The thought that the distillery had become an important spot to him snapped him out of his sadness. When he’d returned to Bourbon Springs, Old Garnet had represented failure for him; he had gone there only to get a job because he’d failed in other endeavors.
But now Mack looked at the grounds with new eyes.
This was the place where he had serenaded Goose and Harriet on their wedding day.
This was the place that had given him a lifeline—a job—and the chance to work with good, honest people.
This was the place where people had come to see him sing all summer long.
This was the place where he had met Jorrie Jones, the woman he loved.
This was the place where a man had saved his life.
This place was home.
His anger abated by the unexpected and overwhelming sense of thankfulness, Mack exited his truck and made for the visitors’ center. He knew where Hannah’s office was and headed down the short hall to the right, feeling a little bit like a trespasser in the quiet of the building. He passed Bo’s office and saw the light on but empty and continued past to Hannah’s door.
The first thing he heard was the cooing and gurgling of a baby. Then he saw Hannah, bending over a playpen-like contraption as she placed a small bundle into the top of it. She tucked some blankets around the child and then stood and gazed at the babe, smiling and mesmerized.
Mack saw the intimacy of the moment and knew this was not a place or time to intrude. He took a step backward away from Hannah’s door, but his movement had alerted her to his presence.
Hannah’s head turned, and she saw him and smiled.
“Mack?” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ll come back. The baby—”
“The baby’s fine. Please, come see him.” She gestured for Mack to enter.
He did so with great hesitation, but the sight of Hannah so happy and welcoming lured him in.
“What’s his name again?” Mack whispered.
“James Christopher. We call him Jamie or JC.”
The babe was fast asleep but his face twitchy, and Mack feared that any noise or movement would awaken the child. He stood and examined the little one, who had startlingly bright red hair.
“Red hair?”
“I know,” Hannah said in a soft voice. “And Kyle and I both blondes! We think he got it from my mother. She had red hair exactly that color.” She paused and touched her son’s hair, then cheek. “I love bringing Jamie to the distillery when I can. Since I knew it would be a slow day, I figured I could handle him here and told Lucy to go check on your grandfather. She’s been a godsend since the baby arrived and Kyle got shot and…” Hannah trailed off and put a hand over her mouth as she glanced at her sleeping babe.
“How’s Kyle?”
“Recovering. Thanks to you.”
“Thanks to me?”
“Of course. You had that idea to sing,” Hannah said in a weak voice. “I know that’s what brought Kyle back to us. That song—his favorite lullaby. And I do know how to sing it now, by the way,” she added. “Miranda Chaplin told me that she thought she’d lost him, but when we started singing—well, Kyle came back to us. He came home.”
“Hannah, I didn’t mean to intrude today, but—”
“You’re not intruding,” she interrupted, looking at him with amusement and confusion. “You’re always welcome here.”
He smiled and thanked her.
“Ma’am, I came to ask you why you paid my debt. You didn’t have to do that, and I don’t understand why.”
“It was my privilege.”
“But I can’t pay you back.”
“Pay me back? What are you talking about? It was the least I could do.”
“I don’t like someone else paying my debts,” he said a little more harshly than he’d intended.
Hannah’s face hardened.
“You listen to me, Mack Blanton. You used your gift to give me back one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received—my husband, the father of my child. I will always be indebted to you. We will never be even. Never,” she said in a strained voice.
“I didn’t do anything except sing.”
“But that was exactly the thing Kyle needed at that moment, and the thing I couldn’t give him. But you did, you gave him that, and I will never forget.”
Mack trembled, and the tears which he’d swallowed in the parking lot returned. Hannah pulled him into a hug, and they both cried softly on each other’s shoulder.
They briefly conversed about Kyle’s recovery and the fact that he hadn’t worn his bulletproof vest the night of that concert.
“Wears it all the time otherwise,” Hannah said. “Said he just couldn’t bear to wear it due to the heat that evening and because it bothered him to think he needed to wear it on the Old Garnet grounds. But he’ll not make that mistake again. I’ll make sure of it.”
The baby grunted and Hannah immediately released Mack to check on her son.
“Oh, dear,” she said with a frown. “Gas. He’s gonna wake up soon and be madder than a wet hen in winter.”
“I’d better get going.” The fury of a baby would not be fun to witness.
“Wait—how’s Jorrie?”
Mack sighed and looked at the ground. “I wouldn’t know. We haven’t spoken or seen each other since the night of the last concert.”
“I knew that you two broke up over the summer but had hoped to hear everything was patched up. Especially now that you don’t have to go back to Nashville.”
She moved toward the windows overlooking the creek and motioned for Mack to join her.
“You certainly seem to know a lot of my business,” Mack said, laughing.
Why wasn’t he angry with Hannah for prying into his life? Probably because she was more like a guardian angel than a pest.
“Well, it’s true, right?”
“Yes, I won’t have to go back. Albert will be stuck with me full-time now.”
“I think that might make Lucy a bit disappointed,” Hannah observed. “She’s told me he’s a lot of fun.”
“Glad those two got along,” Mack said. “Took a lot of worry off my mind to know that he had someone here with him when I wasn’t around. Besides, she’ll always be welcome at our house.”
“So now that you’re back in Bourbon Springs for good—you interested in getting your bottling manager job back?” she asked hopefully.
“First you pay my debt, now you offer me a job?”
“It’s Thanksgiving,” she reminded him. “The job offer is me still paying you back and being grateful. And I’m exceptionally grateful this year.”
“I’ll think about it,” he said but knew he’d love to come back and work at Old Garnet. He’d missed the work, the people, and the place.
“So what about Jorrie? You really haven’t spoken since that night?”
“I tried, but she didn’t respond,” Mack admitted and ran his hand nervously through his hair. “I’ve always planned to try to get back with her after I was done with Nashville.”
“So that time is now,” Hannah said. “And since she’s back in town—”
Mack blinked several times in confusion.
“What did you say?”
“Oh, I thought you knew already,” Hannah said and averted her eyes. “She—um—came back from Frankfort a few weeks ago.”
“But I thought she’d moved to Frankfort and took a job up there,” Mack said.
“She did, but came back recently.”
“But why?”
“Maybe that’s a conversation you need to have with her,” Hannah suggested, still looking embarrassed.
Mack nodded, and the baby began grunting again. Hannah turned away from the windows and hurried to her son, who continued to make unhappy little noises but not wake up.
“Is he okay?” Mack asked in a whisper.
She nodded and tucked a stray strand of long blond hair behind her left ear.
“He w
ill be in a moment,” Hannah said, but Mack didn’t understand.
Jamie grunted, stilled, and then emitted a tiny fart. He shuddered a little, and Mack feared the child was about to awaken and wail. But Jamie’s eyes remained closed, his slumber undisturbed.
“Mack,” Hannah said in a low voice as she continued to watch her son for any signs of wakefulness, “if you really want to pay me back, go make yourself happy. Go get a taste of the gift you’ve given Jamie and me. That’s how you’ll wipe the slate clean, as far as I’m concerned.”
Mack drove home full of hope and confusion.
He’d set things straight with Hannah, provided he could get back in Jorrie’s good graces, and he had his part-time job back if he wanted it.
But two things gnawed at his gut.
Why had Jorrie returned, and why hadn’t she told him?
At least she was back, he told himself. That was hope enough for him, he decided as he pulled off Brush Grove Road and into his gravel driveway. He saw Lucy’s car and parked beside her so he wouldn’t block her in.
When he entered the kitchen, he heard giggling and wondered what the hell was going on. He called out to announce his presence.
“Oh, hello, Mack,” Lucy said as she entered the kitchen from the front sitting room. She looked a little pink in the face, as though she’d been laughing very hard.
“You okay?”
“Yes, yes,” she assured him, patting at her hair. “Albert was just telling me something silly.”
“Come on into the sitting room,” Mack said. “I have something to tell you both.”
Mack announced that the debt had been paid off and that he wouldn’t be returning to Nashville. He expected a happy face from his grandfather, followed by pointed questions about how he’d managed to pay off all that debt. I
nstead, Lucy and Albert looked at him in shock and, he could’ve sworn, disappointment.
“Well,” Lucy said, standing. “I’m glad you don’t have all that hanging over you any longer, Mack.” She gave him as big a hug as such a tiny woman could give.
“Would you like to join us tomorrow for Thanksgiving?” Mack asked Lucy.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m invited up to Hannah and Kyle’s. All the Davenport clan will be up there, along with Kyle’s father.”
“But maybe you could come over sometime this weekend?” Albert asked her hopefully.
“Of course.” She smiled at Albert then turned to Mack. “I imagine that Mack will need to rest up this weekend, and I’ll be glad to come over and help in any way.”
Mack thanked her and offered to get her coat. Lucy said she’d be over on Friday late in the morning. “I’ve already done what little Christmas shopping I need to do, so I don’t have to get out in all that mess.”
After Lucy left, Mack saw that his grandfather was subdued.
“What’s wrong?” Mack finally asked and sat on the couch next to his grandfather. “I thought you’d be a little bit happier about me coming home.”
“Oh, I am, I am,” Albert said without a bit of conviction in his voice. “Just shocked, I guess. I thought you’d be gone on weekends for the next six months. Trying to digest that,” Albert said, his eyes on some indistinct point on a far wall.
Mack thought that his grandfather looked like he’d lost his best friend, and it hit him that’s exactly how Albert felt.
Albert had anticipated having Lucy around, and Mack’s strange and sudden good fortune had dashed Albert’s expectations.
“I’m sure we’ll see her all the time,” Mack said.
“Oh, yes,” Albert said slowly. “I’m sure of it.”
It was the middle of the afternoon, so Mack decided to head back into town; maybe Jorrie would be at her condo. He didn’t think she’d sold it yet in the short time since they’d broken up, and even if someone else had bought the place, he could always say he was lost or mistaken if a stranger answered the door.
But would he be a stranger to Jorrie if she happened to answer that door?
Was he ready to know if she would slam the door in his face?
They hadn’t seen each other in weeks, and their last encounter had ended on a miserable note.
Mack left Albert sitting in his favorite spot and wandered into the kitchen. He gazed out the back windows and up the Knob.
It looked barren, cold, and devoid of life except for the cedars which stubbornly clung to its rocky surfaces, the greenery providing the only bit of color in an otherwise desolate landscape. He thought about being on that hill with Jorrie during those wild summer nights, and all the times he’d gone up there alone to write and think about her.
Now she was back, and so was he.
What the hell was he waiting for?
Telling Albert he had an errand to run and would be back later in the afternoon, he grabbed his keys from the kitchen table and left.
28
Jorrie threw the last of her clothes into the suitcase which lay open on top of her bed. She didn’t want to go; it felt far too soon to go back to Frankfort. But that’s where her parents were, so that’s where she had to go for Thanksgiving.
She just wished she could find something for which she could be thankful.
Losing the job had been hard enough. Now she had to gather the courage to talk to Drake, and she doubted his willingness to take another chance on her. She hoped that her former (and hopefully future) law partner would be in the office late that afternoon before the holiday. Knowing him, she’d find him behind his desk even if all the secretaries had left for the day. Drake was much more industrious and hardworking than many realized. She’d seen that work to his advantage in several cases where opposing counsel (usually from out of town), sizing him up solely on his surfer-dude-type appearance, had seriously underestimated his preparation and smarts.
She loaded the suitcase in the trunk of her car and decided to walk the short block to Drake’s office to talk to him. Jorrie hated the idea of begging him to take her back into the partnership. But that was the only option she had at the moment as far as a job, unless she wanted to hang out her own shingle, which she didn’t.
As she walked up Main Street, she glanced across to Over a Barrel and to her surprise saw the deli doing a brisk business. Maybe people were popping in at the last moment to stock up on plenty of bourbon balls for the long weekend or were getting the deli’s famous cinnamon-cranberry salad to place on their Thanksgiving tables.
As she glanced at the other storefronts up Main Street, her eyes landed on the county clerk’s office.
Crap. She’d almost forgotten to renew her driver’s license!
Jorrie stopped, opened her purse, and pulled out the notification card she’d received. Yep, her license would expire at the end of this month unless she went across the street right now and renewed the thing. Going to see Drake would have to wait.
She crossed the street hurriedly, and a horn honked as she reached the other side of Main Street. No vehicle was near her as she stepped on the curb, and she figured that some other distraction had been the object of the driver’s annoyance.
Predictably, the clerk’s office was packed with people seeking to renew their drivers’ licenses before the end of the month. A long line of people snaked from a counter at the far end of the lobby of the clerk’s office.
She stood in line for several tedious minutes, watching the clock and the other people waiting. There were at least seven folks in front of her, and from the rate of advance, she estimated she’d be standing in line for at least the next ten minutes. Why didn’t they start a second line?
There was another window to the left of the drivers’ license line; it was designated for marriage licenses, yet no one stood there clamoring for the sheet of paper necessary to enter into the holy bonds.
She was checking the weather on her phone when motion to her left caught her attention, and she felt a surge of hope that the clerks finally had the bright idea to open up a second line.
Holding hands
and standing in front of the marriage license window were Albert and a vaguely familiar woman. Jorrie blinked several times in confusion at the sight before the clerk spoke.
“Lucy Davenport, as I live and breathe!” the clerk cried from behind the window. “You’re gonna get hitched again?”
“Sure am,” Lucy said with a firm nod as Albert kissed her on the cheek. “Albert proposed last week and then called me late this afternoon and said we should just go ahead and tie the knot.”
“So when’s the big day?” the clerk asked.
“Day after Thanksgiving,” Albert tittered. “We called the judges and they said either of them would be happy to come to the house and perform the rites. Not sure which one will do it though. They said they’d have to flip for it. That Judge Craft seemed awfully eager to help us out. Sweet man.”
“Am I invited?” Jorrie asked.
Albert and Lucy turned shocked faces to her.
“Seems as though the cat’s out of the bag,” Albert said and Jorrie got out of line to give the man a hug. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!”
“Missed you,” she said and pulled away. “But you certainly haven’t lacked for female companionship, you rascal! How did this all come about?”
“I’d like to know that as well!” Mack cried as he walked into the clerk’s office, his eyes fixed on Albert. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Pa?”
“Getting me a marriage license, that’s what,” Albert huffed. “Ain’t no law that says I can’t. I got all my wits and other necessary parts about me, and you can’t stop me, boy! And what the hell are you doing here, anyway? You follow me or something?”
“No, I was looking for her.” Mack took a step closer to his grandfather as he pointed to Jorrie, standing to his right.
“Me?” Jorrie asked, stunned by Mack’s completely unexpected appearance.
“Well, you found her, so go off and mind your own business. Or are you two here to get a marriage license as well?”
Mack rolled his eyes as Lucy laughed.
“How did you know I was here?” Jorrie asked Mack, ignoring Albert’s laughter.
Mack licked his lips. “I heard you were back in town, just like me, and I came to see you. Saw you walking up the street. Didn’t you hear me honking at you?”
Bourbon Springs Box Set: Volume III, Books 7-9 (Bourbon Springs Box Sets Book 3) Page 25
