Chapter 1 #3
Hank looked up and smiled like he used to do—before Willa Rose’s mama died. He laid the strand of leather that he was busy weaving into the edge of a belt off to the side and she knew in that moment that he had already made plans to move to Spanish Fort.
No! No! No! she wanted to scream out loud.
“Hey, Willa Rose, guess what?”
I know what you are about to say from the expression on your face.
“I have just taken a job, and I’m moving to Spanish Fort.
Tripp even threw in a little apartment right over there as part of the deal”—he nodded toward the right—“so I’ve even got a place to live.
Parker says you are welcome to live in the old parsonage if you want to come with me.
He showed it to me on the way here. It’s about half a block from the church so you wouldn’t have to drive to go to services in pretty weather. ”
“No, you are not, and no I am not,” she declared.
Hank’s expression changed to one that she remembered from childhood—the one who said, I’m not changing my mind .
“These guys have invited me to move in early and have Thanksgiving dinner with the family at the Paradise. So, I will be leaving Poetry on Wednesday. It’s either come with me or stay at home.
You can make your own choice, but I will be living in that apartment and starting work on the Monday after Thanksgiving. ”
“But, Daddy, that would mean we would be leaving right at the holiday season, and you know this was always Mama’s favorite time of the year. I’ve already gotten the tree out of the garage. Let’s just wait until after Christmas.”
“I’m taking the job, and I’m moving,” he said, leaving no room for argument. “The only question is are you moving with me or staying in Poetry?”
“We’ll talk about that on the way home.”
Changing your mind will be easy once we’re out of this place and you get the smell of leather and saddle soap out of your nostrils.
“Where are my manners?” Endora’s tone sounded bewildered.
You do not air family arguments or dirty laundry in public. Vada’s voice popped into Willa Rose’s head.
Endora went on, “The blond-haired brother with the ponytail is Knox, and the one over there at the table with your father is Tripp. He’s the one who owns this business. Knox is a carpenter and is responsible for turning this barn into a leather shop and apartment.”
Willa Rose appreciated Endora’s effort to make the best of an awkward situation, but all the horses in Texas would not make her move to this part of the state.
“I’m glad to meet y’all,” she said with a forced smile.
Knox was cute with that blond ponytail, but Willa Rose could tell by the twinkle in his eyes that he would be a handful.
Tripp studied her like she was a bug under a microscope.
He was one of those tall, dark, brooding types.
Neither one appealed to her. The only thing she wanted out of either of them was never to see them again.
“Pleased to meet you,” Tripp said. “Come on in and make yourself at home. Would you like something to drink? Maybe a cup of hot chocolate to take the chill off, or a soda, or a beer?”
I just want to get out of town and never look back.
“Nothing for me,” she answered and whipped around when she heard her father humming quietly as he worked. That and whistling when he was busy had always comforted her, and she hadn’t even realized that both had dried up the second that her mother drew her last breath.
I can’t leave Poetry. I can’t walk away from the house where I was born and raised, and what about all of Mama’s antiques? No, that’s not right. If I wanted to, I could leave my friends, my home since I was born, and the house I inherited from my grandparents. But I won’t.
“You’ve always wanted to put in an antique store. Use everything in the house to get started,” Hank said.
Endora touched her on the shoulder, and she jerked her head around.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Endora said.
“That’s a tough decision to be sprung on you so fast, but I just wanted to say that we don’t have an antique store in this county.
We have some of those places in Nocona where folks can rent a booth, but people in this part of the state have to drive a ways to get the good stuff.
Knox owns the old store building. You can see it from here, and I can drive you by it on the way to the Paradise.
He might rent it to you since it’s sitting empty. ”
“No one would drive up to this place to buy antiques,” Willa Rose said.
“That’s probably what folks told Jake when he started a winery, or the feedback Shane got when he and Luna built the convenience and fishing store, but they are doing very well.” Endora’s eyes flashed aggravation more than her tone. “You might be surprised if you give it a shot.”
Well, well, well! The pregnant lady wasn’t all sugarplums and Christmas candy, so this isn’t The Waltons after all.
“You won’t know if you don’t try,” Knox agreed.
“You can use the old store, free of charge, if you are really interested. It’s just a big, empty building right now with a tiny bathroom in the back closet, and a little extra room off to one side.
The place wouldn’t pass inspection codes to turn it into a restaurant like Tertia and Noah wanted to do.
I understand it was a general store back when the cattle run came through here after the Civil War and Spanish Fort was a big place.
It’s even got some of the original shelving around three sides, so you’d be ready to go. ”
“What do you say to that?” Hank asked.
She didn’t care what the building was used for. She wasn’t leaving Poetry, and neither was her father. “My head is spinning. Let me think about it for a couple of days.”
“Fair enough,” Hank said. “I’m going to stay here for a while. See you back at the parsonage.”
“We need to be going anyway,” Endora said. “We’re going to the Paradise for an hour or two.”
“Nice meeting y’all.” Willa Rose remembered her manners and waved over her shoulder as she followed Endora outside.
“Are you really considering moving, or are you going to try to talk Hank out of the idea?” Endora asked as soon as they were in the car.
“Daddy is happy when he’s working on leather,” Willa Rose whispered.
“After the past months, it’s good to see him with joy in his face, but there’s no way we are leaving Mama’s memories.
He’ll come around to see that this was just another of his escape trips by the time we spend a night or two at home. ”
“Just how big is Poetry?” Endora asked. “If he is dead serious and you feel like you have to come with him, will the move be a culture shock?”
“Not at all. Poetry used to be a small town, but Dallas commuters have found it and it’s grown a lot.
I worked over at the Long Elementary School in Terrell until the pandemic hit.
I lived a couple of doors down from Mama and Daddy in a small house, and I taught from home while everything was shut down.
During that time, Mama got sick and needed me, so I quit my job last summer to help take care of her.
But”—she flashed her best smile—“Daddy loved Mama too much to ever leave her. He still visits the cemetery every day.”
“I can’t imagine losing my mama,” Endora said.
“I hope you don’t have to experience that pain for a long time. Have you always lived here?”
“Not always. Luna and I were raised here, but we left after we graduated high school. We returned a couple of years ago,” Endora told her.
“Now I write children’s books as well as serve as the preacher’s wife in the church, and I love it.
I taught school for a while, but I don’t miss teaching one bit.
My mama told all seven of us to do what we love. From what I heard, you love antiques.”
“I do, and I loved teaching, but I’ve been away from it for a year and a half,” Willa Rose answered. “Do you ever look back with regrets?”
“Not one time,” Endora said. “Turn right at the next place. The Paradise is at the end of the lane.”
“Why do you call it that?”
“That was the original name, and it’s stuck for way more than a hundred years. In the beginning it was an old brothel,” Endora answered.
Sweet Lord! Don’t turn over in your grave, Mama.