揑 like Danny抯 Place,?Oscar said. 揑t抯 got a nice ring to it, and it doesn抰 sound like a honky-tonk as much as something like the Rusty Spur or Longhorn Bar. That抯 what I抦 going to vote on this morning.?
揗e too,?Mary Nell agreed, 揳nd I don抰 think we need to add bar and grill under the name. Just plain old Danny抯 Place.?
揌oney, there won抰 be anything plain about our bar and grill,?Oscar said with another chuckle. 揑t抯 going to be the best place to eat as well as get a drink or a beer and do some dancing in Burnet County.?
揥hat if things get rowdy??Mary Nell asked.
Oscar stood up and flexed his muscles. 揟hen I get to be a bouncer. But we抳e thwarted a peaceful demonstration with cookies and entertainment, so maybe the twins could be bouncers instead.?
揑 don抰 think rowdy soldiers will respond to homemade cookies.?Mary Nell started into the house.
揗aybe not.?Her father got that twinkle in his eyes. 揃ut one of them rowdy soldiers might be someone that you could . . .?
Mary Nell held up a palm. 揇on抰 go there, Daddy. I抦 thirty-eight and most of those guys will be in their teens or twenties. If I ever get involved with a guy again, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will take a lot of time to get to know him, and . . .?
揂nd,?Oscar butted in, 揾e has to pass my inspection, and be as good a man as Wade.?
揇on抰 go there, either,?Mary Nell said. 揑抦 going to get dressed. Risa said she was making waffles this morning. I can almost smell them cooking. There are no sparks with Wade, Daddy, and I want electricity and chemistry and someone who makes me feel like a queen. And if I can抰 have the whole enchilada, then I抣l just be an old-maid aunt to Risa抯 twins.?
揟hat抯 exactly what a father wants for his baby girl梩he whole nine yards, but not to be an old-maid aunt. You have such a big heart that you deserve a family,?Oscar said with a nod.
Haley ate some crackers, drank some sweet tea, and lay very still until the nausea passed that morning. She wondered whether her sister or mother梠r whatever she was supposed to call the woman who birthed her梙ad morning sickness when she was pregnant. Or whether maybe the birth had been so horrific for a fifteen-year-old that she made a vow to never, ever have another baby. Frannie had eloped with an older man when she was past thirty, and they had never had children, much to Nadine抯， Haley抯 mother-slash-grandmother抯， dismay. And then a couple of years ago, Frannie had died with a sudden heart attack, the same thing that had taken Haley抯 mother from her recently. She wondered if she would go the same way sometime in the future, but the thought disappeared when her stomach rolled again. She might die of nausea and not even live to see forty.
Everything was so confusing, especially at six o抍lock in the morning, when her stomach was even rebelling against tea and crackers. But having Risa and the girls in the house helped her not to feel so alone. Lying there and trying not to move even an eyelid, she realized that she would never be alone again. She would have a child to take care of, to love and watch grow up, and she would have friends who were willing to be part of the village that everyone talked about when it came to raising children.
Someone rapped softly on her door, and then the hinges squeaked. Risa poked her head inside and asked, 揌ow抯 the sickness this morning??
揘ot so good, but give me time to throw on some clothes, and I抣l be ready to go. If you aren抰 going to let your mama scare you, then I抦 not letting this baby control me.?Haley pushed the covers back and was surprised that the crackers and tea had begun to ease the nausea. 揝ee, it抯 mind over matter, and from what I read, this can all possibly end when the second trimester begins, so that抯 only a couple more weeks.?
Risa came into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. 揑 didn抰 have sickness with the twins, so I wouldn抰 know. I had a couple of sisters-in-law who were pregnant at the same time, but they had boys, and I always blamed it on that. Jessica, Mary Nell, and I talked, and we decided that you shouldn抰 be lifting and helping with the construction work. You抣l be helping me out in the kitchen from now on. When I have to be away with the girls?school stuff, you抣l need to know where things are.?
揧es, Mama.?Haley managed a weak grin.
Risa air-slapped her on the arm. 揑抦 only telling you what you already know. You抮e the smart one of us, so use that big, beautiful brain of yours to take care of yourself.?
揕ook where smart got me.?Haley抯 grin turned into a chuckle. 揃ut now that I抳e had some time to think about it, I抦 warming up to the idea of having a baby in my life. I抳e always wanted a family, but time kept slipping by, and it seemed like I always wanted more than a guy could give me. This was an accident, but it just could turn out to be a miracle.?