6
JEREMIAH
The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress and grows brave by reflection
– Thomas Paine
Jeremiah Montgomery left his doctor’s office and headed for the lot where his car was parked. He had a lot to be thankful for. According to Dr. Perry, his health was extremely good for a man nearing sixty-five. But when you had two sons who were doctors--one who was even a heart surgeon--you either took their advice when it came to taking care of yourself or suffer the consequences. And the last thing he wanted was for either Logan or Lyle to worry about him. His other son Lance and his daughter Carrie were bad enough. They got on him constantly about eating right and exercising. At least he still got to drink a little Jack Daniels every once in a while, without them having a hissy fit about it. Lord knows he was grateful for that.
He got into his new truck, the one that he had received last Christmas from his kids. He felt he’d still had a lot of life left in his old truck but he hadn’t been able to convince his kids of that. When he had awakened on Christmas morning to find a new Chevy truck parked in his yard, he hadn’t known what to say. He’d been grateful. He had never wanted his kids to spend their money on him, but they seemed intent on doing it. Honestly, he had noticed other things around his house being replaced over the years. He had good kids and he appreciated all four of them. He didn’t like to think about the time when Carrie hadn’t been with them. She was back in their lives now, and every night before going to bed, he thanked God for the miracle of not only sending her back to them, but for sending a man like Connor to love his daughter.
Carrie and Connor were blissfully happy and expecting a baby very soon. He couldn’t wait. Then he would have two grandbabies, and was hoping that Lyle and Monique would soon give him a third. Since they’d just gotten married earlier that year, he wouldn’t rush them any. And then there was Logan, his oldest son. Logan was about to go on a long, much deserved vacation and Jeremiah was glad about it.
He had driven about a mile when he came across a broken-down car on the side of the road. A woman was standing beside the vehicle. Pulling off to the shoulder, he parked his truck behind her car.
Jeremiah got out and approached her, trying not to stare. She was a very nice-looking woman, well-dressed, with a natural hair style that complimented her face. Tilting his ballcap, he said, “Afternoon, ma’am. Need some help?”
He saw distress on her face. “I think I have a flat.”
He glanced at her front tire, glanced back at her and smiled. “Yes, I’m afraid that you do.”
“I called for road service, but it will be a couple of hours before they can send someone out.”
He nodded. “You can call and cancel. I’ll have that tire changed in no time. My name is Jeremiah Montgomery, by the way,” he said extending his hand out to her.
“Nice meeting you, Jeremiah,” she said, taking it. “I’m Thea Manchester. I’d appreciate any help you could give me. I’m late for an appointment.”
“No problem. Just show me your spare.”
As soon as he pulled the tire from the trunk of her car, he went to work replacing it. As he did, he couldn’t help but notice a few things about Thea Manchester. Like how nice she looked in her dress and high-heel shoes, how neat her hair was and how articulate she was when she spoke. It was obvious she was a classy, educated woman. He wondered how old she was. His guess would be in her mid-fifties. Of course, he wouldn’t ask. He knew better.
“Have you lived in this area long?” He was pretty sure he’d heard a slight southern accent.
“No, in fact I’m new to Gary. I moved here over the summer.”
“From where?”
“Huntsville, Alabama.”
He hoped she didn’t think he was asking too many questions, but he wanted to know more about her. Because another thing he’d noticed was that she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. He would never be this talkative to another man’s wife. He was too old to play those games. But then, he hadn’t ever played those games, even in his younger days. “What brought you to Gary, Thea?”
She hesitated before answering, then said, “It was time for me to start over. My husband died ten years ago, the kids had grown up and scattered. My aunt died and left me her house here, so I decided to make a few changes in my life.”
“Change is always good,” he said, then wondered how he would know. He’d lived in the same house for close to forty-one years. Logan had been barely six months old when he and Edwina had moved there. It was supposed to have been their starter home, yet he was still there. He had worked at the same job for just as long, after getting out the military. His sons had teased him for years about never retiring, and so, when he’d actually decided to do it, they hadn’t believed him. More than once, they had offered to buy him a new home but he had refused. He’d told them that they needed to keep their money for the things they wanted and needed. He was fine. He didn’t need a new house. He’d admit he’d needed a new truck. But then, he could have bought one. But his kids had a vehicle in the driveway before he could even look. And they’d deliberately gotten him one of those top-of-the-line models that did practically everything. His truck even quoted that day’s temperature when he snapped on his seatbelt.
“Are you a Gary native, Jeremiah?”
He glanced up at her. He hadn’t noticed that she had moved to stand by him. He wasn’t sure what kind of perfume she was wearing, but it smelled nice. “Yes, I was born right here in Gary. Went into the military right after high school and did four years in the army.”
There was no need to tell her that he’d met his ex-wife Edwina during the time he’d been stationed at Ft. Benning. He’d married her and brought her to Gary. He honestly didn’t know what happened after that. His wife slowly went from being Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. He’d started to suspect she was having an affair—or several affairs--when Lance was ten, but couldn’t seem to make himself face the possibility.
“My husband was in the military, too. I liked being a military wife—all the traveling was definitely the high point. My favorite place to live was Germany.”
So was his. “I was there for a year and liked it too. I always said I would go back to visit but I never got around to it.”
“Neither did I.”
He finished changing her tire and stood up to face her, surprised when she handed him a cloth to wipe his hands. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I keep them in my car to wipe the humidity off the windshield.”
He nodded as he leisurely cleaned away the grease staining his fingers. He could have done it quicker, but for some reason, he liked talking to her. He liked being around her. When he couldn’t prolong the inevitable any longer, he handed the cloth back to her.
“What do I owe you, Jeremiah?”
He smiled at her. “Nothing. It was my pleasure. I suggest you get your tire fixed though. You might have hit a nail, or something like it. Any garage will be able to fix it up for you.”
“I will and thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It was nice meeting you, Thea.”
“Same here, Jeremiah.”
He had turned to walk off when she called out to him. “Jeremiah?”
He turned back to her. “Yes?”
She smiled and he thought it was the prettiest smile he’d ever seen. “I really want to show you my gratitude for stopping. I’m a pretty good cook and I was wondering if you and your wife would like to come for dinner on Sunday. I don’t live far from here.”
Jeremiah met her gaze and smiled back. “I’d love to come to dinner. Only thing is, I don’t have a wife. I’ve been divorced for over fifteen years now.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute, and then she added, “The invitation still stands. If you hold up a minute, I’ll write down my address.”
“We can do better than that,” he said, taking his phone out of his shirt pocket and flipping to one of those apps Carrie had showed him how to use. “You can write it here. It’s my phone notebook that my daughter set up for me,” he said, handing her his cell phone.
She chuckled. “I have one of those apps on my phone, too. They come in handy when I make my grocery list.”
He watched her key in her address, then she handed the phone back to him. “I also gave you my phone number, in case you change your mind about Sunday.”
“I won’t be changing my mind, Thea. What time is dinner?”
“I figure one o’clock should work. My church services are usually finished by then.”
“Mine is out by that time as well.”
She lifted a brow. “You do go to church?”
He chuckled. “Every Sunday.” There was no need to tell her he was chairman of the board at his church, and had been for years. At least he wouldn’t tell her now. He hoped that when he showed up for dinner on Sunday, they would have a lot to talk about.
“Bye, Jeremiah, see you Sunday.”
“Bye, Thea. I’m looking forward to it.”
He watched her get into her car and pull away. He turned and headed to his truck, thinking he definitely wanted to get to know Thea Manchester better.
Thea was tempted to look back in her rearview mirror to see the exact moment Jeremiah Montgomery pulled out from behind her. Then she could release what some would term a giddy sigh. The man was absolutely stunning. This was the first time she’d been attracted to a man since before she met Eric. But Jeremiah had been deserving of every minute of ogling she’d given him when he hadn’t been aware of it. At least, she hoped he hadn’t.
What had she been thinking, inviting him to dinner on Sunday? She didn’t know him at all, even if he had been kind enough to stop and fix her tire. But she’d been very aware of him, from the moment he had gotten out of his truck. He was tall, about six-three and she would put his age in the early sixties. He had rugged features, matured features. Features that took her breath away. What she’d noticed first had been his eyes--those beautiful dark brown eyes that nearly matched the color of rich chocolate--beneath thick eyebrows.
He’d been dressed in black slacks and a white buttoned-up collared shirt with a lightweight jacket. It was obvious by the way he was dressed that he was either going to, or coming from, somewhere important. He’d had the kind of walk that demanded attention--and he’d gotten hers. She’d been wary at first, but there was something about his friendly and trusting face that made her feel at ease with him. When he spoke, although his expression was serious and respectful, she could see a hint of a genuine smile on his lips.
She could tell from the way he handled himself that he was a man who was used to being in control and knew how to get things done. While changing her tire, he’d kept her from worrying about her car by asking her about herself. From anyone one else, those questions might have come across as probing, but with him, they’d seemed perfectly natural. In fact, he’d seemed like he was interested in her.
Although he hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring, she’d had to make sure he wasn’t married, which is why she’d phrased the invitation to dinner the way she had. Then again, just because he wasn’t married, that didn’t mean he wasn’t involved with anyone. Older, mature and handsome men who looked like Jeremiah usually were. But then, hadn’t her daughters often said the same about her? That she was too attractive not to be dating? But she hadn’t had any interest in meeting anyone…until now.
Her husband had been a military man. Rigid, stern and sometimes, too hard for his children and his wife to understand. Eric hadn’t been demonstrative with his affections and hadn’t wanted her to be demonstrative with hers. So, she hadn’t. Although deep-down she’d known he’d loved her, he hadn’t known how to tell her, so he’d said nothing at all. Instead he had provided for her and his daughters the way a man did.
He hadn’t wanted her to work outside the home, so for years, her job was to take care of him and their girls. She had enjoyed traveling with him and when he retired from active duty and had taken a job at the Post Office, she had become even more comfortable in her role as homemaker.
She hadn’t truly known what to do with herself when he’d died in a car accident. And when the girls left for college shortly after, she’d felt truly lost. It had been their idea that she should return to school and get a college degree. So, she had. She’d discovered a hunger for learning, and hadn’t been ready to stop when she got her BA, so she went for her graduate degree as well. She worked as a teacher for a while, and then retired at fifty-five as a principal.
She had thought about going back for her PhD, but her only living aunt passed away and left her the house here in Gary. At first, Thea had intended to sell it, but once she’d seen it, she had fallen in love with it. It had been perfect for her and with some minor repairs and renovations, it had become her new home. She had convinced her three daughters, two of whom were now married, that she would be absolutely fine. And she was.
They had stopped flying in to check on her as often as they used to and had finally decided to let her be. She had promised them she would get out more and meet new people, other than the few neighbors she’d gotten to know. She had joined a church in her community and was quick to see that, although the congregation was friendly, a number of the older, single women her age had sent her a silent message that the single, older men in church were spoken for.
She had refused her daughters’ suggestion to join an online dating site. She had believed that when the right man came along, she’d know it. Was Jeremiah that man?
For some reason, she wanted to know more about him, even if a meal was all they’d end up sharing. Several cars had passed her on the road, but none had stopped. But he had. Cooking dinner for him was the least she could do to show her appreciation.
“Baby girl, do you have to ask so many questions?” Jeremiah asked his daughter jokingly, as he settled into his favorite chair. “And should you really be driving?” he asked, staring at her huge stomach. The doctor had finally told them on yesterday what Jeremiah had suspected all along. His daughter was having twins.
“There’s nothing wrong with me driving, Pop,” Carrie Montgomery Hargrove said, easing down on the sofa. “I won’t have the babies for a good five months, although I’m already looking like a blimp. So, stop stalling and answer the question please. When a woman invites my father to dinner, I want to know everything there is to know about her.”
Jeremiah smiled at the daughter he loved so much. Even when his wife had run off with another man and had taken Carrie with her, he had loved his daughter. Even when others had tried to convince him to forget about her because she was probably not his child anyway, he had loved her. And then he and his sons had finally found her. She’d been just a few months shy of her sixteenth birthday, a runaway living on the streets. The whole Montgomery clan--Logan, Lyle and Lance, and of course, Jeremiah, himself--hadn’t wasted any time claiming her. It hadn’t mattered to him whether or not he was her biological father.
The years after she’d entered their lives hadn’t been easy. He and his sons had to earn Carrie’s trust. They’d known her life on the streets had been difficult, but they hadn’t known the half of it. Carrie had been harboring secrets they couldn’t possibly imagine. But everything was good now. They’d proven she was indeed his biological daughter. She’d married a man who loved her unconditionally, and she had a family who adored her for the person she was—the unrelentingly stubborn person she was.
He figured he might as well tell her what she wanted to know. She’d get it out of him eventually. “This woman’s car had broken down and I stopped to help. All I did was change her tire. She invited me to dinner as a way to show her appreciation and I’m going.”
The only reason he’d even mentioned it to Carrie was because he usually joined her and Connor for Sunday dinner, either at home, or at their place. He should have known changing things wouldn’t go over easy with his daughter. She wasn’t just protective--she could be downright territorial when it came to her father.
“Have you considered that the whole situation might be a set-up?”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at something so absurd. “Can’t rightly say I have. Trust me, Carrie, she needed my help.”
Carrie nodded. “Was she pretty?”
He thought about the way his breath had caught in his throat when he’d first seen her. “Yes, she’s pretty. Very pretty.” And because he’d already anticipated Carrie’s next question, he said, “And she was dressed nice, as if she was a teacher or something. A professional lady. Nice dress, high heels, with one of those purses like you carry. The ones that cost a lot of money. More than what I’d pay for a new riding lawnmower.”
Carrie chuckled. “A designer purse, Pop. That means she has class.”
“That’s one of the first things I thought, but it had nothing to do with her purse. It was a combination of things. Her looks, her dress, the way she carried herself and--”
“Umm, sounds like you’re smitten.”
Jeremiah blinked and then gave his daughter an outrageous look. “Smitten? I just met the woman, Carrie.”
“And now you’re going to dinner.”
He smiled. “Yes, I’m going to dinner.”
“You sound excited, Pop. I’m happy for you.”
In shock, Jeremiah stared at his possessive and territorial daughter. He tapped on his ears a few times to make sure his hearing was intact. “You’re happy for me?” he asked, just to be certain.
She gave him a wide grin. “Yes.”
“Then what was the interrogation for?”
“To keep you on your toes and make sure you aren’t taken advantage of. You haven’t dated in a while and there are some real barracudas out there. You’ve always been a good judge of character, Pop, and if you feel this lady is nice, then she probably is.”
“Thank you.”
“But don’t think that when and if I ever get the chance to meet her, I won’t be giving her the third degree.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you will. I guess if that time ever comes, I’ll have to prepare her for the likes of you.”
“You do that. Your sons might be pushovers with this sort of thing but not your daughter. Not many women are good enough for my pop. But after Edwina, you deserve to be happy. You raised Logan, Lyle and Lance and then when you thought your daddy days were over, you guys rescued me off the streets, put a roof over my head, gave me plenty to eat and showered me with more love than I could ever imagine. So yes, Jeremiah Lazarus Montgomery, it’s your time for happiness. I hope this Thea Manchester delivers.”
Jeremiah didn’t say anything, but deep down, he was hoping Thea delivered as well.