The Promise of Rainbows (29 page)

He headed upstairs to sing to the woman who possessed his heart.

Chapter 21

Shelby waited until nine o’clock to call Susannah and tell her that she and Sadie wanted to meet her for lunch. For a moment, she thought about asking Tammy and Amelia Ann to join them, but that might be too much for Susannah. Her sister was feeling delicate right now, so she and Sadie would have to be gentle.

Of course Shelby wasn’t feeling all that gentle. She’d fretted and prayed something fierce over her sister and Jake, and she wanted a praise report, as their church called it. All she and Sadie knew was that their mama had given Susannah and Jake her blessing to be together, and so they’d…no surprise…had a date. Her sister had promised to give more details at lunch.

They met at Husk, one of their favorite places in Nashville. Sadie and Shelby arrived first, and when a waiter showed their sister to their table, Susannah’s million-dollar smile said it all.

“Wow!” Sadie said, hugging her first. “You’re practically glowing. Things
must
have gone well last night.”

Yes, Susannah looked infused with sunshine, but Shelby could tell it was happiness, not an afterglow. She knew Susannah was still waiting for marriage. Shelby herself had let that ship sail in college with the long-term boyfriend she’d thought she’d marry. They hadn’t, which was for the best, but she’d had to forgive herself for feeling like she’d made a mistake.

Being a preacher’s daughter, she well knew her mama’s opinion on pre-marital sex. Louisa thought it was best to wait, but thankfully was open-minded when people…well, succumbed to the temptation. Shelby had come to believe it was okay to be with someone she cared about. But she didn’t talk about it with her sisters, fearing they might judge her. And Sadie never talked about sex, so Shelby didn’t know her feelings on the subject.

“It’s good to see you so happy,” Shelby said, hugging Susannah when it was her turn to greet her.

“It’s good to
feel
this happy,” her sister replied, shrugging out of her coat. “Oh, you’ve gotten bread already and that glorious honey butter they have.”

They took their seats, and Susannah immediately reached for the food.

“So…” Sadie said, bouncing up and down in her chair. “Tell us about the date.”

“Yes, tell, tell,” Shelby encouraged.

“Oh, it was like a dream,” she practically cooed. “Jake even hired a chef to make us a fancy meal.”

She proceeded to describe the menu, which made Shelby reassess Jake some. She’d pegged him as more of a simple good ol’ boy, as they’d say, being from Arkansas and all. But it seemed he was adventurous enough to hire a chef to make her sister a special meal.

“I’m impressed,” Shelby said when Susannah finished her story, “but it must have been so disgusting to chew on the shot in the grouse.”

“And you had to spit out a bullet in front of Jake on your first date! You must have been so embarrassed.” Sadie’s eyes were wide as she grabbed more bread and buttered it as thick as a slab of bacon.

“I was mortified!” Susannah declared. “But he was so good about it. Heck, he was good about everything.”

Shelby thought that might be code for Susannah having “the talk” with him, but she didn’t ask. Sadie glanced at her, and she could tell her sister was thinking the same thing.

“That’s great,” Shelby said diplomatically. “I’m so happy it went well for y’all.”

“We need more of this goodness.” Susannah signaled the waiter and asked for more bread and butter.

“Absolutely!” Sadie said, shoving another piece in her mouth.

Shelby tore off a piece and ate it more delicately.

“Don’t give me that look!” Sadie said, nudging her shoulder with her hand. “I didn’t eat breakfast.”

“I was too excited to eat,” Susannah said. “Let me tell you about the candles and the flowers. There were hundreds of them.”

“Hundreds?” Sadie asked with a gasp, reaching for another roll the moment the waiter set the basket down on the table.

Shelby thanked the poor man and told him they’d be ready to order in a few more minutes. From his expression, he obviously feared he was next if the bread ran out.

“Hundreds of tealights and candles in hurricane glasses lined the entryway to the den. And the flowers! You’ll have to come over to my house for some. He piled my car up with so many vases I could barely see out of the back of my Audi.”

“Really?” Sadie asked between bites.

“I’m glad Jake has a romantic side. You deserve it.” Shelby didn’t add “after everything,” but there was no need.

Sadie nodded in agreement.

“He sang to me too,” Susannah said, making circles in the condensation on her water glass with a dreamy smile.

“Shut the front door!” Sadie said, causing a few patrons to look over. “It was like you had a private concert. Personally I would have fainted dead away.”

Sadie could be so dramatic sometimes. Not that Shelby wasn’t the same way. They just weren’t often dramatic at the same time. “Would you let Susannah continue, please?”

Her sister stuck her tongue out, and a woman at a nearby table gasped.

Shelby laughed. “If that woman’s in Mama’s church…”

“She’s not,” Sadie told her with an eye-roll. “I would know her. Can we order now? I’m hungry.”

“No kidding,” Shelby mused, raising her hand to signal the waiter. “The poor man is terrified of us.”

Sadie’s head immediately swiveled in his direction. “Why? We’re just a bunch of beautiful women having lunch.”

“I think it’s the amount of bread and butter being consumed by our table,” she commented, pointing to the second bread basket, which now sat empty.

The poor waiter didn’t make eye contact as he took their order, and he all but grimaced as he asked if they’d like more bread.

Sadie immediately said, “Yes,” and he scuttled off.

“So when are you and Jake seeing each other again, Susannah?” Shelby asked.

Her sister turned bright pink. “This afternoon. More guest bedroom pieces are arriving, and I want to be there to arrange things. Then we’re having dinner again. I can’t wait to see what he’s got planned.”

“Me either!” Sadie exclaimed, clapping her hands only once, thank God. “You’ll have to call or text us to let us know how it goes.”

Shelby shot her a glance. “You don’t have to give us daily reports unless you want to.”

“Thanks for clarifying,” Susannah said with a trace of humor in her voice. “It’s kind of nice to share this with y’all. I’ve…never really had it before. No date I’ve ever been on has prepared me for how it feels to be with Jake. I am so blessed.”

“You
are
blessed, sugar,” Sadie said, grabbing her hand. “Imagine. Dating Jake Lassiter! It’s every woman’s dream.”

“It wouldn’t matter to me if he was our busboy,” Susannah declared. “He’s a good man. Heck, he’s more than good. He’s wonderful, and he’s been through so much to become who he is.”

“We know you love him,” Sadie said, twirling the ends of her hair. “Does Jake feel the same way?”

Leave it to Sadie to go for gold. The server appeared with their food, and they took a moment to thank him before he walked away.

“It’s early yet,” Susannah said, not denying her feelings. “He says he’s never felt this way about anyone either.”

“Wow!” Sadie exclaimed, biting into an asparagus spear. “You’re so lucky, Susannah.”

“I’m happy for you, sugar,” Shelby said, digging into her sweet potato fries.

“Me too,” she said, picking up her burger. “I only hope that between his strength, Mama’s help, and my…well, love, he can move past all the things that have tortured him. He deserves happiness. More than anyone I know after all he’s endured.”

Yeah, that sounded a lot like love to Shelby. As happy as she was for both of them, she’d add another prayer to her list. She’d start praying Jake wouldn’t break her sister’s heart. There were still shadows tormenting him, and she could only hope he’d be strong enough to withstand them.

Susannah chatted on, telling them more about the house and her plans to paint a mural in the dining room. It sounded like Jake was a positive influence about her art, which eased Shelby’s mind a little more.

When they finished their meal, they left the server a hefty tip and headed to the parking lot.

“Have fun with Jake,” Sadie said, kissing and hugging Susannah something fierce.

“He’s worried about taking me out in public because he doesn’t want me to have to deal with the hassles of his life,” Susannah said when she released her.

“That sounds reasonable for a while,” Shelby said thoughtfully, “but it isn’t practical in the long run.”

“Yeah!” Sadie exclaimed. “If he keeps buying up that amount of flowers, there won’t be any left in the entire city.”

“I hope he keeps buying you flowers,” Shelby said. “If you ask me, when a man stops doing the little things, the magic is lost.”

Susannah opened the door to her Audi and threw her purse inside. “I have a feeling he’s going to do fine.”

“Me too,” Sadie said, giving her another hug.

Shelby wrapped her arms around Susannah as soon as Sadie let her go. “I’m happy he makes you happy, but if you ever need us like you did the other night, don’t hesitate to call.”

When Susannah pulled away enough to meet her eyes, some of her happy glow had dimmed. “I will. I’m hoping for the best.”

She nodded and waited until Susannah had driven off before turning to Sadie. “Mama’s right. She’s going to need a lot of prayers.”

Sadie swatted her. “Oh, you’re always fretting. If Jake’s anywhere near as happy as Susannah, he’s well on his way to recovery.”

“I sure hope so,” Shelby said, rubbing her arms as the wind picked up. “I need to get back.”

“Me too,” Sadie said, “but I need to talk with you about something real quick.”

Giving her sister her full attention, she crossed her arms to ward off the chill. She should have worn a thicker coat. “Okay, but hurry. I’m freezing my tail off out here.”

“Are you serious about hiring a private investigator to try and find Daddy?” she asked. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it after what you said about Gail and…well…I have to be honest. I don’t want to try and find Daddy just to discover his medical history.”

Shelby blinked a couple of times. “I don’t either, but I’ve thought about it a lot since Susannah got all flustered. She’s right about it hurting Mama, and that would kill me. It would open up a can of worms if we find Daddy.” Which is why she’d turned the burner down for the moment.

“I agree,” Sadie said, “which is why I think we should pray on it some more. If we still feel it’s the right thing to do in a few weeks, let’s talk to J.P.”

Shelby frowned immediately.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Sadie said, holding up her hand, “but hear me out.”

Since turning tail from Sadie and racing off in her car would be immature, she held her ground. “All right. Let’s hear it.”

“We both agree we don’t want to hurt Mama—or anyone else for that matter.”

Shelby nodded.

“If we explain our reasoning to J.P., I think he’ll be an ally with Susannah and Mama, should we choose to go through with it. I’ve never known J.P. to forbid us to do anything, and I think he might remember some things about Daddy, what with him being older when he left.”

“J.P. doesn’t know why Daddy left any more than the rest of us do, Sadie.” She fought off her frustration. “But you’re right about him being more…open-minded than Susannah.”

Sadie hugged her, and they swayed in place.

“So let’s pray about it more and then see how we feel,” her sister said, letting her go. “It’s a big step.”

“We may not find anything,” Shelby told her. That truth had dug in deep like a burr.

“But we might,” Sadie fired back. “All the more important for us to discuss this with everyone who’s willing to talk about it. Our decision will affect the whole family, Shelby.”

“It doesn’t have to,” Shelby said. “If people don’t want to know what we discover, we won’t tell them.”

Sadie walked over to her car and unlocked it. “I need to run, but Shelby…if we find something, everyone will deserve to be told. Especially any medical stuff. But if we find him, I’d…I’d want to visit him and talk to him—even though I don’t know what our reception would be.”

Shivering at the thought, Shelby dug out her key fob. “So we pray on it a spell more,” she agreed with a nod. She gave her sister a wave and headed over to her own car, unlocking it with the fob. Once inside, she rested her head on the steering wheel.

Sadie was right; her interest in finding their daddy was about so much more than learning about his medical history. Gail’s recent news had only magnified her one true desire.

She wanted to find her daddy for real.

Chapter 22

Over the next week, Susannah’s life altered dramatically. She spent every day with Jake, either working on his house, which included beginning the mural, or simply being with him.