Ruth Scofield - In God's Own Time

Time hadn’t been her friend.

Slowly, Meg stood, noting once again that he topped her by several inches even when she wore heels. Staring up at him, she felt the impact of his gaze like a brick had socked her in the middle. Yet she couldn’t help but notice that the gentle, laughing face she remembered had taken on worry lines and those wonderful mossy eyes appeared tired.

He smiled warmly, showing even white teeth. As always, her heart jumped as though ready to turn somersaults.

“Kelsey…” Her mouth went dry. She tried not to gape at him, tried to return the smile, knew it was tremulous. She was thirty-two, and yet this man could still reduce her to a giddy sixteen-year-old.

“Expected you home when I heard your mother was ill.”

“Yes, I came as quickly as possible.”

“How is she?”

“Much better, thank you.”

“She’s home from the hospital, now, isn’t she?”

“Yes.”

Her mind had taken a coffee break, she supposed, because she could think of little more to say. All the sophistication she’d gained over the years dealing with wealthy investment clients, with dating a variety of men, all her business and social poise, waved bye-bye as it winged past his head.

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” Heather said, wedging herself against her father’s legs. “Can we go for hamburgers?”

“We’ll go in a minute, honey. But we’re due at Mrs. Burroughs’s house at one. Lissa, go round up your brothers.”

“Dad…” Lissa protested.

“Lissa,” he responded in a firm voice.

“Okay.” Lissa threw her a pleading look. “Don’t go away before we can make a plan, will you Aunt Meg?”

“No, honey, I promise,” she told the girl, regaining some of her usual easiness. “Perhaps I can take you girls out to lunch one day next week. Even some shopping.”

“Oh, that would be super. I’ll be right back, okay?”

“I’ll stay right here till we have a day fixed.” She turned back to find that Kelsey was studying her face.

“Been a long time.”

“Yes, it has.”

“You didn’t marry that Frenchman, after all.”

“No. Our lives were too…dissimilar.” Her mother had kept the rumor circuit busy, as always, no matter how tenuous. Henri had been history almost before the proposal.

“What about that English fellow your mom was all excited about a few months back?”

His question was asked seriously, but a glint of amusement made his eyes dance. Her nerves settled down; this was the Kelsey she treasured.

“Clive Mmm, yeah.” She chuckled and shrugged, jiggling her keys. “Actually, I still like Clive quite a lot. Mother certainly wouldn’t mind him for a son-in-law at all, but…”

Aimee and Phillip rounded a corner of the rapidly clearing parking lot, noisily arguing with Thad. Lissa trailed behind.

“Why didn’t you come home for Dee Dee’s funeral, Meg?” Kelsey asked out of the blue, snapping her attention back to his face.

His gaze had grown still.

Why? She’d been vacationing in Italy, thinking about marrying Clive when she’d heard of Dee Dee’s death. Being thousands of miles away, she could never have reached home in time for the funeral.

She hadn’t tried, sent condolences and white roses, Dee Dee’s favorites, and simply grieved on her own for the cousin she’d counted more like a sister.

But she’d said no to Clive, too.

Now she swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, offering simply, “I…couldn’t. I’m sorry, Kels. I loved Dee Dee quite a lot, you know.”

His voice deepened with emotion. “Yeah, I know…”

“Can’t we have hamburgers today, Daddy?” Heather begged again as the other children arrived.

“Not today, Heather,” he replied staunchly, finally dropping his gaze. “Maybe next week.”

“Hi, Thad,” Meg greeted. “Hi, Phillip. Remember me?”

Phillip shook his head, looking curiously puzzled from one to the other as Aimee cozied up to her. Thad simply gave her a suspicious stare.

“It’s Aunt Meg,” Lissa told the boys. “Say hello.”

Thad’s frown deepened. Phillip continued to stare.

“Boys,” Kelsey said in an uncompromising tone. “It’s polite to answer when someone says hello.”

“Hi,” Phillip answered directly while Thad dutifully mumbled a greeting “You’re the lady that likes us. Lissa says—”

“We should go, Dad,” Lissa cut in hurriedly. “You know Mrs. Burroughs wants us to be on time.”

“True enough. Okay, elbows and knees, pile in.”

“Da-a-ad,” Lissa protested his teasing description.

Meg fixed it with the girls to pick them up on Thursday for their outing if her mother’s health continued to improve, and with quick goodbyes, turned to go.

Kelsey’s voice stopped her. “Glad you’re home, Meg,” he said softly, his gaze intently speculative. “Missed you.”

“I missed you…all of you…too.” She stumbled through her reply as her stomach turned to jelly.

Had he missed her? Really as much as all that?

“Meg, don’t use that Spode bowl for the corn. Take down the ironstone, the green ivy leaf pattern,” Meg’s mother, Audrey, directed from the living room the following Wednesday night. “Kathy’s kids are just too rambunctious when they help clean up.”

Meg ignored the way her mother always referred to her brother’s children as “Kathy’s kids” instead of her own grandchildren. Audrey Lawrence didn’t quite approve of the girl her son, Jack, had married, even after nearly ten years of marriage, and some of that distaste fell on the children.

Privately, Meg sometimes wondered if her mother would’ve quite approved of anyone her brother might have chosen With Meg, Audrey seemed content enough with the men she dated and was even hopeful over Clive. But then, she’d never really come close to actually marrying one of them, she reminded herself

“At least they help, Mom, and don’t grumble when they do,” Meg remarked as she dutifully took down the ivy leaf bowl and set it on the kitchen counter before taking the stainless flatware into the dining room to finish the table setting. The good silver only came out for special occasions, preferably without children.

“I’d think you’d just be happy to see Andy and Sara at all, since you usually complain Jack and the family don’t come to see you very often.”

“Jack could manage more than he does,” Audrey said with a sniff. “St. Louis isn’t that far ”

“Jack has a busy schedule, Mom,” she said, refraining from mentioning that her brother might come more frequently if their mother were more gracious toward his wife. “He came as fast as he could when you needed him, didn’t he? And Kathy has been wonderful to park Andy and Sara with her mother this last week to come and help take care of you.”

At the moment, Kathy was out getting milk.

“Yes, but it took a heart attack for Jack to make the first trip in three months.”

Meg closed her mouth on the suggestion that her mother could’ve made the three-hour trip to St. Louis just as easily. The truth was, before the heart attack scare, Audrey was so busy with church activities, her women’s clubs and social engagements, she’d scarcely had time for her children They’d teasingly called her the “merry widow” more than once.

“It wasn’t a full-blown heart attack, Mom. You’re lucky that way, because now maybe you’ll pay more attention to taking care of yourself properly.”

“It was real enough!”

Meg hid a sigh. Her mother had always been a hard woman to please, but since her illness, she was more disgruntled than usual.

Even though the doctor had assured Audrey that her attack had been slight, and she was recovering nicely, her mother hadn’t regained her self-confidence in the things she could do.