Gulf Coast Wedding by Maggie Miller

Chapter Ten

They took up an entire pew in church, which made Georgia glad they’d gotten there early. She sat next to Travis, then next to him were Sam, Levi, and Denise. Clayton was in junior church. On the other side of Georgia was Mia, Lilly, and Griffin. Chloe was in the nursery.

Lucas Ludlow and his family were in the row behind them. The bridge club ladies were all there, as were a few other friendly faces. She was amazed by how many people she could recognize now. It was nice being part of the community. Even nicer was how many folks had already come up to Travis to tell them he had their vote tomorrow.

She expected more of the same after the service when the preacher dismissed them. They couldn’t linger too long, however, as they were all off to lunch, courtesy of Levi. After lunch, Mia and Griffin were taking Chloe home and going back to work on odds and ends.

That included taking delivery of all the plants that they were borrowing from Hilda, which were being transported by a couple guys with a truck that Travis had hired.

The other thing Mia and Griffin would be doing was helping Coffee with anything he might need. He was coming by at some point in the day to drop off some items for the breakfast spread he was doing for the photoshoot on Monday.

The rest of them were going to look at the house Levi had found.

Georgia was excited to see it. The very idea of these two young people getting a second chance at life together, as a family, filled her with the kind of warm, wonderful feelings she only used to get from Hallmark movies.

She liked Levi very much and looking forward to getting to know Denise better. As far as Georgia was concerned, she felt like her family was growing. Funny to feel that way about people she wasn’t related to, but she loved Travis, and since Sam was his daughter, was it really that much of a stretch?

She did her best to focus on the sermon, and at the end, when everyone bowed their head to pray, she said a special prayer for Sam and Levi. That the house would work out. That their marriage would be strong. And that their wedding would not be disturbed by the unholy likes of Lavinia Major. Or her daughter.

Okay, maybe she hadn’t used the word unholy in her prayer, but God knew what that woman was like.

As they all filed out of the row and into the aisle, more people came to shake Travis’s hand and wish him well.

Georgia smiled. She didn’t want to assume he had this election locked up, but it certainly seemed like things were headed in his direction.

Mia hung back to talk to Lucas while Sam and Griffin went off to collect the kids. As they stood there, Levi glanced at Travis with obvious interest at everyone coming to talk to him.

Finally, they made their way out of the church and into the parking lot, where they went off to their cars and from there lunch.

Levi had chosen a place on the outskirts of town, The Sandpiper Café. It was a few more minutes, but they had some time to kill since the appointment to see the house wasn’t until two.

Georgia had never eaten there, but it seemed like a charming spot with seersucker curtains and matching upholstered seats on the chairs. The whole vibe was very country and the menu reflected that with a lot of comfort food types of dishes.

They were seated right away, since Levi had made a reservation, and they immediately started perusing the menus.

Levi leaned over to his mom. “Did you see they have fried chicken as one of the Sunday specials? I’m sure it won’t compare to yours, though.”

She smiled. “You won’t know until you try it.”

Travis put his menu down. “Sounds good to me.”

Griffin shook his head. “I’m getting chicken pot pie. I heard that was someone’s favorite.”

“Me,” Clayton piped up. He looked at Sam. “Mom, can I get that instead of something from the kids menu? That food is for babies.”

She laughed. “I’m sure it would be all right.”

Georgia settled on the chef salad, Lilly went with the grilled chicken, Denise picked shrimp scampi, and Mia, Travis, and Levi all agreed on the fried chicken.

As they ordered, and then got their food, the mood was light and the conversation full of little stories and laughter. It was the most wonderful family afternoon Georgia had had in a long time. She wished they could do this every Sunday after church, but she also knew that her time would be limited once the inn was up and running.

Although, maybe as things progressed, she could hire an assistant manager to work on weekends and give her and Mia a little time off. That wouldn’t be possible for a while, obviously. They needed to get on their feet and make a profit.

But eventually.

Travis leaned in. “You okay? You’ve gone awfully quiet.”

She smiled. “Just thinking about how nice this is. All of this family together. And how rare that’s going to become once the inn is open.”

He nodded. “It is nice. And it will be rare. But at some point, don’t you think you’ll be able to get more help in? Then you can have Sundays off. Or part of it anyway. If you want.”

She laughed softly. “I was just thinking about that, too. Yes, I hope that can happen. Because I’d love to have more afternoons like this.”

He took her hand. “Me, too.”

Lunch was delicious and over too soon. She said goodbye to Mia, Griffin, and Chloe in the parking lot, then they left and the rest of them headed to the house.

Levi took Sam, Clayton, and his mom, while Travis drove Georgia and Lilly.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up outside of the property. Levi parked behind them. A blue Honda with a magnetic realtor’s sign stuck on the door sat in the driveway.

“Has it been on the market long?” Lilly asked.

“A while,” Travis answered. “At least that’s what I gathered from the listing. Doesn’t show that great, does it?”

Georgia shook her head. The yard didn’t seem like it had been cut in a long time. The palms needed trimming. The bushes in front of the house were so tall they blocked the windows. “Not with that overgrown landscaping. But that could work in their favor. Levi’s and Sam’s, I mean.”

“Agreed,” Lilly said. She opened her door. “A lot of people don’t want to take on a project.”

Georgia smiled. Projects were her sister’s favorite thing.

They all got out and started toward the house via the driveway. The realtor got out, a young woman with a big smile, a dark blue skirt suit, and brown hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her name badge was pinned to her lapel.

Sam put her hand up to her eyes to shield the sun. “Theresa Winchester?”

The young woman smiled. “That’s me. Samantha Taylor, right?”

Sam nodded. “That’s right.” She looked at Levi. “You didn’t tell me Theresa was your realtor.”

He shrugged. “I guess I didn’t realize you two knew each other.”

Sam smiled. “We were on cheer squad together for about a year.”

Theresa’s eyes were narrowed as she seemed to be recalling those days. “You moved away, though. Or something like that.”

Sam put her hand on Clayton’s shoulder. “Something like that. Nice to see you again.”

“You too.” Theresa had some paperwork and a set of keys in her hand. “Looks like you brought the whole crew.”

Levi laughed. “This is my mom, Denise, and Sam’s dad, Travis and some friends. I hope that’s okay.”

“The more the merrier.” Theresa jangled the keys. “Let’s see what you think. Keep in mind, there is work to be done on this property, but the sellers are fairly motivated.”

Lilly nudged Georgia. “That’s a good sign.”

“It is,” Georgia said. “What remains to be seen is just how much work there is to do.”