Page 33 of Spilling the Tea

She seriously doubted it. Chance had deep-rooted issues that needed to be resolved before he could give his heart to another woman. During breakfast, Bessie shared what she’d heard aboutlast night’s encounter between Chance and Ravena at Vance’s Tavern. Unlike some family members, Felicia wasn’t worried about Ravena getting back with Chance. She was confident he’d come to terms with it and concluded she hadn’t been worth his love.

Felicia Laverne then switched her thoughts to the words she believed her beloved Milton had spoken to her regarding Zoey. If it was the last thing she did, she would help the young woman restore as much of her memory as possible.

Pushing back the covers, Felicia Laverne eased between the sheets, shifted into a comfortable sleeping position, and then closed her eyes. Telling Zoey about the past had dredged up memories—memories that were still haunting her, refusing to let her slip into a peaceful sleep.

Memories of how the actions of one woman, who’d wanted something she was never meant to have, had caused a feud between two families, the Madarises and the Satterfields. Families who were destined to be united for life.

Part Two

“There are times when revisiting the past is the key to sustaining the present and solidifying the future.”

—Brenda Jackson

Chapter Nine

The early nineteen-fifties…

Jantzen Milton Madaris studied his son Milton when he came from the back of the house, dressed up for a night in town. He would celebrate his twenty-first birthday with his best friend, Waylon Satterfield. Since Milton and Waylon’s birthdays were just days apart, tonight’s celebration was for them both.

It was hard to believe his first-born was now legally a man and old enough to take his first drink in a bar. There was no doubt in his mind that both Milton and Waylon had good heads on their shoulders regarding the consumption of alcohol, but there was another topic he needed to discuss with his son, and now was the time.

“I’m about to leave, Pa.”

Jantz nodded. “We need to talk first,” he said, pushing a chair back from the table.

Milton sat down in the chair. “What’s wrong? Is Mom okay?” He glanced around the kitchen. “Where is she?”

“Nothing’s wrong, and your mama is alright. She and Victoria are out back taking clothes off the line.”

Milton leaned back in his chair and took note of his father. He’d always thought his father, who stood almost six-three with a muscular frame, was bigger than life. He still did. “So, what do you want to talk about, Pa?”

Jantz stared at his son. “You know I married your mother when I was your age, right?”

Milton gave his father a wide grin. “Yes. But that was back in your day. I doubt I’ll be ready to settle down with a wife before I turn thirty.”

Jantz frowned. “Well, you need to be ready sooner than that. The way things are going, Victoria will be getting married before you,” he said of his only daughter, who was five years younger than her brother. “Earlier today, Waylon asked for her hand in marriage.”

Victoria was barely sixteen and had a lifelong dream to attend nursing school in the East when she graduated next year.

“Waylon has agreed to wait three years. That will give your sister time to finish high school and nursing school before getting married. His father, Kurt, has also given his blessings and has even given Waylon a nice piece of land from his spread near that huge lake. I understand this summer Waylon plans to build a cabin for him and Victoria to live in after they marry.”

Milton nodded. Since he was Waylon’s best friend, he’d known about Waylon’s plan to ask for Victoria’s hand in marriage. He also knew Waylon was eager to start building the cabin, although they wouldn’t occupy it for three years. Waylon had loved Victoria for years, and Milton knew his sister had also loved his best friend for a long time.

“I’m happy for them, Pa.”

His father nodded, eyed him speculatively, and said, “At twenty-one, Waylon has marriage plans. You don’t.”

Milton was fully aware that his parents were getting older and would expect him to take things over one day at the Whispering Pines cattle ranch…with a wife and family.

“I haven’t met a woman I want to be tied down with for the rest of my life, Pa.”

“What about Charlotte Satterfield?”

“Whoa,” Milton said, sitting up straight in his chair, knowing he probably looked as horrified as he felt. Waylon’s sister, Charlotte Satterfield, was a year older than Victoria. Although she was indeed a pretty girl, as far as he was concerned, she was annoying as hell. Her mother, Penny Satterfield, spoiled her rotten and called her Queen Charlotte, sometimes even Queenie. She acted like she thought she was a queen and entitled to anything she wanted.

Charlotte and Victoria were as different as day and night. That was probably why, although their brothers were best friends and had been since birth, the two girls had never been close. Charlotte was snooty, and Victoria didn’t do snooty at all. She was down-to-earth and got along with just about everybody. Charlotte did not. Another thing he’d observed over the years was just how unkind she was to people she felt were beneath her. He would never forget the day he was coming out of the feed store and saw Charlotte deliberately knock over Old Lady Mills’s homemade pie stand, causing all the pies to fall to the ground. He’d said something to Charlotte about it, and she’d sworn it had been an accident. He’d seen what she’d done and knew it hadn’t been. What was even more appalling was when she tried talking him out of reimbursing Mrs. Mills for the pies, saying the woman should not have been selling in front of the feed store anyway. He realized that day just what an unkind person Charlotte was.

“Absolutely not, Pa. I don’t like Charlotte Satterfield’s attitude about many things.”

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