Chapter 4
“The nice thing about Sunday night services is that Bernie keeps her butt at home,” Hettie said as she slid out of the passenger’s seat of Audrey’s truck.
Audrey pointed toward the three Callahan brothers walking across the parking lot just like they’d done that morning. “You might get some relief, but I don’t.”
“They’ve been in Spanish Fort right at three months, and they haven’t ever come on Sunday night, not one time,” Hettie said. “Bring my cane around here. I might beat on them with it.”
“They’re here to aggravate me,” Audrey said with a long sigh.
“The parkin’ lot is only about half-full. That means there will be lots of empty pews. We will sneak in and sit on the back pew,” Hettie said.
Audrey handed the cane to Hettie and walked slowly beside her. “Brodie is so stubborn that I feel like I’m losing the war with him.”
“Maybe so, but going down with a slingshot in your hand is better than lying down and giving up,” Hettie said as she entered the church. “Well, ain’t that the luck!”
“What?” Audrey asked.
“Look who’s on the back pew,” Hettie hissed.
Audrey glanced around the edge of the double doors, and sure enough Brodie, Tripp, and Knox were sitting side by side just inside. “I’d turn around and go home, but that would mean he would win,” she whispered.
Hettie let out a sigh that could have been heard halfway to the Pearly Gates.
“If you want to go back home, I’ll bite the bullet and let him win,” Audrey said.
Hettie pulled herself up to her full height. “And let that hussy Bernie win? No, I will not .”
“What’s that about Bernie?” Audrey asked.
“See that mop of dyed red hair up there on the third pew? That’s Bernie, and Mary Jane and Joe Clay are right beside her. They never come to Sunday night services, but they’re here now to test the Jesus in me.”
Audrey suppressed a giggle. “Did you bring your flask?”
“Nope, I left it at home because they aren’t supposed to be here,” Hettie groaned.
“I guess the Jesus in you is really about to get tested,” Audrey said.
Hettie shot her a dirty look. “Let’s go home.”
Before Audrey could answer, she caught Brodie looking over his shoulder right at her.
Their eyes locked, and she could feel the chemistry between them.
Whatever it was—like, love, or hate—the electricity was hot and fiery.
But she was not going to let the sparks that lit up the room get between her and buying his farm.
And there was no way she was going to leave the church now that he had seen her.
That would be letting him mark up a win.
She raised her fingertips to her lips, pasted on a fake smile, and blew him a kiss.
His eyes widened, and he quickly turned around.
“One for me,” she whispered.
“What was that?” Hettie asked.
Audrey looped her arm into Hettie’s and led her down the center aisle. “That was firing round one of the cannon. I feel confident that I rattled Brodie. We’re not letting the Callahans, or Bernie, or any of their other shirttail kinfolks run us off.”
“I’ll need a couple of whiskey sours when I get home,” Hettie said in a low voice.
“Me, too.” Audrey could feel Brodie’s eyes on her as she and her great-aunt walked down the center aisle, so she put a little extra swing in her hips.
***
Brodie couldn’t take his eyes off Audrey, not even when she sat down on the end of a pew about halfway up the aisle.
He had always been attracted to brunettes with brown eyes, but there was no way he could ever let whatever it was between them get in the way of him hanging on to his land.
Not even a tornado had the power to wipe his dream away, and Audrey Tucker was surely not that mean or dangerous.
“Don’t let her get to you,” Knox whispered.
“I’m doing my best,” Brodie said.
Silence filled the sanctuary when Parker took his place behind the lectern. “Let’s all turn to page six in our hymnal and sing, ‘Love Lifted Me.’”
Knox elbowed Brodie. “Maybe this is a warning. If she can’t get the land any other way, she’ll marry you.”
“When tractors fly,” Brodie snapped.
When the song ended, Parker read the parable of the Good Samaritan from the book of Luke. Then he closed the Bible and looked out over the congregation. “Loving our neighbors isn’t always an easy job, but Jesus said we need to do it.”
Brodie tried to listen, but pretty soon all he heard was the buzz of Parker’s deep voice and a few amens from up close to the front pews.
He could easily love all the Paradise families—all seven of his half sisters had accepted him better than he’d ever hoped they would.
Credit for that could be given to Mary Jane, who was the fairest person he had ever met.
But to love Hettie Morris and Audrey Tucker?
He would rather be like the chief priests in the parable who left the poor man by the side of the road to die.
Knox poked him on the arm when services ended.
When Brodie realized that Parker was closing with prayer, he bowed his head, but his mind was still on the idea of how much eternal trouble he would be in if he couldn’t love all of his neighbors.
Parker’s amen at the end was followed with a hearty echo from the congregation, and people began to stand up all around him.
He had barely made it to his feet when Linda Massey appeared in front of him.
She was a tall blond with crystal-clear blue eyes.
The kind of trophy woman that most men would have loved to have hanging on their arm, but there was no electricity between the two of them—not even when she put on her best flirty smile.
“I’m so excited about our date next Sunday,” she said. “Where are we going?”
“I’ve got two places in mind, but I want it to be a surprise,” Brodie said.
“I love surprises,” she almost squealed.
“Great,” Brodie said. “See you then.”
She patted him on the cheek. “I’ll look forward to it all week.”
“So, you’ve got a date with Brodie?” Audrey’s voice cut through all the noise.
Linda whipped around, crossed her arms over her chest, and narrowed her eyes at Audrey, who was right behind her. “Yes, I do. Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?”
“Nope,” Audrey answered with half a shrug. “I could care less who you date. I hope you like long conversations about organic farming.”
“Oh, honey…” Linda flipped her hair over her shoulder and glared at Audrey.
“I could listen to his deep drawl read the dictionary.” She turned back to Brodie.
“Miz Bernie has my number if you want to call and talk anytime this week.” Her high-heeled shoes on the wood floor sounded like the rat-a-tat-tat of a snare drum as she headed outside.
“Good luck,” Audrey said. “She’s a clinger. She made a trip to Wichita Falls to try on wedding dresses after the second date with the last guy she went out with. He works for me, and I’ll be glad to share his phone number if you want to verify that.”
“Why would you do that?” Brodie asked.
“If I don’t get your farm, I don’t want her to be my neighbor. After tonight’s sermon, I might not get past the front gates of heaven if I have to love that woman,” Audrey answered.
Bernie wedged her way through the crowd until she was standing between Audrey and Brodie. “Don’t listen to her. Linda is a sweet woman and holds several positions on church committees.”
“Why are you letting Bernie fix you up with dates?” Hettie growled. “Seems to me that with your good looks, you could find your own women.”
Bernie’s expression looked like she could fry Hettie on the spot, leaving nothing but a couple of long braids left on the church floor. She was only a few inches from Hettie’s nose when she turned around. “You stay out of this, Hettie.”
“If you keep up this pushy attitude with them, they’ll head for the hills before summer is done, which would suit me just fine,” Hettie said, and pushed Bernie to one side so she could pass her.
Bernie bowed up to the woman, put her hands on Hettie’s shoulders, and shoved her against the end of the pew. Hettie regained her balance and hit Bernie on the shoulder with her cane.
“That’s enough,” Ursula got between the elderly women. “You are both in church. If you want to duke it out, take it out in the parking lot.”
Audrey took Hettie by the arm. “Let’s go home.”
“And don’t come back,” Bernie hissed.
Hettie whipped around and raised her cane. “The likes of you will never run me out of my church. I was here long before you left your bar and came to my town with your dyed red hair.”
Ursula draped an arm around Bernie’s shoulders. “Let it go. Take the higher ground.”
“Not today,” Bernie snapped and glared at Hettie. “I’m a scrapper. If you ever hit me again, I will take you down on the spot. God might even put an extra star in my crown for doing it.”
“You might get a surprise,” Hettie said as Audrey hustled her outside.
Brodie felt like he was driving past a train wreck. He couldn’t look away from the fight between the two old ladies, and yet, Knox was pushing him out into the aisle.
Brodie turned to say something, but Knox pulled him toward the far end of the aisle. The space was narrow, so they had to leave by single file, but they were away from the cat fight between Hettie and Bernie. Tripp opened a side door leading out into the parking lot.
When they were all three outside, Tripp wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. “Can you believe that just happened?”
“I can, but what’s our brother going to do about his date on Sunday?” Knox answered. “Looks like Linda will be looking for the white dress, a wedding cake, and a gold ring on her finger by Monday morning.”
“You want to take her out in his place?” Tripp asked as he got into the passenger’s seat of Brodie’s truck.
“Absolutely not!” Knox answered. “I want a woman with some spunk, not one that will make me listen to church stuff every evening.”
“So do I,” Brodie said under his breath.
***
“Don’t give me those looks,” Hettie told Audrey as she poured a little whiskey in her coffee on Monday morning.