by Sharon Sala
“You look beautiful,” he said.
“Thanks to you,” she said.
“No, thanks go to good genetics. It’s not the clothes. It’s you.”
She smiled and then glanced out the window as they were passing the Unique Boutique and imagined him picking out these clothes.
“Who’s hungry?” Bowie asked.
“We all are,” Ella said. “When you told Rowan you were coming back to take us out at noon, we only had toast and coffee for breakfast so we’d have plenty of room for the food at Granny’s.”
“Awesome,” Bowie said. “I haven’t taken a pretty girl out on a date in years, and now I have three of them.”
“I haven’t been to Granny’s in a long time,” Rowan added. “I’m looking forward to it.”
He pulled into the parking lot, parked as close to the entrance as he could get, and escorted them inside.
To everyone’s surprise, Lovey was sitting on a tall stool behind the front counter. She had a cast on one arm and a few small, pink scars on her face and arms from where stitches and staples had been, but she was smiling.
“Welcome to Granny’s.”
“Oh! Lovey! It’s wonderful to see you here,” Pearl said. “Do you remember my grandson, Bowie?”
Lovey eyed the big, good-looking man and grinned. “Yes, but he sure didn’t look like this last time I saw him. Welcome home, Bowie, and welcome back to Granny’s.”
“Thanks,” Bowie said.
Lovey eyed the pretty dark-eyed girl beside him. “You look familiar, honey. Do I know you?”
“Maybe. I’m Rowan Harper, but I haven’t been here in a long time, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Lovey’s smile shifted. “Oh, I remember you now. And I did hear of your daddy’s passing. I’m so very sorry.”
“Thank you,” Rowan said.
Lovey waved down one of the waitresses. “I’m here on a trial basis. I missed being here so much that the doctor finally okayed it. However, I had to promise not to overdo for a while, so the girls are seating customers for me.”
Then Becky appeared and grabbed four menus. “This way, please,” she said, and took them to one of the large booths. Pearl and Ella took one side, and Rowan and Bowie the other.
Keenly aware of the man beside her, it was all Rowan could do to focus on food.
Becky took their drink orders. “Be right back with some hot biscuits,” she said.
“I won’t turn those down,” Bowie said.
“Nobody does,” Pearl said. “And since Lovey is here, that means Mercy Pittman is back in the kitchen, baking up her usual magic.”
Becky came back with their drinks, and another waitress followed her up with a basket of biscuits.
“Enjoy,” Becky said. “I’ll give you a few minutes to look at the menus, then I’ll be back to take your orders.”
“Thanks,” Bowie said, and passed the bread basket around, then took one for himself and reached for the butter.
“These are amazing,” Rowan said. “I’m a good cook and a decent baker, but not on this level.”
“I’ll disagree with that,” Bowie said. “That peach cobbler you made last night was so good.”
Rowan smiled. “Thanks. It was my daddy’s favorite fruit.”
“In Georgia, peaches are everyone’s favorite,” Ella said.
They read the menu as they ate their biscuits and were waiting for the waitress to come back and take their orders when a young man got up from his table and walked over to where they were sitting.
“Rowan Harper? It is you! I thought it was, but it’s been about eight years since I’ve last seen you. You look amazing.” Then he glanced around the table and smiled at Bowie. “You must be her husband. I’m going to give you props for finding a way around her dad. It didn’t matter how many times we tried to call, he answered them all and told us to go about our business. By the way, I’m Louis Bennett. I graduated with Rowan. Really nice to meet you,” he said, and offered his hand.
Bowie shook it. “I’m Bowie James, and Rowan and I just met a few days ago. But that doesn’t mean I’m not trying to get her attention.”
Rowan was so shocked by what Louis was saying that she couldn’t think what to say.
Louis laughed. “Oh, well, good luck, then. Her father is a tough nut to crack.”
Rowan looked up. “Daddy died in the aftermath of the hurricane. He drowned.”
Shock was evident on Louis’s face. “Oh, Rowan, I’m so sorry to hear that. My sympathies,” he said, then pointed to his table. “I’d better get back. My wife and I are expecting our second child in a couple of months, so I’m treating her to lunch before we go to her doctor’s appointment.”
“Congratulations, and my best to your wife,” Rowan said.
Louis gave her a thumbs-up and then hurried back to his table.
Bowie leaned toward her just enough that their shoulders touched, and he pointed to the lunch special.
“I’m getting the lunch special. Fried shrimp and hush puppies. Can’t beat that,” he said, then looked up at the girls. “What are you two going to eat?”
“I’m having shrimp, too,” Ella said.
“I’m going for a cheeseburger and fries,” Pearl said, then glanced across the table at Rowan, unaware of the undercurrents. “Rowan, what are you going to have?”
“Gumbo. I never make it, and I love it,” she said, and then glanced across the room to the table where Louis Bennett was seated.
Bowie reached for her hand beneath the table and gave it a gentle squeeze, but when Rowan clutched his hand and held on much tighter, he could tell how deep the shock had gone.
Becky returned, took their orders, and retrieved the menus.
Rowan reached for one of the little butter packets and then smeared butter on both sides of her uneaten biscuit. If she was eating, then she wouldn’t be expected to talk.
Bowie said I was beautiful. Louis said I looked amazing. Daddy said I was homely. Never in my life have I felt so betrayed.
And then to add one more layer of confirmation, a couple was on their way to be seated and when Rowan glanced up, she recognized the woman as another classmate.
And the woman recognized her and paused. “Rowan, we heard about your father’s passing. I’m so sorry. You have my condolences.”
Rowan nodded. “Thank you, Justine.”
Justine nodded. “Of course, and I just have to say, you always were a pretty girl, but you have grown into a beautiful woman. My apologies for interrupting.”
She hurried on to her table and sat down.
Bowie glanced at Rowan again. “I didn’t think about this happening. Hope you’re okay,” he said.
Rowan let go of his hand. “No, it’s okay. It’s perfectly normal, and it doesn’t upset me. It’s just friends being kind, you know?”
“Good. I don’t like to see you sad.”
Finally, their food arrived, smoothing over the rocky patch, and Rowan slowly got past feeling numb and actually enjoyed her food while listening to Pearl and Ella talk about Bowie’s youthful adventures.
* * *
Judson Boone was still smarting from the slap-down Cora had given him yesterday. Calling him a coward had been hard to hear. He’d wanted to be angry with her, but looking at everything from her viewpoint made the accusations make sense.
He had gone off and left his troubles behind. But there was no way in hell he’d ever live in Blessings again. Still, he should probably talk to his sons. He could only imagine what was happening with them. He’d kept them all under his thumb by paying rent on their homes and giving them monthly stipends. They’d never worked at regular jobs and were seriously unprepared to support their families.
And he had gone off and left Emmitt Junior hanging, too. He wouldn’t even know what happened to him w
hen he had to return to court for sentencing.
But what was eating at him the most was being taken down by Bowie James. He was either going to have to come to terms with it and forget the bastard ever existed, or take a chance and exact his own kind of retribution. However, the biggest drawback was that if anything happened to Bowie, everyone, including the law, would immediately suspect him. And he wasn’t willing to go back to jail, no matter how much crow he had to eat.
He glanced at the empty liquor bottle in the waste basket, the empty pizza box, the sack full of trash from the burger and fries he’d ordered in, then scratched the growth of whiskers on his face as he took note of the time. It was almost noon. He hadn’t showered or dressed once since he got here, but he didn’t need his pants on to talk on the phone. The first call he made was to Mel.
But the phone rang and rang, then went to voicemail. Jud immediately assumed Mel just wasn’t picking up and got up to go shower and shave.
* * *
Mel’s morning hadn’t been any better than the night before. Breakfast with Nellie had been silent and a little nerve-racking. The fact that she was actively pursuing the notion of moving home to live with her family was shocking. They didn’t always see eye to eye, but he didn’t want to lose her.
After he came in from mowing the grass, he checked his phone and saw he’d missed a call from his dad, and there was a note from Nellie lying beside it saying she had errands to run and would not be home for lunch.
“Well, great,” Mel said and headed back to the bathroom to wash up and change clothes, hoping Emmitt would go to Granny’s with him.
But then he remembered the cold shoulder they’d received there the other day and hesitated. Maybe he’d call Daddy first, and if he was still in Savannah, he and Emmitt could go there and have lunch with him.
He called Jud’s cell phone, heard it ringing, and waited for him to pick up. But he didn’t. He let it ring until it went to voicemail and disconnected without leaving a message, then went to clean up.
He stripped in the bathroom before raising his chin so he could look at his neck, eyeing the bruise from Bowie’s karate chop. It was still purple and very sore.
“Nearly broke my neck,” Mel muttered, then turned on the water and got in the shower, just as Jud was getting out of the shower in Savannah.
Jud saw he’d missed the call and immediately called back, only to have it go to voicemail again. He wasn’t in the habit of playing phone tag with people, especially his own family, so he got dressed and went out to get some food and then drive around the city to see if there was any place where he might want to live.
* * *
Rowan had eaten all of the gumbo she could hold and was sitting quietly, listening to Bowie laughing with his girls. She loved that he called them his girls. And she was touched by his continuing intent to include her, too.
There was no denying she was attracted to him. But she feared he would lose interest once he found out she’d never made love, let alone made out, except for last night when he’d pulled her into his lap out on the picnic table and kissed her—a lot.
She didn’t know if that constituted “making out,” but it had made a mess of her emotions. It had taken a while for her to finally fall asleep because of thinking about how he made her feel.
As for the revelation about her father, she was past the shock of learning he had purposefully hidden the boys’ calls from her and was disgusted with herself for being so naive. And she was hurt that he’d encouraged her to believe she wasn’t pretty, thinking it would deter her from seeking boyfriends on her own.
Knowing that made her remember the times when he’d looked at her from across the kitchen table and remarked upon her continuing presence at home and how blessed he was to know he wouldn’t grow old alone. It all made sense now. Instead of letting her live a normal life and make a family of her own, he’d selfishly chosen to manipulate her life in an effort to keep her with him. It didn’t feel right to be mad at him, considering he hadn’t been in the grave quite a month, but she was seriously ticked off.
Then Bowie said her name. “Rowan?”
“Yes?” she said.
“Do you want dessert?”
“Oh, I’m way too full for anything else, but thank you.”
“Then we’re good to go. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she said, and when he got out of the booth to help the girls get out, she slid out behind him and followed them up front to check out.
Lovey’s cheeks were pink, and there was a faint sheen on her skin from the continual blasts of hot air as people came and went.
“How was your meal?” she asked as Bowie handed her his credit card.
“It was lovely,” Pearl said. “And such a treat to have our boy home, too.”
Bowie was signing the credit card slip when the door opened behind him. He slid the pen and slip of paper back toward Lovey.
“Have a nice day,” she said.
“You, too,” Bowie said, and when he turned around, he found himself face-to-face with Melvin Boone.
Mel frowned, but when Bowie’s face remained expressionless, he stepped aside to let them pass and looked away.
Bowie slipped his hand beneath his gran’s elbow and winked at Rowan, and out the door they all went. The car was hot, but he turned the air conditioner up on high and it quickly began to cool off.
They were on the way to the little phone shop just off Main when Pearl spoke up.
“Was that man behind us Melvin Boone?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bowie said.
“Did you put that bruise across his neck?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bowie said again.
Rowan glanced at Bowie, who seemed undisturbed by seeing the man again. Then she kept looking, trying to figure out why he seemed so calm in the face of the chaotic life he’d been born to.
Bowie caught her staring. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, everything’s okay,” Rowan said, surprised that she meant it. A little confidence was good for what ailed you, and maybe that’s why Bowie didn’t appear fazed by the unexpected. He oozed confidence…and sex appeal, but that was another thing altogether.
The next hour they spent at the phone store was something Bowie hoped he’d never have to endure again. By the time they had replacement phones added to the girls’ phone plans and new phones picked out, and then Rowan added to their phone plan and a phone for her, they were all in something of a mood when they started home.
“I’m never going to figure this thing out,” Gran muttered.
“I’ll help you, Mama,” Ella said.
Rowan was so happy to have one that she wasn’t going to complain about anything.
“Is there anything else you ladies need before I take you home?” Bowie asked.
“I need a nap,” Pearl muttered.
“Yes…yes, you do,” Ella said.
“There’s no need to be a smarty-pants, and that wasn’t funny,” Pearl snapped. “You’re no Lucille Ball.”
“If I dye my hair red, then will I be funny?” Ella asked.
Pearl snorted.
Ella grinned.
Rowan glanced at Bowie, who was trying not to laugh.
“They need to take that show on the road, don’t they?” he said.
Rowan laughed out loud, and the sound sent shivers up Bowie’s spine.
“You need to do that more often,” he said.
“Do what?”
“Laugh. It makes everything better when you laugh,” Bowie said.
Rowan smiled. “Well, as soon as I figure out how to record voices on this phone, I’ll record a big belly laugh for you and then play it on command. How’s that?”
He glanced at her, then shook his head. “Hey, Aunt Ella, I’ve got another comic up here in the front seat. If you and Gran go on th
e road with your comedy tour, she’d be a great opening act.”
They laughed and were all still smiling when he pulled up at the motor home and parked.
Frank was mowing the grass, and Jewel was at the side of the house, hanging up laundry on the small clothesline. They waved as Bowie and the girls got out.
Bowie waved back and then made sure all of them had their stuff before following them inside.
“Oh, it’s so good to be home,” Pearl said.
“Pearl, would you and Ella like something cold to drink?” Rowan asked.
“Yes, please,” Pearl said. “Just cold water, and then I’m going to nap a bit.”
“Ella, what about you?” Rowan asked.
“If there’s any sweet tea, I’d take a glass.”
“Yes, ma’am, there’s tea,” Rowan said, and went straight to the kitchen to get the drinks.
Pearl and Ella sat down on the sofa and started comparing their new phones with the ones they’d had.
Bowie watched the scene playing out with a lump in his throat. They all fit. It was as if Rowan had been born into the family, and he was the one who’d come to visit. It wasn’t anything he’d chosen. Life had taken him away, and it had truly taken a hurricane to get him back. He didn’t know how the future was going to play out, but he knew one thing for sure. He’d be back here every chance he got, and the Boones be damned.
Rowan delivered their cold drinks, then turned to look for Bowie, who was getting a cold bottle of pop to take with him.
“Are you leaving now?” she asked as she walked into the kitchen area.
He nodded, then surprised himself by hugging her.
“Thank you,” he said, and abruptly let go.
“I didn’t do anything,” she said.
“You love…better than anyone I ever knew. And you are doing, from the goodness of your heart, what I should have been doing. Thank you for taking such good care of my girls.”
Then he left so abruptly that Rowan didn’t get to the door to wave goodbye before he was gone. She locked the door, looked up, and saw Pearl and Ella watching her.
“Are you ready for that?” Ella asked.
