Bluegrass Dawn: Bluegrass Single #2 (Bluegrass Singles) (6 page)

CHAPTER NINE

Jake’s stomach was in knots as the Kentucky Air National Guard plane landed at the Bluegrass Airport. He had flown into Travis Air Force Base in California but had talked his way onto the Guard plane instead of having to fly commercial from San Francisco. He guessed that was a perk of saving a high-ranking officer.

His leg was still sore, but he was able to walk with only a slight limp after a month of recovery and had been assured that physical therapy should eventually remove the limp. Would Marcy think of him as less of a man? Would the jagged scar on his thigh scare her? What would she think of him after all this time away? Would she still want him?

The plane slowed and taxied down the runway on the far side of the airport away from the civilian planes. Aboard the cargo plane were the pilots and flag-draped coffins of Kentucky soldiers who had given their lives for their country

Jake had spent the long, uncomfortable flight in agony. He couldn’t wait to get home, but he was nervous at the same time. How much had changed since he had left? It felt like a lifetime. The co-pilot peered around the door to where he sat in the cargo area. “You think all these people are here for you?”

“What?” Jake asked as he was pulled from his worrying.

“Come up here and have a look.”

Jake stood and walked stiffly into the small cockpit. He leaned over the instruments and looked out the small window. ”Welcome Home“ banners were hung on the chain link fence. Half the town of Keeneston stood waving flags and signs behind the fence. And right in front was Marcy jumping up and down and waving her hands in the air.

Marcy clung to the fence as she watched the large cargo plane slow to a stop. With a wink and a good show of cleavage, Violet had talked a man working in the nearby hangar to open the gate after the plane arrived. It seemed like forever as the huge plane finally shut down its engines and the man opened the gate for them.

Marcy ran. She didn’t hear the clapping and cheering from the townspeople. She didn’t hear the other planes landing on the runways on the other side of the airport. She didn’t hear anything except her excited breathing as she sprinted forward.

And then the back ramp of the plane opened and there Jake stood. He was in dress uniform and hurrying down the ramp as fast as he could with the cane. Marcy’s steps faltered. She had known Jake had been injured, but it was different seeing it. He was different. She saw it in an instant. His normally thick muscular body was now lean. She had a sudden desire to feed him. His strides were strong, but she could see the slight grimace on his now angular face when he put weight on his injured leg. Would he be different? Would he remember her? But then he looked up and saw her. Their eyes connected and all her worries fell away.

Jake smiled at her and held out his arms. Marcy broke out in tears and flung herself into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed his shoulders with her arms. Jake stumbled back as he took her impact. She didn’t hear his cane drop to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her in return. He still smelled like Jake. Even if he hadn’t been to the farm in more than eighteen months, he still smelled like the country air. And his arms were just as she remembered. She still fit perfectly against his chest as they clung to each other.

“Is this real? Are you really here?” Marcy asked into his neck.

“It feels like heaven. I’ve been waiting a lifetime for this.” Jake leaned back to look at her face. “You’re even more beautiful than in my dreams.”

Marcy smiled at him. His hazel eyes seemed more mature now, but they still sparkled with a hint of mischief as he bent his head to hers. His lips brushed hers softly, as if testing her to see if she was, in fact, real. Then Marcy threw caution to the wind and kissed him for all she was worth. Her husband was finally home.

Their reunion lasted as long as it took for the rest of the town to catch up to them. The Rose sisters all hugged Jake and gave joyful looks to Marcy. They had made it. As a town, they had stuck together and were celebrating one of their own making his way back home. Soon the Roses drifted to where the pilots had joined in the celebration. Lily and Violet batted their lashes and tossed their long straight hair over their shoulders. Daisy stood by and smiled blankly. Daisy’s love was still overseas, or at least that’s all she’d say about it. While Lily and Violet had no problem flirting, Daisy took more of an observational role. Marcy had always been curious about Daisy and Robert but right now they were the furthest things from her mind.

Betsy excitedly filled Jake in on how great Marcy has been on the farm. She joked that he would hardly know her, and Jake’s face froze at the same time Marcy’s did. It was the truth. They had been apart as much as they had been together. But then he smiled and squeezed her hand and she knew they’d work it out. It might take some time to remember why they fell in love, but those seeds were planted deep. She knew they’d make it. It might take some work, but their love was worth it.

Tabby whooped and hollered his welcome home as he thumped Jake on the back and sent Marcy a wink. Reverend Hamilton and Father James praised God while the Keeneston Belles and Keeneston Ladies all vowed to help Marcy put some weight back on him. Marcy clung to Jake as the single women made a fuss over him. The fact was she wasn’t used to being married and was a little self-conscious about it.

“I’d appreciate that, ladies, but first I’ve been dreaming about my wife’s fried chicken and brownies for almost two years.” Jake’s eyes sparkled and his lips stretched into a roguish grin. “And a few other things involving my wife.”

The girls twittered at the comment, but Marcy didn’t notice. Jake had kissed her again. Only Father James clearing his throat stopped them from progressing further right there on the runway.

“We have a big celebration planned for tonight at the café. Y’all go home and spend some time together and we’ll see you later,” Daisy instructed as she tried to round the town up.

“Okay,” Marcy and Jake said at the same time, never taking their eyes away from one another.

Jake grabbed her hand and looked around once they were alone. “Where’s the truck?”

“Over there,” Marcy pointed and Jake grabbed her hand as they hurried for his old truck.

He tossed his bag in the back and opened the door for Marcy. He noticed she was about to go to the driver’s door, but he had plans for them. He backed her up against the truck and kissed her deeply. God, he’d missed her. He ran his hands roughly up her body and when she moaned into his mouth, he almost forgot about his plans.

Jake helped Marcy into the truck and hurried as fast as he could—curse his leg—to get into the truck. He tore out of the airport and toward Parkers Mill Road as fast as he could.  Jake was having the hardest time staying on the road. He wanted to keep his eyes on Marcy to drink in every detail. Plus, it was foolish, but he was afraid he’d blink and he’d be back in Vietnam alone in his tent.

“Where are we going?” Marcy asked him as he pulled off the road a short time later in Keeneston.

“To the place that means the most to me.”

He could see when Marcy figured out where he was heading. It was closer than his home and it was where his life changed forever. The pond came into view as the truck bounced along the dirt road.

“Why, I don’t have my bathing suit,” Marcy said in mock innocence.

“What a shame. Whatever will we do?”

*     *     *

The Rose sisters looked at the clock hanging on the wall of the café. Jake and Marcy should have been here an hour ago.

“I bet you five dollars there will be a baby within the year,” Lily said as the café erupted into unabashed betting.

CHAPTER TEN

Jake put his hands behind his head and looked up at the bright blue sky. He’d only been home for a day and already the tension of the war was starting to fade. As he held Marcy in their bed the night before, he’d only had one bad dream. He didn’t even cry out in his sleep as he had in the hospital. Keeneston soothed his soul and Marcy was the best nurse he could ask for.

The night before, they'd finally made it to the café with wet hair and smiles that wouldn’t leave their faces. They stayed only long enough to eat and then raced back home. They’d made it as far as the driveway—as soon as he parked the truck, in fact. Twenty minutes later he walked into his house for the first time.

Marcy had changed the house enough to make it hers, but he still felt touches left behind from his mother. It was strange walking into the silent house, but he felt at peace with it. Tabby, Father James, Sheriff Mulford, and Marcy had written in such detail about the events leading up to his mother’s death that he felt as if he had been there. He had grieved half a world away and had found peace with it.

When he had looked at Marcy standing in the middle of the living room with her clothes held together by her hands and her hair a tangled mess, he knew the grieving period was over. He’d miss his mother just as he missed his father, but his future was standing right in front of him. Someday children would fill that house and he knew that would please his parents more than anything.

A cloud passed overhead and Marcy rolled off him onto the fresh-cut grass. She didn’t bother covering herself. They were in a newly cleared backfield and were miles from the road.

Jake turned his head and smiled at her. “Thanks for the tour of the property. You’re absolutely amazing. Delivering cows, clearing fields… you made the property even more prosperous than I ever could. And here I was worried you wouldn’t know what to do.”

Jake pulled her close to him and ran his hand over her hair as she laid her head on his chest. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without our friends. Tabby and Betsy were a huge help. And the boys from the high school helped with the harvest so I was able to get more out of it.”

“I’m so proud of you, Marcy,” Jake told her before kissing the top of her head. “You are an amazing woman.”

“I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too, sweetheart.”

The silence of the field was disrupted by the squeal of a pig as Bertha pushed her way between them and lay down with a giant whoosh of air.

Jake just shook his head. “I can’t believe you have a pet pig.”

Marcy laughed as Bertha snorted in the grass. “Don’t blame me. You’re the one who told Tabby to keep an eye on me. You know how he loves his pigs. I’m just flattered he trusted me enough with one of them.”

“Well, come on, Bertha. Let’s see the rest of the farm and hear what my wife has planned for it.”

“What
we
have planned for it. It’s almost time for the fall harvest and I can’t wait to get your opinions for what to do with some of the land for next year.”

Marcy jumped up and stepped into her jeans. She’d been nervous about showing Jake what she had done. But with every word of praise he gave her, her confidence was bolstered. Soon she was dragging him over acres and acres of land, pointing out new things, telling him of new farm equipment, and working together to plot out their future.

*     *     *

Daisy Mae folded the letter and put it in the middle of
Little Women
before closing the thick book and putting it away forever. Her heart was broken. The life she had planned was not to be. Just as it had been with her sisters, she was destined to a life alone. At least she had her sisters and at least she had her café.

Violet Fae had taken her heartbreak and turned it into the Blossom Café. It was in her grief that she had come up with the idea. Lily Rae had taken her heartbreak in typical Lily fashion. She’d pushed it out of her mind and acted as if it had never happened. Only Daisy saw it when Lily flirted with other men. It was an act. A good act, but an act nonetheless. Daisy just didn’t think she had it in her to give such a performance.

Daisy picked up the telephone and slowly turned the rotary until she heard ringing. “Violet. It’s over.”

“I’ll be right over and I’ll bring Lily with me.”

Daisy nodded into the phone and hung up. She had her sisters, her café, and her town. They would be enough. She’d never let another person she cared about suffer a broken heart like she felt. No, she’d help them find love.

Daisy walked through her small cottage house and took down the pictures of Robert. She found an old box and gently laid them in it. She couldn’t bear to throw them away, but she couldn’t look at them either. She’d been happy once, and she’d be happy again.

Her sister didn’t bother knocking. The front door burst open and Violet came in with a pitcher of lemonade and a pitcher of ice tea. “I thought we could make some Arnold Palmers.”

Daisy gave a pained smile. “Thanks. Sounds wonderful.” Just smiling hurt. She wanted to forget the pain, just for a night.

“I’m here!” Lily called as she burst into the small house. “What did I miss? Are you okay?”

“Vi brought Arnold Palmers and we were just going to sit down. I want you two to make me forget everything for one night.”

Lily gave a big grin. “I can do that.” She held up a fifth of bourbon and shook it temptingly.

The three sisters looked at the bourbon and over to where Violet Fae was mixing the lemonade and iced tea. With a mischievous grin, Lily hurried over and poured the bourbon in the mix.

Violet mixed the concoction and Lily poured it into the glasses. The sisters lifted the glasses and eyed them suspiciously.

“To my sisters,” Daisy toasted.

“To love. Whenever, whoever, and however it comes to be,” Violet toasted.

“To Keeneston. A place we can always love,” Lily toasted. They all looked at each other nervously. “Bottoms up!”

Daisy and her sisters lifted the glasses to their mouths and took a deep drink. Daisy coughed and the girls giggled.

“That’s good,” Violet said, surprised.

“I think we can make it better. What do you have in the ice box and fridge, Daisy?” Lily asked as she was already heading for the kitchen.

Daisy giggled as the bourbon warmed her. Soon they were mixing limes, tea, and everything but the kitchen sink in their drink until somewhere around midnight they found the perfect recipe and Daisy forgot the pain she was in.