Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania (30 page)

But it was at night, when she finally had Kylie tucked beneath the covers and sleeping the satisfied sleep of the young, that the worst of it came. It was when she lay in bed, exhausted but unable to sleep, that she curled into a ball and nursed the pain inside her. Although she was surviving without Jasper’s assistance, she was longing for his presence—the touch of his hand on her back or her hair…the way he raised his eyebrows at some of the crazy things she said…the warmth of his lips on hers. This was a void nothing else could fill. At night, trapped in the silence of her own making, she missed him. Missed him more than she had ever thought possible. And the hurt and anger grew to drown out the sorrow that threatened to overwhelm her.

It wasn’t the same as missing Ned. Death had a finality to it that cut harder and deeper but grew to forced acceptance because life went on, even without the person in it. The loss of Jasper was harder to accept. He still moved in the world, was still a part of life…just no longer a part of hers.

She found herself talking to Ned at night as she cradled the anguish inside her, asking him what she should do and when life had become so impossibly hard. She never found an answer, but there were times when she was sure he wrapped his arms around her and held her fast. It was only then she was able to drift off to sleep at last.

By the beginning of the third week following her breakup with Jasper, Sadie felt as though she were reaching the end of her rope. She worried about the restaurant in her absence, she wearied of Kylie’s incessant demands for attention, and she weakened at the thought of Jasper preparing for the move to Colorado. It was in the midst of one such moment, when she felt sure that within another second she was going to lose her mind completely, that the doorbell rang, rattling her from her musings and sending her flying to the front door. She would never admit she hoped it was Jasper who stood there, but in the deepest well of her soul, that was precisely the hope she cherished.

It wasn’t Jasper, however, who greeted her on the doorstep with a wide smile and outstretched arms.

“Hello, sugar darlin’! And how
are
you?”

It was Mama Belva.

Before she could respond, she found herself engulfed in the ample breadth of Belva’s arms and her chest squeezed so hard she thought she might burst. By the time her mother-in-law released her, she was gasping for breath, whether from shock or the force of Belva’s greeting, she wasn’t quite sure.

“Why, you’re lookin’ as peaked as whipped toppin’ on a Ju–ly morning, Sadie dear.”

Sadie used to giggle endlessly at the way Belva pronounced
July
.
Joo–lie
—always emphasized, always two syllables. She would giggle so hard she’d soon have Ned chuckling with her, although with his Southern roots, he didn’t say it much differently himself. But this time, Sadie wasn’t laughing.

She stared at her mother-in-law, taking in the familiar memory of her stylish, silvery white hair and twinkling blue eyes. Plump but undeniably graceful, Belva was one of those women who would be as equally beautiful and charming at eighty as she had been at eighteen. Sadie recalled how awkward she had felt during her first meeting with Ned’s mother, shortly after they’d gotten engaged. Belva’s genuine Southern hospitality had soon set Sadie at ease, though she often recalled that feeling of awkwardness each time she set eyes on Belva after a long while apart.

“Mama Belva.” Hearing herself, Sadie wanted to wince. It had come out flatter than she’d intended. She attempted to perk up a bit. After all, this was
Belva
. “What are you doing here?” She wasn’t very successful. This one came out with just a touch of accusation and not nearly enough hospitality. She almost feared Belva might reprimand her and ask if her mother hadn’t raised her any better than that, but Belva didn’t seem to notice her lack of excitement.

“Now, sugar…” She swept into the front hall, closing the door behind her. “When you didn’t return my phone calls for several weeks, I began to get worried.” She moved from the hall into the kitchen, familiarly opened a cupboard, and pulled out a glass.

“Whew, I tell you, I am just
parched
. I drove all the way up here— I swear, y’all don’t have a clue about good iced tea up here in the North.”

Sadie was feeling a bit fuzzy-headed. She wondered if she had fallen asleep in the middle of the day and this was part of a twisted dream she was having. It wouldn’t have surprised her. She’d been so tired lately… .

“Why are you lookin’ at me like that, sugar? You look almost disappointed to see me.” Belva affected what Sadie supposed could be called a pout, but considering her age, Belva really did pull it off quite well.

Sadie shook herself to attention, remembering her manners. She wouldn’t mind a tall glass of iced tea herself—something with lots of caffeine and lemon to take the edge off this haze.

“No, Mama Belva, not at all. I’m thrilled to see you.” It still sounded unconvincing, so she cleared her throat and tried again. “Really, I
am
.”

Belva cocked an eyebrow and didn’t look the least bit inclined to believe her. Sadie didn’t blame her. She tried shifting the topic.

“You drove up from Alabama? That’s quite a trip.”

Belva shrugged. “I needed some distraction…and some time to myself,” she offered cryptically. “Besides, Clay’s been busy building some fancy shed out in the backyard. So long as Ginny”—Ginny was their neighbor—“keeps puttin’ supper on the table each night, I don’t think he’ll miss me for another two weeks or so.” Her eyes twinkled mischievously. “Two and a half, if I’m lucky.”

Sadie found herself smiling without trying. That hadn’t happened in quite awhile, and it felt good. Belva appeared to be pleased with this progress but didn’t draw attention to it.

“Now, where’s that rascally granddaughter of mine?” she drawled.

Sadie’s smile grew, and she suddenly felt an unexpected relief. She could still smile. It was a good sign.

“She’s upstairs,” Sadie offered. “Playing Barbies.”

Sadie didn’t add that leaving Kylie unsupervised with her Barbie collection wasn’t always a smart move. After all, that’s how Malibu Ken had lost his leg.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Belva exclaimed. “I’ve got a present for her in the car. Some new toy—a pet for Barbie. You should see it, sugar; it’s the most darlin’ little dog. And he comes with these adorable little biscuits that you feed him, and then he…well…” Belva paused for a moment. “It comes with a magnetic pooper-scooper and everything, sugar, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Now Sadie found herself completely unable to control her grin, and she began to fear she’d start giggling helplessly. If Malibu Ken’s leg had ended up in the toilet, she couldn’t begin to imagine what Kylie would do with this new toy.

She suddenly found herself throwing her arms around Belva’s thick neck and holding on tightly.

“I really am glad to see you, Mama Belva,” she murmured, unable to control the tremble of emotion in her voice.

Belva patted Sadie’s back in her typical gentle way. “There, there, sugar. I never doubted it for a minute.”

Belva’s arrival changed everything. From the moment she appeared on the doorstep, things began to look up. Belva took charge with a matriarch’s deft hand, wrangling Kylie and freeing Sadie to return to the restaurant. Belva did this gladly, grateful for the days spent with her granddaughter and the nights in her daughter-in-law’s company.

She never asked Sadie about not returning her phone calls, and Sadie never offered to explain. But somehow Belva seemed to know, and it was the one thing that left Sadie slightly uncomfortable through their long chats, as they caught up on the last few months since they’d really talked.

Even though she’d never considered herself close with Belva, Sadie loved to talk with her. Her amused drawl sounded, at times, almost lyrical enough to lull you to sweet, restful sleep even when she was telling the silliest of stories. Belva felt like home, and Sadie hadn’t had that since her own mother died. She drank in the older woman’s presence, drawing closer to her memories of times long past. It was easier, after all, to dwell in days gone by than to consider the ones ahead… without Jasper, maybe even without Mac.

Belva asked about Jasper only once after her arrival. Their first night at dinner she had questioned his absence, having known him to be a permanent fixture at Sadie’s house on previous visits.

But when she mentioned his name in the same breath as, “Pass the biscuits please, sugar…and where
is
that Jasper boy who’s always hanging around? I’d have thought you’d nailed him down by now, Sadie,” it was obvious within seconds that she’d made a mistake.

Kylie, who had been humming and swinging her feet for the first time in a week, fell deathly silent and still. She stopped eating and looked at Sadie, who had dropped her fork to the floor with a clatter.

Sadie slowly leaned over, picked up the fork, and sat straight in the chair. With very deliberate movements, she laid the fork aside and covered it with her napkin.

“Jasper’s leaving,” she calmly announced. “At the end of the summer. For Colorado. He got a prestigious teaching position at a private academy.”

Kylie’s lower lip trembled, and without asking permission, she laid her own fork aside and twisted her way off the chair and onto the floor. She left the room silently, and her tiny footfalls could be heard thumping up the stairs to her room.

“I see.”

Later, Belva took Kylie some ice cream for dessert in her room, and within a half hour’s time, she was rolling with laughter as Kylie happily described the adventures of the bathroom volcano. Sadie heard them and smiled with bittersweet relief.

Belva didn’t mention Jasper again for some time.

Mac hesitated for a long moment on the front porch of Sadie’s house. He stared at the polished wood door, feeling a pang of both gratitude and regret—gratitude to Jasper, who had helped to keep the house in excellent condition over the years…and regret for himself, for not being there to help with the little bits of upkeep. For all its memories, he no longer felt any personal claim to this home. It had been Amelia’s, and now it was Sadie’s. Just as it should be.

Swallowing his emotions, he forced himself to raise a hand and ring the bell. Once this act was completed, his shoulders sagged in defeat. He was both eager and uncertain about seeing his daughter’s face. She’d made it more than clear he was not welcome.

Moments later, as the door opened, he steeled himself for a frigid greeting. He was startled by the warm voice he encountered.

“Hello there, is there something I can help you with?”

Mac’s head whipped upward at this unfamiliar Southern drawl. He blinked in bafflement at the charming woman who greeted him, her cheeks pink and her white hair swept up off her shoulders.

“I, um…”

He looked around, wondering if he’d somehow managed to knock on the wrong door. He noticed a weathered Cadillac in the driveway and determined that he must be getting older than he thought, to have completely missed his daughter’s house.

“I’m sorry, I must have—”

“Oh, are you lookin’ for Sadie?” the woman questioned and then squinted. “You do look familiar, sugar.”

Mac, in turn, stared a little harder at the lady before him, his mouth parting slightly. “I’m Mac, Sadie’s father—”

“Oh! Darlin’! My apologies!” She moved her plump frame out of the doorway and pulled him into the foyer before he could protest. “I’m Belva, Ned’s mother. I haven’t seen you in…well. Since my son’s funeral, I daresay.”

Mac felt a stain of remorse upon his cheeks. “Um…yes, ma’am, I believe that’s right.” He stood awkwardly in the foyer, shifting from foot to foot and entirely too aware that Sadie would not be pleased with his presence here.

“Is Sadie about?” he nervously asked. “I only came by because she had said there were some things—”

“Oh, come in, darlin’. No, I’m afraid she’s at the restaurant.” Belva began leading the way into the house, and to his chagrin, Mac had little choice but to follow.

“Apparently things have been busier than a set of jumper cables at a family reunion the last couple of weeks since Sadie has no one to watch Kylie through the day.”