Constant Surprises (Wrong Numbers Series) (6 page)

“Maybe one day when I’m
older and settled down with a family I’ll come back home. But for now, my place
is my café in Atlanta.”

“I understand,
sweetheart, but you know it would be nice if you could take time to stay with
us here for a little while longer.”

“I’ll see how things go
this week. I just might take you up on that offer, Daddy.” Amie smiled. She
couldn’t wait to get home to see her mom and her friends. The ride was a long
one, longer than she remembered, but once she saw the
Welcome to Herington
sign Amie smiled. They passed all the familiar places of her childhood along
with new places. Either way it was still home to her.

“Lord, I need to stop
by the feed store to pick up some paperwork that I forgot. Plus, I know
everybody will be happy to see you,” Richard said as they made a left turn onto
Gale Avenue.

Brown’s Feed Store and
Supplies was a staple of the community not only for feed and other farming
supplies, but also a gathering place for the old timers. They would come in the
morning and sit with their cups of coffee, telling old stories of days back
when.

When they pulled into
the parking lot, they got out and walked inside. Her father said, “Look who I
got here with me, boys!”

 
It was a welcoming sight to see their smiles.

“Land sakes, it’s
Amie!
 
Come on over here, young lady. My
stars, look at you,” Mr. Allen said. She bent down to give the old man a hug.

“Mr. Allen, oh it’s
wonderful to see you. How have you all been?” Soon she was hugging Mr.
McPherson and Mr.
Sturgeonson
.

“Oh, we’ve been doing
just fine, hon. Been hearing so much about your restaurant over in Atlanta and
how great you’ve been doing. We haven’t been so proud of anybody since Alice
Waters went off and ended up marrying that millionaire.”

Amie laughed right
along with the men as Richard went to get his papers. “Oh yeah, Mr.
Sturgeonson
, that recipe you had Daddy sent me was amazing.
I loved it so much that I put it on my appetizer menu. It’s been selling really
good. I plan on sending you a royalty check.” Amie winked. Mr.
Sturgeonson’s
cheeks slightly colored.

“I’m so glad you liked
it so much, it’s an old Scandinavian recipe handed down from my grandmother.
I’m just glad that I was able to share it with someone who would appreciate it
and put it to good use,” he said patting her hand. She smiled gratefully.

* * * *

“Will you come on,
brother?” Steven said hurriedly walking through the open doorway. He bumped
into something that made a loud
oomph
and fell to the floor with a thud.

One of the men said,
“Are you okay?”

He looked down. “Oh my
God! Is that you, Amie?”

Amie didn’t know what
in the world hit her, but her ass was sure bearing the pain of hitting the
wooden floor. When she looked up she saw Steven, staring back at her with his
big blue eyes, tanned skin, and a worn out brown cowboy hat. His smile was big and
bright when he held out his hand to help her up. She laughed as she took it.

As quickly as she was
on the floor, she was again standing. “Steven, oh my God, Steven, it can’t be
you!”
 

They hugged so tightly
he ended up twirling her around the store. They started talking so quickly she
never saw Roy and his dad come through the door.

“Sandy is going to have
a fit when she finds out I got to see you first. You look good, girl. Haven’t
aged a day since we were teenagers. When did you get in?”

“Just a while ago, we
were headed home, but Daddy had to get some paperwork.”

She
looked over at Roy standing alongside his father. My God, had it been ten years
since she saw him last? He still looked handsome, wearing a blue long sleeved
shirt, dark blue worn Wrangler jeans, a pair of cowboy boots, and hat. He
appeared surprised to see her, but damn, he still looked good.

“Amie Brown, as I live
and breathe, look at you. Welcome home, darling,” Bob said giving her a big
hug.

“Mr. Fulton, my
goodness you are just getting more handsome. How’s Mrs. Fulton doing?”

“Doing fine, you need
to go and see her while you’re home, you know,” Bob reminded her.

She walked over to Roy.
They hesitated at first, but then started hugging each other. “It’s good to see
you, Amie,” he said.

Amie looked up at him
with a warm smile. “Good seeing you too, Roy, still the same old Roy. How are
you doing?”

“I moved back home
yesterday. Got my farm all ready, just getting some more supplies. I just found
out that you have a restaurant in Atlanta. Congrats on that.”

“Why thanks, I’m
surprised you’re just finding this out. I would have thought Steven would have
told you, Steven, why didn’t you let him know about the restaurant?” Amie
wondered.

“I could have sworn I
told you, Roy. Hell, it’s not like the whole town hasn’t found out about our
very own Julia Child.”

Amie shook her head.
“Yeah right, well, it’s been doing really good, and I’m very happy with it.
Heck, I even had the mayor come to my place, took a picture with him and
everything.”

“Wow, the mayor, I’m
very impressed and proud of you, Amie.” Roy smiled.

 
Richard came from out the back office. “My
boy, how are you, son?” He gave Roy a hearty handshake.

“Doing just fine, Mr.
Brown. I came over to get some supplies. Moved back home yesterday.”

“Glad to hear that,
son, glad to hear. Well, Charlie will help you out with what you might need.
Are you ready to go, Amie?”

“Yeah, Daddy, I am. It
was nice seeing all of you. Talk with you guys later.”

“Brother,” Steven said,
snapping his fingers in his face. “Let’s move it!”

As Amie and Richard
walked out the door, she snuck a peek at Roy to see he was still watching her.
It was a gaze she longed for, yet she kept walking.

* * * *

Once back in the car,
Amie tried to collect her senses. Why did he have to look so good after all
this time? Did he have to make her heart feel like she was going to have a
heart attack? Roy Fulton still had a way of making her feel just like she did
when she was that hapless teenager, constantly wishing he would be hers and
only hers. What the hell was it about him that made her feel this way?

It was those eyes of
his, girl. You know you could never look into his eyes.

It didn’t take them
long to pull onto the dirt road, leading to her childhood home. Her
anticipation grew. When they pulled up to the house, she quickly got out
running to the porch shouting, “Mom, Mom, I’m home!”

She threw opened up the
screen door and ran inside. Her mom came running from the kitchen. Both ladies
screamed with joy falling into each other’s arms, crying and hugging.

“Look at you…wait a
minute, turn around.” Amie turned around. “You know I want that dress.”

Amie giggled. “You know
you can’t fit in this dress, but I did get you one in your size because I knew
you were going to want mine. Oh my goodness, I forgot about my bags. Dad! I ran
in here to see you and forgot my things.”

They walked out the
door watching her father do his best to bring her two bags up the stairs.

“Sweetheart, what do
you have in these bags of yours?
 
Feels
like you have two ton weights in here.” Both ladies laughed as they helped him
bring the bags inside.

Once she got settled,
she talked with her mom about getting lunch ready for Sandy and the girls. She
wanted everything to be perfect. “Do you think they’ll like the sandwiches I’ve
made? I know that the girls like PB and J. Sandy will eat anything, so I
thought cucumber sandwiches would be nice.”

“Everything will be set
up in the back just fine. I know Sandy and the girls will be happy to see you.
She’s been on pins and needles since yesterday,” Abby said.

“Speaking of seeing
someone, I saw Roy over at the feed store today.”

 
“Oh really?
 
What did he say?

“He was pretty shocked
to see me, just as I was to see him. Hell, he looked good.” Amie giggled as her
mom bumped her on her side. “Well, he did.”

“If you two have a
chance, one of you is going to have to take the first step. While you’re here,
why not you?”

“Why is it the woman
has to initiate the first move? Why can’t it be the man who does it?
 
At least it takes the pressure off the woman.
I waited too long for Roy to make the move but it came a little too late,” Amie
said finishing the sandwiches.

Abby changed the
subject. “Have you talked with Kiyoko lately?”

A smile came across
Amie’s face when her mother mentioned her birth mother Kiyoko. When she turned
twenty-one, she had asked her parents about her birth parents. Something she
feared would be hard for them since they had given her the love that only true parents
could. Surprisingly, her parents were very helpful getting her the information
she needed to track down her birth parents. Her biological father was black
and, surprisingly, from the Bahamas. He served in the Army. Sadly, however, he
had already passed away. Thankfully, she found her birth mother living in the
same small village she was born in.

“I talked with her…I
think it was two weeks ago. She sent me a couple of recipes she wanted me to
try. She’s been trying to get me to add a sushi bar to my place. I told her I
would think about it, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Isn’t that raw fish?”

“Mostly, but I know
what you’re thinking―ick, but damn, is it good once you try it, Mom.”

“Nah, I rather have my
fish either broiled or fried.”

Amie laughed and
continued getting things ready for her lunch with the girls.

* * * *

When Roy finally made
it to his place, he couldn’t have been happier with what his brother and dad
had done with it. Everything was exactly as he wanted his farm to be. He walked
around the homestead checking on the cattle and the horses. Everything looked
just like he wanted. He went to the barn.

“Want to come and help
us out over here, bro!” asked Steven.

Roy
ran over to the truck and started helping unload the rest of the supplies. It
took a couple of hours to haul the feed into the barn and to make sure things
were in their place. Then it was time for Roy to go into his house and see what
damage his mother and Sandy had done.

Opening the door to his
new home, Roy immediately gave a deep sigh of relief. Everything was just how
he had hoped it would be. It was just what a bachelor pad should look like. The
living room held an oversize couch and love seat combo. A 46-inch flat screen
television with surround sound was mounted opposite the seating area.

“Thank God they didn’t
do anything crazy in here,” Roy said to himself.

Next he went to check
out the bedroom. A king size bed with a royal blue comforter set was the focal
point. But to Roy, the main feature was sitting in the corner―an old
rocking chair with a quilt draped over the back. His grandma made Roy the
patchwork quilt when he was a little baby. He sat on the side of the bed
burying his face in the quilt. Even after all these years, it still had the
faint smell of Grandma’s rose petal perfume, peppermint, and mothballs. It was
a strange combo of scents, but it flooded his mind with memories of her. He was
touched his mom left it with him.

“Well, son, is
everything okay in here?” Bob said, watching his son.

“Yeah, Dad, everything
is fine.”

“We are going to leave
my truck for you. Of course, if you want to come over later on for dinner you
can.”

“Thanks, Dad, I’ll
probably just have something here tonight since this is my first night home,”
Roy said walking him out.

“Like I said, if you
need anything, let us know.”

He walked out to
Steven’s truck. Roy saw his brother wave as they drove off, leaving him alone
in his home at last.

* * * *

When Amie saw the Land
Rover pulling up into the driveway, she could see strands of Sandy’s red hair
flying out the driver’s side window. Sandy parked and got out, laughing as
Mandy and Mona ran to Amie. “Look at you both! My goodness, you’ve grown up so
much.” Amie smiled hugging them tight. Then both women hugged each other, not wanting
to let go.

“Did you bring us
something, Auntie Amie?” asked Mona.

“Mona, that’s not a
nice thing to be asking your Auntie Amie,” Sandy said. Mona pouted.

“Sweetheart, of course
I got both my girls something wonderful. If you go behind the house to the
garden, you’ll find your presents there.” The girls ran off squealing with the
women walking slowly in their wake, each with an arm draped around the other’s
waist.