"I hope not. I don't have that many stories," he said.
"Okay then, one story," she said.
"Which one?"
"Milli and Beau. Katy Scarlett doesn't look like she should have Milli for a momma, does she?" Julie put the banana split on the table and handed him the extra spoon.
"Not with those blue eyes and blonde hair and Milli being Mexican. But there's an English woman in the genetic woodpile. Milli's maternal grandmother is a blonde lady with English ancestors. One of the true blue bloods."
"You're kidding." Either the chocolate was working or the ice cream was freezing the lump in her throat.
"No, I'm not. Way I figure it is that's the way they got past all that Mexican heritage when Katy Scarlett was born. They figured she was a throwback to that grandmother."
"Now my curiosity is really piqued."
"Well, the story goes like this. Milli was engaged to a Mexican man that was so rich he could buy a third world country out of his back pocket. Met him when he came up to Hereford, Texas—that's out in the panhandle not too far from Amarillo—to buy cattle at her father's sale one year. He proposed a few weeks later and she accepted. But the sorry son of a bitch wasn't faithful and she caught him in a motel room with another woman."
"So then she met Beau and they lived happily ever after?"
"Not hardly. She broke it off with him and got an invitation to a wedding in Louisiana. Her high school friend had gone to college over in that area somewhere and met my cousin, Darrin Luckadeau. Milli went to the wedding and there was Beau. His girlfriend had broken up with him. Threw him over for another Luckadeau cousin. Anyway he was drunk as Cooter's owl and thought Milli was some kind of angel. They wound up in the back bedroom of a trailer that night. She was getting even with her ex-boyfriend and poor old Beau was just trying to relieve a broken heart."
He stopped and ate several bites of banana split then sipped coffee.
"Go on. We haven't got all day. The kids will inter rupt us any minute," she said.
"Don't get your panties in a wad. I'm telling this story. So anyway, Milli went home. Got a taxi the next morning and left before Beau woke up. The only thing she left behind was a memory and an earring. Poor old Beau. Whole family knew he was lucky in everything but love. He always had the worst luck with women. So here he came out of the bedroom hunting for an angel and the cousins staying in that trailer convinced him she was a figment of his drunken imagination. He went on the wagon that night and to my knowledge still doesn't drink."
"And?" she prompted impatiently.
"Milli came home from college at Christmas and she was pregnant. Her brothers were ready to go drag that ex-boyfriend back with a shotgun in their hands. But she swore it wasn't his baby and she wouldn't tell who the child belonged to. So Katy Scarlett was born with blonde hair and blue eyes into a predominantly Mexican household. She does have a little toast on the skin color but the rest was pure blond Luckadeau. No one knew anything because Milli wouldn't tell. Then, when Katy was almost two, Milli's grandfather up in Oklahoma had to have his hip replaced. He asked Milli and Katy to help out that summer. Imagine Milli's surprise on her first day when she went to ride the fence row and found Beau on the other side."
Julie finished off the last bite of ice cream. "I know just how she felt."
"Yep, there they were on adjoining ranches. Beau's aunt got Alzheimer's and went to the nursing home after she gave her ranch to Beau, since he was her favorite nephew and she didn't have any children. Is that fate?"
"What happened?" Julie leaned forward and propped her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands.
"Beau was engaged to a schoolteacher named Amanda who was a real, honest-to-God bitch. Beau had been mooning after the angel who'd lost an earring but he was about to marry this gold-digging schoolteacher and that's the reason Milli was so cold toward you. Meanwhile, Milli had a child she was trying to hide."
"Didn't he recognize her?" Julie asked. "I mean if he was mooning after her, surely he had her picture engraved on his heart."
"He says something in the back of his mind kept telling him he'd met her somewhere. But Milli is not all sweet sugar candy. She's got a mouth and an attitude and they fought like cats and dogs from day one."
"When did they discover happily-ever-after?" Julie asked.
"Well, the night of his engagement party his fiancée came around with intentions of breaking up with him but really got hot when she found out about the pre-nup all Luckadeau brides have to sign. He told me that there was the woman he'd proposed to wearing his ring and he looked out the window and saw Milli in the same dress she'd worn to that wedding and by damn, he remem bered it all. He was almighty glad the fiancée threw the ring at him and broke it off. He and Milli danced all night together and it became just a party instead of an engagement party."
"And Milli told him about Katy?" Julie asked.
"No, he found out at church when some little old man made the comment about how much his daughter looked like him. I guess there were really fireworks on the way home that day. It took a few more months and a lot more fights but they finally admitted they were in love. I went to their wedding held up there on the ranch. Beau's mother is elated to have a granddaughter. Milli's mother is happy to have a father for Katy Scarlett. So there's your miracle. What's the chances of Milli and Beau ever finding each other? What's the chances of them ever making Katy Scarlett on a one-night stand?"
"Graham and I did," she said.
"And you have your own miracle, don't you?" Griffin said shortly.
"Are you mad at me?"
"No ma'am," he said curtly as picked up the ice cream dish and put it in the sink.
"Yes, you are. You got mad when I mentioned having a one-night stand with your brother," she said.
"Okay, yes, I did. Graham was my brother, the other half of me and I loved him—but I don't want to hear about you sleeping with him. I don't want to hear about my ex-wife kissing him. I loved him but I don't want to play second fiddle to him," Griffin said.
"It happened. And believe me, Griffin, you don't have to worry about playing second fiddle to your brother. You are much more intense and sensitive and all those things a woman looks for in a long-term relationship. Truth of the matter is that I don't like to hear about you and Dian being drunk when you made Lizzy, either," Julie said.
His blue eyes lit up. "Are you jealous?"
"I don't know. I'll think about it and get back to you," she said.
The children rushed in wanting cookies and milk and asking when it would be dark enough they could open presents.
"Saved by the kids," he said.
"They're always good for something or other," she smarted off and got up to help him pour three glasses of milk.
While they ate, Griffin made an excuse about going to the barn to check on a calf, put on his coat, and left. The children gobbled down their cookies and milk and ran back upstairs to play Old Maid cards for one more hour before presents could be opened. Julie poured another cup of coffee and leaned against the countertop, trying to make sense of Griffin's jealousy. She'd barely had time to think about it when Sally opened the front door and grinned sheepishly when Julie peeked around the corner. She wore plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a gray tank top and her straight red hair hung limp.
"Hello. Mercy, is it really four o'clock?" she asked as she headed for the coffee pot.
"Looks like it was a good night," Julie said.
Sally sipped the hot liquid and tried to open her eyes wide enough to put Julie in focus. "What am I going to do?"
"You tell me," Julie joined her at the kitchen table.
"I wish I would have known Alvie a year, then Momma wouldn't throw such a fit," Sally said.
"Ever think of taking him over there one day this week to meet them?" Julie asked.
"I don't want to. They'll love him, but…"
"But you haven't told Momma you quit your job, have you?" Julie scolded.
"I'm going to marry him,"
Sally said.
"What are you going to do between now and then?"
"The wedding is Tuesday morning and he'll be here in an hour to pick me up. We've got motel reservations in Nocona," Sally said.
"I'm not telling her, Sally," Julie declared.
"I've devised a way to do it. You just have to back me up, not tell a lie," Sally said.
Julie sighed.
"I'm going to call her after I marry him and say I decided to get married rather than teach this year. I'm not going to tell her I've only known him a few days. I've already had all my things shipped home. The truck will be there on Wednesday. I'd planned to stay in your old apartment until I found something else to do."
"So you've got two days to tell Momma. I'm glad I'm not wearing your shoes today," Julie said.
"She'll be so happy that I'm not an old maid anymore that she won't even ask how long I've known Alvie. Did you know his whole name is Alton Vernon Marlon? His mother called him Alton Vernon and his brother, who died in the Gulf War—that's why he owns the whole ranch—shortened it to Alvie."
"I don't care if his name is Santa Claus Scrooge. I'm not telling Momma," Julie said.
"I'll tell her when you and Griffin get married," Sally whined.
"That'll be a cold day in hell," Julie said.
Sally laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"You might as well quit fighting fate, sister. Griffin is the man for you, the one you should have married in the beginning, but it wasn't the right time. Now it is. You will marry him."
Julie cleared the dishes from the table and put them in the dishwasher. "Don't hold your breath until that happens. You'll die of suffocation."
Sally giggled then stopped so suddenly that Julie looked around to see if she'd fainted or died.
"Oh, my gosh, today is Sunday. It was the church program. I'm a horrible sister. I should have set the alarm in the hotel room and gotten up in time to go see it." She rushed to Julie's side and hugged her. "Did they do good?"
"They did wonderful. I cried," Julie said. She didn't tell Sally that she'd done her weeping with Griffin's arms around her. Married, indeed! The woman had wedding cake for brains.
"Please forgive me. Ever since I walked into that barn I've been so taken up with me and Alvie that I forget there's a world out there," Sally said.
"Forgiven and forgotten," Julie said.
"You always were the good daughter. I've been the bad child my whole life," Sally said.
"One time I wasn't the good one," Julie argued.
"And it got you a beautiful daughter. What do you think mine and Alvie's kids will look like?"
Julie spewed coffee across the table. "Holy shit, you are serious?"
"Did you think I was teasing? I'm packing my suitcases and we're leaving Texas Tuesday morning. Tomorrow we're going to Wichita Falls to look at rings. Alvie has talked a jewelry store owner into opening up in the afternoon even though it's Christmas Day. I have no idea what he's paying the man to do that. Then Tuesday we're going by the Montague County Courthouse to get married. We'd do it tomorrow, but the courthouse is closed on Christmas Day. You and Griffin want to go along and witness for us?"
"Sally, this is insane. You've only known him a few days."
"I love him and I'm going to marry him, so get used to it."
"So soon?"
"That's right."
"Can I say anything to talk you out of it? Wait six months. Live here six months and if it's still real, you can marry him then. We'll have this huge thing right here on the ranch. Caterers. Barn wedding. Or we can have it in Wyoming. Just wait, sister, please," Julie begged.
"No. I've never been more sure of anything in my whole life. Be happy for me."
"You're just doing this to keep from telling Momma you quit your job, aren't you?" Julie said.
"I'm doing it because I love Alvie. Did the minute you dragged him over to the barn door. I never did believe in love at first sight or fate. I do now. And I'm not going to fight it like you're doing."
"I'm not fighting anything. It's just too sudden and too fast and…"
Sally put her finger over Julie's lips. "And it's my life. Alvie is everything I ever wanted. It's going to happen. Are you going with me?"
Tears streamed down Julie's face for the second time that day. "I wouldn't let you do that by yourself. You know I'm going with you. School doesn't start until Thursday and Elsie can watch the children for us."
Sally hugged her again. "Don't cry. You'll make me cry. And bring the kids with you."
"If you are so sure, then call Momma and tell her the truth. Then I'll believe you," Julie said.
Sally picked up the phone from off the countertop and poked in the numbers. "Momma, are you sitting down?" she said when she heard her mother's voice.
"I am now. Are you all right? I've been trying to call you for a week. I even called the school and they said you'd quit your job. They're really mad at you because you didn't give them any kind of notice," Deborah said.
"I'm putting us on speaker phone so Julie can hear everything. This may take a while," Sally said.
"Why is Julie at your apartment? Is Annie all right? Why did she leave the ranch? I knew I should go up there and kick that Luckadeau woman's ass."
Sally got a case of giggles. "Momma said ass."
"Yes, I did. Does yours need kicking?" Deborah said.
"Hopefully not. I can't believe you said that word. But Julie is fine. I'm at the ranch with her, not at my apartment. Here's the deal," Sally said and went on to tell her mother everything truthfully from the time she started to have bad feelings about going back to school until that moment.
Julie listened.
Sally told it all and ended with, "All I could think was 'go home to your sister.' I did and this is where I am, Momma. Julie made me call."
"Julie, you did the right thing. What do you think? Is this Alvie a good man?"
"Every report I've had is that he is and he's so hand some it hurts your eyes to look at him, so they'll make you lots of pretty grandbabies," Julie said.
"As handsome as Griffin Luckadeau?" Deborah asked.
"I wouldn't go that far," Julie laughed. "But he's real pretty."
"Call me when you get to Wyoming, and I'll expect an invitation to the ranch real soon?" Deborah said.
"Anytime you want to visit, there's a room waiting with your name on it," Sally all but breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're letting her off that easy? You'd have had me drawn and quartered for a stunt like this," Julie said.
"I've just got one word to that little temper fit and it's Annie," Deborah said.
"Yes, ma'am," Julie said.
Good-byes were said and Sally sank back down in the chair. "I can't believe she accepted it without a fight."
"Look at it from her standpoint. She doesn't have to pay for or plan a wedding, and she's getting a rich son in-law and a new place to go visit," Julie said.
"I'm going up to pack my things. Oh, I won't need my little truck anymore. You want it? It's paid for and I'll sign the title over to you if you want it," Sally said.
"Thank you and that answer would definitely be yes. You'll be taking Alvie's truck back to Wyoming?"
"Oh, no. Alvie sent it on back with the hired hands he brought with him. He came prepared to buy some cattle and they're already on the road back with them. We will fly from Dallas Wednesday morning. That big truck he's driving is a rental. We have reservations at a hotel on Tuesday night and Alvie will turn the truck in at the airport."
"So, a one-night honeymoon in Dallas. That doesn't seem so romantic. Is this the same girl who was going to Paris for her honeymoon or she'd never get married?" Julie asked.
"It is, but I'd rather live in a tent on the banks of the Red River with Alvie than go to Paris with anyone else in the world. Wyoming for the rest of my life will be a fairly nice little honeymoon," Sally said.
And that's when Julie believed her.
"A
re you going with him again this evening or are you having Christmas Eve with us?" Julie asked.
"Please forgive me. I just came home to get a quick shower. I'm going with Alvie. I can't stand being away from him. Tell them I love them all and I'll see you Tuesday morning at nine o'clock at the courthouse. I've got to go upstairs and throw everything into a suitcase," Sally said.
"I understand. I really do," Julie hugged her.
"Alvie is picking me up in another twenty minutes," Sally said.
Griffin barely made it back into the house when three kids hit the stairs in a dead run and grabbed him around the legs begging to open presents. He'd spent a couple of hours in the barn putting bicycles together for the next morning. A red one for Chuck, and two hot pink ones for the girls, so he was already in the Christmas mood and it took very little persuasion.
Getting Lucky Page 28
