by Peggy Webb
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Molly
Book Three
Peggy Webb
Copyright 2013 by Peggy Webb, second edition
Copyright © 1990 by Peggy Webb, first edition
Cover Art Design 2013 by Kim Van Meter
Smashwords Edition
Prologue
From: Molly ([email protected])
To: Bea, Janet, Clemmie, Catherine, Joanna, Belinda
Re: Daddy’s wedding
It’s wonderful to be home and finally free! I’m so glad Daddy decided to postpone the wedding until I finished my art degree and he could get a little house. OMG, Bea, your mother and your brother are driving over to meet us, and I can’t wait to see them again! I think I still had braces and a bad case of zits the last time I saw Sam.
Much love,
Molly
From: Janet ([email protected])
To: Molly, Bea, Clemmie, Catherine, Joanna, Belinda
Re: Your Future
I’m thrilled to have you back, Molly! I know you don’t like to plan anything ahead, but now is a good time to be thinking about your future. Are you going back to Paris or staying? If you decide to stay, Dan can help you find a job teaching art in the city schools. Your Parisian art degree will be very impressive! And everybody loves and respects the Coach! Including me, of course!
XO
Janet
From: Belinda ([email protected])
To: Molly, Bea, Clemmie, Catherine, Joanna, Janet
Re: The House
That is the cutest little house, Molly! I’m so glad it’s close enough that Janet and I can both walk to see you. Oh, do stay in Tupelo! We’ll have such fun together, especially when Clemmie can drive over and join us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all ended up in the same city!
By the way, Janet, Betsy and Mark adore that little puppy you and Dan gave us. They call him Peanut, and he makes every step they do. They love to argue over whether he looks more like that lovable mutt Harvey or his wife.
Quincy is still with us, thank goodness! She pretends she hates the idea of having a dog in the house, but she’s just bluffing. I see the way she gives him treats when she thinks nobody is looking! Not hot dogs, Janet. I’ve told everybody that the granddog of a doctor has to eat healthy food!
XOXO
Belinda
From: Catherine ([email protected])
To: Molly, Belinda, Janet, Clemmie, Bea, Joanna
Re: Wedding Dress
Bea, tell your darling mother I’ll pick out a wedding dress down here in New Orleans. Better yet, you drive over and Molly can bring Glory Ethel down here, and we can all go shopping together! OMG, you should see the party dress I got on Canal! It’s silver with a sequined bodice. We’re having a spring bash at the Vet school, formal no less, which is perfectly shocking! I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something tacky, but you ought to see these other women in the school of veterinary medicine. You’d think they were auditioning for the part of the dogs they treat! OMG, I’m turning into a real….
Cat
From: Clemmie ([email protected])
To: Molly, Janet, Belinda, Catherine, Bea, Joanna
Re: Food
Molly, do you want me to bring some food over before Bea’s mom gets there? I know you hate to cook, and your daddy doesn’t make casseroles. I have this delicious squash casserole that freezes well. It’s a favorite with the boarding house regulars. And there’s this wonderful hamburger casserole recipe I found in Southern Living that I know Mr. Jed would love!
Much love,
Clemmie
From: Joanna ([email protected])
To: Molly, Janet, Belinda, Catherine, Bea, Clemmie
Re: Geriatric Sex
I’m just DEAD WITH ENVY! Molly’s out of school and I’m still stuck here in Madrid with the nuns! I’ve spent a lot of time in the library lately. They think I’m studying, but I’m actually looking up GERIATRIC SEX! OH MY, I just had a thought! All I have to do is ask Janet. Is it possible for somebody OLD like Bea’s mom and Molly’s dad to have ANOTHER BABY? I mean, don’t your eggs dry up or something when you turn forty?
Big Hugs!!!
Joanna
From: Bea ([email protected])
To: Joanna, Molly, Belinda, Catherine, Clemmie, Janet
Re: SEX!!!
OMG, Joanna!!! Wash your mouth out with soap!!!! My brother already has his jockeys in a wad about Mother getting married. He’s have a heart attack if she got pregnant. BTW, I don’t think that can happen at their age, and besides, if there’s any possibility, Mother has sense enough to use protection!!!
Dang, I always imagined I was born by Immaculate Conception, now you’re got me to thinking about my mother with Molly’s dad! I don’t even want to picture it! Besides, it’s totally not fair that I’m sitting out here in Texas with no suitable man even close enough to say howdy to my Virginia, much less saddle up and yell Yee Haw!!!
Hugs,
Bea
Chapter One
“Mother, this is a foolish thing to do.”
“Bea has grown fond of the idea.”
“You know what I think about my sister’s opinion.”
Glory Ethel Adams studied her son. Her Sammy was a fine figure of a man: tall, handsome and well built, with the black hair and eyes of his daddy. He was smart, too. President of the bank and on every board that was worth being on in Florence. The governor of Alabama even consulted Samuel Adams on financial matters.
There was no doubt about it, Samuel was a powerful man... and a son to be proud of. But she did wish, just this once, he’d remember that family didn’t need so much bossing and telling what to do.
She shifted in her chair and fanned herself with the letter in her hand. It was hotter than usual and it made her wish she’d lost that fifteen pounds she’d been planning to lose since Christmas. But it was too late for that now.
Rising from her chair, she smoothed out the letter and placed it on her son’s desk.
“Just read the letter, Sam. It might change your mind.”
Samuel didn’t usually lose patience with his mother, or with anybody else for that matter, but this business of marrying a man she had met through Match.com was enough to make a saint curse.
He shoved the letter aside.
“I know all I need to know about Jedidiah Rakestraw. He’s some old codger who is clever enough to take advantage of a lonely divorcee with money.”
Glory Ethel burst out laughing.
“I don’t see a damned thing funny about that, Mother.”
“I’ve never had a lonely day in my life, and Jed is fifty! Furthermore, I don’t give a hoot about the money. I’d give it all to the first beggar who came along if you didn’t have it tucked away in safe investments.”
His mother was impossible. That’s all there was to it. Impatiently, Samuel picked up the letter and scanned its contents. It was even worse than he expected.
Folding it into a neat rectangle, he stood up and came around the desk. Maybe he could reason with her.
“He sounds educated enough, I’ll grant you that.”
“He’s brilliant. He’ll give me plenty of intellectual stimulation. And now that I’ve made you sweat, I’ll let you in on a little secret. He made so much money in the stock market, he was able to retire at the age of forty-eight!”
“It’s not intellectual stimulation I’m worried about; it’s his family. Just listen to this.” He reopened the letter and began to read selected passages. “You’ll love the way Molly has turned out. She’s grown into something of a hellion—a woman after your own heart, if I’m not mistaken. As you know, she went to Pari
s to study art and became an artist’s model. I expect every art collector who is anybody knows about the famous nude statue Venus de Molly.”
Sam lifted one sardonic eyebrow to show what he thought of that.
“I think it’s cute, Sam.”
“What I think won’t do to tell in polite society.”
“Good lord. You act as if I’m marrying a perfect stranger. He’s Molly’s daddy, for goodness’ sake. You remember that cute little girl who went to summer camp with Bea and remained her friend all these years.”
“Mother, you act as if we know these people. I could count on my fingers the number of times Bea has actually seen this girl.”
Glory Ethel chuckled. “It’s not the end of the world.”
No, he thought. It was just the end of everything he’d worked for these last fifteen years—rebuilding the family fortune and the family name. Venus de Molly. Good Lord!
He studied his mother. He didn’t want to hurt her; all he wanted to do was convince her not to make a foolish mistake. Briefly he consulted the letter again, looking for arguments to win his case.
“And if that scandalous daughter isn’t enough, there are his friends. What kind of man has friends who have a double wedding with their dogs... and serve an Alpo wedding cake at the reception?”
“A lively man. And I intend to marry him.” Ethel picked up her purse, the hefty straw bag that held everything from lipstick, which she seldom used, to a dog-eared copy of The Canterbury Tales, which she did use. Sometimes she fancied herself to be the Wife of Bath.
Samuel knew that stubborn look on her face. He tried one last ploy.
“There’s no telling what impact this man will have on us. His daughter is a nude model. We don’t need another scandal in the family. Just think about it awhile longer.”
“I’m fifty-two. I intend to strike while the iron is still hot.”
Sam didn’t even want to think about his mother’s smoking iron.
She patted his cheek. “Sam, you’re a smart man and I respect your opinion, but I’ve never taken orders from my children, and I don’t intend to start now. I’m going to marry Jedidiah Rakestraw. And there’s not a damned thing you can do about it.”
“He’s already got you cussing.”
“That’s not all he’s liable to do. I might even take up gambling and lying and heavy petting.”
“Good Lord, Mother! Can’t you be serious? You don’t even know this man.”
“Yes, I do. He came to Florence last month for the specific purpose of getting to know me. And if you weren’t so all-fired stubborn, you’d know him, too. He wanted to meet you.”
“I had a business meeting in Montgomery.”
Glory Ethel relented a little. After all, it wasn’t Sam’s fault he was so bossy. He’d had to be the man in the family since he was fifteen. She patted his stern face once more.
“Sammy...Sammy. Come with me to Tupelo. Jedidiah and I want our children to get to know each other before the wedding.”
“He knows Bea. That’s enough.”
“All our children.”
“I can’t think of a single reason I’d want to know a woman who gets paid for taking off her clothes.”
“For starters, she’s going to be a member of the family.”
Not if he had anything to do about it. But he knew better than to tell his mother that. His legendary stubbornness was inherited from her.
“I’m going to Tupelo with you, but this doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind about the Rakestraws. I’m only going to take care of you and look after the family’s interests.”
Glory Ethel smiled. Sam was a dictator, but he was a benevolent and reasonable one. She was counting on the Rakestraws to change his mind… especially Molly. Venus de Molly. How intriguing.
Samuel kept one eye on his mother as he picked up the phone to make arrangements with the Rakestraws. He knew that self-satisfied smile on her face. It meant nothing but trouble.
o0o
Molly Rakestraw loved gardening.
She straightened from the flower bed where she had been planting a row of bright red petunias. She’d found this lovely old house on Robins Street for her dad last week, and she wanted to do everything she could to make it bright and cheerful and homey before his fiancée arrived. Bea’s mom! She still could hardly believe her luck. Molly loved her already.
She wiped her sweaty face with the back of her hand and leaned over to give her daddy’s two dogs a hug—Mickey and Minnie, offspring of Harvey, a big lovable stray, and Gwendolyn, his pedigreed poodle “wife.” She wished she could have been there when Janet and Dan had their double wedding with the dogs. How cute was that!
Molly released the dogs and sat back on her heels to survey her work. The petunias looked a little wilted, but a good spraying with water would help that. She turned on the faucet and picked up the hose. The petunias perked up under the sprinkle, and so did Mickey and Minnie. Somehow, watering the flowers became a circus, with Molly as ringleader. That wasn’t unusual. Most things she did usually turned into a celebration of some kind.
She cavorted with the dogs, spraying them and herself with equal enthusiasm. There was so much laughter and barking that she didn’t hear the car pull up in the driveway.
“Excuse me.”
The voice, coming so unexpectedly, startled her, and Molly whirled around, the hose still in her hand. Water spattered on her visitor’s polished black shoes and soaked the pants of his immaculate three-piece suit.
He jumped back.
“I’m so sorry.” Still dragging the hose with her, Molly leaned down and swiped at the water on his shoes. The hose nozzle got out of hand and shot a stream of water straight up into his face. “Oh, dear.” Molly stood to correct her mistake and sent a stream of water cascading down the front of his shirt. “I do apologize.”
“If you apologize anymore I’m likely to drown.” The stranger lifted the hose out of her hand and twisted the nozzle shut.
Molly stepped back to survey him. Being soaking wet didn’t keep him from being the most delicious-looking man she’d ever seen. In fact it only enhanced his charms. She couldn’t imagine, though, why anybody would be wearing such a ridiculous outfit on such a hot day. He had to be an insurance salesman; they were always out to impress.
“You must be Molly,” he said.
She was pleased that he knew her name. She’d been back in Tupelo only three weeks now, but she did love fame and notoriety. She supposed that by now everybody in the city knew that Venus de Molly was back in town.
She smiled and extended her hand. “Molly Rakestraw. And you must be...”
“Samuel Adams.” He looked askance at the grubby hand she held out, hesitated a second and then took it cautiously, as if he expected to become contaminated by the dirt.
Out of perverseness, she gave his hand a hard squeeze and hung on long enough to transfer a good portion of gardening soil to him. He looked like the kind of man who would benefit from getting dirty every now and then.
“My goodness, I didn’t expect you until Tuesday.”
“This is Tuesday.”
She tossed her head in a way that set her golden braid a-swing and all her jewelry a-tinkle. “1 would have sworn it was Saturday. But then time means nothing to me. I think one day is just as delightful as the next, don’t you?”
He lifted one eyebrow. “I’ve never thought about it.”
Molly looked him up and down once again. For all his delicious looks, Bea’s brother as remote and formidable as an arctic glacier at high noon. Just the opposite of rambunctious, straight-talking Bea.
Her heart sank. Good Lord, what if Glory Ethel had turned into the same stick-in-the mud as her son? Her daddy would be miserable. He needed a lively woman, not some ice-encased autocrat.
“Just listen to me, standing here chattering while you’re dripping wet. Where’s your mother?”
“In the car.”
“Gracious, in this heat?”
; “I left the motor running and the air-conditioning on so she would be cool while I checked to see if we had the right house.”
He was exactly the type who would do something practical and sensible like that. She would have bailed out, bags and all, dragging her daddy by the hand and calling to everybody that she had arrived.
“Please bring her in. Daddy is eager to see her, and I haven’t seen her in years.”
“Will you excuse me while I go and get her?”
“Certainly.”
Molly grinned as he walked off.
Water swished in his shoes and drizzled down his legs. What was more, his right hand looked as if he had been down in the dirt making mud cakes. Molly Rakestraw was even worse than he had expected, just the kind of woman he didn’t trust, all fluff and no substance. Where was that skinny little girl with braces he remembered?
He dreaded meeting the father. Anyone who would raise such a Bohemian daughter had to have a few screws loose somewhere.
He was close to cursing by the time he reached his car. Bending down, he opened the door and got inside. For once it didn’t matter that he was dripping water and dirt all over the leather seats of his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. There were more important considerations.
“What in the world?” Glory Ethel was already grasping the door handle in order to get out.
“Just please be quiet a minute and listen to me, Mother.”
“I’m listening.”
“The best thing we can do right now is turn around and head back to Florence. I’ve see the way Molly turned out, and I can tell you that if her father is anything like that, you don’t want to be within a city block of him.”
“Was that Molly you were talking to?”
“Yes.”
“She’s turned into gorgeous woman.”
“How could you tell under all that dirt and jewelry? She must be wearing five pounds of turquoise and silver. To garden in, for God’s sake. And I’ve never seen a woman bare more flesh than that outside the bedroom.” He paused to loosen his tie.