“Sophie?” He kept his gaze trained on Isabelle’s light to keep the darkness at bay.
“Sophie and Annabelle, but my Grandmother Belle is who was the true beauty queen.”
Glad his head pain was dissipating, he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss there. “You’re wrong, Blondie. The women in your family are beautiful, but they don’t hold a candle to you.”
An odd noise sounded from deep in her throat. “You don’t have to say nice things just because I was crying. I’m over my boohoo moment.”
Realizing she was serious, he turned her to face the car so they could see their reflection in the window. She closed her eyes.
“Look at yourself, Isabelle,” he ordered. “Look and see what I see.”
She kept her eyes squeezed shut. “A woman whose nose is red from the cold and crying? No thanks. I’d rather not have a visual to go with the wreck I know I am.”
“Open your eyes.” He rubbed his palms over her jacket sleeves in case she really was chilly. “There’s so much more than what you just described. There’s a woman who is strong, determined, who takes care of everyone she loves to the point of selflessness. She graduated with the highest GPA and had a full scholarship to an Ivy League school, where she kicked butt and got a dream job.” Isabelle’s eyes opened, staring back at him in their reflection. “She’s smart and funny and has the sassiest mouth I’ve ever encountered and her eyes… Her eyes suck you in and drown you in their blueness.”
“Suck you in and drown you? Seriously? Is that description supposed to make me feel better?”
“I never claimed to be a poet. Just a man trying to show a beautiful woman what he sees when he looks at her. Admit it, I was doing fairly well up to that point.”
She stared at him in their reflection for a moment, then to his surprise, she twisted to face him and lifted her palm to his cheek. “Thank you, Zach. For being nice to me, for bringing me today, for making me go in and face what I didn’t want to face, and for not judging me for crying.”
“Yeah, I’m a real hero.” And a huge hypocrite.
Because sometimes it really was easier to just stay away than to face one’s shortcomings. Was that what had happened with Isabelle’s father? He’d left and not known how to go home? Afraid of the welcome he’d receive? Convincing himself his family was better off?
*
Backstage at thehigh school’s theater, Isabelle inspected the baggy robe’s side seam. Someone must have pulled at a loose thread and undone the whole thing. Yeah, she could have that repaired prior to the concert tonight. There were a few hems that needed adjusting, as well, so she’d take those and have them back to the kids prior to time for the show to start.
Annabelle placed one of the dresses onto a hanger. “Can you even believe that Sophie’s wedding is in two weeks and Christmas the week after?”
No, she couldn’t. Nor was she ready for Christmas or her sister’s wedding. She and Zach hadn’t found her father. Sophie had mentioned having Cliff there several times over the past week. Almost to the point that Isabelle wondered if her sister knew.
Maybe she and Zach hadn’t been as sly with their Tennessee trip as they’d thought. She wouldn’t put it past the Butterflies to have tailed them. They probably had an entire dossier on their comings and goings. Had she hired them to find her father, he might be having coffee at Lou’s with some of his old army buddies by now.
Not that she really believed that. Truth was, Zach impressed her with what he’d learned thus far. Since their Tennessee trip, he’d confirmed two additional hits as having been her father. Given time, he would locate Cliff Davis.
Time was what was rapidly ticking away, though. Time to find her father.
And time before Zach would leave Pine Hill.
He’d only been in town a few weeks. Yet, she struggled to recall what life had been like before his arrival or what it would be like when he left. He drove her crazy with his crooked grins and teasing, but he also added vivid colors to the black and white life she’d been content with, making her laugh and feel that vividness being near him filled her with. Chiding herself that a high school Christmas choir concert wasn’t the time for mulling over her father’s whereabouts or how, more and more, she counted time by when she’d next see Zach, she forced a smile.
“Sophie’s wedding will be here before we know it, but tonight is your time to shine. I’m so excited for your Christmas concert tonight. At the shop, I’ve heard you practicing your solo.” After Annabelle’s panicked call about the nativity scene costume, she’d swung by the school to make last-minute repairs. Zach planned to ride with Sarah and Bodie and meet her there—as her pretend boyfriend, of course. What would he think of their small-town high school? What would it have been like if he’d attended their school and they’d been there together? Would he have noticed the nerdy girl who’d rather have her nose stuck in a book than go on a date?
“I’m excited.” Annabelle drew her back to their conversation. “I hope I don’t get nervous and forget every word. Jeff just got home from college yesterday. I’ve not seen him yet, but he’ll be here. I may spot him in the audience and go completely blank.”
“You won’t,” Isabelle assured, hoping it was true. Young love did funny things to a person. Not that she knew personally, but she’d watched it happen often enough. “I know you were heartbroken when his football schedule didn’t allow him to come home at Thanksgiving.”
“Carrie and I both were, but consoled ourselves that he was doing what he loves and would be home for a few weeks over Christmas.” Her eyes, that were nearly identical to Sophie’s, darkened. “Let’s just hope he feels the same about me as when he left for college.”
“He does. You talk to him most days,” Isabelle reminded.
“Don’t mind me.” Annabelle gave her a quick hug. “I’m just nervous because our choir members who are also on the debate team are still competing in Louisville. We all have mixed emotions, as we want them to keep winning, but we need them back for our show.”
“They have plenty of time.”
But when she and Sophie got to the high school that evening and made their way to drop off the altered costume, Trevor appeared frazzled. The always neat man’s hair stuck about his head in total disarray, and he flitted from one group of kids to the next.
