Sweet Tea and Secrets (7 page)

No one looking at this picture would believe she and Garrett weren’t together anymore.

“What happened, Garrett?” Her voice cracked.

Tucked in the corner of one of the frames in back, was a small photo in sienna tones of a much younger Pearl standing arm in arm with a handsome man that Jill had never seen before. Pearl had been so beautiful back then. The young man’s dark, disheveled hair and sharply contoured face was in stark contrast to her grandmother’s soft features.

Could the man in the picture be her daddy’s father? Only once had Jill broached the subject of the man in Pearl’s life, and the sadness that dimmed Pearl’s blues eyes kept her from ever asking again.

Jill worked her way around the room, tidying as she went. She turned on the CD player and the music of Yanni flooded the room. Memories of her and Pearl skipping and stomping through the Saturday morning chores sent her into a twirl.
They’d float through the house, and then when the tempo went nuts with the drums, they’d flip their hands in the air and kick up their feet like tribal women gone wild. She jumped to the hearth and kept moving to the fast tempo. The rhythm freed her from the worry that had been holding her hostage.

When a slower song came on, she collapsed on the couch. She was pleased with her quick progress, but her pleasure was short-lived. The dark sadness snuck back and settled in.

Jill forced herself to get up, take all of the pictures off the mantle and carry the haphazard stack to the kitchen. Lined up, they reached end to end across the dining table. The chair screeched as she pulled it out. She sat down and scooted in closer. These photographs were her life. Her life with Pearl. The best parts. Sunlight poured through the kitchen window reflecting from the picture glass and casting a rainbow on the wall. Pearl always said rainbows were lucky.

Jill stared into the colors, wishing Pearl was here with her now.

The ring tone from her phone snapped her out of her daze. She stretched from the chair to the counter to grab her phone and answered with a quiet hello.

“How’s my girl?”

Bradley. She dropped her head back. She was still so darn mad at him. She let out a breath and ran a finger across the glass of the picture of Pearl and her blue ribbon pie. “Sad.” She wished she’d let the call go to voice mail.

“How’d you hear?” he asked.

“That’s really not the point, is it?” Her chest tightened, and she started to sweat. “There’s no good reason for you to have kept that from me.”

“I’ve been calling all night.”

“I know.” She didn’t feel bad about admitting she’d avoided his calls.

“I’m sorry.”

“I agree.”

“Aw, come on Jill. Work with me here. I’m trying to apologize. I made a bad decision not telling you right away.”

She swallowed back tears. “There wasn’t a decision to make. What you did was just plain cruel.”

“I tried. I swear I did. But you were so happy, zipping around handling all the last-minute details for the fundraiser. It was your night to shine, and you did, baby. You were awesome. Pearl was already gone. There wasn’t anything we could do to change that.”

“That’s no excuse.” Jill couldn’t fathom his line of thinking. She had a suspicion he’d been less concerned about her feelings and more so on throwing a successful event. “I don’t expect you to understand.” Her grief spilled. “I know your childhood was hard, and you don’t have a relationship with your family, but mine is—was everything to me.”

“I made a terrible mistake. I wish I could take it back.”

“Well, you can’t.” Was there anything he could say that would make it okay? She couldn’t think of a thing.

“At least Pearl had a good long life,” Bradley said.

“She was only eighty-four. A young eighty-four.” Jill clutched her fists to her stomach. “I should have been here.”

“I said I was sorry, baby. You
are
going to forgive me, aren’t you?”

“I can’t have that discussion right now, Bradley. I’m sad. Really sad. And I’m hurt. I feel so...alone.”

“You wouldn’t be alone if you hadn’t left without talking to me,” he said. “Is there a lot to do?”

“Pearl had the whole thing pre-planned and pre-paid. No surprise there.” She stopped short of telling him about the break-in.

“Sounds like someone else I know. When’s the funeral?”

“Saturday. Aunt Milly has everything under control. She’s been a huge help. What’s all the noise in the background?”

“Palm Beach ring a bell? I’m at the club. We had plans, remember?”

“You flew down there this morning?” That struck a nerve.
He’s just moving right along like nothing’s happened.

“Yes, but it’s not going so well. I can’t do this without you. Now that you’ve made certain that things are taken care of, I thought I’d book you a ticket—first class. We’ll spend a day here then fly back to Virginia together Saturday morning.”

Jill pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. Was he completely ignorant to what she was going through?

“I’m not going anywhere.” Her voice rose as she leaned forward in her chair. “In any class.”

“This is important.”

“And what I’m going through isn’t?” She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. When she spoke, her voice was just above a whisper. “I just lost my grandmother.”

“I know, and I can hear how sad you are. I hate to hear you like that. You said Milly is handling the details. You’ll be back so fast no one will know you were gone.”

“I’d know, and I’m not leaving.”

“I need to close this deal. It’s the perfect time and they love you.” Bradley’s tone became impatient.

“It’s business, not a popularity contest.” Jill’s voice caught on the words as her emotions surged to the surface.

“Don’t fool yourself. Likability can be a deal breaker. I know that for a fact. Anyway, it’ll lift your mood.”

“I don’t want to lift my mood, and how about what I’d like? I’d like for
you
to be
here
. I need you.”

“Come on, Jill.” His tone had turned smooth and gentle.

“It’s not going to happen.” Jill sat straighter in the chair, feeling a renewed strength from standing her ground.

“I’ll be there for the funeral Saturday then.”

“I wish you’d come now. This is breaking my heart. I could use some support. I miss you.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

“I love you,” she said, hoping he would make her feel better.

“Hang in there, kiddo.” He hung up before she could say another word.

She flipped the phone closed with her heart aching. He hadn’t said he missed her or loved her.

When was the last time he had?

Garrett grinned at her from the picture in front of her. He had one arm around her waist, and she was laughing so hard her eyes twinkled with tears.
When was the last time she’d laughed like that?

She laid the picture face down on the table and covered it with her hands.

Chapter Six

The next morning was unseasonably cool for the end of June. Jill opened all the windows in the house to let some fresh air in before the afternoon sun heated things over. The sweet scent of the flowering Mimosa trees filled the rooms like the smell of cotton candy at the county fair. Their soft pink pom-poms flagged in the breeze as hummingbirds dipped in and out, buzzing like electric weed whackers. She and Pearl had always called them hummers, but after Bradley spoiled that by telling her that word meant something else where he came from, she’d resisted using that nickname any more.

She reflected on what had happened since she’d gotten the news and her last phone call with Bradley. Why couldn’t he set business aside when she needed him most? The Bradley from this week acted nothing like the Bradley she’d met a year ago.

Pearl had been the first person to meet him when he came to town. Bradley had charmed the support stockings off her with his perfect manners and charisma. She’d introduced Jill to him after he’d slid into a pew next to her one Sunday at church.

Everyone in Adams Grove had speculated that Bradley Kase was going to move his philanthropic headquarters to their small town because it was dead center on I-95 of the east coast. Adams Grove had been marketing to entice businesses to help sustain the area’s economy by offering special tax break incentives, low rent store fronts on Main Street and a collection of resumes from local potential employees. The whole town had buzzed about his visit.

What a pleasant surprise when, just days later, Jill sat in front of that very same man, Bradley Kase, in a job interview for her dream job. The want ad had been so perfect that they could’ve put a picture of her next to it. Except for the fact that he was not moving the Kase Foundation to Adams Grove, but rather to Savannah. If she landed that job, she’d make contacts and get the fundraising experience she’d need for the project she and Garrett dreamed of building, but she’d never considered leaving town before. This was her home. Of course, that was before the breakup with Garrett. That had changed everything.

Within just a few short weeks after she took the job, Jill became Bradley’s right hand gal, traveling to pick up artwork from galleries all over the country for charity events hosted by his company. For someone who had never been outside of Virginia, she’d gotten an exciting glimpse of a bigger world.

Pearl hadn’t had a problem with Jill leaving Adams Grove for the opportunity in Savannah, but was devastated over the breakup between Jill and Garrett. To Pearl, their pinky-swear under the monkey bars in elementary school was a sign that the two of them were soul mates.

Today was the first time Jill had looked back since the day she left town. Something about Bradley—maybe his magnetic smile—had made her trust him more than the people she’d known and trusted her whole life. He’d been so convincing at the time. Things didn’t look as cut-and-dried a year later.

She felt closed in by the memories, so she headed outside to get some air. Clyde refused to go outside with her.

Twigs and gumballs, crisp from the summer sun, snapped under her feet.

The old swing still hung from heavy chains beneath the sweet gum tree. That swing had been her safe place through many a crisis over the years. She swished pine needles from the worn seat, then sat down and pushed off, letting the swing whisk her and her worries away. The rusty chains groaned. She pumped her legs until the leaves rustled against the moving links, dropping small pieces of bark and dirt into her lap.

When the swing settled into a steady sway, she traced her fingers over the deep lines of the initials that scarred the silvery, weathered seat. The seat was just wide enough for two people if you squished. Daddy had carved her initials there on the day they’d hung the swing. She’d only been six at the time. Years later, Garrett had carved his initials above hers, and added the letters TLA.
True Love Always.
She, too, had thought they would always be together.

She laid her palm flat to cover his initials, then spread her fingers to cover the A in TLA.

That was more like it.

TL.
Too late.

Jill dragged her feet to stop the swing, and then walked over to the pecan tree. It was already heavy with new growth, loaded with the treasures that would rock your world in Pearl’s famous chocolate pecan pie this fall.

Oh, that pie. So good, it smacked your lips for you.
Jill remembered her first solo pie. Even the crust had turned out perfect. So perfect, in fact, Daddy hadn’t believed she’d made it on her own.

That had been the last time she’d seen her father. He’d never had the chance to see what a great cook and baker she’d become under Pearl’s tutelage. He would’ve been so proud of her.

Jill thought about all the time she and Pearl had spent in the kitchen together. She’d never told Pearl that Bradley didn’t want her in the kitchen. At Bradley’s place, that was Annie’s domain.

Jill wondered if she could still do Pearl’s secret pie recipe justice.

Maybe not, but she was determined to try. She didn’t even have to look to know that Pearl would have bags of frozen pecans in the freezer. They collected more than they could use every year.

She still had plenty of time before Carolanne would arrive.