Find Wonder in All Things - By Karen M. Cox Page 0,48
their heads.
“Hush you two. Ginny’s probably sleeping,” Stuart admonished.
The Pendleton sisters clapped their hands over their mouths to stifle their giggles.
“Oops, sorry.” Carrie lowered her voice as she led them into the room. “Oh, there she is. She’s not asleep at all. How are you feeling, Ginny?”
“Better. I think I was just tired.” Ginny put down her magazine. “Did you have a good time?”
“Great time, wasn’t it, James?” Heather gave him an admiring smile.
“Yeah, good time.” He directed his attention to Laurel. “My sister was sorry she missed meeting you — and seeing Virginia again, of course. She hopes maybe you two will be able to get together with her another time.”
“Oh, okay.”
“She’s a fan of yours, as it turns out. She went on and on about your pottery.”
“I see.”
“And she wanted to talk to you about it. So . . . maybe some other time.”
“I’d like that.”
Virginia stood up and stretched. “I think I’m turning in,” she began, then stopped suddenly when the phone rang. “Who could that be this time of night?”
Laurel watched as Ginny answered the kitchen phone and then plopped down on the stool at the counter. When she looked back around, she found James watching her again.
Quickly, he looked away and said to Stuart, “I’m pretty tired from the drive down here. It won’t offend you if I turn in a little early will it?”
“Oh no, not in the least,” Carrie replied. Her face told the whole story: She was completely besotted with James Marshall.
Ginny covered the receiver with her hand and beckoned her sister. “Laurel, come talk to her.” Her impatience came through loud and clear.
“Who?”
“It’s Spring. When she found out you were here, she only wanted you.”
Laurel moved to take the phone, and Ginny rejoined the group in the living room. Laurel spoke to her sister in soft, soothing tones, and after a few minutes, she hung up and made her way to the couch.
“Everything okay?” James asked.
She nodded, careful not to meet his gaze. “Mama’s . . . ” She paused. “She’s not feeling well.” She turned to her sister. “You know how it upsets Spring when she gets like that.”
Ginny just sighed and gave Stuart a resigned look.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine tomorrow,” Laurel cut in. “I’ll stop in on my way home and check on them.”
James cleared his throat. “Well . . . good night, I guess.”
“Night,” Heather and Carrie chorused.
“See you in the morning,” Stuart answered. He reached for Ginny’s hand and led her out of the room.
After they left, the sisters plopped down on either side of Laurel, alternating excited whispers between them.
“He’s the cutest thing!” Heather began.
“I’ll second that,” Carrie added. “Not a drop of geek in him.”
“He told us all about California and all the things he’s done there — hiking and sky-diving and touring Napa Valley.”
“And he told us about living in Nashville before he went to California. Why didn’t you tell us that? He said you knew about it.”
“Um, I don’t know. It didn’t occur to me, I guess. It was so long ago . . . wasn’t it?”
“Long enough, I suppose,” Heather went on. “You know, he said he wouldn’t have known you, Laurel, if he met you on the street. He said you’d changed that much.”
“He did? I don’t think I look that different.”
“A little older maybe,” Carrie said soothingly.
Ouch, that hurt! Laurel knew Carrie wasn’t trying to insult her. She just said thoughtless things sometimes. She had gotten to know the Pendleton girls fairly well, especially since Stuart had married her sister, and for the most part, she liked them. Sometimes, though, they just acted . . . young.
“Well,” — Laurel put her hands on her knees and stood up — “I guess I’ll head back up to my cabin in the hills.”
“Don’t forget your cheesecake,” Heather said helpfully. She handed Laurel the box.
“Thanks. I’ll see you all. Have fun at the lake. Don’t hound the company too much.”
“Good night, Laurel,” they said in unison.
Laurel walked out to her old Jeep sitting in the driveway. She felt a little prickle on the back of her neck as if she was being watched. When she turned around and glanced up at the house, she expected to see Heather or Carrie there, but there was no one — only the movement of a curtain from one of the guest bedroom windows.
Chapter 14
Over the next few days, Laurel and James were often in each other’s company. The culmination of the week found them all