Page 69 of Christmas at Black Cherry Retreat
Somehow he made himself concentrate on the road and got them there in one piece. Tom stopped outside his grandmother’s house.
‘I’ll walk over to see Pop and get my shopping done. By the timeI come back she should’ve finished interrogating you.’ Tom helped Fee down from the truck and drew her into his arms for a long, slow kiss before letting go. ‘There. That should cement things for Mee Maw.’
‘Do you think she’s watching?’ Fee’s cheeks flushed.
‘Nope,’ he said with a laugh. ‘I don’tthinkshe’s watching, Iknowshe is.’ Tom loosened his hold and held her at arms’length. ‘Good luck. Not that you’ll need it.’ A touch of uncertainty pulled at her lips and he ached to kiss her again. Instead he swung her around and gave her a slight push in the small of her back.
Fee’s spine straightened under his fingers and she walked away from him. He headed down the street because to be caught out watching her all the way in would imply he was nervous and Tomrefused to give his grandmother that satisfaction.
Before she could press the bell the door opened and Fee took a step back, almost tripping over a clay pot full of cheerful yellow chrysanthemums.
‘Careful, dear. I don’t want to have to explain to my grandson why you ended up in the hospital with a broken leg.’ The tall but slightly stooped woman smiling at her had Tom’s rich browneyes, warm laugh and soft drawl. There were a few stray hints of auburn left in MrsChambers’ wavy grey hair and by her unfussy elegance Fee guessed she’d been a beautiful young woman. She shot out her hand but was pulled into a hug instead.
‘You’ll have to get used to our Southern ways if you’re goin’ to marry our Tom so you might as well start now,’ Betty Mae declared. ‘Don’t botherto deny it, hon. It’s in your eyes. Come inside and we’ll talk.’
Fee smiled and followed the other woman in over the front step like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
‘I bought some of the chamomile tea Tom told me you drink.’ She led the way in through a narrow hall which opened out into a sunny, well-lit kitchen at the back of the house. ‘Tasted like cat’s pee to me when I triedit but I’m sure it’s mighty good for you.’
‘It’s an acquired taste,’ Fee said with a laugh. She looked out of the window at the small well-tended garden. ‘Do you do all this yourself, MrsChambers?’
‘I used to, my dear, but these old bones won’t let me bend well enough any more and the doctor keeps tellin’ me to take it easier because my heart’s not what it was. I tell him it’snearly ninety years old so what does he expect. Hank lines up one of the boys to do my yard work if he hasn’t got time himself. My Tom does the lion’s share.’ She fixed Fee with a stern look. ‘And you can stop calling me MrsChambers right now. My given name’s Betty Mae but you can call me Mee Maw same as they all do.’
‘Does that mean I’ve passed the first test?’ For a second she wonderedif she’d gone too far but Betty Mae’s face cracked into the same wide generous smile Tom gave her the first day they met.
‘I believe you might do.’ Her eyes sparkled. ‘Ask me again before you leave and I’ll tell you for sure.’
‘Fair enough.’
Tom’s grandmother didn’t comment and carried on getting their drinks ready. She took the lid off a large plastic container and thebeautiful cake she revealed made Fee’s mouth water.
‘I fixed us an angel food cake. The recipe’s made with egg whites and no fat. I hope that’s alright?’
Her thoughtfulness touched Fee and she swallowed hard before nodding.
‘I’ll slice up some strawberries to have along with it.’ Betty Mae sheepishly confessed she usually added a large dollop of homemade whipped cream andFee was able to joke that at least her digestive problem kept her slim. Tom’s grandmother suggested they had their tea out on the patio to enjoy the sunshine.
‘Would you like me to carry the tray?’
‘Certainly not. You’re my guest,’ Betty Mae retorted and Fee didn’t dare say another word as they left the kitchen. ‘Sit yourself down.’ Her hostess gestured towards the small, whitewrought-iron table and four chairs arranged in the middle of the patio. Pots of late-flowering pansies, colourful deep-coral sedum and white chrysanthemums were spaced out all around the edge and their warm fragrance filled the air. Fee made herself comfortable while Betty Mae sorted out their cups and plates, laying a lace-edged white napkin at each of their places along with a well-polished silvercake fork. ‘Right. Dig in and tell me what you think.’
‘And then?’
‘Thenyou’lltell me all about yourself andI’lltell you about Tom.’ Betty Mae’s gentle smile didn’t fool Fee for a moment. ‘Deal?’
‘Deal.’ Her firm response garnered another approving nod but deep inside Fee was afraid Betty Mae would stop smiling when she heard the truth about Fee’s life.
