She stood up quickly. “And speaking of Debbie, we’re going into Knoxville this morning, so I have to go back to the house.”

“I have an appointment to look over a home in Nashville today, so I want to get started, too.”

They didn’t talk as they returned to the house, but Micah hummed in a monotone that grated on Laurel’s already distraught nerves. She tried to determine the tune, but if he had any particular song in mind, it was one she didn’t know.

“Thanks for walking with me. I like to be outdoors early in the morning,” he said, giving her a sideways glance.

“So do I. Take care while you’re traveling today,” she answered, and he favored her with a wide smile.

“Mom, what is wrong with you?” Debbie asked in the midst of a disastrous breakfast. Laurel had burned the grits, upended a cup of coffee on the tablecloth and, instead of providing jelly for their toast, picked up a jar of mustard and slid it across the table. “I’ve never seen you so jumpy. Are you sick?”

Sitting down and gripping her hands in her lap underneath the table, Laurel tried to calm her inner trembling.

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” she said, unable to stifle the tremor in her voice. “I’ll be all right as soon as I’ve had a cup of coffee.”

To prove her point, Laurel poured another cup. Coffee sloshed over the brim and into the saucer as she lifted the cup. Debbie cast another startled glance toward her.

“Go back to bed, and forget the trip to Knoxville,” Debbie said, concern in her voice. “We can pick up the invitations tomorrow.”

“Oh, no,” Laurel said, and forced a smile. “I want to go today.” She had to do something to keep her mind off of her nighttime caller.

Sensing Debbie’s gaze upon her again, Laurel knew she was staring fixedly out the window. Determined to retain some sense of normalcy, she spread butter over the grits on her plate and ate them and the egg in front of her as if she had a good appetite.

“If you want to fill the dishwasher, I’ll go upstairs and get ready.”

“I’ll take care of everything, but I still think we should postpone our trip,” Debbie insisted.

Laurel forced a laugh. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been tired when I’ve gotten out of bed. Let’s plan to leave in an hour.”

While she luxuriated in the big bathtub and lathered vigorously with her lavender-scented bath gel, Laurel thought about Micah Davidson. Although she’d fleetingly wondered if Micah could have been the midnight caller, after she’d heard him humming this morning, she’d discounted that idea. Micah had a bass voice, and he couldn’t carry a tune. The man on the phone had a melodious tenor voice. Thinking about Micah lifted Laurel’s spirits, and she decided she wouldn’t allow last night’s incident to ruin her day with Debbie.

Stepping from the tub, Laurel patted her body dry with a large towel. She applied body lotion, and for a moment her worries receded as the lotion soothed her body. Laurel habitually denied herself for others, but she did indulge herself with a fragrant bath.

After dressing in a pair of striped capris and a white knit blouse, she sat in her grandmother’s rocking chair for her morning devotions. She felt close to her grandmother in this chair, since she was the one who had guided Laurel’s spiritual maturation. She turned to her grandmother’s favorite Scripture in the book of Philippians and read softly.

“‘I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.’”

Her grandmother hadn’t had an easy life, but she’d never doubted that God had sustained her through each problem. Laurel, too, had experienced enough sorrow since her marriage to make her bitter, but she’d kept a degree of contentment, in spite of the circumstances.

Fortified by the words she’d read, Laurel left her room with less trepidation than she’d had since that mysterious phone call. As soon as she and Debbie drove away from Oaklawn, Laurel pushed the call to the back of her mind. They had a pleasant day as they picked up the wedding invitations, registered for more of Debbie’s gift preferences at two stores and enjoyed a lunch in their favorite Chinese restaurant.

For the next two nights, knowing that she was taking the coward’s way out, Laurel disconnected the phone when she went to bed. Although her body tensed each time she heard the phone during the day, she had no mysterious messages. Occasionally, she wondered if the call had been a dream.

Debbie worked on the evening shift at a fast-food restaurant in Knoxville. For the first three days after he’d moved into the apartment, Micah also left early and didn’t return until late, so Laurel was alone most of the time. On Saturday evening, as Laurel sat on the gallery, she heard a car approaching. When she saw that it was Micah, she waved to him. In a short time, she heard his steps on the graveled pathway.