Billionaire Flawed 1(133)

Chapter Three

Hettie unfolded the handkerchief and looked at it admiringly. “This is beautiful work, Liz! Did you do this?” The cloth was embroidered with a brightly colored peacock and had the initials EAB woven into the bird’s feathers.

Liz wiped her hands on her apron and came over to look at the handkerchief. She smiled softly and took it from Hettie. “No, my gramma did. She made it for me when I was a child. I think it’s funny that my initials didn’t change.” She looked up at Hettie, her memories alive on her face. “My grandmother was very much involved in our lives until we lost her some years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

Liz shook her head and placed the cloth back on the shelf hanging over the window. “She lived a long and fruitful life. She was a wonderful and happy woman, always doing things to help others. She was the reason we all have faith in the Lord to guide our steps.” She shook her head, going back to the counter to continue shaving the skins from them with a sharp knife. “It’s one of the reasons I have such a hard time accepting James’ behavior. Not just last night but for the past three years. He has been so sad. He just won’t come out of mourning. He’s angry and bitter all the time. It’s like he’s not praying, not trying, not trusting the Lord at all.”

“Did he before he lost his wife?” Hettie asked, moving to the large bowl of water she was using to clean the vegetables she and Liz had pulled from the garden early that morning. They were preparing a birthday celebration for John. Many of the people in town would be there, including James. It made her nervous. She wondered if he was even going to show up after what had happened those nights before.

“Yes. He has not since then.”

“May I ask you a question?” Hettie looked up from the carrots she had lined up on the cutting table. Liz looked back at her, holding her knife in one hand and a potato in the other.

“Of course, Hettie.”

“If you knew that he was still angry and bitter about the loss, why would you bring someone else here to meet him? Such a long way? I don’t want to sound rude; I have enjoyed the last two days getting to know you both. But if you knew about his feelings, why did you surprise him in such a way?”

Liz looked back down at the potatoes before answering. She set down the knife and potato she held and went to sit next to Hettie at the table. She looked into Hettie’s eyes and licked her small lips. “It seems that I’ve manipulated this situation in a way I should not have. I am sorry for that. I was only trying to do what I thought would be good for my brother. I really didn’t expect him to react that way. I thought he was, at least, give you time to get to know him and him to know you.” She sighed. “I reckon, I also hoped it would be enough of a shock to bring him out of this mood he’s been in, show him that there are other beautiful women in the world for him to love.”

“Beauty is only seen on the surface,” Hettie said, sadly. “He has not seen what is underneath. He may be afraid to see who I am. He may be afraid of his feelings. Did she die in a brutal way?”

Liz nodded, her eyes dropping to the vegetables as if they were the most fascinating things she had ever seen. “He watched it happen. And then he shot the man who killed her.”

It was Hettie’s turn to sigh. “I see.”

A shock was probably not what James had needed. Perhaps gently easing someone new into his life would have been better than bringing her and dropping her on his front doorstep like an abandoned animal.

She shook off her feelings of resentment. She understood that Liz was just a meddling sister who cared too much for her brother, stewing in his misery and pain. She understood that James was still mourning and having a terrible time pulling out of it.

What she didn’t understand was how she was supposed to react to it. Her life had been turned upside down to travel across the country, and now her future was very much in question. She had prepared herself to be married. Was she supposed to start looking for someone else?

“I have been praying for someone to get through to James for so long now. I can’t bear to see him like that anymore.”

“What would you like for me to do, Liz?” Hettie asked. “Do you want me to try to do something to get through to him? Because I really don’t know how I’m going to do that.”

Liz shook her head and put one hand on Hettie’s arm. “I don’t think there’s anything you can do, Hettie. I just want you to be yourself. He will be around. I believe John was right when he said that James would calm down. He will give you a chance…if you still want one.”