Page 70 of Christmas at Black Cherry Retreat
Chapter Thirty-Three
‘Higgins is dead? You sure?’ Tom leaned on his father’s desk, unable to get his head around the news. Last night Gary Higgins was spotted in Mississippi and when the police gave chase he crashed the stolen car he’d been driving into a wall.
‘Killed outright, son.’
‘Shit.’ Tom slammed his fist on the desk. Piles of papers toppled over andhis father’s full mug of coffee spilled all over them. ‘The bastard should’ve been locked back up for violating his parole. It’s not goddamn fair.’
Without a word Hank took down a roll of paper towels from the top of the filing cabinet and started to clean up the mess. Tom’s initial fury seeped away and he sunk back into the chair. His father walked out around the desk to rest a comfortinghand on Tom’s shoulder.
‘Nope. It’s not.’
The straightforward sympathy finished him and Tom slumped forward and rested his head on his bent arms giving in to the rush of emotions swamping his body. Bitterness. Relief. Hatred.
‘It’s okay, son, let it out.’ His father patted his shoulder. ‘I won’t tell your brothers.’
Tom managed a weak smile. ‘You’d better not.’He wiped at his face and dragged a handkerchief from his pocket to blow his nose. ‘I wanted… I don’t know what I wanted but it wasn’t this.’
‘Yeah. I know,’ Hank agreed before hesitating.
‘Go on, spit it out. You don’t normally have a problem with saying what you think.’ His wry comment pulled a smile out of his father.
‘I’m not sorry about Higgins. This ends it.’
Tom started to protest but Hank raised his hand in the air to silence him. The commanding gesture worked when they all were children and it did the trick again now. He shut up.
‘I know you’ll never forget but now you don’t have to go through life looking over your shoulder, wondering where Higgins is and eaten up because he’s not behind bars. Gina’s at peace. Take your freedom andmake the most of it.’ His father’s voice cracked and it took the last remnants of Tom’s self-control to hold himself together.
‘I will. Fee’s at Mee Maw’s house having coffee and I’m off to join them.’
‘They’ll sort you out,’ Hank ventured. ‘When are you leaving town?’
They chatted about his plans which had expanded from simply going to visit Fee’s mother to travellingsome around Europe while they were that side of the pond. His father’s only request was that he return home in time for Christmas.
‘No problem. I’ve got to get Lulu’s dolls’ house finished and I’m not gonna miss her seeing it for the first time,’ Tom replied.
‘Good. Now get on with you. Some of us have work to do. Your mama’s planning to have a big family get-together before youtake off for foreign parts. She’ll tell you when.’
There was no question of beingaskedand Tom wasn’t stupid enough to argue. He got to his feet and stuck out his hand to his father but Hank pulled him into an unexpected hug. The last time that happened was at Gina’s funeral and the significance wasn’t lost on him. He hugged his father back and without another word they let go of eachother.
Tom walked out of the office and stopped for a moment out on the street. He took a few steadying breaths of the crisp, clear air. He needed Fee. Now.
Fee glanced up as Tom stepped out onto the patio and panicked. ‘What’s wrong?’ His eyes were suspiciously pink and if she didn’t know better she’d guess he’d been crying.
His grandmother glanced between the two of them.
‘Sit down, Tom. I’ll fetch you some coffee and cake.’ Betty Mae’s gentle request got him to move and he dropped down into the chair next to Fee.
‘You’refrighteningmethis time. Did your father give you some bad news?’ Fee asked, grabbing hold of his hands.
The hint of a smile tugged at his mouth. ‘I thought it was at first but he helped me see it wasn’t.’
Fee searchedunsuccessfully for the right words to tell him he was making no sense but he leaned in to kiss her before she could speak again. Tom launched into a long, convoluted story about Gina’s killer who’d apparently died in a traffic accident. Her first instinct was right and when he admitted to crying Fee choked up. Strong men rarely cracked but when they did it broke the hearts of those aroundthem.
‘Hey, I’m supposed to be the one who’s upset not you,’ Tom teased, playing with a strand of her hair. His eyes pleaded with Fee to pull herself together for his sake so she sucked in a deep breath and forced out a bright smile. ‘Much better,’ he declared and kissed her again.
‘That’s enough messin’ around in the middle of the morning, Thomas Michael Chambers. Eat this insteadof that dear girl.’ Betty Mae deposited a plate loaded with cake and strawberries in front of Tom along with a mug of coffee. ‘After you finish that you can tell me what’s goin’ on.’
‘Angel food cake. You’re a wonder.’ He dug his fork in and speared a large piece. ‘Fee, why don’t you go ahead and tell Mee Maw everything? That way she won’t have to wait until I’m done eatin’ to satisfyher curiosity.’
