tummy.

  “You gotta have a plan, men, that’s all I can say. You gotta have a plan.”

  The men in the crowd chuckled and the women batted away their macho-ism with a flit of their Southern belle eyelashes. They had gathered for an impromptu celebration. A month earlier was Suzie and Brad’s Tennessee shotgun wedding (at the Mountain View Hotel in Gatlinburg). Not to mention, the hotel renovation was ahead of schedule. Suzie and Brad had felt like entertaining, so they invited over some old and new friends for an evening barbe
cue by the lake.

  “So you really didn’t know you were pregnant?” Jane Smith picked at a brownie then held out something to her. “Here, I brought a book for you from my bookstore. Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Childbirth. It is a bestseller.”

  Suzie took the book. “Thanks, Jane. You’re a doll.” She leaned over and hugged her. “No, I had no clue,” she told her. “I mean, with Cliff and me…well, we never got pregnant so I thought….”

  Brad stood and hefted up his pants, broadened his shoulders. “Well, it only took me one time so that wimp of an ex-husband of yours….”

  Suzie sat up in her chair and shot Brad a startled look. “Brad Matthews! Stop that.”

  Everyone laughed.

  Suzie settled back in her chair. “Well, I suppose Cliff really was a weenie.”

  “Would you say he was teeny-weenie?” Jim butted in.

  Suzie threw her empty paper cup at him.

  Lilly poked her head out of the back screen door of the B&B. “Suzie, where did you put the watermelon?”

  “In the basement, sweetie. The big fridge. But let one of the guys get it. It’s a heavy sucker.”

  Lilly gave her a thumbs-up and then crooked her finger at Jim, who promptly rose to do his wife’s bidding.

  “Yeah, man with a plan,” Suzie chuckled. “Brad, baby, pull that big ol’ Adirondack over here for me please? I need to put my feet up.”

  “Yes, dear.”

  Everyone in the crowd chuckled.

  The baby was due in three months and Suzie felt full with life. The little munchkin growing inside thrilled her to no end. The husband sitting to her right fulfilled her every dream. And the backyard filled with friends who came to celebrate their growing family, rounded out her simple life.

  “How’s the renovation coming, Brad?” Martin asked, sitting on the arm of another Adirondack chair, his arm draped around Midnight.

  “Great! I was so amazed. Seems that it’s actually a prime candidate for a federal historic building. The bank didn’t want to put the money into to remodel according to federal specs, so they claimed it was condemned and unworkable. The new architect I hired took one look at the place and said we were fools to tear down the landmark.”

  Suzie elbowed him. “I told you so.”

  Brad grinned. “Lesson learned. Have a plan, but listen to the woman.”

  The crowd erupted in guffaws again.

  “It’s solid though, and probably not as costly as I thought. It will take a year or so but will be worth it.”

  “At least the baby will be here before then. Oh Brad, the contractor came yesterday about the addition on the house. Forgot to tell you.”

  “You’re building another room on the B&B? A baby room?” Lilly joined the group and grabbed Suzie’s hand to pull her up off the chair. “C’mon girl, we got plans to make. Show me where this new room is gonna be, and then we’ll talk about everything you need to put in it.”

  Shrugging, Suzie looked back at Brad and gave him a smile and a little finger wave goodbye.

  Lilly tugged her along. “Midnight? Jane? Y’all come too. This is a group project.”

  Brad chuckled. “Do they ever not do anything in a group?”

  Jim slapped Brad on the back. “Rarely,” he chortled. “Welcome to Legend, Mr. Matthews, and the rest of your life.”

  With a soft whistle through his teeth, Brad replied. “Well, it sort of fits the plan.”

  THE END

  THE REUNION GAME

  A Ladies of Legend Novella

  By Jan Scarbrough

  Thirty-three-year-old Jane Smith’s biological clock is ticking. But pickings are slim in Legend, Tennessee, until the fifteen year high school reunion gives Jane a second chance. Graham Winchester will be back in town.

  In high school, Jane’s shyness has stopped her from taking action. Now she’s older, wiser and no longer afraid. Graham has moved to the big city and won’t stick around after the reunion. He’s a confirmed bachelor and happily-ever-after is not in his makeup. Yet, Jane must exorcise the demon Graham has become so she can get on with her life.

  Switching places with her glamorous twin sister is just what she needs to get Mr. Most Likely to Succeed into bed and out of her heart.

  Chapter One

  There was no way sex with Graham Winchester was as good as she remembered.

  Jane Smith stood alone in the crowded Legend VFW hall where her fifteenth-year high school reunion was in full swing around her. She held a plastic wineglass of California merlot which gave her something to do with her hands, smiled at Betty Jo, the clerk from the Piggly Wiggly who waved from across the dance floor, and thanked her lucky stars for the relative darkness on the periphery of the dance floor.

  He’d arrived. Heat surged through Jane’s body. Graham Winchester—senior class president, debate team captain, yearbook staff member, valedictorian and Mr. Most Likely to Succeed—had finally come home to Legend.

  For fifteen years, she fantasized about Graham. For fifteen years, she remembered that one night alone with him in the back seat of his family Chevy. Sure, it had been cliché. Graduation night. One thing leading to another. Each going their separate ways the next day.

  She’d put him behind her and gotten on with her life. College first and then back to Legend to teach high school English. When her mom was diagnosed with cancer, she cared for her. After years as a volunteer at the county dog pound, she founded Legend’s non-kill Pet Rescue. Last year, she’d quit teaching and opened a book store.

  Yet she’d never forgotten Graham.

  Cold, hard truth washed over Jane as she watched from the shadows. For all she accomplished, she was still stuck in high school. Her love life sucked. It’d been on hold for much too long.

  She must exorcise the demon Graham had become and put him out of her mind and heart for the last time.

  ****

  You can never go home again.

  The cliché rang in Graham’s ears along with the sounds of Michael Jackson’s Thriller pulsating from a DVD player set up on a folding table. What in the blazes was he doing here? He didn’t belong in Legend any more.

  The dimly lit VFW Hall was very different from the trendy, super chic Times Square dance clubs he usually frequented. Decked out with feathery table decorations, sprinkles of glitter and mirror balls throwing colored lights on the dance floor, the rented hall looked outdated and shabby like his memories of middle school sock hops.

  “Graham Winchester?”

  He hardly recognized Legend High’s former All-State defensive back. Clint Roberts had put on a few pounds. When Dawn Smith dumped him to go out with Clint, he shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, football was a big thing in Tennessee.

  Bracing for a rush of old resentment, Graham extended his hand. “Clint, how are you?”

  “Fine.” Always a big guy, Clint towered over him. He transferred the bottle of beer he carried to his left hand and grasped Graham’s. “Man, you don’t look a day older. Can you believe it’s been this long? That big city life must agree with you.”

  The bitterness Graham expected to feel failed to materialize. “Thanks, but I feel older.”

  “Know what you mean.” Clint nodded. “So how’s it goin’?”

  “Can’t complain.”

  “Yeah, same here. Hey, I heard you wrote a book. Claudia was telling me.”

  “Claudia?”

  “Yeah, you remember, Claudia Ridgeway, now Claudia Jones.”

  Oh, his senior class secretary. A real one-person pep squad. How quickly he’d forgotten.

  “You’re the biggest thing that’s happened to Legend since the Dragons won the National Finals last fall,” Clint said. “You and Dawn comin’ home, the two of you voted most likely to succeed. It’s the talk of the town.”

  Most likely to succeed? What a joke. His law career was at a standstill. Sure, he’d written one novel, but as his agent pointed out more than once, he was deep in the throes of writer’s block wi
th the deadline looming.

  Graham shifted his stance. He was a fake, but he’d be damned if he’d let his classmates in on the horrible truth.

  “What are you doing now?” Graham asked politely.

  “Sellin’ cars.”

  “Cars?”

  “Yep, own the Ford dealership in town.”

  “That’s impressive.”

  “Make a damn good living too. Certainly can’t complain.”

  “I see.” Graham shifted again and glanced around the darkened hall. “Are you married?”

  “Hell, no. What about you?”

  “No.

  “Smart man,” Clint shot back.

  Graham didn’t know how smart he was, but he nodded in response.

  “So why haven’t you gotten married?”

  Clint’s question caught Graham off guard. He took a deep breath, considering his answer. “Guess I never found the right woman,” he said.

  Clint nodded. “I found the right woman, but she up and left town fifteen years ago.”

  “For another man?”

  “Nope. Hollywood.”

  “You mean you wanted to marry Dawn Smith?”

  “We talked about it,” Clint admitted, “but one day she took off to California and I went on to play ball for Tennessee.”

  “You must be bitter.” The thought came out of his mouth before he realized it.

  Clint shrugged. “Hell, no. Dawn had a lot of ambition. Look at what she’s done.”

  Graham knew all about what small-town girl, Dawn Smith, had done with her ambition. He followed her career off and on, and in the last few weeks he looked up her name on the Internet. Dawn’s official web site said she worked in a soap opera for five years and then graduated to sitcoms. She was nominated for an Emmy, and had recently starred in her first motion picture. The girl from Legend, Tennessee, had become a movie star.

  “You’re a good man,” Graham said, looking at Clint in a new way. “Did Dawn come tonight?”

  “Sure thing. Haven’t you noticed the crowd over by the bar?”

  The group near the bar parted, and Graham caught a glimpse of his one-time steady. “I can’t tell much about her from here.”

  “She’s prettier than ever,” Clint said with a touch of pride. Then in a confidential tone, he offered, “Divorced too.”