The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (Cadillac, Texas #3)(74)

“How old are your boys?” Stella asked.

“There’s only a year between them, so it’s a lot like raising twins when they’re two and three. They sure grow up fast, don’t they? Alma Grace said that y’all have been friends since you were little girls. I bet you know all the gossip,” Katy said.

“We’ve been best friends since we were in kindergarten, but if you want the down and dirty gossip, you’d have to go to the old gals like Agnes, Rosalee, and Beulah,” Stella told her.

Piper wrung the water from Katy’s hair and wrapped her head in a towel. “And Violet Prescott. They’re the ones who know the history and the stories.”

“Hey, y’all would be about the same age as Trixie Matthews, then? She’s part owner of Clawdy’s with Marty and Cathy Andrews,” Katy said.

Stella nodded. “We were all in high school together. The Clawdy’s crew and the Bless My Bloomers bunch. Where did you go to high school?”

Katy hopped up into Piper’s chair and crossed her legs at the ankles. “In Harlan County, Kentucky. I came out here and went to work in the nursing home that my uncle owns when my husband left me. That’s where I met Trixie. Her mother is in the nursing home. I’m the activities director.”

“So how do you like Texas?” Stella asked.

“It’s not so different from Kentucky, but the only people I really know are my uncle and aunt and the folks at the church. I would’ve stayed in Kentucky, but I needed a fresh start.”

Piper combed through Katy’s long hair and wished that she’d had the nerve to pick up and go east or west or, hell, even north or south for that matter. If it hadn’t been so convenient for Gene to just waltz into her house, then he wouldn’t have the boys right now. And if she didn’t live in Cadillac, he wouldn’t know that she’d been talking to Rhett.

Her phone rang and she pulled it from the pocket of her khaki shorts, checked the ID, and said, “Excuse me, Katy. It’s my kids.”

“Hello, what’s going on today?” Piper said and then giggled. “Is that right? I can’t wait until you get home to see it. And you’re going back today? What fun. Guess what? I found out that Bible school is at our church next week, so you guys might want to tell Grandma that you’ll be staying with the sitter so you can go.”

“But Grandma already knows that, Mama,” Tanner said. “She wants us to tell you that she’s going to be a teacher at Preacher Jed’s church, so she’s goin’ with us, too. And guess what, we’re helpin’ Grandpa in the garden and he said we could bring home a whole sack full of vegetables.”

“And you’re going to eat them?” She laughed again.

“We’ll eat the potatoes and the corn. We told Grandpa not to put them old nasty squashes in the sack,” Luke yelled.

“You don’t have to holler. She can hear us,” Tanner told him.

“Are you guys on speakerphone?” Piper laid her phone down on the countertop and pushed a button so Stella and Charlotte could hear.

“Yes, we can both talk that way,” Luke said.

“Tell me again what you made in Bible school,” she said.

“Well, we stirred some water into a white powder and made a glob of it on this waxy paper. Then we took a pencil and wrote a Bible verse in it. When it got hard, we chipped off the knots and painted it,” Tanner explained.

“And then we glued a thing on the back so you can hang it on your wall,” Luke said.

“What’s your verse?” Charlotte asked.

“Well, I wanted to write ‘God is good, beer is great, and people are crazy,’ but my teacher said that’s a song, not a verse, so I just wrote ‘The Lord is my shepherd,’ and Luke wrote . . .” Tanner said, and there was a long pause.

“I took it off speakerphone on this end and I’m here,” Gene said. “Have you come to your senses? Are we going to be a family again?”

“I never lost my senses, Gene, and no, we are not.” Piper reached to pick up the phone.

Charlotte slapped at her hand and shook her head.

“You’ve got five days to make up your mind,” he said.

“My mind is made up. I’ve moved on and you have, too, Gene. This is your second move. You left me for Rita and you’ve left her for Ramona. I hope you find happiness, but it’s not going to be with me. Good-bye,” Piper said.

“Don’t hang up! Ramona is just a bed partner until we are back together, just like Rhett is to you. You boys go make your beds or you won’t be doing a bit of fishing this afternoon. You’re not talking to your mother again today. They won’t be talking to you the rest of the week except at bedtime. I’ve been too damned lenient on them.”

The phone went dead.

“I’m not sleeping with Rhett.” Piper’s voice cracked.

Stella took the brush from Piper’s hand. “You won’t mind if I take over, will you, Katy? I’m really good with long, thick hair. We all work with Alma Grace and your hair reminds me so much of hers.”

“That’s fine. I’m sure you’ll do a fine job,” Katy whispered.

Piper ducked her head and headed for the back room, where she melted into a chair and laid her forehead on her arms on the table. She cried until her ribs ached and her lungs burned, but it wouldn’t stop.