Page 62 of Deception

“It’s what I would have thought. Do you have any happy memories with him?”

She seemed to consider his question and gave him a wistful smile. “Precious few. He was this important businessman, and Mom always told me not to bother him. When he was homeit was like tiptoeing on eggshells, but at least he wasn’t home much.”

Clayton had thought his childhood was bad, but hers topped it. “That had to have been painful.”

“Staying with Grandfather in Natchez every summer was the best part of the year.”

He tilted his head. “I don’t remember you being here as a teenager.”

“I quit coming when I was twelve.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t have time after my dad bought me a horse. He thought I should take dressage lessons, and of course I loved that horse, loved riding. I think he only bought him so I wouldn’t want to spend summers in Natchez with Grandfather. But the shows were always on weekends, and Grandfather always showed up to watch me.”

“Sounds like there was a lot of competition in your family.”

“You could say that.”

They both turned when Nadine’s back door opened and she stepped out onto the patio with her phone in her hand. “That was your grandfather’s pastor. Some of the ladies of the church will be by with food for tonight.”

Clayton’s stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten lunch. He doubted Madison had either. He turned to Nadine. “Is there something in the kitchen to make a sandwich?”

“Lunch meat is in the refrigerator and bread is on the counter.”

He grabbed Madison’s hand. “Come on. We’re going to have a picnic.”

“What?”

“I promised earlier to take you somewhere peaceful. You need a break, and I know the perfect place for it.”

Half an hour later, Clayton parked on Broadway in front of a grassy area near the river trail.

“We’re going to eat here?” Madison said.

“Yep. And watch the sun set over the Mississippi.” He hopped out and came around to her side of the SUV, not believing she’d actually waited for him to open her door. He offered his hand, and she took it. Already the worry lines around her eyes had faded.

“Thanks,” she said.

He grabbed the small picnic hamper that Nadine had filled after she shooed him out of her kitchen. He couldn’t wait to see what she’d put in it. He grinned at the plaid throw the housekeeper had included when she handed him the basket.

They walked across the grass to the bluff’s edge. “You want to sit on a bench or spread out the throw?”

She looked at the ground, then the bench, and then at the river. “The bench. That way we can watch the boats on the Mississippi.”

He set the basket between them and opened it, taking out a sandwich. “Looks like pimento cheese.” He reached in again. “And she put in chips and drinks.”

Madison took the sandwich and drink. “Nadine makes the best pimento cheese.”

They ate and watched the sun drop behind a bank of clouds, brilliant beams of light fanning upward.

“That’s so beautiful,” Madison said softly. “Grandfather always brought me to the river bluff when I came to visit in the summers. I remember looking at the Mississippi and thinking about where the water had been and where it was going.” She smiled. “It was too much for my young brain.”

He understood what she meant. “There’s something about the Mississippi River that gets to you. Have you ever seen it at flood stage?”

She shook her head.

“I have, and it reminds me that there are some things I can’t control.”

---