Sweet Tea at Sunrise (7 page)

“Could you come by this evening? Or tomorrow morning? Whenever’s convenient.”

“I’ll talk to Maddie and come back with you this afternoon, if you want,” Jeanette offered. “After all, this is going to be free publicity for the spa. I think she can spare me for an hour.”

Sarah’s sigh of relief was heartfelt. “I think you just saved my life.”

“All I did was offer a suggestion,” Jeanette said. “Now in return, why don’t you tell me how things are going between you and Travis?”

Sarah immediately tensed. “Me and Travis?”

“Whoa,” Jeanette protested. “That brought those knots in your shoulders right back. Are you two having problems?”

“You ask that as if there’s supposed to be something between us,” Sarah muttered. “He’s my boss. The only way this is going to work is if we keep that line very clear.”

Jeanette chuckled. “Funny. He pretty much said the same thing when I spoke to him.”

Sarah couldn’t help the faint hint of disappointment she felt at hearing that. It might be for the best, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. “Well, there you go,” she said breezily. “We’re both on the same page.”

“Indeed, you are,” Jeanette said, a funny little smirk on her face. “If denial is a page, you’re both definitely on it.”

“I am not in denial,” Sarah insisted. “Why would you say that?”

“Because even though both of you said exactly the right thing, neither one of you looked one bit happy about it.”

“So?”

“That’s denial, sweetie, and the one thing I know about living in denial is that sooner or later, somebody’s going to ignite a spark and all hell will break loose.”

Sarah frowned at her. “Which just goes to prove that neither one of us can take a chance on playing with fire.”

“Well, for whatever it’s worth, I think you should go
for it,” Jeanette told her. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Travis since he got here. He’s a really good guy. And you’re just what he needs.”

“A single mom whose life until recently was a mess,” she replied skeptically. “I doubt that.”

“A strong woman who’s making smart decisions and getting her life on track,” Jeanette corrected.

“You think this radio gig was a smart decision?” Sarah asked. “I’m leaning toward crazy.”

“Let’s have this conversation again after you’ve been on the air for a month. I predict that by then you’re going to think Travis was a genius for hiring you, and that you’ve never had more fun in your life.”

Sarah had her doubts, but she nodded. “Remind me of this in a month and we’ll see which one of us is right.”

In most ways, she really hoped it was Jeanette because she’d never been more excited about anything, ever. She was testing herself, trying on a whole new persona, and despite all of her anxiety and doubts, she felt darn good about it.

Travis blinked when he read the note on his desk, then started to grin. Sarah had apparently called a staff meeting for the three of them. She’d scheduled it for this morning at ten.

“You got one of these?” he asked Bill.

“I did,” he said, chuckling. “She seems to think somebody needs to take charge.”

Travis shook his head. “What does she think I’ve been doing?”

“Apparently she’s not clear on that. She muttered
something about keeping each other informed. She seemed pretty annoyed, to be honest. Have you done something to upset her?”

“I’ve barely seen her for the past week,” Travis replied. “I’ve been out selling ad time during the day and recording spots at night.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Bill suggested. “She misses you.”

“I wish,” Travis said, but he didn’t buy it. Sarah had been strictly professional in their few recent encounters. In fact, her prim and proper demeanor was getting on his nerves, but he hadn’t had time to do anything about it. Probably wasn’t wise to, anyway. There’d be time enough for things like that after the station was up and running in a comfortable groove. That would be soon enough for her to discover he was seriously obsessed with the idea of kissing her.

He glanced up at the clock and saw that it was five minutes before ten. Sarah breezed in the door and beamed at finding them there.

“Good. You’re both here,” she said. “Right on time.”

“Early,” Travis corrected. “You know it’s usually the boss who calls the meetings.”

“Well, our boss hadn’t called one, so I did,” she said cheerily.

Travis leaned back in his chair and studied her. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was pulling free of a haphazard ponytail to curl around her face, and her blouse looked as if it had a streak of grape jelly on it. She looked so pretty she almost took his breath away. She caught him staring.

“What?” she demanded.

“I was just thinking how beautiful you are.”

The color in her cheeks turned even brighter. “Don’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s inappropriate, for one thing, and it’s not true for another.”

“I’ve never been much for propriety,” he said, holding her gaze. “And it’s true if I say it’s true. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.”

“I have half of Libby’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich all over my blouse,” she protested. “And I never got to fix my hair.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“We’re getting off the subject,” she said, clearly flustered.

“Sorry,” Travis said innocently. “What was the subject?”

She blinked hard, then sat down behind her desk. Her prim armor fell into place. “The fact that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing around here,” she said. “That’s the subject.”

Travis frowned at that. “Meaning?”

“Meaning you’ve been running around all over selling ad time and I don’t have a clue where you’ve been, what you’ve sold and who told you to take a flying leap. It’s created some awkward situations.” She leveled a look into his eyes. “I don’t like awkward.”

He nodded. “I get that.”

“Why don’t you create a list of contacts, post it with the name of whoever’s going to make the call, then the outcome?” Bill suggested. Up to now he’d apparently been content to watch the sparks flying between the two
of them. “That way you won’t have overlaps or awkward situations.”

“Makes sense to me,” Travis said at once, then looked to Sarah. “Anything else?”

She seemed startled to have the matter resolved so easily. “Well, no. I guess not.”

“Okay, then,” Travis said, standing up. He started from the room, then turned back. “Maybe this staff meeting idea is a good thing. Schedule it once a week, okay?”

“You want
me
to schedule it?” Sarah asked.

“Why not? It was your idea, after all. And, for the record, will you stop thinking of me as the boss and start thinking of this place as a partnership? We’re all in it together.”

She seemed momentarily taken aback by that, but of course she couldn’t leave it alone. “It’s your money. That makes you the boss.”

“Not if I put you in charge,” he countered with a wink. “Consider yourself the office manager.”

Her mouth gaped as he walked away. He was almost out of the building when he heard her call after him.

“What?” he shouted back.

“Does that mean I get a raise?”

He laughed at her audacity. “If you sell enough advertising, you do.”

Before he could get half a block down the street, she was beside him.

“What if, as your new office manager, I authorize a raise?” she asked.

“You can’t.”

She pinned him with a look. “So, let me get this
straight,” she said slowly. “I have more responsibility, but no more money and zero authority?”

“Something like that,” he agreed.

If he’d expected an argument, she surprised him yet again. She simply nodded.

“Just so we’re clear,” she murmured, and walked away.

Something told him, though, that sooner or later he was going to pay for that ready agreement.

Walter stared at the front-page story in the Serenity newspaper that Raylene had plunked in front of him on the kitchen table. The kids were upstairs napping, but he wasn’t anxious to go back to the motel, so he’d opted for hanging out here. He suspected the scent of the chocolate-chip cookies she was baking had been part of the allure, more so than Raylene’s usually testy company.

“What’s this?” he asked, startled to see a picture of Sarah and a guy he immediately recognized as a former big league baseball player. Some American League team, if he recalled correctly, a team not carried on local cable all that often, but big enough for the networks. Probably the Yankees or the Red Sox. Whoever he was, what the devil was he doing in a place like Serenity?

“You’ve been asking why Sarah’s never around when you’re over here to see the kids,” Raylene told him. “There’s your answer. She has a new job. The station goes on the air day after tomorrow.”

Walter blinked at the news and tried to make sense of it. “Sarah’s working for a radio station? I thought she was working in that diner.”

“She was. That’s where Travis met her. He hired her to work for him.”

“Travis?”

“Travis McDonald.”

Recognition dawned. McDonald had been a hotshot for the Red Sox, at least for a couple of seasons, then he’d been dumped when his batting average had gone down the tubes. How had a man like that hooked up with Sarah?

“Doing what?” he asked. “The woman couldn’t keep our bank statement straight, so it better not be accounting.”

Raylene gave him a look that took him to task for his sarcasm. “Sorry,” he murmured, “but that’s a fact.”

“Look, I just thought you ought to know. Any questions you have, ask Sarah. I’m sure she would have told you herself, but she’s been overwhelmed trying to learn all this new stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Booking guests, interviewing people, working the controls on the air.”

“Hold on a minute! You’re telling me Sarah’s going to be
on
the radio?”

“With her very own morning show,” Raylene said, tapping a finger on the newspaper. “
Carolina Daybreak.
You can read all about it in the article. You should be proud of her.”

Walter had no idea what to think. Back in college he’d been able to envision Sarah in front of a classroom of first or second graders, but then he’d seen how much trouble she had keeping up with Tommy and Libby and wondered how she’d manage with twenty or thirty kids.
Even though it had annoyed the daylights out of him seeing her working in the local diner, he’d known she was a capable waitress. But this? Some kind of local radio celebrity? It didn’t make sense for a woman who got flustered too easily.

He gave Raylene a questioning look. “You really think she can pull this off? She’s not much for confrontation.”

Raylene slid another tray of cookies into the oven before answering. “I do, as a matter of fact. More important, so does she. And she’s not planning to be Mike Wallace or Morley Safer. There won’t be a lot of on-air confrontations. And, in case you haven’t noticed, Sarah’s changing. She’s not the timid little thing who let you and your parents walk all over her. Like I said, you should be proud. In a way you’re responsible for her discovering just how strong and talented she really is.”

His gaze narrowed. “Somehow I don’t think you meant that as a compliment for me.”

Raylene patted his shoulder. “There you go, demonstrating more insightfulness than I ever expected.”

He frowned at that. “You don’t like me much, do you?”

She didn’t even blink at the direct question. Nor did she hesitate. “How could I? You almost destroyed my friend.”

He sighed at the undeniable accusation. “And no one is sorrier about that than I am,” he said quietly. “I wish Sarah nothing but the best. If this radio thing matters to her, then I hope she’s a huge success.”

“She will be,” Raylene said confidently. “But it might mean a lot to her to hear that from you.”

“She stopped caring what I think a long time ago,” he said candidly, then quickly added, “My own fault.”

“I’m not sure a woman ever stops caring what the man she once married thinks of her,” Raylene said, her expression suddenly sad. “Even when she should.”

Walter studied the woman who was busying herself with a batch of cookies just out of the oven, her back to him. Though his impression of Raylene had been shaped by her bitter attitude, he saw something oddly vulnerable about her now.

“Are we still talking about Sarah?” he asked carefully.

She turned back to him, lifted her chin, her gaze steady. “Who else?” she said in a way meant to forestall any further speculation.

Walter was out of his element. His sensitive side, if he even had such a thing, floundered in the face of her response. Something told him she’d just revealed something important, but he didn’t know if he should pursue it or let it drop. Because it was more comfortable, he let it go.

“I think I’ll take a drive into town, see if maybe I can track Sarah down,” he said, standing up. “Mind if I steal a handful of these cookies to take along?”

She gave him the kind of look she usually reserved for the kids. “Don’t spoil your supper,” she chided.

“Trust me, my appetite won’t be affected. You going to be okay here with the kids? I’ll try to get back before they’re up from their nap.”

“We’ll be fine,” she assured him. “If they wake up, we’ll play inside till you get back.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d hinted at the fact that
she didn’t leave the house. He’d never questioned her about it. He hadn’t figured it was his place. Now, though, he wondered.

It was just one more question for the long list he was accumulating for when he saw Sarah. Hopefully he could get through them all without getting into one of their trademark fights, because as determined as he was to stop criticizing and making judgments, his tongue still had a tendency to get away from him before his brain could kick in.

S
arah had known Dana Sue Sullivan almost all of her life. Annie, Dana Sue’s daughter, had always been one of her two best friends, along with Raylene. She’d had sleepovers at Annie’s. She’d eaten at Sullivan’s more times than she could count, especially when Dana Sue and Erik had been fine-tuning the menu. Back then, Annie, in the throes of her anorexia, hadn’t touched more than a bite, but Sarah had savored every mouthful, then answered every painstakingly detailed question Dana Sue and Erik had about her opinion of each recipe.

Despite all that, sitting across from Dana Sue in the studio at the station made her palms sweat. There was a lump the size of a prime ribeye steak lodged in her throat. This would be the third test-run she’d taped before the official station launch, and it wasn’t getting any easier. How was she ever supposed to enjoy doing a show every morning if all she wanted to do was run from the studio and throw up? Worse, so far all the guests had been people she’d known forever. What on earth would happen when she had to interview some stranger or a real celebrity?

She glanced through the glass partition into the control room and got a thumbs-up from Bill. “We’re starting in one minute,” he said, just as he’d told her he would for the real thing.

Her gaze darted to the clock on the wall as the second hand ticked off the time way too quickly.

“Sweetie,” Dana Sue said in a commanding tone, “look at me.”

Sarah’s panicked gaze locked on her friend’s mom. They were both Sweet Magnolias, for heaven’s sake. That ought to make this easy. And maybe it would if they’d started with a margarita. Stone-cold sober, Dana Sue’s familiarity didn’t seem to make a difference.

“You’ve known me way too long to look so terrified,” Dana Sue said, keeping her own gaze steady. “You were there when I tossed all Ronnie’s things onto the front lawn, remember? You were there the night Annie collapsed and nearly died. We’re friends, Sarah, and all we’re doing is chatting, okay? Just the way we used to do around the kitchen table at my house.”

Sarah gulped in a deep breath and nodded. “This is ridiculous. I should be reassuring you that I’m going to make it painless. We’re just going to talk about how you started Sullivan’s, the rave reviews you’ve had.”

Bill cut in. “We’re going live in five, four, three, two and…” He signaled for her to begin.

Swallowing hard, Sarah found her voice. “Good morning, it’s
Carolina Daybreak
and I’m Sarah Price, coming to you from the heart of Serenity, right on Town Square. Today my guest is Dana Sue Sullivan, the mastermind behind Sullivan’s restaurant, known all over the state for its Southern cuisine with a contemporary twist.”

Once the words started flowing, her nerves seemed to settle. Dana Sue’s reassuring smile helped, too. The questions, which she’d spent all last night preparing, kicked off the conversation. Dana Sue did the rest, answering with the sort of lively, self-deprecating humor that everyone in Serenity expected from this one-time rebel who’d grown up to be an innovative chef and businesswoman.

They’d taped for nearly an hour, pausing where commercials would be inserted when the show eventually ran on the air, when Sarah looked up and saw that Travis had joined Bill in the booth. When he winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up, she nearly lost her place on her list of questions.

Something on her face must have given her away, because Dana Sue turned around to catch a glimpse of Travis, then turned back to Sarah with a broad grin. “Oh my!” she mouthed silently.

Sarah blushed. Bill’s whispered reminder in her headset that she needed to wrap things up finally steadied her.

“That’s it for today. I’d like to thank our guest and suggest you all stop by Sullivan’s to try out the tempting new menu items we’ve been discussing this morning. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. I’ll be back in a minute with more of Carolina’s favorite music.”

“And we’re out,” Bill said. “Good interview, Sarah.”

Though his praise meant the world to her, Sarah’s gaze immediately went to Travis. It was the first time he’d heard one of her tapings. The broad smile on his face said everything.

Stepping into the studio, he swept her up in his arms
and twirled her around. “You were fantastic!” he said. “Even better than I was expecting.”

“If I was, you can thank Dana Sue. She provided all the entertainment.”

“I did not,” Dana Sue corrected. “You asked all the right questions. You’re a natural, Sarah. I couldn’t be more proud of you. I know this was really just a dress rehearsal of some kind, but I hope you air it one of these days.”

“First chance we get,” Travis promised, his arm still securely around Sarah’s waist. He gave Dana Sue a considering look. “You know, speaking of natural, you were great on the air. Sarah was right about that. I don’t suppose you’d want to do cooking tips or something like that on a regular basis? Sullivan’s could sponsor it. It would be great exposure for the restaurant. Maybe I could even get it into syndication around the state.”

Sarah’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Dana Sue, do it. It’s a great idea.”

“How often would you want it on the air?” Dana Sue asked, though she looked skeptical. “I don’t have a lot of spare time.”

“I’d like once a week, maybe an hour-long show for Saturday morning,” Travis suggested. “You could tape it whenever it’s convenient.”

“I’ll think about it,” Dana Sue promised. “Now I have to run. The restaurant opens for dinner in a half hour. Why don’t you all come over? Your meals will be on the house to celebrate the launch of the station.”

Sarah wasn’t sure what to say. Dinner at Sullivan’s was a big deal to most people in town. Going there with Travis, even if it was mostly a business thing, would
feel an awful lot like a date. Of course, Bill would be along, too.

Travis met her gaze. “How about it, Sarah? I think we deserve a celebration.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Sure.”

Bill shook his head. “Unfortunately my wife’s expecting me, and she hates it when I don’t turn up after she’s cooked. You two go and enjoy yourselves. I want to spend a couple of minutes editing this tape. We ran over by sixty seconds, and I think I know where I can cut. I’d like to do it now, while it’s all fresh in my head. Then this will be ready for air whenever you need it.”

“Okay, then,” Travis said to Dana Sue. “Count on the two of us. We’ll be there shortly.”

After Bill had gone back to the control booth and Dana Sue had left, Sarah looked at Travis. “We don’t have to do this. Dana Sue was a sweetheart for asking, but we both have a million things to do before the launch. I should probably get home and have dinner with the kids for a change.”

Travis held her gaze. “Don’t try wiggling off the hook. I don’t have anything to do that’s more important than taking my best on-air talent to dinner. I need to keep you happy.”

The flattery went straight to her head, just like a glass of champagne. Because she wasn’t used to such compliments, Sarah couldn’t let herself trust it. It was smarter to treat it lightly.

“Besides Rick the Rocket, or whatever his name is, I’m your only on-air talent,” she reminded him. “So I don’t think I’ll take your compliment too seriously.”

“Hey, what am I?” he demanded.

She grinned at him. “That remains to be seen. I’ve heard you chattering away to yourself in the studio, but you haven’t done the first rehearsal or made a single note about your program, as far as I can tell.”

“Sugar, I’m relying on my charm and spontaneity to win over the audience.”

“I suppose that’s one way to go,” she said. “I think I like my way better. At least I won’t be floundering around like a fish trying to come up with something to say.”

A grin spread across Travis’s face. “You ever known me to be at a loss for words?”

“No,” she conceded. And that was precisely the reason she knew she didn’t dare let her guard down. Because when words flowed that easily, so could the lies.

Travis knew that even a couple of hours with Sarah in the low-lit, cozy ambience of Sullivan’s was probably dangerous. On his own, he probably wouldn’t have issued such an invitation, at least not for a while. But when Dana Sue had offered, he hadn’t been able to say no.

The past couple of weeks had been hell on his libido. All it took was one of Sarah’s shy glances or the casual brush of her hand across his and he’d been on fire. He hoped like crazy it was because he hadn’t been dating for a while now, because otherwise it suggested he was falling hard and fast for a woman he needed to keep at a distance. He’d figured that out in a hurry. Sarah was all about forever, and he was mostly about what felt good tonight.

During his years playing ball, finding a woman who wanted to play by those rules had been easy. He’d never once been tempted to change the rules by which he
lived, the same rules that had finally forced his mother to kick his daddy to the curb. Travis had sympathized with her, but he’d known intuitively that he was a chip off the old McDonald block. Settling down just didn’t appeal to him, mainly because he knew firsthand how badly someone would get hurt if he couldn’t make it last.

Yet, here he was with a forever woman, sitting down in a cozy booth, trying not to notice how soft the candlelight made her skin look or how brightly her eyes shone. Only a last-second burst of rationality kept him from sliding in right next to her, instead of on the other side of the table.

“Is this the first time you’ve been here?” Sarah asked him.

Travis nodded. “I’ve been meaning to come by, but my schedule’s been too hectic ever since I bought the station. It’s a nice place.”

“It’s wonderful,” Sarah said. “And the food really is as amazing as all the reviews claim.”

She studied the menu with an intensity that Travis couldn’t help wishing were directed his way. She even unconsciously licked her lips a time or two, which gave a real jolt to his system. Clearly his hormones had been shut down for too long.

“What do you recommend?” he asked eventually, too fascinated with Sarah to bother looking at the menu.

“I’m having the meat loaf,” she said at once. “I know that sounds ordinary, but trust me, Dana Sue raises it to a whole new level. It’s one of their most popular dishes.”

“Then I’ll have to try it,” he said, giving their order to the waitress when she came.

Now that they’d been left alone without the menus to occupy them, Sarah shifted uneasily across from him, her gaze on everyone in the room except Travis.

“Am I making you nervous?” he asked, trying to hide his amusement.

“No, why?” she asked, looking flustered.

“You just seem a little jumpy.”

“My nerves are shot in general,” she said candidly, then looked embarrassed by the admission. “To be totally honest, you should know that the launch scares me to death.”

“Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. The shows you’ve taped have been fantastic. There’s no reason to think you won’t be just as amazing when we go live.”

“You were only there tonight,” she said, clearly not believing him.

“But I’ve listened to the other tapes,” he said.

“Really? Why?”

“Because I wanted to hear your voice,” he admitted before he could censor himself. He scrambled for a less personal explanation. “I mean, to make sure you’re getting the knack of doing an interview. Bill told me you were doing fine, but I wanted to check it out myself.”

She looked at him as if she didn’t entirely trust his response, then said, “And? How was I?”

“Stop fishing for compliments. I’ve already said you’re fantastic. Bill’s said so, too. Stop worrying.”

She sighed. “You’ll have to say it a lot more before I’ll believe you,” she said, then groaned.

“What?” Travis asked, gauging from her reaction that something had upset her.

“My ex-husband’s here, and he’s heading this way.”

She looked so disconcerted, Travis impulsively reached over and covered her hand. “Do I need to beat him up for you?”

As he’d intended, she laughed. “I don’t think that will be necessary, but you have my permission if this doesn’t go well.” She looked up as the man reached their table. “Hi, Walter. What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been looking all over town for you,” he said, barely sparing a glance for Travis.

Alarm flashed in her eyes. “Is it the kids? Are they okay?”

“They’re fine. Raylene’s with them, and I’m heading back over there in a couple of minutes.” He finally turned to acknowledge Travis’s presence. “Could you give us a minute, please?”

Travis didn’t want to give the man two seconds alone with her, but after a glance at Sarah, who gave him a subtle nod, he stood. “I’ll be right back.” He leveled a meaningful look into the other man’s eyes to make sure Walter understood that he wouldn’t be far away.

“Thanks,” Walter said easily, then took Travis’s spot at the table.

On his way to the booth closest to the kitchen, where he’d spotted Ronnie, Travis turned back to make sure everything was okay. Whatever the man was saying, he was pretty intense about it, but Sarah didn’t look upset. He was surprised to discover just how interested he was in knowing what they were discussing.

“Everything okay?” Ronnie asked when Travis reached his table. “I see Walter’s shown up.”

“You know him?”

“We’ve met a time or two,” Ronnie said carefully. “The first time, I wrote him off as a hot-tempered jerk, but from what I hear he’s been on good behavior recently.”

In Travis’s experience only one thing made a man change his stripes that dramatically. “Do you think he wants Sarah back?” he asked, unexpectedly bothered by the idea.

“Maybe,” Ronnie said, then gave him a consoling smile. “The good news for you is that she’s not even remotely interested.”

“You sure about that? They do have kids together.”

“That’s not enough,” Ronnie said confidently.

Travis gave a nod of satisfaction. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he hoped like hell that Ronnie was right.

“You have something going on with that hot-shot ballplayer?” Walter asked Sarah as Travis left them alone.

His tone grated on her nerves. “First of all, he’s no longer a ballplayer,” she told him, unable to keep a defensive note out of her voice. “And second, it’s none of your business what I’m doing or with whom.”