Chapter 23
Cavin wasn’t sure why he returned to the sanctuary after placing Noel’s Santa hat into the passenger seat of his vehicle.
He guessed he didn’t know what else to do after the following text showed up on his phone while his head rested against the headrest: Please don’t come by, call, or text.
Five minutes later, Cavin tiptoed to an empty seat in the back row and halfway tuned in to the pastor’s message about loving others regardless of how they looked or acted.
The preacher pointed out the uniqueness of their congregation made up of individuals from all walks of life—some wealthy, some poor, some middle class, some enjoying a joyful season of life and others experiencing loss or sadness.
He finished with a note about the beauty of Christmastime while also bringing to light the loneliness it brings certain people.
He reminded everyone to focus on giving this holiday season rather than receiving, and then the congregation sang “Joy to the World.”
As Cavin softly joined in on the memorable words, he couldn’t help but wonder if, after this morning, he would ever again have the opportunity to hear Noel play the piano and sing.
After the service ended, he tried to sneak out the door quietly but got trapped by the pastor and all the questions the new person gets.
Ordinarily he wouldn’t have minded, and the guy’s calm and sincere demeanor made it hard to be annoyed by the conversation.
Then the chiropractor and his family stopped to chat with him for a few minutes followed by the doctor who also played golf with them.
The two men started bragging to others about Cavin’s golf skills, and then Georgia once again surprised him in front of everyone.
“Lose my number,” she politely whispered into his ear, and then with a grin followed by a snicker, she kissed him on the cheek.
Cavin’s face turned a shade of red nobody had seen since summer sunburns went out of style.
Not only did everyone witness what occurred, and Cavin didn’t know how anyone would interpret the whispered words and the kiss, but then two seconds later, Mrs. Madelyn and Mr. Jack appeared with Levi and Laney in tow.
“Hello, Cavin,” Mrs. Madelyn greeted while pretending nothing happened. “I want you to meet my husband, Jack,” she added, gesturing to the man in the wheelchair she pushed.
Before Cavin could reach out to shake the gentleman’s hand, Levi and Laney latched themselves to his legs like ankle weights.
“Nice to meet you, Jack. I am Cavin Dawson,” Cavin announced as he bent down to hug the kids.
On one knee he found himself at eye level with the children and Jack whose wrinkly skin reminded him of his grandfather’s.
“Hey, Kevin Dawson,” Levi spouted, “I didn’t know you had a last name.”
“Everyone has a last name,” Laney clarified, shaking her head profusely.
Jack and Mrs. Madelyn laughed.
“My last name is Brown,” Jack inserted, chuckling. “Jack Brown.”
“We are going to walk the streets looking for the lost dog,” Laney shared. “Want to come with us?”
“We could use your help,” Levi pleaded.
Cavin didn’t have plans although he initially anticipated spending more time with Noel and the kids.
At least the kids wanted to be around him.
Regardless he thought about declining the invitation and preoccupying himself instead with work.
That’s what he usually did, and after all the time spent with Noel, Levi, and Laney this week, he probably had some catching up to do.
“Is your mom coming?” Cavin asked while he wondered if Mrs. Madelyn knew what happened earlier. He never saw her or Jack in church although he could have missed them. He figured maybe they helped in the children’s area.
“She’s sick,” Levi declared.
Mrs. Madelyn explained further. “Noel messaged me not long after service started and said she wasn’t feeling well. She asked if Jack and I would bring the kids home after church.”
Cavin found himself wondering if Mrs. Madelyn knew the real reason Noel left church; however, Cavin knew she would find out sooner rather than later.
“These kids talked about finding that missing dog all night last night,” Jack mentioned, “so we are extending our sleepover event and going on a hunt for him.”
“If you don’t have anything else going on, I could use your help pushing this old man,” Mrs. Madelyn claimed with a laugh.
“Who are you calling old?” Jack contested with a grin. “I’m younger than you even though you are better looking.”
“Older by a month,” she acknowledged, whacking him on the shoulder with her rolled-up bulletin.
The gesture reminded Cavin of when Noel playfully punched him, and he wondered if Mrs. Madelyn having a bulletin meant she was in the service.
“But I act a lot younger; don’t I, Levi and Laney?” Jack checked.
“You act like a kid,” Laney claimed.
“And you’re silly like a kid,” Levi declared then giggled.
“The jury has decided,” Jack teased.
Cavin laughed although he felt uneasy about the whole situation knowing that Noel wasn’t happy with him right now. “Sure, I would love to come along,” Cavin agreed anyway. What did he have to lose? This was all a simple misunderstanding anyway.
The five of them spent the next hour walking the downtown streets of Beaufort, North Carolina.
The kids once again called out, “Here, Scout, here, boy,” over and over while all of them looked in every nook and cranny possible.
They radioed in to Rainey and some of the other officers giving them their coordinates and requesting assistance.
Cavin particularly appreciated the historical tour that Jack and Mrs. Madelyn provided. They shared a story about nearly every house or business they passed, and Jack explained that the white siding Cavin noticed earlier not only held historical significance but also was practical.
“Whitewashing with lime paint offered an inexpensive and protective option to coat houses and buildings in the South historically,” Jack shared.
“The lime paint repelled insects, prevented mildew, and reflected the sun keeping the temperature indoors milder during the hot summers when the only way to cool a house was to open the windows. Homes then came fans in the windows, followed by air conditioning units, and eventually professionally installed central heat and air took over. Folks also used to spend a lot of time with neighbors on porches which also stayed cooler thanks to the white paint and the shelter on top.”
“Why is it still that way?” Cavin asked.
“Tradition, practicality, timeless character,” Jack mentioned as slowly as he moved.
“Around here we appreciate the history of our small town, and people like to keep as many things as possible true to their humble beginnings. Whitewashing is classic; the look never seems to go out of style which is the essence of this charming town with its simple coastal ambiance.”
“I find all of this information fascinating,” Cavin replied, appreciating Jack taking the time to explain everything in detail.
As the group moved along, the kids thought every dog they saw might be Scout, and they even ran through yards chasing pooches that ended up belonging to someone else.
Eventually they realized the features didn’t match the picture on the poster or the images in their heads from seeing Scout firsthand.
Early on in their search while Mrs. Madelyn and Jack talked to someone they knew on one of the porches, Levi pulled a folded and crumpled paper from his pocket and handed it to Cavin.
“What is this?” Cavin asked. “Something you made at church?”
Levi shook his head side to side. “It’s a flyer of the missing dog for you to carry since you didn’t bring yours,” he explained. “Mom says you are our spokesperson.”
“Remember to show them the picture,” Laney added with a grin.
“You two don’t miss much, do you?”
“What do you mean?” Laney asked.
“You notice things that happen around you, like realizing how I like to talk to people.”
“I saw that Georgia lady kiss you today,” Levi uttered with a scowl.
“Me too,” Laney shared, snarling a bit.
Cavin wished he could crawl under the rocks that mirrored the sidewalk to the foot of the porch where Mrs. Madelyn and Jack were talking to friends.
Any chance of Noel missing the town gossip today just went out the window.
“I think she was just trying to be nice,” Cavin explained, hoping they would buy that and forget what they saw.
“I wanted you to like my mom,” Levi announced.
“Yeah, we wanted her to kiss you,” Laney mentioned. “Not Georgia.”
Cavin almost said, Me too, but then realized the conversation was with children, one of them being Noel’s and the other basically belonging to her as well.
“But you can’t kiss her until I say you can,” Levi declared.
Cavin grinned. “Yes, sir,” he replied, rubbing Levi’s head while wondering if he would ever have the chance to kiss Noel Puckett again. “For now, let’s find Scout,” Cavin added, changing the subject before the Browns made their way back to the main sidewalk.
Unfortunately, the five of them didn’t find the dog on their walk after church, and when Jack invited Cavin to join them for lunch, he declined respectfully, not wanting to push his luck.
He knew how protective Noel was over these kids, and she was probably already going to be mad at him although maybe that would give him another chance to see her.
For now Cavin managed to irritate the two most important women he knew in this town, and both made it clear that they didn’t want to hear from him.
He knew how much influence Georgia held in the local politics, and he still hoped he could figure out a way to acquire Noel’s building.
However, he made that challenge more difficult by losing Noel’s trust even though none of what happened with Georgia had been of his doing.