Home to Walnut Ridge (25 page)

Tracey smiled. “Ah, the wild, wild
preacher man.”

“
Yes, and that wild, wild
preacher man told me about new beginnings and second chances, and
how to find
hope again
through a personal relationship with Jesus. He drew me into
his group of Elders, and showed me how helping others could slowly
bring me out of my grief. He gave me opportunities to take the
focus off myself and instead focus on the needs of others. Buddy
let me learn for myself how to care again by hammering shingles on
a roof or fixing a leaky faucet or mowing someone’s
lawn.

“
And the strangest thing
happened. Little by little, I noticed I was starting to feel alive
again. That I
cared
about getting up in the morning because there were people who
needed a helping hand.”

He pulled his hands free for a moment
to rub his face and dash away the blasted tears. “I’m sorry, I’m
rambling. I think your coffee got cold.”

“
That’s not a
problem.”

“
And the fire needs a
little‍—‍”

“
Noah?”

He looked at her. “What?”

“
We’re fine. The fire’s
fine. Go on. I’m listening.”

He turned to face her,
their knees overlapping as he reached for her hand again. “The
thing is‌—‌the reason I’ve told you all this is because, for the
first time in a very, very long time‌—‌I realized how much I want a
chance to love again. You’ve been so patient with me, even when I
didn’t deserve it. And when I took off, even while I was wandering
all over everywhere and nowhere, in the midst of all that, I
couldn’t stop thinking about you. It finally dawned on me; I had a
reason not to run away anymore. And that reason was
you.
”

She smiled, and that was all it
took.

“
Tracey Jolene Collins,
what I’m trying to say is, I’m in love with you.”

“
Yeah?” she whispered,
leaning to rest her forehead on his. “I’m really glad to hear it
because I love you, too.”

“
Yeah?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Then would you mind very
much if I kissed you?”

She smiled. “I thought you’d never
ask.

And so he did.

Chapter 22

On a brisk autumn morning
in late October, Alex and Tracey cut the pumpkin-colored ribbon
stretched across the front porch of their new shop to the cheers of
their friends, family, and neighbors from town. Above them hung a
new sign, beautifully lettered in a quaint, swirly font that made
it official‌—‌
Second Chances
was open for business.

They spent the rest of the day
welcoming their first customers, offering cold apple cider and
sugar cookies to all who stopped by. Sales were brisk and
compliments poured in along with a steady stream of well-wishers.
Noah helped out whenever he could, helping folks carry their
newfound treasures to their cars. Out back, the air was filled with
the delicious aroma of kettle corn cooking in a big black urn.
Buddy and the Elders dished up servings to customers in colorful
cone-shaped cups.

Sometime early in the afternoon,
Tracey stepped outside for some fresh air. “Daddy, that smells
wonderful!”

Gristle chomped on a bite
of kettle corn. “I ain’t
never
tasted nuthin’ like this before! Why you never
made none o’ this fo’ us, Buddy?”

“
You never asked,” he
quipped back. “But where are your manners, Gristle? Hand this to
Maleeka for me.”

“
That’s all right, Buddy,”
Maleeka teased, reaching for the treat. “I’ll teach Gregory some
manners, even if I have to take him back and make
his mama
slap some sense
into him.” She took a bite, and her eyes grew wide. “But he’s
right‌—‌why you never made this for us before? I gotta tell ya,
this is to die for!”

Buddy laughed. “Well, thank you,
Maleeka, but no need to die on my account.”

“
Hey, speakin’a dyin’,”
Gristle said, “whatev’a happen to that ol’ buzzard Deacon? Ain’t
seen him round no’ more. He do us all a favor and
shuffle off this mortal coil
?”

“
Nah, but he had to
retire,” Buddy said. “After he suffered that massive heart attack
at the City Council meeting, he had a stroke while he was still in
the hospital. It paralyzed him severely, so he’ll be in therapy for
quite some time. He isn’t able to say much, so I’d say Deacon’s
days of playing the ruler baron are over.”

“
Couldn’t happen to a
nicer guy,” a voice behind them mumbled.

They turned to find Lester picking
kettle corn out of his cup. He stopped eating and looked up.
“What?” When no one said anything, the slightest hint of a smile
tugged at his mouth.

They laughed at his reaction, as they
often did when he caught them off guard like that.

Buddy stirred the big pot of corn. “Ah
now, Lester, let’s don’t wish Deacon any bad will. He’s got a tough
road ahead of him.”

“
There you
are!”

Tracey turned to find Mrs. Peterson
standing in the back door of their shop. “How nice to see you, Mrs.
Peterson. Come out and have some kettle corn,” she said reaching up
to help the elderly woman down the steps.

“
Don’t mind if I do, but
someone else is here to see you, too.” Mischief danced in her eyes
as she stepped aside.

There, leaning over to avoid hitting
his head on the doorframe, a tall block of a man stepped out onto
the stoop. As he straightened to his full height, the stranger
stood tall beside the tiny widow.

It took Tracey a second. “Stump? Oh my
gosh, it’s really you!”

“
Holy cow, is that really
you, Stump?!” Buddy hooted.

“
Who else you know this
tall?” Stump teased as he escorted Mrs. Peterson down the steps.
Gone was the furry long beard. Gone was the messy, tangled head of
matted hair. Gone were the ragged clothes he always wore. In their
place, he wore a black sweater over a white oxford cloth shirt and
gray slacks‌—‌and not so much as a single facial hair.

“
Stump, you’re positively
handsome!” Tracey cried, giving the big guy a hug. “Look at you,
all clean-shaven! What a nice smile you had hidden under all
that . . . stuff.”

He blushed, which was easy to see now
with all that hair gone. “I have Mrs. Peterson to thank. I asked if
she’d like to accompany me today and she said yes‌—‌on one
condition.”

Buddy laughed. “I guess we can figure
that one out. Mrs. Peterson, you are truly a miracle
worker.”

The diminutive widow stood
up on her toes, reaching up to tug on Buddy’s ponytail. “Yes,
Buddy, it seems I am a miracle worker, and I think
I’m looking at my next project.”

Buddy gave her a hug. “Well now, Mrs.
P, don’t get carried away.”

Tracey laughed, enjoying the easy
banter before stepping back inside. There she found Noah returning
from delivering an armoire.

He gave her a side hug, planting a
kiss on her cheek. “Don’t know if you’ve realized it or not, but if
you and Alex keep this up, you’re not going to have a stick of
furniture left by the end of the day.”

“
Which would be an awfully
nice way to end our first day, don’t you think?” Alex said,
rearranging a display on the side counter.

“
Bite your tongue, Sis! If
so, that means you and I stay up all night refinishing what’s left
in the back. And I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.! All I
want to do is‍—‍”

“
Oh, girls!
Girls!”

Sadie Woolsey rushed
through the front door. “You won’t
believe
what’s just
happened!”

Alex grabbed her by the elbow. “Miss
Sadie! What is it? Are you all right?”

“
Yes, yes, I’m just so
excited, I can hardly contain myself!”

“
What is it?” Tracey
asked, guiding the librarian to a tall stool at the checkout
counter.

Sadie held a hand to her chest as she
tried to catch her breath. “Remember those specialists from the
Smithsonian who stopped by last week to examine the cup and saucer
you found here in these walls? Well, just minutes ago I received a
call from them. They said they couldn’t reach you at Walnut Ridge,
so they called me instead. I explained about the grand opening and
asked if I could take a message. Well, lo and behold‌—‌are you
ready for this? They’ve validated the pieces to be authentic china
from President Lincoln’s White House!”

Their cheers filled the room. “I can’t
believe it!” Tracey said, hugging the librarian.

“
Yes, yes, it’s absolutely
true. And in addition, they said the note from Craggie Collins was
authentic as well. Apparently, they have some kind of test they can
run to determine the age of the paper it was written on. So they’ve
asked if you would be willing to donate the note in addition to the
cup and saucer. Isn’t it just wonderful?”

With a hug, Alex said, “I’d say this
calls for a celebration!”

Later that evening, long
after sunset, the proud proprietors of
Second Chances
celebrated a happy
ending to their first day in business‌—‌
and
the exciting news about the
Lincoln teacup. Noah and Buddy took over kitchen duties, serving up
hearty sandwiches and ladles of Alex’s baked potato soup. Sadie
arrived with two of her famous chess pies, with her trusty camera
slung over her shoulder. Most of the Elders had left earlier in the
day, but Lester, Stump, Gristle and Maleeka gradually showed up to
join the gathering. They all mingled from one room to the next,
enjoying a relaxed evening together.

Around 7:30, Buddy gathered everyone
into the den to take some photographs of the momentous occasion.
Sadie, who fancied herself quite the photographer, took charge and
set up each shot‌—‌Buddy and his daughters, Buddy and his Elders, a
shot of Alex and Tracey, one of Gristle and Maleeka, and a solo
portrait of the new and improved Stump. Only Lester refused to be
photographed.

“
Not happenin’,” he
mumbled.

They all stared at him, then handed
him another piece of pie and left him alone.

“
Where’s Noah?” Sadie
asked. “Let’s get him in here and have a shot of him with the girls
holding the Lincoln teacup. Perhaps the Smithsonian would like to
see the faces behind the historic discovery.”

“
But you should be in that
one too, Miss Sadie.” Buddy took the camera from her. “You go stand
there with the girls.” He looked around. “Noah? Where are
you?”

“
I’m coming, I’m coming,”
he said, joining them from the living room. “Alex asked me to get
the cup and saucer out of the hutch.”

Lifting her hands to caution him,
Sadie warbled, “Oh, be careful, Noah. We certainly don’t want
anything to happen to them. Not after all this time.”

“
Noah, how about you give
the girls the cup and saucer and let them both hold it in front,”
Buddy said, framing the shot. “Then you step there behind Tracey
alongside Sadie.”

Noah handed the cup to Alex then
stepped behind the girls. “How’s this?” he asked, wrapping his arm
over Sadie’s shoulder.

“
Here, Trace,” Alex said,
holding the cup and saucer. “Let’s hold it together like
this.”

“
Okay, on three,” Buddy
said. “One, two‌—‌three!” The camera flashed, and he checked the
preview on its small screen. “Looks great, but let’s take a couple
more. Okay, everybody‍—‍”

“
Wait,” Tracey said,
peering into the teacup. “There’s something in here.” She lifted
out a wad of tissue paper.

Noah leaned over her shoulder. “What
is it?”

“
Oh dear,
please
be careful,”
Sadie cautioned again.

“
Just a wad of tissue
paper,” Tracey said, lifting it out of the cup.

“
Probably just trash,”
Alex said, taking the cup and saucer from her sister.