“Hey, Mia.” Justine smiled. “I guess we’re working together.”
“Looks like it,” Mia said. “I’m sorry about how things have happened. I didn’t know that…”
Justine, a tall blonde with bright blue eyes, laid a hand on Mia’s arm. “It’s not your fault. It’s not mine. We’ll lay the blame where it belongs. We were both conned by the same guy.”
“Thank you,” Mia said, “but I was the other woman.”
“So was I,” Justine said. “When I finally admitted that Ricky was the father of my baby, I found out that he’s got another one over in Bonham who’s about a year older than my Matty. And that girl has a tat on her back, just like I do.”
“Me, too.” Mia blushed.
“Guess he brands all his women.” Justine’s tone was icy cold. “Be glad you didn’t get pregnant like me and Willow. We’ve both got a son to raise now.”
“Tattoos and baby boys,” Mia whispered. “He leaves his mark wherever he goes, doesn’t he?”
Betsy and Pearl set about arranging the cookies on a table.
“The people waiting in the sanctuary will be turned loose pretty soon,” Pearl said. “It’s always a madhouse for the first half hour, and then we’ll get another rush about four o’clock. And, girls, just learn from all this trouble, and move on with your lives.”
“Amen,” Addy agreed. “And Justine, even though Mia’s father was a good guy, we are both lucky women. Just like me, you have a lot of support and love to help you raise your baby as a single mother.”
Mia raised her hand. “If you ever need to do some Ricky bashing, I’m your lady.”
“I’ll take you up on that.” Justine grinned. “How about tonight? Can I call you after supper?”
“Give me your phone, and I’ll put my number in it for you,” Mia said.
Addy heaved a quiet sigh of relief. Mia had made a friend. Now, maybe she wouldn’t be quite so clingy, and together, she and Justine could help each other get past their experiences with Ricky O’Malley.
The citizens of the little town of Honey Grove turned out in masses to support the church’s Strawberry Moon Bake Sale every year. The money raised went to support the Clothes Closet and Kitchen, where folks in need could come for clothing or food. The clothing was secondhand, but several volunteers made sure each piece was washed, ironed, and put onto hangers so that the place looked like a department store and not a rummage sale. The food bank always had canned food, dry beans, and cake mixes on hand, and Pearl tried to be sure eggs and milk were in the refrigerator at all times. When Pearl first organized the bake sale twenty years ago, she wanted to make enough money to buy a washer and dryer for the Closet. This year, her goal was to replace those old machines with new ones and, if there was leftover money, to buy more supplies for the food bank.
Betsy pulled her chair over close to Addy’s and whispered, “I’m so glad Mia and Justine are talking. Justine has drawn away from all her friends, and today is the first time I’ve gotten her to get out in public like this.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Addy got that antsy feeling that told her Jesse was close by, and then he appeared right behind her. He laid a hand on her shoulder, sending sweet little shivers sliding up her spine, and then leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“Thought I’d come by and tell you that Dad and I are going over to Bonham to look at a bull he’s got his eye on. We’ll be back in time for me to help y’all take care of putting the tables and chairs away.”
The warmth of his breath on her neck added to the sensation. “Sometime around five?”
“I’ll be here,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said.
He straightened up and smiled at Betsy. “Good to see you. Looks like Justine and Mia are having a visit over there.”
“Yes, they are, and we both think it’s great,” Betsy answered. “The other old men in the sanctuary will miss y’all.”
“I thought maybe it was best to get Dad out of there when Patrick O’Malley showed up,” Jesse said in a low voice.
“That’s why Danny opted to stay home with the baby,” Betsy whispered. “Best to avoid trouble when we can.”
“Yep.” Jesse tipped his hat toward them and left by a side door so he didn’t have to walk past the table where Lylah and Vivien were taking care of the cakes.
“I’ve always wondered why the men come to these things anyway,” Addy said.
“Tradition, I guess.” Betsy shrugged. “But they look forward to a couple of hours of talking politics, sports, and believe me, they gossip more than women.”
“Oh, really?” Addy asked.
“I’ll miss that part since Danny stayed home today,” Betsy giggled. “He always brings home all the dirt on everyone. Those men know things that I don’t even hear at the bank.”
“Since Jesse and Sonny are leaving, Pearl and I will have to rely on the old gossip vine right along with you,” Addy laughed with her.
“Honey, we are probably the topic of what’s being said in the other room,” Betsy said. “Our daughters have corrupted Ricky O’Malley, the poor thing.”
Addy laughed even harder and then stopped abruptly when she saw Lylah coming toward them. Her eyes were fixed on Justine and Mia, and her mouth was set in a firm line. Her light brown ponytail swung back and forth like a frayed flag in a hard Texas wind, and her hands were knotted into fists. Addy and Betsy both got to their feet, rounded the end of the tables, and met the woman in the middle of the room.
“Get out of my way, Addison Hall.” Lylah’s freckled face was scarlet with anger. “I’ve got something to say to those girls, and I intend to get it off my chest.”
“This is not the time or place,” Addy said low enough for Lylah’s ears only. “If you want to yell at them, accuse them, or anything else, do it somewhere other than the church. Matter of fact, you can come by Sunflower Ranch tomorrow afternoon and tell them off there.”
“But if you want this to be the time and place, I’d be glad to take the first swing,” Betsy told her.
Lylah looked down on them like they were something she had stepped on out in the pasture. “Get out of my way, or I’ll put you both on the floor.”
Pearl stepped between the two women and held out her hands. “We aren’t doing this here, Lylah.”
Lylah pointed at Mia and Justine. “Those two are spreading rumors about my boy, and your son fired Pete for refusing to work with Addison’s bastard kid.”
“Enough!” Pearl’s voice went all high and squeaky. “Either go man your table or get out of here, Lylah.”
“You would take up for her and that brat of a daughter she’s raised,” Lylah smarted off. “You’re not running me off. I’ve supported this church my whole life, but I will have my say one of these days. Those two over there have lied about my boy so much that he doesn’t feel like he can even come home.”
“What about the girl over in Bonham raising your other grandson?” Addy asked. “Is she lying about him, too, and what about the fact that he’s talked all three girls into getting the same tattoo on their backs, kind of like branding them as his property?”
“What are you talking about?” Lylah asked.
Addy motioned for her daughter to come over. “You should see something.”
Mia and Justine left their posts and came over to stand in front of Lylah.
“I would like for you girls to show Lylah the tattoos that her son convinced you to get,” Addy said.
They turned around backward and raised their shirts.
“And there’s another one in Bonham,” Justine said. “Ricky is your son, and he can’t do anything wrong in your eyes, but he’s a different guy around us girls, Miz O’Malley. All you would have to do is look at Matty, and you wouldn’t have a single doubt who his father is, but after what you’ve said and the rumors you’ve spread about me, and Mia, too, now, that ain’t likely to happen. I don’t want you anywhere near my son or for your influence to ever be a part of h
is life.”
“I’ll see him when you bring him to church.” Lylah’s voice had lost some of its cutting edge.
“But you’d have to prove yourself to ever hold him or acknowledge him as your grandson, and I don’t think you are capable of that.” Justine didn’t raise her voice and even smiled a couple of times. “Come on, Mia. I think the bake sale is going to start in about two minutes. We’ve got a job to do.”
“If I believed you, and if that baby is really Ricky’s, then I have grandparent’s rights,” Lylah said.
“Not if Ricky doesn’t pay me child support, and I’m sure he’s too busy getting some other girl a rose tat these days to do that.” Justine turned around and marched back to her post with Mia right behind her.
Lylah went back to her chair beside Vivien and slumped down into it. They were still whispering when Pearl unlocked the door into the fellowship hall and folks began to pour inside.
“Good job,” Mia said to Justine.
“I couldn’t have done it without you being right there beside me,” Justine said.
Betsy nudged Addy on the arm. “What Justine just said.”
“What Mia said.” Addy couldn’t wait to go to the bunkhouse that evening and tell Jesse exactly what had happened.
Chapter Eighteen
Addy set the last glass of sweet tea on the table and made sure everything was ready before she took her seat. When she did, her bare foot touched Jesse’s, and a whole new set of sparks danced around the kitchen.
Sonny said a quick grace and then grinned at Pearl. “Looked like your bake sale went well.”
“We had a sell-out except for one chocolate pie that Vivien brought,” Pearl said. “Bless her heart, she tries, so I bought it there at the end. That way we could say that we sold everything that was brought.”
“Why are you saying bless her heart?” Jesse asked.
“It’s a bought one from the frozen department at the grocery store. She takes it home, thaws it out, and adds a layer of whipped cream to the top,” Addy said.
“According to her, the whipped cream out of a squirt can makes it homemade,” Pearl explained. “It’s over there on the counter if anyone wants some for dessert.”
“Not when there’s an applesauce cake waiting for me,” Jesse said. “Did you make enough for the new washer and dryer?” He moved his foot over a few inches so that he could play footsies with Addy.
When she pulled her foot back, he just stretched out those long legs a bit more and massaged her foot with his toes.
“Yes, we did and more. We can restock the pantry with those canned hams that go so fast when folks need help,” Pearl answered. “Did you two buy a bull?”
“Thinkin’ about it.” Sonny helped himself to a second slice of the pizza they had picked up in Bonham. “It’s a fine bull, but Vernon wants a little too much. I’ll wait a few days and make him an offer. What’s this about you stepping into the middle of a big fight, Pearl?”
“Somebody”—she cut her eyes around at him—“stole my thunder.”
“Gossip travels fast, Mama,” Jesse chuckled, and tucked his feet back under his chair.
He was flirting big time, and Addy liked it, but she wasn’t one hundred percent sure their friendship was worth losing if things went south. “Lylah was just smarting off, but Pearl put her in her place real quick.”
“I’d say that Justine stepped up to the plate and did that far better than I could. When she and Mia both showed off the exact same tattoos on their backs, Lylah kind of settled down,” Pearl said. “If those things had been acceptable for girls back in my day, I would have had a sunflower put on my back, or maybe my hip. That way, it would be for Sonny and no one else.”
“Nana, if you want a tat, you can still get one.” Mia got a second slice of the pepperoni pizza and took a bite.
“Honey, gravity got my skin a long time ago. My sunflower would have so many wrinkles in it that it would look wilted,” Pearl chuckled. “I was glad to see you and Justine talking this afternoon.”
“We’re going for ice cream this evening. I’m picking her up at seven, and we’re taking Matty with us so I can meet him,” Mia said. “I guess y’all can survive without me, right?”
“We’ll do our best,” Addy assured her in a serious tone.
“I’ll be home by eight. Justine says an hour is enough of an outing for the baby,” Mia said.
“You do know that you can stay out as late as you want,” Jesse said. “You are a grown-up now.”
“Yes, sir!” She snapped a smart salute to him.
“And there’s our sassy girl back in her skin,” he teased.
“That wreck just spooked me, but I’m fine now,” Mia announced.
After supper, Addy took Sonny’s vitals, gave him a neck massage and his evening meds, then left him and Pearl alone to watch their favorite Saturday evening shows on television. She went right to her window and stared out at the bunkhouse in the distance. Some evenings, Jesse sat in the living room or on the front porch with his parents at the close of a day, but not that night. He said he had to return some phone calls to his old teammates and had gone to the bunkhouse.
Addy had lived in the ranch house for five years. She had been content, if not ecstatically happy there, just knowing that Mia was loved and had a stable environment. But tonight, for the first time, the place felt more than a little lonely.
Jesse walked up to the window that faced the house. His silhouette showed that he had a hand up to his ear, so evidently, he had indeed needed to make a few phone calls. For some crazy reason, that made Addy feel better. She waited until she saw him drop his hand and lay the phone down before she slipped down the hall and out the kitchen door.
He was on the porch when she arrived. He’d changed from the jeans and pearl snap western shirt he had worn to the bake sale into a pair of loose-fitting pajama pants and a faded T-shirt with a bull rider on the front. He was barefoot, and his hair was still wet from a recent shower. When she was still five feet away, she caught a whiff of the shaving lotion that always set her senses to reeling.
“I was hoping you would come tonight. I came out to look at the Strawberry Moon.” He pointed up at a full moon hanging right above the treetops. “Has Mia come home yet?”
Addy hiked a hip on the porch railing. “Not yet, and she hasn’t called or texted. That’s a good thing after the way she’s almost set my phone on fire every day since the wreck.”
Jesse crossed the wide porch and hugged Addy, then kissed her on the forehead. “Seems right to be here with you and that big old lover’s moon so close, it feels like we could reach up there and touch it.”
“I thought it was the Strawberry Moon, not a lover’s moon.” She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.
“It’s both,” he said. “Mama talked about the bake sale when I would call her, but I didn’t know until today that they had named it the Strawberry Moon Bake Sale. She said they always have it on the last weekend in June, and that’s when the Strawberry Moon is out. The Native American culture called it that because that’s when the wild strawberries were ready to pick, along with other fruit. Mama said it seemed fitting to name their fundraiser after that because some of the ladies brought jams they made from the fresh fruits they had harvested. Tonight, I’d rather it would be a lover’s moon.”
“Why are you telling me all this, Jesse?” Addy asked. “You only go on and on about something when you are super nervous.”
“You know me too well,” Jesse sighed.
“Are we really going to give this a try?” she asked.
“I’d sure like to.” He removed her hands from around his neck. He kissed each knuckle separately and then turned her hands over to kiss the palms. “But first, I think we’d better be up-front and honest with Mia. Her reaction to us might make you change your mind.”
“Mia means a lot to me, but I can make up my own mind about what I do. What about how you’ll take her reaction?” she asked.
“My mind is pretty well made up.” He flashed a grin so brilliant that it would have paled the sun. “When I came home, from that first minute, I could feel something still between us even after all these years. I’m not making the same mistake I did all when I was too young and stupid to realize what I had right in front of me.”
“All right then, we’ll tell her tomorrow after church,” Addy agreed. “But, Jesse, let’s take it slow. We’re not kids anymore, and we need to be sure that this is more than a physical attraction.”
“Anything you want, darlin’,” he said. “As long as I can hold you, and—”
The door flew open before he could even finish his sentence. Mia rushed outside and dropped to her knees in front of her mother. She laid her head on Addy’s lap and burst into tears. “I’m so sorry, Mama.”
Addy’s mind went into high gear. Had Mia wrecked her truck, decided to run away with Ricky again, or robbed a bank? Whatever it was, she would be there for her daughter. But please, Lord, don’t let it be something illegal or that worthless Ricky coming back into her life, she prayed as she wrapped Mia up in her arms.
“What’s happened?” Jesse laid a hand on Mia’s shoulder. “Are you all right? Do we need to take you to the doctor?”
Addy sucked in air and held it. “Has something happened to Sonny?”
Mia raised her head. “I’m fine. I think Poppa is good. I didn’t go through the house. I came straight here, and…” Her chin quivered, and tears continued to flow down her cheeks. “I hoped you’d be here. I’m so so sorry for…” Her voice broke, and she buried her face in her mother’s lap.
“For what?” Jesse asked.
Mia raised her head again. “For being such a horrible person, and for all the mean things I’ve said about my father being a bum off the streets. And for lying to you and Jesse, and Poppa and Nana tonight.”
“Did you go see Ricky?” Jesse asked.
“Of course not!” Her tone turned a little edgy. “I lied about going to see Justine. I went to the drugstore.”
“Are you sick?” Addy’s stomach turned over and nausea set in.
Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch Page 18