From Glowing Embers (12 page)

Gray suspected that Paige was at least temporarily interested in him. They had known each other since childhood, because Paige had sometimes stayed with her Aunt Mattie in Granger Junction while her parents traveled. They had dated casually for the past year, although he hadn’t thought of her as anything more than a friend. But he had always liked to watch the way she languidly made her way through the world. She was nineteen years old, and she already seemed faintly bored by life.

“I wonder if Aunt Mattie’s gone all out for Christmas this year,” she said now. “She’s always been worried that my parents don’t do it properly. I spent the holiday with her the year I was sixteen, and she made me decorate Christmas cookies until I thought my arm was going to fall off.”

Gray laughed. “And you had to trim the tree and hang the mistletoe and drink wassail until you were practically staggering around the living room. I remember that Christmas.”

“Do you?” She lifted a delicately arched eyebrow. “That surprises me.”

He doubted it did. Paige was a girl who took any attention a man paid to her as her due. She wasn’t spoiled, just sure of her charms—as she had a right to be. Gray had watched more than one of his fraternity brothers bang his head against the wall of her self-confidence.

Paige had the creamiest olive skin and the blackest hair of any woman he had ever known. The skin was perfectly stretched across high cheekbones, and the hair fell ruler-straight to her shoulders. She had a long, delicate nose, and sensuous, cupid-bow lips, with corners that turned up as if she found the world a humorous place to live in. But it was Paige’s eyes that were her best feature. Almond-shaped and enormous, they were dark reflecting pools. No one could ever tell what Paige was thinking, but no one could ever walk away from her without seeing themselves more clearly, either.

“You’ve always been hard to ignore, Paige,” he said, turning to give her a smile. “You bank on it.”

“Well, if it’s true,” she drawled, “then don’t ignore me tomorrow night, Granger. Take me to the country club Christmas ball.”

“Now why would you want a date? If you go alone, there won’t be anybody to cramp your style.”

She pouted. “Granger Junction is no place for style.”

He didn’t want to take her because he didn’t want to go. He planned to slip away to see Julie Ann. Almost two and a half months had passed since the night at the beach house. He had written her twice, but he hadn’t heard from her in return. And because of a field project he’d been involved in, he had been unable to come home any sooner. He would be required to spend tomorrow with his parents, who were having an open house, but when they went to the ball, the night would be his.

“I’ve got plans for the evening,” he told Paige.

“The Mason girl?”

“How do you know about Julie Ann?”

“Small town, Granger. Small, small town.”

He was surprised the word had spread so far. Apparently, Paige’s aunt had told her. There was no telling who had told Aunt Mattie. “Julie Ann’s someone special,” he said after a long silence. “You’d probably like her. At least she wouldn’t bore you.”

“I gather your parents don’t approve.”

“Do you know anything else?” he asked sarcastically. “Maybe I could learn something.”

“I know that your parents would be thrilled to death if you’d take me to the ball tomorrow. Why don’t you take me and then duck out after you’ve made an appearance?”

“I don’t care if my parents are thrilled to death.”

“Then do it for me.”

Gray agreed reluctantly. It would cut down very little on his time with Julie Ann. They would have the rest of the evening together.

He dropped Paige at her aunt’s and went home to his mother’s usual effusive greeting and his father’s slap on the back. That night and the next day there was no mention of Julie Ann Mason, nor did Gray initiate a discussion about her. Julie Ann was his business, even if everyone in Granger Junction thought otherwise.

Gray was kept busy by a steady stream of guests, and it wasn’t until that evening, before the ball, that he had time to wrap the gift he had bought for her. It was a small sapphire, as blue as her eyes, on a delicate gold chain. All the other presents he’d brought home had been gift-wrapped at the store, but he wrapped this one himself and slipped it into the pocket of his tux to give her that evening.

Paige wore white taffeta that shimmered when she walked, and when they arrived at the ball, Judge Sheridan congratulated his son on his choice of a date. Gray found that the combination of Christmas carols, scented pine boughs, expensive perfume and champagne punch put him in the holiday spirit. He left later than he had intended and sang “Jingle Bells” all the way to Julie Ann’s house.

There was no holiday spirit there. If anything, the house looked more dilapidated and the yard more overgrown. There were no Christmas lights, no wreath, no sign of a tree inside. There was, in fact, no sign of anything inside. Gray got out of his car and went to the door, but his knock brought no response. When he peered through the window his fears were confirmed. The house was empty.

His tires spun in the soft mud of Black Creek Road as he wheeled the car around and headed toward town. They spun again as he slammed on the brakes a quarter of a mile away at the house closest to Julie Ann’s. It seemed a long time before his knock was answered by an old woman. No, she didn’t know anything about it. She didn’t “assoshate” with the Masons, and she was glad they’d left.

Gray had never realized how alone Julie Ann had been until that moment. Who would know where she had gone? She had no friends that he knew of, no relatives except her immediate family, and they were gone, too. He got back in the car and drove past Dory’s Doggie Den, but a sign on the door said it was going to be closed until mid-January while Dory visited her sister in Oklahoma. It was too late in the evening to try the TG&Y.

Gray was sitting on the den sofa, staring into the fireplace at the electrified artificial logs, when his parents came home from the dance. He knew there was going to be a discussion when his father entered the den and shut the door behind him.

“You left that pretty gal at the dance by herself,” Judge Sheridan rebuked his son.

“Paige knew I was going to leave.”

“You go off to see that Mason gal?”

“You know I did.”

“She’s gone.”

Gray nodded, looking at his father for the first time. “Where?”

The judge shrugged. “Can’t say.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

He shrugged again.

Gray stood, and his voice was quiet. “Let’s not pretend to be polite about this, Judge. You just tell me what’s on your mind, and I’ll tell you what’s on mine.”

“I told’ya a gal like that’d be trouble, son. Told’ya not to get her pregnant.”

Gray’s response lodged in his throat.

His father saw the shocked look in Gray’s eyes. “Damn!” the judge swore. “I should have known she was lying!”

Gray swallowed and forced clenched hands into his pockets. “Julie Ann doesn’t lie,” he said.

“Then I didn’t waste my money.”

Gray listened as the story was told. The Junction principal had been alerted by several teachers about Julie Ann’s mysterious bouts of nausea at school. When confronted, she confessed to her pregnancy but refused to name the father. The principal had heard rumors about Gray and Julie Ann, so he had gone to Gray’s father.

The rest had been simple. Gray’s father had pulled strings to have Julie Ann expelled from school and fired from both her jobs. Then he’d sat her down and offered her money. She had refused an abortion, but she had agreed to go away and have the child.

“She signed a document releasing you from any responsibility,” the judge finished. “It says you’re not the baby’s father and that the money is a loan. If she contacts any Sheridan again, she has to pay it back with interest.”

Gray had never felt so sick. He tried to imagine how desperate Julie Ann must have felt to make such an agreement.

“Where is she?” he asked.

Judge Sheridan examined his nails. “I don’t know. She was gone the next day.”

“What about her family?”

“Her sister’s shacked up with Ray Silver, who runs the gas station down on—”

“What about her mother?”

“I made it worth her while to disappear,” the judge said with a wink. “She left a week later. I didn’t want that little gal to come on back to Mama carrying a baby on her hip.”

Gray was taller than his father. He moved closer and drew himself up to his full height. His hands were out of his pockets and still clenched. “Can you hear me, Judge?” he asked quietly.

His father tilted his head.

“You’re going to tell me where Julie Ann is, and you’re going to tell me fast. I know she didn’t just disappear. Wherever she is, you’re watching her, making sure there’s no more trouble.”

“I did you a favor, boy. She’s gone for good.”

“Where is she?”

“What d’ya want to know for?”

“None of your damned business!”

“You made it my business when you went out and knocked her up.”

“Mama told me once that you wanted a dynasty.”

The judge forced another laugh, but his eyes narrowed. “That was back before I knew how much trouble a kid could get into.”

“You’ve only got one son, Judge, but I’m going to walk out of this room in a minute and you’re not even going to have that. Is that what you want?”

“Don’t threaten me.” The judge wasn’t laughing anymore.

“It’s not a threat.” Gray nodded as his father’s expression changed. “Yes, sir, I mean it.”

“She’s a tramp!”

“She was the best person in this godforsaken town until you forced her out!”

“And you love her so much that your
father
had to tell you she was pregnant.”

Gray couldn’t answer. He had written Julie Ann brief, friendly notes. He had never even worried about why she hadn’t written back, because he’d known he’d be seeing her at Christmas.

“Find her,” his father said, pressing the advantage he sensed, “and she’ll expect you to marry her. You want to be tied down for the rest of your life to someone like that?”

“She’s going to have my baby.”

“She’ll put it up for adoption. It’ll have a good home.”

Gray thought about Julie Ann, alone, unloved, afraid. She had given herself to him like the most precious of gifts. She had expected nothing from him because she had never gotten anything from anybody.

He cared about her. When he had held her in his arms, he had felt things he’d never felt before. He cared, but marriage? What would it do to them?

“Let it go,” his father said, resting one hand on Gray’s shoulder. “I’ll be sure she’s all right. I’ve got friends in Jackson who’ll make certain the baby gets the right kind of parents.”

“Jackson?”

Judge Sheridan’s eyes were suddenly veiled. “Don’t spoil Christmas for your mother. She doesn’t know anything about this.”

“Is Julie Ann in Jackson?”

The judge finally nodded.

“I’ll find her with or without the address.”

Judge Sheridan hesitated, then sighed. He walked to the rolltop desk by the fireplace and unlocked a drawer, pulling out an address book. He opened one page and held it up for Gray to see. Gray memorized the address, then turned to leave the room.

“Whatever you do now can change your whole life,” his father warned him. “And your mother’s and mine, too.”

“It’s already been changed. You’ve got a grandkid on the way.”

Gray was in his car doing sixty when he saw a white blur in front of Paige’s aunt’s house. Slamming on his brakes, he pulled over. He got out and leaned against his car as Paige said a hurried good-night to the young man who had escorted her home. Gray didn’t smile when she approached.

“How much did you know?” he asked bluntly.

Her expression didn’t change. “I knew she was gone.”

“And that’s why you got me to take you to the dance? Did you think I’d be so charmed I wouldn’t go looking for her?”

“What I thought,” she drawled, “is that you might need somebody to hold you back before you made a serious mistake.”

“Then you know she’s pregnant?”

“I guessed.” She put a restraining hand on Gray’s arm when he turned to leave. “Look, my aunt called and told me your father had talked to her in confidence. She said you’d been involved with a girl here in town who wasn’t good for you. She said the girl had disappeared, and your father was afraid you were going to look for her. She asked me to try and make the whole thing easier for you.”

He shook off her hand. “Just a little favor, huh?”

“I like you, Granger, I always have. I didn’t want to see you hurt.”

Despite his anger, he could see she was sincere. “Julie Ann’s alone in Jackson, and she’s pregnant with my child,” he said heavily. “What kind of man leaves a girl in that situation?” .

“Do you love her?”

“She’s very special.”

“Do you love her?”

“I’m too young to know what the word means!”

“Are you too young to be a husband and father, then?”

“I’ve already proved I can be a father.”

Paige shook her head. “You’ve proved you can father a child. That’s different.”

“What are you getting out of this?”

She paused, and she seemed to be wrestling with herself. “You and I are a lot alike,” she said at last. “I think we understand each other. Maybe there could be more than understanding someday.”

Gray knew Paige well enough to realize how hard that had been for her to say. He felt a flash of regret. “Would you want me, knowing I had left another woman alone to have my child?”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly.

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Wish me luck.”

She shook her head, and her lips turned up in a sad smile. “You’re going to need more than luck. You’re going to need a miracle.”

Gray reached Jackson in the early hours of the morning. He bought a street map at a gas station and pinpointed Julie Ann’s address with a minimum of trouble. It was too late—or too early—to wake her, but he decided to drive by and see where she lived. The area was one of run-down two-story houses near a main drag lined with fast-food restaurants and used car lots. Jackson was an attractive city, lush, green and open, one of the South’s mini-jewels, but Julie Ann’s neighborhood was not one of Jackson’s reasons for pride.