Chapter 6
“You did good today, Ophelia,” Bernie said as she helped set the table for dinner on Mother’s Day. “Church is a better place to take a feller on a first date than a bar. I talked to Dolly and Gladys and Frannie, my poker-playin’ buddies, and they all agreed that we’d be good at matchmaking. We all need something to keep us from getting stale and molding to the point that we have to go to one of those nursing home places. And Endora is helping me set up a Facebook page to get things started.”
“It wasn’t a date,” Ophelia protested.
“You sat with him,” Ursula said. “I could almost feel the vibes that were dancing around the pew where we were all lined up.”
“What you felt was pregnant brain,” Ophelia told her.
“Pregnant brain forgets things and gets all emotional, and honey, I could almost reach out and grab those sparks that lit up the sanctuary this morning,” Tertia argued. “And y’all shared a hymnbook. You know what that means in a small town.”
Luna pulled the roaster with the pot roast out of the oven. “Small town, nothing! This is nearly a ghost town, so it means even more. I bet all the little old ladies in the church will be looking at the calendar to see what month they need to pencil in a day to give y’all a wedding shower.”
“Small towns,” Ophelia groaned.
“Gotta love ’em,” Bo said with a giggle. “I’ve lived in Nashville all these years, and I only know a handful of people. I love coming home to Spanish Fort. This place is like a reality soap opera. No wonder Mama and Ursula can write such great romance stories. All they have to do is look around them for ideas.”
Ursula took glasses down from the cabinet and filled them with ice. “Thank you for that, Bo, and you are right. I’ve got the first book in my new historical trilogy done, and all the edits are finished. Now it’s on to the second one.”
“Second what?” Joe Clay led the parade of the rest of the family, plus Vera and Alan, into the kitchen.
“My second book, but y’all all take a seat,” Ursula answered. “Happy Mother’s Day again, Mama. You and Vera are the queens today. We should have gotten y’all some crowns to wear.”
Joe Clay pulled out a chair for Mary Jane. “She’s the queen every day in my book.”
“But today she and Vera are both mamas,” Ophelia said. “So, we all want to honor them.”
“Next month we’ll make Father’s Day as special as this one is,” Ursula reminded him as she carried a basket of hot rolls to the table.
“Will you make blackberry cobbler for me?” he asked.
“Yes, we will,” Bo answered. “And we will make corn bread and red beans with ham.”
“And fried potatoes?” Joe Clay asked.
“For sure,” Bo promised.
Jake crossed the room and picked up a tray loaded with all the glasses of ice. “I’ll take this, and”—he lowered his voice so that only Ophelia could hear—“thank you so much for inviting me. This is great.”
Ophelia followed behind him with a bowl filled with ears of corn on the cob. “What?” she asked.
“All of this family stuff.” Jake set the tray on the table and then placed a glass at each place setting. “Do y’all ever argue or disagree on anything? This seems like one of those perfect old television shows from way back when.”
“Oh, honey!” She giggled, “Stick around long enough and you’ll see some first-class arguments.”
“I just might do that,” Jake said.
“Do what?” Aunt Bernie asked.
“I was wondering if the sisters ever have disagreements,” Jake answered.
“I could tell you some stories that would knock your socks off!” Bernie replied. “They’re on their best behavior today since it’s Mother’s Day.”
“And Sunday,” Joe Clay added. “Mary Jane always said that Sunday was the day they had to be good girls.”
Endora sat down in her usual place. “If you fight on Sunday, it makes Jesus cry.”
“That’s right,” Mary Jane said with a smile and a nod.
“I heard that so much that it’s branded on my brain,” Tertia said.
When everyone began to take their places around the table, Jake nudged Ophelia on the shoulder. “Where am I supposed to sit?”
Bernie pointed to a chair. “Right here between me and Ophelia.”
After Joe Clay said a quick grace, Bernie picked up the tea pitcher on her end of the table, filled her glass, handed it to Jake, and asked, “What part of Texas did you grow up in?”
“Down around Jasper,” Jake answered. “My dad has a ranch, but my grandpa on my mother’s side had a winery.” Jake filled his glass and passed the pitcher on to Ophelia. “Things weren’t so different in that area than they are up here. Sunday dinner is at my folks now since my grandparents are both gone. It’s not as big as this except on holidays. My mama is one of eight children, so there’s lots of cousins. Conor, the one who’s about my age, will be joining me in the wine business here in Spanish Fort at the end of summer.”
Ophelia didn’t even need to see Bernie’s face to know her brain cells were running around like Endora’s half-grown cats chasing each other up and down the stairs. She leaned back far enough to see Bernie smiling and staring across the table at Bo, Rae, and Endora, kind of like a kid in a candy store. A new man was coming to town. Aunt Bernie was already deciding which sister was going to wind up with him. If Jake’s cousin was as sexy as he was and made one of her three sisters get little shots of steamy desire every time they were near him, then Aunt Bernie might not have to work too hard on her next project.
Ophelia’s hand was still tingling from Jake’s touch when he passed the tea to her and took the basket of hot rolls that Bernie sent to him.
“Got to keep these going or else we’ll get yelled at,” she whispered.
“Sorry,” Jake said in a low voice, “I was just enjoying the moment.”
Another brush of the fingertips when Jake passed the bread to Ophelia, plus the comment he had just made, put a slight blush on her face. She placed a roll on her plate and sent the basket on around the table, and then took a long drink of her tea. The icy-cold liquid did very little to cool her down.
“Does Conor have blond hair and pretty green eyes?” Bernie asked.
“Nope, Conor has black hair and brown eyes,” Jake answered. “He’s shorter than I am, and on the shy side. I’m looking forward to having him live with me in the trailer. I’m finding that living alone is a bit lonely.
“You look like you are deep in thought. I’ve got a penny for them, or even a bottle of your favorite wine, if you are willing to share,” Jake whispered to Ophelia.
“Sorry, they’re not for sale today.” No way would she tell him that he was and had been in her thoughts too often to count. “But if you’d like to sell yours to me for a penny, I’ll dig one out of my purse after dinner.”
“I’ll take that penny, but I don’t want to yell my thoughts out over all the top of this noise. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying every moment of it, but how about we go for a drive?” Jake suggested. “We can talk when it’s a little quieter than it is here.”
Ophelia shook her head. “Not today. It’s Mother’s Day and we play games after we eat. Besides this is a special one. We’re celebrating Vera and Mama both being mothers, and Ursula who will be a mother by the time the next Mother’s Day rolls around.”
“Tomorrow, then?” Jake asked. “I need to go to Wichita Falls and pick up supplies. We could leave midmorning, have lunch, and then pick up my order at the warehouse.”
“I’d love to,” she said.
“Pick you up at ten?” he asked.
“I’ll be ready,” she told him. “And you are invited to stay for games after we eat.”
“Love to, but I’ve got to warn you, if it’s poker, I’m really good,” he said.
Shane raised an eyebrow from across the table. “Oh, really? So, you enjoy a game of poker?”
“Did I hear poker?” Remy asked. “I’ve been thinking about getting up a weekly game.”
“Dang it, Vera,” Alan said with a long sigh. “If these boys are going to get up a weekly poker game, we really should get serious about buying that house next door to Shane and Luna’s place. I would love to get in on games with them.”
“I can sure agree with that,” Bernie said. “Vera can help me with my new business venture.”
“What’s that?” Mary Jane asked.
“Aunt Bernie is starting up a matchmaking thing on the internet,” Endora said.
“I thought you were teasing,” Ophelia gasped.
Bernie winked at her. “No, ma’am, I am not, but right now I want to hear more about this poker-night thing.”
“I’m offering the Paradise for a weekly game,” Joe Clay said.
“Why don’t we have it at my place?” Remy suggested. “That way the ladies could have a girls’ night and work on wedding stuff for Luna and Shane. How about Sunday nights, starting tonight?”
“Works for me,” Shane said. “We don’t plan to open the new store on Sunday, so I’ll be free.”
“Sounds great to me,” Mary Jane said. “I can finish up my special day with all my girls and Aunt Bernie.”
“And after the wedding, it will be a girls’ night for us,” Ophelia said.
“I don’t suppose you’re going to let women play?” Aunt Bernie said with a long sigh.
“They’d lose all their money if you were allowed in the game,” Mary Jane answered with a giggle. “And besides we need you here to help us with wedding plans. If your hotline to the Universe or Fate or whatever power you have is right…”
“Of course, it’s right!” Bernie butted in, “Living proof is right here at this table.”
Ursula raised her hand. “Here I am, and thank you, Aunt Bernie.”
“You are very welcome,” Bernie replied with a nod.
“It’s settled then,” Remy said, and then leaned over and kissed Ursula on the cheek. “Is that all right with you, darlin’?”
“Of course, it’s all right. I’d love an evening every week with all my sisters. Rae, you and Bo could join us with Zoom when you are back in Nashville and Oklahoma, and you aren’t on police duty or playing a gig,” Ursula said.
“Tonight, Alan can get to sit in on the game before we have to fly home in the morning, and I get to spend more time with all these girls,” Vera said. “So, you’re thinking of starting a matchmaking business, Bernie? I’m not sure I could be of any help, but I would like to hear more about it.”
Ophelia stole a sideways glance over at Jake and was glad she had decided to work for him. That way she would get to know all his ways—good, bad, or somewhere in between—on a daily basis.
“Okay, spill the beans,” Tertia said as soon as all the guys left that evening to go play poker.
“Who? Me?” Ophelia asked. “I thought we were going to work on wedding plans.”
“We’ll do that later,” Tertia said. “Bo and Rae are leaving in the morning, and we all want to know what all those sly little looks were between you and Jake.”
Ophelia put on her best innocent expression. “Y’all are imagining things. You’ve all got wedding fever and you want to transfer it all over to me rather than accept the fact that you want to be in Ursula or Luna’s shoes right now.”
“I agree with Ophelia,” Bernie said, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t want her to tell us how she feels about Jake.”
Ophelia held up her palms. “Jake is going to be my boss starting Tuesday morning. At best, right now, we could be friends. I’m going with him tomorrow to Wichita Falls to pick up supplies for the winery. End of story. Let’s move on to something else. Like whether we’re going to have nosegay bouquets for us girls, or if we’ll each carry a single rose.”
“All right,” Bernie said with a sigh and a shrug. “If you won’t talk about Jake, then it just means that you are attracted to him, and you are covering it up, because you don’t want to admit that my juju is right.”
“Aunt Bernie,” Mary Jane said in a scolding tone, “a woman would have to be stone-cold blind not to be attracted to Jake. That doesn’t mean there’s a budding romance.”
“Not me,” Tertia said. “I don’t like blond men.”
“Or me,” Bo added. “I dated a man who wore glasses a few years back. Three dates in, I figured he was a controlling jerk. I’ve never been attracted to men with glasses or even contacts since then.”
Ophelia poked Bo on the arm with her forefinger. “That’s kind of mean to judge all men by one fool who had trouble seeing.”
“Don’t judge me,” Bo snapped. “Tertia doesn’t like blonds, so what’s the difference?”
Mary Jane slapped a hand over her mouth to cover up a giggle. “Mother’s Day is officially over when my girls start to get snippy, but I sure appreciate y’all being nice most of today.”
Tertia rolled her eyes and wiped imaginary sweat from her forehead. “It was tough, Mama, and I bit my tongue so many times that I’ve had to grow a new one.”
“And to think I couldn’t wait for you to come home,” Ophelia groaned.
“I’m having second thoughts about coming back with all this going on,” Bo said. “Reckon the police department up in the Oklahoma Panhandle needs a singin’ cop, Rae?”
Bernie reached over and patted Bo’s arm. “Don’t you worry, darlin’. I’m taking care of Ophelia and Tertia. By the time you get here, it’ll just be you and Endora in the house.”
Vera nudged Mary Jane with an elbow. “This is the best Mother’s Day ever. Alan, let’s drive past that house for sale and get the Realtor’s phone number off the sign. We can live here in the winter, maybe from Christmas until after Mother’s Day, and then live up north through the hot Texas summer and into fall.”
“Shane already got it for me, and we can look at it this afternoon at three,” Alan said. “And I like the idea of spending half our time here in Spanish Fort.”
Ophelia glanced over at her mother. “We argue. We agree. But we keep it in the family.”
“Yes, we do.” Mary Jane agreed.