ALAN STOPPED IN TOWN for the second time that day on the pretext of picking up a few groceries for Birdie and checking on a grain order for Windridge. His visit didn’t go unnoticed, since he so rarely got to town these days. So when he asked questions about Laurel Ashline he couldn’t really blame the shopkeepers who were reluctant to give much away.
At the granary he was told Eva Saxon had described Laurel as a tall, willowy blonde. Peg Moore, waitress at the corner café eyed Alan as she wiped off the counter and poured his coffee. “Laurel Ashline is…rather plain, I’d say. And she’s either really shy or exceptionally quiet.”
“About how old, would you guess?” Alan asked casually.
“Um, late twenties or early thirties,” Peg ventured.
That surprised him, and pretty much ruled out the possibility that she’d been one of the women who’d attended Hazel Bell’s funeral. They’d all been matronly.
He could see that everyone in the café was curious. But, typical of folks in this part of Kentucky, no one pressed Alan to say why he wanted to learn more about the stranger in their midst.
“It’s later than I thought. I should be getting home. Louemma will be finishing her lessons, and I have a message for her tutor from the school.” Depositing a tip next to his coffee cup, Alan stood up.
“Is Louemma improving at all?” Peg asked what few ever did of Alan.
“Not really,” he admitted reluctantly.
“I thought that was probably the case. Yesterday Charity Madison brought her Camp Fire troop in for ice cream. Used to be you never saw Sarah Madison without Louemma. Peg shook her head. “That Sarah’s getting a mouth on her, and Charity doesn’t seem to know how to curb it. If it was me, I’d be giving that little miss some chores, and I’d take away privileges.”
Alan didn’t respond. Charity and Pete Madison had been his and Emily’s best friends. To their credit, the couple had tried to include him and Louemma in their social events after the accident. But there was no denying the dynamics were different now. Maybe Charity couldn’t bring herself to discipline Sarah, he mused. Because Louemma’s experience showed how quickly life could change for the worse. Could be Charity was plain glad Sarah hadn’t been with Louemma at the time Emily’s car spun out of control.
At home again, Alan carried the groceries he’d bought in the back door. He’d missed Louemma’s tutor, so he’d have to call her later. He sat down beside his daughter on the couch in front of the TV and kissed the top of her head.
“Hi, Daddy. Where’ve you been?”
“Nowhere. I just ran some errands in town.”
Birdie bustled into the room bearing a plate of oatmeal-raisin cookies and a tall glass of milk. Vestal appeared out of nowhere, clearly wanting to nab Alan.
As Birdie sat down to help Louemma drink and eat, Vestal yanked him out of the living room, into the hall. “What happened when you went to see Laurel Ashline? When’s she coming to see Louemma?”
He scowled. “Who said I even went to see Ms. Ashline?”
“Eva. She phoned right after you left her shop. Trying her best to learn why you followed up a basket of fruit with a vaseful of roses for a woman who apparently told Eva she hadn’t even met you. You know Eva can’t stand to think that anyone in town is keeping secrets from her.”
“Three roses, Grandmother, not a vaseful.” Alan wiggled three fingers. “She wasn’t home, by the way. And speaking of secrets, why didn’t you tell me you sent her that fruit basket in my name?”
Vestal did have the grace to look guilty.
“Also, were you aware she’s living in Hazel Bell’s cottage? Her cottage, on our land. It is, you know. Ours.” He narrowed his eyes and watched his grandmother clasp a fist to her thin chest.
“That’s why her name sounded familiar. Ashline—that was the transient workman Lucy Bell ran off with. Oh, my. Laurel must be Lucy’s daughter.”
“What? Ted never mentioned having a granddaughter.”
“No. But it has to be. In that case, you have your answer as to why she settled here. Laurel Ashline has roots in Ridge City.”
“No way! Her mother ran off how many years ago?”
“At least thirty. But you said it yourself, Alan. Strangers never move here. Only people who have roots. She does.”
Alan turned and stomped toward his office. At the door, he stopped. “She may think she has roots here,” he said. “Obviously Hazel or her lawyer led the woman to believe Bell Hill belongs to her. But that forty acres is Ridge land—always has been and always will be. Hardy needs the water from that spring to expand Windridge. We’re paying him big bucks to ensure Louemma’s legacy and her children’s legacy long after you and I are gone, Grandmother. Isn’t that reason enough not to get chummy with Laurel Ashline?” He started to slam the door, but Vestal blocked it with a toe.
“Now you listen to me. Way back before Lucy Bell went wild, her mother and I dreamed about our son and her daughter forging an unbreakable bond between our two families. That didn’t happen. But maybe…”
“Uh-huh. No, ma’am. Don’t even think it!” Alan’s voice rose sharply. “You’re not pairing me up with…that woman. Not with any woman.”
“Grouchy as you are, no woman in her right mind would have you, Alan Ridge. Chew on this—if you don’t get help for her, the Ridge bloodline ends with Louemma. I tell you, I have a feeling about Laurel. You know Jason and your father both respected my intuition. I can’t imagine why you’re in such a state over someone you’ve never met. Quit being an ass and make peace with the woman, for Louemma’s sake.”
Squaring her shoulders, Vestal withdrew her foot from the door, then slammed it shut herself.
Behind the door, Alan rubbed his eyes. Obviously he had to do something. If this battle between them continued, Vestal could work herself into a heart attack. Or he would, considering how furiously the blood pounded through his veins. No, he couldn’t let this go on. Somewhere there had to be a doctor able to cure whatever ailed Louemma.
CHAPTER THREE
ALAN THOUGHT HE HEARD faint sounds of someone crying as he stood braced against the door. He gave himself a mental shake and opened it a crack.
It wasn’t like Vestal to give way to tears. And it wasn’t like him to push a confrontation to the brink of tears, either. That had been part of his and Emily’s problem. She’d spoiled for a fight over the least little thing and had been adept at employing tears to get her way. Alan had realized early in their marriage that she’d manipulated her parents in pretty much the same manner. He’d been determined not to fall into the same trap. When the hysterics began, his response was usually to walk away, which only made Emily more furious.
Someone was definitely crying, he decided. But it wasn’t coming from his grandmother’s wing. Setting off to investigate, Alan found Louemma still in front of the TV. Her face was wet. Tears dripped off her chin, as she couldn’t lift a hand to wipe them away.
He dashed to her side and whipped a clean handkerchief out of his pocket. On his knees beside her, Alan gently blotted her face. “Louemma, honey, what’s wrong? Are you in pain? Tell me where so I can call Dr. Fulton.”
“Why were you and Nana yelling? It…it reminded me of you and Mama.”
“We never yell—” Stunned, Alan let the hand holding the handkerchief fall away. “Baby, I never raised my voice to your mother.” Emily, though, had screamed loudly enough for ten people.
Again the dark eyes studying him glistened with tears. “But…Mama yelled at you. And sometimes stuff hit my bedroom wall.”
Alan’s