Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (28 page)

As the driver opened her door, she stared at her beautiful home.
She loved the
w
hite-
w
ashed brick of the t
w
o-storied building.
Her great-grandfather had torn do
w
n the frame house and created a ‘Southern Mansion’ for his bride from up north.
They never filled the six-bedrooms, but the t
w
o children they had enjoyed the house, as had succeeding generations.

Sharon Smith
opened the screen door.
Her catering service
w
ould provide the food, just as they had for the
w
edding that never took place.
Taylor fought back the memory.

“Thanks for coming at such s
h
ort notice,” Martin said to Sharon
.

“
After all yo
u’ve done for me over the years,
helping me start my business, using my team
w
henever you had a party,
this is just a small
w
ay of saying thanks.
”

Martin flushed
w
ith embarrassment.
“The church
w
as full.
W
e
expect most
w
ill
come
to the house
.
”

“Ho
w
’s everything going?”
Taylor asked.

“I’ve set up a table
with food
and a help
yourself
bar in the library for you
, Dr. Harris
,
and Taylor and any
special
friends.
You can escape there, if you
w
ant,” the bro
w
n-haired, pleasant
w
oman, of indeterminate age, replied.
“The dining room, the living room, and the study have tables set up for
food
.
The Florida room and the front patio, each have bars and bartenders.
There are
enough provisions for a regiment or
for all Beaufort.
Is there anything else you need?”
Her face softened and she patted Taylor’s hand.

Taylor
w
ished she could say,
yes, I
w
ant to lock the door and prevent anyone from coming and if they do come I hope they leave my house quickly and let my dad and I grieve alone.
I
nstead, she said, “Thank you, no.
I’m sure you and your staff have taken care of everything.”

“You’ve done a
w
onderful job.
Thanks, again
.”
Martin took her hands and pressed them
w
ith his, before he turned a
w
ay to
w
ard the library. “Taylor, I need a strong drink.”

“I’ll get it.”
Sharon
headed to
w
ard the outside bar, calling over her shoulder,
“Maker’s Mark on the rocks, coming up.”
Then stopped and looked back, “Taylor, honey, ho
w
about you?”

“Nothing thanks.
I’m not sure my stomach can handle anything.”

Sharon
ackno
w
ledged the comment and continued.

“Okay,
w
hat room do you
w
ant?” Martin asked.

“
W
hat do you mean?
Can’t
w
e stick together?” Taylor asked dumbfounded.

“Maybe in the beginning, but later
w
e must mingle.”

Again, she
w
ished she could say
you mingle.
I’m hiding.
“Okay.
Let’s go outside to the bar.
That’s
w
here all our friends
w
ill
start.”

He laughed.
“And end.”

A fe
w
hours later, Taylor managed to escape to the pool area.
At the house, the liquor still flo
w
ed, desserts replaced sand
w
iches, and people started to drift a
w
ay.
Her f
ather
w
atched her leave
and nodded his understanding.
No
w
, she sat on a lounge chair and contemplated her life.
She and Rod had decided to make their home
w
ith her father until
the completion of
Rod’s ne
w
development.
His family, the Pinckneys,
had moved to
Beaufort
about the time Julia Ann left
Harmony Plantation to ‘discover herself’
.
Taylor refused to d
w
ell on her mother right no
w
, instead she returned to Rod.
Something had happened bet
w
een Rod and his family.
He never told her and he
w
ouldn’t
talk about them
or the situation
.
H
is mother and father
had
sold their fruit and vegetable sta
nds and moved
.
They’d
had a small
home
in to
w
n
w
hich
they’d left to Rod.
She’d often
w
ondered
w
hy they’d leave him the house sinc
e the family didn’t get along. For the foreseeable future, h
e’d told her
,
his parents
intended to make their new motor home their new house. When they tried of traveling they’d settle down in the place they’d i
nherited
in Louisiana
. He added they
didn’t need the money
from their cottage
.

“Taylor,” Jeff called, interrupting her.
“Your dad said I
’d
probably find you here.”
He slid a lounge chair closer and sat do
w
n. “
W
ant anything?”

“No.
But I
w
ant to thank you for pulling Ella Mae Lee off Dad and me.”
She focused on him for a minute
then she looked a
w
ay.

“
Glad to help.
W
ant me to leave?”

“No.”

“
W
ant me to keep quiet?”

She glanced at him, again.
“No.
Having someone sit
w
ith me and not commiserate is perfect.
I sa
w
your dad earlier.”

“Yes.
I took him home.
He tires easily.
He had a great talk
w
ith your dad yesterday
. Y
our dad thanked him today for coming yesterday.
They go back a long
w
ay
.
”

“Yes, they do.”

“Remember the tree house Dad built for me?”

“On my property?” she teased.

“No, on our property.
As a little kid, you thought all the land around here belonged to you.”

“
W
ell, didn’t it?” she smiled.

“You’re just as stubborn as ever,” he continued in a light tone.

“Me?”

“Yes, you!”

They joked back and forth for a
w
hile.
Finally, Taylor said, “You’re a good guy, Jeff.”

“Good?
I’m the best.
You just never noticed,” he said in an undertone.

Before she could question h
im, she heard her father
.
“Taylor, could you come to the library?
You, too, Jeff.”
Her dad stood at the side door facing the pool and gestured for them to come inside.

W
ith heavy legs, she dra
gged herself off the lounge
then glanced at her
w
atch.
“Five.
I’d hoped everyone
w
ould be gone by no
w
.”

“Most of them had left by
the time I came out to find you.
” Jeff r
ose
easily
and offered Taylor his hand
.

She stood next to him, squeezed his hand, and took
a deep breath
.
“Okay, let’s find out
w
hat Dad
w
ants.”

*
~*

W
hen they
w
alke
d into the library, Jeff
sa
w
Larry Murphy
from DNR and Sheriff Leroy Trotz
.
W
hy
w
as
he
here?
“Larry, Sheriff Trotz
.”

The t
w
o men
nodded their greeting.

Larry approached Taylor and took her hands.
“
A
s I’ve said before to you and your dad, I’m really sorry about Julia Ann’s death.
She and I go
w
ay-back, but then
all
our group
from high school
does.”

Everyone shook
their
heads in
agreement.

“
Before
I begin
you all
should sit do
w
n.”
He and the sheriff pulled out the upholstered, high-backed chair that normally
flanked the
w
all but didn’t sit
.
Instead, each stood behind one.

The to
ne of the DNR representative plus
the sober expression on his face,
as
w
ell as that of Sheriff Trotz
’s,
caused
Jeff
concern. He
w
atched as
Taylor
joined her father
and observed them as they found a seat on the small couch.

He
sensed her discomfort and could see the anxiety plainly etched on her face. She
edged
closer to her father
on the
bro
w
n, leather love-seat
and took
his hand in both of hers.
Neither sat back,
choosing to perch on the edge of the seat.

Jeff felt
the loneliness as soon as she’d slid a
w
ay from him.
Although h
e
accepted the fact she needed to be near her father that didn’t stop the gna
w
ing inside him.
He kne
w
the reason
. Y
et
,
his desire to comfort her raged
w
ithin.
Remember
,
you’re only a friend.
O
utside he’d been the one to help her forget, if only for a fe
w
minutes.
No
w
, someone
w
ith a strong connection took his spot.
W
anting to be near, just in case, h
e took the
w
ing-chair nearest
Taylor and
suspended himself
on the edge.

Once everyone found a spot, Larry stated, “
W
e found Rod’s boat overturned.

Taylor gasped. Both Jeff and Doc concentrated totally on her.