Surrender to Love (14 page)

B
y the time the sun rose on the Fourth of July, the people of Moreland were already buzzing with activity. Lilly, Grace and Julia quickly loaded the food they’d spent most of the night cooking into a van.

Robin and Bobbi had also helped Pierce Taylor box loads of miniature flags and straw hats. And somehow, in between all of that, they’d managed to have a breakfast buffet set up at the inn by the time the first guest descended the stairs.

Once everything was placed, the telephone rang off the hook for Lilly. Someone who had volunteered for this activity or that project wouldn’t be able to make it, and everyone seemed to think that Lilly would know what to do. Lilly’s only response to their problems was, “Just try to do the best you can.”

Nothing, it seemed, would unhinge Lilly’s calm demeanor. By ten o’clock, Lilly had even put Charles to work on dishes.
Of course, he fussed and complained that he had to be down at the park soon to go over the plans with his small crew, but she told him the faster he scrubbed the pans the quicker he’d be able to go.

Julia was talked into running one of the concession stands at the fair by one of the sisters from church, while Carson had agreed to be the pigeon in the dunking tank.

Despite the hard work, Julia was having a great time. She’d also noticed the number of friends Robin had made. Not to mention that with each day that had passed, Robin and Bobbi seemed to grow closer.

The girls had their faces painted with the American flag, and had eaten so many Patriot Popsicles that their mouths had literally turned blue. The few times Julia had inquired whether Robin was having a good time, her daughter replied that Bobbi was like the sister she’d always wanted, which was odd, seeing as how Julia couldn’t recall Robin’s ever mentioning that she wanted a sister.

As the day progressed, the sun grew merciless, and the concession stand had a line out of this world with people needing something to quench their growing thirst.

Sometime around three, Sister Arlene relieved Julia from the concession stand and she was free to partake in some of the fair’s activities. Walking around, she guessed that the whole town had attended the day’s fair and all were having a good time.

“Don’t tell me that I can’t find one person who can hit the bull’s-eye?” Carson’s voice boomed over a swarm of people.

There was a loud thumping sound, followed by a low moan from the crowd.

“Come on, Harvey. My daughter can throw better than that.”

Another thump and the same moan of disappointment followed.

“All right, all right. Who’s next? This time can I get someone who’s going to be within the same zip code as the target?”

“I’ll go next.” Julia bounced on the tips of her toes to get Pierce Taylor’s attention.

“Ah, it looks like we have another volunteer,” Pierce announced, and waved Julia forward.

A bud of excitement bloomed within Julia and spiraled outward as she maneuvered her way to the dunking tank.

“That will be one dollar for three balls,” Pierce said with a mischievous grin.

She quickly dug into the pockets of her white shorts and retrieved a crisp five-dollar bill. “Just keep the balls coming,” she instructed.

A low murmur rippled through the surrounding people as Julia accepted the first ball from Pierce.

Carson cocked his head, a sly grin slowly spreading across his face. “I see the little lady is feeling confident,” he taunted.

Someone laughed in the distance, which seemed only to fuel Julia’s confidence. “You look a little hot sitting in there,” Julia shouted.

“You think you can cool me off?”

More laughter.

Julia launched the first ball. It ripped past the red-white-and-blue target by a mere hair and banged on the iron board behind it.

“Aaagh,” the crowd chorused with disappointment behind her.

Carson’s smile beamed brighter. “Being close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” he teased.

She snatched another ball and didn’t hesitate before hurling it at the target and again missing it by mere inches.

Another “Aaagh” resonated around her.

Carson’s rich laughter boomed from behind the cage. His
antics, though dramatic, started to grate on her nerves, but everyone seemed to love their little combat.

Robin and Bobbi pushed through the crowd, with Grace trailing after them. The girls both wore bright smiles and began chanting Julia’s name. Within seconds everyone seemed to chime in.

Pierce’s eyes twinkled as he picked up the chant and handed her another ball. “Make us proud.”

Julia nodded and accepted the ball from his outstretched hand.

“You can do it, Mommy,” Robin called out of sync from the chant.

This time Julia took her time focusing on the multicolored target before swinging her level gaze to Carson’s devilish one. Then, grasping the ball firmly in her hand, she drew back and threw the ball with everything she had.

The ball beamed the center of the target, setting off a loud buzzer.

Carson’s arm flailed when his small bench unceremoniously dunked him into the pool of water below.

A roar rose from the crowd.

Robin and Bobbi rushed to embrace her, while a sputtering Carson managed to find his footing. The girls erupted with laughter while pointing their fingers at him.

“Ha-ha-ha,” Carson mimicked with a sly smile, then announced to the crowd, “Lady’s luck.”

The jubilee faded a bit as everyone recognized a challenge when they heard one.

“Oh, yeah?” Julia’s eyes narrowed, but a small smile twitched at the corners of her lips.

“Yeah.” He winked.

Julia held out a hand, and Pierce dropped a new ball into her palm. “Get ready for another swim,” she warned.

“In your dreams,” he taunted.

Robin and Bobbi returned to Grace’s side.

“Let him have it, Mom.”

Robin’s encouragement was followed by Bobbi’s affirmation: “Yeah!”

“Hey.” Carson perked up, shifting his gaze to his daughter. “Just whose side are you on?”

“The ladies’ side,” she responded playfully with her hands on her hips. Her spunk won another roar of laughter from the crowd.

Julia was, once again, filled with giddiness as she took firm hold of the ball and let it rip through the air—and missed.

Her heart sank almost to her kneecaps.

The crowd moaned their disappointment.

Carson’s head rocked back as a gust of laughter seized him. “What did I tell ya?”

Pierce didn’t wait for her to reach for another ball. He grabbed her hand and plopped one into her palm with a vote of confidence: “You can do it.”

Carson was still laughing when she launched the next one. In fact, he was still laughing when it smacked the center of the target.

The buzzer went off, and Carson was dunked into the tank with shock plastered on his face.

Julia sprang gleefully into the air. Her small cheerleading squad chanted, “You did it,” and bounced excitedly over to her.

“Nice job,” Pierce said with a smile.

“Thanks,” Julia said, then glanced over at Carson in the dunking tank.

He wore a grin that rivaled the size of Georgia, even as he bore the taunts of his friends.

“I believe this fella belongs to you,” Pierce said, handing her a smiling teddy that was nearly as tall as she was.

Julia and the girls turned to leave when Carson called out to them, “Hey, wait up.”

They turned to see Carson climbing out of the tank, and while he pulled on his shoes, another volunteer took his place.

The girls smirked as he approached. Rivulets of water trickled down from his hairline, and his clothes made a strange swooshing sound when he walked. Even Grace couldn’t contain her laugher as her son approached.

“I guess you finally met your match,” Grace said with an uplifted chin.

Carson’s eyes quickly centered on Julia. “One could say that.”

Warmth coursed through Julia as she pretended not to read the open fascination written across Carson’s face.

“You got yourself quite an arm there, Doc.”

“It stopped all that trash you were talking, didn’t it?”

The girls laughed again.

Grace slapped a hand against her son’s back. “Maybe you should stop while you’re ahead.”

He nodded. “Good advice.” He smiled as he looked back at Julia. “Are you girls hungry?”

Bobbi crossed her hands over her stomach. “I couldn’t possibly eat anything else today. You two go ahead.”

Carson frowned. “I wish that you’d waited, sweetheart. I told you I wanted to eat with you.”

She shrugged apologetically. “What can I say? We were hungry, right, Robin?”

Robin jerked and blinked up at them. “Right. We’re stuffed. You two go on ahead,” she encouraged.

“But what are you guys about to do?” Julia asked.

“Grandma promised to take us to ride the ponies,” Bobbi reassured her.

Julia looked up at Grace. “It’s not necessary for you to take them. I know that they’ve been with you all day.”

“Don’t you fret none. I’ve enjoyed the girls’ company. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I have a promise to fulfill.” She winked at the girls. “We’ll catch up with you later.”

With that, Julia watched them stroll off and fade into the crowd. She turned to look back at Carson.

He shrugged, then said, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“Then I guess it’s just me and you,” she replied, wondering if her smile looked as awkward as it felt.

“Allow me.” Carson took the large stuffed teddy bear from her.

“Why, thank you. You are a gentleman after all,” she said with a hearty laugh.

“Shh. Don’t tell anybody. I do, after all, have a reputation to maintain.”

She laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Bobbi, Robin, and Grace watched Carson and Julia with knowing smiles.

“I told you they liked each other, Grandma,” Bobbi whispered.

“So you did, sweetheart. So you did.”

The Fourth of July was just another day to Frankie and Nicholas. Though Frankie wasn’t used to working with a partner, he tried to make the best of a bad situation. They arrived in Atlanta sometime around midnight and hopped in an older-model Buick Regal that the Montello family had arranged for them.

The car fit their need to be inconspicuous, as did their reservations at a low-grade motel on the outskirts of downtown Atlanta. By 5:00 a.m. he’d already heard from most of his contacts in and around the city.

According to Tyrese, Dr. Kelly hadn’t made any attempts to contact anyone in her office. The other six doctors at the practice were still up in arms as to what they needed to do about replacing her.

Keisha Washington reported that Robin hadn’t attended dance classes in the last month.

Somewhere around 8:00 a.m., Frankie slammed the phone down in disgust. “The woman must be related to Houdini,” he grumbled.

Nicholas sat across the room, absently shuffling a set of cards. “Be patient. She’ll turn up.”

Frankie shot him a murderous look. “The last thing I want to do is spend another ten years looking for these damn diamonds.”

Nicholas simply laughed. “It’s easy work.”

“Personally, I don’t see why Vinny still cares about the damn things. Sure, they’re worth something. But it’s not like the Montello family is hurting for money. You know what I mean?”

Nicholas’s amicable smile flat-lined, while his eyes turned ominous. “No one steals from the Montellos and gets away with it. Do you know what that can do to the family’s rep?”

Frankie drew in a deep breath. The Montellos’ infamous reputation. Wasn’t that what it always came down to? Eric and David Mercer had had their own rep long before they’d crossed paths with the Montellos, and a part of Frankie believed that the thieving brothers had no idea that they had broken into the Montellos’ warehouse—had no idea that they were stealing from the Mafia. Not until it was too late.

“But they’ve been taken care of. Why go after an innocent woman?”

“We don’t know if she’s innocent.” Nicholas shrugged again. “Besides, we’re still missing the merchandise.” He stopped shuffling and met Frankie’s gaze again. “You’re not suddenly growing a heart on us, are you?”

Frankie waved off his ridiculous question with a sweep of his hand. When Nicholas returned his attention to the stack of cards in his hand, Frankie tried to stifle the voice inside his head. He was having problems with tracking down this Julia Kelley and her daughter. What if she did have the Montellos’ diamonds? What then—kill her, then track down her second cousin twice removed? When was it time to cut their losses?

He rubbed at his throbbing temples just as the phone rang. “Yeah.”

“I got something for you,” the voice said in a low whisper. Frankie reached for the notepad lying on the nightstand. “Let me have it.”

“1962 Chevy Impala.”

He wrote it down. “So they did own another car?”

“She does. It was a little difficult to find because it’s registered under her maiden name. The tags were renewed two months ago, but the car is missing.”

Frankie’s heart sank. “All right. What’s the tag number?” He wrote the information down. “The Feds know?”

“Yep. So be careful,” the voice said, then the line went dead.

When he placed the phone back down on its cradle, he looked up to see Nicholas now reading over his shoulder. “It looks like we finally got our first big break.”

“Yeah, it appears so.”

Sheri watched Carson and Julia gallivant through the fair seemingly as though they hadn’t a care in the world. Everyone, it seemed, pointed and giggled at the preoccupied couple. Meanwhile, all Sheri could think about was how Carson could publicly humiliate her like this.

“I think it’s disgraceful how he’s fawning over that girl,” Erma, her best friend, pointed out.

Sheri’s back stiffened as she continued to hand out minia
ture flags to everyone she passed. She knew that Erma said this only as a show of support, and she appreciated her for it.

“I don’t care what he does,” Sheri lied bravely.

Erma smiled. “You don’t have to put on a brave face. We’ve been friends since grade school. You’ve had your heart set on marrying that man for as long as we’ve known each other. I just knew that any day now you two would be announcing your engagement.”