揥hat do you want from a guy if you ever find one that you抎 be willing to spend the rest of your life with??Risa stood up and took a few steps.
揂ll the bells and whistles that go past just hot and heavy sex. I want to feel all tingly when he brushes my arm, or when he does something really sweet for me, like brushing my hair or giving me a back rub without expecting sex as a reward afterwards.?Haley stood and went into the tiny half bath off her bedroom. She left the door open a crack so she and Risa could continue to talk.
揇o you really think men like that exist outside of romance books??Risa asked.
揑f they don抰， then let抯 talk to Mary Nell and Jessica about making a pact not to settle for anything less than . . .?She couldn抰 think of the right word.
揟ingles,?Risa finished for her. 揑抦 going back for a second cup of coffee. Holler if you need me. The girls and I will be in the kitchen.?
When Haley had taken a quick shower and brushed her teeth, she felt much better. She laid a hand on her flat stomach and then turned to look at her reflection in the long mirror hanging on the back of the door. Her body was about to undergo changes, and life was never going to be the same. Her mother used to tell her that God didn抰 do anything by accident. He had a plan in everything He did.
As she stared at her curvy body, she wondered if her biological mother had done the same thing that she was doing that morning梖eeling queasy and staring at a flat stomach that was soon to be bulging. Did her mother tell her the same thing about there being no coincidences in life? If so, then did Nadine give thanks to God that He had given her another child to raise, or had she done it out of duty?
You know better than that. Her mother抯 voice was so clear that a chill chased down Haley抯 backbone. I could not have loved you more if I抎 given birth to you myself. I am your mother.
揧es, ma抋m,?Haley said with a nod toward the mirror.
Dark clouds blocked out the sun by the time Risa, Haley, and the girls were headed out of town toward the old church. Risa shivered in spite of the heat that morning. She had hated storms her whole life. It seemed like they always brought more than flashes of lightning, crashing thunder, and hard rain. She could attach a storm to every single bad thing that ever happened to her.
揕ooks like rain for sure,?Lily said. 揋ood thing our jobs are inside, isn抰 it??
Daisy covered a yawn with the back of her hand. 揑 love rainy days.?
揥hy??Haley asked from the front seat.
揃ecause Mama would let us make cookies with her since we couldn抰 go outside and play. My first memory is when you let me and Lily stand in chairs on the other side of the bar that separated the kitchen and dining room in our trailer and cut out sugar cookies,?Daisy answered. 揑 always liked to make angels and snowmen.?
揗ine too,?Lily agreed. 揑 liked to cut out Christmas trees and Santa Claus.?
揧抋ll wanted to cut those out and decorate them even in the summertime.?Risa smiled. 揑抦 glad you have good memories, but I absolutely hate storms.?
揥hy??Haley turned to focus on Risa.
揟hey remind me of hard times. Thunder was so loud when Paul and I eloped that we could hardly even hear each other抯 vows. The sun came out later that day when we were in a cheap motel, and then it stormed again when we went home to get my things and tell Mama I was going to Kentucky,?Risa explained.
揑t was storming when Granny Martha told us to pack up our stuff and get out of Kentucky,?Lily remembered.
揃ut it wasn抰 when Granny Stella told us to leave,?Daisy said. 揇oes that mean she might come around later on down the road??
Risa made the turn onto the gravel road leading back to the church. 揌aley, you are our guru when it comes to psychological things. Does this mean Mama will have a change of heart??
揟hat抯 totally up to her,?Haley said, 揵ut given her past, I wouldn抰 put money on it. How does that make you feel, Daisy??
揑t makes me sad,?Risa answered before Daisy could. 揘ot for me as much as for Mama. Granny Stella is missing so much by not allowing me and the girls into her life, and she doesn抰 have any joy.?
揑 don抰 want to grow up to be like her or Granny Martha梕ither one,?Daisy answered. 揟hat抯 how it makes me feel.?
揟hat抯 good,?Haley said.
As usual, a cloud of dust followed the truck as Risa drove back to the old church. She could see blue skies ahead of her and dark clouds mixed with a gray fog of dust in the rearview mirror. But she was in the company of her family梩wins by blood and a sister of the heart with two more sisters waiting at the bar. If there were such things as omens, she had them all right there in the truck on the way to her new job. The dark times in the past would come to her mind occasionally, but the future held blue skies. Her girls were with her, and their memories were good, and what she had with Haley and the rest of the team went so much deeper than just friendship.