"Yeah, that sounds right."

"So when is the broccoli-eating event going to take place?"

"How about Sat.u.r.day. I'll make you and Rainbow a dinner you won't forget."

He held out his hand. "Okay, I take the bet."

CHAPTER.

12.

On Thursday morning before she headed out for her rounds with the local farmers, Charlene stopped by Mother's house to pick up the boxes of old toys and books that had been stashed in the attic. These boxes had been lovingly put away for the day when Charlene would have a baby of her own.

Faye Tippit, Mother's housekeeper, greeted Charlene at the side door. "Miss Charlene, you better be quiet. Your momma is having one of her headaches this morning."

Right. Mother's headaches were becoming a chronic condition, along with Mother's weakness for wine. Charlene needed to make an intervention. But how? Her parents never took her seriously.

"Thanks, Faye," she said, giving the woman a big hug. "I'm only here for a minute. I want to get some things out of the attic. I'll try to be as quiet as a mouse."

She failed. Or maybe Mother's headache hadn't incapacitated her that badly. Because the moment Charlene reached the pull-down attic stairs, Mother emerged from the master bedroom, still wearing her robe and pajamas.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"I'm just getting a couple of boxes of old stuff."

"What old stuff?"

"My books and toys."

Mother crossed her arms and gave Charlene one of those looks that had always terrified her as a child. "Charlene, I've been hearing things about you all over town."

"What things?"

"Gossip about that awful bachelor auction. Gossip about you and Reverend Lake. Gossip about how you've taken a special interest in that dark little girl that everyone claims is the preacher's niece."

That dark little girl. Boy, Mother could really work those euphemisms.

"Rainbow is mixed race. And she doesn't have many books or toys, and I have boxes of them stored up there. Seems like a match made in heaven. Books for a girl who doesn't have many."

"You're a fool," Mother said. "I've heard all about this man who's living in Martha's apartment. He's a gambler, Charlene. A low-cla.s.s gambler. And probably a con man. Tim Lake may be a Methodist, but he seems like a good, upstanding, G.o.dly man. I can't imagine him being related to people like that."

People like that. "What kind of people, Mother? Blacks? Poor people?"

She sniffed. "Obviously the preacher is a white man."

"Yeah, I guess he is. But his niece isn't. And you know what? I don't think Rainbow's race matters to either Mike or Tim. They are both trying to do the best they can for her. And that's why I'm here."

"You're going to get hurt."

Charlene pulled down the attic stairs. Yeah, she might get hurt. But she needed to risk her heart this time. She started up the stairs.

"Why on earth are you doing this?" Mother shouted up the stairs.

"Because Rainbow needs me. And I'd be a terrible person if I didn't give that child what she needs right now."

"Oh, for goodness' sake," Mother grumbled.

Mother continued to fume as Charlene carried three boxes from the attic to her pickup. By the time Charlene folded the attic stairs, Mother had worked herself up into a full-fledged hissy fit.

She followed Charlene out into the driveway. "You will regret this. That girl is nothing but a mutt, born of low-cla.s.s people. You have no business getting involved in that sordid situation."

"Mother, shut up." Charlene shoved the last box into the crew cab of her truck.

"You will not talk to me like that-"

"Yes, I will." She turned and faced her mother. "Don't you understand? Rainbow Taggart is my redemption."

"Redemption for what?"

"Oh, my G.o.d, Mother. How can you pretend that I didn't make a big mistake when I was nineteen?"

"I'm not pretending. You made a mistake. Your father and I fixed it."

"No! You didn't fix it. You made it worse. Don't you see?" She was in tears now.

"Honey, you've worked yourself up to-"

"Just stop talking, Mother. You and Daddy think you fixed everything, but you didn't. You can't wash away a mistake like that. It haunts you for the rest of your life."

"Really, Charlene, you're thirty-one years old. It's time to get over your childhood. Your father and I only did-"

"Shut up."

Mother's eyes widened.

"You can't argue me out of this. I've decided to be a fool over Rainbow Taggart. She needs me. And the truth is I need her. And if you can't say anything nice about that, then keep your mouth shut. Because talking about her race and telling me I'm a fool is just mean. You're a good Christian woman. Start acting like one."

The kittens were not fully weaned. As Charlene had suspected, they had been taken away from their mother too soon. Judging by their size, they were probably six weeks old-certainly old enough to eat solid food, but clearly they had not been exposed to solids until Charlene put down some kitten chow for them. The bigger boys immediately pounced on it. But the little girl kitten seemed lost without her momma.

Charlene had used a pet nurser to feed the kitten before she went to bed on Wednesday and again early Thursday morning before she went off to Mother's house and then on her rounds. The little girl seemed to be waiting for the milk when Charlene got back home in the afternoon, but Charlene was determined to wean her. Unfortunately, the kitten had other ideas and turned her nose up at the solid food. Charlene held off nursing her while she kept an eye out on the front walkway. If the kitten got hungry enough, she might try the solid food, and if not, then Rainbow would be in for a treat.

At about five o'clock, Mike and Rainbow finally showed up. Charlene opened her front door as they came up the stairs, her heart suddenly beating hard in her chest.

Charlene's altercation with Mother this morning had solidified her feelings for Rainbow. She had decided to fling open her heart.

But this breathless, flighty feeling had little to do with Rainbow. It was Mike that her gaze traveled to. Mike whose face she found herself studying.

Her suspicions about him had evaporated, replaced by a strong tug on her heart. He seemed genuinely determined to do the best by Rainbow. And suddenly he seemed like a completely different person.

"Hey," she said, "I was wondering if y'all would like to come over and help me feed the kittens. One of them needs to be fed with a bottle."

Rainbow's face lit up, but she didn't say anything. Charlene shifted her gaze to Mike. The corner of his mouth tipped up. The laugh lines at the corner of his eyes crinkled and something deep and warm flickered in his gaze. Every single one of her dormant girl parts awakened.

"Rainbow needs her dinner, too," Mike said. "Maybe after she eats something."

"I'm having ham sandwiches." Charlene looked down at Rainbow. "You want a sandwich?"

Rainbow didn't react, but Mike said, "Good luck with that."

"I'm willing to try. You want a sandwich, too?" she asked, and then mentally kicked herself. She had sort of envisioned Rainbow coming over without Mike. That would be safer all the way around. Much safer.

But having Mike come over sounded like a lot more fun.

"Sure," he said.

Charlene's insides went weightless, like that moment when a roller-coaster hits the first big dip.

"Come on in, then." She opened her door and ushered them across her threshold.

Rainbow scampered across the living room and fell down on her knees beside the basket of kittens. She started petting the littlest one with long strokes along her head, as if she'd been petting kittens her whole life.

"I wonder where she learned to do that?" Charlene said. "It's really unusual to find a five-year-old who knows how to handle kittens like that. And the animals trust her, which is also unusual. She must have been exposed to cats her whole life."

Mike shook his head. "I don't know. But it's a huge problem."

"A problem?" His warm, spicy scent tickled her hormones. What was that? Aftershave? Shampoo? She took a step away from him.

"Yeah, Timmy is deathly allergic to cats. He's stopped by the apartment a couple of times, and the minute he sets foot in that place, his eyes start watering." Mike's voice dropped into a whisper. "I need to find a home for Tigger."

"No. That would break Rainbow's heart."

"I hope it won't. I've stepped up my efforts to find the cat's original owner. I'm hoping the cat can go all the way home, where it belongs."

"With Miss Mary?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, but it really does look as if the cat never belonged to Rainbow. And I can't see Angie having a cat. Tigger was well cared for, and I don't think Angie had the money for that. Anyway, I'm on it. If I can return Tigger to her rightful owner, that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"I guess it is. But it's also true that taking Tigger away from Rainbow after she's already lost so much will set her back. Besides, look at her-she loves animals."

"It can't be helped. Once Timmy accepts that I'm truly his brother and Rainbow is truly his niece, he will step up. She'll have to give up the cat, but she'll get a father. And really, trading a cat for a father is a good deal."

"Depends on the father."

Mike blinked, and his shoulders tensed a tiny bit. "Timmy will make a great father."

"Maybe. But right now, if you asked Rainbow, she'd choose the cat. If you want my opinion, Pastor Tim should sign up for allergy shots."

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

She couldn't miss the annoyance in his voice. Well, too bad. Today was her day for speaking her mind. "The girl needs her cat, Mike. Just look at her with the kittens."

He hesitated for a beat and then shifted the conversation. "Are you going to keep all three of them?"

"Keeping three is really no more work than one. Cats are easy."

"Yeah, but three? Really? What if you meet a guy who doesn't like cats? Or who's allergic like Tim? Besides, you don't look like the kind of woman who would have three cats."

"Really? And what kind of woman is that?"

His cheeks reddened. "I don't know. A crazy cat lady, I guess. You don't look at all like my idea of a crazy cat lady."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." His voice went all husky, and his eyelids lowered a bit, and a wave of s.e.xual energy hit Charlene right in her belly.

Right. Ham sandwiches. "You want mustard or mayo on your sandwich?" she asked as she scurried into the kitchen.

"Both, please," he said to her retreating back.

She made the sandwiches. Mike devoured his along with a long-neck Bud. Rainbow turned her nose up at the food, just as Mike had predicted.

"You're in trouble, you know," he said as Charlene settled Rainbow on her couch, with a towel on her lap.

"How?"

"I'm going to win the bet on Sat.u.r.day, and you're going to have to go to dinner with Timmy."

"Angel says Tim hasn't signed up for the auction."

"There's still time to persuade him." Mike seemed supremely confident, almost smug. She found it both annoying and attractive for some insane reason.

Rainbow took that moment to snuggle up next to her, and Charlene's heart wrenched in her chest.

She hated to admit it, but maybe Mike was on to something. Maybe she ought to make a play for Tim. He would probably meet with Amanda's approval. Mother would object to him being a Methodist. But Aunt Millie would be overjoyed. Tim's allergies were the only trouble spot.

What? No.