Page 53 of Spilling the Tea

He threw his head back and laughed. The sound was husky and rich, and she couldn’t help but laugh with him. It had been a while since they’d shared a laugh. When their laughter ceased, his features turned serious. Using his fingertips, he reached out and tilted her face so his gaze could linger on it for a moment. It was as if he were branding it to memory.

“Waylon?”

Instead of answering, he slowly lowered his head to hers and kissed the unspoken question from her lips. Like all his kisses, this one was filled with passion, the kind he’d introduced her to, which never went beyond kissing. The kind that always made her moan.

When the kiss ended, he pressed his forehead against hers, sighed deeply, and said, “I can’t imagine us not marrying one day, Victoria.”

His words stoked something within her. Something she refused to acknowledge. Even the possibility of that happening. “Then don’t imagine it, Waylon. We will get married one day.”

“Your pa has pretty much said he doesn’t want me in your family,” he said, releasing his hold and taking a step back.

“And your ma has pretty much let it be known that she doesn’t want me in yours,” she countered. In Victoria’s way of thinking, Ms. Penny’s hatred of her was unwarranted. Sheblamed the Madarises for Mr. Kurt banishing Charlotte when Charlotte’s lie had started it all.

“Ma is not herself and is directing her anger at the wrong people, Victoria. She will eventually come around. She’s always put Charlotte on a pedestal and thought she could do no wrong.”

“That’s no excuse, Waylon, because what your sister did was wrong. At least your father apologized to me, but your mother has let it be known she will never welcome me into your family.” Maybe she should tell him what his mother had said to her a few weeks ago when she’d been leaving the grocery store. She hadn’t known Penny Satterfield could be so mean and hateful.

He nodded. “You’re right. That’s no excuse. Once we’re married, we won’t live with my parents or yours. We’ll have our own place.”

“Yes, a place of our own,” she said, thinking of the cabin that Waylon had built for them.

“I’m thinking of asking your pa for your hand again.”

A lump settled in Victoria’s throat. All it took was for her to remember how upset her father had gotten when Milton had told him Waylon would be his best man. “Not sure that’s a good idea right now. We have time.”

He arched a brow. “How do you figure that?”

“We hadn’t planned to get married until I finished nursing school anyway. I’m thinking of reapplying, so that would still be three years away.”

“Yes, but I never intended for you to leave for Savannah without wearing my engagement ring.”

“And I can still wear it, Waylon.”

“But you’d be doing so behind your parents’ backs, Victoria, and that won’t sit well with me.”

It didn’t sit well with her either. “So, what do you suggest?”

His features were dead serious when he said, “Elope.”

Part Three

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chapter Seventeen

The present…

Felicia Laverne awoke when the sun seeped through the curtains, revealing the dawn of a new day. Last night, she remembered a period known as the Madaris Scandal. Ultimately, the Madaris family’s good reputation was restored.

Although she and Milton had married, things hadn’t gone well for Waylon and Victoria. Just thinking about what they went through broke her heart. Victoria had been her best friend, and for years, Felicia Laverne had felt her pain.

Even though the Madaris name was cleared, the Satterfield name was left in shambles. News of what Charlotte had done spread far and wide. Few found fault with Kurt for disowning his daughter, considering the feud she’d started between the Madarises and Satterfields and the disgrace she had caused her family.

According to gossip spread by the Turbans, Levon divorced Charlotte within a couple of years, saying she was an unfit wife. A few years later, more gossip spread when Charlotte took upwith some man and got pregnant without the benefit of marriage. That only boosted the Turbans’ claim that Charlotte Satterfield was spoiled, self-centered, rotten to the core, and nothing but trash. When the Turbans moved from the Houston area to Mississippi, the gossip about Charlotte faded, and the Satterfields were finally able to put the scandal behind them.

Felicia Laverne heard the knock on her bedroom door. “Come in.”

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