Chapter 23
Present Day: Nashville, Tennessee
The man who owned the country-western bar introduced himself as Matthew.
“Boo’s nephew,” he added a bit wistfully, as though Candice and Lindsey had ever heard Boo’s name.
He continued to look at them as though they were ghosts, floating right there on the other side of his bar.
And then he said, “I think we have a lot to talk about. Why don’t you come by my place tomorrow?
My wife cooks the best fried chicken and cornbread around. ”
Candice smiled. “That would be nice,” she said.
“You must know about Southern hospitality from your mama,” Matthew said.
Candice and Lindsey exchanged glances. How could they explain to Matthew that their mother had done everything she could to get rid of her Southern accent?
Everything she’d done had been to deepen her Martha’s Vineyard reality.
She’d run as fast and as far from this place.
But why? What had happened? Candice’s heart dropped.
That night back at the hotel, Candice and Lindsey stayed up late.
Neither of them had much to say, maybe because their heads were swirling.
They considered calling Henry to give him an update, but decided to wait until after their dinner with Matthew and his wife.
Only then would they have more details about their mother’s life.
Maybe they’d even figure out where Sally was now.
“I wonder if Sally even knows our mother died,” Lindsey said. She lay back on Candice’s bed and put a pillow over her face.
Candice wondered what it would feel like to hear about Lindsey’s death many months after it had happened. Her stomach twisted.
“Do you remember how angry Mom used to get when we fought?” Candice said. “She always really wanted us to get along.”
“She said, ‘That’s your sister. That’s your built-in best friend. You have to love her above everyone else.’” Lindsey threw the pillow aside and sat up. “It makes a lot more sense now. I thought she was just mothering us.”
“It was personal,” Candice said gently. “Sally was her everything. And…” Candice trailed off, feeling a lump in her throat.
“You’ve become so important to me this summer, Lindsey.
This trip to Nashville has been exhilarating.
And painful. I’ve loved it. I know we weren’t always very good at keeping in touch over the years.
But I hope, even if the Harbor House becomes a women’s home, we still find ways to spend time together. ”
Lindsey reached over and squeezed Candice’s hand. “It would mean the world to me.”
The following evening, Candice and Lindsey drove out to the bartender Matthew and his wife Netta’s house.
It was a two-story red-brick about five miles from the country-western bar, and a few chickens clucked around in the side yard.
They’d brought two bottles of wine and were slightly overdressed, which they didn’t realize until Netta opened the door in a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt.
“Your city friends are here!” she called back to Matthew before grinning and letting them in.
“Goodness, you didn’t have to bring wine!
We don’t know a thing about wine, but we’ll drink it. ” She winked.
They found Matthew in the living room, drinking a beer.
Candice and Lindsey opted for beer, too, and soon, they were sitting around, chatting, while Netta finished the last of dinner.
Candice wasn’t the slightest bit hungry.
She wanted the story of her mother as soon as possible.
But she knew she had to indulge in this “Southern hospitality.” Politeness was key.
Once they were at the dinner table, Matthew raised his glass of beer. “My uncle would be pleased you’re here,” he said. “He talked about Stella and Sally till he died, didn’t he, Netta?”
Netta nodded. “He beat himself up for everything that happened.”
“Which you don’t know about,” Matthew said, shaking his head. “That just kills me. I don’t understand why Stella wouldn’t pass that along. The story of that awful night. You were there, weren’t you, Netta?”
“I was a big fan of your mother and aunt,” Netta said.
“That was the day their song hit number one, I think! We were all joyous. Our Nashville girls are making it big. But then, those awful men came into the bar. I still remember them. Massive hillbillies, throwing punches around. There was a gun, too. I think they almost got the cash register. I was terrified, looking for Matthew everywhere. Remember, you found me hiding under that table?” Netta laughed, then nibbled on her cornbread, her eyes growing shadowed.
“From the sounds of things, one of them was Stella’s husband.
She’d left him somewhere, from whatever awful holler they’d escaped.
The other was Stella and Sally’s daddy. He was piping angry about them having left. ”
“They wanted their money, more like,” Matthew said.
“The husband sure beat Billy Long within an inch of his life,” Netta said. “You remember? He almost went into a coma.”
Matthew nodded gravely.
“Who’s Billy Long?” Lindsey asked.
At this, Matthew and Netta went quiet.
“You really don’t know anything,” Netta said finally, offering a strangled laugh.
“Billy was your mama and aunt’s producer,” Matthew said. “And Stella and Billy were thick as thieves.”
“Very in love,” Netta said. “I remember thinking they were the prettiest couple I’d ever seen.
I figured they’d have a full Hollywood romance, that he’d take Stella and Sally off to LA and make them big stars.
” Netta’s smile fell. “Oh, but he left as soon as he got out of the hospital, didn’t he?
He told your Uncle Boo that he didn’t want anything to do with the McGee sisters anymore. ”
“Boo fought him on that. He told him to do the right thing. He told him….” And here, Matthew set down his chicken and wiped his hands. He looked at a loss. “Well, you must know this part. You must.”
Candice’s stomach swelled with panic.
“You must know that she was pregnant,” Matthew pushed it.
“She was starting to show. She thought she wasn’t, but just about everyone started to notice around then.
Maybe Billy knew, but maybe he didn’t. But I know that my uncle hinted to him that Stella was in a family way before he took off.
Billy said that it wasn’t his problem, something like that. ”
“He was always chasing money,” Netta said, shaking her head. “He didn’t care about her. He didn’t care about anyone.”
“She was pregnant?” Lindsey gasped. She was the only one of the two of them who could speak. Slowly, the math clicked in her mind, and she turned to gape at Candice. “This was… when did you say this was?”
“July 1980,” Netta said.
“Netta always knows her dates,” Matthew said proudly.
Candice’s palms were clammy. Her birthday was in early February 1981.
It meant that Stella had been pregnant with Candice before she’d ever left Nashville.
It meant that Billy Long, whoever he was, was her father—not Ben Winthrop, her beloved and long-lost “father,” the one for whom she’d wept at his funeral, the one who’d taught her to ride a bike and bake banana bread and always, always say she was sorry first.
“I see this is hard for you to hear,” Netta said, dropping her chin.
“We’re sorry,” Matthew offered.
“No,” Candice said. “It’s good. It’s good to know the truth. It is.” She got to her feet, but her legs felt like jelly, and she nearly collapsed again. “I think I’d like to read more about that incident at the bar,” she offered. “Were the men arrested?”
“Your mother’s first husband and her daddy?” Matthew asked. “They were arrested, all right. Aggravated assault. They tried to rob us!”
“It should be in the paper. You could try the library archives,” Netta said.
“Heck, maybe it’s online,” Matthew said, pulling out his phone.
Sure enough, there was a four-paragraph article written on July 20, 1980. In it, Stella and Sally McGee were not mentioned, which was why Candice and Lindsey hadn’t discovered it before.
Harvey Summers and Michael Kimpel of Hainesborough, Tennessee, were arrested from Boo’s Country Western Bar at nine twenty-five on July 20th, 1980, after an attempted robbery and an attack on local record producer Billy Long.
The article went on to say that bail had been set, although Candice guessed that no one had been able to meet it. After another Google search, she read that Michael Kimpel had served fifteen years in a state prison before passing away in 2011, at home in Hainesborough, Tennessee.
Harvey Summers had served a longer prison term. It was hinted that he was violent in prison and didn’t play by the rules. He was eventually released in 2015, but his current status was unknown.
Candice shivered. This was her mother’s first husband, her mother’s abuser.
It bothered her that they didn’t know where he was.
But it wasn’t like he knew that Candice, Lindsey, and Henry existed.
It wasn’t like he’d ever bothered their mother again—probably because she’d changed her name and disappeared. It had been an act of protection.
Candice was beginning to understand. But it was heartbreaking.