Waking Up In Charleston

Max chuckled at the precise accounting. “Just think what kind of stained-glass window you could have bought for the church by now if we played for more than small change.”

“And isn’t it lucky for you that I don’t approve of gambling except for a worthy cause?” Caleb retorted. “The stained-glass windows can wait. This money will come in handy at the church’s food bank. I think when we get to a nice round ten thousand, I’ll ask you to cut me a check.”

Max looked at the hand he’d been dealt and muttered an oath. “Sure as hell looks like I’m about to make another contribution tonight.”

Caleb laughed. “Who’re you kidding, old man? It looks that way every time we play.”

“True,” Max conceded. It was a small-enough price to pay, though, for some decent company. Add that Caleb kept him abreast of what was going on with Amanda without gloating about it, and Max was perfectly content to lose a few dollars once a week. Hell, he’d give up his entire fortune for the chance to go back in time and do things differently. So many things. Some that only a small handful of people knew anything about.

Since going back wasn’t possible, he’d have to make do with the way things were.

2

Amanda was rushing to get out the door at the boutique where she worked when Maggie Parker halted her exit.

“Hey, where’s the fire?” Maggie asked. “I came to see if you and the kids would like to have dinner with me tonight. Josh had to run over to Atlanta to take a look at that historic renovation project he and Cord are starting next month.”

Amanda regarded Maggie with surprise. Though she’d been a bridesmaid in Maggie’s wedding to Josh, she’d always thought Maggie had made the gesture to appease Josh. While Maggie had never been outright rude to her, the wedding was just about the only occasion she had been openly friendly. Maybe now that she and Josh were married, she was putting aside the irrational jealousy she’d once felt toward Amanda and turning over a new leaf. Still, Amanda couldn’t help being skeptical.

“You want to have dinner with us?” Amanda said. “Me and the kids?”

Maggie shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

“Maybe because a part of you still wonders if there wasn’t something going on between me and Josh,” Amanda said candidly. “I know it bothered you that there was a bond between us when he was in charge of the crew building my house.”

Maggie winced. “Okay, I acted like an idiot. I took my insecurities out on you.”

Amanda grinned at the admission. “Yes, you did, especially since Josh could barely untangle his tongue whenever you were around.”

“I guess I missed that, at least at first,” Maggie conceded. “I swear to you I’m over it. Come on, Amanda. I know you’re not the type to hold a grudge.”

“Not usually,” Amanda agreed. “Something tells me, though, that this was Josh’s idea, not yours.”

“It most certainly was not,” Maggie declared with a pretty good show of indignation, then sighed. “Okay, maybe it was, but he’s right. It’s past time for me to get over that ridiculous jealousy, especially now that he and I are married. I really do want us to be friends, Amanda. You and the kids mean a lot to Josh and to his mother. We’re bound to be thrown together from time to time. Can’t we get past my bad behavior?”

Amanda could see her obvious discomfort. Maggie Parker was the most self-confident woman Amanda had ever met, with the possible exception of Maggie’s best friend, Dinah Beaufort. Amanda envied them, and she was still a little astounded that Maggie had thought even for a second that Josh was interested in her, not Maggie.

“I’d like that,” Amanda told her sincerely. Real friends had been in short supply since her marriage to Bobby. And since his death, there hadn’t been time to make new ones. “But I can’t tonight. I have to get home.”

“The kids are invited, too,” Maggie reminded her.

“I know, but actually I already have plans. Caleb’s coming by.”

Maggie’s expression immediately brightened with curiosity. “Really? Do tell,” she said.

Amanda shook her head. “Stop that. It’s not what you think.”

At the quick denial, Maggie grinned. “Then, please, tell me what it is.”

“He wants me to talk to someone. He thinks I might be able to offer a perspective that he can’t. That’s it.”

Maggie regarded her with blatant skepticism. “So, this seasoned minister who’s counseled who knows how many people about every problem under the sun is turning to you?”

Amanda frowned at the hint of amused disbelief in Maggie’s voice. “In this particular situation, apparently I’m the one with firsthand experience,” she said.

“Of course you are. And Caleb’s sudden recognition of your expertise doesn’t have anything at all to do with the fact that he has the hots for you?” Maggie inquired.

Immediately Amanda’s cheeks flooded with color. “Maggie!” she protested weakly. “You can’t say things like that. Caleb’s a minister.”

“I know. I worried about the same thing when Dinah pointed out that Caleb practically salivates when you’re nearby, but then I caught on that he’s a man, not a saint. It’s not as if either one of you is off-limits in any way. The only shocker is that in his seven years here in Charleston some woman hasn’t already snapped him up.”

Amanda had had similar thoughts from time to time. Aside from being gorgeous, Caleb was the kindest, most decent man she’d ever known. It didn’t make sense that he wasn’t married. She, however, wasn’t the woman to change that. She was just beginning to get back on her feet emotionally. She needed time to prove to herself that she was strong and capable. She was not about to let some man promise to bail her out, only to have him abandon her. She’d learned to prize her independence. If her life ever fell apart again, it would be her own doing, not someone else’s.

“That woman won’t be me,” she told Maggie emphatically.

“Then you don’t see what a catch he is?” Maggie asked skeptically.

“Of course I do.”

“Well, then?”

“I’m not looking for a catch, even one as terrific as Caleb,” Amanda insisted. “Now, I really do have to go.”

Maggie stepped aside. “We’ll do the dinner thing another time, okay? Maybe later in the week when Josh gets back. I’ll ask Nadine, too, though these days Josh’s mother rarely goes anywhere without George Winslow in tow. Would that be okay with you?”

Amanda considered the question seriously. George was one of her father’s best friends, and initially he’d been one of the most outspoken critics of the church’s plan to build her house. That was the downside. On the upside, since he’d gotten involved with Nadine, he’d mellowed.

“I can tolerate George,” Amanda said eventually. “Nadine’s pretty good at keeping him in check.”

“Okay, then, I’ll be in touch with the details,” Maggie said, a faint hint of relief in her voice.

Once again Amanda was astounded by the trace of vulnerability in a woman whose strength and self-confidence she admired. Maggie had faced down a madman who’d trapped her in her art gallery not that long ago, but she seemed to be genuinely uneasy around Amanda.

“Maggie, can I ask you a question? Why is this so important to you?”

Maggie looked disconcerted by the direct question. “I told you. I know I misjudged you and I want to make amends. You’re important to Josh and to Nadine and other people I admire and respect, so I’d like us to be friends, too.”

“Then we will be,” Amanda said. “If I’ve learned nothing else since my husband died, it’s that friendship is important.” Impulsively, she reached out and gave Maggie a hug. “Besides, as far as I’m concerned we’ve been friends since the minute you showed up to help build my house. That was an act of kindness I’m never likely to forget.”

Maggie regarded her with surprise. “You really mean that, don’t you? Even after everything I did to keep you at arm’s length?”

“Believe me, I understood what that was all about. You were protecting your turf, even though you had nothing to fear from me. I knew in time you’d figure out that I wasn’t a threat to your relationship with Josh.”

“Well, I’m sorry just the same. We’re starting over right now, okay?”

“Okay,” Amanda agreed at once.

Maggie gave her a conspiratorial grin. “You know what that means, don’t you?”