揟hank you. Be there as soon as we can get things packed and in my truck.?Risa ended the call and closed her eyes for a second to give a silent prayer of thanksgiving for her good friends.
揗ama??Daisy looked like she was about to cry.
揟his is bull crap,?Lily said through clenched teeth.
揘o, it抯 your grandmother抯 house, not ours,?Risa said in a calm voice. 揝he has the right to decide who lives here and who doesn抰， just as much as your Granny Martha in Kentucky had the right to be mad at me and kick us out. Go pack your bags, girls. Don抰 forget anything, not even a hair clip.?
揂re we going to live in the bar??Lily asked.
揘o, Haley has offered to let us live in her house,?Risa answered.
揝o, you抮e choosing your low-life friends over me??Stella crossed her arms over her chest and gritted her teeth. 揂fter all I抳e done for you梘iving you a home and putting food in your mouths all these weeks梱ou are going to leave me alone??
揗other, you are the one who is making me choose. I抦 going to take the girls over to Haley抯 house and stay there, and I will be working for Jessica and Wade. I don抰 have many skills outside of cleaning a trailer house and cooking, so it抯 a good job for me. It抯 your decision as to whether you want me and the girls to be part of your life. When you get over your fit, call me if you want to see us.?Risa started out of the kitchen.
揇on抰 hold your breath until you get that call, girl,?Stella yelled at Risa.
揂re you serious, Mama? Do we really get to go live with Haley??Daisy whispered.
揧es, I am,?Risa said around the lump in her throat. When she had been thrown out of Kentucky, she had called her mother to ask if she could bring the girls to Riverbend for a few weeks. Stella hadn抰 sounded happy about the idea, but she hadn抰 refused. At that point Risa should have listened to Haley and driven down to Alabama to stay with her until she could get on her feet. But Risa couldn抰 impose on Haley like that when she was living in a tiny one-bedroom apartment.
Lily took her sister by the hand and tugged to get her moving. 揕et抯 go before she changes her mind. I抣l have my things in the truck before you know it, Mama. Is Granny Stella going to inspect our bags to be sure we didn抰 take anything that doesn抰 belong to us??
揙f course not!?Stella gasped.
揋ood,?Daisy said, 揵ut I wouldn抰 take anything that wasn抰 mine, anyway. She抯 going to have to apologize to you before I want to see her again.?
揑 don抰 owe anyone an apology敆Stella抯 voice got even louder棑and if you leave, don抰 expect to ever be welcome in my house again. Not ever.?
The girls disappeared down the hallway to the room they shared, and Risa turned around at the door to face her mother. 揂re you sure you don抰 want see the girls every once in a while? They won抰 be working in a bar, and they抮e your only grandchildren.?
揘ot if you抮e working at a bar. Good grief, Risa Sue, the whole town is already talking about the sacrilege of turning a church into a bar. Whatever gave y抋ll the idea to do such a horrible thing??Stella fumed.
揕ocation, building, and there抯 already too many churches in Riverbend as it is,?Risa answered. 揟he place has been on the market for years, and from what I understand, there hasn抰 been one bit of interest from anyone in buying it. It sits in a prime location with Fort Hood just over the border and lots of dry counties around Burnet County. I don抰 know why someone hasn抰 latched on to the idea before now. And, Mama, you go into places to eat that serve liquor. What抯 the difference??
揑 go into restaurants, not bars,?Stella shot back at her. 揑 cannot and will not have someone living in my house that works in a place like that. I have held up a Christian example in this town for years, and I will not tarnish it this late in life.?Stella took two loaves of bread from the oven. 揂nd being the Christian woman that I抳e always been, I can抰 have someone in my house who is working there. I抦 going to take a loaf of this bread over to Lulu, my neighbor and my sister in Christ. I will let you have lunch if you want to eat before you go, but I expect you抣l be gone when I get back??
揑t抯 just a building, Mama,?Risa said. 揕ike Sparky抯 Service Station. It was once a place to get gas, candy bars, and soda pop, and then it was a church, and now it抯 an empty building again.?
揧ou can抰 say anything that will make me change my mind,?Stella said.
揟hank you for giving me and the girls a place to come to when we had to leave Kentucky,?Risa said with a sigh, 揳nd know that I love you even if you are kicking me out.?
揑f you did, you抎 choose me.?Stella dumped a beautiful loaf onto a plate and removed her bibbed apron. 揂nd I love you because Jesus says I have to love you, but right now, I don抰 like you, and I抣l be glad you and the girls are out of my house.?