Sisters in Paradise

Chapter 17

Ophelia was back in her cubicle, the computer in front of her and the controls for her drone at hand, waiting for orders to come to finish the mission. She wondered if the other two controllers sharing the small room with her were affected by what their jobs entailed. But—like always—as she waited for the order to come down to push the right button to destroy a building, she reminded herself that what she did was for the greater good—it protected lives all around the world. Then she heard, “Abort mission,” and let out a long sigh. She closed her eyes and waited for the adrenaline leave her body.

“Are you going to sleep all day?” Endora raised her voice.

What was Endora doing in her cubicle? Didn’t she know that what went on in there was classified, and she could get in big trouble for sneaking into the room? Not only her, but also Ophelia, who could lose her job.

Her eyes popped open, but she wasn’t at her desk. Sunlight flowing through the window in the balcony door bathed her face in warmth. Endora held out a cup of steaming hot coffee. But Ophelia’s heart was still racing from the adrenaline rush. Then she heard the buzzing sound of chain saws and realized what had triggered the dream. They came at longer intervals nowadays, and someday, according to the therapist, the dreams wouldn’t haunt her at all.

“Thank you.” Ophelia sat up in bed, wrapped her hands around the cup, and took a sip. “How long have they been busy out there?”

“Only a few minutes. Remy and Ursula, and Shane and Luna got here in time to have pancakes with us,” Endora answered. “Tertia says if you don’t get downstairs soon, you’ll have to eat cold cereal.”

“Noah and Jake?” Ophelia asked.

“They’re out there loading their trucks. Remy said when they went past where y’all slid off the road last night, there was no truck there. Evidently, the tornado got it and left the bull in its place.”

Ophelia shivered. “We were in that truck and could see all three of those funnel clouds coming right at us. Another five minutes and we would have been swept away too.”

Endora sat down on the edge of the bed, “Jake told Remy that he was terrified something would happen to you. That’s a good man, Sister.”

“Why do you think so?” Ophelia set her coffee on the nightstand and slung her legs over the side of the bed. After the way Endora had thrown a pure old southern hissy fit about any of her sisters dating, hearing her say there was a good man anywhere in the world was amazing.

“When a man doesn’t even think of his own life being in jeopardy but is concerned about the woman he’s with—that tells me he’s a good man,” Endora answered. “I won’t be worried one bit about you if y’all get serious.”

“And Noah?” Ophelia asked.

“Don’t know much about him yet, but Aunt Bernie can’t be right all the time. I can see some vibes between him and Tertia. I think it would be funny if they got into a relationship since she was so adamant about not liking blond-haired men.” Endora smiled and stood up. “You better get a move on if you want Tertia’s pancakes. She even made her famous caramel sauce and there’s whipped cream,” she said as she disappeared out into the hallway.

Ophelia took another sip of coffee and thought about the dream. She had passed all the psych tests, and her therapist continued to give her the “all clear” paperwork. When she left the military at the end of the previous year, she had been warned that she might have a few issues. But she had thought that she would leave the job behind when she went home to Texas. She set the mug on the dresser and stood up. She rolled her neck a few times, then went out onto the balcony, and watched the guys working on the pecan tree that had been there for probably sixty years—maybe more. Now it was gone. Could it be that someday the nightmares would be like that tree—gone in an instant? And if so, what would make it happen?

She went back inside her room, opened the closet door, and took out a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt. Once she was dressed, she hurried down the stairs, across the foyer, and into the kitchen.

“I hear there’s pancakes,” she said.

“Yep, and bacon too,” Bernie answered. “If Tertia and Endora don’t quit putting all this good food on the table, I’m going to gain fifty pounds by next Christmas.”

“Aunt Bernie, you have been a bitty little thing ever since I can remember,” Endora told her.

“It’s all that booze I drank when I was younger,” Bernie said. “It melted all the fat right off my bones, and now I can’t gain weight.”

“Do you reckon I could drop twenty pounds if I drank Jameson every night?” Ophelia asked.

“Nope, and you don’t want to,” Bernie answered. “Jake likes your curves.”

“And does Noah like Tertia’s?” Endora asked.

“He’d be an idiot not to,” Bernie snapped. “Just because he rescued you girls and is out there working to help Joe Clay does not mean I have changed my mind about him. He has to prove himself for me to like the idea of Tertia working for him.”

“How does he do that?” Tertia asked.

“The Universe will tell him how, and then it will let me know that we can approve him as your boss,” Bernie answered. “But we will probably never okay him as a boyfriend.”

“Who is this ‘we’ business?” Tertia asked. “Do you have a superpower hiding out there in the trailer?”

“Yes, I do, and it’s called my hotline to the Universe,” Bernie barked.

“What if I decided to like him as a boyfriend?” Endora asked.

Bernie laid her hand on her forehead and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Never. Not ever. Tertia might be able to train him, but you don’t have the backbone.”

“Well,” Endora huffed. “Thank you so much for that vote of confidence. Maybe I won’t help you with your Bernie’s Advice Column you are starting on a Facebook page.”

“Just statin’ facts, and I’m right proud of you for showing some spunk, but Vera is a crackerjack with the computer too, and she’ll help me,” Bernie said. “Even with a little sass, you and Noah would not work together. I’ve got something else in mind for you.”

“What?” Endora asked.

“It’s a surprise,” Bernie told her.

“What’s a surprise?” Mary Jane entered the kitchen through the back door.

“Who I’m going to settle down with,” Endora answered. “How are the guys doing?”

“Jake brought his three hired hands, and they all have chain saws, so it’s going fast. They’ll have the lane cleared by midmorning. When they get done, I told them to come inside for a break before they go to the church to clean up there. Tertia, can you whip up a couple of pans of brownies?”

“I sure can,” she answered. “And if they all want to have lunch with us, I can make pots of soup. Maybe vegetable, chili, and tortilla.”

“And broccoli cheese with ham?” Endora asked. “We haven’t had that in forever. You didn’t even make it when you were home last Christmas.”

“Only if y’all help me,” Tertia answered and set a plate of pancakes in front of Ophelia.

“Thank you,” Ophelia said. “For your vegetable soup, I will volunteer to peel potatoes and scrape carrots.” She poured melted butter over her pancakes and then topped them off with maple syrup.

“I’m here to help too,” Endora offered. “We can get down the slow cookers and keep it warm all afternoon, then have the leftovers for supper.”

“I’ll make sweet tea,” Bernie said.

“Sounds like we’re all going to eat good today,” Mary Jane said.

Luna breezed in the back door with Ursula right behind her. “My gazebo is fine. The barn roof isn’t even leaking so we’re good.”

“And the tornado took away my morning sickness,” Ursula said with a smile. “I would like another stack of pancakes, Tertia. What are all y’all going to do today? Remy won’t let me help with the cleanup, so just tell me what to do in here. Are the rest of y’all going to go help load wood, or are we going to work on floral arrangements?”

“We’ll work on wedding stuff this evening,” Ophelia answered. “This morning we are cooking. Brownies first for break time, and then we’re having a soup kitchen for all the working men.”

Ursula looked over at Bernie. “Noah, too?”

“I promise not to poison him, but don’t expect me to be hugging him,” Bernie answered.

“Aunt Bernie, he’s out there working hard right along with all the other guys,” Mary Jane scolded. “And if it hadn’t been for him, Ophelia and Jake might have been blown away with that truck.”

Bernie crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m still not hugging him, but I won’t sic Pepper on him. That’s the best I can do.”

“But Pepper likes Noah,” Ophelia argued. “He attacked Jake. Don’t you know what they say about paying attention to who a dog likes and doesn’t like? Maybe you are wrong about Noah and Jake both.”

But I sure hope not where Jake is concerned,Ophelia thought.

“Poor little Pepper was having a bad day and got my instructions mixed up. I told him to tear Noah’s leg off and to cozy up to Jake. The little guy still doesn’t have the English language down too good. It won’t happen again,” Bernie said, explaining it away.

“This seems a lot like a division of labor to me. The men out there working with chain saws, and us girls in here slaving over a hot stove.” Ophelia attempted to change the subject.

Bernie ignored her comments. “You are trying to confuse me. I’m old, but I’m not stupid.”

Mary Jane poured herself a glass of sweet tea and sat down at the table with Ophelia and Bernie. “You aren’t old or stupid, Aunt Bernie, and Ophelia is right. My girls were taught that we all worked together. This reminds me of the historical romances I’ve been writing for years now. That’s the way things were done back then, and very few women owned bars in those days.”

“Well, thank God we’ve been liberated. Did I tell y’all that I would have been the first one to burn my bra, but Temple Donaldson beat me to the punch and threw hers into the big old bonfire before I could get mine off?” Bernie said.

Mary Jane shot a wink over to Ophelia. “Was Temple your friend?”

“Hell…I mean heck, no, she wasn’t my buddy,” Bernie declared. “She made me look like a saint, and, honey, like the words of that song on my jukebox said—‘If I smell like smoke, it’s because I’ve been through hell.’ That’s not a bad word, Mary Jane. It’s a destination.”

Ophelia tilted her head to one side. “How do you figure that you’ve been through hell?”

“Someday, I’ll give Ursula my journals, and she can answer that for you. For now, just take my word that all the things I’ve done would make the devil blush with shame,” Bernie answered. “Mary Jane is trying her best to clean up my soul, so I’ll at least have a chance at getting past the pearly gates.”

“Well, I for one would rather stay in the house and help y’all cook than go out there and load up sticks and limbs,” Ursula said.

“We could save enough of the smaller stuff to have a bonfire tomorrow evening,” Endora suggested. “It could be a celebration of getting our place and the church cleaned up.”

“The ground is wet enough that it wouldn’t be a fire hazard.” Luna got in on the conversation. “And we could do hot dogs and make s’mores.”

“I bet you already have a book in mind for Pepper and the cats about that, don’t you?” Mary Jane asked Endora.

“Yep, just need to build one and take notes,” she answered.

“Keep the fire away from my trailer. Pepper sneezes when he smells smoke,” Bernie said.

“I’m surprised that he can live with you then,” Luna said with a giggle. “But speaking of fire, keep the barn away from the blaze, please. My gazebo didn’t survive a tornado only to be fuel for a fire.”

Ophelia could understand Aunt Bernie and Luna’s concerns, but they were nothing compared to the ideas that popped into her head. She remembered what her mother had said about happy-ever-after only coming after a couple jumped over hurdles and wasn’t quite sure that she could live through many more disasters. She and Jake had survived a tornado. Surely there couldn’t be anything worse in her and Jake’s future, could there?

All seven men—Joe Clay, Shane, Remy, Jake, Rodney, Frankie, and Lester—removed their work boots and left them lined up on the porch. Then they padded across the foyer in sock feet.

“I smell brownies,” Joe Clay said.

“And coffee,” Remy said.

Shane crossed the dining room and gave Luna a kiss. “I can’t smell it, but I bet there’s sweet tea and milk too.”

Mary Jane pointed to a table laden down with brownies and cookies and several beverages. “Y’all sit wherever you want and help yourselves. It’ll be close quarters, but we can all fit.”

Joe Clay took his place at the head of the table and sniffed the air. “What else is brewing in the kitchen?”

“We’re having a soup day for all you guys at lunch,” Mary Jane answered and then kissed him on the cheek before she took her seat beside him. “Got to keep you well fed so you won’t pass out from all that hard work.”

Ophelia caught Jake’s eye and smiled. “Don’t be shy. There’s another pan of brownies coming out of the oven any minute now, so dig in.”

Jake took a chair, filled a coffee mug, and then handed off the pot to Frankie. “Don’t get any ideas about getting this kind of treatment at break time in the winery.”

“If this is how things go at this place, I might jump the fences between here and there and apply for a job here,” Rodney teased and poured himself a glass of sweet tea.

“They do make sure nobody goes hungry,” Remy said. “Aren’t you ladies going to join us?”

“Yep, we are,” Tertia answered. “We were just waiting for this last pan of brownies to come out of the oven.”

Ophelia carried another pitcher of tea to the table and then sat down beside Jake. “Thanks for all your help today and for bringing your crew over to work on their day off.”

“We’re having a bonfire tomorrow night,” Endora announced, “and all of y’all are invited. Bring your families and a healthy appetite. And would y’all please save us a truckload of wood from the church cleanup to use in the firepit?”

“Thank you, and my family would love to come,” Lester said with a serious nod. “My wife is going to want to bring something, though.”

“Maybe a dessert,” Mary Jane answered.

“I could bring several kinds of wine,” Jake offered.

“I wish that Bo and Rae were here,” Mary Jane said with a sigh.

Joe Clay patted her on the shoulder. “They will be by the end of the summer. Bernie has assured me that they will come home for Luna and Shane’s wedding and stay with us for good.”

Ophelia hoped that whatever universe Bernie talked to was right on that issue.

“What do you think the guys talk about when they’re over at Remy’s playing poker?” Tertia asked as she gathered around the dining room table on Sunday evening with her sisters and mother. “And where is Ursula?”

“Probably about how tired they are from all the wood business today, and Ursula is on her way. She should be here any minute,” Mary Jane answered. “The job at the church took longer than your dad thought it might be. That big scrub oak at the north end of the church fell in front of the front doors and knocked out one porch post. Another one blew over from the backyard of the old store and landed in the parking lot. They still have some work to do tomorrow to get it all cleaned up.”

“Remy said they will bring a couple of truckloads of wood from the church for our bonfire tomorrow night,” Ursula said. “I’m sure glad that we are having the party in the evening, so I can enjoy a good hot dog with chili and onions.”

“Still got nausea in the mornings?” Bernie asked.

“Not so much that I can’t write, but anything more than crackers and sweet tea doesn’t settle well,” Ursula answered. “What are we working on today? Centerpieces? Bouquets?”

“Both of the above,” Mary Jane answered.

Endora opened a bridal magazine and pointed to a picture of a bouquet. “That one looks pretty, and it has got the wildflower look that you talked about, Luna.”

“It’s too big.” Luna shook her head. “I want something smaller but with those colors.”

Mary Jane opened one of the half-dozen plastic tote-boxes on the table and took out a few silk rosebuds and half a dozen small daisies. “Like these?”

Luna shook her head. “Endora, help me.”

Endora picked them up and wrapped yellow ribbon around the stems. “This is way too simple for me. I’m going to have something with more bling in it when I get married.”

“I agree,” Luna said. “I’m going to have all boys when Shane and I have our children.”

“Where did that come from?” Bernie slipped in through the back door, with Pepper prancing along at her feet. “I always imagined you sisters carrying on the tradition and having lots of little girls.”

“When boys get married, all they have to do is show up,” Luna said.

“And they get to play poker while we do all the planning,” Ursula added. “That’s another reason to go to the courthouse. Are you listening to me, Ophelia?”

Ophelia had been busy taking flowers out of the containers and spreading them out on the table by color. “Why are you asking me?”

“You are next in line,” Bernie said. “Unless I can drag Tertia away from Noah and find her a fall-in-love-at-first-sight fellow.”

“No dragging necessary,” Tertia protested.

Bernie pulled out a chair and sat down. “I would have thought you would want a red, white, and blue wedding since Shane was in the military, and your wedding is so close to Independence Day.”

Luna whipped her long blond hair up into a ponytail. “Not me. Ophelia can do that next summer. She’s our military sister.”

Ophelia shook her head. “I’ve had enough of that. No red, white, and blue for me.”

“Okay, then, all y’all. I don’t want anything that is overpowering,” Luna declared. “Mama, you are good at arrangements, and you know me. What do you think?”

Endora unwrapped what she had made and rewound the ribbon onto the spool.

Mary Jane picked up six calla lilies and a stem of white hydrangea. “One lily for each of your sisters, and the hydrangea with blossoms on one stem to signify unity between you and Shane. Each little blossom represents a year that you will be together. Do you want wrapped stems or into a nosegay in a holder?”

“Wrapped stems,” Luna said. “Tuck some baby’s breath into it to make it airy, and wrap it with dark-green ribbons. What do y’all all think?”

“Beautiful,” Tertia answered. “It will be so pretty with our yellow and green floral dresses.”

Bernie nodded and then said, “I believe we should tuck one of those little sample bottles of Jameson down behind the ribbon. After all, it was good Irish whiskey that put you and Shane back together last Christmas. I’m glad to loan you one that I have out in the trailer, and it could be your something borrowed.”

“I was hoping that maybe”—Luna paused—“you might let me borrow your good-luck ring to tie into the bouquet for my something borrowed. After all, if you hadn’t helped me through that night after Shane and I had the argument, I might not be getting married. You gave me the courage to go talk to him.”

“I would be honored, but honey, nobody in this great green earth needs to give any of you sisters courage. You’ve all got bushel baskets full of that. Me and the Jameson just helped you see the light,” Bernie said with a broad smile. “Just like my advice column on the internet is going to help lots of other couples. Vera and I’ve been calling and texting, and we’re going to launch it right after Luna’s wedding.”

“That’s great,” Endora said. “And Sis, your garter will be something blue.”

“Aunt Bernie’s ring can serve as something old as well as borrowed,” Ophelia added.

Bernie held up a palm, “You could use the ring and a little bottle of Jameson. That would double your chances of good luck!”

Tertia zoned out of the conversation going on around the table and let her mind go through the events chronologically from the time she had taken the walk and talked to Noah for the first time. There had been arguments with her aunt. Her sisters had gathered around her to help out. They had survived a tornado, and tonight he was playing poker with the guys.

Did she love him? Too soon to tell.

Did she like him a lot? Yes, in spite of the fact that she’d declared she would never get involved in any way, fashion, or form with a man that had blond hair—especially Noah Wilson.

How did all this happen? Well, it sure wasn’t with the help of Aunt Bernie or her hotline to whatever universe she talked about.

Ophelia bumped her on the upper arm. “Tertia! Where is your mind?”

“What?” Tertia snapped.

“I was just saying that I like what you’ve made for the bridesmaids’ bouquets,” Luna said. “Were you so engrossed with what you were doing”—she nodded toward the arrangement in Tertia’s hand—“that you zoned out completely?”

“Yes,” Tertia said quickly and then looked down at the single calla lily with a touch of baby’s breath wrapped with a wide yellow satin ribbon. “I thought the ribbon on our flower should be different than the bridal bouquet.”

You sure covered that well,the little voice in her head whispered.

“Yes,” Luna nodded. “Make five more just like it. While you do that, we can start making the centerpieces.”

“Thank goodness you at least had a bouquet for the reception, Ursula. Joe Clay had so much fun making a shadow box for it,” Mary Jane said with a sigh. “I’m not fussing at you for not having a big wedding in the fall. I understand your reason for going to the courthouse and then just having a little reception.”

“But you’re enjoying all this, aren’t you?” Ophelia asked. “And you want the rest of us to have big weddings, right?”

“Yes, I am,” Mary Jane declared. “And for all future reference, I’m calling dibs on planning my grandchild’s baby shower and first birthday—not just for Ursula and Remy’s baby but for all the ones that come afterward.”

“You can plan the biggest splash in all of north Texas,” Ursula agreed. “I’m going to get a bottle of water. Anyone need one while I’m up?”

“I’d take a beer,” Ophelia said.

“Make that two,” Bernie added.

“Water,” Luna, Tertia, and Ophelia chimed in together.

Bernie reached down into another box and brought up a milk glass vase. “Do all the centerpieces have to be alike?”

“Nope,” Luna said. “They can all be different. I just want yellow and white flowers with touches of green, so have fun with it.”

Tertia unloaded several vases—all white, but none alike—onto the table. Would she use the same ones when she got married? That would depend on the time of year that she had her wedding. Fall had always been her favorite season, so maybe orange, burgundy, and yellow all blended together in quart jars. She didn’t want anything as big as what they were planning for Luna’s wedding, but she definitely wanted more than a quickie trip to the courthouse.

Endora nudged her on the arm. “Where is your mind? You look like you did when I woke you up again. Are you sleeping with your eyes open?”

Tertia dropped her hands into her lap and crossed her fingers on both hands. “I was thinking about how beautiful this wedding is going to be.”

It wasn’t a total lie—she had been thinking about a wedding.

Just last night, Tertia had been outrunning a tornado. Tonight, she slumped down onto the swing on the screened back porch. The moon hung in the sky as if everything in the whole world—no, the whole universe—was right. Stars lit up their own tiny portion like small flames at a memorial. She focused on what constellations she knew and remembered that someone had said that there were too many stars to count.

A movement caused her to shift her eyes to the left in time to see a falling star streaking through the black sky. She quickly closed her eyes and wished for a sign to help her decide about working with Noah after the café was finished. Were these vibes that she felt when Noah was close by just a physical attraction because she hadn’t dated in so long? Or were they something real?

“I wish for something to help me with this,” she muttered.

The squeaking door hinge announced that someone was joining her.

“I thought I might find you out here,” Mary Jane said.

There was something comforting about that old blue robe her mother had belted around her waist. Tertia had cried on the shoulder when her first boyfriend broke up with her. She had cried again on the same shoulder the morning that she drove away from the house to go to college, leaving behind the two sets of twins and her mother and dad. Through the years, it seemed that when she had a real problem, her mother would appear in that same faded robe. Could this be the sign she had asked for?

“Come on out and join me,” Tertia said.

Mary Jane brought out a bottle of Jim Beam and two glasses. “I thought we could both use a little nightcap after the last twenty-four hours. Your father is so tired that he’s snoring in his recliner.”

“I like Noah,” Tertia blurted out.

Mary Jane sat down beside her, put the bottle and glasses on a nearby table, and then poured a double shot in each. “No surprise there. He’s a likable man. Hardworking. Good-looking.” She handed one of the glasses to Tertia and then picked up the remaining one and took a sip.

“I’m in a quandary. What if we like each other, and then we don’t, and I’m committed to working with him?”

“Don’t worry so much that far into the future, my child,” Mary Jane answered. “Last night should teach us that we aren’t guaranteed six months or a year down the road.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

Good advice, but not really the right sign,Tertia thought as she sipped her whiskey.

“Like and love are two different things,” Mary Jane said. “They are both important. Like is the good soil that the love seed is put into. But for it to grow, you have to destroy the weeds and keep it tilled and watered. That’s the like part of a relationship, and love can’t grow without it. So, liking Noah is a good beginning, but it’s up to you whether or not you fall in love with him. Does that make sense?”

Tertia scooted over and gave her mother a hug. “More than you’ll ever know.”

Her mother’s phone pinged, and Mary Jane smiled when she looked down at it. “Joe Clay woke up and wondered where I was. Are you okay out here all alone?”

“I am now,” Tertia assured her and held up her glass that still had most of the double shot in it. “I’m just going to sit out here and enjoy the peace and quiet for a little while before I turn in.”

Mary Jane stood up and kissed Tertia on the forehead. “You’ve got to take that wherever you can find it in a family like ours. Good night, darlin’ daughter.”

“Good night, Mama,” Tertia said.

Her phone vibrated right after her mother closed the door. “So much for peace and quiet,” she muttered as she pulled it from her hip pocket. She expected to see a message from Ophelia or Endora, or maybe both, asking her to come out on the balcony and visit with them. But she was wrong. Noah’s name popped up on the screen.

He had written: Got time to visit?

She wrote back: Sure. Want to come over and sit on the back porch with me?

The answer came back immediately. Be there in five minutes.

Tertia checked her watch. Four minutes and thirty seconds later, Noah rapped on the door.

She motioned him inside. “Want a drink?”

He held up a six-pack of beer. “I’d rather have one of these, and I’ll share.”

“And I will gladly take one. A double shot of this stuff is enough for me. Have a seat,” she said.

He pulled the tab on a can and handed it to her. “Mind if I sit beside you?”

“Not a bit,” she answered.

He set the extra four beers on the table and eased down onto the swing. “I’ve always loved a porch swing. Think we should replace the park benches with swings on the porch of our new café?”

Tertia could hold her liquor—much better than Endora, anyway—but that double shot of whiskey, and Noah sitting so close to her, had her mind going in a different direction than porch swings versus benches.

“Before we make that kind of decision, maybe we should talk to the insurance folks. If a toddler fell out of a swing on the property, you might get sued for everything you have or will have before you die,” she finally answered.

“Good point.” He nodded.

Sparks, at least on her side of the swing, bounced back and forth like a fast-moving ping-pong ball. Then he handed her a piece of paper that looked like a note. The fold lines were dingy, and the whole thing looked like something she and her friends in elementary school might have passed back and forth.

“What is this?” she asked as she took it. “It’s too small to be a contract.”

“I found it in an old metal lunch box that Mama used to pack for me when Grandpa took me fishing,” he said. “I wrote it before you blacked my eye, but after that I was too stubborn and embarrassed to give it to you.”

“Why?” Tertia asked.

“A girl gave me a shiner,” he said, chuckling. “You can’t know how much teasing I took from my friends. No way was I going to give you that note after that.”

She held the piece of lined notebook paper in her hands. “Why now?”

“Open it and you’ll see,” he said.

Tertia unfolded it once and then again. Almost two decades had faded the pencil writing, but she could still read the words that came right out of an old George Strait song, “Check Yes or No.” The words were written in tight handwriting, with what looked like a drop of soda right in the middle of it. They said if she wanted to be his friend to take his hand and check yes or no. Two imperfect little squares had been drawn at the bottom of the page. YES was scribbled by one and NO by the other.

She read the note half a dozen times before she shifted her gaze from the paper to Noah. He stared right into her eyes, reached into the pocket of his chambray shirt, and removed a sharpened pencil. “I was ten years old when I wrote that. I’ll be thirty in July, and I’m still feeling the same.”

“What will your friends say?”

“That I’m one lucky feller to get a second chance if you check the right square,” he replied.

Was this her sign, or was the advice her mother gave her what she was looking for—or both? She blinked and lowered her eyes to his mouth. She didn’t want to check YES and hold his hand. She wanted to put her mark on his lips with a long, adult kiss. She pushed that thought away, took the pencil from him, and put an X in the box beside the YES. Then she laid the paper and pencil on the seat between them, reached over, and tucked her hand into his.

“I’m not sure about love, but I do like you,” she whispered. “So, let’s just start with that for the check mark.”

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad. Finding that note tonight seemed to be a sign that I needed to tell you that seeing you again after all these years brought back the same feelings I had back then.”

“Why didn’t you just say it?”

He shrugged. “It’s a guy thing. Even at my age, it’s tough to admit my feelings or to accept rejection.”

She handed the pencil back to him and slid across the swing to sit closer to him. “I’m afraid that even being friends might create problems if we work together every day.”

“My feelings have lasted all these years. I expect anything that strong will endure a spat or two in the kitchen,” he whispered.

“I hope so,” she admitted.

The door from the outside swung open, and Bernie peeked inside. She frowned when she saw Tertia and Noah sitting so close, and it deepened when she noticed that they were holding hands. But she plowed right on inside the screened porch and sat down on a rocking chair, anyway.

“Come right in and have a seat.” Tertia’s tone was more than a little edgy. Surely this wasn’t the falling-star wish coming true.

“I’m glad you are here,” Noah said cheerfully. “We’ve been talking about something for our café, and we could use a third opinion. Do you think we should put porch swings or park benches on the porch of our new café?”

Bernie’s frown disappeared. “Give me one of those beers, and I’ll think while I sip on it.”

Tertia was surprised that she didn’t ask him to pass the bottle of whiskey over to her.

“Yes, ma’am.” Noah let go of Tertia’s hand, pulled the tab from a can, and handed it to Bernie. “Sorry I didn’t offer you one before now.”

“Not a problem now that I have one, but don’t let it happen again if you want to get on my good side.” She took a long sip, burped loudly, and said, “Not bad manners, just good beer.”

“I agree,” Noah nodded, “and I will mind my manners better from here on out.”

Bernie rocked a few times and then held up a palm. “I have decided that it’s all right for y’all to work on this café together, but I’m still not going to give Tertia my blessing on cooking in the place. That said, I do not think swings are a good idea. As much as I like them, they could be asking for trouble when kids are involved.” She took another drink of her beer—this time without the burp.

“What’s going on in here?” Ophelia peeked inside the outside door. “I saw a light when I was coming back from over at Ursula’s. I’m so glad that Daddy built a stile over the fence. Even as tall as I am, crawling over five strands of barbed wire isn’t easy. She sure doesn’t need to be climbing over or through a fence when she’s pregnant.”

“Amen to that,” Bernie agreed. “I was helping these two make a decision about swings or benches for the porch of the new café.”

“And which was it?” Ophelia asked.

Bernie shot a dirty look over toward Tertia and Noah.

“Would you like a beer?” he asked.

“Love one,” Ophelia answered and then sat down in a chair beside Bernie.

“Benches,” Noah answered as he handed a can to Ophelia. “Too much danger with little kids with a swing.”

“Smart,” Ophelia removed the tab and took a long drink.

An awkward silence filled the room until finally Noah set his empty can on the table and stood up. “I should be going. I was out taking a walk and I ran by to talk to Tertia about café stuff. Miz Bernie answered one question for us. See you at the bonfire tomorrow, then?” he asked as he crossed the porch.

“Yes,” Tertia answered. “Come on over anytime. We can always use help setting up tables and getting things ready.”

“Sure thing.” He waved and then disappeared into the darkness.

Bernie finished off her beer and reached over to get one of the remaining two. “I’ll take this one back to the trailer. Pepper might like a little sip for his nightcap. I don’t let him have a taste of Jameson anymore, but he does enjoy a lap or two of beer. You”—she pointed at Tertia with her free hand—“can be working friends with Noah, but that’s all.”

“I hear you,” Tertia said, but that didn’t mean she agreed. Not after just simply holding Noah’s hand had sent delicious little tingles through her body.

“It’s a miracle!” Ophelia muttered.

“Baby steps,” Tertia said with half a giggle.