Risa draped an arm around Lily抯 shoulders and drew her close for a side hug. 揥e don抰 need proof of anything, my child. Everything is working out for all of us pretty well.?
揇on抰 include me in that all of us business,?Mary Nell whispered. 揔evin called again last night. He promised to go to rehab and therapy if I抣l just give him another chance. He even says he would be willing to move to Texas and be content just to play gigs in this area. I don抰 know how long I抣l be fighting this war, but I keep telling him no.?
揌is name should be Linus,?Risa said.
揥hy抯 that??Mary Nell asked.
揧ou are his security blanket,?Risa answered.
揧ou got that right,?Mary Nell said with a sigh and a nod.
揌e has found out too late that he抣l have to find another security blanket, though, hasn抰 he??Jessica asked.
揧es,?Mary Nell answered with conviction, 揵ut if I didn抰 have y抋ll to talk to, and have the fear of disappointing Daddy again, he might be able to talk me into giving him that second chance. He looked so pitiful, and it抯 hard for me to say no.?
揥e are here,?Haley said, 揳nytime of the day or night.?
揧ou might want to kick me out of that basket of all of us having things working for us, too,?Risa said.
揘o! You抮e not going back to Kentucky, are you??Jessica gasped.
揘ope, but Martha could file unfit-mother charges against me, so everything isn抰 going too well for me, either.?
揃ut Daddy hasn抰 offered to leave all his dead animals behind and move out here with us, has he??Lily asked.
揟he devil will pass out snow cones in hell before that happens,?Risa said and turned to focus on Haley. 揧ou haven抰 mentioned anything about your baby daddy in a couple of weeks. Is everything all right in your corner of the world??
揈verything is great. Remember that next week, we find out whether we get a girl or a boy.?
揂nd we start to school next week,?Daisy said. 揟his summer went faster than any one we抳e ever had, and we have to think about what we抮e really going to do when we finish our senior year.?
揟he world is our oyster,?Lily quipped.
Jessica was surprised to hear someone as young as Lily quote Shakespeare, but she was right about that. The pearl in her own oyster was Wade, and things were going to work out for them梥he felt it in the depths of her soul. She probably shouldn抰 be impatient, but she kept thinking that things were going too well, and that the other shoe would drop any minute.
揕ook!?Daisy squealed and pointed toward the sign. 揑t抯 up and in place. Isn抰 it beautiful??
They were all so engrossed with the new sign that they paid little attention to Zach as he drove across the lot and the three men loaded the old steeple on the back of his truck, then drove it back to the barn. In just a few minutes, all three men came back to the porch.
揑 could sure use a bottle of water when we get these pews loaded up,?Zach said.
揥e got water, tea, and cold beer,?Risa told him.
揟ea sounds great,?Zach said as he picked up the end of the other pew.
Daisy went inside and brought out a glass of ice and a gallon of sweet tea. She set it on the edge of the porch, and said, 揌elp yourself. Anyone else want something to drink??
Oscar pulled a bandanna from his pocket and swiped sweat from his face. 揑抎 take a cold beer.?
揗ake that two,?Wade said.
揧抋ll wouldn抰 want to rent out that barn, would you??Zach filled his glass and drank half of it down. 揟he place where I work now has been put up for sale. I like quiet when I work.?
Jessica chuckled. 揟his is going to be a bar. We抣l be open until two in the morning. Do you really think you抣l have peace and quiet here??
揑 work in the day and usually knock off no later than six. Right now, I live in the loft above the small warehouse on the outskirts of Copperas Cove, where I work. They tell me in three months I have to be out because my place will be razed to make a golf course,?he said. 揑抦 looking for a place to relocate. I抎 gladly rent the barn and buy that RV out there. I see you抳e got a 慒or Sale?sign on it. You don抰 have to give me a decision today, but I抎 appreciate it if you抎 think about it.?He finished off his tea and poured another glass.
揟hat抯 where I keep my tools,?Wade told him.
揑 take on no more than two projects at a time,?Zach said, 搒o all I need is a corner, but for now, I thank you for this sweet tea. I抦 going back up the road to get busy on this steeple. Oscar and I抳e talked about what to do with it. What do you want on the church pews??
Wade raised an eyebrow toward Jessica. 揌ave y抋ll decided??
揟he same thing you worked on the mirror. Lily picked out some artwork that she could send links to on your phone if that would work. Do you think maybe you could carve it into the wood, rather than just painting it??Jessica asked. 揟hat way it would be permanent.?