Page 45 of Christmas at Black Cherry Retreat
Fee stared hard at him. ‘You’re a surprising man, Tom Chambers. I never knowwhat you’re going to come out with next.’
He suspected continuing to be unpredictable in certain areas was good. ‘You might like to come back and take photos sometime.’
‘That’d be good.’ She agreed but the light faded from her eyes. ‘Pick a cafe and let’s get this done.’
Tom ran through the alternatives in his head and dismissed a couple of the more popular places. ‘Let’stry the Magnolia Tree. It’s tucked away behind the Baptist Church and been here forever. They’ve got decent coffee and it’s more popular with locals than visitors so they won’t fuss if we sit a while.’ For a brief moment he wished they could simply relax and enjoy themselves in the pale sunshine. ‘Come on.’ He held her hand as they walked along in silence.
He peered into the cafe and wasrelieved to see it was almost empty. Tom opened the door and rested his other hand at the base of Fee’s spine to encourage her to step inside. ‘You pick a spot and I’ll get us a drink. What’ll you have?’
‘Sparkling water, or lemonade, either works,’ she said with a touch of impatience, plainly not caring but trying to be polite.
While he placed their order Tom caught Fee frowningat the tablet she’d carried in and nibbling her bottom lip.
‘What do you think of this?’ She turned the screen to face him as he sat down. ‘It’s bad, isn’t it?’
‘Hey, hold your horses I haven’t read it all yet.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah, really. Us Southerners do things slow, but thorough, okay?’ He grinned, relieved when she relaxed enough to smile back.
‘You certainlydo.’
He made himself concentrate on the task at hand and suggested a few minor alterations. After Fee made the changes and sent the email Tom covered her cold hand with his own. ‘Let’s talk about something else now. Alright?’
Fee nodded and picked up her glass of water. He hoped he wasn’t being a bully but they couldn’t sit here staring at the screen and waiting. Allain Dupre mightonly check his email once a week or could have changed his mind about connecting with his newly discovered daughter. Tom launched into stories about his family, hoping it’d take her mind off what they’d come here for plus prepare her for being thrown into the deep end of a Chambers’ family dinner.
The tablet gave a short, loud beep and Fee’s hand jerked into the air sending a cascade ofwater down over her fingers and onto the table.
‘A new email?’ She didn’t speak or move. Tom passed her a handful of paper napkins and she managed to take hold of them to dab at the wet mess ‘Do you want me to see who it’s from?’ She nodded and he leaned across to pick up the tablet. ‘It’s from Dupre.’ Tom laid the tablet back down and fished out a clean handkerchief from his pocket todry off her hands before setting it back in front of her.
She scanned the message at least twice before glancing back at him, her pretty eyes shimmering with tears. ‘He wants to meet me. He’s offered to come here or for me to visit him in New Orleans.’
‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ Tom was bewildered by her lack of enthusiasm.
‘I suppose so. I hadn’t actually gone any furtherin my mind than exchanging a few emails.’
‘Wouldn’t you like to see him?’
‘I’m not sure. I’ve done without a father for nearly forty years and I’m not sure what to do with a possible one now.’ Her attempt at humour fell flat. ‘I should send a reply.’
‘Hang on a minute, sweetheart. He doesn’t know you’ve seen the message yet. Take some time to think.’ Relief flooded herpale features and Tom mentally patted himself on the back for saying the right thing. ‘Send him a reply tomorrow.’
‘Do you think that’d be alright?’
‘It’ll be fine. If the man’s got an ounce of common sense he’ll be unsure too.’ Tom wrapped his hands around hers. ‘Why don’t you close down for now and we’ll go and have a wander around the town. I’ll buy you a pretty little trinketthen drive you back to Black Cherry. What do you say?’
Fee leaned against him. ‘I’d say you’re a wonderful man, Tom Chambers.’
Wonderful worked fine for him. He hadn’t been any woman’s “wonderful” for a very long time.
