揝he told me that she needs some time to find herself,?Jessica said. 揝he won抰 make the same mistake twice.?
揑 hope not.?Oscar sighed. 揑抦 getting old, but I抎 hate for my grandkids to ever have to visit me in prison, and if another man treats her ugly, that could be where I spend my last days.?
Jessica laid a hand on his shoulder. 揥e抣l help her stay on the right track. Matter of fact, with all the problems we抳e all come back to Riverbend with, we抣l be helping each other through this tough time.?
揟hanks.?Oscar turned off the dirt road onto the paved highway and pointed the truck toward town. 揟hat makes me feel better. Maybe if you four girls would have stayed together right out of high school, you wouldn抰 have had all these troubles.?He looked puzzled. 揑 can see that Risa and Mary Nell have men problems, and Haley has got grief from her mama抯 passing to get past, but what have you brought home, anyway??
She removed her hand and pasted on a fake smile. 揗ine are job related, maybe with a little PTSD tossed into the mix.?
揑f you ever need to talk, I抦 a good listener.?Oscar turned into the parking lot at the lumberyard, sending up a cloud of gray dust behind his truck. 揑f you need to cry, I don抰 do well with weeping women, but Wade has big shoulders.?
揙scar Wilson, are you trying to find a girlfriend for Wade??Jessica asked.
Oscar shrugged. 揌e抯 lonely and needs someone in his life. You girls have each other now, and you kind of took him in. But he ain抰 getting no younger, and if he ever wants to have a family, he needs to get started.?
Jessica could hardly wait to get back home and tell the girls that Oscar was trying to fix Wade up with any woman, not just his daughter. Mary Nell didn抰 have so much to worry about. But then she realized that she抎 called the bar home, and a smile tickled the corners of her mouth. She had mulled over where she would land when she left the base in Maine, and now she had found a home right there in the same little town she抎 left two decades ago.
揌e抣l find someone when the time is right,?Jessica assured Oscar.
揑t can抰 be you,?Oscar said. 揟hat could ruin a partnership in a split second. Maybe we should steer him toward Haley??
Jessica wasn抰 shoving Wade toward anyone, not until she figured out what all those sparks were that his touch generated. Besides, Wade was probably not finished grieving for his brother. He was driving Danny抯 truck, and she抎 noticed that Danny抯 dog tags梩wo sets of them梬ere hanging from the rearview mirror.
揕et抯 just get through the summer, and maybe by then, everything will work out the way it抯 supposed to,?Jessica suggested as she got out of the truck.
揑抦 not a patient man.?Oscar removed his cap and then repositioned it on his head. 揃ut you抮e probably right.?He held the door to the lumberyard open for her.
A cool blast of air hit her when she walked out of the Texas heat into the building. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, but when they did, she was staring right into Stella Sullivan抯 angry eyes. The woman抯 hand shot up, and for just a split second, Jessica thought she had a pistol. Jessica blinked a couple of times and figured out that it was her forefinger pointing straight at her. Stella抯 expression looked like she was shooting fire at her and left no doubt that she was upset beyond words.
揗rs. Sullivan!?Jessica pasted on her best fake smile and tried to be cheerful. 揌ow are you today? A bit hot out there, isn抰 it??
揧ou are an abomination unto our Lord and Savior.?Stella was practically humming with anger. 揑 wish you would have never come back to Riverbend. I wouldn抰 have even cared if you抎 gotten killed like Danny Granger did.?The finger began to shake so fast that it became a blur. 揑f you think you抮e going to be asked to ride on the cheerleader float, you are dead wrong. I抦 on that committee, and I抣l see to it that neither you or any one of your friends, including my daughter, ever ride on a homecoming float again.?
A smart remark about how Risa would rather have a job in a bar than ride in a parade was right on the end of Jessica抯 tongue. Yet before she could open her mouth to say a word, Oscar was right there beside her. His eyes narrowed until they were little more than slits, and he set his jaw tightly for a moment before he spoke.
揥ho gives a rat抯 rump about riding on any stupid float??Oscar said through clenched teeth. 揑t抯 a good thing these girls are doing. They抮e supporting each other and trying to make a business out of a building that in a few years would go to rot, which is more than you can say you did for Risa and your granddaughters. You should be ashamed for treating your own kin like you have, Stella Sullivan.?
揧ou would agree with them敆Stella raised her voice until she was almost yelling棑since you spend time out there in your barn making moonshine and wine. I抦 telling you the town is going to shun all of you.?