Forever Surprised

by Kathleen Brooks

  Will shuddered. “What are you trying to do? Give me nightmares?” He leaned forward and placed his lips by her ear. “I can think of something you could do to make it up to me.”

  Kenna felt her lips tugging into a smile as she shook her head. Her husband was incorrigible.

  “The guys are here to help. The cows are at the butcher and will be ready tonight. We’ll start smoking some of the meat then so I may not be home until real late. So, what do you need us to do?” Will asked her.

  Kenna welcomed her friends and within minutes they were fanning out over the backyard. The tent was finished, the tables were rolling in, chairs were being set up, and the table of honor was being raised.

  * * *

  Miss Lily Rae Rose sat with her sisters, Daisy Mae and Violet Fae, at the Blossom Café. Their very distant and young cousins, Poppy and Zinnia, were waiting on the few occupied tables. Lily’s eyes narrowed.

  “Something is going on,” she told her sisters as Nikki Canter and one of the nameless blonde Belles hurried into the café.

  “Why do you say that, Lil?” Daisy asked as she took a sip of her iced tea.

  “Look around. None of the regulars are here and Knox just slid his truck to a stop outside so fast there’s still smoke in the air,” Lily said as her sisters looked up to see Knox and some of his teammates stumble through the café door.

  “Hi, Miss Lily, Miss Daisy, Miss Violet,” the boys said politely as they took a seat at a nearby table.

  “Hello, boys. What has you all in a lather?” Miss Lily asked, putting on her best innocent old lady face.

  “Just taking a quick lunch break before getting back to the farm. Helping Coach Ashton out before I leave for college. He’s been telling us he got in great shape by tossing hay.” Knox snorted in disbelief before shrugging it off. “So, we’re giving it a try.”

  “That’s nice, dear,” Miss Lily smiled before turning back to her sister. “That young man’s pants are about to burst into flames for all the lying he’s doing.”

  “Lily Rae,” Violet scolded, shaking her white head at her sister. “You know darn well Will did such a thing. Nothing strange is going on.”

  The door opened again as Addison, Ava, Faith, and Grace came in laughing. Lily looked to her sisters and simply raised an eyebrow as Addison and Ava sat at one table and Faith and Grace at the table next to them.

  “Okay, so it’s a little strange,” Daisy agreed as the newly arrived all shouted out their hellos the to them.

  “I’m telling you, something is up,” Miss Lily promised as she turned up her hearing aid. She’d find out what it was if it was the last thing she did.

  * * *

  Ten minutes later, the door opened again and Nora Owens, the owner of the Fluff and Buff, walked in. She wore all black to make the salon look fancier. Her blonde hair was cut in a short chin-length bob and highlighted with pink and purple streaks.

  Violet leaned over to her sisters. “I’d love to have purple hair.”

  “When you’re as old as we are, there’s no point in waiting,” Daisy snorted as they watched Nora pick up a to-go order and head their way.

  “Hi, ladies. I’ll see you tomorrow for your perms,” Nora smiled as she stopped at the table.

  “I want purple hair,” Violet told her.

  Nora blinked once and then nodded. “I can do that.”

  “I want yellow. Not like a canary. I don’t want to look like a bird,” Daisy said, getting into it, too.

  “I can do a blonde on you that will look pale yellow,” Nora told her.

  “Come in, Lily. Do something, too. You’re always such a stick in the mud,” Violet taunted.

  “Hey, I’m the one who took us skydiving,” Lily protested. But as she looked at Nora’s youthful hair, she knew she wanted to do something fun, too. “Pink! I want a light pink like you have.”

  The sisters giggled and Nora’s smiled widened. “It’ll be so much fun. Can you get there an hour earlier, though?”

  “We’ll see you then,” Lily told her, getting into the idea of doing something radical for their birthday. Then she froze as Nora left. She leaned forward. “I got it! They’re doing something for our birthday.”

  “Which one is it?” Violet asked. “I’ve lied about my age so much I don’t remember how old I am.”

  The three sisters thought for a moment. “Well, it doesn’t matter,” Lily said. “That’s why they’re being strange. Let’s see what Aniyah says about us changing up the schedule for tomorrow.”

  Lily dialed Aniyah and waited for her to answer. “Yes?” Aniyah asked, sounding distracted.

  “She’s distracted,” Lily whispered to her sisters. “It’s Lily. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind a change of plans tomorrow.”

  “Sure thing, Miss Lily. What’s up?”

  “Do you have a moment? I don’t want to interrupt anything.”

  “Girl, you aren’t interrupting anything. I’m over here watching Will Ashton work the football players at his farm. It’s a mix of the seniors who just graduated and some of his pro players. Half of them have their shirts off and—”

  Daisy shook her head. “See, nothing. You’re imagining things, Lil.”

  Lily’s doubts remained as she relayed the change of times for the next day. Aniyah was nice enough to drive them around to their appointments when she wasn’t working in Frankfort as Riley Davies Walz’s assistant. Aniyah was only in Frankfort part-time now that the session had ended.

  “See, I told you they weren’t up to anything,” Daisy scolded when Lily got off the phone.

  “Hmph.” Lily would just see about that.

  * * *

  The tables were up, and it was time to decorate. The men were running the electric work for the chandeliers as the women began decorating the tables. As soon as this was done, they’d head back to Keeneson High School to make another round of desserts. After baking half of them that morning, they had needed a break. This was their break.

  “We’ve got a problem!” Aniyah yelled as she ran toward them on her tiptoes to prevent her five-inch heels from sinking into the grass. “The Rose sisters think something is up. They changed their plans for tomorrow, and Miss Lily sounded real suspicious.”

  “What did you tell them?” Kenna asked a little more harshly than she meant to.

  “I told them we were at Will’s farm watching some of his players tossing hay. Will suggested it to us earlier in case something came up.”

  Kenna looked frantically around. “Sienna!”

  “Yes, Mom?” Sienna asked as she smoothed a wrinkle from a tablecloth.

  “Which Thoroughbred players live nearby?”

  “Jaylen King moved to a house about twenty minutes away and Zack Sanders is about fifteen minutes away. Why?” Sienna told them as she walked closer.

  “Will! Trey! Get over here now!” Kenna yelled to her husband teetering on a ladder and the man holding the ladder.

  “What’s going on?” Sienna asked again.

  “Miss Lily called Aniyah.” Kenna relayed as Will and Trey joined them.

  Trey looked down at his phone. “Definitely suspicious. Knox just texted. They asked him where on the farm he was working out. Luckily he remembered the lie and told Miss Lily the same thing.”

  “Call the players and get all the seniors and the recent grads over to the barn now! Trey and Sienna, get as many players as possible there as well! Hurry!” Kenna screamed.

  People scattered quickly. Boys leapt into the back of pickup trucks. Men and women jumped into their cars and drove them into every nearby barn they could fit them in before closing the doors. Kenna stood outside staring at the main house from the drive and sighed in relief. Nothing was visible from the road as very expensive sports cars and trucks raced past her. The NFL players had arrived.

  9

  Aniyah held up a hose and sprayed the players down as some stripped their shirts off. She grabbed some hay and rubbed their muscled bodies with it. Lordy, the best thin
g she ever did was move to Keeneston. Goodness knows she loved her man, too. DeAndre was sitting at a supposed speed trap to let them know when the Rose sisters were getting near.

  Aniyah picked up some hay and slathered Jaylen King, the star running back. Even in her five-inch heels, she only reached his chest. He sent her a wink and moved on to tossing hay with the rest of the hosed-down and hayed-covered players.

  Deon Wofford, Zack Sanders, and Adrian Hummel filed in and waited for Aniyah to dirty them up.

  Five minutes was the text Aniyah got from DeAndre that really sent them scrambling. “They’re almost here!”

  Will and Trey got the players in line as some jumped on the bales of hay and others tossed the heavy bales weighing eighty pounds or more. Aniyah hurried as she turned off the hose, rolled it up, and took a seat on the swing on Will’s back porch. She flipped on her fan, hid her dirty shoes under herself, and waited for the Rose sisters.

  Minutes later, the three old ladies rounded the house with trays in hand. Clever girls. Aniyah almost applauded them. Instead, she waved them over. “Did you bring me lunch?”

  “No. Knox made it sound like a hard workout. He was waiting on some to-go orders when we left. We thought the men would like some cookies so we had Poppy drive us out here,” Miss Lily said, not once looking at Aniyah. Instead she scanned the entire area.

  “Well, I’ll take one. It’s hard work watching them.”

  “Oh my!” Miss Violet gasped as Zach, the six-foot-five mountain of a man, lifted a hay bale over his head and threw it a shocking distance with a grunt.

  Zack heard her and turned to see the trio of old ladies. “Well, if it isn’t the Thoroughbreds’ best fans. Did you bring us something to eat?” Zack was already looking at the trays they held as he jogged over toward them.

  “Oh my,” Miss Lily whispered a moment before the lineman wrapped all three sisters into a giant hug.

  “Hey, guys,” Zack shouted. “The Rose sisters brought cookies.”

  Bales of hay were dropped as the men thundered toward the Rose sisters.

  * * *

  Ten minutes later, the trays were empty and Will and Trey were yelling for the men to get back to work. Miss Lily stared at them, lifting, tossing, and jumping various-sized bales of hay.

  “See? Nothing.” Daisy crossed her arms over her chest and stared her sister down. “Now can we go? Charlie wants to watch some movie with me tonight and now I need a shower. I don’t want to explain why I smell like sweaty man.”

  Violet sighed. “Wasn’t that great? I can say I had the NFL’s best running back in my arms.”

  Lily did smile at that. “You mean you suffocated the NFL’s best running back in your sagging bosom.”

  “You say tomato, I say who cares? I had him in my arms,” Violet smirked back as she sent the young Jaylen a wink. “Come on, Lil. Let’s go. We need our beauty rest. Anton is going to cook us all dinner tomorrow and Zinnia said she’s baking us a cake.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Lily said as they waved goodbye to the players.

  “See you tomorrow, ladies!” Aniyah called after them as they slowly made their way to the car they’d made Poppy drive them in.

  Poppy was talking to Kenna as they approached. “Hello, dear,” Miss Lily called out.

  Kenna turned and smiled at them. She kissed each cheek and wished them a happy early birthday. It was hard to believe little Kenna Mason wasn’t from Keeneston. It had been a hard decision when the Roses had stepped back from matchmaking, but leaving it in the hands of Kenna, Dani, and Paige was the best decision the sisters could have made. Bless their hearts, they couldn’t match anyone up to save their lives, but Lily and her sisters sure did have fun watching them try. “Who’s up next?”

  Kenna didn’t even pretend to not know what she was talking about. “Gabe. Dani is set on stopping his wandering ways.”

  “What’s the plan?” Daisy asked.

  “There’s going to be a charity ball. Dani has invited the best of the best eligible women to attend. All bride material.”

  “Very good. Poppy, dear, we need to get home. Will we see you tomorrow, Kenna?” Lily asked as they started to get into the car.

  “Probably,” Kenna smiled. “But if I don’t, have a very happy birthday.” Kenna leaned into the car and kissed Lily’s cheek before going to the back and doing the same with her sisters.

  “Happy birthday!” Kenna called out as Poppy drove them away. Maybe her sisters were right. Nothing strange going on at all, but she’d ask her husband anyway. John always knew what was going on and he was on even more of a mission now that DeAndre Drews was finding out gossip quicker. Yes, her husband would know for sure.

  * * *

  “I don’t know, Lily Rae. I haven’t heard anything.”

  “You stubborn billy goat! Tell me right now if you know anything about something going on for our birthday.”

  John shrugged his shoulders. “Really, Lil. I haven’t heard anything besides what we husbands have planned and you know about that.”

  “Fine. Maybe nothing is going on.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say that. I heard all about Violet smothering Jaylen King in her boobs.”

  “You can hear that, but you can’t hear if Kenna or that group has anything planned for our birthday?” Miss Lily shook her head.

  “Do you want something big for your birthday? I know it’s a big one for us this year.” John was one of the people who knew how old she really was because he’d gone to high school with her. Earlier that year, she’d thrown him a party as well but hadn’t thought to make it a large one. It had just been with her sisters and their husbands. When you reached the age they had, birthday parties just seemed childish . . . and maybe that’s why Lily wanted one. She wanted to feel young again.

  “No. I’m sorry. I guess old age just snuck up on me. I am going to dye my hair pink tomorrow, though.”

  John chuckled as he rested his hand on her leg. “You’ll look beautiful with pink hair, Lil.”

  Lily laid her head on his shoulder as they looked out over the backyard. “I love you, John. You’re my best gift.”

  “I love you, too, Lil.”

  * * *

  The sky had turned to night long ago but the women were still baking in the school cafeteria. Their husbands had brought them dinner and they’d talked about what was left to do before heading out to the farm to check on the Davies brothers smoking the meat. Some of the younger kids would spend the night there keeping an eye on the four large smokers.

  The buzzer went off and Paige pumped her fist in the air. “Done!” She pulled the last tray of BLT bites stuffed inside cherry tomatoes from the oven. “They’ll just have to be reheated for a couple seconds tomorrow.”

  Annie groaned. “I have ten more minutes on my last apple pies and I’m about to fall asleep.”

  “You can help me decorate these cupcakes,” Katelyn suggested as she stretched out her fingers. “Three dozen to go.”

  “You don’t want me doing that. I’m not good at making pretty things,” Annie told her, stepping away from the bag of icing Katelyn held out.

  “I’ll help. I love frosting things,” Tammy said. “And I finished my cookies thirty minutes ago.”

  Tammy grabbed the bag of icing and began topping off the cupcakes with delicate swirls in between shooting some the icing into her mouth.

  “I love icing so much,” she told the group who was staring at her through a mouthful of light purple icing. The cupcakes were in yellow, purple, and pink, the Roses’ favorite colors.

  The buzzer sounded again. “Thank goodness. My last brownies,” Morgan groaned with pleasure as she pulled the last two trays from another oven.

  “I’m so happy the pageant girls are helping with the food. I was afraid I’d have to make more appetizers,” Paige said with relief as she went to clean up.

  Kenna looked down at her list. “When we all finish up here we are done for the night!”

  The wo
men gave as much of a cheer as they could. They were tired, their feet ached, and their fingers hurt. They just wanted to sleep.

  “I’ve never made so much potato salad in my life,” Gemma said, putting a cover over the last batch of salad and dragging it to the walk-in refrigerator.

  “What is left for tomorrow?” Tammy asked before squeezing some more frosting into her mouth.

  “The kids will bring their things over in the morning. So we just need to set out the plates, silverware, napkins, and get the coolers filled with the drinks. Poppy said that the Rose sisters have no idea what’s going on. They were suspicious but have no evidence. Zinnia is making a birthday cake for them for their dinner with their husbands, whom we will fill in on the plan as soon as Aniyah drops the Roses off at the Fluff and Buff. But Zinnia said she’ll make a real fancy ceremonial cake for the birthday girls to cut and eat from while everyone else can snack on these amazing-smelling desserts.” Kenna looked back down at her list.

  “I think that’s all. We need to be visible in town tomorrow,” Kenna told them. “Aniyah said she’s taking the sisters to the hair salon at three. From three to six, we will all be at Ashton Farm touching up decorations and setting out food. The town is arriving at Dani’s farm at five. Then a bunch of the boys will be shuttling them across the pasture that backs up to the Ashton Farm and up to the tent so that no cars or people will be visible from the street if they drive by for any reason. Or when Aniyah brings them up to the house.”

  The buzzer beeped again and Annie leapt up. “Done!” She set the pies on the cooling rack and turned off the oven.

  Kenna looked around the kitchen and nodded to herself. “Okay, let’s get to bed. Tomorrow’s the big day.”

  10

  Aniyah pulled to a stop in front of the Fluff and Buff. The door was open and the sound of chatter flowed out of the small salon. Aniyah helped the ladies from the car as people walked by wishing them a happy birthday.