Lovey nodded and allowed herself to be led away by Joe without any remarks to Royal, who stood and watched them walk away in shocked silence. She couldn’t help noticing how he placed his hand in a protective way at the small of Lovey’s back as they walked back toward the loose array of picnic tables set around the long table with all the food.
Royal placed a hand over her stomach and swayed slightly, suddenly light-headed as a wave of nausea washed up against her.
She knew with certainty she’d just witnessed something she wasn’t supposed to see. She’d just seen something Lovey had meant to keep from her. It was as if her view of the world zeroed down to one small circle of light, like a periscope. At the center of that circle was Joe’s hand at the small of Lovey’s back, and every other peripheral thing went black.
She felt a hand on her arm.
“Royal? You don’t look so good. Do you need to sit down?” Laurel Lee, a childhood friend of hers, held out a glass of tea in her direction and had a concerned look on her slender, girlish face.
“Thank you.” Royal accepted the cool beverage and took a few sips.
“Come here and sit down.” Laurel pulled her toward a bench in the shade and sat next to her. They had a clear view of the table about thirty feet away where Joe and Lovey were seated with others from the congregation.
“You didn’t know they were seeing each other, did you?”
“What?” Royal turned to really look at Laurel for the first time. She was focused on the same scene that Royal had been focused on. Why did Laurel care? And then it struck her. Laurel had carried a torch for Joe since probably third grade. She actually wondered why they never got together. Laurel was pretty in a country girl sort of way. She wasn’t fancy, she didn’t put on airs, but she was kindhearted. Royal had always liked Laurel. Back when school kids made fun of Royal for dressing like a boy, Laurel always took up for her.
Royal slumped back against the bench and took another sip of tea. “How long?”
“It’s been a few weeks now. I get the impression it’s pretty serious.”
Royal leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. She thought she might actually throw up. She felt Laurel’s hand on her back.
“It was inevitable. The church ladies have been pushing them together since the day Lovey set foot in Dawsonville.” Laurel sighed and leaned back, crossing her arms over her nearly flat chest. “What am I, a loaf of bread? No one ever tried to fix me up with Joe. Why is that? What’s Lovey got that I ain’t got? Can you tell me that?”
Royal covered her face with her free hand. She couldn’t believe this was happening. And if she hadn’t shown up unannounced, she still wouldn’t know about it. Did Lovey have any intention of telling her that whatever was going on with them didn’t mean anything? It was obviously just a temporary thing? Nausea and rage battled inside Royal’s knotted stomach.
❖
Lovey tried her best to engage in friendly conversation with those seated around her as Joe filled their plates with food. She wasn’t hungry. All she could see was the hurt look on Royal’s face. Even from this distance she could tell that Royal was very unhappy and angry. She’d ruined everything and there was no way to fix it right now. She just needed to get through this day and then hope that she could find Royal later and talk with her. Lovey hoped that Royal would leave soon. She’d give anything to know what Laurel was saying to her right now.
In the moment when Joe had walked up to them, she knew she’d handled it badly. She should have told Joe to start without her and taken a moment to speak with Royal. But she’d frozen, knowing that Joe and others in the congregation, including her father, were so nearby. She pinched her nose in an attempt to stave off the headache that was just beginning to rage behind her eyes.
Royal was standing now, pacing in front of the bench and running her fingers through her hair. Lovey prayed that she wouldn’t make a scene. Please don’t come over here.
She felt equal amounts of sadness and relief when she saw Royal climb on her horse and head away from the church. She was called back to the moment by Joe’s voice.
“Lovey, aren’t you hungry? You’ve hardly touched your food.”
“I guess it’s the heat.” Lovey smiled weakly and pushed the forgotten food around on her plate.
Sometime later, after the food had been cleared, Lovey noticed one of the deacons talking with her father and her father looked in her direction as if he was displeased with what he was hearing.
Now what? How could this day possibly get any worse?
Well, whatever it was, she wasn’t going to wait around to hear about it. She made an excuse to the ladies she was helping clear the tables with and headed toward the privy at the back of the church. She passed by it and kept walking. She’d given her entire day over to others, and dammit, she needed to find Royal.
Chapter Twenty-six
Lovey didn’t really know where Royal would be, but as she passed by the main square, she saw Midnight tied near a water trough in the shade. That probably meant Royal was in her rented room. Thank heaven for small favors.
She hesitated at the foot of the stairs. What was she going to say to Royal? She’d been rolling several scenarios over in her head during the walk over, and none of them seemed to lead to a happy ending. She took a deep breath. After climbing the stairs to the second floor, heart pounding, Lovey knocked at the door.
“Go away,” came the muffled reply.
Lovey deliberated for a moment. She wasn’t
