Law and Author (2 page)

When that didn't work she crossed her arms and stated, “I'm looking for Bob Miller.”

It sounded like a challenge to Lizzie.

“Don't underestimate me.”

GRACE TAKES OFF
—JULIE HYZY

M
olly suddenly appeared at Lizzie's side. “Who do we have here?” she asked.

“I'm not sure,” Lizzie replied. “She's looking for Bob.”

“And who might you be?” Molly asked the stranger.

“My name is Darla Lyman. Who might you be?”

Lizzie stiffened at her tone. She did not like any disrespect shown when it came to Molly but before she had a chance to say anything, Molly answered, “I am Molly Mathews and this is my house.”

The expression on Darla's face changed immediately. She was all smiles. “Oh, how awesome. My grandmamma Sue-Ann told me all about you and I was hoping you could tell me where my granddaddy is.”

“Bob Miller is your granddaddy?” Molly's face looked as shocked as she sounded. “You're Sue-Ann's granddaughter?”

“That's right, although she passed last year. My mama is Lily Lyman.” Darla suddenly looked like she would cry. “I had a bit of a disagreement with her. I need to find my granddaddy. Do you know where he is?”

Molly eased past Lizzie and put an arm around Darla's shoulder, escorting her into the hall. “Yes, I do. He's out of town for the weekend on a fishing trip but will be back tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to come in and join us? I have a few friends in for some afternoon tea. This is Lizzie Turner, by the way.”

Darla glanced from Lizzie to Molly and then back again. She nodded and said, “Hey.”

“It's nice to meet you,” Lizzie answered.

Darla said, “The same. Maybe I'll stop by for just a short while. I'm sort of thirsty,” she directed at Molly.

Molly smiled and led her through the kitchen and out to the patio. Lizzie followed, noting how Darla had a good look, although fleeting, around her as they moved along the large open foyer, through the updated kitchen, and out the back door.

“Ladies, I'd like you to meet Darla Lyman, Bob's granddaughter.”

Sally-Jo looked surprised and took a few seconds to absorb the information before she leapt up and walked over to shake Darla's hand. “It's so nice to meet you. I'm Sally-Jo Baker. Bob will be so surprised to see you.”

Darla nodded. “I'm sure. We've never met. In fact, I didn't know anything about him until just before grandmamma died. Then she told me.” She looked over at Teensy who had remained seated but was smiling. “Nice to meet you, ma'am.”

Teensy nodded. “And you. I'm Teensy Coldicutt.”

Darla stifled a laugh. She looked back at Molly, missing
Teensy's frown. But Lizzie saw it and went to sit next to her on the love seat.

“My name is not a laughing matter,” Teensy hissed under her breath.

Lizzie touched her hand briefly.

Darla accepted the glass of iced tea that Molly handed her and sat in one of the wicker chairs facing the backyard. “This is such a beautiful place you have here, Ms. Mathews.”

“Why thank you, Darla. And please call me Molly.”

Darla smiled sweetly at Molly. “Is all that property back there yours?”

“It does go back a ways,” Molly acknowledged.

Sally-Jo passed the plate of sweets to Darla and asked, “It's nice you're able to come to finally meet your granddaddy.”

Darla took two lemon-almond bars and finished one before answering, “Well, I've been curious since I found out about him. This seemed like a good time to come and get to know him.”

“Why now?” asked Teensy, adding her own sweet smile to the mix.

Darla hesitated a moment. “Oh, you know how mamas and daughters can be. We had a falling out and I thought it best to hightail it for a while.”

“Oh, that's too bad, sugar,” Teensy said, leaning forward in her seat. “I know all about mamas and daughters. What was it about, if you don't mind my asking?”

Darla thoroughly chewed her second bar and swallowed before answering. “A guy. She didn't like my choice of boyfriend. Of course, she never liked any of them but this time I thought, I'm a grown woman of twenty-one. It's time I made my own decisions. So I decided to leave.”

“You left your sweetie, too?”

“Oh, it's just a temporary thing. He understands, it's all for the good. We'll be together again. I just have to sort some things out first.” She looked at her watch. “Oh, look at the time. I have to get going. I'm sorry I didn't get to see granddaddy but it was just so nice meeting all of you.”

She grabbed her small backpack and was headed to the back door when Molly scurried up beside her. “I'll tell you what. We're having a barbecue here tomorrow late afternoon and Bob will be here for that. Why don't you come by and join us?”

Darla's face lit up. “Really? That's awesome. Thanks so much.” She marched into the kitchen with Molly close behind her.

Nobody said anything for a few moments until Teensy broke the silence.

“Humpf. Well, what do you think of that?”

“Quite a surprise,” Sally-Jo said. “I'll bet Bob will be thrilled, though.”

“I'm sure he will be,” Lizzie answered. She was feeling a bit off balance about it all but couldn't put her finger on what bothered her. “What did you think of her?”

“She seemed nice, for lack of more information to judge her by,” Sally-Jo said.

Lizzie looked over at Teensy.

“Well, if you really want to know what I think,” Teensy said sitting upright in her seat, “I'm not sure as I trust her.”

Molly stepped back out onto the patio and stopped in her tracks. “Are you talking about Darla?”

Teensy nodded.

“Well, Teensy, I think that's a bit ungenerous of you. We hardly know the child and she seems so eager to see her granddaddy.”

“What's the story, anyway?” Sally-Jo asked. “I mean, I
know Bob's wife left him and took their daughter but that's about it.”

Molly sat back down and took a minute before answering. “Well, Sue-Ann never did like living on a police officer's salary. So much for love, etcetera. So, she planned it all very carefully, right down to finding a job in Atlanta, and then left one morning without even a good-bye. She left a note for Bob to find when he came off duty. She filed for a divorce and then up and married a banker, very snappy like. Poor Bob was still reeling from her leaving. And, she wouldn't let Bob have anything to do with their daughter, Lily, either. She treated him very cruelly.”

“What a piece of work,” Teensy snarled.

Molly nodded. “I think Darla is just what Bob needs in his life at this point.”

“I could suggest some other things, too,” Teensy said, a twinkle in her eye.

Molly blushed and filled her glass before sitting down. “We'll see.”

*   *   *

L
izzie made sure the covered dish holding the potato salad she'd made for the barbecue sat securely in the cloth bag, then did a last-minute check on her two cats. They sat at the top of the stairs, steady as two ornaments, watching intently. “I'm out for a couple of hours, kids, but we'll have time for a cuddle when I get home. I need to get some reading done before bedtime.”

That seemed to satisfy them and they stood up in unison, stretched and headed toward the bedroom. Lizzie grinned. Nice to be wanted.

She thought about the lunch she'd shared with her mama earlier in the day out at Magnolia Manor, the long-term care
residence where Evelyn Turner had lived for nearly fifteen years. She hoped her mama realized how much Lizzie loved her.

Today had been a good day even though it was a shorter than usual visit. Evelyn had seemed tired and she'd actually smiled at Lizzie as she reminisced about one of their many family picnics in Glendale Park. However, the drooping eyelids and nodding head cued Lizzie that an early-afternoon nap was in order.

Lizzie hadn't missed a weekend visit, unless she was out of town, which happened less often these days. She thought back to her first years as a reading specialist with the Ashton Corners School Board. She'd made it a point to spend two weeks of her summer vacation overseas. She'd visited France, Italy and Portugal and although there were still many countries on her list, she hadn't strayed far from home since Mark came into her life. That realization came as a big surprise to her.

Lizzie pulled into Molly's driveway and parked next to Bob's old black Dodge pickup. She was pleased to see that the boys had indeed returned, although Mark had sent her a text while they were on the road so she did have a heads-up. Stephanie Lowe had picked up Andie Mason in her well-worn but new-to-her Ford Fiesta. Lizzie waited for them while they unloaded Stephanie's fifteen-month-old baby, Wendy, and all her equipment and helped carry some of it inside.

Molly met them at the door and after hugs all around, ushered them into the kitchen. “You won't believe the size of the bass the boys have caught. We're barbecuing two of the larger ones tonight and Bob has kindly brought one for my freezer.”

Lizzie put her dish on the counter next to the array of salads that were already set out. Stephanie gave Wendy to
Andie to hold while she unwrapped the red velvet cake she'd made for dessert.

“Oh, my, Stephanie, you're getting to be quite the baker,” Molly said, eyeing the plate.

“I'm enjoying it so much,” Stephanie said. “I actually find it relaxing after a day of working at the bookstore. And I can keep an eye on Wendy in her playpen while I'm at it.”

“Isn't Roger coming?” Lizzie asked, wondering how things were going between Stephanie and her new boyfriend. They'd been dating for about six months but the book club didn't get to see much of him. It seemed he was often busy whenever a social event came around although they'd all had a chance to meet him at Christmas. Lizzie had been happy that Stephanie seemed to have found a really nice, level-headed young man but she hoped they wouldn't be rushing into anything. It appeared she needn't have worried

“He's working. They were shorthanded at Walgreens and called him this morning. He sends his apologies, though, Molly.”

“That was thoughtful of him,” Molly answered, glancing outside to see what Bob was up to. “I think Bob has set up all the extra tables. Maybe you gals would take out these tablecloths. I'm thinking we'll do it buffet-style using two tables and then set the other two for a sit-down meal.”

Sally-Jo and her fiancée, Jacob Smith, came around the corner of the house as Lizzie brought out the cutlery and napkins.

“The fish are inside,” Bob called over to Jacob. “They've been cleaned and seasoned and are ready to go. I think they're looking mighty impressive.”

“I'm impressed,” Lizzie said. “I thought y'all might just be having too much fun to bother with fishing.”

“Dang it, Lizzie. Fishing is serious business,” Bob answered. “It takes a lot of concentration finding just the right spot and then waiting it out, you know.”

“He's right,” Jacob agreed. “It's almost like a science. And Bob here makes a masterful teacher.”

“You're not a fisherman by nature?” Molly asked.

“No ma'am. My daddy didn't do too much in the way of outdoor sports. His chosen method of relaxing was sitting with a brew in hand watching a game of some sort on TV. I never did any fishing until Bob goaded me into it.” He grinned.

“And you should be mighty grateful,” Bob said. “You're now able to keep you and your wife-to-be in fresh fillets, if need be. A modern-day provider of meals to your family.”

“Oh, no,” Sally-Jo groaned. “I think a fish meal a month is enough for me.”

Bob pretended to be shocked.

“I'm a once-a-week man, myself,” Mark Dreyfus said as he rounded the corner, carrying a case of Coors beer.

Lizzie turned to him with a wide smile on her face. It felt more like a week rather than just a couple of days since she'd talked to him. He gave her a quick kiss, then deposited the beer on one of the tables that had been set up as a bar.

“So, you had a profitable time,” she said to him.

“Yeah. It was good in many ways. Lacking in some,” he added softly, giving her waist a squeeze.

She felt a flutter in her chest.

Molly came outside, a plate of ham-and-greens crostini in one hand. She was followed by Stephanie, who was carrying two dishes of appetizers, and Andie carrying Wendy. “I see we're all here, except for Teensy,” Molly said. “Perhaps you gentlemen would be so good as to serve the liquid refreshment.”

They were settling all down in the garden chairs, drinks and plates of appetizers in hand, when the kitchen door burst open and Teensy stepped outside holding a large glass plate of fresh fruit.

“My apologies for being late,” she said, careful not to trip walking down the two stairs in her four-inch-heeled pink sandals. In fact, she wore a variety of shades of pink, all of which contrasted boldly with her red hair.