Chapter 24
“Good mornin’,” Tertia said from the swing on the front porch. “Did you forget something? Like the way home last night?”
“I knew the way,” Ophelia answered and sat down on the other end of the swing. “I just didn’t come home. Why are you up and around before dawn? Did you just get here, too?”
“No, ma’am,” Tertia replied. “Our canoes didn’t run on the parallel course last night, but I did tell Noah that I would work with him, and he told me that he was falling in love with me.”
Ophelia was more than a little jealous of her sister. Sure, she’d spent the night in Jake’s bed, had a midnight snack of pancakes after a round of the hottest sex she’d ever known, and then another round that put the first one to shame, but neither of them had said the three magic words.
“And,” Tertia went on, “we talked about moving his grandparents’ house back behind the café. Henry says it’s doable, and that he’ll do whatever remodeling we want done.”
“Does that mean you’ll be moving in with him?” Another little burst of jealousy ran through Ophelia’s heart with a cloak of guilt following right behind it. She and Jake had not even thought about taking that step. Now that Conor and Lucy would be staying with him, it probably wouldn’t be a possibility.
Tertia raised one shoulder. “He hasn’t asked me, but everything is ‘we’ and’ our,’ not ‘me’ and ‘mine.’ If and when he does ask, I’m going to say yes. How about you?”
“Our canoes have separated, Sister,” Ophelia answered with a sigh. “Conor and Lucy will be living with him until they can get their own place set up. ”
Tertia nodded. “I understand Look at that sunrise. That’s a good omen, right?”
“What’s a good omen?” Bernie came out of the house with Pepper on a leash.
She wore a hot-pink silk robe over purple-and-white-checkered pajamas and a pair of fluffy orange house shoes. She looked like the manifestation of the sunrise behind her. Was Bernie the omen that Tertia had mentioned?
“Why are you two up so early, and why didn’t you even put on a pot of coffee?” Bernie asked.
“We’re watching the beautiful sunrise, and I bet you know how to make coffee,” Ophelia answered.
“I do, and I did, and I smell a rat.” Bernie sniffed the air, and then she tied Pepper’s leash to one of the porch posts. “Which one of you…or did both of you spend last night with your boyfriends?” She eased down in a rocking chair and propped her feet up on the porch railing.
Ophelia raised her right hand. “That would be me. Just call me Abraham. I cannot tell a lie.”
“Hmphhh,” Bernie snorted. “That’s a lie within itself, and it’s George who couldn’t tell a lie!”
Ophelia dropped her hand. “White lies do not matter, and for your information, I am owning my sexuality, and I get that from you, Aunt Bernie. For future reference, I may spend more nights over there in the next couple of weeks. Or”—she lowered her voice to a whisper—“I might break the ‘no boys allowed upstairs’ rule and sneak Jake up to my bedroom when Conor and Lucy move in with him.”
“Or you could just meet him out in the barn. There are several sofas out there that would do for a night of passion,” Tertia said.
“Is that what you and Noah do?” Aunt Bernie asked.
“No, ma’am, we kind of like the bed of his truck. He throws a futon mattress back there and…” Tertia’s eyes sparkled. “But so far he hasn’t done that. However, when we get ready to have sex, the barn sounds like a good place.” She turned toward Ophelia. “And if we get there first, I’ll hang a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door. But once he gets the house moved in across the road, I’m going to take my furniture out of the barn.”
“What does your sofa look like? I wouldn’t want to be the one to break it in…” Ophelia started.
“It’s the dark-gray one with carved wood across the back.”
“Okay, okay!” Bernie snorted. “My job is done for you two. Ophelia, I knew you would wind up with Jake the day we walked into the winery. My Universe has come through for me. And Tertia, I played you like I used to do when you were a little girl.”
“You did what?” Tertia gasped.
Bernie giggled softly. “You wouldn’t eat carrots so when I came to visit, I told you that I was glad you wouldn’t eat them because that way I could have all of them out of the pot roast. You weren’t going to let me do that, so you ate them. I knew that Noah was right for you even before he came to offer you that job. Dolly told me all about him, and I just knew he needed a good strong woman like you. And besides, Pepper likes him. Never doubt the intuition of a dog—especially a Chihuahua.”
Tertia narrowed her eyes toward Bernie. “Did you really use reverse psychology, just like Mama said you might?”
“You can turn off that nasty look. Of course I did, and you are welcome. It was easy, and I didn’t even tell Mary Jane. Dolly is the only one who knows. So, now I’m on to matching up Bo with Parker, and finding someone for Rae.”
Ophelia shook her head. “You’ve done well four times, but you might as well hang up your cap with Universe written on the bill. Parker has eyes for Endora.”
Bernie smiled. “I know that, and you know that, but Endora hasn’t figured it out, and a little jealousy thrown into the plot might work just fine.”
“Not between sisters,” Ophelia argued. “If you’ve got to drag out the jealous card, do it with someone else. Besides Bo isn’t going to be interested in a preacher, and for sure, not Rae.”
Bernie stood up and untied Pepper. “Good boy for not hiking your leg on the porch post. We’ll take a little stroll around that bush in the backyard that you are partial to. You girls should go on inside and start some breakfast. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and I wouldn’t mind having some of your pecan caramel waffles, Tertia. I’m going to miss you when you move across the road.”
“We’ll put those waffles on the breakfast menu at the café, so you can come over anytime and have them,” Tertia told her.
“I’ll keep that in mind, and once again, you are both welcome,” Bernie said.
“I swear she’s walking on air,” Tertia said when her aunt disappeared around the end of the house.
“Don’t you kind of feel sorry for Bo and Rae? They’ll be here in another week to help get everything polished off for the wedding, and I guarantee you she will be sitting on the porch waiting for each of them when they drive up,” Ophelia said.
Tertia pushed up out of the swing. “Nope, it’s their turn, and I don’t feel a bit sorry for them. I just hope that Aunt Bernie has as much luck with them as she did with me and you—even if she does use reverse psychology on them both.”
“Who do you think they might wind up dating?” Ophelia stood up and followed her sister into the house.
Tertia crossed the foyer and flipped on the light switch in the kitchen. “I have no idea. The pickin’s are getting slim around these parts. Maybe they’ll meet someone who comes to Shane’s store for a fishing trip.”
“Oh, no!” Ophelia raised her voice. “It has to be someone in this county. I’m ready for us all to be together again.”
“Me too.” Tertia got out the waffle iron and plugged it in. “In a month Luna is getting married. I’ve decided that sometime in the future when Noah and I tie the knot, we’re not having the big hoopla. Mama said we should go to Las Vegas and get an Elvis impersonator to do the job.”
Ophelia giggled, and then laughed. “Let’s make it a double!” She held up her little finger.
Tertia locked hers into it. “That’s a pinkie swear between sisters that can’t be broken. But let’s keep it as our little secret.”
Ophelia broke away and gave her sister a sideways hug. “I agree. We might not even tell anyone until after the trip is over.”