Page 86 of Spilling the Tea

A shiver of excitement raced through her at the thought she would be seeing him tomorrow for their picnic.

She had considered that Chance Madaris might be the one man she couldn’t handle when it came to controlling her sexual urges. She certainly thought of jumping his bones whenever they were together. For a woman who didn’t do flings, she was having second thoughts when it came to him.

She would return to Baltimore at the end of the summer.Why did the thought of parting ways with Chance set her on edge? She usually had more control of her emotions than that, especially when it involved matters of her heart.

Her heart?Honestly, Zoey.Her heart had nothing to do with it. It was about an increase in her hormones and nothing else.

Putting the photo albums aside, she went into the kitchen to pour a glass of wine. She loved this place and wondered since it was located so far from the main house, had it been Waylon and Deedra’s first home?

Anxious to read the diaries, she returned to the living room and reached for the one with a moss green cover and a beautiful large scripted letterDon the front. She figuredDstood for Deedra. Goose bumps appeared on her arm as she eased onto the sofa and curled her legs beneath her. After taking a sip of wine, she opened the diary and began reading.

Dear Diary,

Today, I met Waylon Satterfield. Reverend Potts, a childhood friend of my late father, invited me to Houston to meet him, and I’m glad he did. Mr. Satterfield is my last hope. Otherwise, I will be forced to marry Forest, Dale’s brother, who always gave me the creeps. I was still grieving my beloved Dale’s death when his family showed up on the ranch and took everything. They said as a widow, I could not own anything, and if I wanted to continue to live there, I would have to marry Forest. Dale had once confided in me just how abusive his brother could be to women.

Waylon seems like a nice man. He understands I could never love him like a woman or wife should love a man or her husband. My heart will forever belong to Dale. However, I told him that if we married, I would perform all my wifely duties and care for his household. He wasokay with my position and explained that just like my heart would forever belong to Dale, his heart would forever belong to a woman named Victoria Madaris.

What?! Zoey recalled Corbin had told her Victoria Madaris had been their great-grandaunt—and Ms. Felicia’s best friend. She also recalled Chance saying that same aunt was buried in a tomb in the fruit grove. Zoey continued reading after taking another sip of wine.

Zoey read twenty more entries and, upon finishing, knew why Waylon and Victoria had broken off their engagement, and the cause of the Satterfield and Madaris feud. Fighting back tears, her heart couldn’t help but go out to the couple who’d been so much in love but could not marry. She also knew why Waylon and Deedra had agreed to a loveless marriage. She checked her watch and saw it was time to prepare something for dinner. But she was so into Deedra’s diary that she didn’t want to stop reading.

Chapter Thirty

Zoey sat down at her kitchen table to enjoy her morning cup of coffee. She had awakened later than she had planned, blaming it on staying up reading her great-grandmother’s diary. Although she had a lot more to read, she understood her great-grandparents’ marriage well. She’d even gotten to know her great-great-grandmother Penny, a woman who wanted her son to marry Deedra for all the wrong reasons. She also knew of Penny’s intense dislike for the Madarises and the reason for the Satterfield and Madaris feud.

Ms. Felicia was right; her great-grandmother had been a God-fearing woman with a heart of gold who was loved and respected by all who knew her. Deedra and Waylon’s marriage was based on a strong friendship and not love, and both had kept their vows to each other. Zoey needed to talk to Ms. Felicia, and it couldn’t wait until their next planned meeting on Thursday. She would call her later to see if she could meet with her sooner.

One of the first things she’d noticed was that it had rained overnight, and the forecast today indicated it would rain againlater today. Would Chance cancel their plans ? No sooner had that thought entered her mind than her phone rang. It was Chance.

Placing her coffee cup aside, she picked up her phone. “Good morning, Chance.”

“Good morning, Zoey. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. I hadn’t known it had rained until I woke this morning.”

“That’s the reason I was calling,” he said. “The ground will be too wet for a traditional picnic, so I thought we could enjoy lunch on your patio since it has a good view of the lake. Then, afterward, we can go canoeing. I’m sure Trevor wouldn’t mind if we used one of his.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Chance.”

“Great. I’ll be there around noon.”

Since he didn’t mention the ride to the fruit grove, she figured he would see how the weather held out before canceling that. After finishing her coffee, she placed a call to Mama Laverne who agreed to meet with her Tuesday. After the call, she went upstairs to shower and dress.

She was headed toward her bedroom when suddenly, she had a flashback of doing the same thing as a little girl. She’d been happy that day because she and her parents would go to Gramma Bella and Grampa Josh’s big house for dinner.

She wanted to believe that being here was what she needed and that before leaving, she would get her memory back.

***

Chance’s gaze traveled the length of Zoey when she opened the door. She was wearing a cute pair of denim shorts and an off-the-shoulder blouse. She had a broad smile on her face. As much as he wanted to think it was for him, he figured it was for something else. “You had another flashback?”

“Yes!” she said excitedly, moving aside for him to enter. “I remembered being here, inside this house with my parents.Later that day we joined my grandparents at the big house for dinner. That’s what we called your house. The big house.”

He followed her into the kitchen and placed the huge picnic basket on the table. “Come here, sweetheart,” he said, opening his arms to her. She came to him, and he held her in a tight embrace. “I’m happy for you. That’s great news, baby,” he said, liking how the terms of endearment had easily rolled off his lips.

She pulled back and gave him a cheerful grin. “Thanks, and I feel it will all come back before I leave, Chance. I really believe that.”

“Then it will happen. Just continue to believe. As I told you, Mama Laverne convinced me I would walk again. I believed it, and it happened.”

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