“Of course. I hope you’re going to hang out long enough to eat with us.”
“I’d love to, but I can’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Did you not chastise me for grilling and not calling you?”
“Yes,” Georgina repeated, “because if you had, then I wouldn’t have made prior plans to eat with someone.”
“Do you care to enlighten me as to who this someone is?”
Georgina stared at something over his shoulder. “I suppose if I don’t tell you you’ll find out soon enough. I’m seeing Langston Cooper.”
“The Langston Cooper who’s the editor of The Sentinel and was one of the finest pitching prospects the Falls ever had before he decided he preferred journalism to baseball?”
Her grin was dazzling. “One and the same, dear cousin.”
“All right, all right, all right,” he drawled in his best Matthew McConaughey imitation.
Georgina swatted at him. “Should I assume that you approve of me dating one of your former high school classmates?”
“It doesn’t matter whether I approve or disapprove. I’m just glad you found someone who makes you happy.”
“He makes me laugh, Sutton.”
His expressive eyebrows lifted. “So, you’re not serious?”
“No. We are just friends.” Sutton tried to imagine his high school friend and classmate dating his cousin and failed. They were complete opposites. Langston was worldly, while Georgina at thirty-two had spent all of her life under her parents’ roof in Wickham Falls.
“Good for you, Georgi.”
“I’m going to leave now so you can get back to your guests.” She turned on her heel and smiled at Zoey. “Don’t forget to stop in whenever you have time.”
“I won’t,” she said.
Sutton waited for Georgina to leave before he moved closer to Zoey and reached for her hand. “We just put the steaks on, and the corn is done, so it’s almost time to eat.” He did not react when her fingers tightened on his.
She smiled up at him. “Perfect timing, because my stomach is making rumbling noises.”
He curbed the urge to kiss her mouth to find out if it was as soft as it appeared. “Come sit and I’ll bring you what you want.”
* * *
“Hey, Zoey, this salad is really good,” Harper said as he refilled his plate.
Zoey inclined her head. “Thank you.”
He usually complained about eating any vegetable, declaring that he preferred meat and carbs; however, she wasn’t ready to admit that Sutton’s limited interaction with her brother had positively affected him.
“I have to agree with Harper,” said Sutton, who also had a second helping. “At first I thought the crunchiness was croutons before I realized they were chickpeas.”
“Do you like vegetables, Mr. Reed?” Harper asked.
Sutton smiled. “Of course. How do you think I got this big,” he said teasingly. “My mother wouldn’t let me leave the table unless I ate my vegetables. One day she made succotash and when I discovered it had okra, I told her I wasn’t eating it. It ended in a stalemate when I spent the night in the kitchen sleeping on the floor next to the table.”
“What did she say, Mr. Reed?”
“She woke me up and told me to go to bed. I never had to eat okra again, but I wasn’t exempt from the other vegetables she put on the table. As I got older, I realized I couldn’t exist on meat and potatoes and learned to eat healthy, and that meant food on a plate should always have color—green, yellow, red, orange, brown and black.”
Harper scrunched up his nose. “Black! You can’t be talking about burnt food.”
Zoey, listening intently to Sutton and Harper, shifted so they wouldn’t see her smirking. She was still in awe at how Sutton was able to draw her brother out of his shell. With her he tended to be monosyllabic, and if he did talk it was usually curt and condescending. Most times she walked away before it escalated into a shouting match and threats. What Zoey did not want was a repeat of the arguments between her father and stepmother. Charmaine wouldn’t greet her husband with a hug and kiss whenever he returned from driving across the country but with a complaint that she was overwhelmed with all she had to do when he was “gallivanting all over the road with who knows who.” James wouldn’t hold back when he told his wife that he was working like a dog to keep a roof over her head and provide for their children. Charmaine’s veiled accusation that James was cheating on her was based on their relationship, which had begun when he delivered packages to an auto supply company where she’d worked as a receptionist.
Zoey would gather her brothers and sit out on the porch to wait for the yelling to stop. She always cautioned them to be very quiet before they went back into the house because Daddy was going to bed because he was very tired from driving for long hours.
“What about black beans?” Sutton asked.
Harper hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. “I forgot about them. Zoey makes good black bean soup.”
Sutton winked at Zoey. “Maybe one day she’ll make it for us.”
“I usually make soup during the cooler months.” Harper’s favorites were chili and black bean.
“I’m right next door, so you’ll know where to find me.”
“Mr. Reed, have you ever taken steroids?” Harper asked, changing the topic of conversation.
Sutton’s expression changed as a frown settled over his features. “Never.”
Zoey felt like an interloper as Sutton answered Harper’s questions, but there was nothing in his voice or body language that indicated annoyance, which had probably come from his experience mentoring young people. She took a sip of the raspberry iced tea, meeting Sutton’s eyes over the rim of the glass. He appeared so relaxed and natural with her brother that she wondered why he hadn’t fathered children. Did he or his ex-wife not want to or couldn’t have children?
“Zoey, do you mind if I hang out with Triple Jay?”
She blinked as if coming out of a trance. Jabari Johnson Jr., better known as Triple Jay, and Harper shared a number of classes, lived within walking distance of each other and had become best friends. Jabari’s father gave up his position as a postal inspector to own and operate the local dry cleaner/Laundromat; the former owners, an elderly couple, had relocated to a vacation community in Mobile, Alabama.
“Okay, but—”
“I know. Don’t come home too late,” Harper said, cutting off her warning. He stood up. “Mr. Reed, do you want me to help you clean up before I leave?”
Zoey’s jaw dropped. Harper would assist her cooking, but never asked whether he could help her whenever they finished a meal.
“Nah, Harper,” Sutton said. “I got this, but thanks for asking. What time did we agree to meet tomorrow morning?”
“Five.”
“Then five it is.”
She waited for her brother to be out of earshot, and then shifted to give Sutton a long stare. “You must be a magic genie to have turned Harper into someone I don’t recognize.”
“I told you before that he’s a good boy and probably just needs someone he can open up to.”
“You don’t think it’s hero worship?”
Leaning back in his chair, Sutton crossed his arms over his chest. “No, I don’t. There are some boys who need a male figure to answer the questions they don’t feel comfortable talking to their mothers or other women about.”
“It can’t be sex because I’ve had the talk with him. I even bought condoms for him because I told him I had no intention of becoming an auntie when I was still raising him.”
A hint of a smile played at the corners of Sutton’s mouth. “It sounds as if you really didn’t hold back.”
“I can’t afford to bite my tongue with Harper, because he’s the type if you give him
an inch he will take a yard.”
“Are you saying a hard head makes for a soft behind?”
Zoey laughed softly. “Either a soft behind or grounded for life.”
Sutton’s laughter joined hers. “I prefer a soft behind because a spanking is quick while grounding can be limitless.” He stopped laughing and sobered. “I’d like to ask you a personal question, and you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.”
A flicker of apprehension swept over Zoey as she struggled not to exhibit any uneasiness. “What do you want to know?”
Sutton lowered his arms and sat straight. “Do you regret putting your life on hold to raise your brothers?”
“No, never. The only regrets I have are losing my father and Charmaine, and not knowing my mother. Other than that, I have none.”
“So, you don’t regret not being married or having children of your own?”
“I’m only twenty-eight, and for me that means there’s time to become a nurse, fall in love, get married and even consider having children.”
“You want children?”
“Why wouldn’t I want children, Sutton? After all, I’ve had more than enough experience raising Harper and Kyle. And what about you, Sutton? Do you regret growing up without your father?”
* * *
Sutton knew when he asked Zoey the question he’d opened himself for her to delve into his past. As a public figure, his professional life had become an open book and fodder for gossip; however, he’d managed to keep his private life a secret. Folks in Wickham Falls knew he’d been raised by a single mother, but no one other than his aunt Evelyn and subsequently his ex-wife knew Michelle Reed had been sleeping with a man who’d drained her bank account and then disappeared when she told him she was pregnant with his child.
“No, because he was a fraud. He used my mother for whatever he could get from her, and when she told him she was pregnant he disappeared. Years later when he’d heard that I’d signed with the Braves he showed up at the hotel where I was staying, and to say I was shocked to see him is an understatement.”
“How did you know he was your dad if you’d never met him?”
“It was like looking at myself thirty years into the future. I walked past him as if he did not exist and that was the first and last time I saw him. A few years later when my mother moved to Atlanta she’d hinted that she’d run into him, and I tried to tell her that it was no accident that he was in Georgia. He knew I’d bought her a house and he figured he could sweet-talk her again and get what he wanted before moving on to his next victim.
“When I suspected he was still hanging around Mom, I refused to take her calls until she got rid of him for good. I was at an away game when she left a voice mail message on my phone that she gave Gerard Clinton his final walking papers and she doubted whether she would ever see him again. I didn’t ask what she’d done, and she didn’t elaborate. My aunt claims she’s a lightning rod for the downtrodden. The folks she calls friends are anything but. They just drop by and hang out because they know Mom will order in whatever they want to eat while drinking up every drop of liquor in her house. And I can’t understand why my mother keeps a fully stocked bar when she’ll rarely take a drink.”
“It takes all kinds to make a world,” Zoey murmured. “There are those that give and those that take.”
“How true,” he said in agreement. His mother was a giver and his father a taker.
Late-afternoon shadows heralded the onset of dusk as the intermittent glow from fireflies and hissing and flickering from lighted citronella candles reminded Sutton that the time had passed more quickly than he’d wanted. Being with Zoey had a calming effect on him. He found her open, unpretentious and nonjudgmental. And there was no woe-is-me when it came to stepping up and assuming responsibility for her younger siblings, knowing there were so many things she could’ve done and missed as a twenty-something woman.
“Are we still on for dessert?” he asked.
Zoey pushed to her feet. “Yes. I’ll help you clean up here and then we can go to my place for cake and coffee.”
Sutton also stood. “There’s not much to put away. After I take the leftovers inside, I’ll be over.” He waited for Zoey to walk through the gate of the fence separating the two properties before clearing the table. He took the platter with steak and corn inside the house and into the kitchen, covered it with plastic wrap and placed it on a shelf in the refrigerator.
Cooking outdoors with Harper and Zoey was a reminder of what he’d been missing. It’s not that he hadn’t entertained in Atlanta, but this afternoon was different. For a moment he wondered how different his life would’ve been if he’d married someone like Zoey and they’d had children. Backyard cookouts would’ve become commonplace with her, his family and their close friends and not the hordes Angell needed to ensure she’d be the center of attention.
He drew the shades, turned on several lamps and then went next door to continue what had become a very special day that had begun with taking Harper shopping. The teenage boy admitted to him in confidence that he blamed his father for spending so much time away from home whenever he went out on the road. And it pained him to hear his mother fight with her husband and cry when he left because she feared she would never see him again. Sutton knew it had to be a heavy emotional burden to carry for so many years, but also knew what Harper had confided to him he would not and could not disclose to his sister.
Sutton rang the bell as he peered through the glass of the outer door. Moments later Zoey appeared from the rear. “It’s open.”
He opened the door and locked it behind him. “Do you always leave the outer door unlocked?”
“No. But I knew you were coming over, so I decided not to lock it. Please come in the kitchen. I was just going to take the shortcake out of the fridge when you rang the bell.”
Sutton followed her through the living and dining rooms to an eat-in kitchen that reminded him of photos in magazines geared for country living. Everything about the space felt like a comforting hug, from the round wooden table with seating for six to the breakfast nook with padded bench seats. Clay pots overflowing with fresh herbs lined a trio of window ledges.
If it hadn’t been for the updated stainless-steel appliances, Sutton would’ve believed he’d stepped back in time in the all-white kitchen when he spied a wood-burning stove in a far corner that appeared incongruent to the modern furnishings.
“Do you still use that stove?”
“Yes. But only in the winter because it heats up the kitchen and most of the first story. When the older appliances began breaking down and I had to replace them, I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it.”
“It adds a lot of character to the kitchen.”
“I agree. Initially I wanted to buy a vintage Vulcan stove with eight burners, three ovens and a warming drawer, but it was too expensive, and I would’ve had to remove some of the cabinets and countertops to make it fit.”
“Maybe in the next house you’ll be able to get what you want.”
Frowning, Zoey shook her head. “I doubt there will be a next house for me, unless I get married and have kids. But that’s not going to be for a while. This place will belong to Harper once I graduate nursing school.”
Sutton felt a momentary rush of panic. He’d come back to Wickham Falls to find someone with whom he could be friends and possibly in a relationship with in the future, while she was talking about moving away. “Do you plan to leave the Falls?”
“Probably. It would be ideal if I could get a position with the county hospital where I could either rent or buy a condo in Beckley.”
“Isn’t Harper planning to go to college?”
Zoey turned on the single-serve coffeemaker. “Yes. But he says he wants to commute as opposed to living on campus. Unlike Kyle, he has no intention of leaving Wickham Falls.”
“He’s goi
ng to live here alone while you go to nursing school.” Sutton’s question was a statement.
Resting a hip against the countertop, Zoey gave him a long, penetrating stare. “No. I plan on getting a bachelor’s degree in nursing, which means Harper and I will be in college at the same time.”
He bit back a smile. It meant she was going to be around for at least the next six years. “It looks like you’ve got everything planned out well in advance.” Zoey knew exactly what she wanted and intended to do while his future was still up in the air. He’d updated and sent out résumés, and now he would have to wait to see whether he would get a response. And if and when he did, then the next step would be contacting his former colleges for them to forward official transcripts.
“I have to plan, otherwise my life would be a complete mess.” She removed two cups and saucers and dessert plates from an overhead cabinet.
He watched her walk over to the refrigerator and remove a pedestal plate with a cake decorated with cream and large fresh strawberries. “That looks delicious. Did you buy the cake from Sasha’s Sweet Shoppe?”
Zoey set the plate on the table in the breakfast nook. “No. I made it myself.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. The strawberries are from my garden. I planted several flats last year, but I never got to eat them because critters were feasting on the tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers and peppers. This spring I bought a portable wire enclosure from the hardware store and it did the trick.”
“How long have you been gardening?”
“This is only my second year.” She returned to the fridge and took out a container of cream. “Please sit and I’ll bring you your coffee. There’s sugar on the table if you need it.”
Sutton sat, watching her move around the kitchen, using no wasted motion as she placed forks, spoons, napkins and a cake knife on the smooth knotty pine table. The homemade treat reminded him of Sunday dinners with Granny Dot’s cakes. His childhood had been easy, uncomplicated with no thought as to the next day except to go to school and play. As he matured, he had come to accept that if his mother had married Gerard Clinton he would’ve learned to despise his father. And he did not hate the amoral man who preyed on vulnerable women to get what he wanted before disappearing to find his next mark. Sutton was merely indifferent.
A Winning Season Page 7
