Read Online Forever Country by Brenda Kennedy - Free Book Online Page A

Abel Lee is still within
hollerin’ distance. I’m happy when I see him openin’ his truck
door.
    “ Hold up,” I yell, waving
the hundred-dollar bill in the air. He pauses and waits for me to
catch up with him. “What’s this?” I demand.  
    “ Your tip.” He looks
confused.
    I try to soften my scowl.
“I can’t take this!”  
    He looks at me and I think
I see hurt and sadness in his big brown eyes. “Savannah Mae, it’s
just a tip. It’s not a big deal.”  
    I take a step closer and say, “This is not
just a tip. It’s way too much.” I slip the money into his open
hand. “Thank you, but I honestly can’t take it.” I want to explain
that this is an insult, but I don’t. I’m hurt that he even did
this.
    He watches me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any
harm.”
    “ It’s okay.” I try to
smile. “Don’t do it again.” I turn and walk away, leavin’ him
standin’ near his truck.
    I prayed to God for good tips, but I don’t
want a tip I didn’t earn.
    Abel
    I stand at Pop’s truck I
borrowed, holding the money I left Savannah Mae for her tip. I
watch her walk into the diner. My mouth hangs open and I’m
speechless. I swear, I only had good intentions. Now I feel as
though I’ve offended her. That was never my intent. I just wanted
to lighten her load a little for the holidays. I pull my truck
around back and park beside her car. I need to clear this up. But
how? “Sorry, I never meant to insinuate
you couldn’t make it on your own.” Or, “Sorry, I didn’t mean for
this to look like a handout.” I’m such an
idiot!  
    From the pickup I watch as
she and the cook lock up and exit the back door of the diner. I get
out of my truck and lean against the truck bed waiting for her. The
cook sees me first. He whispers something to her and she nods. I
hear her say, “It’s okay, you can leave.”  
    Still leaning against the
pickup, I watch as he cautiously walks to his truck and drives away.
    “ I thought you would be
home by now.” She pulls out her keys and unlocks her car
door.  
    I push off from the truck and stand taller
than I normally would. “Not until I resolve this misunderstanding.”
I slowly walk towards her, almost expecting for her to hit me. If
she did, I’d have to say that I was deserving of it.
    She leans against her car
and pulls her coat tighter around her. “You think this is a
misunderstanding, Abel?”  
    She called me Abel. I
think she’s mad. She only calls me Abel Lee. “I do. I thought I left you a one-dollar bill.” I crack a
smile, but quickly try to hide it.
    She giggles and her smile
lights up her face. “You did not.”  
    I want to say I did, too,
but it would be a lie. “I wish I did, but I didn’t. I didn’t mean
to insult you either. I was just trying to help
you.”  
    “ By giving me money
I didn’t earn?”  
    I watch her and I want her to understand. “By
trying to do something nice for you.”
    “ Abel, some people might
like and appreciate a tip like that. But to me, it’s an insult.
Almost like a handout.” She stops, and I give her a minute. I think
about what she is saying. “If you want to do something nice for me,
bring me flowers, or bring me firewood, or buy me a drink or
something.”  
    “ Really? Firewood?” I want
to laugh, but I want to smooth this over more.
    She smiles and it makes me
smile. “Maybe not firewood.” She thinks for a minute and says,
“Coffee would be nice. A normal tip would be nice. A slightly
bigger than normal tip would be nice. Polite conversation might
also be nice.”  
    I hold up my hand in
surrender. “Okay, I get it.”  
    “ Do
you?”  
    “ Yes, I do, and I’m sorry,”
I say, honestly.
    “ Good, apology accepted.
Abel Lee, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get my son from his
daddy’s.”  
    I hold her car door open and she smiles as
she gets into her car.
    “ Be careful driving
home.”  
    She replies, “I will, thank
you.”  
    I watch as