Firecracker!

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Macey pulled up the lane to the Abernathys’ house, absently wondering if she should’ve called first. Growing up in town, one never bothered to call before heading to their neighbor’s house, nor did one drive there, but out in the country, sometimes it was hard to tell why people might be headed up a private drive such as this one. She decided the Abernathys likely knew her vehicle, and she wouldn’t stay so long that she would interrupt their evening.

When she pulled into the drive, she was glad to see another truck there, besides Mr. Abernathy's old brown Ford and his wife’s little Honda. Maybe she wasn’t the only one disturbing his rest. Even though the house was fairly far up the drive from the highway that ran past both of their houses, Macey still heard the whoosh of an eighteen-wheeler rushing by on the road and looked down the way she’d come.

There, on the other side of the trees that lined the far side of the drive was a small structure she’d never noticed before. She hadn’t seen it when she drove in, or from her house, because of all of the trees. It was set fairly close to the road and in the middle of their yard, which Macey thought was odd. The Abernathys had plenty of acreage behind their house to put a shed if they needed another one. Even though she thought it was unusual, she pushed the thought aside and, tucking the soup container under her arm, headed for the front door.

Her knock was greeted by the howling of the Abernathys’ hound dogs who used to get a lot more action when Mr. Abernathy was younger. Now that he was getting on in years, they mostly just alerted him that someone, anyone, was at the door. Macey laughed, knowing Fluffy would love to howl like that if she could, but God had given her other strengths.

It took a few moments for footsteps to sound on the other side of the door, but about the time that the howling stopped, the thick wooden door in front of her was pulled open. Macey expected to see the friendly smile of Jan Abernathy, but instead, she was looking into the eyes of a stranger, a questioning expression on his face.

Macey couldn’t help but stare. Not only was he tall and attractive with light-brown hair and dark brown eyes, the fact that she’d been expecting to see someone else entirely had her thrown for a loop. Words escaped her as she stood, holding her container of soup, trying to remember where she was and what she was doing there.

“Hi, can I help you?” he asked, his eyes still wide with curiosity, though his demeanor was pleasant.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Macey stammered. “I heard about Mr. George’s leg—I mean, Mr. Abernathy’s leg. So… I brought soup.”

He continued to look at her, now as if she had two heads, before saying, “That was very thoughtful of you. My aunt is taking a nap just now, but if you’d like to leave your name, I’m happy to let her know who it’s from.”

“Sure,” Macey said, handing him the soup. “It’s not much, but I thought it might make it so that Jan didn’t have to cook a few meals.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.” He reached out, and Macey handed the soup over, still not exactly sure what else there was to say. “Wow, it looks homemade. Did you grow these vegetables yourself?”

“I did,” she nodded. “It was no big deal. I already had it in the fridge. I mean, I made it from what I had in the fridge. From my garden. “She knew she wasn’t making any sense at all, and her fight or flight instinct began to kick in in such a way that she desperately wanted to get off of the porch now and disappear before she said anything else idiotic to the handsome stranger.

A chuckle escaped his lips. “I’m sorry, did you just say you grow vegetables in a garden in your refrigerator?”

“No,” Macey replied, her eyebrows knitting together. “At least, I don’t think that’s what I said.” She tore her eyes away and dropped them to the welcome mat she was standing on, which seemed a little ironic because she suddenly didn’t feel too welcome. “Anyway, I have to go, but please tell George I hope he gets well soon.”

She turned and headed for her vehicle as quickly as she could. She thought he shouted something at her as she went, but Macey didn’t stop to find out what it might be. Probably more comments about how plants need light, soil, and air, things you can’t find in the refrigerator. She started her SUV and looped around in the gravel by the driveway so she could head back down the road, thankful she didn’t have to try to back down the winding lane with the stranger staring at her from the front porch. She wondered why he was still standing there, gawking after her, and thought she must’ve also had toilet paper on her shoe or spinach in her teeth.

As Macey turned onto the highway that would take her the short distance to her own drive, she muttered, “Well, that went well. Yeah, Mrs. Gregory, I wonder why I’m still single. I’m very good at talking the words.” She shook her head and tried to shake the frustration out of her mind. Pulling into the garage, Macey turned the car off and leaned her head back against the seat for a moment. She had no idea why she had become so flustered the way that she did—that had never happened to her before. All day long, she talked to customers, even the occasional handsome stranger. Perhaps it was the fact that she was expecting to see Mrs. Abernathy at the door that threw her off. “Yes, that’s it,” she decided, unhooking her seatbelt and sliding out of the vehicle. “I was expecting to see Jan, and when it wasn’t her, I didn’t know what to say. It’s really not a big deal.” She opened the door to barks from Fluffy. “And those hound dogs howling didn’t help any,” she added.

Macey headed to the living room and flipped on the television, deciding some HGTV would get her mind off of her social flub. Even though she tried to concentrate on what was happening on the home improvement show in front of her, her mind kept wandering back to the stranger on the porch. If it was just because she’d expected to see Mrs. Abernathy, then why did she keep thinking about those deep brown eyes?

Sam Abernathy stood staring at the trail of dust left by the SUV long after the vehicle faded from his view. He had no idea what to think of the woman who had just fled the front porch, but there was something about her that had caught his attention. She was petite, with pretty brown hair, and stunning green eyes. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting for him to answer the door, and when he had done so, she was thrown way off of her game. Either that, or she had some sort of speech disorder. Still, she was cute, that was for sure. And there was something else about her that had caught his attention as well, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. She seemed to be quite spunky, full of life.

“Who was that?” Aunt Jan’s voice came from behind him, and Sam realized he’d been holding the door open for a long time, letting the air conditioning out.

“Oh, I don’t know. I asked her name, but she seemed like she was in a hurry. She brought some fresh vegetable soup.” He thought about how she’d said she’d gotten it from her refrigerator, or maybe her garden, or somehow both, and couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s that look for?” Jan asked, her eyebrows arched. She looked much older than she had the last time he’d visited, almost three years ago, and he realized he hadn’t been much of a great-nephew, but he was glad to have the chance to come down to help out now that they really needed him.

“What’s what look for?” Sam asked, though he was pretty sure he had a sappy smile on his face thinking about the tongue-tied beauty who’d just left.

“That soup looks delicious.” Jan conceded to changing the subject. “I’ll fix your uncle a bowl as soon as he wakes up from his nap.

“Let me know, and I’ll get it for you,” Sam replied. It did look good, and he thought he might have some himself. He carried the container into the kitchen and made room for it in the refrigerator. So far, the people of Charles Town had been more than generous with the food and flowers they’d brought by. His uncle had only been released from the hospital the day before, his surgery to repair the break in his leg having taken place the day before that, and already the fridge was full and the countertop was adorned with cheery floral arrangements. Sam had arrived late the night of the surgery and was glad he was around to help his aunt get Uncle George into the house. With no ramps, getting him up the steps had been a challenge, but they’d managed.

“Well, how am I supposed to return that container if you don’t know who dropped it off?” Jan asked, jarring him back to the present.

Sam closed the refrigerator door and turned to face her. “I don’t know. Maybe she’ll come back for it.”

“What did she look like?”

His aunt was nothing if not persistent. “She was… a little taller than you. Young, maybe a few years younger than me. With short brown hair and… green eyes.”

A small smile unfolded at the corners of his aunt’s mouth. “Was she pretty?”

Raising both eyebrows, Sam shrugged. “I really didn’t notice.”

Aunt Jan laughed. “What was she driving? A Toyota SUV?”

While Sam had seen the vehicle and even watched it disappear, he didn’t notice the manufacturer. He’d been too lost in thoughts of who that spirited young woman might be. “It might’ve been. It was a dark-colored SUV.” He leaned against the counter, careful not to knock over a floral arrangement two other nice, older women had dropped off a few hours ago. The smell of daffodils and daisies filled his lungs.

“That must’ve been Macey,” Jan said with a nod.

“Who’s Macey?” Sam asked, hoping she didn’t say something like, “Oh, she’s John’s wife, has six kids, and lives on the other side of the sun.”

“She’s our neighbor,” Jan replied as she turned to head out of the kitchen. “She made those flowers, too.”

Sam looked down at the flower arrangement and wondered how one made flowers, exactly. Then he thought perhaps she grew them in this amazing refrigerator garden of hers, where she gathered vegetables for fresh soup. “This Macey seems to be quite talented,” he muttered.

“Yes, she is!” Jan called, and he wondered how in the world his aunt had heard him from the other room. A smile spread across Sam’s face. If Macey was a neighbor, perhaps he’d get a chance to see more of her soon.