Second Chance Dreams (A Coverton Mills Romance Book 2) Read online

  “I agree you should check on him. If they didn’t come, we don’t want him to be alone on Thanksgiving.”

  He chuckled. “Especially with his girlfriend eating here with us.”

  “Neil!” Kay looked at him. “I’m not Jude’s girlfriend. I tried to help the man out of a jam the other day. That’s all there was to it.”

  “Not from what I saw, that wasn’t all there was to it. Jude lit up like a flame when you kissed his cheek. Besides, Minnie Cox is already spreading the word that Jude is off the market unless everyone wants to fight the fancy woman from somewhere. She wasn’t sure where, but she said it might even be New York City.”

  “I guess New York City is as fancy as Minnie can conjure up.” Mavis laughed.

  “Now, Mavis. Don’t be snide. You’re always telling me not to pick on the poor woman.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry, but she sure does grate on a person’s nerves.”

  Kay looked at them. “She didn’t look that bad to me.”

  “Well, honey, she probably wouldn’t be so bad if she’d learn to curb her lust for a man and not gossip so much,” Neil said.

  “And fix that awful hair, learn to use makeup, dress her age, and as you say, stop gossiping. Heaven knows I’m as plain as a shoe, but I know when to keep my mouth shut and stop slapping on the rouge and wearing skirts up to my Wahoo.”

  “Mavis, you’re not plain. I think you’re beautiful.”

  “Thank you, Kay, but as long as Neil likes the way I look, I’m happy. I accept who I am. Minnie has never done that, and probably never will.”

  “I think my Mavis is pretty, too, Kay. I wouldn’t trade her for any woman in the world. I kind of like having her around.” Neil grinned at them.

  “You should be. She’s special.”

  “My goodness, you two. You’re going to give me the big head.”

  Kay laughed. “Well, I’m surprised this Minnie Cox hasn’t been able to land a man if she’s been on the prowl for a long time.”

  “As long as I’ve known her and that’s been more than twenty years. She moved here when she was in her early thirties. She told everybody she’d lost her husband in the military and wanted to get away from Greenville or Spartanburg or somewhere in South Carolina.”

  “Yeah, but it’s been told she was never really married. Somebody said she was left at the altar and that was why she couldn’t face the people in South Carolina. Some said she wanted to prove to herself she could get another man. So far, she hasn’t proved squat.” Neil reached over and picked up a piece of the celery Mavis was chopping for the dressing.

  “Stop that grabbing. I might chop off one of your fingers.” Mavis teased him. “If you want something to eat, say so, and I’ll make you a sandwich.”

  “No. I’ll eat something when I get back. I’ve got to go check on Kay’s boyfriend.”

  “I told you he’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Well, he sure wants to be.”

  “Go on. Get out of here old man.” Mavis waved the knife at him.

  “I’m going, but first I want a big old sloppy kiss from my girlfriend.” He came around the counter and took Mavis in his arms and kissed her.

  She shook her head after she kissed him back. “Now what is our company going to think with you acting like this?”

  “She’s going to think I still love my wife after all these years. Besides,” he added, “she’s not company now. She’s family. Isn’t that right, Kay?”

  “I sure want to be family, if you’ll let me.”

  “Of course we will.” He kissed Mavis again and patted Kay on the shoulder. “I’ll bring your boyfriend back if he’s by himself today and make sure he spends his Thanksgiving with you.” He winked at her and went out the back door before she could answer.

  “Don’t let him embarrass you Kay,” Mavis said. “He’s getting a kick out of kidding you about Jude.”

  “I don’t mind. I know he’s just trying to make me blush.” She grinned. “He’s succeeding, too.”

  “I’m also sorry you had to see him get amorous. Though he’s a wonderful man, he’s full of it sometimes.”

  “I think it’s great, Mavis. It does my heart good to see people in that exciting kind of love after many years of marriage.”

  Mavis raked the chopped vegetables into the stuffing mix. “I do love the old codger. Have, ever since his kisses curled my toes when we were in high school. Tell you the truth, they still curl up once in a while.”

  “You’re a lucky woman, Mavis.”

  “Wasn’t it like that for you and your husband?”

  Kay started to say it was, but she respected Mavis too much to lie to her. “Not really. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I loved James, and he loved me. We had a pretty good relationship, but it was never the toe curling kind of love.”

  “That’s too bad. Everybody should have that excitement at least one time in their life.”

  “Maybe they should.” Kay sighed. “I guess it’s too late in my case.”

  “Don’t count yourself out. You never know what’s going to happen. Look at how Jude looks at you, and Brock and Seth are both single. They were both giving you the once over, too. Those are three lonely men who could use a good woman like you.”

  “Please, don’t start playing matchmaker, Mavis. My life is too busy right now to even consider getting involved with a man.” Yet the thought of getting involved with Jude was not an unpleasant thought to her at all.

  To keep Mavis from suspecting, she asked, “When you mentioned Seth Armstrong it reminded me of something I wanted to ask you.”

  “Oh, what?”

  “There was a Hunter Armstrong helping with the barn cleanup, too. Are they related?”

  “Hunter is Seth’s son. He owns the newspaper in Coverton Mills. Neil said he came out to cover the story and stayed to help.”

  “That was nice.”

  “Yes, even with their tragedy, the Armstrongs are a wonderful family.”

  Before Kay could ask Mavis what she meant, the telephone rang and interrupted their conversation.

  •♥ •

  Jude opened the front door when Neil rang the bell. “Hello, Neil. Come in. You look cold.”

  “Man, it’s getting colder out here. Wouldn’t surprise me if we had a big snow tonight.”

  “I’ve got a fire going in the den and we’re just sitting around enjoying the day while we wait for the turkey to come out of the oven. What are you up to?”

  “Just thought I’d check and see if your kids showed up.”

  “They sure did. Came and spent the night last night.” Jude led the way to the den. “Come on in and have a seat. We’re going to eat in a little while. Why don’t you join us?”

  “If I did, Mavis would kill me. I left her and Kay cooking away. We’re going to have our big meal this evening.”

  “So, Kay is going to be there?” Jude tried to act nonchalant.

  “Yep. She sure is.” He took off his coat and moved into the den near the fire. “Hello, Cole. I was afraid you’d have to stay in Asheville to deliver babies so I came to check on your dad.”

  “My patient did me a favor and had her baby on Sunday. Already gone home with it.”

  The younger man stood and held out his free hand. He had a baby in the other one. “I heard about your trouble. I’m sorry I was tied up at the hospital and couldn’t get out to help.”

  “We got it under control in a hurry. Thanks to good people like your dad, here.”

  “Hi, Neil.”

  “Hello, Alisa.” Neil grinned at the pretty dark-haired woman who came into the room. He turned back to Cole. “Let me look at what you’ve got there.”

  A cry came from another room of the house. “I’ll get her, honey,” Cole said and handed Alisa the baby he held.

  “This is Jane,” Alisa held the baby for Neil to see.

  “Boy, she’s little.” Neil looked down at her.

  “At seven weeks, they tend to be small.” She laug
hed. “And this one is Judy.” Cole came back with Jane’s twin and held her so Neil could view her, too.

  “I can’t believe you pulled off having twins.” Neil shook his head. “Your daddy sure was proud when he came and told me you’d had not one, but two little girls.”

  “Well, I’m the only grandpa around to have twins. It’s something to brag about.” Jude laughed. “Cute little rascals, aren’t they?”

  Alisa moved beside Jude. “Here, you hold this cute little rascal and I’ll get their bottles.”

  “Mavis is going to have a fit when I tell her I got to see these two and she didn’t. She’s like all women I know, crazy about babies.”

  “Why don’t you bring her over to see them this afternoon?” Jude asked. “We love to show them off.”

  “She’s knee-deep in cooking. You’ll probably eat before we do. Why don’t you all drop by when you finish?” Neil sat on the sofa. ”I bet Red and Darlene would love to see you, too.”

  “We might do that. I’d like to see the rest of your family.” Cole said. “We came over yesterday and spent the night with Dad because we knew we were going to have to leave before it got so late today. I have a couple of c-sections scheduled tomorrow and I like to get plenty of rest before I go into surgery.”

  “We’ll sure be glad to have you come by. Save room for a piece of pie with us.” Neil looked around at Jude. “You sure know how to handle that baby, old man.”

  “After four grandchildren, you get the hang of it.” Jude looked down at the little squirmy baby in his arms and grinned.

  “He’s the best grandfather in the world,” Alisa said coming into the room with two bottles in her hand. “Just watch how good he is at feeding Jane.”

  “Where are the other two?” Neil asked.

  “In the play room. Paul is playing with cars, I’m sure, because that’s what he always plays with.”

  “Maybe he’ll be a NASCAR driver,” Neil suggested.

  Cole laughed. “Wouldn’t surprise me. You never know what they’ll do because at eight Taylor has decided he wants to conquer computer games.”

  “Jude says Cole thought he was grown up when he reached eight and Taylor has done the same thing.” Alisa handed the other bottle to Cole.

  “But Cole wasn’t into computers nor the farm sets I wanted to get him to play with. He already wanted chemistry sets. I knew then I had some kind of doctor on my hands.”

  “We all know he’s a good one, too. Why, thanks to him, my two grandsons arrived safely into this old world, as well as did half the babies in this community.”

  “I think their mothers had a little something to do with it.” Cole laughed and stuck the bottle in the baby’s mouth.

  “I guess Cole has birthed most of the babies around here.” Jude smiled. “I’m glad he decided to locate his practice in Ashville.”

  “I’m glad of that, too,” Alisa said. “I love living in these southern mountains.”

  “I think all us grandpas are glad about that, honey. None of our daughters seem to mind driving the thirty or so miles to get Dr. Winslow to help get their babies here. I know Darlene didn’t mind it at all. Even if I did wonder if that towheaded little squirt who used to help Devon torment Darlene had really grown up to be a doctor.”

  “How is Devon, Neil?” Cole asked.

  “Doing fine. Said he might try to get back this way in the spring.”

  “That would be great. I’d like to see him.”

  “Do I know him?” Alisa asked.

  “No, honey. He moved to California before I was out of medical school.”

  “I see.”

  Cole turned back to Neil. “How is your new grandson doing?”

  “Doing great, Cole. Believe it or not, Billy doesn’t seem to be jealous. He’s kind of proud of his little brother.”

  “I can’t wait to see him. We haven’t gotten together since he was a few weeks old.” Alisa smiled at Neil.

  “Then, you must come by and see him before you go back to Asheville. He’s getting to be a big boy.”

  “Grandkids have a way of growing fast,” Jude said. “My grandsons sure have.”

  “They sure do.” Neil looked back at Alisa. “With your husband being a doctor and all, I bet it was a piece of cake getting your twins here, wasn’t it?”

  Alisa laughed out loud. “Not at all, Neil. Cole was the worse father you’ve ever seen. A nervous wreck wouldn’t come near describing how bad he was. I was afraid he was going to kill me and the babies on the way to the hospital.” She patted Cole’s arm. “I’m sure glad he wasn’t my doctor.”

  “I guess that’s why they say don’t practice medicine on your own family.” Cole looked at his wife. “But Alisa handled it like a trooper. When we got to the hospital she told me to go calm myself down and she and Dr. Edwards would get everything under control, and then if I was in better shape, they’d let me in.”

  Jude smiled at her. “That’s my daughter-in-law. The super organizer. I was afraid when my son told me he was in love with a Yankee he’d move off to Boston with her and I’d never see him or her again.”

  “No way,” Cole said. “Alisa knew I was an old country boy and that was where I intended to stay.” He laughed. “Not that her dad was very happy with the idea. He wanted to match her up with one of the local entrepreneurs and keep her in Boston with all their society friends.”

  “I came to visit these mountains one time and decided the entrepreneurs didn’t have a chance. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this country boy.” Alisa gave her husband a wide smile. “See what a wonderful father he is?”

  “Of course he is. He takes after his old man,” Jude said.

  “I guess since you’re here for Thanksgiving, you’ll be going to Boston for the Christmas holidays.” Neil looked at them.

  “Not this year. I invited my parents down, but they decided they were taking a cruise or something. Since the babies are so small, we decided to wait and maybe go up sometime this spring or summer. That is, if we go at all.” She glanced at Jude. “You’d better burp her now.”

  “Okay.” Jude put the tiny baby on his shoulder and began to pat her back.

  Cole did the same with the one he held.

  Neil stood. “This is fun, but I guess I better get back home. They might decide to eat early and I don’t want to get left out.”

  “I was serious about you eating with us, Neil,” Jude said. “We’ve got plenty and we’ll be eating within the hour.”

  “I’m sure you do, but as I said, I’m not old enough to die yet and Mavis would kill me.”

  Jude handed the baby to Alisa. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  “It was good to see you, Neil,” Cole said.

  Alisa added to her husband’s statement. “Yes, I’m glad you came by, Neil and I look forward to seeing Darlene and the rest of your family, but if you want to hang around, I’ll have a baby in your lap before you know it.”

  “I don’t doubt that, but I actually came to be sure you all had made it over to visit your dad. You never know what’s going to come up when there’s a doctor in the family. I didn’t want this old daddy of yours to spend Thanksgiving alone when he could be breaking bread with his friend, Kay.”

  “Kay, huh? And who is Kay?” Cole’s eyebrow shot up.

  “She’s one of the prettiest women to come around these parts in a long time. Your daddy thinks so, too. He’s really smitten with her.”

  “Dad, what’s going on?” Alisa looked at her father-in-law. “Tell us about this Kay person.”

  “She’s not a Minnie Cox is she, Dad?”

  “No, Cole. She’s not a Minnie Cox.” Jude shot a look at Neil. “Neil, don’t you ever know when to be quiet?”

  “Why should I be quiet? I can’t help that when we were cleaning my barn and came to the house for lunch the woman kissed you right there in front of everybody.”

  “Whoa, Dad. I’ve got to hear about this.”

  “Me, too. I’ve g
ot to check this woman out if my father-in-law is interested in her.”

  Neil put on his coat and started for the door. “When you all come by you’ll get to meet Kay. I’m sure she’ll still be there.” He grinned his mischievous grin. “While you’re at it, Jude, tell your kids how you hugged Kay up and told her you loved her right there in front of all of us.”

  Before Jude could answer, Neil was out the door. He whistled all the way to his Dodge Ram.

  CHAPTER 8

  It was almost six o’clock and the Parkers’ big living room was filling fast as Jude and his family came inside. Kay looked up from her seat on the floor beside Billy and watched as the big farmer came into the room. He had a small pink bundle in his arms and it touched her to see how tenderly he carried the baby.

  She uncrossed her legs and stood to shake hands with Cole and Alisa. Paul joined Billy on the floor and began looking at the cars and trucks he’d been playing with. The eight-year-old reluctantly joined them.

  As everyone immediately began to make over the twins, Jude noticed Kay as she turned to the two older boys and started talking with them. They were smiling at her, pleased with the attention.

  Later, Kay took a seat on the sofa beside Jude and said, “I’m sure you get to hold these precious babies all the time. Do you mind sharing with me today?”

  “I don’t mind at all.” He placed the baby in her arms. “This is Judy.”

  Kay looked down at the sweet innocent child and her heart lurched. She would never know the pleasure of having a grandchild of her own. She’d always have to be content with holding someone else’s baby.

  Alisa asked the question Kay had been dreading ever since she arrived in North Carolina. “Do you have children and grandchildren, Kay?”

  Kay swallowed and hoped nobody noticed her hesitation. “Red is the closest thing to a child I have. His children are my substitute grandchildren.”

  “Well, they’re nice ones,” Neil said. “I guess Mavis and I will share them with you.”

  A cry from the other room broke into the conversation. “That’s Aunt Kay’s smallest substitute grandchild. I guess nap time is over.” Darlene stood.