Sleepless in Savannah (37 page)

"Well, I know my brother loves you," Maddie said. "Unfortunately he has mush for brains."

"Don't they all?" Lucy muttered as she blew her nose.

Sophie tried a laugh but failed. "For a moment I thought Lance did love me, maybe because I wanted it so badly, but then... I'll never forget the way he said we'd make it work. He didn't mention anything about love."

"Nothing?" Lucy asked.

"No. Oh, well, he said he cared about me," Sophie said in a sarcastic tone. "People care for their dogs; they don't care for the person they want to spend the rest of their life with. Maybe I should take that job and move."

"You're not moving," Maddie said emphatically.

"I'm just sorry that my pregnancy caused such a misunderstanding, and that it hasn't worked out." Maddie dabbed at her own eyes. "I really wanted you and Lance to be as happy as Chase and I are."

Sophie put her hand on Maddie's belly. "Don't be sorry for a minute. You should be celebrating now. I feel terrible for spoiling your news."

Lucy washed her hands, handed each of them a fork, and poured three glasses of milk. "I say we celebrate with Maddie right now."

They raised their milk glasses and clinked. "Let's just hope this baby's a girl," Maddie said.

"I thought you wanted a boy," Sophie said.

"I did, but I've changed my mind. We don't need any more men in the family; they're too much trouble."

* * *

With her big three-oh behind her, and after Lucy's comment about being afraid she'd lose her, and with Mother's Day only two days away, Sophie had done some serious soul searching. As an end to her Mother's Day tribute, she had phoned and arranged for Peter to bring Deseree to the show. Her mother had begged to come a few weeks earlier, when Lucy had appeared as a guest. Sophie had refused to entertain the idea then, but now she had a surprise for Deseree.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lucy asked.

"I'm sure." Lucy had been asking her questions all morning, as if she were afraid Sophie had gone off the deep end. She squeezed her sister's hand, grateful that Lucy had returned to Savannah with her. They had spent the last couple of days bonding, staying up late to watch old movies together, shopping, and debating Lucy's future with the Sleepover, Inc., company, the dance club, and a surprise offer from the talent scout who'd seen the Diva act in Vegas. Apparently he'd placed Peter on an MTV show, and the producer was interested in Lucy for another role in the production.

But Sophie had discovered a local arts theater that might be interested in her sister as a performer, and Lucy had an audition the following week. She was also considering going back to school.

"Did you see Peter and Deseree yet?" Sophie asked.

"Yes, I arranged for them to have good seats, right up front, like you requested."

"How does Deseree look?"

"Nervous but excited," Lucy said.

Sophie's heart squeezed. "I'm glad I talked to her yesterday and explained what I wanted to do."

Lucy hugged her. "It's going to be okay, Soph."

The producer stuck his head into Sophie's dressing room. "You're on in five."

"Be right there." Sophie took Lucy's hand and led her to the stage. She hoped this episode wouldn't cost her the career she'd worked so hard to build, but even if it did, she had to see it through. She'd kept her past and her present lives separate for too long; she didn't want any more secrets returning to haunt her or mess up her life.

* * *

Maddie pointed to her sofa. "Sit."

Lance and Reid exchanged confused looks with each other and Chase, but did as she said. They'd learned long ago not to mess with Maddie, especially when she had her mind made up. And she was pregnant now, which made her even more hormonal, more delicate and in need of their protection.

"What is it, honey?" Lance asked.

Reid leaned forward. "Do you need us to do something for you, Maddie?"

"Oh, good gracious," Maddie said. "I'm fine. But you two are going to sit here and watch the
Sophie Knows
show with me."

"I've got work to do." Lance instantly bolted up, and Reid started to follow, but Maddie pushed him back onto the sofa and Reid froze.

"Are you trying to punish me?" Lance asked. "It's bad enough I can't sleep for thinking about the woman without having to watch her on TV every day."

"It's not a punishment," Maddie said, although the gleam in her eyes made him wonder. "But you have to see today's show. You'll understand when it's all over."

She disappeared to the kitchen, and Chase jumped up to help her. Lance and Reid once again exchanged confused looks, but both were too worried about upsetting the pregnant Maddie to argue. After all, even if she didn't always act like a delicate Southern lady, her condition was delicate. And they had a niece or nephew to protect now.

Besides, Maddie had a good right hook and she wasn't afraid to use it.

A minute later, Maddie and Chase returned from the kitchen with an assortment of goodies, including a hot fudge cake with ice cream, and a pitcher of sweet iced tea, so the boys helped themselves. Maybe if he ate enough food, he'd distract himself from wanting to eat... lap up Sophie.

The music piped up and Sophie pranced onstage wearing a dark green suit that emphasized her eyes and hugged her figure. Lance mentally saw her naked, and wondered if he'd ever be able to ban that image. He still hadn't been able to wear that shirt she'd returned to him....

Seconds later Lucy appeared. In spite of the fact that Reid grumbled incessantly about Lucy being a kook, his little brother sat up straighter, his eyes glued to the TV, his body twitching as if he might leap off the couch, crawl through the TV and grab her any minute.

"Today we end our Mother's Day special," Sophie said as the music faded. "All week long we've been reuniting mothers who have been separated from their children, hearing stories of troubled kids, and honoring the females who assume the matriarchal role to take care of their families. Today I have a special story to share with you. This is my own story. Mine and my sister's." Sophie hesitated, and Lance's breath lodged in his throat.

"My hope is that by sharing my past I can persuade others, especially troubled teens, who are in need of help to come forward and ask for it."

Maddie plucked a box of tissues from the table and hugged them to her. Chase massaged Maddie's back with a terrified look on his face. Reid's leg twitched faster.

"I'd like to start by telling you about my mother. Her name is Deseree." The camera panned to a close-up of the bottled blonde he'd seen in Vegas. She was decked out in gaudy jewelry and a bright orange outfit and had big hair, and seemed pleased to be on camera.

"My mother had a very difficult childhood," Sophie began. "She grew up with alcoholic parents who abandoned her when she was a teenager. With no family to help her, little education, and no money, she set out on her own. She survived, but she was desperate and resorted to working in a dance club in Vegas, and later, I hate to admit, to being a call girl."

The audience murmured a low rumble of whispers, but they were captivated.

"As a little girl, I didn't understand why other children made fun of her or me, but I knew my family was different, and I closed myself off from others. By the time my little sister was born I was old enough to realize that the late nights my mother worked were not waitressing jobs. I was afraid of the men she brought home, protective of my sister, and basically ashamed of her life. I swore when I grew up I'd be different."

Lance knotted his hands into fists and started to stand. "I don't want to hear any more."

Maddie grabbed his arm and jerked him back down. "Shut up and sit there and listen."

Then she grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. Chase cradled her to him. "We should turn it off, Maddie; all that crying can't be good for the baby."

Maddie blew her nose. "The baby's fine."

Reid slid to the edge of the seat to get up then, and Maddie snapped her fingers toward him. "You, too. Reid. I mean it, don't move. We're watching every minute."

Reid pressed his fists together while Lance pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Anyway," Sophie continued, "it wasn't until I met a special friend, Maddie Summers, and her brothers, that I learned about real families. I wanted that so desperately; all I'd ever dreamed of was a nice big old house with a front porch and my own bedroom with a walk-in closet and a white picket fence and maybe a pond out back...." Emotions choked her voice, and she paused, making Lance's throat thicken. "I wanted that so badly I tried to hide my past, hide who I am."

Lucy cleared her throat and broke in. "You see, my sister and I grew up in Vegas, watching the showgirls walk the streets. We'd sneak into shows backstage to watch the girls dance, and eventually created our own show. When we got older we needed money ourselves, so we took our act to the Palace. Some of you might have heard of it—the Diva act."

Again the audience murmured and whispered, but Lance saw their expressions. Sympathy. Compassion. Admiration.

He hoped Sophie saw it, too.

She composed herself. "Anyway, I realized recently that our past is very important; it shapes us and makes us who we are. We should never be ashamed of it; we should embrace it, treasure it, allow it to help us grow." She stood. "That said, I'd like for Deseree—my mother—to come up onstage." Sophie's voice wobbled. "You see, my mother may not have made all the right choices back then, but she loved me and my sister, and she did what she had to do to survive. And I learned from a very wise, smart girl"—she gestured toward Lucy—"about forgiveness. Today I'd like to honor my mother by introducing her to you."

The camera once again swung to Deseree, and the audience burst into applause as she wove her way up to the stage. "Come on up here, Mom."

Deseree waved to the crowd, then burst into tears. Sophie embraced her, and Lucy joined them in a group hug.

Lance exhaled, trying to steady his own emotions. Maddie was completely out of control, sobbing like a baby. Chase kept stuffing tissues in her hand, his expression of terror and sympathy almost comical.

"I can relate to Sophie," Chase admitted gruffly, reminding Lance of Chase's life in the orphanage.

"I should never have let her go," Lance said in a husky voice.

"What a nightmare for Sophie and Lucy," Reid said.

"I love her," Lance said. "I thought she knew that."

"How would she know it if you didn't tell her, you big idiot?" Maddie blew her nose so loudly she nearly burst Lance's eardrum.

But she was pregnant, so he didn't say a word.

Instead he stared down at his shoes. Maddie was right. He had never told her. "It's too late now," Lance said, although he couldn't stand the possibility of her moving away and giving up the house she had worked so hard to buy. The home she'd put so much time and love into. "She gave me back my shirt." The fact that she'd rather be naked than wear it had said a lot.

Reid and Chase looked at him as if he'd gone alien on them.

"It's never too late," Maddie whispered. "Not if you really, really love her."

He did love her, more than anything. In fact, he wanted her so badly it hurt to breathe. But after the way he'd acted, how could he convince her?

Chapter 23

Lance had an idea, but he needed help, so he conferred with Reid, then called his work crew to set his plan into motion. Finally he left a message on Sophie's home machine saying that she and Lucy had to stay in a hotel for a couple of days so he could have the wood floors finished.

He had a few other things in mind, too, but they would be surprises.

Sophie's Mother's Day show had moved him so much that he stopped by to pick up some flowers and drove to the cemetery where his parents were buried. Odd how he had rarely visited their graves. The sight of the tombstones always evoked such a deep loss in him that he couldn't bear it.

But he owed his mother a visit. Besides, he needed to talk to her.

A warm spring breeze fluttered through the trees surrounding the property, and artificial flower arrangements swayed and danced in the wind. His chest felt tight as he forced himself along the path.

Finally he stood before his parents' final resting place. He had felt so young when they'd died, so scared of the future, so worried about Maddie and Reid.

So hurt and angry and alone.

Memories of his parents on various Christmases flooded him, their laughter and good-natured bickering over which tree to cut down and how many lights to add to the house. Birthdays, family dinners, church services, Easter, graduation—except his parents hadn't attended his graduation because they'd already been gone.

That night he'd walked onstage to accept his diploma, wishing with all his heart that his father and mother could have been in the audience. Instead of celebrating with his friends after the ceremony, he'd brooded and vowed never to get attached to anyone else again.

And he hadn't....

Not until Sophie.

He knelt and placed the flowers in the vase at the head of his mother's grave. "Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I..." His throat choked as tears filled his eyes. "I miss you." He hesitated, gathering his control.