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Gracie let out a small squeal of alarm.
Bobby Tom ruffled her hair and gave a low chuckle. “They’re teasin’, sweetheart.”
“Mrs. Frank and I think the senior citizen center is a wonderful idea, Miss Snow.” The stairwell filled with the deep sounds of a voice that was unmistakably pastoral. “First Baptist will be happy to help with your project.”
With a moan, Gracie collapsed on the side of the bed, while Bobby Tom started laughing so hard she finally had to hit him with a pillow.
Afterward, she could never quite remember how she managed to get herself dressed and go downstairs to face Telarosa’s leading citizens. Bobby Tom told her she behaved like Queen Elizabeth, except with more dignity, but she didn’t know whether or not to believe him.
21
The Friday morning of the birthplace dedication was crisp and bright with the clear light of early October. School had been dismissed for the day to celebrate the opening of Heavenfest, and the small front lawn was crowded with the young and old. Everyone in town had been asked to dress in period costume for the weekend. Many of the men had grown beards and mustaches, while the women’s long skirts flapped in the breeze. Teenagers congregated around the parked cars on the streets, their concession to frontier dress limited, like Bobby Tom’s, to jeans and cowboy hats.
“. . . and so on this beautiful October morning, we gather here in the shade of these old pecan trees to honor . . .”
As Luther droned on, Bobby Tom studied the crowd from his vantage point on the small platform that had been built in front of the garage. His mother sat on one side of him and Gracie on the other. Grade had protested at being seated with the dignitaries, but he’d insisted. She looked cute as a button in a long yellow gingham dress, old-fashioned straw bonnet, and very modern sunglasses.
The Heavenfest committee had originally planned to have the dedication on Friday night, but Bobby Tom refused. The athletes playing in tomorrow’s golf tournament would begin arriving around noon today, and he wanted the whole embarrassment over with before any of them got to Telarosa, although he had to admit he didn’t feel quite as negative about the birthplace project since Gracie had come up with the idea of turning the house into a senior citizens center. She was, he’d decided, about the do-goodingest woman he’d ever known.
As Luther droned on, Bobby Tom’s gaze drifted to his mother. He wished he knew what was wrong with her. In the past ten days, he’d tried to talk to her several times about what had happened, but she’d deflected every conversation by showing him new plants in her garden or cruise brochures from her travel agent.
Luther waved his arms and shouted into the microphone as he worked up to his big finish. “And now I present to you the leading citizen of Heaven, Texas! A man with two Super Bowl rings . . . a man who has given himself unselfishly to this town, the great state of Texas, and these United States of America! The greatest wide receiver in the history of professional football . . . our favorite son . . . Bobby Tom Demon!”
Bobby Tom ambled to his feet to the cheers of the crowd and approached the podium, resisting the urge to break Luther’s fingers as he shook his hand. The microphone squealed, but it didn’t bother him. He’d been making speeches in front of these people since he was in high school, and he knew exactly what to say.
“It sure is good to be back home again!”
Loud applause and whistles.
“Why, half the people I see standing here today helped my mama and daddy raise me, and don’t you think I’ve forgotten it.”
More cheers.
He continued with his speech, making it short enough so he didn’t bore himself to death, but long enough to satisfy the people he cared so much about. When he was done, he handed his mother the scissors to cut the ribbon stretched across the front door. To more applause, the Bobby Tom Denton Birthplace and future Senior Citizens Center was officially dedicated.
As his mother turned away to greet her friends, he looped his arm around Gracie’s shoulders. Between her Heavenfest activities and his brutal shooting schedule, they hadn’t been able to spend nearly as much time together as he would have liked. Sometimes, lately, he’d found himself not enjoying a joke just because she wasn’t around to share it. One thing about Gracie—She understood the humor of everyday life in ways other people didn’t.
He cocked his head so he could whisper in her ear. “What do you say the two of us sneak off for a couple of hours and mess around?”
She gazed up at him with genuin
e regret, another thing he liked about her. She never tried to hide her pleasure in their physical relationship or hold anything back. “I only wish we could, but you know you have to get back to the set. They’re already giving you tomorrow off. Besides, I need to run over to the hotel and stuff all the welcome packets for your friends. Remember that you have to be at the country club by six tonight so you can greet everybody privately.”
He sighed. She didn’t know it yet, but when this movie was over, the two of them were going to spend a few days naked on a secluded island where there weren’t any telephones and nobody spoke English.
“All right, sweetheart. But I don’t like the idea of you driving yourself to the club tonight. I’m going to ask Buddy to pick you up.”
“Please don’t. I’m not sure what I’m going to run into this afternoon, and it’ll be better if we take two cars.”
He reluctantly agreed and set off to return to work.
As Gracie watched him leave, the sunlight seemed to shimmer around him and she could almost see the pin-wheels of silver sparks spinning from those invisible spurs he always seemed to wear. The film company would be leaving Telarosa for Los Angeles soon, and Willow had said nothing about taking her along. Gracie couldn’t believe it would end so soon.
Over the last few days, she had found herself playing with the intoxicating notion that Bobby Tom might be falling in love with her, and her cheeks flushed as she made her way back to the car. Even though she tried to tell herself that sort of thinking was dangerous, she couldn’t quite shake it off. How could he gaze at her so tenderly if he didn’t care? He was so open in his affection, so passionate in his lovemaking. Surely he couldn’t have been like this with all the women in his past? Surely he felt something special for her?
Sometimes she’d look up from what she was doing and find him watching her as if she were important to him. That was when she’d start thinking about the future and envisioning roly-poly babies and a house filled with the sound of his laughter. Was it impossible? Could he be beginning to feel the same way about her that she felt about him? Her skin felt hot and prickly just thinking about it. Was it possible that the future might hold more for her than memories?
For the rest of the day, she threw herself into her work to avoid daydreaming. She’d no sooner gotten the welcome packets ready for the hostesses to pass out at the Cattleman’s Hotel than a crisis over the seating plans broke out at the country club. As she raced over there, she passed beneath one of the welcoming banners that hung over Main Street. Like everything else in town from bumper stickers to T-shirts, it read HEAVEN, TEXAS! A PLACE IN THE HEART.
