Stepping to a New Day by Beverly Jenkins Read Free Book Online Page A

nodded.
    He and Gary moved down the line, and as they did he got a wave from Ms. Brown. He asked Gary about the man she was talking with.
    â€œMalachi July. Owns the place. He’s also Trent’s dad. Their family has lived here over a hundred years. Mal’s mother, Tamar, is the town matriarch. I’ll introduce you to them later. You got enough?”
    TC eyed his plate. “I think I do.”
    On the way back to the booth, Gary stopped so TC could meet Clay Dobbs and his buddy Bing Shepard, whose beautifully carved ebony cane was as stately as the man holding it.
    â€œWelcome,” both men said to him.
    â€œThanks.”
    As they moved on, Gary said, “Clay and Genevieve Gibbs are lovebirds.”
    â€œAh” was TC’s reaction. He hadn’t seen her yet and wondered if he would. He’d had a nice time driving her back from the airport and had to admit to being disappointed that she and Clay were an item, even though he wasn’t looking to hook up with anyone while in town.
    Gary stopped and introduced him to Reverend Paula. She invited him to the church and he told her how much he liked her navy blue cowboy boots. He then met the Paynes—Sheila and Barrett. The retired Marine was fit and still appeared capable of scaring the pants off a green recruit. His wife was abeauty and TC wondered if all the women in town were fine. Ms. Gibbs certainly had been. After leaving the Paynes, Gary said, “Their son, Preston, is Leah’s boo, as the kids say.”
    TC wondered if the boy ever got out of line with a dad like Barrett. TC’s dad had worked on the docks and had arms the size of redwoods. Anytime TC got out of line he made sure his daddy never found out.
    Back at their booth, they found that Trent and Lily had been replaced by a new couple TC had yet to meet. Gary did the introductions. “TC, this is Reggie and Roni Garland.”
    Reggie said, “Nice meeting you. Trent and Lily are up front getting ready to call the meeting to order. They asked us to hold down the booth while you were gone.”
    TC swore Roni looked just like singer Roni Moore but he knew he had to be wrong. What would the Grammy-winning songstress be doing in Henry Adams? “Nice meeting you, too. Ms. Garland, you probably get this a lot, but you look just like the singer Roni Moore.”
    She smiled serenely. “I do get it a lot and I’m always flattered.”
    Beside him, his nephew was grinning and her husband wore a secretive smile. TC studied her features closely again and finally said to himself, Naw.
    Trent rose to his feet. “Okay, let’s get this show started.” All eyes including TC’s turned to the front of the room. At that moment, Genevieve Gibbs hurried into the diner accompanied by a young man and woman, each carrying a toddler in car seats. TC viewed her arrival approvingly.
    Feeling harried, Gen hastily apologized to the folks at the head table for being late and she, Kelly, Bobby Douglas, and their twin little ones, Kiara and Bobby Jr., squeezed into thebooth with Mal and Bernadine. Marie hadn’t attended a town meeting in months so Gen rode over with Kelly and Bobby.
    As Trent began to speak Gen hazarded a glance around the room and saw Clay. He met her eyes briefly before turning away. His refusal to accept her for who she wanted to be still pained her, but no way was she going to veer from her path. His loss. Just like Riley. She discreetly swept the rest of the room and found her gaze caught by the new driver, TC Barbour. He nodded politely and she offered a small nod in reply. Wondering why in response her heart was beating like a sixteen-year-old’s, she focused her attention on Trent.
    Trent opened the meeting by introducing Mr. Barbour to the gathering. “He’s Gary Clark’s uncle. Wants to be called TC, and will be filling in for Nathan as town driver until Bernadine can find a permanent replacement. Can you stand up,