Surrender to Love

by Adrianne Byrd

  “Sounds good.”

  He walked her back to her car and was given a quick introduction to Penny.

  When the women waved their goodbyes and pulled out of the parking lot, it finally dawned on Paul that he’d just made his first date with a woman since Sarah’s death. Then just as quickly he admonished himself. It was a business date—nothing more, nothing less. But as he thought about it, he admitted that he would like to get to know more about the lovely agent outside of work.

  Carson squinted at the small screen as his selected music filtered through the raggedy overhead speakers of Harry’s Pool Hall. After the song’s introduction, he brought the microphone up to his lips and belted out his rendition of “Short People” through the karaoke machine.

  Julia, now accompanied by Carson’s best friend, Quincy, and his wife, Stacy, was absolutely horrified by Carson’s inability to hold an identifiable musical note.

  The couple were apparently regulars at the pool hall, and Carson was ecstatic to see them and had invited them to join him and Julia.

  Stacy leaned over the table to confide to Julia, “I told you he was tone-deaf.”

  “I believe you’re right,” she said, covering her ears.

  “Short people got no reason to live.” Carson bobbed his head in time. He gave no thought to how ridiculous he looked on the small stage. For him, it was a needed reprieve. It had been ages since he’d hung out with Q and his wife. And it felt good.

  It hadn’t taken Julia long to warm to the friendly couple before they were all sharing jokes and enjoying what was left of their Sunday night.

  The skeleton crowd burst into applause when Carson’s number ended. He took a dramatic bow and actually blew out a few kisses to what he pretended to be his adoring fans.

  Julia, however, booed him to get him off the stage.

  “Oh, you think you can do better?” he challenged from the stage. “Why don’t you come up here and show us what you’ve got?”

  Quincy and Stacy turned in her direction and were suddenly egging her on. Soon the rest of the patrons joined in on the challenge.

  Carson moved toward the table, despite Julia’s feeble waves of protest, and handed her the microphone.

  Heat scorched Julia’s face at being the center of attention, and her knees wobbled when she stood on them. What was she thinking? She’d never sung in public in her life.

  “How about ‘The Greatest Love of All’?” Carson suggested from the menu.

  “Not without three shots of tequila.” She frowned. There was no way she was going to attempt such a piece in order to be humiliated.

  “This isn’t the Apollo,” he reminded her. “This is supposed to be for fun.”

  She waved him off and continued to read her choices. None of them appealed to her. When she apparently took too long to make up her mind, Stacy jumped up and rushed to join her onstage.

  “I know which one we can do.”

  “You’re joining her?” Carson inquired with a wide grin.

  “You got a problem with that?” she sassed.

  He held up his hands in mock surrender. “No. No, of course not. The more the merrier.”

  “Good. Now go and sit your ‘Short People’ butt down and watch how us girls show you a thing or two about singing.”

  Contrite, Carson grumbled, “Yes, ma’am.”

  Before Julia could bat an eye, Stacy made a selection and grabbed the spare microphone from a nearby stand.

  Music from the Commodores resonated in the billiard hall, and Julia blinked in surprise just as the TelePrompTer scrolled the lyrics to “Brick House.”

  The men hooted and laughed at their selection, but there was no doubt that the women, at least, could sing. When the evening wound to and end, Carson and Julia said their goodbyes to Quincy and Stacy and headed back to the Georgia Inn on foot.

  “They seem like really nice people,” Julia commented as she walked by Carson’s side.

  “They’re the best. Quincy and I have been friends forever.”

  She nodded, then enjoyed the night’s gentle breeze against her skin. How could she not love the town’s tranquillity—or everyone’s genuine hospitality?

  “If you don’t mind my saying so, I think you and your daughter would be a nice addition to Moreland,” Carson said quietly.

  She smiled and glanced at him. “I don’t mind.” She drew in a deep breath; the clean air cleared her head. “A person would have to be crazy not to fall in love with a place like this.”

  “I always thought so,” he agreed. “When I went off to college, I thought I wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  He shook his head. “No. I was young and thought this place was as backward as Andy Griffith’s Mayberry. Have you ever seen that show?”

  She looked guiltily away. “Once or twice.” She tried to sound casual.

  “Anyway, when I lived out in California, I found that people weren’t as friendly as they are here, not to mention that they were obsessed with material gains, and less family oriented. Of course, this is just my opinion.”

  “So you got homesick?”

  “Like crazy. I wanted to drop out in the first quarter, but my father would have none of that. So I stayed, got my degree, and hightailed it out of there.”

  “What’s your degree in?”

  “Psychology.”

  She stopped walking and stared at him.

  Carson looked back her. “What’s wrong?”

  “You’re a mechanic with a psychology degree?”

  He shrugged. “It’s an honest living.”

  Julia shook her head as she started to walk again. “I got to hand it to you—you’re something else.”

  He laughed. “I would have thought that you of all people would be happy that I had returned as a mechanic.”

  “You got me there.”

  “Come. Let’s go this way,” Carson suggested suddenly.

  Julia frowned when he started walking in the opposite direction. “Are you sure?” She looked around. “I could have sworn that the inn was this way.”

  “I want to show you something,” he replied with a wink.

  “Show me what?” She remained hesitant to follow him.

  He walked back toward her and took her by the hand. “Let’s just say that it’s a surprise.” He pulled her.

  Still reluctant, she followed.

  After a few minutes he marched her across an open field where the only sounds were the steady chorus of crickets.

  “Where exactly are we going?” she finally asked. Despite the fact that he’d come to her rescue more than once, she had to remember that she didn’t really know Carson Webber. Maybe it wasn’t such a keen idea for her to allow him to take her to God only knew where.

  He stopped suddenly and turned toward her. “Wait here,” he instructed, then raced out into the dark.

  “Wait. Where are you going?” she shouted.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” he called out.

  Left with little choice, Julia stood where he’d left her and tried not to think that at any minute something was going to jump out at her.

  The minutes drew out at an incredibly slow pace, and the crickets’ melody had somehow transformed into an ominous chant.

  There was a loud thump, and in the next moment Julia was blinded by light. She reflexively shielded her eyes and waited for her vision to adjust. She guessed that the soft thudding in the grass was Carson running back over to her.

  “Well, what do you think?” he huffed between loud pants.

  “I think I’m blinded for life,” she joked, then pivoted to see where they were. “Why are we in the middle of a football field?”

  “This is where I used to play high school football,” he boasted with an expanded chest. “I still hold the record here for most yards covered in a single game.”

  She smiled at his wholesome pride. There was little doubt that he was built for football, but she
suspected that he was equally as good at other sports.

  “Does Bobbi get her love of sports from you?”

  He nodded guiltily. “Sports have always been a big thing in our family, even on her mother’s side.”

  “Oh, yeah. I remember your telling me that her mother was quite the tomboy.”

  He nodded.

  “What about her grandparents on her mother’s side? Do they still live in Moreland?”

  Carson lowered his gaze and shook his head. “Nah. They moved to Florida last year. It was hard for them. They still wanted very much to be around Bobbi, but I guess Moreland held too many painful memories of their daughter. They seem to be doing better over there, and Bobbi and I visit them as often as we can.”

  They walked the length of the field.

  “Do you miss the game?” she asked.

  Carson’s face broke into another smile. “Do I ever. I was the captain of the team.”

  “Then I take it that you used to get your fair share of attention from the women?”

  “Ah.” He stopped and held up his hand in mock surrender. “I had eyes for only one girl. I’m a monogamist by nature. I knew at an early age that I wanted what my parents had, and I knew I could have that with Karen.”

  Enthralled by their love story, Julia asked, “Was it love at first sight for her as well?”

  “I’d like to think so. I like to pretend that she was only playing hard to get up until the fourth grade.”

  “Persistent little devil, weren’t you?”

  Carson’s gaze sought hers and locked. “I usually go after what I want.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask what he wanted now, but she thanked God that she found the strength to curb her tongue.

  “So does your old high school approve of your just breaking into the control box to turn on the field lights whenever you feel the need to?”

  “Not exactly.” He held up a set of keys. “The school hired me to do a little maintenance during the summer break.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said with a growing smile. “It’s good to see that you’re not abusing your power as the keeper of the keys.”

  “I’m glad that I amuse you.”

  She laughed.

  “Come on, Miss Julia. Let’s go turn out the lights so I can get you home.”

  It was a while later when they arrived at the Georgia Inn.

  “At least I got you back before sunrise.” Carson looked at his watch, then turned to face her.

  “That you did.” They stood staring at each other with tentative smiles.

  “I had a wonderful evening. Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. I insist on having a rematch on the pool table before you leave town.”

  “You’re on.”

  He nodded. “Well, good night.”

  She hesitated, then conceded. “Good night.”

  He didn’t know why he did it. In fact, he didn’t remember thinking that he would do it, but Carson leaned down as if drawn by some unseen force.

  The feel of her soft lips against his awakened something he’d thought had died long ago with his wife. Her full lips were sweet and intoxicating. Had it been up to him, he would have drunk from them until he’d had his fill, but Julia placed a restraining hand against his chest and he reluctantly withdrew.

  He wasn’t sure what he read in her expression—shock or surprise would have been his guess. He thought of apologizing but didn’t, because he wasn’t sorry.

  However, she managed to smile again. “Good night,” she whispered.

  His heart squeezed in disappointment, but he managed to speak. “Good night.”

  She turned from him and entered the quiet inn. When she closed the door, he expelled a shaky breath and wondered at the game his heart was playing now.

  PART II

  Chapter 16

  One month later…

  Frankie took a deep drag off his cigarette and blew the smoke in a long stream out of his car window. The day had come for him to tell Uncle Vinny and the boys that he’d failed to locate or uncover the package of uncut diamonds. The thought of admitting defeat settled uncomfortably on his shoulders. How could Dr. Kelley and her daughter have just vanished into thin air? And did their disappearance mean they had the diamonds?

  Frankie ground his cigarette into the car’s overflowing ashtray. He was getting nowhere chasing his thoughts. If the good doctor had discovered the jewels, she would have either taken them to the authorities or tried to sell them, but the Montellos had every pair of eyes and ears peeled for such a sale. So where was she?

  “Hey, Frankie!”

  He looked up to the white warehouse building and saw his cousin and Vinny’s eldest son, Nicholas Montello, waving for him to come inside.

  “Well, here goes nothing.” Frankie stepped out of the car and straightened his leather jacket before approaching Nicholas.

  Once inside, Frankie squelched his nervousness and focused on the task at hand. He’d simply tell the boys the truth.

  Vincent M. Montello, who’d always bragged that the M stood for murder, was a tall, robust man with striking silver hair and a deadly smile. He commanded respect from everyone he knew—and he always got it.

  “Frankie, it’s good to see you again.” He thrust out his hand.

  “It’s good to be back home,” Frankie boasted with his best poker face.

  Vinny laughed and swung his right arm around Frankie’s shoulders. “Me and the boys are hoping you’ll be giving us some good news today. Like where are our diamonds?”

  Frankie caught the hard glint in his boss’s eyes and struggled not to avert his gaze. To do so would have been a deadly mistake. Everyone knew to meet the mobster’s gaze whenever you talked to him. Vincent hated a man with shifty eyes—or worse, sweaty palms.

  Vinny’s arms tightened playfully around Frankie’s neck. “Don’t tell me you still haven’t found this doctor?”

  Mindful of his body language, Frankie played it cool. But he knew better than to try to con any member of his family. “I swear, it’s as though the woman vanished without a trace,” he admitted.

  Vinny lowered his arm and shook his head gravely at him. “This isn’t what I wanted to hear. You know that?”

  “I know, boss. But it’s the truth. I’ve even been in contact with our person down at the Bureau, and they’ve got nothing, too.”

  “So what do you think? You think this chick has my diamonds?”

  Frankie honestly didn’t know. There was no real proof that she had or hadn’t; however, that answer wouldn’t be good enough for the Montellos. “It’s a possibility.”

  Vinny nodded. “Then I want her found, and I want you to take Nicholas, here, with you this time.”

  Frankie stiffened, but didn’t dare protest. Everyone knew he worked alone. If Nicholas was playing tag, it meant Vinny’s confidence in him was waning—not to mention that Nicholas was little more than a hit man. If he was going, that meant the doctor and her daughter had just been handed their death sentences.

  Sheri Higginbotham carefully stepped over various oil spots on the concrete floor of Carson’s Auto Shop. It had taken her a good week to work up the courage to come and speak to him, and the closer she got to the door of his office, the more doubt tried to pry its fingers into her resolve.

  At her first sight of him hunched over his desk and milling through piles of paperwork, her breath seemed to abandon her body. She’d had her heart set on marrying Carson for more years than she cared to count. And since Karen’s death, she’d assumed that it was only a matter of time before she finally got him down the aisle.

  Then this mysterious Julia showed up and ruined everything.

  Everywhere she went now, it was “Julia this” and “Miss Julia that.” It was as if the whole town had embraced the stranger as one of their own. Even the older women at the church were now speculating on a marriage proposal—but between Carson and Julia.

  All of their whispering went on as if Sheri no
longer existed, and slowly but surely, all of her dreams of becoming the next Mrs. Carson Webber were going down the drain.

  She knocked on the glass of his office door.

  Carson jumped and looked up. He smiled when he saw her, then waved for her to enter.

  Her hand felt slick as it closed around the doorknob. She turned on her best smile and opened the door.

  “Hello, Sheri. What brings you out to my neck of the woods?”

  “You have to ask?” she flirted without much feeling.

  He shrugged and averted his eyes. “As you can see, I’m up to my eyeballs in ordering parts.”

  “Including the ones for Miss Julia’s transmission?”

  His gaze snapped back to hers. She was treading on dangerous ground. This time she was the one to avert her gaze. His behavior confirmed what she’d already suspected—what the whole town suspected: Carson Webber was in love again.

  “Yes. Fixing Miss Julia’s Impala is high on my priority list.”

  With a small smile, she shook her head. “You never were a good liar, Carson,” she surprised more than herself by saying. She forced her head up and tried to make out his figure through her sudden haze of tears.

  “Last year you fixed Old Man Wilson’s Impala in less than three days. You’ve had Julia’s car now for a month, and it’s no closer to being fixed than when you began. That’s if you’ve ever started.”

  He said nothing, but a sad look clouded his eyes. “What exactly did you come to talk to me about, Sheri?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” She sniffed, but remained determined to go through with this. “I want to hear from you about your feelings for Julia.”

  He stared at her for a long, agonizing moment before finally saying, “Are you sure you want to talk about this?”

  The question pierced her more than any dagger ever could, and still she nodded.

  Carson lowered the invoices he held in his hand to the desk. “To be honest, Sheri, I don’t know how I feel about her. Other than the fact that I do like her.”

  “You don’t know anything about her,” she forced herself not to shout.

  “I like what I do know,” he answered without hesitation.