Surrender to Love (15 page)

Sheri had, too. “Well, that’s all over with now. I don’t intend to waste another minute thinking about that man.” It was another lie, she knew.

“Humph. You’re a better woman than I am,” Erma complimented under her breath.

“Can we please change the subject?” Sheri nearly begged.

Erma glanced over at her friend, then shrugged. “All right, if you insist. Are we still sharing a room when we go to the Southern Baptist Church Convention?”

Sheri had almost forgotten about their planned trip up to Atlanta. “Sure, sure. I probably need a little break from this place anyway,” she mumbled.

Erma wrapped a supportive arm around Sheri’s shoulders. “Of course you do. And Atlanta is just the place to forget your troubles.”

C
arson and Julia were having a ball. They rode every ride in the fair—twice—and ate until they thought they’d pop. Neither returned to their volunteer positions because everyone insisted that they were no longer needed.

A few times, Julia sought out her daughter, but was told by Grace that the girls were having fun with her and for Julia to just go and enjoy herself. And she did just that.

Even now, as they rode the Ferris wheel and watched the stars come out in the distant sky, Julia found herself wishing that the day would never end.

When the ride was over, Carson slipped an arm around her shoulders and brought her compliant body into the curve of his arm. “Are you having a good time?” he asked.

She nodded, and for no reason at all tears gathered in her eyes. None of this was supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to fall in love with this town and its people. She wasn’t supposed to like the way Carson held her, or enjoy the way he said her name.

Hadn’t she promised herself when she’d signed the divorce papers that she’d never go through this again—that she’d never allow herself to feel the emotions that she was now feeling?

“I’m glad,” he whispered against her ear.

She wanted to ask him what they were doing. Shouldn’t they put on the brakes? But there was a part of her that forbade her to ruin this moment—this very special moment.

“We’d better go and find the girls,” she finally said.

“Yeah, we’d better head on over to the other side of the park and pick out a spot before the fireworks begin,” he agreed.

It took a while, but they finally located the girls at the pony rides. By the time they got their blankets and walked back to the park, they had a hard time picking out a good spot to see the show.

When they were all settled, Carson purchased fluorescent necklaces for Bobbi and Robin to wear. The girls laughed at their glowing toys while they snacked on yet another hot dog.

Julia shook her head and leaned over toward Carson. “I’ll be amazed if we all don’t wake up with severe stomachaches.”

“Nah.” He waved off her concerns. “Pop a few Pepto-Bismol tablets and we’ll be just fine.”

She laughed. “I hope you’re right.”

“There you guys are,” Lilly said. Behind her were Grace and Rick, who carried their own blankets. “Do you mind if we join you?”

“Of course not,” Julia answered. “The more the merrier.”

Carson stood and helped his brother-in-law with arranging their blankets, then helped his mother to sit down.

“Your father is probably like a kid in a candy store around about now,” Grace said with a tender smile.

Julia had no trouble believing that. “How long do the fireworks usually last?”

“About thirty minutes,” Grace answered, then leaned over
conspiratorially. “One year the show lasted nearly an hour. Everyone loved the show, but when the bill finally came…Let’s just say Charles nearly lost his job.”

“How long has he been in charge of this project?” she asked.

“For about thirty years.”

Julia blinked in surprise. A local band took the small stage in the center of the field and immediately launched into a rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” At the end, all lights went out and the first firecracker shot into the air.

Soon the sky was lit with an array of sparkling lights while low murmurs of “oohs” and “ahhs” came from the crowd.

It was the most spectacular show that Julia had ever seen. She could tell the town had spared no expense for this production, and thought, judging by the crowd’s reaction, that it was well worth it.

“So what do you think?” Carson questioned against her ear.

A pleasurable heat skipped along Julia’s spine. It took everything she had not to melt against him and most likely make a fool of herself.

“I think it’s beautiful,” she whispered back, and when he didn’t respond she tore her attention from the sky to glance at him.

His dark gaze was like a warm caress against her skin. “It doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

Julia’s heart pounded in her ears, and the sounds of the surrounding crowd disappeared. She was doing it again, her inner voice accused. But she couldn’t help it. There was something about Carson. There was something about the way he looked at her and the way he made her feel.

Hesitantly, she favored him with a fluttering smile. And only afterward did she wonder whether her fragile emotions were reflected in her eyes.

Somehow she managed to shift her gaze to the brilliantly lit
sky. It was beautiful, she thought, then broadened her gaze to take in more of her environment. Everything was beautiful.

Her gaze lowered to her daughter’s joyful expression. In her hand she waved a small flag. Bobbi had draped an arm around Robin’s shoulders and pointed at different flares of light. The precious image, she knew, would be permanently etched into her memory, as well as every detail about this night—about this day.

Suddenly Julia’s vision blurred at the realization that everything was perfect—had been perfect since Carson had rescued her from the side of the road.

The symphony of music that played over the speakers built to a dramatic crescendo. The flare of lights multiplied and grew larger, creating a canvas of brilliant colors.

When the show ended, thunderous applause rose from the crowd, as well as piercing whistles and the chant for more.

Grace, still clapping, turned misty eyes toward Julia. “So what did you think?”

“It was by far the best show I’ve seen.”

“Pop has definitely outdone himself,” Lilly chimed into their conversation.

Grace nodded. “It’s going to be something, living with that ego of his in the coming weeks.”

Her comment won plenty of nods of agreement.

Robin scooted closer to her mother with a lazy smile covering her face. “That was great,” she declared, then yawned.

“It sure was.” Julia tugged her ponytail. “We’d better get you back to the inn so you can get ready for bed.”

As if on key, Bobbi yawned.

“It looks like Robin isn’t the only sleepyhead among us,” Carson said, reaching for his daughter.

Bobbi, in a rare tender moment, kissed her father’s cheek. “Daddy, is it all right if Robin spends the night at our house tonight?” She rubbed her eyes.

Carson chuckled. “It’s all right by me, but I think you need to ask her mother, don’t you?”

Robin clutched her mother’s arm. “Can I, Mom?”

Julia hesitated. “I don’t know, sweetheart,” she hedged.

Carson leaned closer and applied his own pressure. “If you’re worried about her spending the night at the house of a single father, I’d be more than happy to supply you with a list of references.”

“I’ll vouch for him,” Carson’s mother added sweetly.

Julia blushed. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Then can I, Mom?” Robin pleaded with woeful puppy-dog eyes.

She hesitated a fraction longer. Her issue wasn’t that she didn’t trust Carson with her only child—quite the opposite. The sad fact was that in the last month she drew a certain level of security from her daughter. Julia had no idea how she’d react to waking to find the spot next to her empty.

“Can I please, Mom?” Robin chimed again.

“Well, I guess it’ll be all right.”

Both girls launched to their feet with screams of excitement.

Carson wiggled a finger in one of his ears, as if trying to recapture his hearing. “I guess we just made their night,” he said.

Julia agreed.

Finally everyone stood, gathered their things, and headed back to the inn.

Julia guessed that she still looked doubtful about separating from her daughter, because Carson draped a supportive arm around her shoulder and whispered into her ear, “You know, I’ll understand if you want to change your mind about Robin spending the night.”

She flashed him another smile. “It’s all right. I trust you.”

Something sparkled in his eyes when she said that, and she felt a warm flush cover her body.

Bobbi elbowed Robin and pointed to their parents. “At this rate, we’ll be sisters before the end of the summer.”

Robin snickered and nodded in agreement.

Sometime around midnight, Carson made a final check in on the girls. Despite the twin beds that occupied the pink-and-white room, the girls had fallen asleep lying next to each other in one bed.

He sighed and entered the room. As he approached the lamp on the nightstand, he glanced down and saw the book of butterflies that had once belonged to his wife. Apparently the girls had fallen asleep reading it. He smiled at the notion that his daughter had developed an interest in the same field as her mother.

He reached down and retrieved the book and placed it on the nightstand. Still smiling, he clicked off the lamp and quickly edged back out of the room. Before he left, he chanced another look at the girls.
Sleeping beauties
, he thought lovingly, then closed the door.

An hour later he lay in his own bed, staring up at the ceiling. He didn’t know what to make of the conflicting emotions swirling inside him. There was no denying that he would always love Karen, but he now had growing feelings for someone else.

Finally he drew in a deep breath and rolled onto his side. His attempts to push Julia’s image from his mind failed miserably.

Maybe, he thought, it was time to face facts. Though he hadn’t planned it, he’d fallen in love with Julia.

J
ulia woke to the sound of birds singing outside of her window. A wide smile slid across her face as she stretched lazily in bed. What she wouldn’t give to be able to lie in bed all day. Memories of yesterday’s celebration floated to the surface, and her smile broadened.

In reflection, she realized how much she and Carson had behaved like lovestruck teenagers on their first date yesterday. No doubt Lilly would tease her about how she and her brother made a perfect couple.

For the first time, Julia wondered if it was true.

She rolled to the side of the bed and reluctantly sat up, but quickly remembered that Lilly had given her the day off. Ecstatic, she spread her arms open and fell back onto the bed.

She fell among the oversize pillows and felt as if she’d instead landed on a bed of clouds. Behind her closed eyelids, Carson’s image materialized.

How could a woman not be attracted to him? she wondered. He was kind, gentle and he loved children.

Julia frowned and sat up again. What on earth was she doing—planning a happily-ever-after with Carson Webber? She slapped a hand against her forehead in an attempt to knock out her crazy fantasizing. That was exactly what she was doing.

“I swear, sometimes I think I’ll never learn my lesson,” she scolded herself. She jumped out of bed, but by the time she stood beneath the shower, her thoughts had once again returned to Carson.

What if he was the real deal? What if fate had led her to Moreland for a reason? She pondered the questions swirling in her head, but never came up with an answer.

Once dressed, she descended the staircase while another question surfaced: What if this was her last chance for love?

She stopped in the middle of the foyer, troubled. Sure, after she’d signed her last set of divorce papers, she’d promised never to fall in love again. She’d given up on love. Had she really meant it, or was that just something she’d said to help ease the pain of a broken heart?

The front door swung open and Lilly entered the inn, carrying a stack of newspapers. When she glanced up, a look of genuine surprise claimed her features. “Julia, what are you doing up so early? Don’t you remember I gave you the day off?”

“I remember. What can I say? I’ve always been an early bird.”

Lilly shook her head and walked toward the kitchen before Julia spoke again. “Since I’m up, do you need help with anything?”

“Don’t you know the meaning of a day off?” Lilly scoffed. “Besides, I’ve got everything under control. We have quite a few people checking out today. Now that the holidays are over, people are heading back home. It’ll be quiet around here until at least the end of the month. So relax. I’ll let you know if I need you.”

Julia nodded and proceeded out onto the porch. She’d missed the sunrise, but the morning was still beautiful. She eased into one of the rocking chairs, prepared just to enjoy the day.

Carson, Bobbi, and Robin arrived at the Georgia Inn and found Julia lost in her thoughts in one of the rocking chairs on the porch.

The moment Carson spotted Julia a smile claimed his lips. Her beauty had a way of stealing his breath. Wouldn’t it be nice to come home and see her face every day for the rest of his life?

His heart squeezed at the question, but whether it was with hope or guilt he couldn’t quite tell.

“Hey, Mommy. Whatcha doin’?” Robin asked, bouncing up the stairs to the porch.

Julia happily opened her arms and Robin plopped onto her lap. “I was just daydreaming.”

“You looked as if you were lost in another world,” Carson said with a small laugh.

“Yeah,” Bobbi eased into the conversation. “Are you sure that you’re all right?”

Julia squeezed her arms around her daughter. “Never better,” she proclaimed. “Did you have a nice time over at Bobbi’s?”

Robin nodded. “The best. She showed me how to play marbles and I showed her how to play jacks.”

Julia shot a look of surprise toward Bobbi. “Is that right?”

Carson also looked surprised. “Well, I guess wonders never cease.”

Bobbi shrugged her shoulders. “The game wasn’t as bad as I thought.” When no one said anything, she added, “I still like marbles better.”

Julia opened her arms again and gestured for Bobbi to sit on her free leg. When she did, Julia groaned, pretending the added weight was too much.

“Quit it.” Bobbi laughed.

Momentarily, Carson’s breathing failed him at the serene picture the three females presented. It seemed that his daughter had also gravitated to Julia. When had that happened exactly? He scratched at his temple and couldn’t recall.

“Hey, girls. Weren’t you guys starving when we left the house?” he asked.

“Yeah.” They jumped up as if they had forgotten.

“Come on, sis,” Bobbi instructed. “Let’s go and see what Aunt Lilly’s got cooking.”

Nodding in agreement, Robin followed Bobbi into the house.

Carson’s and Julia’s eyes shot to each other. “Sis?” they echoed in unison.

After another moment of silence lapsed, they smiled.

“I guess those two are growing close,” Carson commented, edging to the vacant rocker next to Julia.

“So it seems,” Julia finally said.

“I can see why. Robin is a wonderful girl. I sort of look at her as a daughter myself.” Julia’s gaze found his again, and Carson flushed at his choice of words. “Well, I mean—”

“It’s okay. I know what you meant,” Julia reassured him. She reached over and patted his arm, but stopped at the sight of her small hand pressed against his arm. Their subtle differences in coloring were striking.

“What’s happening with us?” He meant it as a private thought, but instead he had questioned aloud.

Julia extracted her hand. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you feel it?” he asked, and waited until she met his gaze before continuing, “There’s something happening between us.”

Julia’s protests and denials faded long before they got
started. To her horror, she couldn’t even manage to pull her eyes from his black orbs. They held her prisoner until a confession tumbled from her lips. “I know.”

He blinked and broke the spell he’d cast. “You don’t sound too happy about it.”

“I think I’m as happy as you are,” she countered.

He nodded, then chose his words carefully. “I think, more than anything, I’m taken aback by my emotions. I thought I’d buried them long ago with my wife.” When she said nothing to this, he had no choice but to ask, “What about you? What are your true feelings?”

“That I’m being foolish.”

Carson reeled from her brutal honesty and had to remind himself that he’d asked the question. He had no other choice but to delve deeper. “Are you still in love with your husband?”

“Ex-husband,” she corrected, then looked regretful at her haste.

“But I thought—”

“I know. My divorce was final a few days before we met.”
And a few days before he was killed
, she was close to adding.

“You’re a woman with a lot of secrets,” he said finally.

“Some secrets are meant to protect people.” When she said this, she could feel Carson scrutinizing her.

“Who are you trying to protect?” he asked finally.

Everyone
, she wanted to say. It was the truth, after all, but she knew that if she said it, it would only lead to more questions to which she didn’t have any answers. Truth be told, she was afraid of what the answers were.

“Julia,” Carson probed, “you can trust me. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know,” she answered in a faint whisper. “But you are one of the people I’m trying to protect—I think.” She tossed up
her hands and stood from her chair. “I don’t know. I’m not making much sense right now.”

Carson didn’t respond, but she could still feel his heavy gaze on her. Maybe she’d made a mistake in staying here. What if everything blew up in her face and she ended up costing the very people she’d come to care about their lives?

She heard Carson get up from his chair, but refused to turn around and face him.

“I care for you, Julia,” he said in a throaty whisper.

She closed her eyes and wished that his romantic confession hadn’t caused her so much pain. When his large but tender hands settled against her shoulders, she drew strength from a long-forgotten place to stop herself from falling to pieces.

“I respect your wish not to include me in whatever it is that you’re running from, but I’m not going to pretend that it doesn’t hurt.”

Tears surfaced in Julia’s eyes, but she managed to prevent them from falling. “You’re the last person I want to hurt.”

Carson’s hands fell from her shoulders, but only to encircle her waist. He pulled her pliant body against him, and she molded herself effortlessly to the curves of his physique. He breathed in her soft, floral scent and had the sinking feeling that what he held on to was nothing more than a fleeting dream—something that would vanish if he wasn’t careful.

“I’m not going to pressure you into telling me anything. Right now I just want to see you—I want to be around you for as long as I can. Can I do that?”

Julia sighed weakly, but nodded.

He, too, sighed, but in relief. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

“Maybe we should go in and join the others. Pretty soon they’ll send a spy out here to see what we’re doing,” Julia said.

“Let them,” he replied with a shrug. “I’m not ready to give up this moment just yet.”

A woman would have had to be made out of steel not to be affected by the warm sincerity in his rich baritone. And Julia was definitely not made out of steel.

Bobbi and Robin tried to sneak a peek out onto the porch, but couldn’t quite get around Aunt Lilly and Uncle Rick, who blocked most of the view from the glass panel by the front door.

“What are they doing now?” Robin asked anxiously.

“I don’t know. I can’t see,” she whispered back.

Lilly, meanwhile, turned with a smug smile toward her husband. “What did I tell you?”

He waved her off. “I still say you need to stay out of it,” he insisted before they walked away from the door.

Bobbi and Robin quickly took their place to spy on their parents. They giggled at what they saw, then gave each other the thumbs-up.

Julia remained poised in Carson’s arms out on the porch for another half an hour—right up until the time Carson’s stomach growled in protest.

He laughed, but wasn’t embarrassed. “I guess now would be a good time to go in and get some fuel into this belly.”

Julia nodded, then was touched when Carson wiped the tears on her face. She hadn’t been aware that she’d even been crying.

“If this is meant to be, we’ll work out the obstacles.”

She lowered her gaze. She couldn’t respond. She couldn’t.

Carson lifted her chin and waited for their eyes to meet again. “I mean it. We’ll figure this out together.”

It was foolish, but, God help her, she believed him.

Hampton Inn, Downtown Atlanta

The first thing Sheri did when she and Erma arrived in their hotel room was unpack. As she did so, it took everything she had not to think about her broken heart. All of her friends had told her the best thing to do was to keep busy, and that was exactly what she intended to do. No matter how hard she tried, she was often helpless in preventing Carson’s handsome face from creeping to the forefront of her mind.

Erma startled her when she placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think I’m going to run down to the lobby and get my welcome packet. I can’t wait to get the schedule of what time Pastor T. D. Jakes is preaching.”

Sheri nodded. “I should be down in a few minutes.”

“Okay, but don’t be too long. I think a few of the girls wanted to get together later on. Maybe it’s not too late to take in some of Atlanta’s sights.”

“All right. I’ll try to hurry.”

When the door closed behind Sister Arlene, Sheri sighed in relief. What she really wanted to do was lie across the bed and bury her head beneath the pillow. Instead she picked up the remote control for the TV and punched the power button.

The news flashed on, and Sheri decided it was as good a thing to watch as anything else.

Her bag with her toiletries was the next thing she grabbed. She disappeared into the bathroom and took it upon herself to decide which side of the vanity mirror would be hers.

Meticulously, she unloaded her facial regime, then her hair-care products. She discovered, much to her horror, that she’d forgotten to pack her toothbrush and toothpaste, but concluded that she could probably purchase the items in the little store she’d passed in the lobby.

Reentering the bedroom, she decided the next things to unpack were her shoes. The chances of her wearing the ten pairs she’d brought were remote, but a woman should always be prepared for emergencies.

“The FBI is again asking assistance in locating an Atlanta doctor and her eight-year-old daughter. Dr. Julia Kelley has been missing for more than a month now.”

Sheri’s head jerked up and her eyes immediately rounded at the picture of Julia monopolizing the screen. She dropped the white pump she’d been holding. It hit her big toe with a resounding thud.

She yelped at the unexpected pain, then hobbled back over to the bed and retrieved the remote. She turned up the volume and continued to listen with rapt attention.

“Reports are circulating that her disappearance is linked to the Perimeter Mall shootings, but the Bureau is not commenting at this time. If you have seen Dr. Julia Kelley, please contact the FBI at…”

Sheri stared at the screen in disbelief long after Julia’s picture had disappeared. Had she truly heard them correctly? Had she truly seen a picture of Julia on the six-o’clock news or had it been wishful thinking?

And what was this about a shooting?

She continued to sit and stare at the screen; then slowly she started to review all that she knew about the Julia now living in Moreland, Georgia. Hadn’t it been only a little over a month since Julia and her eight-year-old daughter had shown up there? And what was Julia’s last name?

She thought long and hard about it and concluded that she didn’t know it. She couldn’t remember if she’d ever known it.