CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

 

“I still can’t believe Edna and Tabby ran off together to Florida six months ago,” Marshall said as he looked at the now empty house next door.

Kenna nodded. “He said it was getting too cold for him here. His winky got frostbite the last time he tried to write his name in the snow.”

“But Edna? Where did that come from?” Will asked as he grabbed a beer from the large ice tub under the maple tree in Lily and John’s backyard.

“They fell in love over bingo,” Dani told them.

“How will we ever defend ourselves now?” Cy grinned.

Paige’s phone pinged and she looked down at it. “Speaking of the devil.” She held up the phone for everyone to see.

“Is that Tabby’s pig on the beach?” Miles asked slowly.

“Is it wearing a bikini?” Ahmed marveled.

“Oh no,” Katelyn giggled, “that’s not just a bikini, that’s one from Sydney’s new swimsuit line.”

Tammy snorted and then covered her mouth. “Well, Tabby’s pig is very fashionable this season.”

“Let’s hope Sydney doesn’t see it,” Annie said. She shook her head a moment before a screech filled the afternoon air.

“Too late,” Bridget cringed.

Morgan looked at the picture and smiled. “Tabby’s pig has her own Instagram page?”

“The better point being that my sister follows Precious Piggy on Instagram,” Pierce teased.

“What? You should see the things Tabby, Edna, and Precious do. It’s the best page to follow. They took her to a nude beach last week,” Paige said as she scrolled through the pictures and then held up her phone.

“Oh, that’s just wrong,” Cade gagged.

Mo leaned closer before jumping back. “Damn, you could have warned me it was a family photo. I can’t un-see that.”

“Hey, guys, what’s going on?” Trey Everett asked as he and his wife, Taylor, walked over.

Trey had grown up in Keeneston and had been the star running back on Cade’s state championship team. He’d met Taylor, an actress, through Cy’s work in Hollywood. They’d been college sweethearts. While he had gone on to play in the NFL, she had started to direct and act in movies again. About five years ago, he, Taylor, and their two kids moved from Hung Island, Georgia, back to Keeneston after he retired.

Paige flashed them the camera, and Trey’s look of horror cracked up Taylor and the rest of the group.

“What are you looking at?” Henry Rooney asked as he and his shiny slacks sauntered over. “Nudie pics?”

“How did you know?” Tammy asked with mock innocence. Her boss was the town’s defense attorney and reigning leader of the worst pick-up lines in the entire state.

“I've got to see. Is it a new sex tape of that reality star?”

Paige held out her phone, and Henry rushed forward. He closed his eyes and covered his mouth with his hand. Everyone took a giant step back, fearful he might hurl. Henry shook his head and cracked open one eye. “I can work with that. Baby, are those defibrillation paddles because you just stopped my heart?”

The group groaned.

“Don’t encourage him,” his wife, Neely Grace, begged.

“I’ll show you my artificial hip if you show me yours,” Henry continued, ignoring the continued protests. “Your beauty is more than my pacemaker can handle, so it’s a good thing you look like an angel.”

“Henry!” Tammy cried.

“Are those earmuffs? Cause I’d love to have them wrapped around my head,” Henry rolled on as everyone made a dash for the other side of the yard.

“Wait, I've got more,” Henry called out.

 

* * *

 

The pony-tailed woman looked out the window of their convertible and took in the black four-rail fences lining the road. Large, leafy trees branched over the winding country road, forming a green tunnel as they drove toward Keeneston, Kentucky.

“I still can’t believe we are doing this,” her sister said for the hundredth time as she fidgeted in her blue sundress.

“What do we have to lose?”

“True. We needed to start over, and this just landed in our lap. But don’t you think it’s strange?”

She didn’t bother to answer her sister as she navigated the twisting road. Horses ran in pastures and bluegrass danced in the wind, creating ripples of dark blue. It was certainly different from their small coastal town of Daphne, Alabama.

“I sure hope this works out. We can’t go back to Daphne, ever,” her sister said seriously.

“No one knows we’re here. It will be our chance to start over. Let’s just hope they don’t pry into our past too much.” Her brown eyes eagerly sought out the houses that started to appear after a sharp turn in the road. “This must be Keeneston.”

“It’s even smaller than Daphne.” Her sister’s matching brown eyes widened in wonder as they drove up Main Street.

“Mechanic’s garage, insurance, antiques . . .” she said, glancing at the storefronts along Main Street.

It was certainly beautiful. Bourbon barrels, cut in half and filled with cascading greenery, stood in front of some of the shops. Baskets overflowing with colorful flowers were on every post, and American flags fluttered in the warm summer air. The buildings were old, the paint was new, and doors were open. They slowed in front of what looked to be the only place to eat.

“The Blossom Café,” her sister read aloud.

“Let’s go,” she said, continuing to drive. “There’s a lawyer’s office and a feed store.

“And a cute shop, Southern Charms. Oh, that’s the place I read about that makes those fancy hats,” her sister said suddenly excited as she fluffed her long blonde golden hair.

Soon the town trickled to a stop and fields of cows, crops, and horses took over again.

 

* * *

 

Lily signaled her sisters, and they gathered around the kitchen table Ryan had carried outside earlier. The sun was starting to lower in the sky, and Will had fired up the grill for dinner. Groups of people stood or sat in her yard. The women had taken over setting up folding tables and putting casseroles, salads, and fruit on them while the men all advised Will how to grill hamburgers. The younger kids were playing football and the older ones sat on a picnic blanket talking.

“What is it, Lily Rae?” Daisy asked as she took a seat.

Violet sat down and poured them all some iced tea.

“As much as I hate to admit it, I think we need to come to the realization that we’re old,” Lily started. She was suddenly nervous. Had she done the right thing?

“Do birds lay eggs? Of course we’re old,” Daisy said in that sisterly voice that annoyed Lily.

“Go on, Lily. What’s sparked this realization?” Violet asked.

“It’s getting hard for me to keep up with the bed-and-breakfast. And I know it’s been hard for you two at the café,” Lily said sadly.

Daisy and Violet both nodded.

“I can’t stand and cook that long anymore. And that sweet girl who has been helping us went off and got married. I’ll just ignore the fact that we are the ones who set them up. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Violet confided.

“Charlie and Anton have helped us some, but we didn’t know you were having the same problem,” Daisy said and reached out, taking Lily’s hand.

“I hate to admit it, but we are,” Lily told her sisters.

“I just don’t know what we can do other than close the café. It just doesn’t seem right not to be run by one of the family. And since we never had children . . .” Violet looked thoughtfully at the kids running around the yard.

Lily took a deep breath. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. John and I bought Edna’s house.”

“Why would you do that?” Daisy asked in surprise.

“Well, we had the money, and it’s smaller than our place. I had an idea and didn’t want to risk losing the house, so we bought it.”

“What’s your idea?” Violet questioned.

“It’s an either-or situation. Edna’s house is smaller, so John and I could more easily keep up with it. I could sell our family home and move into Edna’s.”

“Or?” Daisy and Violet asked at the same time.

“Or I thought about this big house we have and how there would be plenty of room for guests and my family. How would you like to move back home?” Lily put it out there and held her breath.

“Home? All of us?” Violet pondered. “I’d love to, but all those stairs.”

“There’s not enough room in the downstairs master,” Daisy pointed out.

Lily nodded. “Well, there’s room, but not as it’s currently laid out. A builder could reconfigure the downstairs pretty easily to give every couple their own room.”

The three sisters looked at each other, and Lily knew it was going to happen the second they smiled.

“I can’t believe we’re all going to be living together. That gives me such peace of mind. I’ll talk to Anton tonight.”

“And I’ll talk to Charlie. Now if only you had a solution to the problem we have with the café.”

 

Sienna stood from the red-and-white checkered blanket. She needed space. Ryan had been sitting directly across from her for the past hour, and she could feel every time his gaze brushed over her. It was pathetic. She had been dating someone for three years. They had even been talking about marriage. But while Ryan was being restitched, she’d called her boyfriend and told him she needed to see him tonight to talk. If he were smart, he’d know what was coming. Her heart just wasn’t in it, and that wasn’t fair to either of them.

Sienna reached the beer cooler at the side of the house and flipped the lid open. “Excuse us, is this Mrs. Rose-Wolfe’s house?”

Sienna looked up and saw two younger women standing there. They were shorter than she was, probably five-foot-four. One was svelte, while the other was a bombshell with curves that would start Henry on a pick-up line marathon. Both had golden hair; however, one was redder and the other more blond. Both had the deepest brown eyes that looked rather wary at the moment.

“Yes, this is Miss Lily’s place. I’m Sienna, may I help you?”

The svelte one gave a weak smile. “Thank you, can you point out Mrs. Rose-Wolfe?”

Sienna turned around and pointed at the trio of white-haired ladies sitting under the tree. “She’s the one in the middle.”

“Thank you,” they both said, taking off across the yard.

 

Lily noticed the sudden silence first and the two young women second. Their strappy sundresses had also attracted the attention of the three husbands and all the younger men. John, Charlie, and Anton moved to stand behind their wives as the ladies stopped at the table.

The town gathered around Lily, who looked the two strangers over. If her senses were right, these two ladies might need her as much as she needed them.

“Mrs. Rose-Wolfe?” one of the young women asked nervously as she saw the whole party suddenly surrounding them.

“Yes, dear?” Lily smiled reassuringly.

“I received your letter. And if it’s all right with you and your sisters, we'd like to accept.” Her eyes darted to Daisy and Violet before settling back on Lily.

“Agree to what?” Violet whispered to Lily.

“Sisters,” Lily said with a satisfied look, “meet our new help. They’re going to help us with the bed-and-breakfast and the Blossom Café.”

“Help us how?” Daisy asked.

“By running them for us,” Lily answered.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Violet inquired.

“Please excuse my lack of manners, ma’am,” the young woman said apologetically. “I’m Poppy Meadows, and this is my sister, Zinnia. We’re your cousins.”

 

 

THE END

 

 

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