“I’m going to church with him and his parents in the morning. Thanks for waiting up for me, but right now I’m going to bed so I can have sweet dreams of Will. We’ll talk more in the morning, and you were right about talking to him. Everything is right with the universe.” Kayla grinned and then disappeared.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kayla tried on all three of her nice outfits on Sunday morning, but she wasn’t satisfied with any of them. They were all lying on the bed when Teresa knocked on the bedroom door and poked her head inside.
“Need help with your hair?” she asked.
Kayla rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “I need help period. I wore that dress to the reunion, and you loaned me that one”—she pointed to the slim dark-green skirt and cute sleeveless blouse—“for the funeral. That leaves the third one, and it’s really too tight.”
Teresa crooked her finger at Kayla. “Follow me.”
“In my underwear?” Kayla frowned.
“Noah has already gone downstairs. The smell of coffee woke me up.” Teresa disappeared.
Kayla looked both ways and then darted across the hallway.
Teresa opened her closet doors and brought out a flowing, multicolored, gauze skirt that skimmed her ankles, an olive-green shirt with a lighter green undershirt, and a pair of sandals that matched the shirt. “Here, wear these,” she said.
“Where did all that stuff come from?” Kayla asked. “When you loaned me a dress for the reunion, you only had a few things in your closet.”
“The other day, when I drove up to Sulphur Springs to the grocery store, I noticed a little thrift store with a ‘Going out of business’ sign on the window, so I took a few minutes to go inside. Sit down and I’ll twist your hair up.”
She motioned toward the rocking chair, laid the clothing on the bed, and kept talking as she started in on Kayla’s hair. “That was the last day the place was going to be open. They handed me a brown paper bag at the door and said I could fill it up and only pay five dollars, so I did. Stuff was pretty well picked over, but Noah mentioned that Sam wanted us to go to church with him, and I knew you would be going out with Will, so I crammed it full.”
“I’m not taking what you planned to wear, am I?” Kayla asked.
“Nope. There now, see if you like that,” Teresa told her.
Kayla went over to the mirror and gasped. “I love it. How did you learn to do hair like mine?”
“I had a couple of black patients in the nursing home, and I used to get them all fancied up when we had a party,” she said.
“Well, bless their hearts, and I mean that in a good way,” Kayla said as she got dressed and took another peek in the mirror. “Oh, Teresa, I’m so sad that we weren’t sisters before now.”
“Me too,” Teresa said. “But we weren’t the people that we are today. Back then we were just two discarded girls. Now go get a muffin and some milk so that your stomach won’t growl in church.”
“Miss Janie used to tell us that.” Kayla turned away from the mirror. “For years I thought it was a sin if my stomach grumbled in church.”
“So did I.” Teresa led the way out of the room.
When they reached the kitchen, Noah was coming in from the back porch. “Well, you sure look nice this morning.” He smiled at Kayla.
“Thanks to Teresa.” She picked up a muffin from under the cake dome and poured herself a glass of milk.
“I can’t believe what I just heard, and it was said with heart,” Noah teased.
“Shhh . . .” Teresa laid her forefinger over his lips. “Don’t jinx it.”
Kayla giggled. “And don’t expect it every day.”
She finished eating, poured herself a cup of coffee, and had taken the first sip when the doorbell rang. She set the cup down, put on her best smile, and started down the hall.
“Got breakfast ready?” Sam yelled.
“No, but it will be in a few minutes,” Teresa hollered back. “We’re in the kitchen.”
“I’m bringin’ company with me,” Sam said.
Kayla had almost never seen Sam in anything but bibbed overalls, so her focus was on him wearing khaki slacks and a plaid shirt. She didn’t even see Will until he said, “Good mornin’. You sure look beautiful.”
His deep drawl sent sweet shivers up her backbone. “Thank you.