Chapter 1 #2
But I’m not your son. Neither are Tripp and Knox. Brodie was glad he had just thought the words and hadn’t spit them out.
He still hadn’t moved a single step when all seven of his sisters surrounded the three of them, all talking at once and getting soaked by the drizzling rain.
“When we drove up and saw that the house was gone, we were scared that y’all were in it when the tornado came through,” Parker said.
Mary Jane gave Brodie an extra-tight hug before she turned him loose. “Y’all are coming home with us. There are seven empty bedrooms at our house. You have a place to go.”
“Knox has a travel trailer…” Brodie paused.
The sun was in front of him. The storm clouds behind him.
Did that have some significance? How was he supposed to look forward when all he had to do was glance over his shoulder to see nothing but destruction.
Then he looked over to his left and saw that Audrey Tucker’s place was still standing.
It didn’t look like even a single shingle had been disturbed.
Of all the luck, he thought. She’s been a thorn in my side ever since I bought this place, and all she has is some debris lying around in her yard and a few blooms blown off a rose bush.
The oldest sister, Ursula—the tall one—draped her arm around his shoulder. “Did it take your vehicles? We’ve got an old work truck y’all can borrow if it did.”
Remy pointed toward the edge of the orchard. “There’s three all crammed up together at the edge of the orchard. They look like they’ve been in a losing battle, but they might still run.”
“Thank you, Ursula. We might take you up on that offer if our trucks aren’t running when we get all that trash off them.”
He wondered how he sounded so calm and collected when he wanted to shake his fist at the sky and demand that God explain to him why this had happened. He wanted to stand in the middle of the place where the house used to be and scream until his voice gave out.
Mary Jane raised her voice above all the clamor. “Okay, everyone, let’s dig these boys’ trucks out enough and see if they are drivable. Once we do that, they are all three going home with us until they can rebuild.”
“We could drive into Nocona and get motel rooms,” Tripp suggested.
“Or live in my travel trailer. It’s tiny even for one, but we can make do,” Knox said.
Joe Clay shook his head. “Family takes care of family, and besides there’s not a one of y’all—me included—that will go up against Mary Jane.”
“That’s the truth,” Ursula said with a smile.
Too bad that family included Aunt Bernie, Brodie thought when he was finally able to take a step forward. He followed everyone to the three trucks that had been pushed up against a barbed-wire fence that separated his farm from Audrey Tucker’s.
Considering all the experiences Brodie had had in the past, he should have been prepared for anything life could throw at him.
But he kept replaying the events of the past hour in his mind—the funnel cloud coming right at them, hearing what sounded like a freight train passing over the old cellar, then coming out to find total destruction just plumb knocked the wind right out of him.
“We are three lucky dudes,” Brodie whispered as he threw pieces of boards and bits of shingles away from Tripp’s truck.
“Our house is gone,” Tripp looked back over his shoulder at the place where their home used to stand. “Where’s the luck in that?”
“We are all three alive, and it looks like the storm left us with three vehicles,” Brodie reminded him. “And only a few leaves are blown off my orchard trees. From what I can see, the gardens look good. That makes us lucky.”
“And we are about to move into the Paradise,” Knox whispered for Brodie’s ears only.
“Where Aunt Bernie is in and out all day with her matchmaking business. Still think your lucky Irish blood is calling the shots? She’s going to have you standing at the front of the altar waiting on a woman in a big white wedding dress before you can whistle ‘The Eyes of Texas are Upon You.’”
“Watch and learn, little brother,” Brodie said with half a smile and then wondered how he or either of his brothers could find a bit of humor in their hearts.
“You can bet I will be watching, but I’ll be the one picking out the women for my own dates.
” Knox had always been able to lighten the mood—evidently even in the aftermath of a tornado.
He was the outgoing twin, the life of the party, and ready for a good laugh.
Tripp was the introvert, happy to be left alone to do his leather work or even help out in the orchards and strawberry, watermelon, and cantaloupe fields.
“Don’t worry,” Brodie sighed. “Aunt Bernie seems fixated on finding a woman for me, and if history is repeating itself, Tripp will be next. So, you’ve got a little while to bask in your self-proclaimed bachelorhood.”
“Did I hear Aunt Bernie’s name?” Ursula asked.
“Where is she? I’ve seen everyone here but her.” Knox asked.
“She’s watching my baby take his afternoon nap,” Ursula answered and then lowered her voice. “Don’t try to live in a travel trailer stacked up like sardines or go to a hotel. The Paradise has lots of empty rooms, and the folks have been lonely in that big house, so let them help you.”
“Are you sure?” Brodie asked. “We don’t want to impose.”
Ursula laid a hand on his shoulder. “You would probably offend them if you didn’t take them up on the offer.”
“Okay, then,” Brodie agreed. “We’ll go for a couple of days until we can make up our minds what to do, but before that, we need to make a run to Nocona and get a few things. Everything we had was blown away.”
“I understand,” Ursula said. “But don’t be late for supper. Tertia is bringing over food from the restaurant. They had to close down early because of the storm, and there were lots of leftovers.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Brodie replied with a nod.