Son of a Preacher Man

chapter Eight


Nadya didn’t exactly tiptoe into Mary Ellen’s house, but she didn’t announce her presence either. J.T. had to be at the police station by seven, so there weren’t a lot of people out and about to witness her slipping out of his truck in tailored pants, ruined heels and his gray police academy T-shirt.

Any hope of sneaking into her room and changing into something more presentable died as Mary Ellen met her in the stairway.

“Well, don’t you look satisfied,” she said with a smug smile. “I have coffee made and cinnamon buns in the oven. I’ll give you five minutes to change before I haul you back down and beat every last detail out of you.”

Nadya stifled a laugh, trying not to wake the boys. “I’ll fill you in—just let me clean up.”

“Five minutes. I’m not kidding,” she warned as she headed to the kitchen.

Nadya felt as satisfied as Mary Ellen had accused her of being. She was a little sore, but it was well worth it. Her muscles felt loose and liquid and every time she thought about last night, her stomach did a funny little flip.

She threw on shorts and a halter top and bound her hair up in a sloppy bun on top of her head. It was a frizzy mess of curls from drying naturally after her shower with J.T. She couldn’t regret it though. That shower had been epic. He’d done things with soap and water that would make her look at Ivory in a different light for the rest of her life.

When she joined Mary Ellen in the kitchen, the smells of coffee and cinnamon made her stomach growl. She’d had a piece of toast and a cup of ridiculously strong coffee at the cabin, but this smelled heavenly.

“We’ve got about ten minutes before the boys wake up. Give me the highlights now, and you can fill in the details when they go down for a nap.”

“Do you want to hear the father part or the J.T. part first?”

“Hmm. What a dilemma, old sex or new sex? Tell me about your father. I don’t want to rush the good sex part.”

“My sperm donor was a man named Haywood Masterson. He owned a horse farm outside of Canton. My mama’s family went to work there and he ’fell in love’ with her.” She made air quotes with her fingers.

“I’ve heard of Woody Masterson. He doesn’t just own a horse farm—he owns the horse farm. There was talk of him even running for the senate at one point in time. His wife is old Southern—you know, mint juleps and white gloves and all that. He hired my daddy way back before I was born to lead hunting trips, but then he stopped coming to his cabin—” She stopped dead.

“Because he gave the use of his hunting cabin to my mama in exchange for not putting his name on my birth certificate.”

“Holy cow.” Mary Ellen went silent for longer than Nadya had ever believed her capable of being.

“My mama was sixteen. Her family shunned her because she lost her virginity to an Outsider and ruined the marriage her father had arranged for her. But you know, he’s sorry.”

“Bastard.”

“No, that would be me.”

“Oh, shut up. You know what I mean. So what else did he have to say in his letter?” Mary Ellen handed her a cinnamon bun the size of a softball with icing melting off the sides.

“Only that he never regretted falling in love with my mama, and that he was proud of me and he hoped someday I could forgive him.”

“Like hell.”

“Exactly. Oh, and in his will he left me the cabin and forty acres surrounding it. Apparently, it’s been in a trust since I was born.”

“Get out! Damn, that’s got to be worth a big chunk of change.”

“Maybe. Fat lot of good it did me when we were growing up and shopping at the Goodwill.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“I don’t know.” Nadya bit into the cinnamon bun and moaned as the flavors rolled over her taste buds. “My mama told him she didn’t want it, only the use of it until I no longer needed it. I kind of feel the same way. Like if I accept it he bought me off or something.”

“Screw that. He wasn’t there for your entire life. He owes you a hell of a lot more than a cabin in the woods. He was loaded. He should have left you part of the farm as well.”

“I don’t want anything from him.”

“Don’t make any decisions yet. Give yourself some time to think about this rationally.” Mary Ellen got up to pour more coffee. Before she could sit back down, Little Billy wandered into the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Can I have a cimonim bun too? With extra icing?”

“Sure, sweetheart.” Mary Ellen shot Nadya a look that silently said their discussion wasn’t over by a long shot.

“Miss Nadya, do you want to come to the playground with us today? Mama said we can get ice cream after. I can swing really high and go on the big slide without getting scared.”

“I’d love to do that. Thank you.”

Mary Ellen made a face, but Nadya couldn’t see what the problem was. She got up and put her dishes in the sink. “What’s the problem?” she whispered.

“A few of the other mothers will be there too. I didn’t know if you wanted to announce your presence yet.”

“Oh.” Nadya wasn’t sure she was ready to be put on display yet either. But she’d already said yes to Billy. Crap. What the hell, she wouldn’t be in town that much longer. What could they do to her? She was an adult, a well-educated, successful woman. Their opinions meant nothing anymore.

Still, her gut clenched and her breakfast sat like a rock in the pit of her stomach. “When do we go?”

“This afternoon, after naps when it’s cooled down some.”

“Can’t wait.”



Nadya sat building block towers with Billy while Mary Ellen folded laundry. Hunter was still napping, and they were killing time before they went to the playground. Nadya had taken a power nap and showered and felt much more prepared to face any ghosts from her high school years.

Billy was explaining how the red blocks were the best for the foundation because they were bigger when the doorbell rang. Mary Ellen shot her a questioning look.

“I’m not expecting anyone,” Nadya said, getting up off the floor. “You sit, I’ll get it.” She waved Mary Ellen back onto the couch before she could struggle to her feet.

Surprise warred with unease when she opened the door and saw Hornblower on the porch in a seersucker jacket and white pants.

“Good afternoon, Miss Sarov. I was wondering if I could have a few minutes of your time?”

“Of course, come on in.” The good manners came automatically, which bought her time to gather her scrambled thoughts. What did he want now? “Let’s go to the kitchen. Hunter is still napping.”

Mary Ellen was already there, pouring sweet tea and setting out a plate of brownies.

“Well, hello, Mr. Hornblower. What brings you out this way?” she asked.

“I’m on my way out of town for a few days, and I have some papers to give Miss Sarov. I thought I’d drop them off here instead of having her come back to the office. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course. Y’all just set yourselves down and I’ll give you some privacy.”

Nadya noticed she left the door between the kitchen and the den open, though. If Hornblower thought he was telling her something in confidence, he was dead wrong.

“I’d like to apologize for rushing you yesterday. I should have waited to tell you about your daddy’s will until you’d had more time to process his letter.”

“It’s fine. I don’t know that more time would have changed my reaction any.”

“I understand. Woody was my best friend. I was the best man at his wedding, and he at mine. Woody was larger than life. I still miss him, but that doesn’t mean I was blind to his faults. What he did with your mama was wrong, and I understand that no amount of money can change that now.”

He took a sip of his tea and set it carefully back down. “That being said, the trust is in your name, and now that Woody is gone, you’re the executor. The property is yours to do with what you will.”

“I’m not even sure I want it. I’ll be going back to New York soon now that my business here is done.” She was surprised by a sudden jab of pain at the thought of leaving, but she pushed it aside. This meeting had the feel of an opening of negotiations, despite the tea and brownies, and there was no place for emotions.

“I gathered that. From what you’ve said, you don’t have many fond memories of your home town.”

Actually, she’d been surprised by how many good memories she’d had in Dale. Funny how for the last twelve years she’d only focused on the negative ones.

“As I said, I’m on my way out of town for a few days, but I couldn’t leave without finishing this last little bit of business.” He pulled a folder out of his briefcase. “As executor of Woody’s estate, I was approached by a developer about the parcel of land you now own. Here’s their offer. You’ll see it’s quite generous.”

Nadya glanced at the line Hornblower pointed to. The number of zeros made her breath catch, but she kept her face carefully blank. Suddenly, it hit her that this was the piece of land the protesters were all up in arms about. She pushed that aside to focus on what else Hornblower had to say.

“I don’t expect you to do anything just yet, but I wanted you to know the offer is out there. Woody would have wanted me to do right by his daughter. Even in New York, that much money would set you up for a good long time.”

“Indeed.” She sipped her tea to buy herself some time. “Mr. Hornblower, can I ask you something? Have my half-brothers been told about me yet?”

“Yes. I met with Sylvia, Winston and Lloyd yesterday after you left.”

“And what do they think about the will?”

Hornblower squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. “You can imagine their shock. Give them a little time.”

“I see.” She’d hardly expected them to rush to her with open arms.

“One more thing. I’m going to need you to sign a trust document. It just states that I’ve discharged the trust to you at Woody’s bequest.”

“Okay. If you leave it with me, I’ll look it over and sign it later.” She waited for him to pull it out of his briefcase.

“I don’t have it with me now. We can handle that another time.” He gathered his things and stood. “I’ll be back in Dale next Wednesday. If you’re not gone you can sign it then. Also, if you want me to represent you with the developer, I’d be honored to handle the details. And now that I’ve discharged Woody’s final wishes, we can use email and faxes.” He let out a chuckle that grated on her nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard.

“Thank you. I’ll have to consider all my options.”

“Of course, of course. Don’t take too much time though, or they may pull the offer. What with those protestors causing all that ruckus and the environmental concerns, they may decide it’s too much trouble.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She walked him to the door and held it open for him. “Thank you for coming out of your way.”

“No problem, no problem at all. If I don’t see you again, Miss Sarov, please take care.”

“Oh, I don’t plan on leaving quite so soon. I’m enjoying my stay in Dale.”

Nadya waited until he got into his car before shutting the door. As soon as the latch caught, Mary Ellen pounced on her.

“How much are they offering for your piece of land?”

“Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

“What? Sweet baby Jesus, that’s close to a million dollars. You’d never have to buy consignment again.” Mary Ellen sat heavily on the couch.

“I haven’t examined the offer fully yet. Let’s not be hasty.”

“But you’re going to take it, right? I heard you tell Mr. Hornblower you would be headed back to New York soon.”

“I don’t have any firm plans yet. I only told him that so he’d leave me alone. I have plenty of vacation time to burn still. If you don’t mind me taking up your spare room, I’d like to stay a while yet.”

“Go on with you—you can move in for all I care. Things haven’t been this interesting around here since you left.”

“I don’t think Bill would appreciate that, but I may stick around for a bit. I have a feeling now that the will’s been read and gone to probate, things are going to get even more interesting.”

“Mama,” Hunter called from his room.

“Shoot, Hunter’s up from his nap which means Billy will be chomping at the bit to go to the playground. Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Yup. After the last few days, I can handle just about anything.”

“Like I said, things are much more interesting with you here.”

Mary Ellen went to get Hunter from his crib, and Nadya went back to the kitchen to clean up the dishes from her meeting with Hornblower. She was surprised to see Bill sitting at the table looking at the papers.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were home,” she said. She wanted to snatch the offer out of his hands but held back.

“I had to take a half day so I wouldn’t go into overtime. With all the extra time we’ve had to put in with the protestors, it’s straining the budget. They’d rather give the overtime to someone lower on the pay scale.” He held up the offer from the developer. “Is this yours?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“I didn’t mean to pry. I came in the back way when I saw the car in the driveway. I didn’t want to run into any of Mary Ellen’s friends when I was sweaty from work. I saw Nokas on the letterhead and it caught my attention.”

“Is Nokas the developer? I hadn’t noticed.” She’d only paid attention to the amount of money being offered.

“Yup. They want to build a bunch of houses on what’s left of the private land bordering the state forest. They’re talking about three-to-five-thousand-square-foot houses and four to six houses per acre.”

“How on earth would there be a market for that up here?”

“Northern transplants, people wanting to get out of the city, bored rich people, who knows?”

“Can you explain to me why they’re willing to pay so much? I haven’t read the whole offer, but it seems a little excessive when you consider how much they would have to spend to clear and develop the land.”

“Here, sit down. It’s easier to show you.” Bill took a pen out of his pocket and spread a napkin on the table. “If you look at the state forest as this half of the napkin, the area we’re talking about is here.” He drew a semi-circle. “Back in my granddaddy’s day all this was private hunting camps. I’m talking seventy or more years ago, back before the forest service had any teeth. This area was a playground for rich men. They’d take their business associates up for a weekend of hunting and getting back to nature. That’s how Dale became a town, really. They needed a place to buy supplies, get drunk, go out to dinner and whatnot.”

“And then what happened?”

“As time went on, the camps got passed down through the family. If the owner didn’t have anyone to leave it to or if the children didn’t want it, the camp got deeded to the state forest. Little by little, most of the private camps got absorbed into state land.”

He split the half circle up into wedges. “This middle slice, this is your piece. It’s the only one that has any street frontage—Deer Creek Road. The land on either side of you is state land. Without street frontage, the developer has to get an easement from the state, which they aren’t going to get no matter how many lawsuits they file.”

“Aren’t there other private lots still in existence? I remember having to be really careful not to go wandering during deer season.”

“There are still a handful, yes.”

“So how do those people get to their camps?”

“They can use the state forest access road for limited use.”

“And I have the only street access?”

“The only frontage for miles.”

“I see.” Her head spun. Three quarters of a million dollars would not only pay off all her debt, it would set her up quite nicely for a while. She’d still have to work for a living, but there’d be a cushion she’d never had.

“I don’t want to pressure you one way or another. But if you’re interested, I can give you the facts about what the development would do not only to the forest but Dale too. You should have all the information before you make any decisions.”

“Thanks. That would be helpful.” Or make this more confusing.

“Daddy! What are you doing home?” Billy ran up and hugged his father.

“A little bird told me there was a trip to the playground planned, and I wanted to crash the party. I heard there might even be ice cream.” He picked Billy up and put him on his lap.

“Miss Nadya is coming too. Mama said it’ll help having someone to chase after Hunter who isn’t carrying another baby.”

Mary Ellen came in with Hunter on her hip. “Looks like we’re going to have ourselves a regular party at the playground. Billy, you go potty before we leave. I’ll pack us some water and snacks.”

“Can I help with anything?” Nadya asked.

“You can keep an eye on this rascal and make sure he doesn’t strip down to his diaper before I can get a bag packed. I swear he’s going to be a Chippendale dancer when he grows up the way he hates to wear clothes.”

“But his tummy is so cute. No wonder he wants to show it off.” Hunter had his T-shirt pulled up to his armpits but stopped when Nadya crouched down near him. “Every time I see that little belly button, I just want to eat it up!” She scooped him up and blew noisy raspberries on his stomach.

Hunter laughed and ran out of the kitchen as soon as she put him down. His peals of laughter lightened her heart and brought a smile to her face as well. She’d think about the developer’s offer later. Right now she had a date at the playground, and making Hunter laugh was a hell of a lot more enticing than worrying about her future.

They all piled into the minivan for the short trip to the park at the town center. There were a few other vans parked in the lot near the playground, and Nadya felt her stomach clench with nerves. What if Mary Ellen caught flack for being friends with her still? Would kids make fun of Billy and Hunter because their mama still hung out with gypsy trash? Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all.

“Billy, you wait right there with Auntie Nad while I get your brother unstrapped. I don’t want you running off. Honey, would you grab the diaper bag? Nadya, hold onto Billy a sec, would you?” Mary Ellen directed the action like they were going into war, not spending a few hours in the park.

Nadya felt tickled at the title Auntie Nad. It made her feel like part of the family.

Little Billy vibrated with excitement. “See, there’s the big slide. And the monkey bars. I can’t do those yet, but I’m gonna. Come on, I’ll show you how high I can swing.”

Just as Mary Ellen slid the door shut, Nadya’s phone rang. She glanced at the display and saw it was Sandra. “This is a co-worker from New York. I better take it. Y’all go on ahead and I’ll catch up.”

“Okay. I’ll be right at that bench. If you need me, holler.”

Nadya watched Bill and Mary Ellen walk off. Billy held both their hands and swung them back and forth. A knot of emotion formed in her throat as she took in their family togetherness.

God, please don’t let my presence here screw up Mary Ellen’s life.

She bit back her fears and answered the phone before it went to voice mail. “Hey, lady, how’s Miami?”

“Bubele! It’s like breathing soup when you walk outside. I can’t believe I’m looking forward to going back to work on Monday. But enough of that. How are you? You haven’t taken any canoe trips down the Cahulawassee, have you?”

“That wasn’t a real river, and, no, I’m sticking close to civilization.” Most of the time. Her tummy did a little flip as she remembered being with J.T. at the creek and what had happened when they got back to the cabin. There was nothing civilized about that.

“Is everything wrapped up with your mom’s final wishes? Are you getting the hell out of Dodge? I haven’t gotten so much as a text from you since you met with Matlock. Fill me in.”

“Oh boy, a lot has happened.”

“Give me the short version. I have to get back into air conditioning before I melt, and I don’t have good reception in the hotel.”

“The lawyer was actually hired by my long-lost father, not my mother. I inherited some land down here, ran into an old friend and an old flame, and I’m about to meet some of the women I went to high school with and their kids, and I’m worried my presence here will cause problems for my friend and her family.” She didn’t know why she told Sandra the last part, it just spurted out.

“Wait, the father who abandoned your mother left you something in his will? A broch. That takes some chutzpah.”

“No kidding.”

“I have a feeling you’re not headed to the Caribbean any time soon. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate down there in Deliverance. Now, tell me about the old flame.”

“Just as hot as when I was a teenager.”

“Please tell me you slept with him and didn’t pull the Ice Queen routine.”

“There’s no way to keep ice frozen in this heat.”

“Thank God. Now, about your friend. I have a feeling if she stuck by you all this time, the opinions of some low-class women aren’t going to matter to her one bit. Don’t you worry about meeting those girls. You’re a New Yorker now. If they give you a hard time, you take them down.”

“You make it sound like I routinely do hand-to-hand combat on the subway.”

“Honey, I’ve seen you shop at a half-price sale. You can take ’em.”

Nadya laughed. Talking to Sandra always made her feel like she could handle anything. “I’m glad you called. I’ll try to keep you in the loop.”

“You’d better. And when you get back, we’re going to have a nice long talk over martinis.”

“It’s a date.”

“Good, now I’m going to stand in front of the freezer. I’ll text you from the city.”

Nadya slipped the phone in her back pocket and squared her shoulders. Sandra was right—she could handle this. She negotiated million-dollar contracts for a living. Some housewives from Dale weren’t going to intimidate her. Much.