by Debby Mayne
I shrug. “I don’t know. I sort of figured he could use a break after all that crazy family drama.”
“I hear ya.”
Justin laughs as he puts his arm around Sara’s neck and playfully ruffles her hair. “You never worried about giving me a break from the family drama.”
“I’m not as nice as my sister.”
I look at both of them. “Plus, y’all were married before the last reunion, so a break wasn’t an option.”
Justin bobs his head. “Good point.”
“So, what’s for supper?” Sara looks at me.
“Who am I, your mother?”
“No, but you’re not exhausted from being pregnant, so I figured you could fix us something.”
Justin points toward the sofa. “Both of you, sit down. I’ll fix supper, and y’all can talk about the craziness of the day.” He starts toward the kitchen but stops. “And after I finish cleaning the supper dishes, I’ll take y’all to the hospital to see your mama.”
Why did I ever not think Justin was good enough for my sister? He’s been nothing but a dream guy to both Sara and me, with very few exceptions that are probably more our fault than his. And I have no doubt he’ll be an awesome daddy. Maybe a little overprotective, but that’s okay.
We’ve barely gotten into a conversation about the day when someone knocks on the door. I hop up and open it to see Daddy standing there looking uncomfortable.
“Mind if I come in?”
I take a step back. “Of course not.”
Justin sticks his head around the kitchen wall, waves to Daddy, and says, “Hey, George. There’s plenty of food if you want to have supper with us.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be intruding at all.” Justin laughs. “In fact, I’d love to have you stay.”
Sara looks at me, and we both start laughing. Daddy gives us a confused look. “What’s so funny?”
“Justin sounds like you and Mama when people would stop by at dinnertime.” Sara turns to me for backup, so I nod.
Daddy rolls his eyes. “If y’all really want me to stick around for supper, I suppose I can do that, since your mama’s still in the hospital.” He rubs the back of his neck. “That house feels so empty without her in it.”
Justin carries a serving platter out from the kitchen and places it on the dining room table. “I figured we could eat in the dining room, since we have company.”
Sara whispers, “Justin is loving this.”
“I can tell.”
“Ya know, I think there’s something to what people say about girls marrying their daddies.”
I make a face. “Don’t say that.”
“I just did.” She grins before we both turn our attention to our daddy and Justin having a conversation.
As soon as Justin puts supper on the table, we all sit down to eat. Before anyone lifts their fork, Justin holds up his hands. “Our blessing.”
Those two words have us bowing our heads. He thanks the Lord for our time with family, the blessing of Mama not being more seriously injured, and the food we’re about to eat. After we all say, “Amen,” I glance at Daddy and see the blatant admiration on his face as he looks at his son-in-law.
Then a knock comes at the door. I give Sara a curious glance, and she shrugs, letting me know she has no idea who that could be.
Justin hops up from the table, crosses the room, and flings open the door. “What took you so long?”
Nate steps into the dining area, grins at me, and turns back to Justin. “When you called, I’d just pulled something out to fix for supper, so I had to put it away.” He glances at me. “You look surprised. Didn’t Justin tell you I was coming?”
Justin shrugs and makes an oops face. “I reckon I forgot.”
A look of concern washes over Nate. “I hope y’all don’t mind.”
Before I can say a word, Daddy points to the chair next to me. “Of course we don’t mind. Have a seat.”
As we pass around the dishes Justin has prepared, a feeling of comfort and love washes over me. Sara grins at me, her eyes glistening, letting me know she feels it too. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be than right here with these people, although it would be nice to have Mama here too. But at least we know she’ll be back home tomorrow, and all will be right in our world.
Julius sure is in a heap of trouble, only this time without me. After he cried, I thought he might get off without punishment, but Grandpa Jay put his foot down. All his bribing was only slightly tempting, but even a weekend of ridin’ around in his car wasn’t enough to get me to go with him.
I’m home in my room now. Mama and Daddy are in the kitchen with Jeremy, whispering so softly I can’t hear what they’re saying. I reckon they’re probably trying to figure out where they went right with me.
Right after Julius crashed into the crowd, I heard Mama’s voice. “Where’s Brett?” still rings in my ears. At first, my feelings were hurt, but then I remembered the last reunion. Now I can’t say I blame her for expecting me to be involved.
I lean my head back and replay what happened. Julius wanted me to take the first ride in his boxcar, but since I don’t even have the desire to ride in my own boxcar, I told him no. Mama would be so proud of me.
Next thing I knew, he was hopping into that boxcar and telling me to give him a push. Once again, I said no. He called me a few names Mama and Daddy don’t allow me to say.
So he got out of the car, turned it to face the folks at the bottom of the hill, gave it a push, and hopped into it. Next thing I knew, there was a woman on the ground. At the time I had no idea who it was, but that didn’t matter. All I could think about was how glad I was that I didn’t participate.
I think back to when he first showed me his boxcar. It wasn’t put together well, so I tightened things up a bit and made it so it wouldn’t fall apart. Then it dawns on me. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have made it to the bottom of the hill.
As a flood of guilt washes over me, I wonder what to do next. Should I tell Mama and Daddy or just let it be? If I tell them, what will they do? Knowing Mama, I’ll be grounded for the rest of the school year. Daddy might back her up at first, but he’ll eventually talk her into letting me off for good behavior.
The more I think about it, the worse I feel. Finally, I can’t take it anymore, so I hop up, run out of my room and into the kitchen, and holler, “It’s all my fault.”
Mama turns around and gives me one of her looks. “What on earth are you talkin’ about, Brett?”
“The boxcar. If I hadn’t fixed it, Julius wouldn’t have been able to knock anyone down.”
Daddy chimes in. “What do you mean, son?”
I explain how I secured the boxcar with brackets and screws. Mama and Daddy listen, occasionally glancing at each other with expressions I can’t read. Finally, Mama nods, and Daddy comes toward me with his arms outstretched. I take a hesitant step toward him, and then he gives me a big ol’ hug.
“You did the right thing, son.”
“I did?” Now this is getting weird.
“Yes, you sure did. You were trying to protect your cousin. What he did with that car after you fixed it has nothing to do with you. It’s all on him.”
I look over at Mama and see her nodding. “That’s right, Brett. You are not the least bit guilty.”
Now I let out a shaky sigh of relief as my stomach emits a loud groan.
Mama grins. “Hungry?”
I’m pretty much always hungry, so I nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Want me to heat you up a bowl of Missy’s chili?” She gives Daddy another one of her looks, and he nods before she turns back to me. “She brought extra and sent some home with me.”
“That sounds good.”
“Want corn bread with it?” Before I have a chance to respond, Mama opens a plastic zipper bag and pulls out a wedge of corn bread.
Jeremy lets out a squeal, so I turn around. He’s sitting in his high chair with a bowl of someth
ing upside down on his head. I can’t help laughing at the little guy, but I quickly stop because Mama says I encourage him by doing that.
Next thing I know, Mama and Daddy are laughing too, so I relax. Something has changed in my family, and even though I’m not sure what it is, I reckon I’ll find out soon enough.
“Do me a favor, Brett, and get Jeremy cleaned up while I heat up the dinner.” Mama tosses me one of the dish towels.
I’ve done this so many times I can do it in my sleep. Jeremy keeps laughing when I wipe his face, and I laugh back. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be the class clown when he goes to school.
After the chili is hot, Mama scoops it into bowls, and the three of us sit down to eat. My sister and other brother are out, so it’s just the four of us.
“Is Julius in a heap of trouble?” I ask.
Daddy holds his spoon in front of his lips and turns to me with a goofy grin. “What do you think?”
Yeah, I suppose it was a stupid question. I take a bite of corn bread while the chili cools off a little.
Mama picks up her napkin and makes a big deal of putting it in her lap, something I know she does to remind me to do the same. “I think Julius might finally see the error of his ways.”
I tilt my head and look at her. “What do you mean?”
“He cried like a baby after he hit Sheila. His daddy came running up to make sure he was okay, and Julius said he hated his life and wanted to be poor like the rest of the family.” Mama grins as she breaks her corn bread in half and butters a piece of it. “I talked to Marybeth a little while ago, and she says they’re all going to counseling. Apparently, she’s been trying to get Bucky to go, but until now, he didn’t think it was such a good idea. Now he doesn’t have much of a choice.”
Daddy nods. “Grandpa Jay and Granny Marge have Julius now, so he gets to start his counseling early.”
“If anyone can whip that boy into shape, it’s your grandparents.” Mama takes a sip of her tea.
After we finish eating, I point to the table. “I’ll do the dishes. Y’all can go relax.”
Mama gives me a hug and gets Jeremy out of his high chair. “C’mon, let’s get out of Brett’s way.”
I know I’m not as good at cleaning as Mama, but I don’t mind doing it. There’s something relaxing about going back and forth between the table and sink and then loading the dishwasher.
As I clean, I think about Julius and some of the things Mama and Daddy said. Maybe there is hope for Julius to be a decent guy, but in the meantime, I plan to stay as far away from him as possible.
I’m sitting in Mama and Daddy’s sunroom, enjoying the warmth of the rays making their way through the nearly naked branches of the trees in the backyard. Mama’s sipping her tea while Daddy studies the sports pages of the newspaper.
It’s been several days since Julius nearly killed Mama, but everything is calm now. Mama says she still hurts like the dickens, but her therapist declares her on the road to recovery. I’m relieved everything turned out like it did.
Daddy finally glances up at me. “When’s your date with Nate?”
Mama laughs. “That rhymes.”
“So it does.” Daddy grins at Mama and then looks at me, waiting for an answer.
“He’s picking me up at six.”
Daddy glances at his watch. “Don’t you think you’d best get going, then, so you can do whatever it is girls do to get ready for a date?”
Mama grins and shakes her head. “She’s fine, Georgie. Our girls don’t have to do much to look beautiful.”
He grins right back at her. “Just like their mother.”
I can’t sit here and listen to all this mushiness, so I stand. “It’s time to go. Call me if you need anything.”
Daddy stands and gestures toward the door. “I’ll walk you out.”
We chitchat until we get to the front door, where he stops me. “Sally, I want you to know how much your mama and I appreciate you and Sara. We raised some mighty fine girls who turned out to be some of the best women we know.”
“You’ve already said that.”
“I just want to make sure you know how we feel.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” It feels strange to hear this coming from the man who rarely says anything personal like this. “Sara and I appreciate you and Mama too.”
He clears his throat and shifts from one foot to the other, letting me know there’s more. So I turn to face him directly and wait.
“I also want to tell you that I think your sister married a good man. I wasn’t so sure at first, but the more I get to know him, the more I understand why she picked him.”
“Same here. Justin is turning out to be a pretty cool brother-in-law.”
Daddy nods. “And that guy you’re seeing. Nate. He seems like a good guy.”
I grin back at Daddy. “I really like him.”
“Just do me a favor, Sally. Keep your mama and me posted on how things are going with the two of you. As much as we like Justin, well . . . your mama would still like to be involved in the wedding plans.”
I can’t help laughing. “There’s nothing to plan, so don’t worry about it.”
“There’s nothing to plan yet, but you never know about these things.” He pauses. “Oh, by the way, you missed the inheritance speech.”
“Inheritance speech?”
Daddy nods. “Everyone in the family who hasn’t already gotten land will get some soon, and the only string attached is that it has to stay in the family. You can farm it if you want to.” He tips his head toward me and lets out one of his hearty chuckles. “Or you can let an oil company drill.”
I scrunch my nose. “I think I’ll just let it sit there for a while.”
Daddy opens the door and holds it for me. “You’d better go now so you’re not late.”
All the way home, I laugh about that conversation. Farm the land? I can’t even imagine. My thoughts slide all over the place, and by the time I pull into the driveway, I’m reflecting on my own feelings about Nate. There is something special—something different—about him, and it appears Mama and Daddy can see it too.
Sally and Justin are having dinner at his parents’ house, so I have the place to myself. It’s quiet, so I tell my Amazon Alexa to play some music.
Then I take a quick shower and put on one of the outfits I picked up at La Chic. Shay says it’s effortlessly stylish, whatever that means.
A few minutes after I make the last swipe of gloss across my lips, I hear a knock at the door. My heart hammers nearly out of my chest as I cross the condo to answer it. When I open the door and see Nate standing there grinning at me, a fluttery feeling washes over me and renders my knees wobbly. So I take a deep breath and smile back at him.
“You look beautiful, Sally.”
“Thank you.” I’m so glad Shay taught me how to accept a compliment. Before her tutoring, I would have argued. “Do you want to come inside, or should we go now?”
He hesitates for a split second before gesturing toward the living room. “Can we talk for a minute before we go?”
I nod and lead the way to the sofa, where we both sit. “What’s on your mind?”
He takes my hand and kisses the back of it. “Sally, I know this is early in our relationship, but I can tell that there is something special between us.”
My mouth goes dry as I continue looking at him. I want to say something, but I have no idea how to put my slippery, swirling thoughts into words.
“Since I don’t want to make the mistake of rushing things, I’m not going to express all my feelings.” He kisses the back of my hand again. “But I wanted to put some of my thoughts out there so you can be . . .” He chuckles. “So you can be warned. I love being with you, and I—” He gives me a helpless look that lets me know there’s something he feels but doesn’t want to say.
“I like you too.” I smile back at him. “A lot.”
He hops up and helps me to my feet. “Well, now that that’s se
ttled, how about going for a seafood platter?”
With all the butterflies still fluttering in my tummy and chest, I’m not sure how much seafood I can eat. But I nod anyway. “Sounds good.”
Throughout the evening, Nate and I talk about anything that pops into our minds. This is how a relationship should be, I think. He and I have a connection that can’t be put into words. Now I better understand those looks Sara and Justin keep giving each other. They’re speaking without having to say anything, something that Nate and I are starting to do.
Nothing exciting happens during the date, but I’m beyond thrilled to be with him. And then when he walks me to the door, he tips my face up to his. “I’ve been praying for someone like you to come along.”
As he kisses me, I know that the Lord has blessed both of us with a special kind of relationship that transcends anything else in my life. Now all we have to do is give our budding romance some time to go into full bloom.
Debby Mayne writes family and faith-based romances, cozy mysteries, and women’s fiction and is the author of more than 60 novels and novellas—plus more than 1,000 short stories, articles, and devotions for busy women. Debby is currently an etiquette writer for The Spruce.
Debby grew up in a military family, which meant moving every few years throughout her childhood. She was born in Alaska, and she has lived in Mississippi, Tennessee, Oregon, Florida, South Carolina, Hawaii, and Japan. Her parents were both from the Deep South, so Debby enjoys featuring characters with Southern drawls, plenty of down-home cooking, and folks with quirky mannerisms. High Cotton is the first book in the Bucklin Family Reunion series.
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