The pile of clothing grew on Lila’s bed as she tried on outfit after outfit. Who would have thought that she’d have so much trouble picking out an outfit for a family reunion? Jeans and a shirt should do fine but thinking about a first official date with Brody had her insides twisted into a knot. She was checking her reflection in the mirror when Daisy pushed her way into the room. She handed a cup of chamomile tea to Lila and then sat down in the rocking chair.
“Thought that might calm your nerves,” Daisy said. “This is not a date with the governor. It’s just Brody Dawson.”
Lila set the cup on the dresser. “Thanks, Mama, but I’d be less nervous if it was the governor. Does this look all right? Is it too short?”
The bright red sundress left her shoulders bare. The waist fit snug and the skirt lay in gentle folds, stopping at the top of her knees. She’d shaved her legs, put a few curls in her long, black hair, and applied a minimum of makeup.
She was every bit as nervous as she had been when she dressed for her first date with Brody twelve years ago. Her mother had brought her a cup of tea that night, too, and then held her while she wept when he didn’t show up. She glared at the tea, refusing to take a sip for fear it would jinx the whole night.
“You look beautiful. But, honey, I’m sure the almighty Dawsons wouldn’t take too well to you comin’ to their affair in your bare feet, so you better find a pair of shoes to match that dress. Or, you could just blow this silly notion off and go to dinner with Laura, Teresa, and me,” Daisy said.
Lila slipped her feet into a pair of leather sandals and groaned. “Molly was right—I really should have gotten my hair trimmed and my nails done. My toes look horrible and I don’t even have time to do them myself now.”
“Wear cowboy boots. Those fancy ones I bought you for Christmas a couple of years ago. They’ve got that red inlay in the front,” Daisy suggested.
“Oooh, good idea.” Lila pulled the boots from the closet and shoved her feet down in them.
“Now that completes the outfit,” Daisy said. “Wipe off that light colored lipstick and put on clear red. It’s on my dresser.”
Lila checked the mirror. Daisy was right. The outfit called for red lipstick.
“I hate to see your heart broken again, but I guess you’ve always had to learn your lessons the hard way,” Daisy said. “It’s tough on a mama to see her kid hurting.”
“Sometimes the only way to get past the pain is to wade through it to the other side.” Lila raised her voice as she crossed the hall. “Right now I’m standing right in the middle of the river, not knowing what to do. Behind me is the past. Ahead is the future and the water is rising.”
“That sounds like something your father would have said,” Daisy said. “Now you’re ready. I hear his truck driving up. I’m going to play the mama card even if you aren’t a teenager. You will not go rushing out there to meet him and if he honks rather than coming to the door like a real date should, then I’m going to shoot the tires out of his truck.”
“That’s a step up.” Lila extended a hand and pulled her mother to her feet. “You would have shot him, not the tires, when I was younger.”
Daisy led the way down the hall to the living room. “The mama of a grown daughter can only do so much.”
The phone rang at the same time that Brody knocked on the door. “You answer that and I’ll get the door,” Daisy ordered.
Lila grabbed the phone and said, “Happy Café. Lila speaking.” Lila held up a finger to give her a moment. “Yes, ma’am, we are interested in selling the café. You heard right and I’ll be glad to see you tomorrow morning at ten-thirty. Bye now.”
She turned to find Brody standing in the middle of the floor. He held a bouquet of wildflowers tied with a bright red ribbon in one hand and a black cowboy hat in the other. The top button of his blue and white plaid shirt was left undone, showing a tuft of dark hair. Her eyes had trouble moving away from the belt buckle engraved with a bull rider.
“You look amazing.” He stuck the flowers out toward her. “I picked these for you.”
“Did I hear that you were meeting someone about the café?” Daisy asked.
“Yes. They’re coming tomorrow morning.” Lila smiled. “Thank you so much for these, Brody. Give me a minute to put them in some water.”
“I’ll do it for you and they’ll be on the dresser in your room when you get home this evening. I’ll shut the door to keep the cats out.” Daisy took them from him.
“Thank you, Mama,” Lila said, but her eyes didn’t leave Brody’s. “They are beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you are. Does she have a curfew, Miz Daisy?” Brody asked.
“Only if I do,” Daisy said.
Lila hugged Daisy and whispered, “Wish me luck.”
“Never, not with that guy,” Daisy told her.
“Ready?” Brody asked.
“As I’ll ever be. Excited but nervous.”
He settled his hat on his head and held the door open for her. “You have a good time, Miz Daisy.”
“I’m sure I will,” she said.
When they were near the truck, he put both hands on her shoulders and turned her around. His gaze started at her toes and traveled slowly to her hair and then back to settle on her lips. “You take my breath away, Lila. You’re stunning.”
“You clean up pretty good, cowboy, but I got to admit, I kind of like a little dirt on your shirt.”
His lips landed on hers for a brief, sweet kiss as he helped her into the truck. “I like you in your tight jeans and tops, too, but, darlin’, you look like something out of a movie in that outfit.”
She flipped the visor mirror down and checked her lipstick as he rounded the hood of the truck and took his place behind the wheel.
“Brody, I’m really stressed about this.” She put the mirror back up and fastened her seat belt.
He drove to the highway and turned right. “Would you have been if we were still in high school and I’d asked you to our reunion?”
“Of course, but I bluffed my way through things better in those days,” she answered.
“I’ve got a confession. I felt like a kid tonight when I knocked on your door. My hands were sweaty and I almost threw the flowers behind the garage. I should have thought to go to Amarillo and get you roses. You deserve something more than wildflowers picked from our back pasture.” He parked the car at the end of a long row of other vehicles in the pasture beside the ranch’s sale barn. “Ready?”
She shook her head.
“Hey, any woman who would be willin’ to climb on a bull that refuses to get out of Hope Springs and ride the critter with me isn’t afraid of anything.” He grinned.
She hit the button to undo the seat belt and threw open the door.
“Whoa, darlin’,” he said. “You see all those cowboys around the barn door? They need to see me bein’ a gentleman or I’ll have to beat them off with a stick all evening.”
She sat still until he made it around the truck and held out his hand. Putting hers into his turned the whole world around. The jitters in her stomach settled. Her heart stopped racing.
“Is that your cousin Toby with Jace?” she asked.
“It sure is, but he’s married now so I don’t have to worry about him.” With an arm slung around her shoulders, Brody led her toward the barn.
She tried to take it all in with a glance but it was impossible. A group of cowboys had gathered around Toby and Jace, and they were all staring at her. Kids were running around everywhere, but she didn’t see Emma or Rustin. Country music was playing. The aroma of smoked brisket filled the air.
“A band?” she asked.
“Just a local group. It’s not Blake Shelton,” Brody said. “But I’m askin’ right now for every dance.”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
“Lila Harris?” Toby smiled. “Is that you?”
Toby was a Dawson—tall, sexy, great angles to his face and gorgeous eyes. But in Lila’s eyes, he fell far short of Brody when it came to looks and charm.
“It is really me,” she said. “You haven’t changed a bit, Toby Dawson. And I hear that you’re married.”
“I am,” he said. “You’ll have to meet my Lizzy. We’re expecting our first baby in a few months.”
“Congratulations! And Blake?”
“He and Allie are here somewhere. They have a little girl already.” Toby nudged Brody on the shoulder. “You’d best keep her close, Brody. We still got lots of cousins who’d just love to steal this one from you.”
“Don’t I know it!” Brody nodded. “We’ll see y’all later, I’m sure.”
“Lila?” Hope was suddenly right there in front of them when they walked inside the barn. Her eyes started at Lila’s red lipstick, then traveled to her boots and back up again.
“Doesn’t she look beautiful tonight?” Brody flashed a smile.
“She’s always been a pretty girl. I do like those boots and I’m a sucker for red lipstick,” Hope said. “Girls today ain’t got a bit of style with all them browns and pinks on their lips.”
“Thank you.” Lila nodded.
“You should wear more red.” Hope looped her arm through Lila’s. “Brody, you go on and visit with your cousins a little bit before Jace says grace and we’re turned loose on the food. I’m going to take Lila around and show her everything.”
Rustin appeared out of nowhere and tugged at Hope’s hand. “Granny, I’m hungry. When are we going to eat?” Then his eyes grew big and he yelled, “Emma, Lila is here!”
Emma squealed and she ran across the barn toward them.
Lila dropped down to a squat and hugged both kids at the same time. “This looks like a great party. What’s your favorite thing on the food table?”
“The baked beans,” Emma said.
“Chocolate pie but you got to eat everything on your plate before you get any,” Rustin said seriously.
“You’re not my boss, Rustin, but you can dance with me.” Emma pulled him out to the dance floor.
Hope wrapped her hand around Lila’s upper arm. “They’re cute kids. We’d like to have a dozen more on Hope Springs.”
Lila was stunned speechless. Hope might be telling her that she wanted her to produce twelve little Dawson kids or else she was being nice to lure her to her death in a dark corner of the barn. Lila wasn’t ready for either one of those options right then.
“Hey, Valerie, look who I found,” Hope called out to her daughter, who was in the midst of several women.
Valerie’s quick glance said that she’d rather be home with a migraine than attending a reunion with Lila.
“We’ll be around to introduce you later.” Hope waved as she kept walking toward the stairs leading to the buyer’s balcony. “Now it’s your turn to hold my arm. My knees ain’t what they used to be.”
Lila took the steps slowly and waited for Hope to get a firm stand on every one before she moved on. Was the old gal going to push her over the top railing to her death or did she have a gun hiding between the bleacher seats?
“I used to sneak up here with my boyfriend,” Hope said when they reached the top. Three layers of wooden benches ran the length of the balcony. During the fall livestock sale, the buyers could have a bird’s-eye view of the cattle being offered.
Without thinking, Lila glanced to the top bench on the far end—the one where she and Brody always had a making-out sesssion.
Hope giggled. “That was our favorite spot, too, but we’ll sit right here on the bottom seat because my legs need to rest.”
Lila waited for Hope to get comfortable before she removed her hand from her arm. Then she sat down beside her and looked down at a barn full of people. There was Valerie still visiting with a group of women that Lila didn’t know.
From the way Kasey was motioning with her hands, she was giving the caterers their last orders before they took all the lids off the food dishes. Kids were running every which way and the band was playing one country music song after another.
Then she spotted Brody talking to Jace and Toby. He kept scanning the barn and finally as if a sixth sense got a hold on him, he looked up. She waved and he grinned—she had no doubt that they were sharing the same memory. Her cheeks filled with high color but she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Looking down from here puts a new perspective on things. Getting away from the forest so you can see the trees. Henry was my neighbor, you know. We grew up right across a barbed-wire fence from each other. Even graduated from high school together.”
Lila shook her head. “I guess I did know that but it never dawned on me that y’all were the same age.”
Hope sighed and blinked a few times. “We were very different.”
Lila sucked in a lungful of air when she realized why Hope was talking and why they were sitting in the balcony. Henry Thomas had been her boyfriend at one time. Holy crap!
“Do you love my grandson, or are you going to break his heart to pay him back for the way he treated you?” Hope changed the subject so abruptly that her question shocked Lila.
“I’m not that kind of person.”
“Okay, then do you love him?”
“I’ve been terrified of you in the past, Miz Hope. I respect you in the present but that is something I’m not going to discuss with you. It’s between me and Brody,” Lila answered.
Hope giggled. “Yep, I knew I was right. You’ve grown into a responsible woman who would do good on Hope Springs. Now if you can stand up to Valerie like that, you’ll be fine.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lila let the air out of her lungs slowly.
“Hey, what’re y’all doin’?” Brody asked as he cleared the top step.
“We’re visitin’ away from all that gawd-awful noise. That stuff ain’t country music. Why don’t they play some Hank Williams or some Ray Price,” Hope fussed. “You can help me get back down the stairs. I bet it’s time for Jace to say the blessin’ on the food, ain’t it?”
“Kasey says in fifteen minutes. I’ve got time for one dance with Lila before then,” he answered, and raised an eyebrow at Lila.
She hoped that her smile told him that everything was all right.
Hope headed off in Valerie’s direction when they reached the bottom of the steps and Brody pulled Lila onto the wooden dance floor. He twirled her around a couple of times, then brought her back to his chest. He sang along with the band when the lyrics talked about them getting a little wild on Saturday night and then she went to church on Sunday in ribbons and pearls.
“Ain’t this the truth?” he said.
“I don’t own any pearls and never did wear ribbons in my hair but we did get a little wild on Saturday nights,” she answered breathlessly. The whole world had always disappeared when she danced with Brody, whether it was at the Silver Spur to a live band or in an old hay barn to the music of a truck radio turned up as loud as it would go.
Barely taking a breath, the singer went right into Sammy Kershaw’s “Don’t Go Near the Water.” Lila swished her red skirt a few times and then Brody grabbed her hand.
She caught Valerie glaring from the sidelines but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to take Brody to the springs after dark for a night of hot, passionate sex under the willow trees and then a time of skinny-dipping to cool off, so the woman could back off.
Jace hopped up on the bandstand and rang a cow bell to get everyone’s attention. When the noise settled, he picked up the microphone. “Welcome to the Dawson family reunion. Looks like we all took that verse in the Good Book about going forth and multiplyin’ very literally.”
Laughter rang out and he gave it time to settle down before he went on. “Rustin, that would be Kasey’s son, has been tellin’ me for nearly an hour that he’s starving and his sister, Emma, says that she is hungry to death. So without any more comments, I’m going to say grace and y’all can hit the food tables. As usual, Prairie Rose is catering the meat and the drinks but we thank all the rest of you for bringing a covered dish to go with it. Now if you’ll bow your heads.”
Brody whipped off his cowboy hat with all the other men in the barn and laid it over his heart but he kept Lila’s hand in his left one. Jace said a brief prayer and then folks began to form a line in front of the tables.
“If I remember right, you eat when you’re stressed. Hungry?” He kissed Lila on the forehead.
“Starving,” she answered.
“Then we’ll eat and then I want my older aunts who aren’t from Happy to see that I am with you. Maybe they’ll stop trying to fix me up with every woman in their church or at their school or— You understand.”
“Oh, yeah, I do,” she said. “You brought me here so all your relatives would stop trying to get you married off?”
“I brought you to the reunion because I want to spend the evening with the most beautiful woman in Texas. The other is a little bonus,” he said. “What did Granny want to talk to you about or is that confidential?”
“Did you know that she and Henry Thomas dated?”
He looked as stunned as if she’d hit him between the eyes with a shovel. “Did she say that?”
“Not in so many words but I figured it out.”
“We had a conversation a few days ago and that does make sense. But Henry?” He frowned.
“About as likely a match as Brody and Lila, right?” she asked.
“Oh, honey, we make a beautiful match.” He grinned.
“Brody!” Hope waved from a table where she’d claimed a seat. “You kids bring your plates and sit here beside me.”
Brody nodded. “The queen bee has summoned us. You don’t mind, do you? We can go skinny dippin’ afterwards.”
“In your dreams, cowboy,” she said. “This is a real date. We will stay in plain sight all evening and you will take me home and come straight back here.”
“Then they’ll all think you’re respectable, right?” he asked.
“What do you think? You’re really the only one that matters to me.”
“I feel like my world has stopped spinning and it’s tilted right on its axis again. I like you the way you are and anyone who doesn’t can go to hell.” He handed her a plate. “I told you everything would be okay.”
“I’ll be respectable but I insist on a good night kiss.” She grinned. “I’ve waited too many years for this date to be left at the door with no kiss.”
“Yes, ma’am. Eat hearty so you’ll have the energy to dance all evening. I’ve waited too long for this night to waste a single minute of it. And before you say a word, yes, it’s my fault that it didn’t happen sooner.”
She loaded her plate and waited at the end of the table for Brody and they crossed the barn together. Forget about hiding in the shadows. Everyone in the whole place could see her. She felt like turning around and running when Hope motioned to the chair right beside her. Brody set his plate down and pulled out a chair for her before he took his place on her right.
“Where is your mama this evening? You should have brought her with you,” Hope asked.
“She’s out with Laura and Teresa.”
“Just between me and you”—Hope leaned over and whispered—“I’d rather be with them. This is too many people for me at one time. I can BS my way through it for Valerie’s sake but I like smaller groups.”
“A little BS and a lot of ‘ain’t that nice’ gets us through,” Lila said.
Hope laughed loudly, drawing a lot of attention to the table, and then she leaned around Lila to speak to Brody. “Darlin’, would you go get me a couple of hot rolls? I forgot to put any on my plate and Gracie makes the best yeast bread in the state.”
“Sure thing, Granny. You need anything, Lila?”
“Maybe another glass of tea,” she answered.
When he was halfway across the barn, Hope leaned over to whisper softly, “And now everyone in the place knows that we’re talkin’ and playin’ nice. But, sweetheart, know this, if you hurt my grandson or break his heart, you’ll answer to me, and that’s not BS. You treat him right and you’ve got a friend in me for life, but if you don’t, well, I can be a real bitch.”
“Tell him the same thing and you won’t have a thing to worry about,” Lila said.
Hope patted her on the shoulder. “Glad we had this talk and the one in the balcony. You’ve got brass as well as class.”
Brody returned and took his seat; then he leaned over and whispered, “What was she sayin’ when I left? Your face went all serious and I was afraid you were going to leave.”
“Just girl talk,” Lila said. “This is excellent potato salad, Miz Hope. Which one of the relatives made it?”
“I did,” Hope said. “Brody loves bacon, so I fry a couple of pounds good and crispy to add to the mixture.”
“I’d love to have the recipe,” Lila said.
“I’ll write it off and send it with Brody tomorrow night when y’all have your second date,” Hope said.
“You think we’re going to have a second date?”
“You’ve invited him to church tomorrow and that’s a date in my books. Brody, did you hear that Henry’s sister isn’t going to renew Paul’s lease this fall? She says that she’s got other plans for the ranch. Wonder if Henry might be ready to come back home?”
“First I’ve heard of it,” Brody said.
“If she’s interested in selling that ranch, we’ll sure make her a good offer. It would be a nice addition to Hope Springs. I’ll call her in the next week or so,” Hope said.
Jace sat down on the other side of Hope and soon they were deep in a discussion about the possibility of buying the Texas Star.
Brody draped an arm across the back of Lila’s chair and asked, “You remember the night before the fall sale when we snuck away and went to the buyer’s balcony?”
“That was the closest we got to gettin’ caught. I thought for sure your dad would…”
“I never got dressed so fast in my life except the other night when your mama snuck in the apartment. If she’d opened that bedroom door...”
Kasey startled both of them when she leaned down between them and whispered, “Granny is being really nice tonight. What did you put in her tea, Brody?”
Both of his hands shot up defensively. “I’m innocent. I didn’t spike her tea. How you doin’, sis?”
“This is my first family reunion without Adam. It’s kind of strange. We used to sneak off to the buyer’s loft and make out.” Her smile didn’t erase the pain in her eyes. “Even after we were married and had kids.”
“I wonder how many kids we’d disturb if we flipped on the lights in the balcony,” Brody said.
“Don’t do it. Let them have the thrill that we had,” Kasey said. “It’s good to see you, Lila.”
“Hey.” Jace touched Lila on the arm. “I wanted to come on over and ask you to save me a dance later this evening.”
“Her dances are taken,” Brody said quickly.
“Hey, now!” Lila spoke up. “I’ve got an extra one right now if you want to dance, Jace.”
He held out a hand. “Yes, ma’am.”
The band was playing the very song that had been playing in her mind when Clancy was in the café—“Which Bridge to Cross (Which Bridge to Burn).”
“Sounds like maybe this is special for you tonight,” Jace said as he drew her close for a two-step. “Brody was worried.”
“Truth is I burned the bridge between me and Brody years ago. The one I burned with Clancy is still smoldering but it’s gone. I don’t care about that one but I wouldn’t mind rebuilding the one with Brody,” she said.
“I’ve got nails if y’all run out and if there’s anything I can do to help, you just call me. I like seein’ him as happy as he is right now,” Jace said.
“Thank you. Reckon you’ve got any pull with your mama?”
“Now that’s something you and Brody got to do on your own. She’s my mama and I love her but she can be a handful. Granny used to be even worse but she is mellowing since she retired,” Jace chuckled.
Brody leaned forward and put his hands on the table so he could watch them. Not because he was afraid his brother would try to steal his woman, but Brody enjoyed just seeing Lila move around the floor. The song was so appropriate for the night. He didn’t have a single bridge to burn. But Lila had two before her and it scared the hell out of him when he thought of her going back to Florida and being around Clancy.
He had eyes for only her, moving so gracefully. Jace said something and her body language said that she was very serious when she answered him. Then she smiled and nodded when he made another comment. Brody wanted to cut in and ask her what they were talking about, but he just watched from a distance. The next one and all those after belonged to him.
The song ended and Jace brought her back to the table. “I told her to make sure that you need to resole your boots when tonight is over since you’re being selfish. She dances like a dream. No wonder you always kept her to yourself in high school.”
Lila patted him on the shoulder. “Thank you, Jace.”
“You’re very welcome,” he said. “Hey, you ever think about all those crazy things we did when we were kids?”
“Happy memories.” She smiled.
“Yep, they are. Can I get y’all a beer?”
“Love one,” Lila said.
“Just leave them right here on the table,” Brody said. “We’re about to hit the dance floor if this gorgeous woman will let me step on her toes again.”
“Will do.” Jace disappeared toward the bar.
Brody led her out to the middle of the floor. “We’ll dance a couple of times and then go back to the table and drink those beers while they’re still cold. And then I’m going to kiss you.”
“Oh, so you’ve got the whole evening planned, do you? Are you trying to prove that you’re brave enough to bring the wild girl to a family reunion in spite of what everyone might think?”
“Nope. I’m trying to prove to you that I mean business this time and I don’t care what anyone or anything thinks of our relationship,” he said.
“So this is a relationship?” she asked.
She’d expected the clouds to part the day that Brody said something like that. But not even the crowd on the dance floor parted. The only way that anyone would even know what he’d said would be by the way her heart had tossed in an extra few beats. And no one could even see that happening.
He sank his face into her hair. “It’s whatever you want it to be. I’ll take what I can get.”
She looped her arms around his neck and his slid down to her lower back when the singer started Tracy Byrd’s song “Holdin’ Heaven.”
“It’s the truth. I really am holdin’ heaven in my arms.”
“You know why, don’t you?” She looked into his eyes.
“Because you’re in my arms?”
“No, sir, if you’re holding heaven in your arms, then I’m an angel, and honey, I traded my halo and wings for horns back when we had sex the first time,” she laughed.
“Then I should have a set of long horns right along with you,” he laughed.
He didn’t wait until they were at the bar to kiss her. His dark lashes closed slowly and then his lips were on hers in a kiss so hot that it would have melted the devil’s pitchfork. She leaned into it, not caring if she was at his family reunion and everyone was watching them. This night had been a long time coming and she deserved her Cinderella evening.
They were the only ones on the dance floor when the band closed out the evening at eleven-thirty with a request from Brody. “Bless the Broken Road,” by Rascal Flatts, a slow country waltz, brought Brody and Lila together in the middle of the floor.
“This was playing that year when you left,” he whispered. “But it didn’t have the meaning that it does today.”
“Do you think that God did bless the road that led me back home to Happy?”
“I do,” he said.
She laid her head on his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.
Home.
She’d called Happy home.
Her pretty red dress didn’t turn into rags at the stroke of midnight. His truck didn’t instantly become a pumpkin. But when he kissed her at the door, she felt as if she had truly had her Cinderella night.
“Good night, Lila,” he whispered hoarsely, desire in his voice.
“Good night, Brody.” Her whole body wanted more.
“I really don’t want to let you go,” he said.
She leaned into his arms, her face resting on his chest. She could have stood there until dawn simply enjoying that steady heartbeat. “We both know this night has to end at the door. But there’s always tomorrow.”
He brought her palms to his lips and kissed each one. The warmth of his breath, the feel of his lips on the tender part of her skin, and the slight scruff on his face against her fingertips made her wish that all time would freeze—that they could stay right there in that scene forever.
“Until tomorrow.” He dropped her hands and walked to his truck.
She watched until even the sound of the vehicle had faded, leaving nothing behind but a lonesome old owl and a coyote vying for attention off in the distance. She opened the door and made it to the living room before she melted into a chair and kicked off her boots.
“Only a few minutes late,” Daisy said from the sofa where Duke and Cora both rested in her lap. “Lipstick is gone and you’ve got a faraway look in your eyes. Valerie must have been at least halfway decent.”
“It was magic, Mama, and I held my own with Valerie Dawson.”
“Good for you!” Daisy pumped a fist in the air.
Lila could hardly believe that her mother had made that gesture.
“Don’t look so surprised. Tina has grandkids and that’s what my favorite one of the bunch does when things are good,” she said.
“You want grandkids?” Lila asked.
“When you’re ready but I’d really like for their name to be something other than Dawson,” Daisy said. “But if it happens to be, then by golly, I’ll be the favorite because Valerie won’t have anything to do with them. That’s the only good thing about it, though.”
Lila’s phone pinged in her purse and she took it out to find a message: H.O.L.Y.
“And that would be?” Daisy asked.
“A text from Brody.”
“More magic?”
“Just the title of a song.”
“I worry about you,” Daisy said. “Even if it was magic, I still worry that you’re trying to re-create the fun times of when you were a kid. Now you’re grown, Lila. It’s time to say good-bye to the past.”
“Tonight I did just that, Mama. I don’t want to go back but I do want to enjoy the present and look forward to the future. I don’t give a damn if Valerie Dawson hates me or if Hope threatens me,” Lila said.
“What did Hope say?” Daisy’s eyes flashed anger.
“Just that I’d better not break Brody’s heart.”
“What about all the times he broke yours? Where was she with all her threats back then? Did she tell him to ask you to the prom or not to stand you up that last night?”
Lila kicked off her boots. “Tonight was wonderful. I want to think about that.”
“So what does that text mean?” Daisy asked.
“Did you stop listening to country music when you moved away from Happy?” Lila asked.
“You know I’ve always loved jazz. Etta James and Sam Cooke. I can handle those beer drinkin’ songs but they aren’t my favorite.”
Lila found the song on her phone, turned the volume as high as it would go, and set it on the coffee table. She leaned back in the chair and watched her mother’s face as she listened to lyrics that said he was high on loving her.
“That’s pretty damned romantic,” Daisy said.
“It is, isn’t it?” Lila said. “I’m going to get a shower and go to bed. Folks will be flocking in here tomorrow morning lookin’ for gossip about the family reunion.”
“On a church mornin’?” Daisy frowned.
“Oh, yeah, and then there will be even more at noon, so I hope you fixed lots of chicken and dressin’ today.” She stooped to get her boots and stopped long enough to pet her kittens on the way down the short hallway to the bathroom.
“So”—Lila turned around—“did you have a good time this evening?”
“Always enjoy spending time with old friends, but I’m gettin’ too old for this late night crap. I’d rather spend the evening watchin’ an old movie with a shot of whiskey in my hand,” Daisy said. “I’ll see you in the morning and, honey, I figured that we’d be swamped tomorrow so I did fix plenty.”
“Love you.” Lila yawned.
“Right back atcha, kiddo. Always have and always will,” Daisy said.
The church was packed that morning with every pew full but Brody would have gladly let Lila sit in his lap if she could have left the café. He didn’t even have to close his eyes to visualize her in that cute little dress that she’d worn the night before.
“Good mornin’ and thank you to the Dawson family for draggin’ all their relatives to church this mornin’,” the preacher said.
A few giggles erupted and then there was silence.
“I’d like to talk to y’all about family this mornin’,” the preacher said, and read a few verses from the Bible in front of him on the oak pulpit.
Brody could agree that family was a good thing but that morning he couldn’t get his mind off Lila and the way she’d fit into his arms the evening before, the way she’d leaned into the good night kiss, the way she’d drank a beer with him at the bar without even glancing at all his single Dawson cousins. And especially the fact that she’d shaken her head when more than one of those cousins asked her to dance.
He folded his arms over his chest and attempted to listen to the thirty-minute sermon that lasted every bit of six hours. He nodded off twice and Hope had to poke him to wake him. Finally, the preacher asked Jace to deliver the benediction.
Jace kept it short and when he finished, the whole congregation said a hearty “Amen.”
“What is wrong with you?” Hope frowned as they stood to their feet with the rest of the crowd. “You didn’t hear a word the preacher said.”
“I was daydreaming about Lila,” he answered honestly.
“Dammit!” Valerie whispered under her breath.
“In church, Mama?” Brody scolded.
“Don’t take that tone with me and believe me when I say I’m not ready to fold yet.” Valerie shook her finger at him. “I haven’t changed my mind about that woman. She’s going to leave at the end of summer and you’ll be left with a broken heart. There are other women around here who are a lot more suitable for you and for Hope Springs.”
Brody slung an arm around his mother’s shoulders. “Mama, I love you, but I’m going to keep seeing Lila, so get used to it. I’m going to the café for dinner today.”
The truck felt like an oven when he settled into his seat. Only a little more than twelve hours ago, Lila had been sitting there in the passenger seat. And then there was that kiss—that wonderful, amazing good night kiss. He started the engine, switched on the A/C and drove straight to the café.
His step was lighter than it had been in a long time when he pushed the door open into the café. Every seat was full and every booth crowded, so he stood in the doorway for several minutes trying to decide whether to stay or go on home.
“Hey,” Lila said as she passed by him. “You stayin’ or goin’?”
“Jace is holding down the ranch for me so I’m stayin’,” he answered.
“If you’ll man the drink machine until this rush is over, we’ll have dinner together in the kitchen, my treat. Mama made chicken and dressin’,” she said.
He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirtsleeves and rolled them up. “You got a deal.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “You’re a lifesaver.”
A low buzz of whispers started with Valerie’s and Hope’s names floating around as folks hurriedly got out their phones to call and text the newest gossip.