When Love Calls (16 page)

“I know, my Katherine was a beautiful baby. She’s a little over two years old now. I don’t know where she is, probably outside playing with the next-door neighbor or upstairs taking a nap,” Allie said.

“Excuse me?” Louise said, suddenly confused.

“Why don’t I call her in or wake her up? You have to meet her. She’s so precious, has these big brown eyes just like her father.”

“Allie, are you okay?” Louise asked, reaching over and holding her hand tight.

“Of course I’m okay, Louise, I’m just glad we put all this behind us. It was silly, really, and yes, you were right, but I love him and I always will. But if my Henry ever found out that Katherine wasn’t his—” she smiled and giggled “—he’d divorce me and take her away.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine, Allie. He will never find out from me.”

“I know. You’re a true friend, Louise. But that damn press is starting to mess around and now Vincent’s wife won’t let him an inch out of her sight. He promised me that we’d be together and he’d marry me, but being a United States senator is so demanding. But we love each other and our child needs a father. Henry’s here, of course, and he’s wonderful, bless his soul, but I don’t love him. Vincent and I need to be together.”

Louise sat heartbroken. Her friend was obviously drifting back. She knew that her friend had had an affair with Senator Vincent Dupree years ago, but she didn’t know that their union had produced a daughter. A child she obviously passed off as her husband’s. “More tea?” Louise asked.

“Yes, please,” Allie said, then continued to tell Louise about Katherine and Vincent.

“Grandma, hi, it’s me. I just stopped by to…”

Allie stopped talking and both she and Louise turned to the kitchen doorway. A woman entered and smiled. “Hi, I didn’t know you were gonna have company today. Hi, I’m—”

“Who are you?” Allie asked, her eyes glazed in shock.

“Grandma,” she said quietly.

“Louise, who is this woman? Is it Vincent’s wife? Does she know about us?” Allie stood and backed up. “If you came for him, he’s not here and you’re not taking our daughter. Katherine, Katherine…” she called out.

“Vincent, Senator Dupree?” Alyssa muttered.

“You know exactly who Vincent is. Now, what are you doing in my house?” Allie shouted.

“No, Allie, this is a friend of mine, remember?” Louise said, trying to calm the now very agitated Allie. She stood and smiled at her. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t I tell my friend to wait in the parlor while we talk, okay?” Louise said. Allie nodded her head quickly, but still glared at Alyssa.

Louise walked over and asked Alyssa to wait in the parlor. Alyssa nodded slowly, turned and walked out sadly.

“There, that’s done. Now, come on, sit down and we’ll have another cup of tea.” Allie agreed, then sat as Louise refilled their cups.

“I’m sorry about that, Louise. It’s just that that woman has me all wound up. She can’t have children of her own and I know she wants my baby. Do you know that Vincent actually wanted me to put Katherine up for adoption so that he and his wife could take her? Now, how was I supposed to do that with Henry right here?”

“That’s terrible, unthinkable.”

“Yes, I know. I told him no, of course. I haven’t seen him since. He says he’s busy and now he won’t take any of my calls. But I know it’s his wife. She did all this. She wants to take Katherine and break us apart.”

“Allie,” Louise said assuringly, “ease your mind. No one is going to take Katherine from you and Henry, trust me.”

“Oh, Lord, we need more cookies,” Allie said. She stood, grabbed the doily-covered plate and walked over to the counter. She added more cookies to the plate, then replaced the lid. “You know, I thought about making lemon squares today and I’m so sorry I didn’t now. Alyssa loves lemon squares. Did I tell you she’s moving in again?” Allie said.

“No, you didn’t,” Louise said evenly, but now slightly thrown off by the new conversation.

“Lord, I don’t know what I’d do without her. She’s a real treasure. I can’t wait until you meet her.”

“Allie, I’m gonna get my handkerchief out of my purse. I think I left it in the parlor, I’ll be right back.” She walked down the hall and returned moments later with Alyssa behind her.

“Alyssa,” Allie said, seeing her walk in just after Louise sat down. “We were just talking about you. How was work?”

“Good, Grandma, how was your day?” Alyssa said, glancing at Louise for added confirmation.

“Not bad, not bad at all. Lord, where are my manners? Louise, this is my granddaughter, Alyssa Wingate. Alyssa, this is Louise Gates, a very dear old friend.” As Louise greeted her with a polite handshake, Alyssa opened her arms and hugged her. “Thank you, Mrs. Gates,” she whispered.

“Call me Mamma Lou, darling, everyone else does.”

Alyssa nodded happily.

“So, what are you ladies up to?” Alyssa asked.

“Louise stopped by and surprised me,” Allie said, and she reached across and took her hand. “We’ve been sitting here laughing and talking and catching up.”

“And having a wonderful time,” Louise added.

“Sorry I missed it.”

“Did I mention that Alyssa was moving back in, although I have no idea why? She needs to find a nice guy and settle down and start having babies of her own. No need looking away like that. You need to have your own life.”

“I have my own life, Grandma. I’m happy.”

“But you could be happier. Louise, do you still match people up like you used to do back in the day?”

Louise smiled. “How do you think I got my great-grandkids? If I left it up to my two grandsons, I’d still be waiting.”

“Perfect, why don’t you find someone nice for Alyssa?”

“Grandma, I’m standing right here. You can’t just do that right in front of me like this.”

“Of course I can,” Allie said. “I want someone kind and generous with a sweet, even disposition, maybe a good job and an excellent work ethic. But no one who’ll break her heart. And keep in mind, I want lots and lots of grandchildren before my ticket is punched.”

“Grandma, please,” Alyssa said.

Louise smiled and winked. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Did I mention a sense of humor? Yes, he must have a good sense of humor. But absolutely, positively, without question, no politicians, that’s nonnegotiable.”

Both Alyssa and Louise looked at her. Allie smiled happily, having said her piece and placed her order.

“Well, as I said I’ll keep my eyes open and see what I can do. Oh, gracious, look at the time. It’s getting late and I just know Otis must have bought out the entire sporting-goods and fishing departments by now. I’d better give him a call, so he can pick me up.”

“Do you need a ride, Mamma Lou?”

“No, that’s okay, you stay here with your grandmother. It was a real treat meeting you, Alyssa.”

“You, too, Mamma Lou. I heard so many wonderful stories about you and Grandma from years ago and I’m so happy to finally meet you. You’re like a legend.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Louise joked.

“It’s a very good thing and thank you for keeping Grandma company today.”

“My pleasure, dear, we’ll talk again soon.”

Louise called and Otis arrived a few minutes later with the back of the car filled with new fishing gear. After introductions were made, Louise and Otis said their goodbyes and promised Allie that they’d stop by again to visit before they left town.

Allie closed the door and smiled, seeing Alyssa standing in the parlor doorway behind her, holding the big white box with the red ribbon. “Grandma, you brought your silk dress downstairs?”

“Yes,” Allie said.

“Any particular reason?” Alyssa asked, fearing that her grandmother might have had another episode earlier, prompting her to bring the dress down.

“Yes, I’m giving it to you and you’re taking it home tonight.”

“Grandma, we talked about this.”

“Don’t
Grandma
me. Take the dress home, Alyssa Adia Wingate, or I’ll turn you over my knee right this minute.”

“I don’t go any place to wear it.”

“You will. With a dress like that, something will most certainly come up.”

“Yes, Grandma,” Alyssa said, deciding not to argue.

“Now that that’s settled, are you hungry?” she asked.

“Maybe a little.”

“Good, I made a couple of nice big Cobb salads earlier. They’re in the refrigerator. Why don’t you pull them out for dinner while I go upstairs and wash my hands?”

“Sure, Grandma,” Alyssa said, and watched her grandmother head up the stairs. Then Alyssa walked over to the sofa and sat down slowly. The long tiring day had turned into an even more stressful evening. And the fact that her grandmother was talking about Senator Vincent Dupree and had another episode wasn’t good.

She knew about the affair, of course. Everybody knew at some point. It was the affair that brought down the senator and led his wife to shoot him. The newspapers covered it for weeks. She’d seen and read them all. Not from her grandmother, of course, but from the library archives. At the time, the story dominated nearly every newspaper in the county.

“Senator Dupree Questioned by Ethics Committee.”

“Dupree Quits the Senate, Embroiled in Sex Scandal.”

“Possible Dupree Mistress Questioned on the Hill.”

“Dupree Shot by Wife Over Speculated Affair.”

Although there was never any physical proof and the senator never revealed her grandmother’s name, it was widely assumed that Alyssa Granger was his mistress. She never denied it even as her husband stood by her side and adamantly did.

Now hearing his name mentioned tonight sent a chill through her. Her grandmother’s past had been rifled through dozens of times. She even had several authors request interviews for books they were writing on the scandal. Unlike today, in the sixties a senate sex scandal was major news. And the fact that her grandmother was black and the senator was Creole and his in-laws were old-school Southern only added to the controversy.

“Alyssa, why don’t you make some iced tea? We can have that with our salads,” Allie called down.

“Sure, Grandma,” she said, then stood, but just as she was about to go into the kitchen, she heard her cell phone ring. She answered.

“Are we on for this evening?” Randolph asked.

“I can’t,” she said.

“You’re still busy?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes, something like that.” She looked behind her into the hall at the steps leading to the second floor. Thankfully her grandmother was still upstairs.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, just a bit tired.” He didn’t respond for a short while. “Are you still there?” she asked.

“Do you want me to be?” he asked. She didn’t answer.

“Yes, I’m still here, although I’m not sure if I should be. If you’re not interested, Alyssa, tell me and I’ll back off.”

She took a deep breath and lied boldly. “I’m not interested. We’ve run our course, Randolph, and I think we both know that we don’t have a future together. Where can this really go from here?”

“I presumed we were going to try and get to know each other.”

“We did that yesterday.”

“I’m not talking about making love, Alyssa. I think you know that. You’re pushing me away, I get that. I just hoped you’d tell me why.” Again she didn’t respond. “I guess not.”

“It would never work. You know it and I know it. So why don’t we just cut to the chase before hearts and reputations get broken. I’m not saying that you’re not a great guy. You are. You are. You’re incredible and I had the best time of my life yesterday. It was like a fantasy. But that’s just it, really, a dream, and that’s all it can and will ever be.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that.”

“Goodbye, Senator.” She hung up and took a deep breath, then went into the kitchen, crying silently, and made iced tea.

Randolph closed his cell phone and laid it down. He hated losing a battle, but more than, that he hated not even getting the opportunity to prove himself.

He was scheduled to make a personal appearance at a fund-raiser tonight, but being gracious and charming was going to be almost impossible now. Spending one day with Alyssa was all it took for him to know that he wanted her. Not sexually, although their time together was beyond incredible, but completely; he wanted all of her.

So what now? he wondered, considering his alternatives. Forget her? No, he didn’t see that happening anytime soon. Make her change her mind? No, he already knew that she was too stubborn for that. Bribe her with an unbelievable future? No, she was way too smart for that and would see right through him. Then a slow, easy smile crept across his face. Of course! He picked up his cell and dialed.

“Mamma Lou, it’s Randolph Kingsley.”

“I was just thinking about you, dear. Otis and I had a wonderful time. We’re here at the auction house. If you haven’t had dinner, why don’t you stop by and join us? We’re going to Dennis’s restaurant in a few minutes.”

“I’d love to, but unfortunately I have a previous engagement this evening.”

“Oh, what a pity. So, what can I do for you, dear?”

He paused. “I’m not sure how to ask this…” he said.

“Consider it asked.”

He smiled. Of course, he’d obviously forgotten to whom he was speaking. “She decided that we weren’t a good idea.”

“I suspected as much.”

“How do you mean?”

“Otis and I stopped by to visit Allie this afternoon.”

“Her grandmother, but I thought that the two of you…”

“Gray hair has a way of opening doors and easing soured feelings. The past is the past. You learn to leave it there with age. Allie and I talked, but unfortunately she isn’t as well as I’d hoped.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”

“To help her, I’m afraid not. We are how we are. Our bodies fail us. There’s nothing anyone can do about the ravages of time and disease. But seeing her granddaughter happy would ease Allie’s mind considerably.”

“Unfortunately that’s out of my hands at the moment.”

“Let me see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Mamma Lou.”

“In the meantime, give my regards to Trey.”

“Trey?” he questioned.