Page 9 of The Night the Lights Went Out
“Yes,” Sugar said, “we had electricity. And running water, even. Not too common in a rural farmhouse in Georgia, because none of my friends had an indoor bathroom. But my mama was from Savannah and had been raised in a nice house in town and had grown up with those things. So my daddy worked extra hard to give her every convenience.”
She felt out of breath, as if the memories of her mother had wrapped their fingers around her neck and were squeezing slowly. She glanced out the rear window toward the woods, half expecting to see the ghosts that were never far from her.
The sound of a car outside bolted Colin out of his chair. “Finally!” he shouted through a spray of brownie crumbs. “I was getting ready to pass out from starvation.”
“Colin! Don’t open the door to a stranger...”
Merilee’s words trailed off at the sound of the screen door being opened and then the timbre of a familiar voice. Sugar followed Colin to the front door, recognizing the tall, broad-shouldered form of Willa Faye’s grandson, Wade Kimball. “I think this is for you,” he said to Colin, holding out a large square box that smelled of garlic and red sauce.
Colin let out a whoop, then took the box before running back into the kitchen. The clomping on the bare wood drew attention to the fact that he was wearing his shoes. Inside the house. Sugar pressed her lips together, this time on purpose, so she wouldn’t say something she might regret.
“Sugar,” Wade said, giving her a tight bear hug only because he knew she didn’t like them. And only because he was the one person in the world who could get away with it.
“Robbing old ladies of their homes and land isn’t profitable enough, so you’re reduced to delivering pizzas now?” she asked, her voice muffled against his shirt.
She heard his laugh rumbling in his chest and she had to hide her smile. Even as a baby he’d had the deep, throaty laughter that drew people to him like flies to a cow, in a seemingly universal desire to be enveloped in the warmth that surrounded him.
“Good to see you, too, Sugar. Butter still not melting in your mouth, huh?”
She pushed him away, pretending to be annoyed.
“I passed the delivery boy driving back and forth on the road looking for the driveway and decided to put him out of his misery.” His gaze rested on Merilee. “I’m assuming it was for you? If not, I’ve got some apologizing to do to the family whose dinner I waylaid.”
“No—it’s for us. Thank you. But how much do I owe you?”
He let his arm slide from Sugar’s shoulders to wave his hand in dismissal. “Just consider it a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ gift—except this one doesn’t come with a dish you need to clean and return.” With an outstretched hand, he stepped forward. “Wade Kimball—I believe we spoke on the phone. I’m here to check on your router.”
Merilee shook his hand without smiling or blushing or doing any of those things women usually did when meeting Wade for the first time. He must have noticed it, too, because he seemed to falter with his next words. But then he stopped trying and just looked at her, tilting his head. “Have we met before?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Maybe you’ve seen me at the grocery store or something. I’ve lived in Sweet Apple for about six years.”
He thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think that’s it. Where are you from originally?”
Merilee’s response took so long, Sugar was pretty sure wild horses couldn’t pull it out of her. Finally, she said, “Sandersville—in south Georgia.”
He straightened as a smile stretched over his face. “Ah. That must be it. I lived in Augusta for about ten years right out of college, working for a developer. Good work buddy of mine had grandparents in Sandersville and we used to visit them occasionally to help with repairs and maintenance. Nice couple—you probably knew them since it’s a really small town. I’m trying to think of their name...” His eyes squinted in concentration.
“Lily!” Merilee called out loudly—and unnecessarily, seeing as how the girl had walked into the room while Wade was speaking and stood next to her mother. “Mr. Kimball is here to fix the router.”
Lily tugged on her mother’s elbow. “I’m right here, Mom.”
Merilee looked relieved. “Great. Why don’t you show Mr. Kimball where the router is while I warm the pizza up in the oven? Assuming Colin has left us any.” Ducking her head, she headed toward the kitchen.
She’d made it to the doorway when Wade called her name. She faced him, her expression reminding Sugar of an actress on one of her soaps, waiting for her doctor to give her the prognosis.
“West. William and Sharon West. Did you know them?”
After an almost imperceptible pause, she shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.” She quickly disappeared into the kitchen.
Wade stared after Merilee for a long moment. “I’ve definitely seen her before. I’ll think of it. She has one of those faces—the kind you don’t easily forget.”
Sugar frowned. “Now, don’t be stirring up trouble. I think she has plenty enough on her plate.”
Wade turned to her with a smile. “Don’t tell me you’re getting soft in your old age, Sugar. Since when have you involved yourself personally in the lives of your tenants?”
She almost said that she wasn’t, until she remembered not only her presence in their house but also the fact that she’d come bearing brownies, something he was likely to discover. It irked her that she’d succumbed to whatever it was that had dragged her down the road, and the fact that Wade had caught her annoyed her even more.
“I’m tired,” she said. “I’m going home now. I’ll leave a bag of my tomatoes on the front porch steps for you to pick up on your way out.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a perfunctory kiss on his cheek.
