“Mavis, you’re about to founder me.” He tried to make his voice light.
“Nah. You can handle it.” She shot him a smile and patted his shoulder.
He could feel her sympathy, and knew she thought he’d probably eaten very little since Kay left. She was right, but he wished his friends wouldn’t worry about him. He’d make it. It was hard, but he’d eventually get over Kay Littleton. He decided the best thing to do was to focus on the purpose of this visit.
“Well, Red, where’s that letter you want to share with me?” he asked, as he lifted a fork full of food toward his mouth.
“In my coat. We’ll eat first, then I’ll get it.”
Jude didn’t argue, but dived into his food. It was good and he was glad Mavis insisted he eat.
After a helping of peach pie and coffee, they went into the den. Red took the letter from his coat and handed it to Jude as they all took seats. Everyone was quiet as Jude read the letter.
When the big farmer looked up, Red said, “It’s all my fault, Jude. I shouldn’t have believed my cousin, Ralph. I don’t even know him. After reading the letter, I decided his mind has been poisoned by his family. His grandmother was their grandpa’s sister, Maxine. The one who hated Aunt Kay and turned everyone in the family, except Mama, against her.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Red. It’s as much my fault as yours. I should never have believed Kay wasn’t anything except what she said she was. Nobody could be that good of an actress.” His eyes misted. “Just because one politician did me wrong, it didn’t give me the right to think all women in politics are evil.”
“Folks, we were all wrong.” Mavis looked at Neil. “You, old man, were the only one who said we should give Kay a chance to explain. I wish we’d listened to you. I was just so upset about Red being hurt and seeing Jude devastated again, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I feel like a heel, and though we don’t deserve it, I hope she’ll forgive all of us one day.”
“I just couldn’t believe a sweet little thing like her could be the fake that this Ralph person said she was.” Neil took a deep breath. “But we’re not doing anybody any good hashing over what we should’ve done then. It’s what we’re going to do now that counts.”
“You’re right, honey.” Mavis touched his arm. “I know Red’s already doing his part.”
“I’m doing what I can. I spent all day Friday trying to get in touch with her. When I got her secretary, she said Aunt Kay was in some kind of session and probably wouldn’t be available all day.” Red swiped his eyes. “The woman wouldn’t give me her home number or her address. She told me that Kay had said something about leaving that night for her home in the west. She told me if my aunt went out there, she wouldn’t be back until the middle of next week, because there was some kind of vote on a bill she’d been working on. She wouldn’t give me the address out west, either. I called the office again just before five and got a recording.”
Jude walked to the window and looked out. He didn’t want his friends to see he was crying. Looking at the snow, thoughts of Wednesday morning flooded his mind. Thoughts he’d kept away by sheer willpower. He remembered how excited Kay had been because it snowed during the night. He also remembered the feel of her warm little body close to his, the way she’d played with the hair on his chest, the way she’d let him caress and hold her and the way she’d made love to him and made him feel as no woman had ever done before. She’d even said she loved him. He’d been a fool to doubt that love.
He turned abruptly and started out of the room. “I’m going to get her.”
“Wait a minute, Jude.” Neil got up and put his hand on his friend’s arm. “You just can’t take off without knowing where to go. Washington is a big place. You can’t go running up there half-cocked. There’s no way you can find her if you take off like this.”
“The hell I can’t! I’ve got to find her.” He had to explain. He had to make her love him again, because he knew he’d loved her even when he pushed her away. He knew he couldn’t live without her. He had to get her back.
“Listen to Neil, Jude.” Mavis looked at him. “Make a smart plan. You’ll get her back much faster if you know where you’re going and what you’re doing.”
Jude didn’t want to listen to them, though his logical mind told him they were right. His emotions told him to find her this minute and bring her back here where she belonged. And now, he had no doubt but that this was where she did belong. Here in Coverton Mills, with him, for the rest of their lives.
“They’re right, Jude.” Red said. “I wanted to dash up to Washington as soon as I read the letter, but Darlene finally convinced me I had to make a plan so I wouldn’t be spending my time in a useless pursuit. I think I’ve come up with the right one.”
Jude stared at him. “What did you decide?”
Red went on. “I looked up her office address on her web site, then I sent her an e-mail telling her how sorry I was and begged her to forgive me and to please get back in touch with me.”
“Will you give me that address?”
“Sure.”
“Did you do anything else?”
“I called information and ask for a listing for Senator Kay Littleton I was given her office number, which I already had, so that got me nowhere. I then called information in all the towns that surround Washington. Georgetown, Arlington, all of them. Still no dice. If they had a number, it was the one to the office. Darlene is going through everything she can think of at home. I know Aunt Kay gave me her number when she called about coming to visit. I just pray it’s there somewhere in the house and we didn’t throw it away.” Before Jude could ask he added, “I’ll give it to you as soon as we find it.”
“Did you get a number at her ranch?”
“I did, and I called it. I was told the senator was not there. I’m going to call again in case she goes out there this weekend.”
“So that means there’s nothing we can do until we come up with a number in Washington or we reach her out west.”
“If she even went out west,” Neil said.
“What do you mean?” Mavis looked at him.
“Well, look at the way we all treated her. The poor girl could be so confused by our actions she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She may stay right there in Washington and try to figure it out. She may have told them she was going out west so they’d leave her alone and she could do some thinking.”
“That does sound like her.” Mavis nodded. “She’s not one to run away. She faces things head on and only gives up when she realizes there’s no hope.”
“And I gave her no hope when she tried to face me.” Jude’s eyes misted again. This time, he didn’t care if his friends saw. “What a damn fool I was. I’ve lost the one person I love more than any other I’ve ever known.” He turned again to the window and his shoulders shook as he tried to keep from sobbing.
“You had your reasons, Jude.” Mavis touched his arm. “You’ve been stung before. You didn’t want to get hurt again.”
“No, but as someone told me once, I should have pulled out the stinger, Mavis. Not killed the bee.”
She hugged him. “You’ll make it right somehow, Jude. I know you will. We all will, because we have to. We can’t let Kay slip from our life. She’s too precious to all of us.”
“I know she’s precious to me and I’m going to try everything I can think of to find her and bring her back.” He swiped his eyes and turned to face them. “I think Neil’s right. Kay would probably stay in Washington. She’s level-headed enough not to take off out west if she has a vote coming up next week.”
“Then have you already thought of something you can do, my friend?” Neil asked.
He looked at them “Yes, I have. I’m going to be sitting in her office as soon as it opens on Monday morning, and I’m not leaving until I see her.”
CHAPTER 15
Gilbert decided to make shrimp scampi for dinner. He knew Kay liked it, and he felt she needed something to lift her up out of
this depression he saw her falling into. He couldn’t just stand by and let her sink deeper and deeper. She’d only nibbled at the chicken last night, but she was tired. She did tell him it was delicious.
“It must have been something her nephew did. How could he do this to her?” He mumbled as he peeled the shrimp. “She was so excited about seeing him again, and she said he was pleased to have her visit. I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand it at all.”
He shook his head. He remembered the little red-headed boy. The child had been eight or ten years younger than him, but his mother had always allowed him to come into their yard. After his accident, as he referred to the things the rough boys did to him, he even baby-sat for her a couple of times before Ms. Kay sent for him.
They called the boy Red, and he’d been a sweet child. A child who had loved Ms. Kay, and one she’d loved all his life. Gilbert knew people changed, but he wondered what could’ve happened to Red in the intervening years to make him hurt his aunt in this way.
He heard the front door open. He wiped his hands and went into the living room. Kay was putting her coat away in the entry closet. She smiled at him, but her smile was sad.
“And how was your Saturday in your senate office, Ms. Kay?”
“It was quiet for a change, Gilbert. Most of the offices were closed. Only a few idiots like me working overtime, but I think I’m ready for the vote next week. How was your day here?”
“Good. Very good. My soap opera, which I taped to watch today, was exciting, and Miss Morley, next door, invited me in for tea and cookies. She said she wanted to tell me about her nephew. The one she told us lives in Asheville, North Carolina near your nephew. Seems he has business in Washington, and is coming to visit her the first of the week.”
“Sounds like you had a nice visit with her?”
“I didn’t go for the visit. I learned all this on the front stoop when I went out for the mail.”
“Doesn’t she always want you to come for tea and cookies? How did you get out of going in for a visit with her?”
“I told her you were expecting me to run some errands and I just wouldn’t have the time.”
“You know you can always use me as an excuse, Gilbert.” She followed him back to the kitchen. “Oh, I smell seafood.”
“It’s shrimp. I’m making one of your favorite dishes tonight. I wanted you to have something special.”
“Good. I skipped lunch.”
“Now, Ms. Kay, you know better than that.” He went to the refrigerator and poured her a glass of fresh-squeezed limeade.
She took a sip as soon as he handed it to her. “It’s good, Gilbert. You’ve always made good limeade.”
“Thank you.”
“Tell me something. Why don’t you like Miss Morley?”
“Ms. Kay, don’t ask me that. Besides, I think you know.”
“All I know is she wants desperately to hire you away from me.”
He scoffed. “Fat chance of that. She thinks I’ll come to work for her and then be her little stud muffin. You and I both know there’s no way in the world I’d ever leave you.”
“Yes, we do know, Gilbert. It’s almost as if we’re joined at the hip.”
“That we are, Ms. Kay and if it’s up to me, that’s what we’ll always be.”
“I couldn’t make it without you, Gilbert.” She set her glass down. “You’ve always been there for me, no matter what came up in my life.”
“That’s a very sweet thing to say, but I’m sure you’d make it just fine without me.”
“Don’t you dare take that job with Miss Morley and compel me to try.” She forced a smile. “I think I’ll go get out of this business attire. I’ll be down shortly.” She turned and left the room.
“I put some things on your dressing table to send out for cleaning. Just push them aside.”
“Thanks. I will, Gilbert.”
Kay climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She selected a blue velvet jogging suit from her closet and moved into her dressing room. Her heart lurched when she spied the stack of clothes Gilbert mentioned.
Putting the jogging suit aside, she picked up the cashmere sweater set she’d worn when Jude had taken her to eat fish. The night he showed up in his Mercedes because he said he wanted her to know he didn’t always take a lady out in his truck. He’d also told her she looked lovely in the sweater, and hoped she’d wear it often with him.
It’d been such a wonderful night. They’d laughed and talked and had a good time. He’d been so different from the men she knew in Washington. He’d flirted with her, then apologized for it. She’d thought it endearing. And when he’d brought her back to Red’s house, he’d only brushed her forehead quickly with his lips. It was if he was afraid to touch her. Now, all of that was gone. She’d never feel his touch or his kisses again.
She sighed and picked up the pants she wore to help fight the fire then cook for the men in Mavis’s warm and inviting kitchen. Jude’s face, when it first filtered across her mind made her heart beat faster. He’d been so shaggy and dirty. His hair was going in all directions, he had a dark shadow of a beard and he smelled so sweaty and dirty. Even then, she remembered how she’d wanted to reach out and touch him. She’d known the instant she’d looked into his eyes that he was someone special. Someone she could love and devote her life to. Someone she thought would love her back.
“What the hell happened to make him turn on me?” She threw the clothes down and picked up her velvet suit. “I was a damn fool giving myself to him without reservation, wasn’t I?” She asked the mirror. It didn’t answer.
She dressed in the casual outfit then went back into the bedroom. She hung her dress in the closet and folded the scarf she had around her neck. When she opened the dresser drawer to put it inside a pain shot through her heart. There, laundered and folded, was the nightgown she’d put on to sleep in at the cabin. She closed her eyes and relived the moment.
They’d gone up the stairs in silence. He’d simply squeezed her hand as he’d pointed out the bedroom she was to sleep in. He leaned over and kissed her gently, then straightened as she stepped inside. It was hard to leave Jude at the door and go into the cabin’s guest bedroom knowing he’d be sleeping only a door away. When she’d undressed and slipped into the silver-blue gown she wondered if he was thinking of her so close by. It wasn’t long until she knew he had been thinking of her, as well. Almost as soon as she’d gotten into the gown, there was a tap on her door.
“Yes.” Her heart pounded.
“I wonder if it’s possible to get one more good-night kiss?” His thought came out as a question.
She knew if she opened the door, the chance of her sleeping alone in the guest room would be zero. For the first time in her life, she pushed caution aside. She didn’t care what happened. She didn’t want to sleep alone.
Without putting on a robe, she opened the door. He stood there smiling at her. It was obvious he wore nothing but the bottom to his pajamas. He leaned down and kissed her softly and gently. She responded, and without a word, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her next door to his room. He put her down in his already turned-back king-sized bed. Still not speaking, he reached for her gown. She lifted her arms and he slid it over her head. Dropping his pajama bottoms to the floor, he whispered, “I don’t want anything to come between us tonight.”
From that moment until noon the next day, Kay was unable to distinguish whether or not she was still in this world or had actually slipped into heaven.
She slammed her dresser drawer shut. “I know damn good and well where I am now,” she said aloud. “I’m right here in this world where dreams entice you, get you hooked, then when you least expect it they kick you in the face.”
•♥ •
Late on Sunday afternoon, Red was standing with Jude at the Ashville airport. They’d called for boarding on his plane. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
“No, Red. Neil needs you and Doby, or one of t
he other hands might need you at my place. I don’t want things to fall apart while I’m gone.”
“You have good workers, Jude. They won’t let you down.”
“I know, but I’d feel better if you check with them a time or two, anyway.”
“I will, but you know our deal.”
“I know. And I swear I’ll call you as soon as I can after I find her.”
“Be sure to tell her I love her and tell her not to stop loving me because I acted like an ass. Tell her everybody’s sorry for their stupid actions and we’ll do anything we can to make it up to her.” He swallowed a lump in his throat.
“I don’t think she’ll ever stop loving you, Red. No matter what you do. She’s the kind of woman who takes her disappointments, but she’d never stop loving someone because they made a mistake.” He sure hoped he was telling the truth, not only for Red but for himself, too.
“Tell her anyway, Jude.”
“I’ll tell her. I promise.”
“Good luck. I hope you find her before you go to bed tonight.”
“Thanks, Red. I hope I do, too. I just hope she’ll forgive me. I’m the one who treated her worst of all.”
“She’ll forgive you, Jude, because she loves you. She’ll forgive all of us, I’m sure.” His eyes misted. “I hope she will, anyway.”
Without answering, Jude nodded at Red and walked in long strides to the boarding gate and handed the bored lady his ticket. It wasn’t long until he entered the first-class section of the plane. Now that he had the money, and because of his height, Jude always flew first class. He made the decision to do so after the time he had to come back from a trip to California in the tourist section. By the time he reached home, his long legs felt as if they were going to fall off. He swore then he’d only go first class when he flew, or he’d stay at home.
Well, old man, he thought to himself as he settled in his seat and the plane lifted off the ground. If you’ve ever played it smart, this is the time to do it. The rest of your life depends on what you do in the next few hours. Remember that, and don’t let emotions rule you. You want her back forever, not just for a polite meeting.
Second Chance Dreams Page 13
