“What’s wrong, Vidalia?”
“Nothing. I....” She sighed. “Nothing. I mean, there is something. But I don’t want to ruin our day with it. So I’m gonna put it out of my mind and just enjoy this. And being with you.”
“Is there someone else?” he asked, because he couldn’t stand not to know.
She looked him right in the eyes. “There’s never been anyone else, Bobby Joe. You said you never got me outta your mind. Well, I need to be honest and admit that I never got you outta mine either. I never will.”
A little rush of alarm went through him. He lowered his head, guilt rising up in his chest. He should tell her. He didn’t expect her to return his feelings at all, much less this quickly, this easily. Her words to him were a dream come true, but it just wasn’t fair. He had to tell her. He couldn’t let her fall in love with him before she knew he was dying.
He couldn’t.
“I never got over you, Bobby Joe. And I don’t imagine I ever will. But I did a bad thing to you way back then, and I’ve got to make it right with you now. Before we go any further. I’ve got to tell you–”
“There’s something I’ve got to tell you too, Vidalia,” he said very softly. He met her eyes, dreading that discussion. And then a father walked past them, dragging a pine tree and carrying a little girl on his shoulders, and they were laughing their way through a chorus of Jingle Bells. Bobby smiled and felt lighter. “But not today,” he said. “Today, let’s just get some Christmas trees, have fun, and not worry about anything heavy. Okay?”
She smiled brightly. “That is more than okay,” she told him.
The scene in the parking lot in front of the Long Branch Saloon was like something out of an old western film. The five daughters of Vidalia Brand stood shoulder to shoulder facing the three sons of Bobby Joe McIntyre. About ten feet of recently laid blacktop stretched between them.
Kara Brand had made the call asking for this meeting. Jason had felt bristly, like his family was about to be accused of something and had expected a hostile encounter. He hadn’t been all that worried about it, though. At least not until he’d seen them.
He and his brothers might as well have been face to face with a gang of super models. The apples had not fallen far from the tree in this family. Robert and Joey were as rocked by their beauty as he was, but he hoped they also noticed that every last one of them was wearing a wedding ring. Off limits. The McIntyre’s didn’t roll that way. If there was one thing their father had managed to drum into them during their upbringing, it was that you didn’t so much as flirt with a married woman. Hell, not even a going steady girl, when they’d been in high school. It was probably the one item in their father’s moral code that stood above all others.
A handful of cars came and went, and he didn’t miss their sudden deceleration or the rubber necking drivers.
Finally, he cleared his throat and walked closer, extending a hand to the apparent leader, “I’m Jason McIntyre.”
“Maya Brand.” She smiled a little stiffly and shook his hand with a respectably firm grip.
“These are my brothers, Robert and Joseph,” he said, indicating the two men who flanked him.
“My sisters,” she replied. “Edie, Kara, Melusine and Selene.” She nodded at each girl as she named them.
His defensiveness relaxed a little. “Those are all names of goddesses, aren’t they?”
“Mama had high expectations for her daughters,” Maya said. “Robert, are you named for your father?”
Rob said, “We all are. Dad’s full name is Jason Robert Joseph.”
More traffic passed, slowed. More drivers gaped.
“We don’t get inside soon, there’s gonna be a crowd gathered,” Melusine said. “And if we’re gonna have a shootout, it oughtta be at the OK Corral, so we might as well talk instead.”
Nodding, getting her attempt at levity, but not thinking it very funny, Jason led the way, held the door for the females and let them enter first. The youngest one, the platinum blonde with the very blue eyes, looked around in wide-eyed appreciation. “This place is amazing. Wow, is that a player piano?”
“It is,” Joey said, sounding proud. Of the three of them, he was the one who was eating all this up. He loved finally being included in one of their father’s projects and was diving headlong into the whole outlaw skit nonsense Dad had planned for them. It wasn’t surprising. Joey was the fun-loving kid of the family, and he was taking Selene to show her the piano, tinkling the keys and pointing out the hidden controls.
Robert was harder to read. He’d always been laid back, easy going, never had strong opinions about much of anything. But his go-with-the-flow attitude had been replaced by heartbreak recently when his long-time girlfriend had jilted him.
Jason didn’t imagine their father’s news was going to be easy for either of his brothers to take.
“Pick a table, ladies,” Joey called, going behind the bar for the tray of cookies he had waiting. “I raided the kitchen after you called. Bring that coffee, will you Rob?”
Robert nodded and picked up a carafe from the pot behind the bar. The youngest Brand girl, Selene, slid onto a barstool and said, “We don’t need a table, the bar’s just fine.” Then she ran a hand over it and nodded. “Real fine.”
One of the sisters elbowed her, Melusine, if he had them straight. “We’re here to talk about our mother and your father.”
“And if our mother knew it, she’d probably disown us,” one of the two tall ones put in. Edie or Kara. Edie he thought, but either one could be the former model. Heck, any of them could. “So we’d appreciate your discretion.”
Joey frowned and looked at Jason. In fact, Robert was looking at him too. Jason sighed. “My brothers only arrived this morning. I haven’t filled them in yet, and to tell you the truth, I probably know less than any of you ladies.”
“Wait, wait, wait, now. Our father and their mother–” Joey began.
“Didn’t you get the last name, Joe? Brand. Their mother is Vidalia Brand,” Jason said.
“Holeee smokes.” That was Robert. He was looking at one of the glossy flyers with her likeness on it. An open box of them still sat on the bar, the few left that Jason and his dad hadn’t plastered all over town already.
The women were frowning from one to the other. Kara said, “You know our mother?”
“Know of her,” Joey said. “Dad’s...mentioned her.”
“Might as well be honest, Joe. Dad’s kind of obsessed with her.”
“Robert–” Jason’s voice had a warning tone.
“C’mon, Jay, these girls are clearly concerned about whatever is going on here. They have a right to know the truth, don’t they?”
“You don’t even know the truth,” his older brother muttered.
Maya was still standing. She moved behind the bar to help Joey put out cups and saucers, found the creamer in the mini-fridge down low, while he grabbed a box of sugar packets and set it out.
“None of us know the whole truth,” she said. “Our mother’s been keeping secrets, and that’s not like her.” Then she sighed. “This can’t be easy for you to discuss. I’m sure your loyalty lies with your mother–”
“Our parents’ divorce was the best thing for both of them. They were both happier afterward, which meant we were as well. And Mom’s happily married to a guy who’s crazy about her now,” Robert said.
Jason took the carafe and filled a mug, passed it to Maya, then filled another and offered it to Selene.
“There’s always been another woman on Dad’s mind,” Joey mused softly. “The one that got away. The one he never got over. The most stunning beauty west of the Mississippi. Sweet Vidalia Brand.” He gave the words dramatic flair with a hand on his chest and a faraway look in his eyes.
“What’s your mother’s...situation?” Robert asked.
“What do you mean, situation?” Melusine returned. Jason knew which one she was, because he’d seen her photograph online when he’d been checking into this family.
She and her husband Alex were high priced P.I.s.
Robert lifted his brows. “Relationship-wise.”
Maya said, “My father-in-law’s half in love with her.”
“So’s my brother in law,” said the youngest, which made Jason lift his eyebrows in surprise.
“And don’t forget Reverend Jackson,” Kara put in.
Mel shrugged. “But Mama hasn’t shown much interest in any of them.”
“Still, nothing could possibly have ever happened between them in the past,” Kara said. “Mom was still married to Daddy when she knew Bobby Joe. Right?” She blinked from one of her sisters to another.
Selene shrugged. “Don’t ask me. It was before I was born.”
“She was married,” Maya stated it flatly.
Mel shook her head. “She thought she was married. But it was never legal. Our father already had a wife when he married our mother. We’re all bastards, if you want to know the truth of it.”
Jason heard more underneath the words, but decided not to pry. His father’s warnings about never looking twice at a married woman, however, were suddenly taking on a whole new meaning. Maybe he’d been speaking from experience.
“Wow, that’s one for the history books, isn’t it?” Joey asked. He was leaning on the bar, listening raptly. “So where’s your father now?” Joey asked.
Robert’s jaw ticked a little bit.
“Shot by gangsters,” Selene said in a dramatic tone. “Aren’t we just the most scandalous bunch you’ve ever met?”
She was a lot like Joey, Jason thought. No carburetor.
“It’s not funny, Selene.” Her oldest sister sent her a look. “His other wife was killed as well, and for a time, we thought their two kids with them, though it turns out they got away. We only just reunited with them a few years ago.”
“He deserved what those gangsters did to him,” Selene said. “He was a piece of–”
“Selene!” Maya snapped.
Selene rolled her eyes at her eldest sister, but she closed her mouth.
“My mother’s a good woman, a church-going woman,” Maya said then. “She wouldn’t have broken her marriage vows, even though they were to a man who didn’t deserve her.”
“And speaking of church, she should’ve been back by now, and she’ll expect to see us at the house.” Melusine looked uneasily toward the door.
Kara shook her head. “No, she won’t be back yet. She was going to pick out a Christmas tree for the Corral after church.”
Jason and his brothers exchanged a quick look, and the girls sent them a questioning one. Might as well tell them, Jason thought. “That’s what dad said he was doing when he left here. Going to get a Christmas tree for the saloon.”
“Holy smokes,” Joey said again. “There really is something going on here, isn’t there?” He picked up one of the flyers, nodding as he perused it. “Who can blame him though? If she’s as pretty in person–”
“I don’t think that’s it.” Jason snatched the flyer away and dropped it back into the box. “Dad’s got...a lot going on.”
“Yeah,” Mel said, getting to her feet. “Like selling off assets and closing businesses.”
“You sound like you suspect him of something,” Jason said, sliding off his barstool as well and facing her. His father hadn’t been the best, but he would be damned if he’d let some strange female accuse him of anything. The man was dying, for God’s sake.
Kara got up and planted herself right in between them, a palm to each chest. “Mel, lots of people decide to close businesses. It’s called retirement. It doesn’t mean anything dire.”
Jason said, “I’m curious how you know so much about my father’s business. You and your P.I. husband investigate him or something?”
“Yeah, just like you apparently investigated us, or you wouldn’t know we were P.I.s at all,” she shot back.
“Whoa, now,” Joey said. He clapped a firm hand on Jason’s shoulder, as if he was going to physically set him on his ass if he didn’t back down. “Look, ladies, we’re as in the dark here as you are,” Joey said. “It’s just not like our father, this behavior. His business is everything to him. It’s been his whole life. We had no idea he was liquidating everything. And then he heads out here and buys this place in the middle of nowhere. And not to flip it for profit, either, Jason says. It’s just...he’s never done that. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he intends to stay here, long term.” He looked at his brothers. “Maybe he’s serious about Vidalia Brand.”
The door opened, and a happy couple came in backwards, laughing and dragging what had to be an eighteen-foot tree behind them. The woman fell on her backside and smiled up at the man. And he beamed down at her as if she was the mother of all goddesses. And maybe she was at that, Jason thought.
And then their laughter died as they both realized they weren’t alone, and turned their gazes toward the summit meeting at the bar.
“Well now, what have we here?” Vidalia asked as Bobby Joe closed his hand around hers and helped her to her feet.
Jason’s father met his eyes, asking him without a word how much he had told these women, not to mention his brothers. Bobby Joe took three steps closer, and then he collapsed in a heap on the floor.
Chapter Six
* * *
“Bobby!” Vidalia dropped to her knees beside him as the sum total of their offspring stampeded closer. Maya was the first to dial 911. Vidalia heard her on the phone with the dispatcher, but she didn’t think Bobby was very likely to let any ambulance take him out of here. She laid her head on his chest and felt his heart beating nice and strong and steady. His breathing seemed okay, too.
And then his hand touched her hair, and she opened her wet eyes, lifted her head and met his.
He gave her a wavering smile. “I’m not going to any hospital, Vidalia. I’m fine. Trust me.”
“You were unconscious.” She looked up at his sons. The two younger ones looked stunned and terrified, but the eldest had gone white and she thought a stiff breeze might knock him over. “Has anything like this happened before?”
“Never,” Joey said. But Jason didn’t say a word.
“I’m fine. It’s okay, I’m fine now.” Bobby Joe pushed himself up until he was sitting instead of lying flat. Vidalia held his shoulders, searched his eyes, read them, and knew in that moment that what had just happened was not a surprise to him. He already knew what was wrong. And he knew what he was doing.
“Maya, call Doc Shelby,” she said. “He’ll be home. He’s retired. Get him over here pronto. He’ll be faster than an ambulance anyway. You boys, help your father upstairs and get him into a bed.”
No one even thought to argue with her. People seldom did. Vidalia had been through enough emergencies to be able to handle herself in the midst of one. But she couldn’t get her head to stop spinning with a million questions. If he was sick and he hadn’t told her, then it had to be one of two things. Either it was nothing at all or it was damned serious.
The boys helped their father to his feet, because he wouldn’t let them carry him. He slung an arm around Jason, and nodded back at the other two. “Rob, Joey, get the tree upright and into a stand, will you? There’s a big one over there by the windows in front. It’ll look spectacular from outside, once we get the lights strung.”
The boys clearly knew something was going on.
So did Vidalia. She and Jason flanked Bobby Joe, but he looked at her next, smiled and it was a real smile. “I have no intention of missing that Sunday Dinner you promised me.”
“We’ll just see what Doc Shelby says.”
“All right,” he told her. “You bring him on upstairs when he gets here, will you Vidalia?”
She blinked. He was asking her to stay down here. He wanted time alone with his firstborn. Hell, what was going on with him?
She didn’t ask though. Not now. She smiled, knowing it didn’t reach her eyes, and nodded, and kept her tear spigot turned off. “All right.”
Jason helped his father up the stairs. When they were out of sight, Vidalia turned and saw seven younger sets of eyes staring at her, as if maybe she had the answers. She shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, gang. I don’t know what’s wrong with him either, and I’m as worried as you are.”
“Maybe he just pushed himself too hard,” Selene said, staring up the stairway even though there was no longer anyone on it. “That tree must have been heavy.”
“That’s why he picked his from the bunch nearest the road, I’ll bet,” Vidalia muttered, kicking herself. “God, mine was almost halfway back, and he dragged it all the way for me.”
“Shouldn’t have been a problem,” Robert said. “Dad’s a young man.”
“He’s in better shape than I am,” Joey said, patting his flat belly as if it wasn’t.
“He’s never had a spell like this before?” Vidalia asked the men.
“Never,” Joey said.
“Never that we know of,” Robert added, sending a suspicious look up the stairs.
Vidalia got the feeling that young man was starting to have the same worries that she was. When a man sold all he had, closed his business, and went back to the town and the woman he’d long since left behind, maybe he had reasons. He’d said there was something he hadn’t told her.
Well, there was something she hadn’t told him, too, and once Doc finished up with him, she knew she had to. There was no more time for waiting around. Reverend Jackson was right. She’d have tanned her daughters’ hides if they’d kept the secrets she had.
She looked at her girls, shook her head. “I’ve got a tree out there needs taking to the Corral. And I hope to the good Lord someone remembered to turn off my pot roast.”
“Never been so embarrassed in my life,” he muttered as the local medic gave him the once over. “Dropped just like a sack of feed, right in front of the prettiest woman in creation.”
The retired medico who insisted Bobby Joe call him Doc, just smiled at him, his teeth too white and even to belong in such a well-lined face. His hair was shock white and curly. He smelled like peppermint and looked like Mark Twain.
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