by Sharon Sala
Lon knew he was grinning like a fool, but he couldn’t help it. “Good to see you again,” he said softly, then focused on the woman in the recliner. “Hey, Hope, good to see you up and about. Thank you for seeing me so early this morning.”
Hope waved him over to the sofa. “No problem. Come sit. I heard you have some things from the wreck?”
He took off his coat and laid it aside as he sat down beside her recliner. “The packet arrived this morning. I need you to look through the contents and then sign off on receipt of your property.” He laid the packet in her lap and then glanced at Mercy. “So how do you like farm life?”
“I love being here with Hope,” Mercy said. “And it’s quiet.”
Lon laughed.
Mercy watched a dimple come and go in his right cheek and tried not to stare.
Hope caught the byplay between them and smiled. The chief was flirting with her little sister. “Chief, would you like a cup of coffee?”
“I’d love one,” Lon said.
“I’ll get it,” Mercy said.
“Do you need any help?” Lon asked.
“I’ve got this,” Mercy said.
Lon watched her exit and then looked a bit embarrassed when Hope caught him staring.
He shrugged. “Sorry. She’s, uh, she’s so…”
Hope nodded. “And the best part is she doesn’t know it.”
Lon sighed and leaned back against the sofa as Hope began going through her things.
Mercy returned promptly with the tray and put it on the coffee table. “Help yourself,” Mercy said, pointing at the mugs of hot, freshly brewed coffee.
“Looks great,” he said as he picked up a mug, added a little sugar and cream, and stirred.
“Hope, do you want any coffee?” Mercy asked.
“In a minute. I want to go through this stuff first. Look! Can you believe everything is still in my purse? I was dreading having to replace my credit cards and driver’s license. Even the money is still there.”
“There’s an itemized list,” Lon said, and took a pen from his shirt pocket. “Check off the items as you find them, and then when you’re satisfied with what’s here, sign on the line at the bottom.”
“Will do,” Hope said, and began checking off the contents as she went.
Mercy pulled a chair near Hope, and as Hope located the list items, Mercy would check them off. Lon sat for a few moments watching the sisters, their heads together, so much alike and yet strangers. Then Mercy looked up and caught him staring. There was a moment of silence, and then a slight smile broke the somberness of Mercy’s face.
Lon didn’t know how long he sat there before he heard himself saying, “Next time you come to Blessings, maybe we could have coffee together, or another hot chocolate?”
Hope paused and looked up. The chief just made a pass at her sister.
Mercy hadn’t answered. She kept looking at Lon so long he was afraid she would say no, and then after an anxious wait, she made his day. “Yes, that would be good, I think.”
“Good. Just give me a call when you’re headed into town.”
“Let me know when you two are through setting up your first date,” Hope drawled.
“Oh, hush,” Mercy said.
Lon was ecstatic and trying not to act like a teenager who’d just scored a date for the prom. Mercy had less guile than any woman he’d ever known. “I appreciate the opportunity,” Lon said.
She immediately frowned. “To do what?”
He blinked, and then threw back his head and laughed.
Hope grinned. “Just deal with it,” she said. “She’s driving Duke crazy. His bossy bravado has gotten him nowhere.”
“I’m a cop,” Lon said. “I like straightforward and honest. It saves a whole lot of time in this world if you get set on the right track from the start. So, I guess my answer to your question, Miss Dane, is I appreciate the opportunity to get to know you better.”
Mercy’s eyes narrowed slightly then she shrugged. “I just like to know where I stand.”
You’re standing right on my heart. You just don’t know it yet, girl.
Lon sat quietly, drinking his coffee as Hope and Mercy finished going through the list. Then Hope signed off and put everything back in her purse as Lon pocketed the receipt.
“I am so happy to get this. Thank you for bringing it to me,” Hope said.
“You’re welcome,” Lon said, then set his empty cup back on the tray. “I guess I better get back to town. Thank you for the coffee, and Mercy, I hope to be seeing you soon.”
“First chance I get, I’m going to the Piggly Wiggly. I’ll let you know when I’m headed that way.”
“I’ll be looking forward to that text,” Lon said, and put on his coat as he stood.
“I’ll see you out,” Mercy said, and led the way to the front door.
“Take care of yourself, Hope,” Lon said.
“I will. Lots of people helping make that happen,” she said.
Lon paused at the door. “See you soon?”
Mercy nodded.
“Hot damn,” he said softly, and then sauntered out. He didn’t have the guts to look back, but if he had, he would have seen Mercy grinning.
She shut the door, and when she turned around, Hope arched an eyebrow. “The chief is one of Blessings’ most eligible bachelors.”
Mercy sniffed as she began gathering up the cups and napkins. “It’s just coffee.”
“Or hot chocolate. It might be hot chocolate,” Hope said, and then frowned. “You can drive Jack’s pickup anytime you need it.”
“Thanks. I want to pick up some extra stuff to do a little baking for your family.”
“They’re your family too,” Hope reminded her.
“I know, but I won’t be here forever, and I want to help out while I can.”
Hope’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you planning to go back to Savannah? I thought maybe you would want to—”
“I can’t live here with you guys indefinitely, but I’m not going back to Savannah. I’ll find work in Blessings and a place to stay. I’ll be close.”
Hope sighed. “Okay. I’m not about to tell you what to do, but I am in no hurry to see you leave. You just got here.”
Mercy gave Hope a quick kiss on the forehead. “I won’t disappear, so quit worrying. I’m going to get started on dinner. Is meatloaf okay? I saw ground beef thawed out.”
“It’s perfect,” Hope said. “Are you sure you don’t mind cooking?”
“No. I like to cook. One of my foster mothers taught me how. She also taught me how to bake because she needed all the help she could get. You rest. Here’s the TV remote. Yell if you need me.”
Hope then turned on the television as Mercy carried the tray back to the kitchen. She fell asleep listening to Mercy singing as she worked.
Chapter 12
By the time noon rolled around, a big meatloaf was in the warming oven along with a bowl of mashed potatoes and brown gravy. Mercy had green beans with bacon bits and a bowl of coleslaw for sides. She’d found some frozen blackberries in the freezer and made a fruit compote, then found enough flour and sugar to make some quick, biscuit-like shortcakes.
Duke and Jack came in to eat as Hope was folding napkins at the table, laughing at some story Mercy told about a drunk trucker locking himself out of his own sleeping cab in a rainstorm.
Jack only heard the tail end of the story as he went to the utility room to wash up.
Duke heard enough to voice his disapproval. “I would think a job that puts you in constant contact with drunks and itinerants would get old.”
The smile on Mercy’s face died and she immediately clammed up.
Hope glared. “She was just relating a funny incident and no one asked what you thought,” she snapped.
Duke blin
ked. “Well, I didn’t mean—”
“Let it go,” Mercy said, and set coffee cups on the table.
Jack heard it all from the bathroom and frowned. “Hey, Duke! Can you come here a minute?”
“Be right there,” Duke said. “What’s up?” he asked as he stopped on the threshold.
Jack pulled him into the bathroom and shut the door. “Why do you keep doing that?” he hissed.
Duke frowned. “Doing what?”
“Belittling the state of her affairs. Mercy has done a damn good job of taking care of herself without begging for welfare to do it for her, and yet you remind her it’s not a lofty enough position to suit you.”
Duke didn’t like to be challenged by his younger brother. “Maybe she needs someone to point out that there are better ways to live and better places to work.”
Jack sighed. “What if she likes what she’s doing?”
Duke shook his head. “Now that she’s part of our family, she needs to elevate her level of expectation. We can’t have—”
Jack jabbed a finger hard against Duke’s chest. “She does not change for us. We love her as she is, you ass.”
Duke glared. “I wouldn’t marry someone like that.”
Jack’s mouth opened, but at first the words wouldn’t come, and Duke didn’t have sense enough to shut up. “I mean, I’ve given it some thought. It would be the perfect solution. The two of us, married to sisters. They wouldn’t fuss about living under the same roof like two other women might, and I could—”
Jack held up a hand. “Stop talking. Just stop a minute. I can’t believe I heard you correctly. Are you insinuating that you think you and Mercy would be a suitable match?”
Duke shrugged. “If she was willing to change some of her ways, I don’t see a problem.”
“You’re an idiot,” Jack said. “I didn’t think you could be any more clueless, but I was wrong. You don’t even like her.”
“She’s very beautiful,” Duke said.
“She doesn’t like you,” Jack added.
“I’m sure if I pointed out the benefits of such a union, she would see the sense behind it,” Duke said.
“You’re supposed to love someone before you marry them, damn it.”
“Love is overrated,” Duke muttered.
“I beg to differ,” Jack said. “I would give my life for Hope. That’s how much she means to me. Now don’t ever let me hear you talking like this again, and certainly don’t let Hope hear you.”
Duke frowned. “You’re wrong,” he said.
“And you’re delusional. We’re going out now to have dinner, and the only thing you’re going to do with your mouth is put food in it and chew.”
* * *
Hope didn’t know what had passed between the brothers, but she knew Jack was upset as he silently pleaded his case with her not to flip out. She gave him a pointed stare and then arched her eyebrows as if to say, What is wrong with your brother? He just shrugged and started bragging about the food. “This looks amazing, Mercy, and tastes even better,” he said as he took his first bite. “Oh wow, Hope. She made the green beans like Mom used to make…the kind with bacon bits in them.”
“I know,” Hope said. “You’re a really good cook, little sister.”
Mercy managed a smile, but she knew the brothers had been arguing about her. She just didn’t know what to do about it.
Hope knew Mercy’s feelings were hurt. In an effort to change the subject, she mentioned that Lon Pittman had asked Mercy out on a date. She missed Duke’s stunned reaction, but Jack didn’t. He quickly picked up the conversation before Duke could say something he might later regret.
“Really?” Jack said. “That’s great, Mercy. He’s a nice guy…a really nice guy, and, well, the fact that you two knew each other already…couldn’t be better.”
Mercy shrugged. “We’d met, and it’s just coffee.”
“Or hot chocolate,” Hope said, and then giggled.
Mercy laughed in spite of herself. “Yes, or hot chocolate. So does that make it a bigger deal if I have a choice?”
“So how did you and Lon happen to meet?” Hope asked.
Mercy shrugged. “We met a long time ago. I wasn’t more than nineteen. I came home to my apartment and surprised a thief in the act of robbing me. He got away with all of the money I had saved, and the chief, who wasn’t a chief then, had just moved in across the hall.”
“Oh my God. Were you hurt?” Hope asked.
Mercy sighed, remembering again the panic. “No, just scared. The lock on my door was broken. I didn’t have any money except what I was carrying. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. Then this guy comes out of his apartment asking what was going on, and, well, one thing led to another, and I packed up my belongings in two suitcases and spent the night on his sofa. I left before morning and never saw him again until that day in the waiting room.”
Hope was in tears. “I don’t know what hurts my heart worse…knowing every time something bad came along, you had no one to help you through it, or the fact that you two met again because I nearly died. There has to be some kind of karma at work here, bringing you two back together.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Mercy said, and then knew she’d just lied. It was like that—to her.
Duke was too dumbstruck to participate in the conversation. This information was putting kinks in his grand plan. She and the chief had a history. All Duke did was make her mad. “Pass the mashed potatoes, please,” he said.
Mercy pushed the bowl across the table toward him without meeting his gaze.
“Thank you,” Duke said.
She nodded without looking up.
Duke sighed. Life hadn’t been this complicated before. He was happy Hope had found her missing sister, but wished to God she’d been someone besides this obstinate firebrand.
As the meal progressed, Mercy relaxed again. She was beginning to figure out what made Duke Talbot tick. Basically, he was the oldest child who’d been in charge of taking care of business when he and Jack were growing up, and just because they were all finally grown, Duke didn’t know how to let go of being in control.
“If you want dessert, there’s blackberry shortcake,” Mercy said as she got up to refill Hope’s coffee.
“What? Are you serious?” Jack asked. “I didn’t know there was anything on the premises that could turn into shortcake.”
“You’re going to spoil them for me, and I won’t be able to hold up my end of the deal after you’re gone,” Hope said.
“Where are you going?” Duke asked.
Mercy shrugged. “Nowhere for now, but eventually I’ll move into Blessings.”
Duke sighed. She’s moving, and the police chief wants to date her—which was another hint that he should let go of his fantasy.
“You have the option of eating it as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream,” Mercy said.
“Ice cream for me,” Hope said.
“And me,” Jack added.
“What about you, Duke?” Mercy asked.
“Uh…yes…ice cream.”
She served the shortcakes warm with the cold ice cream, then sat down with her own serving and dug in. “Good blackberries,” she said. “Do they grow wild on the farm?”
Hope nodded. “Yes. I pick when they’re in season, if I’m not working the late shifts. You need to pick berries early in the morning while it’s still cool, before the snakes get out.”
“I know,” Mercy said. “One of my foster families lived in the country. They had lots of wild blackberries on their property, but they sold what we picked. We didn’t usually eat any, except what we could sneak in our mouths while we were picking.”
Jack frowned. “Did you have any good foster parents?”
Mercy shrugged. “I don’t know what you call good. I know I didn’t l
ike any of them.”
Hope was horrified. “Oh my God! Why not?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like every foster parent I had was abusive or mean, because they weren’t. Some were okay, but I didn’t feel like I mattered. I was just another name and number on a file. What I do know is that no one ever asked me what I thought or what I wanted, and if their lives changed or they didn’t like us, we were packed up and sent elsewhere.”
Hope was in tears. “I’m so sorry.”
Mercy sighed. “You have no need to apologize. You didn’t do it, and it’s the nature of the beast. It’s part of my past, that’s all. And we were talking about blackberry shortcake, not all this downer stuff.”
“That was a wonderful meal. I’ll do dishes,” Duke said abruptly.
“Okay,” Mercy said. “Does anyone mind loaning me something to drive so I can go to the supermarket? I could go on my bike, but it’s a rough ride for eggs.”
Jack laughed. “You can drive my pickup, but if you’re talking about groceries for the house, we pay for that.”
“I promised Hope I would bake for her,” Mercy said.
“Well, if I let you drive my pickup, do I get some of the baked goods?” Jack asked.
Mercy chuckled. “I’ll make enough for everybody, but will you be around the house long enough to stay with Hope so I can go this afternoon?”
“Yes,” Jack said. “I’m working on the books this afternoon, so I’ll be in the house the rest of the day. I think I have another debit card in the office for the household account. I’ll call the bank and tell them you’re authorized to use it. I started a grocery list the other day, and I hate to grocery shop, so you’ll be doing me a huge favor by picking up what’s on it, as well as what else you need to make us fat.”
“As a rule, our people didn’t run to fat,” Duke said.
Jack wadded up a paper napkin and threw it at the back of his brother’s head. “I was making a joke. What the hell made you say that?”
Duke shrugged. “Well, I was just sharing information…in case Mercy was interested in what we may or may not want to eat.”
“If it’s sweet, I want it,” Jack said.
