“And I will sit on the porch and let them crawl all over me.” Travis chuckled.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Good mornin’, folks.” The preacher’s big booming voice filled the little white church that morning. “I’m glad to see all the pews comin’ close to being full. It’s a lot easier to preach to a crowd than to one or two folks falling asleep on the back row.”
A few muffled giggles floated above Hannah’s head, but she didn’t hear them. She was too busy trying to make sense of the sparks that sizzled every time her knee or her arm brushed against Travis. There was no avoiding it. He was sitting right beside her, and since she was on the very end of a full pew, there was nowhere to go.
She’d known him since they were babies in the church nursery. They’d gone through thirteen years of school together, and there had never been anything like this. So why now? Besides, the way he sat there so cool and never flinching must mean that he didn’t feel the heat.
“I’m going to read a few passages from the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Paul was writing to these folks concerning loving one another. It caused me to think of the love that Ruth had for Naomi, when she followed her into a strange land after both of their husbands had died. I think, and this is my opinion only, that there are many ways of marital death. God did not intend for a husband to mistreat his wife or for him to be lord and master over her. When that happens, the husband is killing the marriage as surely as if he shot the wife between the eyes with his deer-huntin’ rifle,” the preacher said.
Without taking his eyes from the pulpit, Travis reached over and nudged Hannah’s shoulder. “He’s preachin’ to Liz this mornin’,” he whispered.
“Ruth followed Naomi into a strange land. That’s where a wife is when she leaves a husband who has not appreciated the fact that his wife should walk beside him and not two steps behind him.”
A few shuffles said that the preacher was stepping on sore toes. Evidently he had some knowledge of other men in the community who weren’t showing their wives the love and respect that they should. Hannah chanced a peek down the pew at Liz. Two high spots of crimson dotted her cheeks, but she was nodding in agreement.
“And in that strange land she will find God and happiness.” The preacher went on with the sermon about love, but Hannah’s mind wandered. Sitting in church should bring quietness to the soul, but that morning all it brought to Hannah was more questions without answers as she sat beside Travis and tried to figure out what this chemistry was that she felt.
After the last amen was said, Miss Rosie announced that dinner was at her house that day, and she wasn’t taking excuses from anyone. As they were filing out of the church, she looped her arm into Hannah’s. “And after dinner you can go over to Liz’s and help her pack, right? Darcy can play with Sophie while me and Birdie catch our Sunday afternoon nap, and the guys will go to the hangar, I’m sure.”
“I’m praying that things will go smooth,” Hannah said.
“I’m not. If he hurts her again, I’m going to shoot the bastard,” Miss Rosie said seriously, then turned to shake the preacher’s hand and smiled brightly. “Lovely sermon this morning. A lot of men are going home with sore toes, I’m sure.”
“I hope they go home with heavy hearts and repent if they’ve been treating their wives with anything other than respect.” The preacher nodded.
“That, too,” Miss Rosie said and moved on so the next person could shake his hand.
Liz kept telling herself that she was a grown woman and this was simply a stepping-stone. Wyatt was coming back to Crossing tomorrow, and she would tell him that she’d already moved her things over to Aunt Birdie’s place. She unlocked the door and threw it open. She stepped inside the house, and Hannah followed her.
“Come in. I’ve got boxes in the spare bedroom and it shouldn’t take us long to get them loaded and out of here since we’ve got two cars we can use.”
“Have you checked the place for . . . you know?” Hannah rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.
“Travis did. We are fine. Wyatt isn’t as crafty as Marty or as willing to put out money for fancy devices. He just checks my call log when he gets home and fumes if I’ve talked to anyone too long.”
Hannah glanced around the living room and shivered. “Why don’t you delete the call log?”
“Tried that. Cost me dearly,” Liz said. “Entering this place is like walking into a tomb, isn’t it? No need to lie. I saw your reaction and feel the same every day. Like all the ghosts of his relatives are watching me and tattling to him.”
“I haven’t been in here since you moved in. Strange, but probably for the same reason I would meet all y’all over at Aunt Birdie’s house. It is spooky, Liz. It hasn’t changed since his mother lived here,” Hannah said.
Liz eased down on the sofa, circa 1980, with its wagon wheel arms and orange-and-brown upholstery. “What happened to us? We were happy roommates for more than ten years and then everything went to hell in a handbasket.”
“Thirty happened to us. We both felt like the chance for a marriage and a family was passing us by. You got involved with Wyatt and I met Marty. We went forward, only we chose the wrong path,” Hannah said.
“Wyatt was charming at first,” Liz said.
“So was Marty. That’s the way abusive men are. They draw their prey in and then torture it.” Hannah sat down in a wooden rocking chair. “This is the right thing to do, Liz. Don’t think about his charm and change your mind.”
“I have to leave. I’m to the point I’m afraid he’s going to kill me. His anger gets worse and worse every time he comes home,” Liz said.
“Then let’s get this done, and you’ll be gone when he arrives. All you’ll have to do is tell him, and I’ll even come with you to do that,” Hannah said.
“I need to do it by myself to show him that I’m independent and I can do what I damn well please with my life. That I can live without him,” Liz said. “It’ll be scary, but if things start to get out of hand, I’ve got you and Travis both on speed dial. I think I brought less out than I took in.” She wrapped her arms around her midriff and reminded herself that tomorrow it would be all over. Hannah would be there for her to talk to and Miss Rosie would be a wonderful roommate for the rest of the summer.
Hannah had never done a job so fast in her life. She wouldn’t have been a bit surprised to have long, bony hands shoot out from behind the door and drag them back into the house when they started carrying boxes out to their vehicles. How Liz had lived in the house for the past seven years was a mystery and a miracle rolled up into one.
“I really, really don’t like the feeling in that place,” she said. Hannah could practically hear eerie music coming from the shadows, and every creak from the floorboards made her wonder if ghosts didn’t live under the house as well as inside it.
“It gets worse when Wyatt is home,” Liz said. “Right now it’s just spooky. Add the tension and fear on top of that. If it hadn’t been for y’all and my job, I would have put a gun to my head a long time ago.”
“God, Liz, now I feel guilty. I should have barged in here and visited with you after you moved in. I would have put you in a straitjacket and hauled you out of here.”
Liz leaned against her car. “Don’t beat yourself up. I had to get to this point before I’d stay gone when I left, even if it was in a straitjacket. Let’s get the rest of it out and I’ll lock the door. Tomorrow I’ll give him my key and it will be done.”
Hannah braced herself against the feel of the house when she went back inside and made short order of getting all the boxes and clothing out to the cars. She didn’t breathe easy until they were parked in Aunt Birdie’s driveway.
Sophie was at her side the second she was out of the car. “Mama! Aunt Darcy says that Aunt Liz is moving in with Aunt Birdie. Why can’t she come live with us? We’ve got a big house, too.”
“Because Aunt Birdie asked her first,” Hannah said.
Sophie crossed her a
rms over her chest. “It’s not fair. I would have asked her if y’all would stop talking big-people stuff and tell me things.”
Darcy came out the door and picked up several hangers with clothing still on them from the backseat of Liz’s car. “I’ll help take things inside. Aunt Birdie decided to take her Sunday nap at Miss Rosie’s and sent me over here with Sophie so we could do this job together. So you’ve left Egypt and you are returning to the promised land, Liz?” Darcy smiled.
“I can’t believe that you were paying attention to the preacher when Calvin was that close to you, Darcy,” Hannah said.
“Had to.” Darcy held the door for them to bring in two boxes each. “I was afraid if I looked at him, I’d go up in flames and there wouldn’t be nothing left of me but the smell of scorched linen. Why I ever bought this dress is a mystery. Damn thing has to be hand washed and ironed and it wrinkles something awful.”
“But it looks beautiful on you, and that shade of peach is so pretty with your complexion.” Hannah took her load to the spare bedroom and set it on the floor.
“I went through every dress in my closet before I chose this one. And did Cal even notice? No, sir! He was so intrigued with the preacher or one of those women in the choir wearing a shapeless choir robe that he couldn’t even see me. God, why did I have to fall in love with Calvin Winters when we were kids?” Darcy hung the clothing in the closet. “We can sort this later. For now, I’ll just get it all in here.”
Hannah giggled. “Don’t ask God. Ask your heart.”
They all three trudged up the stairs together to the bedroom Liz would be using. “The heart is a fickle thing. It will steer you wrong. God won’t.”
“I think the heart tells us what it wants, but when we don’t listen, that’s when we get into trouble,” Hannah shot right back. “Be honest. Did you have any doubts on your wedding day? I did, but then I was pregnant and felt like my baby deserved a good name. Look what that got me.”
Liz nodded slowly. “I did have doubts, but they’d already given us a shower and parties and it would create a stink in the whole town if I backed out on the wedding day. Besides, if I was honest with myself, I was a little afraid of what Wyatt would do if I did. You are so right, Hannah. The heart doesn’t steer us wrong. We do that to ourselves.”
Sophie followed all three women into the room. “You want Travis to paint a rainbow and a twinkle star on your wall?”
Liz wrapped both arms around Sophie. “Maybe when I get my own house.”
Sophie’s dark brows knit together in a thinking frown. “How would you paint a lullaby sky? I think we should fix a sign for our house and hang it on the porch so people will know what to call it.” She paused and stuck a finger above her upper lip. “Would it have clouds or not?”
Liz looked at Hannah and raised an eyebrow.
“Remember the preacher talking about happiness and peace this morning in church, Sophie?” Hannah asked.
“I was coloring, so I didn’t listen to him,” Sophie answered.
“Well, peace is when there is nothing in the house that makes you unhappy or sad. Our house is like that. But you can’t make a picture of it to put on a sign, because it’s a feeling down deep in your heart, not a picture in your mind,” Hannah explained.
Sophie smiled sweetly. “Oh, like the way Uncle Cal looks when he sees Aunt Darcy.”
“What?” Darcy spun around.
“Uncle Cal likes Aunt Darcy, like Tommy at the church likes me. But I don’t like him back, so I renore him. That’s what you have to do to Uncle Cal if you don’t like him back. Just renore him.”
She left the room with her chin in the air, and in a few seconds they heard her flipping through the channels on the television set.
“Renore?” Darcy asked.
“Ignore,” Hannah told them.
Two circles of crimson dotted Darcy’s cheeks. “Does anything get past her?”
“Not much.” Liz stood up and headed toward the door. “But rest assured, men are blind to what kids see, so you have time to get your ‘I’ve loved you forever’ speech honed and fine-tuned before you present it to one of the biggest names in the clothing industry.”
When Liz was out of sight, Hannah fanned Darcy with her hands in a dramatic gesture to ease the fire still burning in her cheeks. “Sophie will forget all about this by evening, and if she starts to bring it up, I will steer her toward her new kitten, which she’s also named Lullaby. That is probably going to be the word of the summer instead of the day. And don’t tell her I let the cat’s name out of the bag. She’s going to announce it at dinner this evening in what I’m sure will be a dramatic move. Tell me something. You’ve been in Liz’s place more than any of us. What kind of feeling do you get over there?”
“Like I’m in an evil place and the devil is about to come up through the floorboards,” Darcy said honestly.
“Then it wasn’t just me,” Hannah said.
“No, ma’am. But I remember his grandma who lived there from back when we were kids. She was nice and the house didn’t feel like that then. I think Wyatt is pure evil and his aura is in that place.”
“Maybe so. I’ll help unload the rest of the boxes from out in our cars. You can start unpacking and putting them away,” Hannah said.
Hannah caught Cal’s expression as she, Liz, and Darcy made their way into the dining room at Miss Rosie’s that Sunday evening. Sophie had called it right on the money. He absolutely looked like he could sweep Darcy off her feet like a knight in shining armor on a big white horse and carry her off to live in a prince’s castle.
From the looks of it, Sophie had set the table again. The napkins were askew and the knives weren’t all turned the right way, but Hannah didn’t have the urge to fix it. That was a big step in the right direction, wasn’t it?
“Okay, folks, it’s plain fare tonight since we had a big dinner. Pinto beans with the ham hock that I had left over from a church dinner, fried potatoes, fried okra, and tomatoes from Mr. Taybor’s garden down the street and fresh strawberry shortcakes for dessert.”
“This isn’t plain, and getting to eat here twice in one day is pure heaven,” Cal declared. “This is the food of the gods. Please tell me that you fried the potatoes in bacon drippings.”
“Of course, is there any other way?” Miss Rosie beamed.
The dining room was small, and the table usually only seated six, but Miss Rosie had brought in two metal folding chairs that she used around the card table on canasta night with her church ladies. That cramped the two sides, but no one complained, least of all Darcy, sitting between Liz and Calvin.
“I’ll say grace because I will keep it short and I’m hungry.” Miss Rosie bowed her head and said a few sentences followed by a loud amen. Then she picked up the platter of corn bread, put a square on her plate, and sent it around the table.
“I liked what the preacher said this morning. Seemed right fittin’.” Aunt Birdie followed Miss Rosie’s lead and, after helping herself to a good-size portion of fried okra, handed it off to Hannah.
“Yes, it did,” Liz agreed.
“I have named my kitten,” Sophie said.
“And?” Travis asked.
“Her name is Lullaby and sometimes I might call her Lully for short,” Sophie announced.
“Well, I think that’s a perfect name, but I thought for sure you’d name her Twinkle or Star,” Travis said.
“Those are her middle names,” Sophie said. “Lullaby Twinkle Star. But I will only call her all of them when she’s been bad. Do you know that cat crap really stinks? I have to hold my nose when I scoop out the litter pan.”
“Sophie!” Hannah scolded.
“The truth is the truth. Don’t matter if you put sugar on it or cat crap, it’s still the truth.” Aunt Birdie chuckled. “And it does stink. That, my sweet little girl, is your first lesson in having a pet to take care of. There’s good jobs and bad jobs whether it’s a kitten or a little baby.”
“She’s worth
it.” Sophie shrugged and set about eating her Sunday supper.
Sophie was between Travis and Hannah, which gave her more space than she’d had when she was sitting so close to him in church that morning. Yet when their hands brushed together as they passed the bowls and platters, the sparks were still there. She was elated when her cell phone started playing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in her purse. She pushed back her chair and answered it on the fourth ring just before it went to voice mail.
“Hannah, this is Gina. I’ve got a woman with two little children who needs a place for a few days. I’m full to capacity. The only problem is that she has a broken leg and can’t do stairs and will need a baby bed in whatever room you give her. You offered your downstairs bedroom. Is that still available?” Gina asked.
“Yes, ma’am, any time you need it,” Hannah said.
“It’s two daughters, by the way. Age five and three months. Within a week her brother will come to get her, but he’s out on a ship with the navy right now,” Gina said. “I’m just reminding you again. They should stay in the house.”
“I understand. I can get Sophie’s baby bed out of the attic and set it up. When will you be here?”
“In an hour,” Gina said.
“I’ll be home and waiting. Might not completely have the baby bed set up, but we’ll be working on it. Does she need clothing, diapers, or anything for the children? I’m sure Aunt Birdie could find things for her at the church.”
“We’ve got all that covered at least for the first few days. You might need to furnish some diapers and laundry soap between now and next Saturday, when her brother will come for her.”
“Has she had supper?”
“They are eating right now.”
“Then we will see you in an hour.” She hit the “End” button and went back to the table. “We have guests. Travis, could I borrow you after dinner to help me put Sophie’s baby bed up in my bedroom?”
“Baby bed? Am I getting a sister or a brother?” Sophie’s big brown eyes glittered.
The Lullaby Sky Page 15
