"So, you got any more family that's likely to tar and feather me this day?" he asked. In the few minutes he'd been sitting, everything had come clear. Julie moving to Saint Jo had been like the luck of the draw. She hadn't known about the Luckadeaus and she wasn't there to fleece him. Not one of her relatives had known about him or his family. He'd been wrong about that part, but it wasn't enough for him to truly let his feelings have free rein. Not by a long shot.
"Hey, I had to meet yours at the rodeo and they still haven't come back around. They put a big old 'A' on my chest, so don't be giving me a hard time," she said.
"It's not all you with my family. It's the fact that you are a schoolteacher. Beau was engaged to one before Milli came back into his life. That schoolteacher was ready to take him to the cleaners. Remember Rachel?" Griffin asked.
"I'd like to answer with a no, but yes, I remember her. She reminds me of Clarice," Julie said.
"She should. She's her granddaughter. Well, Amanda was the schoolteacher and she'd make Rachel look like a humble little housewife," Griffin said.
"Whew! No wonder they turned up their noses at me. Didn't you tell them we are only friends and that's using the term loosely?" Julie asked.
The look on his face said he hadn't told them anything but the bare bones of the story. Leave it to a man not to explain the way things really were. They said a few words and expected women to fill in the blanks. Only trouble with that was what they filled in the blanks with.
"You are a rat," she said.
Alvera turned around at the bar where she'd been drinking a beer. "Most men are bona fide rats, darlin'. But don't judge him too harsh, even if he did side with Clarice. At least he had the good sense to get rid of my great-niece. She's over in Nocona, flirtin' around a lawyer. Hell, by next summer, she'll have gold finger nails. This is a wonderful festival. The parade was right nice. Y'all did a bang up good job, didn't they, Griff?"
"I suppose they did, and I'm big enough to say that I was wrong," Griffin said.
"See there, he's a good boy. Don't throw his family in the Red River just yet. I'm going over to Ringgold this week to see a bull Nellie is thinkin' about sellin'. I'll put in a word with her and Ellen." Alvera patted Julie on the back as she left.
"Who in the… devil… are Nellie and Ellen?" Julie asked.
"Your Daddy don't like you to cuss, does he? I caught that almost 'hell' that was on the tip of your tongue. To answer your question, Nellie is Slade's grandmother. Ellen is her sister. They are wonderful old girls. You'd like them. They're just like Alvera," Griffin said.
"They aren't like Clarice, then, are they?"
Clarice came through the door. "Did I hear my name? Oh, it's you. I'd hoped you'd be gone by now. Griffin, honey, you'd best be callin' Rachel and apologizin' for hurtin' her. She's got a date with a lawyer over in Nocona. Looks like you might be losin' your footin' waitin' around like you are." She ignored Julie and poured on the charm for Griffin.
"Reckon I'm content to lose my footin', Clarice. I hope she's happy with the lawyer," Griffin said.
"You Luckadeau men! Ain't a one of you got a lick of horse sense," Clarice huffed her way to the bar and ordered a piña colada.
"Daddy, I'm hungry," Lizzy said.
"There's a taco stand on the square and a hamburger wagon, plus about anything else you could want. Shall we go find food? It's nice to see you, Clarice. We were wrong about the festival, weren't we?" Griffin said.
"No, we were not! Next thing you know this school teacher will be wantin' to have another one in February. Give 'em an inch and they'll want a mile. Good day, Griffin." Clarice didn't even look back.
Julie wrapped her fingers around Griffin's upper arm and squeezed. Her touch got his attention and he jerked his head up to look into her mossy green eyes.
Julie let go of his arm and said, "The kids are mine for the day, so you are not taking them to the vendors for lunch. You said so, and Annie is looking forward to spending the day with Lizzy and Chuck so her grandpar ents can get to know her friends, so suck it up and go on about your business."
Griffin nodded slowly. "Then I get Annie one day at the ranch. Lizzy's been asking and you always say no. The kids have been coming to your house every weekend and whining when they can't. So?"
Custody rights? Something she never thought she'd have to think about when Derrick flatly denied that Annie was his and divorced her. Annie was hers and hers alone. She hadn't even shed a tear when Derrick made his dramatic exit out of the hospital. But right then, she had to swallow hard to keep from crying at the idea of doing without Annie for a whole day.
"Please, Momma. Lizzy has a pony and I want to see it and she has a princess Barbie with dark hair and I want to go and she gets Chuck all the time," Annie pleaded.
"Sunday afternoon after church," Julie said. That would only be half a day to start with. No doubt there would be other times he'd want her all day to repay for the times when the children spent the day at Julie's place.
"I'll settle with that for a beginning," Griffin said.
"Yippee. This is the best time ever. Let's go eat," Lizzy said.
Griffin pulled his wallet from his hip pocket.
Julie grabbed his arm again. What would it be like to have those big, strong arms around her in the bedroom? She blushed all the way to her toes. There were three children right there and her parents had just walked past the hotel lobby window. How in the devil did that thought about him holding her in the bedroom sneak its way into her consciousness right then? "Put it away," Julie said hoarsely. "Or else I'll send Annie's dinner with her on Sunday."
"Are you fighting?" Annie asked.
"Of course not," Griffin said.
"Yes, we are, and I'm winning," Julie said.
Her father and mother entered the hotel and joined them in the lounging area. "Winning what?"
"She's a mean redhead. See you later." Griffin was out the door before she could reply. He could dodge those people all day. Being around Julie after he'd figured out she was telling the truth created a whole new blast of feelings he didn't want to face or deal with, especially in front of her relatives.
"Grammy, we get to eat lunch together. Do you want to eat with us?" Annie asked.
"You bet I do, and I found a vendor with some hair ribbons I think would be just lovely in your hair, so we'll go there, too."
"And some for Lizzy?" Annie asked.
"Of course. We'll buy them just alike so you can match, and I bet we can find some cute socks for Chuck," Deborah said.
Julie mouthed a thank-you to her mother.
When they passed by Miss Molly's, Mamie still had Eli cornered behind the counter. He had a plate of funnel cakes on his lap and a cup of coffee in his hand. Julie would have given half of her five acres to know exactly how she explained Lizzy and Annie to him, much less Chuck. She would consider giving up her recipes for squash relish and dilled beans to know how she told Eli about Griffin and Graham. One thing for sure, he'd know his little sister did not have wings or a halo when he walked out of that gift store.
"So let me get this straight. That man that just passed by the window is actually Annie's uncle," Eli said. "And my sister didn't know he lived here when she bought that hideous place."
"You got it," Mamie said.
"She sent me pictures over the net of that run-down house. She didn't live in a mansion, but our parsonages were nice. How could she live like that?" he asked.
Mamie fired up angry. "Did you come here to rescue her out of her miserable life?"
"No, no. I'm sorry. That came out wrong."
"You should be sorry. She's very happy. The place where she lives needs paint but that's all. The inside is very nice."
"My mistake. Thank you for the explanation," Eli said.
"Come on. I'll show you around town," she said.
"But your store?"
"Is my store and there's a lock on the door. I don't make a lot of money today, anyway. People spend their hard-earned cash at the ve
ndors out on the square. California can come find me… well, I guess he just did," Mamie said when a tall, dark-haired, well-tanned man opened the door.
"Miss Mamie, how delightful to see you." He crossed the room and planted a quick kiss on each cheek.
"Same here, darlin'," she said.
"Do you have it all boxed up for me?" he asked.
"I can get it that way in about ten minutes. Look around. See if you want to buy anything else. I wasn't looking for you for a few more days."
"Oh, hello," he eyed Eli up and down. "Is he for sale?"
Eli chuckled nervously.
"Sorry, but that chunk of Texas stays in Texas. And he's a preacher," Mamie said.
California clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Too damn bad."
Eli actually blushed, which endeared him to Mamie even more. "Come on out from behind there and help me get these jars into the boxes. This man is my best customer today."
They loaded a dozen jars to the box and California carried them out the back door to his van, parked behind the store. When he had stripped the shelves of anything with a checked piece of fabric on the lid, he paid with a credit card. "If you get tired of that Texan, kick him over the border to me. I'll play nice," he said as he signed his name with a flourish.
"Sorry, it ain't happening," Mamie said.
"Some days you just can't win," California sighed and left by the front door.
"What in the… devil… was that?" Eli asked.
"You almost used a dirty word, didn't you?" Mamie answered question with question.
"But I didn't. Answers?"
"He comes in once or twice a year and buys my merchandise. Actually it's Edna's and Julie's merchan dise. And he takes it to California and sells some of it and uses the rest for presents and eats the rest, I suppose."
"He's…"
"I know. Julie figured it out for me."
"I'm beginning to think I don't know my sister."
"Oh, yes you do, darlin'. She's still the same Julie you always had. She's protected you from the ugly because of your preachin'," Mamie said.
"Julie never protected me from a thing. She was the tattletale. You ever hear of the preacher's son? Every story is true and I've got the T-shirt to prove it," Eli said.
"Someday, darlin', you'll have to tell me those stories," Mamie locked the door and looped her arm through his. Preacher or not, she liked those brown eyes and the way he looked at her.
In the middle of the afternoon, Deborah and Julie took the kids up to the room the Donavans had rented at the Texas King Hotel. The renovated hotel only had five rooms upstairs over the saloon and kitchen. Julie had no idea that her parents had rented the Rose Room way back when she first moved to Saint Jo and had made plans even that far back to visit her the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That the town was having its first ever holiday festival celebration just added to the fun.
Julie washed all three kid's sticky faces and then put them to bed for a nap. Of course, it wasn't called a nap. Not at five years old. It was called a resting period. They could hold hands and talk for ten minutes and then they had to shut their eyes for five minutes without talking. They were all asleep within thirty seconds from the time they shut their eyes.
"They look like twins at first glance, but I see a differ ence. Annie is a bit shorter and her face just slightly rounder. Is Lizzy older or younger? And that Chuck. I could take him home myself. He looks so much like you did at that age."
"They are all five and go to kindergarten. Chuck is the youngest by a couple of months. Lizzy was five on May 20. Annie, on May 22. Chuck's birthday is July 10."
They sat on chairs with burgundy velvet upholstery, side by side with a small table between them. "This must have been a shock to your system."
"Only you can imagine how much," Julie said.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you've looked forward to the holy land trip for years. I wouldn't spoil it just so I could talk about my own affairs."
Deborah nodded at the children. "They're good together, especially for only children. I'm glad Annie found Lizzy. That streak has always been a cross for her to bear. Now she won't be alone in it. And Chuck is their brother in spirit even if he's red-haired. But I think it's a good time now for you to tell me about Griffin."
"Nothing to tell. We are friends. He has Lizzy and Chuck and I have Annie."
"You can't brush off your feelings forever. Call me when you decide you need to talk about this thing between you," Deborah said.
*********
Eli and Luke sat in the leather chairs in the lobby and worked on their second glass of sweet tea and slices of pecan pie.
"Who'd a thought I'd find something like this when I came to visit you and surprise my sister?" Eli said.
"All secrets surface at some time," Luke said. "Noticed that shop owner cornered you pretty fast. You looked good wandering around the square with her on your arm."
"I didn't have much choice. She grabbed my arm and took control," Eli said a bit too quickly.
"Pretty woman and your sister's good friend," Luke said. His brown hair had red highlights and his face was round. He wore glasses which made his green eyes look bigger than they really were.
"It's that latter that scares me," Eli said.
"It's time you let go, son. Teresa was a wonderful wife to you but she's been gone for ten years now. It's time to get on with your life. It doesn't have to be a proposal. Mamie's eyes said that she liked what she saw. Ask her to have dinner while you are here."
"I'm leaving in the morning," Eli said.
"I know that. Where are you staying tonight?"
"On Julie's couch, if she'll let me. Tomorrow I'm going to preach at the Bowie church. You already know that, but don't tell Julie. I don't want to get my hopes up, much less hers."
"If they ask you to preach there, consider it, Eli. Take a look at the map, son. It's all of twenty-three miles. A perfect distance. You can see her…"
"You're already matchmaking, Dad. Let it go. I'm not so sure I'm ready even after ten years."
"Son, it's past time to let it go."
"I know, but it's not easy."
"Mamie might make it a lot easier."
"You are matchmaking," Eli laughed.
Griffin started into the hotel to get a cold beer at the bar but changed his mind when he saw the Donavan men discussing something very serious in the corner. He went back outside and to Molly's, where he found Mamie having a cup of hot chocolate in the back room.
"I miss my kids," he said taking the cup of hot choco late she handed him without asking.
"So Julie will miss Annie. I heard she's giving her up on Sunday afternoon."
"It's like they were all hatched from the same egg, Mamie. Two dark-haired girls and one light-haired boy. I'm not so sure I like it," he said.
"It ain't up to you to like or not like. What's done is done and the past has caught the future."
"Chocolate making you philosophical, is it?"
"Fate, Griffin, whether you believe it or not, is a strong thing," she said.
He tilted up the cup and finished it off. "I'm going home for a nap."
"Enjoy. See you later at dark when we light up the Christmas tree."
After sharing hamburgers at the Dairy Queen, the Donavans checked out the antique car show. Annie declared that someday she would own a 1958 Studebaker Hawk only she didn't want it black like the one on display. She wanted a red one. Lizzy opted for a 1965 Mustang convertible in bright yellow. Chuck's eyes glistened when he looked at a shiny red pickup truck with yellow flames painted on the side.
Griffin showed up for the Christmas tree ceremony with folding lawn chairs, a cooler full of soda pop, and a quilt for the kids. Lizzy was glad to see him, but not ecstatic. Chuck was the one who ran to him for a hug. Julie got ready for the same reaction from Annie on Sunday. Good grief, what was she supposed to do with herself for a whole afternoon without her daughter? It was diff
erent with Griffin. He had a ranch to run, busi ness to take care of, people to see.
Julie had Annie.
"This is a bit awkward," Luke said when Griffin sat down between him and Julie.
"Little bit," Griffin agreed.
"It's a tangled web," Eli said.
"But I didn't deceive. I just didn't tell," Julie protested. "And don't you go getting all self-righteous on me. Remember I'm the one who tattled on you all your life. A tattletale knows things you might not want aired on the public address system."
Getting Lucky Page 14
