“I’d love some.” Ellie couldn’t recall the last time she’d eaten cobbler. “I don’t suppose you’ve got any vanilla ice cream to go with it?”
Clara went to the icebox and pulled out the container of homemade ice cream. “Darlin’, you’ll soon learn we do things right around here.”
“In that case, make it two scoops.”
“Now you’re talkin’.” Clara winked at Ellie, then grabbed a bowl from the cabinet. She cut a piece of cobbler and spooned out the ice cream. “I was thinking. Now that you’re good and settled, how’s about me and you plan us a trip to Knoxville?” She brought out the cobbler and a glass of milk and set them in front of Ellie.
“Thank you.” Ellie took a bite. “This is amazing!”
“Ain’t met no one yet that doesn’t fall in love with my cobbler. Did you know I won three years in a row at the fair with that recipe?”
“I don’t doubt it,” said Ellie around a bite of ice cream. “What would we do in Knoxville?”
“Shop, eat, catch a movie. They got a theater on Gay Street that offers a twenty-five-cent matinee.”
“Sounds fun.” She set down the spoon, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and redirected the conversation. “You know, I’m glad I decided to spend the summer here. To be honest, I was dreading it a little.”
“Why?”
“I thought I’d be stuck with no friends and nothing to do. But that couldn’t be further from the truth because I have you and Jack. And then there’s the water and everything it offers.” Another thought struck her. “It might be hard for you to believe, but there’s always been a part of me that wished I had grown up in a place like this.” She let out a small laugh, then said, “Maybe Mama was right. Maybe I am a Southern girl at heart.”
“There are worse things,” said Clara. “Once you get a taste of this life—the water, the air, that feeling of being free—it’s hard to let it go.”
“Is that why you stayed… after Uncle Bill died?”
The smile ran away from Clara’s face. “I suppose so. This was your uncle’s favorite place in the entire world. He grew up in these mountains, spent his whole life here. Sure, I could have packed up and gone just about anywhere my heart desired, and for a while, I thought I wanted to. But when I sat and thought about it, there wasn’t another place on earth I could have imagined myself besides here. This is the place where I fell in love, got married, and shared almost twenty years with the man I loved. And if I close my eyes, I can still feel him here with me. There aren’t enough beaches and golden sunsets in the world to make me walk away from those memories.”
Ellie digested her words, then said, “I admire you, Aunt Clara. Your strength, your independence. I hope someday I can be strong like you.”
Smiling, Clara reached across the table and laid a hand gently on Ellie’s arms. “Darlin’,” she said, looking her niece in the face, “something tells me you’ll end up being stronger than me or your mama.”
CHAPTERFIVE
A Golden Opportunity
The next day, the weather took a turn for the worse. For two straight days and nights, the rain spilled down in sheets, which meant no tours and no fishing. But the break gave Jack ample time to think about Ellie. In fact, since the night he’d walked her home in the dark, he thought of nothing else.
To pass the time, he painted the kitchen, just as he’d promised. And while he waited for the paint to dry, he sat beneath the ancient oak that stood in the backyard and daydreamed while he listened to the rain sing on the red tin roof.
But all that daydreaming didn’t go unnoticed.
“There you are,” said Helen, finding Jack on the back porch late one afternoon.
“Oh hey, Mama. I didn’t hear you come in. How was work?”
“Same as always. Everything all right?”
He nodded absently, watching a pair of squirrels playing in the oak tree. “Kitchen’s done.”
“I saw it when I came in. It’s beautiful. Thank you.” She spent a few seconds inspecting the state of the garden before going on. “So what are you doin’ out here all by your lonesome?”
“Thinking.”
“About what?”
Jack stared silently at the rain, considering his answer. “Mama, how long after you met Daddy did you know you liked him? Was it love at first sight, or did it take time?”
She glanced at her wedding ring. “Oh, I don’t know. I suppose I kinda liked him right off. Why?”
