Rainn on My Parade Read online

  “I understand.” He scratched through his morning jaw stubble. Dead air silence. But his head hummed with guilt first, for neglecting his sister and niece, sympathy next, for Ms. Shake’s situation. And finally, a silent prayer for guidance. “How’s Mia taking this?”

  “In stride. She’s a trooper.”

  “I’m sure sorry to hear about your sister. Your place is with her. And Mia’s place is with me now. Can you think of anyone else who may know Lindsay’s whereabouts? You checked with all her friends?”

  “For a long time now I’ve been her only friend. She’s like a daughter to me. Problems and all. Legally I didn’t know what to do other than call you. I thought about alerting the authorities, but goodness me, I can’t imagine that fragile child in the system. Lindsay keeps your number handy on my fridge, so I called you.”

  He searched for a reason to justify his nine-month absence from Texas. Psychobabble terms like enabling and co-dependency came to mind. Helping Lindsay with her spiritual growth is what he had neglected. “I finally had to get on with my life, you know. I thought Lindsay was going to be OK this time after rehab. Mia’s really all right?”

  “Mia is taking it in stride. She’s been with me a lot lately. I’m sorry to say that Lindsay hasn’t been well for a long time. She kept staying out later and later. Recently Mia’s been with me most weekends. She’s doing OK, though.”

  He jumped to his feet. “Ms. Shake, in all seriousness, I don’t know how to thank you for all that you’ve done for my family.”

  “Oh, posh. Call me Penny. Mia is a genius waiting for release and I love her to pieces.”

  “So, what do you want me to do?”

  “You need to come get her. Do you know when that’ll be? I really have to get down to Corpus.”

  “I’ll be in Texas as soon as I can. I’ll give you a call when I can be more specific.”

  Rainn on My Parade

  2

  An hour later, Rainn ventured through the front door of Frivolities, sweeping aside several garlands of dangling autumn leaves and sunflowers.

  When he could see clearly, he spied Moselle on the top step of a ladder, balancing on her tiptoes.

  “Mornin’, Moselle. Don’t you women ever stay off those high places?”

  Moselle blew him a kiss, causing her copper and beaded earrings to sway. She cut him a look that resembled her mother.

  He reflected on his perception of Geneva. She was a good-looker; but the whole package drew him. Her love of life, so plucky she climbed a tree. He suppressed a grin.

  Moselle dropped a pushpin, which skipped down the ladder.

  The red-tipped pin bounced off his shoe. “I’ll get it.”

  He set the pin in Moselle’s cupped hand. When he brought his elbow back, he caught Geneva’s scent. And bumped into her softness. Not since college, had a woman made his heart pound so. And whatever scent she wore, triggered an immediate response in him. It lingered long after they parted.

  “Sorry—”

  “Oh, it’s—”

  Their gazes met, and they laughed.

  He reacted deep in his gut. And lost what he’d planned to say.

  “I’m always barging in to straighten one item or another. But I’m not sorry I bumped into you. Welcome.” She completed her action and handed a fringed, hot pink and lime green purse up to Moselle. She patted Moselle’s calf before giving Rainn her full attention. “Coffee?”

  Geneva had changed her hair. The with-it style swept away from her ears and neck, making her look more radiant somehow.

  “You know it.” He stepped sideways, mindful to keep his shoulders and feet from knocking into the colorful female madness amidst the crafts and crazy items of the store. He followed her through narrow pathways to the center of the room where Geneva’s espresso machine held court behind the counter.

  Coffee steamed into the oversized Frivolities mug. Rainn drew in the aroma. His fingers covered hers when he took the offering from her hand.

  Geneva must have felt the same skitter of awareness, because her long fingers flew to her collar where she adjusted a button that was fastened secure. Just as quickly, her hand dropped to her Frivolities apron pocket.

  How could this gutsy, vibrant woman be the mother of his buddy’s fiancée? She and Moselle acted more like sisters.

  “Rainn, anything else catch your fancy?” Her soft voice brought his mind back to the subject at hand.

  She’d really get flustered if he answered, you.

  “Well, not exactly. You given any more thought to that favor?” He took a cautious sip of the hot coffee, and then a huge gulp. “I’ve come to see if I can call it in.”

  Her laughter tinkled and chimed in with the bell above the front door as it announced another customer. Her expression invited him to continue.

  “Yes, I do need your help, Geneva. I have a situation with my sister.”

  “Well, come to the back. I know what situations with sisters are all about.”

  He followed in the wake of her fragrant femininity, twisting through a field of ladybugs painted on a multitude of retail objects.

  She closed the door to the office and turned to sit on the edge of the light green couch. He sat in the overstuffed chair, careful not to spill his drink.

  “That’s where Eric always sits.”

  “Hey, what can I say? It’s man-sized.” Rainn settled further into the dark red chair, leaning his weight onto the sturdy mahogany arms.

  Geneva smoothed a hand over a quiltin-progress as she placed it in her lap. “What is it, Rainn?”

  “My sister Lindsay is in trouble.”

  She gave him her full attention.

  “Lindsay has a lifelong habit of getting in with the wrong crowd. At times, I’ve prayed with her and felt confident as far as where her place is with the Lord, but she’s weak. As we all are in certain areas.” He hesitated and drank, keeping a watch on Geneva’s reactions.

  Her hand went to her throat in that familiar gesture, but she didn’t interrupt.

  “To come right out with it, Lindsay has a rough history. She’s been in rehab for methamphetamine use and had some trouble with the law.” He studied her reaction. “And now she’s disappeared.”

  Geneva’s eyes rounded, her eyebrows arching high above the rims of her glasses so that he saw three or four colors in her hazel eyes. Her hand stretched out to him, but he was beyond her reach. She let it drop to her side. “How long?”

  Empathy. His respect for her raised another notch.

  “Gone two weeks, I guess.” He fiddled with the handle on the Frivolities mug. “This is the thing. Lindsay is an adult and has to live with the choices she makes. I learned some time ago that we have to follow where the Lord leads. For me, that’s not enabling my sister.”

  Geneva nodded and finally spoke. “But how can I help, Rainn?”

  “Lindsay has a daughter, meaning I have a niece. I need to make a run to Fort Worth, Texas, to bring Mia back.”

  “I see.” She sank into the cushion with a sigh, settled in, seemed to study the scar at the corner of his left brow, then met his gaze. “Tell me about Mia.”

  “Mia is six. Special. Actually, I think she’s a really smart kid.” He grinned and shook his head as he pictured his niece. He tipped his head back to finish the coffee and set down the mug. “Mia is autistic,” he said, as though talking to the table.

  “Oh.” Geneva spoke the word on a sigh. “She’s extra special, then.”

  Her soft reply settled like the fulfillment he got when he found just the perfect piece of glass for his artwork.

  “Has she had the therapy she needs?”

  “Occupational, I think they call it.” He drew a breath, and scratched the hair at his nape. “As much as the shock and trouble over the diagnosis, I believe Mia’s special, too. And thank God, Texas schools are on top of providing for those kids. When the time was vital for the paperwork and the visits to the children’s hospital, Lindsay was clean and sober. Even
had a good job with benefits.”

  “I’m so pleased to hear that. But, if Lindsay has been gone for two weeks, who’s caring for Mia?”

  “Penny Shake is Lindsay’s landlady, a good friend, and Mia’s babysitter. But she needs to leave Fort Worth. Penny has to head to Corpus Christi, like yesterday. I must care for Mia.”

  “Well, there you go. We do what we have to do.”

  She drew him. He had to get closer. He rose from the chair, shifted the pile of quilting where it had slipped from her lap to the coffee table, and sat on the sofa next to her.

  They didn’t touch, but he felt her inviting presence wrap around him.

  Rainn lowered his voice, his natural reaction whenever Geneva was near. “I need a woman along to help Mia in the restrooms while we’re on the road. Mia has to be given detailed instruction and guidance no matter what she does. For example, proper clothing. If the weather changes, she needs to have the right clothes for the temperature, and the choices available, so she doesn’t have to deal with surprises. I’m here to see if you’d go to Texas with me to bring Mia back?”

  “I have no experience with a child such as your niece.”

  He’d thought this through on his way over. “Once we get to Fort Worth, Penny can have Mia ready to go and will prepare her to a certain extent as to what to expect on a road trip. But especially if I’m driving, I won’t be able to calm Mia down if she goes off on a tangent. And if something unexpected happens, she’ll have an episode.”

  He paused, giving her a quiet moment to consider. “Those outbursts can be quite the hair raisers if you’re unprepared.”

  “Hasn’t Eric told me that your parents are still alive?”

  “They are. But they travel in their fifth wheel and are in Alaska right now. They wouldn’t be able to drive back in time. Besides, they’re probably some place no cell phone towers reach.”

  “But.…” Geneva’s voice died off and her hand flew to her throat, where her fingers rubbed hard enough to leave red streaks.

  He wanted her to ask the right question.

  “Why me, Rainn?”

  That was the right question.

  “God brought you to mind. We’re not exactly strangers, with me being around Eric so much, and him about to marry your daughter.”

  She raised a brow and her hand fluttered in the air.

  “Plus, you’re the only mother I know in Platteville who doesn’t have young kids underfoot.” He rushed on, afraid she’d refuse. “I know it’s asking an awful lot, with Frivolities newly opened and all, but I have no one else I trust as much as you.”

  “Well, I think I’m flattered that you should ask. I do owe you one, and I pay my debts. But, I also have a business to run so I need to sleep on this.”

  And I know you’ll pray about it, he added to himself.

  “I get that it takes all three of you to run your store. Moselle’s head is on the wedding, and with Lanae’s health, you probably take tasks on a day-to-day basis,” he offered.

  “You got that right. But isn’t most of life a day-to-day situation?”

  “Some days it’s minute-to-minute.” He briefly pressed her arm before putting space between them. “Geneva, if you are gutsy enough to climb a tree to save a cat, you are gutsy enough to take a road trip with me to save a child.”

  ****

  “I think I’ve lost my mind to even consider such a thing,” Geneva admitted to Moselle and Lanae during a lull between customers.

  “Mom, go for it. I’d love to take off with Eric and be gone for a couple of days.” Moselle grinned and blushed, no doubt thinking of her approaching honeymoon.

  Realization slammed into Geneva. “Oh, no!” A frown formed and tightened. “I didn’t ask how long it takes to drive to Fort Worth, or where we’ll sleep.”

  “Well, I know how long it took me to go from Kansas City to Dallas,” Moselle paused to calculate. “So with the difference, I’m guessing it’s around eleven hours from Platteville to Fort Worth. Yeah, you’ll have to stay the night. Rainn can’t expect you, or Mia either, to be on the road without rest.”

  Geneva attempted to wrap her mind around the idea of dealing with a child who had special needs, a child whom she didn’t know. Not to mention, the idea of adjoining motel rooms with a younger man who had her all twitter-pated. How could it work? She honestly figured such a trip was impossible.

  The phone interrupted. Lanae answered. “Sure. She’s right here.”

  Oh Father God, will I ever get used to the weariness in Lanae’s voice? I want her body, her liver, healed. See her whole once again. She reached for the phone.

  “How ya doing?” Rainn’s masculine voice washed over Geneva. Her heartbeat accelerated.

  “One thing I neglected to mention. It’s too long a drive to not stay over, just in case you wondered about proprieties. Since Lindsay isn’t at her apartment, one of us can stay there, and the other one downstairs in Penny’s extra room.”

  Proprieties. What an old-fashioned word. Geneva’s heart calmed, and she heated up all over again, as though he’d guessed she’d been dwelling on that very thing.

  She tried to keep her voice young and light. “Have I said I’m going?” She wanted to snatch the words back, surprised at the tone she’d used.

  Was she flirting?

  Moselle and Lanae froze with silly grins on their faces, as they tuned in to the conversation.

  Rainn’s chuckle vibrated through Geneva and created a shiver she had no right to feel. I cannot get used to his effect on me. Dear Lord, do You want me to help this young man?

  “I believe you won’t let me down, Geneva.” His voice lowered, softened somehow, and thrilled her to the marrow. “You’re a fine Christian woman.”

  “You don’t really know me, Rainn.”

  “I know what I need to. And for the record, I’d like to get to know you better.”

  Oh boy.

  “I’ll get back to you.” She put down the phone and surveyed Frivolities. Not long past their grand opening, business looked good.

  She focused on Lanae where she finished tagging items in the patriotic section. Then Lanae wandered back to the office. The treatments for hepatitis C were on schedule. Lanae had lost some hair and now wore her do salt and pepper and very short.

  Some days she didn’t make it to work. Others, she could work for an hour or two and then needed a nap. Remarkably, if she wasn’t sleeping while she rested, Lanae continued to crochet.

  Lord, I ask you for my sister’s full recovery, if it be Your will. And give me patience and understanding. I thank You for my health. And forgive me for taking it for granted, she tagged on.

  Geneva switched her scrutiny to where Moselle draped lace table runners over an oak chair back, putting her knack for displaying items into practice.

  She had full confidence in Moselle and Lanae to handle the shop in her absence.

  So here she was, a midlife woman with a business to run, a daughter’s wedding to help plan, and an ill sister. On top of all that, a younger—make that a heartthrob of a younger—man who also needed her.

  How long had it been since someone really needed her?

  Geneva was almost persuaded to go. But not quite yet. Could she take off and leave it all for a couple days?

  Eric might have some input. She phoned his insurance office and made sure it would be all right for her to go right over. She wanted to see his face instead of continue the conversation over the phone.

  Eric stood from behind his desk when she opened the door. “Hey, sweet second Momma. I hear you are taking a road trip.” His deep voice always reminded her of Johnny Cash.

  “There are no secrets in this town,” she said with a smile. She grew serious. “This may seem like a ridiculous question, but am I safe with Rainn?”

  The look on Eric’s face was comical, as though he absolutely couldn’t believe that she’d ask such a thing.

  He ran his fingers down the grooves at the corners of his mouth, erasing
his smile. Then he lifted his hand and straightened his dark hair.

  “Geneva, I’d trust Rainn with my life. Actually, I do trust him with my life, every time we fight a fire together.”

  He came around the desk and enveloped her in his arms. Geneva’s crazy emotions settled. She felt blessed and thankful to have him joining her family. Widowed women like her and her sister often got lonely for male contact, masculine strength to lean into.

  This man will make a fine son-in-law.

  And if she was honest with herself, Geneva had dwelt way too much on male contact ever since Rainn had held her close while carrying her down from that tree.

  She thanked Eric, and planted one on his cheek in parting. As soon as she got back to Frivolities, she picked up the phone.

  When Rainn answered, Geneva detected relief in his tone. Before any specifics could be voiced, she took the plunge.

  “You have no choice in this situation, with Mia’s caregiver reaching out to her sister.” Geneva exhaled a heavy sigh. “You need me. And I owe you one. Yes, I’ll go with you, Rainn.”

  “Thatta girl.”

  If he only knew how much like a teenager she felt, just talking to the man.

  “Geneva, really, thank you beyond words. Now, I owe you.”

  Better do this before she chickened out. “When do we leave?”

  Rainn on My Parade

  3

  Early the next morning, Rainn knocked on Geneva’s door on Lilac Street. He’d been up for a couple hours and now gazed at the pastel shades above the horizon as the sky lightened to make the day. His first sight of Geneva was the top of her head, followed by an arm sliding a medium-sized tapestry bag onto the porch.

  “Here, let me. Anything else?”

  “Good morning,” she greeted, slinging a large purple tote over her shoulder. She straightened, and he caught the smell that was unique to Geneva.