Mattie's Call Read Online Free

have everything ready. Karen will help me pack it up. Emma left behind photo albums, quilts, books, and clothes. She wanted the clothes to go to Goodwill, but if there’s something you want to keep, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
    â€œI’ll make sure to stop by.”
    Gabrielle inched closer to the pew and tapped her mother’s shoulder. “Mama, we have to go. We need to get a bite to eat and get you back to Grand Oak,” she said softly as she smiled at Clarence.

4
Too Modern For My Tastes
    J oshua paused before turning the key to his front door. After a long day at work, his resolve to discuss things with Marilyn tonight strengthened. Now or never, he repeated.
    He’d spoken with her briefly during his lunch break. The moment he told her he had an important announcement to make, she yelped like a puppy and vowed to leave work two hours early. As he entered the foyer, he smelled Marilyn’s good home-cooking, saw the extra effort she’d put into the night. Candles flickered throughout the living and dining rooms as well as the mellow sounds of Boney James ripping his saxophone. He caught a glimpse of Marilyn in the kitchen tossing salad with her favorite tong set. She spun around from her duty, smiled, and met him with a warm hug.
    â€œBaby, I couldn’t wait for you to get here!” she said. She released her apron strings, revealing a black, form-fitting dress that hugged her curves in the right places. She’d fashioned her long hair in a bun with a few tendrils hanging. “Let me take your bag, and you have a seat in the living room.”
    â€œMare—”
    â€œNo protesting. Sit.”
    As she returned to the kitchen, he sank into the sofa with a measure of relief and grief tangling inside him. She sashayed toward him with a glass of wine and a small tray of cheese and crackers and scooted next to him, kicking her black designer shoes in the corner.
    â€œMy dogs are barking for dear life.” Her soft, dark eyes and warm smile had a hypnotic effect on him. She caressed his face and planted another gentle kiss on his cheek.
    â€œWhat’s with the romantic setting?” He sipped the full-bodied red wine, happy she’d listened to his request to toss the sweet wines she adored.
    She swigged her wine as her hands trembled. “This doesn’t happen every night. I want everything to be special before our discussion,” she said, winking and taking another gulp of her wine.
    â€œMarilyn, I—”
    â€œUh-uh. No talking until after dinner.”
    Marilyn loosened Joshua’s tie, took him by the hand, and led him to the dining room table. She knew her way around the kitchen, and she’d knocked herself out tonight. Joshua’s stomach growled as he looked at the spread on the table. She’d prepared his favorite dishes: seafood stuffed grilled salmon, steamed asparagus, tossed salad, and homemade French bread. Two covered dessert plates caught his attention. He knew her sweet potato cheesecake was nestled beneath them. They sat, and he said grace.
    Joshua loved the beautiful woman before him. When they’d met nine months ago by happenstance at a bar, they’d both been stood up by blind dates. Once they established she wasn’t Vivian and he wasn’t Hector, they chuckled and struck up a lively conversation. Drinks turned into a dinner date, walks in the park, and occasional trips out of town. When Gigi met Marilyn for the first time, she blurted, “What happened to Jamie?” Marilyn happened to Jamie, he wanted to say, but coughed and ignored the question. His mother called him the runaway groom, accused him of being commitment phobic. He loved the company of ladies, but only one woman captured his heart and her whereabouts were unknown. There was no shortage of women in Savannah. Good women, too. Independent with their own houses, cars, jobs, anything a man like him desired. He wondered if those