All for Family (The Rawley Family Romances Book 3) Read online

  “Ray…” The disappointed edge to her voice was the same one she used on their children. The man in the bed reacted the same way, ducking his head with a look of contrition on his face.

  “There’s nothing I can ever do or say to change what I was. And after all I put you through, I hoped I’d never see you again. I’m a coward and I didn’t ever want to face you … the look I knew would be there in those brown eyes of yours. But then this happened.” He swept his arm out, motioning to the condition of his body. “I’ve had a lot of time to think. I figure this is probably my punishment for some of that. God’s got a helluva way of getting through to people.”

  “Ray, I don’t believe God punishes us like that. He forgives.”

  He dropped his head back on the pillow, panting a little. Slipping his mask back over his face, he breathed the oxygen for a few minutes, then pulled it back off. “I do believe that. And I’ve been pleading with Him to forgive me. But I didn’t want to leave this earth without telling you I regret all I did to hurt you. If I could go back and change things, I would.” He chuckled dryly. “I hate it when people say shit like that. Anyway, I sold that stuff. What was in the boxes from the move. When we didn’t get what I wanted from the movers, I sold it. Mostly worthless stuff, but that necklace from your mom was there.”

  “The one from the yard sale,” Meg breathed, raising her hand to her neck. “But it was just a worthless piece of costume jewelry.”

  “Have you ever seen those antique shows, where someone gets something for a quarter at a garage sale and turns out its worth a million bucks or something?”

  She snorted. “Don’t tell me you sold it for a million dollars.”

  He shook his head, eyes closed again and a pinched look on his face. “Just six hundred fifty-nine actually.”

  “Oh, Ray.”

  “I know. Such an idiotic thing to do. It always bothered me though. Your mom put that cool little inscription on it. Y’all weren’t close, but it meant something to you.”

  “I’ve already forgiven you for everything, Ray. You don’t have to worry about all of it. It’s the past. I’ve let it go.”

  And Jeremy knew that she had. His wife didn’t have room for anger or hard-heartedness. She was a devoted mother and a doting wife, and her family was everything to her. The rest was unimportant.

  Ray made a little groaning sound, then felt around for his remote and pressed the nurse-call button. “You can open it, Meg.” He waved his hand at the bag she still held in her hand.

  She lowered her fingers into the little sack then emerged with a small jewelry box. Jeremy stepped in closer and when she opened the little box he saw a large filigree pendant. It appeared to be missing a stone in the center, but he watched Meg turn it over gently to reveal an engraved inscription.

  You are my sunshine, always.

  Meg brushed a finger across the words, then peered up at Ray and sniffed.

  “I tracked it down online. Internet is a crazy thing. The guy who had it in his shop said it was missing the stone when he got it. Said it was probably what made it so valuable. An opal or something. I thought about replacing it, but… I didn’t want to put the wrong thing in it. I figured you could put …” He began to cough, and his boney fingers gripped the rails on both sides of his bed. “I figured you could put what you want in it.”

  The nurse came in the room and began administering medication. Meg was stone silent, staring at the bauble in her palm. When they were alone again she quietly closed the box, placed it into the bag and turned her attention to the dying man.

  “Thanks for coming, Meg. I meant everything I said and I wish you all good things in life. Ahhh…” he sighed as if a huge weight had been lifted from him. “Find Rhonda before you leave. Tell her I’m ready now.”

  Jeremy watched his wife lean into the bed and place a chaste kiss to her ex-husband’s forehead. She brushed his hair back with a tender hand, then put the mask back across his nose and mouth. He saw her lips move, but he couldn’t hear the words she whispered. Ray’s eyes fluttered open a moment, and he smiled before fading off.

  And Jeremy knew he’d never seen something so beautiful as Meg’s act of compassion in that moment. All at once the hard feelings he’d been holding crumbled, and he realized it did no good for him to keep feeding the hatred he had for the man in the bed. The truth was, all the pain Raymond Slack caused was gone now. Without those events, Jeremy might never have earned the love of the woman who at that moment slipped her hand into his and led him out of that room.

  And maybe that was a reason to be grateful to Raymond Slack.

  “He’s going to hospice now, that’s what he meant,” Rhonda told Meg a few minutes later. “He was waiting to see you before I made the call. Things will move quickly after that, and he didn’t want to miss the chance.”

  Dropping her head to the side, she offered her former best friend a sympathetic smile, then reached out to wipe the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. “Do you need anything?”

  She dug into her purse for a tissue and then blew her nose. “Oh, you know me. I’m a mess as always.” She laughed. “But I’ll make it, Meg. Thank God I have Ben.”

  “Yes, I’m glad you do too. I wish we could stay, but our plane leaves this evening. We’re just going to take a little drive around town and grab a bite to eat.”

  Putting a hand on her arm, Rhonda squeezed and nodded. “Thanks again for coming. I really appreciate it.”

  Meg’s heart swelled a little as she hugged her friend and thought of all the years that had gone by since last they’d seen each other. Time and friendship were funny. She could still feel all the same affection for her friend now as if not a day had gone by. Yet their lives were separate, and she was okay with letting go again. Maybe they would choose to keep in touch.

  Meg was pensive and subdued later when they stopped at Chi Chi’s for pizza. Her hometown had changed in the intervening years. Most notably the building that had been Goody’s Nursery was gone now, replaced by a huge self-serve car wash. Still, some things never changed, and her favorite pizza joint, thankfully, was one of them.

  She smiled at her husband as he set her drink onto the table and sat down across from her. Leaning back and sucking up a huge gulp from his glass, he smiled at her in a knowing way. “Are you doing okay?”

  She took a moment before answering, then nodded with a small smile. “I’m kind of sad. He’s really young, but I guess cancer doesn’t discriminate. I hope he’s made peace with himself and with our Maker. I think maybe he has.”

  “Mrs. S?”

  Meg’s head shot up, and she nearly screeched when she recognized the tall young man standing in front of her. “Oh my word, Tim Jenkins!”

  She leapt to her feet, and they embraced, Tim grabbing her up so tight that her feet nearly left the floor. When they came apart, he looked down to Jeremy and stuck out his hand to shake it. “Sorry, I guess it’s not ‘Mrs. S’ anymore, but old habits are hard to break. Good to see you again, Mr. Rawley.”

  “And you, Tim. Please, have a seat.”

  “I wish I could stay, but they just called my number.” He held up a slip of paper. “My girlfriend’s waiting at home and she gets hangry when I don’t hurry back with food.”

  Meg chortled with laughter, her eyes watery. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you. Where’s your grandmother? Don’t tell me you aren’t sharing pizza with her.”

  “Would you believe she’s on a cruise? I swear, the minute I graduated college she started taking these trips, and she’s hardly ever home anymore.”

  Meg was very proud of her former employee. He’d done well for himself, getting a bachelor degree in business with a specialty in non-profits. Next semester he planned to begin graduate school while working for the university archives.

  “Are you are in town long? I’d love for you to meet Annie.”

  “I’m sorry. This was a really quick trip. We’ll be flying out tonight.”

  “We
ll, don’t worry ‘cause you’ll be invited to the wedding,” he winked.

  Meg gasped and covered her mouth, “Did you pop the question?”

  “Yeah, we’re thinking probably next spring. She’ll finally make an honest man of me.” He glanced behind him at the checkout counter. “But I have to run now. Be on the look out for that invitation.”

  When he leaned in to hug her, he murmured close to her ear. “In case I ever forgot to mention it, thank for all you did for me, Mrs. S.”

  Larra Rawley stepped back and folded her hands in front of her. Her eyes began at the top and worked their way down as she assessed Meg carefully. Finally, a grin spread across her face, and the genteel beauty of the woman shone even brighter with the joy in her eyes.

  “Lovely. Absolutely lovely.”

  A long-held sigh rushed passed Meg’s lips, and she glanced down at herself. She’d chosen a simple formal of a champagne color for her second wedding. The shirred waist and folded skirt flattered her figure in just the right ways.

  “Now, Kay will be back any moment with your bouquet, so before this entire affair begins I have something to say.”

  All she could do was nod as her future mother-in-law approached and took both her hands, squeezing them within hers. The knot in Meg’s throat was so huge she was almost afraid she wouldn’t be able to breathe. She hadn’t been nearly as nervous on the day of her first wedding, but then there wasn’t time for anxiety with all of Rhonda’s rushing and primping and bouncing around.

  “Life surprises us sometimes, Meg. I’d almost given up on Jeremy picking a bride. Believe me, I paraded every eligible woman I could find in front of him from about the time he turned twenty-one. But he takes so much after me, and then there’s the pressure of his future title. He’s totally business about family duty and all that rubbish.”

  Meg giggled, surprised to hear the countess speak of family duty as rubbish. She blushed and looked down at their hands, still locked. Larra released one of hers and chucked Meg on the chin to bring her gaze back up.

  “As a mother, I spent so much time planning the way my children’s’ lives should be. It was safer that way for me, to decide how it would be so that I wouldn’t be taken unawares. The older I get the more I realize the good things in life can’t be planned. And that’s the most wonderful part of it. Take care of my son, Meg.”

  “I have flowers!” Kay exclaimed and she burst into the door. “There are so many people downstairs. Oh, Meg you look beautiful! Jeremy is one lucky guy. Mother, we need to put this corsage on you and then you can put mine on me. Oh and Meg I want to put a few of these buds in your hair. It will be just gorgeous!”

  The young woman’s enthusiasm was contagious. The sentimentality of the moment just shared between mother and daughter-in-law shifted seamlessly into smiles and laughter as Kay handed the bouquet to Larra.

  Leaning in, the Countess of Rawley placed the flowers into Meg’s hand and tears prick her eyes when she noticed the little sprigs of Strawberry Epistles in among the white roses and baby’s breath.

  Larra whispered, “Can you imagine what this day will be like when Kay marries? Lord help us all!”

  Meg sat on the settee in Kay’s room at Arrington Manor. There was much activity with Hope and Tamara fussing over the details of dressing the bride. The gown she’d chosen was vintage yet fresh. The dramatic sweetheart bodice had off-the-shoulder sleeves with an open back covered by tulle. Meg especially loved the detail of the beautiful dogwood bloom lace overskirt which swept into a long delicate train.

  “Wow!” Hope breathed, excitement evident in the way she held her hands crossed up close to lips. “Just wow.”

  “Girl, your man is going to pass out when he sees you,” Tamara piped in.

  Kay snorted, “He’d better not at least not until I get an ‘I do’ from him.”

  “Ready for your shoes?” Hope asked, holding up the blue-toned heels. In the sole of one of them was embedded a sixpence coin.

  “Wait, wait.” Tamara stopped them. “Let’s go through all of it.”

  “Something old.” Kay touched the pearls at her neck, an heirloom passed down for years in the Rawley family.

  Tamara patted the jeweled comb holding Kay’s blonde locks back “Something new.”

  Meg stood and advanced towards the bride, one hand tightly clenched. When she was in front of Kay, she held out her hand and opened her palm. “Something borrowed.”

  It was the filigree pendant Ray had returned to her. She’d had a jeweler modify it into a pin, also adding a locket. Meg touched the clasp and opened it to reveal a portrait of Larra Rawley.

  “Damn you, Meg,” Kay sniffed, touching the piece with tentative fingers. “I just knew you’d be the one to make me cry today.”

  Smiling, Meg shook her head. “My mom gave me this a few years before she passed. After the wedding, you can take the locket out and keep it. The pin can be returned, but for today your mother will be right here.” She attached it carefully to Kay’s gown, right over her heart.

  All four women paused, reverent of the sentimental moment. Then there was a little tap at the door, and Meg immediately recognized the sound to be the knob of her father-in-law’s cane. “Kay, m’girl, are you ready yet? It’s almost time.”

  “And something blue and a sixpence for your shoe!” Hope cried out, bending to help Kay step into her heels.

  “Flowers!” Meg cried, reaching for the bouquet from the Rawley garden, including some of the enormous Venus dogwood blossoms. “We’re ready, Daddy!” she handed them to Kay and opened the door.

  The wedding was as perfect as Meg knew it would be. At the reception, she made her rounds, ensuring as the lady of Arrington Manor that all the guests were happy and comfortable. She approached the table where some of Van’s family were sitting and paused to hear their conversation.

  “I hear tell she’s an acquired taste,” the mother of the groom, Ginny Sue Van Buren said, and Meg saw her motioning towards Geneva. She was talking to one of the Durman uncles who, after a moment, put his nose into the air and walked away from her. Geneva, as usual these days, wore a pinched and unhappy frown.

  “Acquired taste?” Van’s Aunt Betty scoffed. “Looks like he just spit her out.”

  Meg slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter. She was saved when a hand gently tapped her shoulder. “Oh, hello, dear. Do we need anything?” she asked her husband.

  “Yes, we have a promise to cash in. I believe this song will work.”

  She blushed and smiled, slipping her hand into his and letting him lead her onto the dance floor. She still wasn’t much of a dancer, but she had a standing promise to Jeremy that she would reserve a single slow dance for him at any function.

  As they swept back and forth amongst the crowd of people, she glanced up at him with a blissful expression. Weddings were always special to her, but somehow this was even more so. Perhaps because she’d finally put to bed her past a few weeks before.

  “You look quite lovely this afternoon. In fact, I believe you might make a beautiful bride yourself.”

  “Ah,” she beamed, playing along. “but I’ve been wedded twice and I’ve vowed to never be a bride again.”

  “Oh? So I’ve no chance at all then?”

  She inhaled deep and then pressed herself closer to him so that she could rest her head against his shoulder. “Not a chance at all of ever getting rid of me, Jeremy Rawley.”

  The perfection of the moment wasn’t disturbed in the least when a weight slammed into her leg. She and Jeremy both peered down to see their younger son, out of breath and with cheeks pink in excitement. “Mom, Jareth is telling that story again about the scarecrow. Michelle is gonna cry!”

  Jeremy peered down at their boy and raised an eyebrow in a stern warning. “Tell your brother I’d like to speak with him. And young gentlemen don’t run at ladies and tattle on their brothers like that. Haven’t we talked about manners?”

  “Yes, sir. I’m
sorry, Mom.” Then he dropped his head and shuffled away.

  Her husband’s hand at the small of her back, the two of them sashayed off the dance platform. “Are you certain you aren’t going to change your mind about this grand adventure of ours?”

  She only smiled at him as he pecked her affectionately on the cheek and went off to speak with their oldest son. As she watched him go she was reminded of all she had and the blessings of family. Before Jeremy could get too far away she called out to him, “I never want to be known as reneging on a promise. When you’re finished with Jareth, come find me so that we can finish that dance.”

  Her husband turned and his blue eyes glittered with happiness. He winked and then bowed to her. “It will be a pleasure, Mrs. Rawley.”

  THE END

  For this book, I could probably thank every single person who has ever been or ever will be in my life. No, there was certainly more fiction than fact here: only the nuances of life, of family, of friendship.

  But I do know the struggles of being uncomfortable in my own skin and feeling unlovable and unwanted because of my perceived flaws.

  And I do know that sometimes friends come into our lives and for any number of reasons, and not always for fault, they drift out. But I cherish each friendship I’ve had in my life. The ones that hurt me taught me something and a well-learned lesson can never be discounted. The ones who blessed me for a time will hold special places in my heart. The ones who will be by my side forever are the prized jewels in the crown of the woman I’ve come to be. Thank you to you all.

  “A Reason, A Season, A Lifetime”

  People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

  When you figure out which one it is,

  you will know what to do for each person.

  When someone is in your life for a REASON,

  it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.