Page 27 of Sweet Beginnings

“Any word from the sheriff on his whereabouts?”

“Nothing.” That was bothering Alice as much as the thefts and embezzlement. Where the hell was that thieving foreman and all the other hands? More importantly—what if he came back for more?

“I can hear the worry wheels spinning in your head.”

Some days it was uncanny how well she and her sisters knew each other. How they could read each other. And every minute of every day, she was so very thankful for them.

“Now on to bigger and more important things,” her sister continued.

“What could be more important than my son dating my next-door neighbor?”

“The corn hole tournament. Liz and I have decided we’re going to enter.”

“I thought you two considered competing a conflict of interest?”

“That was before. Now we want that prize money. For you.”

“Y’all don’t have to do that.” Her heart squeezed with appreciation at their desire to help.

“No, we don’t. But we want to.” Vicki’s words hung for a long minute. “No arguments.”

Her sister was right. With the mess Ray had left her, she was going to need every penny she could get her hands on. Saving almost a week’s salary for all the missing hands, she was able to make a payment on the loan. It wasn’t enough to address all the missed payments, interest, and penalties, but the bank seemed to take it to heart that she was trying. Probably didn’t hurt that the same bank had been handling the family trust for a couple of hundred years with a tidy sum in the account.

The trust. If only she could borrow against that. Then she could get production up and running the way Charlie had wanted and start paying off all their debts. “Oh, Charlie. Why does life have to be difficult without you?”

Chapter Ten

What was that old expression?The days are long but the years are short. Well, not this past week. The days flew by. Preston and Sarah had gallivanted around town every day, indulged in homemade ice cream at the Creamery; he even licked the melting drops from her cone before giving her a peck on the lips for all to see. They’d played more corn hole, and even beat a few of the people who had stopped to watch. At one point they’d gone to the playground and he’d pushed her on the swings. He felt like a teenager crushing on the prom queen as Sarah laughed and giggled and smiled up at him. And of course, they’d eaten out pretty much every other night, and when they didn’t come to town to eat, they ate with his mom or her dad. The way their parents kept grinning at the two of them he wished he didn’t have to go through all the subterfuge, but the situation was what it was. At least the stress of bringing Samson home was off Sarah Sue’s plate. That one prospect Aaron had mentioned to them had been green-lighted to take the dog home.

Now he stood in front of his dresser and could barely button his shirt. Never in his life could he remember being so nervous. In a few more hours, he and Sarah Sue would be standing in front of a judge and would become man and wife. His fingers slipped and he almost popped a button.

“Here. Let me.” Carson brushed Preston’s hands aside and began lining up the buttons. “You’d think this was for real.”

“It is,” Preston snapped.

“Not technically.”

“It’s legally binding. How much more technical do you want to get?”

“Okay. It’s real but temporary.” Carson finished the last button and patted his brother’s arm. “All set. Rachel is almost done drying her hair and then we can go pick up Sarah.”

“Where did you tell Mom we’re going?”

“I didn’t. Thought that was your place.”

Preston nodded. “I’ve been kicking around possibilities for the last week and have failed to come up with any idea that is merely skirting the truth rather than an outright lie.”

“Well, I have a job and you have a job so leaving the house isn’t that odd.”

“No.”

“Why don’t you just say you have a business deal out of town? After all, this is a business arrangement of sorts, then Mom won’t be surprised that you’re not coming home till tomorrow.”

“Right. Good point.” Taking one last look in the mirror, he wondered if he should have worn a different shirt. Then again, what difference did it make?

“You go ahead and pick up Sarah.” Carson took a step back. “I’ll follow you with Rachel.”

Preston agreed with that plan. Since Carson and Rachel were returning home after the wedding, taking two cars was the only practical thing to do. Twenty minutes later, he’d said his goodbyes to his mother, Sarah’s dad had already left for the day, and now his bride sat in the passenger side of his car. Carson and Rachel would be leaving a respectable thirty minutes after him. Lord, he hoped this all worked out. He’d already filled out the paperwork for the bank trustee. First thing Monday morning he and Sarah would present the forms and marriage license and say their prayers that no one laughed in their faces.

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