Winter Magic: 4 (The Hawks Mountain Series) (18 page)

“Funny, until you came along, I never allowed that streak to come out of hiding, but it sure showed up that night. I think it really surprised them when their quiet, obedient daughter raised her hackles and told them where the bear sits in the buckwheat.”

Granny remembered it like it was yesterday. She’d faked being sick to get out of church so she could spend the day having a picnic with Earl at a waterfall on his mountain. It had been a magical day, marred only by the knowledge that eventually she’d have to go home and face her parents. And face them she did.

She vividly recalled them meeting her at the front door and then ushering her into the living room. She’d sat in that straight-backed Victorian chair while her mother glowered at her from the settee and her father paced, both waiting for her explanation.

“WELL, JOSEPHINE, what do you have to say for yourself?” Her father’s deep demanding voice struck fear in her, but it was quickly overcome by that unfamiliar defiance growing inside her. “And please don’t insult your mother and me by lying. We know where you’ve been going every Saturday, and we know where you were today. Your brother has been watching you for some time now.”

“You seem to already have all the answers. So why are you asking me these questions?” Jo straightened her spine, surprised she would speak to her father in that tone.

“We’re giving you a chance to tell us yourself.” Her father’s dark brown eyebrow arched. A definite sign he was more than unhappy with his only daughter.

“Didn’t my rat brother report everything to you already?”

“Josephine!” Shocked transformed her mother’s lovely face into a mask of incredulity.

In truth, Jo wasn’t sure if she or her mother was more astounded by her sudden audacity. She’d always been a compliant daughter, following her parents’ instructions and demands on her life without question. Sometime, somewhere, that had changed, and she wasn’t sure exactly when that had happened. Perhaps it had been the first time she’d gathered her courage and sneaked away to the farmer’s market. Maybe it had been the moment she’d fallen in love with a gentle man with eyes the color of the summer sky and a smile as bright as the sun, and the dream of spending the rest of her life with him had been born.

Whatever had caused it, Jo knew one thing for sure—she was like a piece of cloth that had been worn threadbare by the demands on her life. Now, the threads were breaking, but, to her surprise, instead of losing Josephine, she’d found a new person
 . . .
Earl’s Jo. And that discovery gave her all the strength she needed to stand up to her parents.

Her father stopped pacing and paused in front of her, making her look up at him. “Just who is this young man who has enticed you into disobeying your parents?”

“Earl Hawks.” Just saying his name made Jo’s heart grow warm and happy.

Her father threw a questioning look at her mother. Her mother shrugged, indicating she had no clue who this was.

“And just who is this Earl Hawks?” Her father’s voice echoed his growing impatience.

Dare she answer him truthfully? Her new-found courage surged forward. Jo hesitated for only a moment, and then blurted out, “You don’t know him. He’s a farmer from up near Carson, and he owns a mountain.” She pushed her chin up. “And
 . . .
I intend to marry him.”

GRANNY JO LAUGHED. “Lord, but those few words just took the starch right out of both of them. Mother fainted. Father went speechless. Of course, when Mother came to and they’d gotten their second breath, they flatly told me that wasn’t going to happen and that I was going to marry someone suitable
 . . .
like Bruce Kingsley.”

Granny groaned. “Lord love a duck, but that man was the most pompous jackass in two counties. There was no way, even if you hadn’t already been in the picture, that I would have married him.” She laid her hand on the mound of earth in front of the cross and patted it gently. “I let them think they’d won, but I’d already made up my mind that I was going to be Mrs. Earl Hawks whether they liked it or not. Since my eighteenth birthday was only a few days away, I waited.

“They kept a pretty close eye on me after that. Sneaking out on Saturday morning was impossible. I had to hope that the note I gave our housekeeper to give to you explained it. It nearly broke my heart when she told me how crushed you’d looked. Then, when my mother wanted me to go shopping for my dress for the debutant ball, I played sick. I didn’t have the heart to let her pay for something I’d never wear. But she bought me one anyway.”

Granny closed her eyes, remembering the night of her eighteenth birthday, which also happened to be the night of the cotillion.

SINCE JO HADN’T made any effort to see Earl or disobey her parents, they had assumed she’d given up on her
crazy
desire to marry a
nobody
. Jo had packed a change of clothes in a small tote bag and wrote a letter to her parents to say she loved them, but she had to follow her heart. Then she’d gathered the gown her mother had chosen for her to wear to the cotillion and told her parents she’d be dressing for the ball at her friend Victoria’s house.

Her plan was to let her father drive her to Victoria’s, then walk into town and catch a cab to Earl’s house on the mountain. When she’d gotten to Victoria’s and they’d hurried to her friend’s bedroom, Jo began changing into jeans and a sweater.

Victoria stopped arranging her hair and stared open-mouthed at Jo. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you putting on your gown?”

“Because I’m not going to the cotillion.”

“What?”

Impatient with her friend and eager to get out before her plan was discovered, Jo blurted out angrily, “Have you lost your hearing? I’m not going to the cotillion.”

Victoria’s face crumpled as though she’d been hit.

Jo instantly regretted her harsh words. She crossed the room, dropped down on the dressing table bench beside Victoria and took her hand in hers. “I’m sorry, Vic. It’s a long story, but I met his guy, and I am in love.” She proceeded to tell Vic the story of meeting Earl and the days that followed. “My parents don’t approve of him. But I’m eighteen now, and I love him and want to be with him, so I’m going to him tonight, and they can’t stop me.”

Jo stood, grabbed her tote and headed for the door. Then she turned back to her friend. “Don’t feel you have to lie for me, Vic. Just stall them long enough to give me a head start.”

Vic nodded, her eyes wet with unshed tears. “I’ll give you as much time as I can. And, Jo
 . . .
be happy.”

Jo smiled a smile she felt all the way to her heart. “I will. I just know I will.” And she walked out.

On the street, the night air was cool and stars glittered overhead. Jo’s step was light, her heart happy. Very soon she’d be with Earl. She had planned to take a taxi to his home, but taxis didn’t sit on every street corner in this part of town. She’d have to walk into the business district. Glad that she’d packed only a few necessities, she hoisted her tote bag to her shoulder and began the long trek from Victoria’s elite development to the heart of the city.

Jo guessed she’d been walking about an hour when a black Corvette screeched to a stop a few feet ahead of her. She recognized it immediately as her brother’s “chick mobile.” Brandon climbed from the idling car and strode angrily in her direction. She wanted to run, but her brother was bigger and faster than her, so she stood her ground.

Brandon stopped in front her. She could see his angry expression in the glow from a nearby street lamp. Her hold on the tote bag tightened to hide her shaking hands.

His glared down at her with those accusing blue eyes. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I think you know that. Otherwise why are you chasing me down on a public street?”

“I asked you a question.”

“I’m going to Earl’s.” She made to step around him, but he grabbed her arm.

“You’re not going anywhere near that country bumpkin. The only place you’re going is home with me.” His fingers tightened painfully on her arm. He steered her to his car and opened the driver’s door. “Get in, Josephine.”

Her recently acquired stubborn streak took hold of her as firmly as winning gripped a boxer with his eye on the prize. In this case, the prize was a life with Earl. “No.”

Though she showed Brandon her iron will, inside, fear and doubt formed a tight ball in her stomach. What if she couldn’t get him to leave her here? What if they found a way for her to never see Earl again?

Brandon wrenched her arm behind her and shoved her head first into the car. Before she could get her bearings and jump out the passenger door, he pushed her farther onto the passenger’s seat and slid behind the wheel. The car bolted forward.

“You have no right to do this,” she screamed above the roar of the powerful motor.

He looked at her and grinned. “Did you really think the family would let you get yourself tied to a nobody? Mother and Father have plans for you, and they don’t include the likes of Earl Hawks.”

“LORD ABOVE, I cried all the way home that night. All I could think of was what if you didn’t wait for me. What if you thought I didn’t want to be with you? What if you found someone else?” Granny Jo sighed.

Then she grinned. “After I got home, and they’d locked me in my room, I knew I had to find a way to get to you.” She patted the mound of dirt beside her. “It didn’t take long for it to come to me. I’d not only play their game, I’d beat them at it.”

Again she leaned back and closed her eyes. When she recalled her performance that night at the dinner table, the grin widened. “I could have won an Oscar.” She reached for the bottle of spring water she’d brought with her and took a long swallow. Using the corner of her apron, she wiped the moisture from her lips. “And they swallowed it hook, line and sinker.”

TWO DAYS LATER, after being isolated in her room to give her time to think, Jo sat down at the dinner table, folded her hands in her lap to keep them still and kept her gaze lower respectfully. Her stomach had filled with butterflies, and she prayed no one would notice that her legs were shaking beneath the table.

“Well, Josephine, do you have anything to say for yourself?” He father’s stern voice pierced her like an icy wind. “Have you thought about your unseemly behavior?”

Jo gritted her teeth, raised her gaze to her father, then glanced at the other occupants of the table. From the opposite end of the table from her father, her mother sat waiting like the matriarch of the royal family. Across from Jo, her brother smirked. She turned back to her father, who scowled and waited for her answer.

Lying soured her stomach, but hers and Earl’s happiness was at stake. She chose her words carefully. “Yes, Father, I have, and I’ve decided you and Mother were right. Earl Hawks is not suitable for me.” Though she didn’t mean them for a moment, the very sound of the words coming from her lips seemed like a betrayal of the man she loved and made her want to snatch them back.

Forgive me, Earl. This is the only way.

Her mother sighed, relief evident in her expression. “Thank goodness you’ve come to your senses.”

Her father, however, didn’t seem ready to take her change of heart at face value. “What, may I ask, brought on this revelation?”

Her mother frowned at her father. “Lawrence, that’s enough. The girl has changed her mind. Continuing to cross examine her is hardly necessary. Let her eat her dinner in peace.” She turned to Jo. “When you finish dinner, put on that dress you wanted altered and Martha will pin it up for you.”

Jo nodded and picked up her fork, elated that her ruse was working
 . . .
on her mother at least. A warm ball of happiness replaced the butterflies that had been racing around her stomach. Her father may not be totally convinced of her change of mind, but if she continued to behave as if she’d gotten over Earl, he’d come around. The idea of ever getting over Earl almost made her laugh out loud.

For the next week, Jo bided her time and became the epitome of the obedient daughter doing whatever her parents asked without question. All the time, her heart yearned to be with Earl on his beautiful mountain.

At the approach of the weekend, her parents announced that they’d be going with friends on a five-day Caribbean cruise. Her brother was already in Virginia visiting his girlfriend at college. That left Jo home alone.

It was just the opportunity she’d been waiting for. Over the next few days Jo began gathering clothes and packing them in a small suitcase. When the coast was clear, she called a cab and was on her way to Hawks Mountain.

The ride seemed endless, but the taxi finally pulled into the driveway of the big white farm house where Earl lived. The front door opened, and Earl stepped onto the porch. Jo’s heart began beating out a crazy rhythm. For a while she could only drink in the sight of him. It seemed like years since she’d seen him. Then she bolted from the car and ran into his arms.

“I knew you’d come to me,” he whispered against her hair. Then he kissed her and the world righted itself.

Jo was safe in Earl’s arms, and she planned on never leaving him. Words stuck in the happiness clogging her throat. So instead of talking, she kissed him back and held him and kissed him some more.

Finally he set her away from him. “Your parents?”

“They don’t know I left,” she said, forcing the words past her lips between kisses.

“Will they come after you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think they know where you live, but that doesn’t mean they can’t find out. My father has connections—”

Before she could finish, Earl was pulling her across the yard and into his pickup truck.