Chapter 18
“Is there still some chicken and dressing left?” Willa Rose asked as she got in line behind Yasmin at the buffet line.
She liked all seven of the sisters and Audrey, but she had formed a special bond with Dara and Yasmin in the few days they had been at the Paradise.
Maybe it was because they were not family, or the reason might be that they were simply easy to talk to.
“Right now, there is still half a cooker full, but I am about to dip into it. I’ll leave you a few bites,” Dara answered from up ahead of them.
Willa Rose turned around and winked at Tripp. “I’ll share mine with you if it’s all gone.”
“Rumors will fly if we do that,” he teased.
“What can I say? Might as well hang for a sheep as a lamb, as the old saying goes. I’ve already cheated on Zachary once,” she said with a grin.
“Sharing food with you is worth getting into a duel with your intended, and I am a fairly good shot. If he chooses swords, I’m in big trouble, though.”
“You would fight for my honor?” Willa Rose asked.
“I’m not sure, but I would definitely fight for chicken and dressing.”
“At least he’s honest”—Dara giggled—“but I had no idea that you were engaged.”
“I’m not, but Bernie has fixed me up with a blind date tomorrow evening that she really hopes turns into something serious,” Willa Rose explained.
“I heard that she was a matchmaker,” Dara whispered and nodded toward the dining room where Bernie was talking to Zeb and Hank.
“She even has a website and hosts those speed dating events,” Tripp explained. “So far she has a ninety percent positive outcome.”
“Then I’ll look for an invitation to your wedding in the next few months,” Dara said.
“Don’t hold your breath or start shopping for a new dress. I’ve already cheated on what’s-his-name.” She lowered her voice. “I kissed Tripp.”
“If the man loves you, he might forgive you,” Dara joked. “But you have to be honest with him from the beginning. Do you have feelings for Tripp?”
“I’m not sure,” Willa Rose answered and took a big serving of chicken and dressing, “He kisses pretty good, but he has roots here in Spanish Fort.”
Dara added a hot roll to her plate. “If a person is going to settle down, this seems like a lovely place to do so, but if you have a wandering soul, I can always find a place for you with the carnival. Finn has already hired my cousin, Adam, to help maintain the machinery for next year’s tour. Y’all would make a cute couple.”
Willa Rose moved on down the line as they talked. “Thanks, but no thanks. If I don’t stay here, I’ll go back to Poetry, where I was born and raised.”
***
At least she said ‘if’ and not ‘when’, Tripp thought.
“Well, the offer stands if you change your mind, and I expect you to keep me posted about the new feller who’s about to be in your life,” Dara said. “Are you just a little jealous, Tripp?”
He laid his free hand over his chest. “I’m all broken up over the new guy. I thought that kiss proved that she and I had something real. But I guess she was just toying with my poor old heart.”
“Who kissed who?” Bernie asked as she passed by on her way to the dessert table.
“My last girlfriend’s goodbye kiss was short and sweet.
Then she told me that she had found someone who wasn’t a stick in the mud like me and she was breaking up with me,” Tripp lied.
“It was horrible, Aunt Bernie. That’s the reason I haven’t wanted to date anyone.
My heart is still in pieces over that final kiss she gave me. ”
“I can tell by the twinkle in your eyes that you are full of crap and lying to me,” Bernie fussed. “But Melanie is going to cure you. One look at her will make you forget all about that kiss.”
“So…” Dara shot a wink over her shoulder at Willa Rose. “Are y’all double dating?”
“No, but that’s not a bad idea. Maybe if Felix and Melissa aren’t attracted to us, there might be chemistry between the two of them,” Tripp answered.
Bernie put a piece of coconut pie and half a dozen cookies of one kind or another on her plate. “It’s Zachary and Melanie. At least try to remember their names, or I won’t hold up my end of the deal we made.”
“Yes, ma’am. Zachary it is,” Willa Rose declared.
“That’s better,” Bernie said.
“She’s fierce,” Dara whispered when she had left the kitchen.
“Yes, she is,” Tripp said in a low tone. “She owned and operated a bar up in southern Oklahoma for half a century or more. She could outdrink all of us, and she likes a cigar on Sunday nights. She says it keeps her from ever getting dementia.”
Dara reached the end of the line. “I’m going to go find my husband. But Miz Bernie doesn’t need to worry about losing her mind. She’s too ornery for that. I want to grow up and be just like her.”
“Heaven forbid!” Willa Rose gasped.
Dara just giggled and disappeared into the crowd, moving toward tables that had been set up in the living room.
“Let’s take our food out to the barn,” Tripp suggested to Willa Rose when they had filled their plates.
“And miss out on all this noise?”
“Exactly,” Tripp said. “Besides we can be the first to see Santa Claus and his elves and helpers.”
“Oh, there’s more than just ho-ho-ho?”
“I’ve heard that there might be,” he answered.
“Then, by all means, lead the way,” Willa Rose said.
“From the footprints in what’s left of the snow, I will say that we aren’t the only ones who have this idea,” she said when they had passed through the sunporch and found it full of folks.
Tripp glanced down and saw dozens of footprints going toward the barn. “Guess everyone else had the same idea. At least we can sit on chairs out there and not have to find a square foot of floor space.” But his mind was on what Willa Rose said earlier about if she left, not when .
***
“Where did all these people come from?” Willa Rose whispered when they stepped inside the barn. “This has to be the entire population of Spanish Fort.”
“Yep, and the grandparents and aunts and uncles from as far away as Gainesville, Nocona, and Saint Jo. Everyone is sick of being stuck inside. Today gives them a cute program to watch, and also a potluck dinner, and their kids that couldn’t go see Santa earlier because of the weather get to see him today. ”
“Is that…” She clamped a hand over her mouth and blinked several times.
“Yes, again, the elves today are presented to you by Knox and Shane. The helpers dressed in those little red velvet costumes are Ivy and Tertia,” Tripp answered. “Let’s sit here in the back row out of their way.”
Pansy waddled over to Willa Rose, sat down, and raised her fat little neck up as far as it would go.
“Here you go, baby girl,” Willa Rose crooned and fed her a bite of ham.
“You do know that makes her a cannibal, don’t you?” Tripp joked.
“We don’t care, do we?” She raised her voice an octave when she talked to the pig. She dropped a bite of sweet potato casserole and Pansy caught it midair. “There now, that makes you a vegetarian.”
“That animal will be running away from the farm to stay with you if she ever finds out where you live,” Tripp said.
“She’s cute, but not that cute,” Willa Rose said.
“Oh, I thought maybe you wanted a potbellied critter for Christmas.” Tripp finished off the last of the food on his plate.
“I’m going to sit on Santa’s lap and ask him to put two under the tree for me,” she said without a moment’s hesitation. “That way I can raise them and have lots of fat little babies in the yard, or maybe I’ll buy a house and fence the backyard special for them.”
Tripp chuckled. “Do you want red bows on them?”
“Don’t you dare,” Willa Rose said. “Honest, I do not want a pig for Christmas.”
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Five sons like Yasmin said,” she whispered.
“Santa might not be able to locate five, but miracles happen during the holidays,” Tripp said.
“I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” she said. “And I would be happy with one baby, but that would require more than a miracle. It would have to be pure magic.”
“Does it have to be a baby boy?” Tripp asked.
Bernie sat down beside Willa Rose. “The kids are all on the way out here to see if Santa Claus is really coming. Did I hear you say something about a baby boy? Are you pregnant?”
“No, ma’am, I am not. I’m not going on the date until tomorrow,” Willa Rose answered.
“Well, who is expecting?” Bernie asked.
“I don’t know, but Pansy is getting fatter. Do you think Pepper is about to be a daddy?”
“Good God!” Bernie shivered. “I’d hate to see what those animals would look like. Besides, Pansy and Pepper are just friends.”
Is Tripp my friend or is he merely an acquaintance that I’ll forget in a few weeks if I leave this place? Willa Rose wondered.