Trouble in Tennessee

“To each his own, right?”

“Exactly. To each her own.” Because her natural inclination was to fill dead air, when it became clear conversation had lagged, she turned back toward him. “So, did you always know you wanted to be a doctor?”

He stiffened, so imperceptibly she wouldn’t have noticed if her body weren’t bizarrely attuned to his. “It…seemed right for me.”

She hadn’t expected his profession to be a sore subject. Yikes, she’d promised her boss she wouldn’t lose her edge out here in the sticks, yet only a few hours in, she was already floundering her way through awkward chats.

“What about you?” Keith returned. “You always know you wanted to be a radio host? Charity makes it sound fascinating.”

Treble smiled self-consciously. “It probably seems more glamorous than it is because she’s lived in the same place her whole life and works for her dad.” The girl should have been named Patience; Treble would have snapped by now.

“You mean she’s easily impressed because she’s a local yokel?” Keith’s tone was deceptively mild, his delivery belying the disapproval of his words.

“I didn’t mean it quite like that. I adore Charity.”

He slanted her a look. “Yeah. I could tell you two are close.”

Was he being sincere? Had Charity painted a rosy picture of their sibling relationship? Which would be like her. Or was he being sarcastic, passively condemning Treble for not being a better big sister? He didn’t have that right.

I swear I’m better with people than this.

Well, not all people. Definitely not her stepfather. Or her actual father. Sometimes not even with her sister. But, normally, she was very popular with people who didn’t know her well.

It was being back in this town that was messing with her head. By the time she’d left here, she’d been full of misery and anger, feeling unloved and paradoxically going out of her way to be unlovable. She hoped for all their sakes that Charity had that baby on time and not a single day late.

“Just about there,” Keith said, apparently seeing—and misreading—her impatience.

She nodded, the cloudless sky outside her window vast. “I recognized this particular spot of nothing.”

Joyous had undoubtedly grown some over the years, but the town moved at a slower pace than the rest of the world, still relatively untouched by urban sprawl. Pastures and trees that had been there since before she was born existed today, and even though there were few landmarks on this last stretch before they turned onto the dirt road that would lead to Breckfield property, she could have found her way from here blindfolded. Having not been home in so long, the familiarity was unexpected. There were some blocks in Atlanta where new gyms grew overnight as if having sprung from magic seeds and, if you blinked, the restaurant you were used to driving past could be replaced entirely by a shopping center without you ever noticing the construction crews.

As promised, they reached Charity and Bill’s place a few seconds later. Keith took a left on Willy Wooten Drive—a mud strip probably no more than twenty feet long, named for a guy who’d once built a house there—and quickly encountered a paved fork. One finger of asphalt snaked its way up the hill and led to her stepfather’s house. Another jogged a shorter distance to a well-kept yard and honest-to-God white picket fence. Treble didn’t need to see the cheery Sumner stenciled on the mailbox to know this must be where Charity lived.

If Harrison Breckfield had ever run for mayor, he would have won by a landslide. So many townspeople were employed by or in some way affiliated with the dairy that the Breckfield family held a prominent position in the community. Yet Treble couldn’t help wondering why Harrison had never proposed that the town pave Willy Wooten or even offered to have it done himself—especially now that his pregnant daughter had to drive over it in all manner of weather conditions. His own vehicles must have jostled over the years as he plowed through puddles and potholes, but something about that very specific concrete, starting precisely at the Breckfield property and not one inch sooner, personified the man. He had clear boundaries. He stayed unswervingly within them and expected others to do the same.

There were both a garage and carport to the side, but Keith parked more casually in the curve of the circular driveway, right out front. The house was predominantly brick, although it had a cottage-style facade bordered by a railed-in wooden porch. Treble imagined Bill and Charity sitting in the double swing, discussing baby names and drinking cold lemonade. Of course, she could just as easily imagine Charity in the picturesque little house, singing as woodland animals helped her clean and making seven beds for seven little men.

Treble hadn’t finished climbing down from the passenger side of the truck when the screen door clattered and her sister appeared on the front porch. In deference to her current medical condition, Charity didn’t try to navigate the stairs and greet them in the yard. Still, her enthusiasm was evident even from several yards away.

“You made it!” she called to Treble.

“Thanks to your friend Dr. Caldwell.” Treble really was grateful to the man for riding to her rescue, even if their short time together had been…charged.

“Well, come in, come in. I have some iced tea freshly brewed,” Charity told both of them. She placed a hand over her distended belly. “Decaf, of course.”

Treble turned to collect her luggage, only to find that Keith had grabbed both suitcases and slung her duffel bag over his shoulder.

“You should at least let me get one of them,” she chided.

He half shrugged as he passed, repeating her words from their first meeting. “I’m able-bodied.”

I’ll say. Her gaze slid down from where his thick hair lay rumpled against his collar to his jeans.

She followed him up the stairs. Charity had stepped aside to make room for Keith and the baggage he carried, but as soon as Treble cleared the top step, the blonde swooped in for a hug. The sideways angle, not to mention the bulk of Treble’s unborn niece, made the embrace a little awkward but it was appreciated nonetheless. Treble couldn’t quite hook her arm around her sister so settled for patting her on the arm in greeting.

“Thank you for coming,” Charity said softly, still not letting go. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Treble said. “In triplicate. But, about my needing to breathe?”

Charity laughed, stepped back. “Guess I always was the hugger in the family.”

Well, it sure as hell hadn’t been Treble or the aloof Harrison Breckfield. “Like Mom. You have a lot in common with her.” As soon as tears began welling in Charity’s eyes, Treble wished she’d said something else. She struggled to lighten the moment. “Although, now that I think about it, that bone-crushing grip might have come from Harrison. Imagine the tackles you could have made if you’d played football!”

Harrison had been a college linebacker for the Tennessee Vols. At six foot three with steel-gray eyes, he was as formidable off the field as he’d reputedly been on it. Maybe Treble should have been smarter than to try making end runs around him, but she’d been sixteen. In theory, she was older and wiser now, but she was also a grown-up no longer seeking her stepdad’s approval. She was who she was, and she refused to make apologies to him if she liked her music loud and her heels high.

“Where’d I lose you ladies to?” Keith asked, sticking his head out onto the porch. He’d obviously set the bags down somewhere inside.

Charity sniffled. “Sorry. Just exchanging sisterly greetings.”

Keith glanced at the woman’s obviously teary expression, then shot Treble a look that bordered on accusatory. Two minutes and you already made her cry?

“We’re coming,” Treble said brightly. As soon as he retreated, she told Charity, “I hope I didn’t upset you. You warned me you were thinking about Mom a lot, and I didn’t mean to say anything that made you miss her more. I know I’m a poor substitute for her being here right now.”

Charity squeezed her hand. “It’s wonderful that you’re here. And I’m touched that you think I’m like her. Don’t worry about the waterworks. It’s the hormones. Honestly, all I do these days is cry—and eat Breckfield banana ice cream. Sometimes I cry while I’m eating the ice cream.”

Treble laughed, glad they were on less sentimental ground as they joined Keith in the cool, aromatic house. Charity’s air-conditioning bill must be a fortune, but the low temperature felt heavenly after driving in the heat for much of the day. Equally divine was the scent of spices and meat cooking. Treble had never been all that proficient in the kitchen, but she thought she smelled thyme and rosemary, underscored by sautéed onions. A little garlic? As her eyes adjusted to the comparative dimness of the living room, she stood still, breathing in the tantalizing scent. An archway at the far end led into a modest kitchen. Treble saw maroon laminate flooring and gold appliances.

“You.” Keith took Charity by the hand, steering her toward a rose-and-cream sofa. A rocker upholstered in matching fabric sat by the large picture window in the room, a wicker basket full of knitting supplies and remote controls tucked next to the chair. “Off your feet. Then explain to me how you whip up one of your gourmet dinners while adhering to your OB’s advice. Don’t make me call Dr. Whalen because you know she will kick your butt. Metaphorically speaking.”

Much as Treble wasn’t ordinarily a fan of men chastising grown women over their choices, she had to admit this was no time for Charity to be rolling out the welcome wagon. “He’s right. Well, I wouldn’t know about the doctor, but definitely the dinner part. Don’t you dare try to cook just because I’m visiting. You and this baby are what’s important.”

Leaning back against the couch, Charity shook her head, her honey-blond ponytail swishing. “Boy, you guys impress easily. I promise I wasn’t slaving over a stove. I gave Bill some basic instructions for what to throw in the Crock-Pot, then stood long enough to season it myself. Honestly, the most strenuous thing I’ve done today was lift a pepper grinder. I spent hours in the rocking chair with my feet up, watching television, dozing and talking briefly on the cordless phone to both of you. Those are all approved activities, aren’t they?” The impish grin she shot Keith made her look so young it was hard to believe she was going to be a parent soon.

He sat on the couch next to her. “If I overreacted, I did it because I care.”

“I know,” Charity said fondly. “You’re a good friend. You will join us for dinner, won’t you?”

“Um…” Keith darted a look toward Treble, who shifted her weight from foot to foot and tried to ignore feeling out of place. “I should check in at the clinic.”

Charity laughed. “Well, I wasn’t planning on eating dinner in the middle of the afternoon. Come back tonight. Bill and Dad said they’d be back by six, so I’ll have dinner on the table around six thirty.”

Treble cleared her throat. “You’ll do no such thing.”

“All right,” Charity amended. “Someone will have dinner on the table around six thirty.”

“Won’t I be intruding on a family get-together?” Keith asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Charity swatted him on the arm with all the force of a two-pound kitten batting string. She’d always been diminutive in height and build and, in some ways, her protruding beach ball of a stomach highlighted that; it was comically disproportional in comparison to the rest of her. “You’re like family. The more the merrier! Right, Treb?”