Return of the Runaway Bride (7 page)

"But, Sheila," Savanna said, "
look
around you. You have a husband, a family, a home. All the things
that are
important in life." The polite statement was meant as encouragement, but Savanna was sur
prised that the words struck such an emotional chord in her.

Sheila grinned. "Someday soon, when I'm climbing the walls and ready to tear my hair out, I just might come looking for you for some support."

"Anytime," Savanna said.

"I really meant it, though, when I said you always had something special. I don't know what it was." Sheila searched for words "An inner strength or something. Something that none of the rest of us had."

"Stop, please." She fanned her hands in the air. "You're embarrassing me. Just because I haven't been back to town for a while doesn't mean you have to pile on the compliments." Savanna ran her fingers over the condensation that had collected on the outside of her glass. "I didn't have, and don't have anything, more than you do." Savanna thought of the children playing in the yard, the man who would arrive home in time for dinner. "In fact, I'm the one who's missing…"

"But you
do
," Sheila insisted. "You always did. Daniel saw it."

Savanna's gaze shot back to Sheila at the mention of Daniel. A short, but tense silence separated the two women.

"I'm sorry, Savanna." Sheila's eyes seemed to frantically search for signs of injury her mention of the past might have triggered before she groaned. "I wish I'd learn when to keep my mouth shut."

"It's all right," Savanna assured her. "It's okay to talk about Daniel. He's part of my past, part of who I am."

Savanna was hit by a twinge of discovery in the truthfulness of her comment. But she was kept from exploring it further by Sheila's relieved sigh.

"I'm so happy to hear you say that." Sheila smiled. "Because this is a small town and you're bound to run into him."

"Oh, I already have." Savanna swallowed a sip of apple juice. "He stopped over this morning bearing tidings of welcome and a delicious chocolate cake."

Savanna could tell by the curiosity clearly written on Sheila's face that the woman was dying to know more but was too polite to ask.

Shaking her head, Savanna told the truth. "It didn't go well."

"No?" Sheila's eyebrows perked up and she leaned forward.

Shaking her head dismally, Savanna reclined against the chair back and took a moment before explaining. "He was so...different. I mean, I guess I should have expected him to be angry. But I suppose I thought he would have gotten over the brunt of it by now."

"Have you?"

The question was formidable.
And unexpected.
Savanna's first instinct was to become defensive, to declare that, of course, she was completely over any feelings she had for Daniel Walsh, that she'd worked through all the guilt and regret she felt about having run away. But the whole point of this trip was to face the unfinished business she'd left behind in Fulton. The whole point was to confront the guilt and pain.

"I don't know," she finally admitted. "I can honestly say I was able to put it off for a very long time." Reluctant to elaborate further about her own feelings at the moment, Savanna reverted to her original topic. Daniel. "He seemed so angry with me. But it was more than just his anger, Sheila. When I saw him, he was so... I don't know, tightly controlled. Every time he started to show an emotion, he'd cut it off.
Right to the quick.”
She reached for her
glass, but didn't take a drink. "He complimented me on how I'd changed, yet he was hardly able to smile. We talked about his father, and he didn't show a bit of the grief I know he must feel."

Sheila grinned. "That pretty much sounds like the Daniel Walsh I've always known.
Always in complete control.
Rather moody.
Sometimes downright crotchety."
Growling, she added, "A regular old grizzly bear."

Taking a moment to absorb the statement, Savanna sat quiet. Finally she frowned and softly said, "But that isn't right. Danny was never like that."

"What do you mean?" Sheila
asked,
her smile fading. "Of course he was." She shrugged. "Still is."

"You've got to remember," Savanna said. "Don't you recall that graduation party my mom had for all of us? Remember how Danny…" she caught herself "…Daniel was the hit of the party? He made everyone laugh, lip syncing to the records, and then making up new lyrics to the songs."

Sheila's mouth drew into a broad smile. "I do remember. He was hysterical."

"And he built that pyramid of plastic cups five feet high..."

Sheila's humor flooded into her words as she said, "And he goaded my Jim into crowning the thing with his graduation cap. The tassel unbalanced everything." Sheila was laughing openly now. "And cups flew in every direction. Your mom was furious!"

Savanna laughed so hard her eyes watered. "It was the first time I ever saw Jim in the limelight."

"Oh, my."
Sheila sighed. "I'd forgotten all about that."

After taking a drink, Savanna stared off into the corner of the room. "So what happened?" Her question was contemplative, addressed more to herself than to the woman standing across the kitchen.

"To Daniel, you mean?" Sheila shrugged. "You have to admit, he's had some rough turns in his life." Then she stammered, "I mean...I wasn't implying... I didn't mean…"

"It's okay." Savanna slid both hands up and down her thighs. "I'm all grown-up. I can take responsibility for my actions." She gave a comical grimace. "I may not want to, but I will."

"I think it was more than just
your
leaving," Sheila offered. "When Mr. Walsh died, the folks in town just assumed Daniel would take his father's place. He was put under a tremendous amount of pressure. Then his sister got sick and Mrs. Walsh decided to move to Richmond."

"Celia's sick?"

"Breast cancer."
Sheila gave a sad nod.

"Oh, no."

"Thank the
Lord,
she's in full remission right now." Sheila sighed. "Or, at least, that's what I've heard. But now Daniel's dealing with this trouble at the hospital..."

"Trouble?"
Savanna asked, a frown creasing her forehead.

"Oh, it's a money thing. Daniel's on the board of directors. Jim's the administrator at the hospital, and he says that it's real bad. Everyone is racking their brains over what to do." Absently, Sheila rubbed the palm of her hand over her stomach. "So you see
,
there are lots of reasons for the change in Daniel."

"I feel awful that life has been so hard for him," Savanna said. "Maybe if I'd have stayed…"

"Now don't go thinking like that. You can't change the past."

"I know that," Savanna said, leaning closer. "But hasn't he had any... good times? Like... I don't know... did he ever have a woman in his life?"

Sheila thought a moment.
"Not that I know of.
I'm friends with several of the nurses at the hospital and they're all gaga over him. But Daniel is downright obsessed with his work." She hesitated a moment and then lowered her voice conspiratorially as she added, "I believe he simply doesn't trust women."

"Mom!"
Jimmy came tromping into the kitchen, the screen door slamming behind him. "Amanda won't give me the shovel. She's
diggin
' up worms."

Sheila's shoulders sagged and she shook her head. "My Amanda does love creepy crawlies. I'd better go out there before she digs a hole to China. Do you mind? I'll only be a minute."

"Of course not," Savanna said.

Sheila went out the back door, Jimmy close on her heels.

Savanna laced her fingers around the cool glass and took in all the implications revealed in her conversation with Sheila. She shuffled the information around, assembling it in some sort of order.

It was impossible to refute the fact that her actions of six years ago had affected Daniel. Her running away on their wedding day may not have been the sole reason for the change in his personality, but Savanna was certain that she'd pushed over the first domino of trouble in his life. All the other dominoes followed; his father's death, his sister's illness, his mother's relocation, the financial problems at the hospital. And they had simply smacked one against the other until Daniel had
turned into "a regular grizzly bear" as Sheila had described him.

What bothered Savanna the most was Sheila's last statement.
The revelation that, in Sheila's opinion, Daniel didn't trust women.
Savanna's act of fleeing Fulton had saved her from a life of wondering what she could achieve, a life of being weak and reliant and overprotected. But, in saving herself, had she irreversibly hurt the person whom she'd loved so dearly in her youth? Had she made Daniel so angry and bitter that he'd been unable to find happiness?

The questions were daunting and weighed heavily on her shoulders. Somehow she had to make it up to him. And the first thing she needed to do was explain to him why she'd left Fulton.

She rubbed her fingertips back and forth across her forehead. The first step would be to explain fully why she had run away on the day of their wedding. When he understood, he'd place the blame where it belonged and put the incident behind him. He'd be able to go on with his life. Then he'd be able to find happiness.

But a small, dark question pierced through her good intentions. And what it asked was
,
will he listen?

Chapter Three

The next morning, Savanna looked up from her "things to do" list and saw little Amanda standing on the back doorstep, peering through the screen.

"Hello," Savanna said, wondering if Sheila knew her errant daughter had wandered from her own backyard.

"You got any
wah
-wee-pops?"

Savanna smiled and opened the screen door to let the toddler inside.

"I don't have any candy," Savanna said. She smoothed her hand over the little girl's head full of strawberry ringlet curls.
"How about an apple?"

"Okay." Amanda pulled out a chair and settled herself at the kitchen table.

"Does your mommy know where you are?" Savanna asked.

"My mommy knows
everyfing
," Amanda emphatically told her.

Savanna took an apple out of the fruit bowl on the counter and handed it to Amanda. She turned toward the telephone to call the girl's mother, but Amanda's disappointed voice stopped her.

"My mommy makes it better than this," the little girl stated.

"She does?" Savanna hid a smile.

Amanda nodded. "I want the red off."

"Oh," Savanna said. "You want me to peel it for you?"

Again Amanda nodded. "And I want it in pieces. Like Mommy makes."

Savanna couldn't stifle her grin. "Okay. Peeled and in pieces." She took the apple and opened the cutlery drawer to look for a paring knife.
"Coming right up.
But then we need to call your mom. I don't want her to worry."

Sheila's voice came drifting in with the late-morning breeze as she yelled her daughter's name.

Going to the back door, Savanna stepped out and called, "Sheila, she's over here." When she saw that Sheila was coming across the yard, Savanna went back inside and finished chopping up the apple.