Sweet Tea At Sunrise

“I’m sure. Let me get those three in here and cleaned up for supper.”

She walked to the back door and called out to them.

At the sound of her voice, Walter glanced up and gave her an unguarded grin that reminded her of the way he’d looked at her back in college whenever she surprised him by stopping by his dorm or, later, his fraternity house. It was a sexy, all-male smile that had once made her heart catch. Now her reaction paled in comparison to what the most innocent glance from Travis did to her. Not that many of Travis’s glances were all that innocent, when she thought about it.

When Walter came inside, he leaned down and planted an impulsive kiss on her cheek that had her scowling.

“What’s up with you?” she asked suspiciously.

“I just had a good day, that’s all. Spending time with the kids without worrying about turning right around and heading home has been great. The Serenity Inn’s not such a bad place, either.”

Sarah immediately went on the defensive. “I know you think it’s ridiculous to waste money on a hotel, but there’s no room here.”

“Hey, I wasn’t being critical. The inn’s fine.”

She regarded him curiously. “You’re being awfully agreeable this weekend. What’s that about?”

He hesitated, then said, “Maybe if there’s time after supper, we could talk some. I’ll tell you what’s going on.”

“Okay.”

The meal was surprisingly pleasant. Nothing the kids did seemed to faze him, not even when Libby knocked the top off her sippy cup, sending milk in all directions. In fact, he didn’t utter one single criticism of Sarah or the kids. He even mustered up a couple of sincere-sounding compliments for Raylene’s cooking. It wasn’t like Walter at all, or at least the Walter of recent times.

As soon as they’d finished bowls of ice cream with fresh peaches, Raylene offered to give the kids their baths.

“I’ll do that,” Walter said, stunning Sarah.

Raylene waved off the offer. “Let me. You can help Sarah with the dishes. That’ll give you two some time to catch up.”

Before Sarah could object, Raylene shooed Tommy and Libby from the kitchen.

“Well, that was subtle,” Sarah said, oddly disconcerted at being left alone with her ex-husband.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was matchmaking,” Walter said. “But she’s pretty much made it clear that she’s against a reconciliation.”

Sarah’s mouth dropped open. “Reconciliation? Where’d that come from?”

“I’m just saying she seems to be against it,” he said defensively. “Not that I’m looking for one or anything.”

Something in his eyes told Sarah that wasn’t entirely true. “Okay, that’s it,” she said decisively. “Leave the dishes. We need to talk. Grab a beer or tea or something and we’ll go outside.”

As soon as they were settled on the patio, Walter looked around, clearly trying to avoid her gaze.

“Mind telling me why the subject of a reconciliation came up?” she finally asked. “I might have initiated the proceedings, but you couldn’t wait to be divorced.”

He didn’t respond immediately. Eventually he sighed, then said, “I had a confrontation with my dad the other day.”

She still wasn’t following. “So, what? You want to get back together to spite him?”

He frowned at her sarcasm. “No, it just got me to thinking about why we split up.”

“We split up because you showed no respect for me and you let your parents get away with bullying me,” she said flatly.

“I know.”

He spoke so softly that at first she wasn’t sure she’d even heard him correctly. “You’re admitting it?” she asked incredulously.

He shrugged. “I have to. It’s the truth.”

She sat back in shock. “Well, I’ll be. That must have been some confrontation.”

“It just made me see a bunch of stuff in a different light,” he said. “I know it’s too late for us. Not even you with your soft heart can forgive all the things I did to you.” He gave her a wistful look. “Can you?”

“Probably not,” she admitted.

“You left a little wiggle room in there,” he noted.

She leveled a look into his eyes. “I didn’t mean to. Look, Walter, if you finally see what a controlling man your father is, that’s great, but I don’t want any part of that life again. I’m trying to get a handle on who I am, and until I figure that out, I don’t want any man trying to shape me into what he thinks I ought to be.”

“I understand. You sure did get more than enough of that from me. When I think back on some of the things I said, the way I treated you…” He shook his head. “It makes me ashamed, Sarah. It really does.”

Tears stung her eyes. “Thank you for saying that.”

“I should have said it a long time ago.” They sat there in amazingly companionable silence for a long time. Eventually he turned to her. “Is it okay with you if I spend more time with the kids from here on out? I’m thinking I’ll try to come over every weekend and spend at least Friday night, maybe Friday and Saturday. I know that’s not what the custody agreement spelled out, but there’s probably a way to fix that if you don’t object.”

“As long as you’re good to the kids—both of them—you can see them whenever you want,” she said. “I have them to myself all week long. Now that I’m working, that’s not as much time as it used to be, so I’ll want some weekends for myself, but we can work it out so it’s fair to both of us.”

“Do we need it in writing? That lawyer of yours seems to like everything on paper.”

“I’ll speak to her,” Sarah promised.

Walter stood up. “Then I’ll say goodnight. I’ll be by in the morning to say goodbye to the kids.”

She nodded, then sat there long after he’d left, wondering at the transformation. If he truly was turning over a new leaf, more power to him. But just in case this was some passing whim of his, she thought she’d leave their custody agreement just the way it was. Maybe change was possible for some people, but she feared Walter, like the leopard, wasn’t capable of changing his spots this easily.

By Monday morning the word had spread that Travis McDonald had offered Sarah a job at the radio station. It was Annie who called an emergency margarita night for all of the Sweet Magnolias, young and old, to discuss what she referred to as the insane idea Sarah had of throwing away a perfectly reliable job at Wharton’s to work at a brand-new, yet-to-be-tested radio station that could be off the air in a month.

Because Raylene had flatly refused to leave the house, Annie had convinced the original Sweet Magnolias to come here. Now Dana Sue Sullivan, who owned the town’s fanciest restaurant, attorney Helen Decatur and Maddie Maddox, who managed The Corner Spa which all three women owned, were seated in Sarah’s living room with drinks. Jeanette McDonald, who managed the spa’s personal services such as facials, massages and manicures, hadn’t yet arrived.

Annie, newly married to Maddie’s son, Ty Townsend, wore a worried frown on her face that even one of Helen’s lethal margaritas hadn’t been able to erase.

“You don’t know anything at all about this man,” she reminded Sarah. “He handed you some line and now you want to quit your job and become a radio star? This just isn’t like you. What’s Walter going to think? Did you mention it to him when he was here this weekend?”

Sarah shook her head.

“Why not?” Annie pressed. “I’ll tell you why not—because you know he’s going to make some big stink about it.”

“Since when do you care what Walter thinks?” Sarah retorted, her determination to do this kicking up a notch. “This isn’t about Walter.”