Chelsea chimed in.“Yeah, and I am in a good mind to slap Georgia across her pretty little face in the name of Jesus next time I see her.I can’t believe the two of them kissed at church of all places, especially after Cavin saw how much he upset you by sitting beside her.”
Noel sniffled.“I can’t believe he had the nerve to do all that after acting like such a gentleman all week.I guess my conversation with him last night must have pushed him over the edge, and he just didn’t care to hide whatever he and Georgia have going on anymore.”
“That makes it even worse,” Rainey exclaimed.“If anyone asks, we never had this conversation.”
“Rainey, don’t put your hands on him or threaten him,” Noel pleaded.
“Yeah, Rainey,” Chelsea agreed, glaring at her husband all the while wanting him to knock the guy out.
They all talked for a few more minutes before the kids knocked on Noel’s bedroom door.
“Why is your door locked, Mommy?”
“Chelsea, I’ll call you later,” Noel uttered, using the backs of her hands like windshield wipers to clear her cheeks after ending the call and before opening the door.
“I was on the phone with Chelsea,” Noel answered simply.“Where’s Laney?”
“She’s in the living room watching TV.We want to watch a Christmas movie.”
“That’s a great idea,” Noel agreed, pulling Levi onto the bed and giving him a giant teddy bear-style hug.
They rolled around on the mattress for a few minutes having a hugging competition as they liked to do in the mornings when he jumped into bed with her.
Ten minutes later they were watchingFrosty the Snowmanwhile sipping on hot cocoa and munching on popcorn.Noel decided she would spend the rest of the evening with them not answering any more phone calls or responding to messages.
Cavin pulled into the driveway at the rental house about an hour after dark.He couldn’t believe how much time he spent with Rudy today, who he found out was actually Rudolph Emerson, owner of one of the largest candy makers in the United States.The two of them talked business, golf, fine dining, and all kinds of other topics.The man seemed more down to earth than any billionaire he ever met.On second thought Cavin wasn’t sure how many billionaires he’d met, but Rudy didn’t act like the millionaires he frequently spent time around.
The man surprisingly shed a few tears in his presence.Losing his dog tore up Rudy like a child.
“Scout was a gift from my late wife, Eleanor,” Rudy explained.
“Now I understand even better why Scout is so important to you,” Cavin shared.“When did you lose your wife?”he asked sympathetically.
“About a year ago.Eleanor was my world.We did everything together.We traveled; we worked; we raised kids; we played golf; and we ate way too much,” he confessed while patting his belly.
Cavin chuckled with the man in the midst of a sensitive topic.“Eleanor sounds like an amazing woman.”
A gentle smile appeared on his ruby face, and Rudy nodded his head in affirmation.“The best.”
The two of them talked about Levi and Laney, and Rudy told Cavin again how much he appreciated him helping the children.
“You like their mother, Noel, huh?”Rudy speculated.
Cavin thought about answering politically but then spent the next thirty minutes telling Rudy everything that happened between him and Noel from the first moment he laid eyes on her at Beaufort Candy Company until she drove away after church.
“Son, do you want some advice from an old man who has learned a thing or two over the years?”
Cavin found it ironic that Rudy called him son because his father would never have this conversation with him.Even if Cavin attempted to share his feelings, his father wouldn’t sit still long enough to listen.In fact Cavin wasn’t sure he ever talked about a woman to any man for thirty minutes.
“Sure,” Cavin agreed, shaking his head.
“Cavin Dawson, you are a businessman, but you aren’t your father,” he postulated.
Cavin’s brow furrowed.While they talked business earlier, Cavin told him about his family’s company without revealing the details of why he came to Beaufort.He could tell Rudy saw straight through the “I am visiting Beaufort” line.The man was a genius that much became evident from spending the day talking to him, not to mention the fortune he made in his lifetime.
“What do you mean?”Cavin asked.
“My father was a lot like yours.I loved him and he loved me, and he meant well, but I couldn’t be myself until I stepped out from under his wings.”
