Riverbend Reunion(12)

“That’s a helluva lot of what-ifs,” Haley whispered. “You’d have to get a lawyer to take care of all the legal stuff, like making sure this land is zoned right for a bar, and to check into people living in the back, and liquor licenses, and . . .”

Jessica held up a hand. “I’ve retained Uncle Elijah’s lawyer out of Killeen to help me with the legalities of selling the place. What if I just told him I want to keep it and for him to look into the possibility of a bar? I’ve got the money that my folks left me, plus what I inherited from Uncle Elijah’s estate sitting in the bank, so we could get whatever we need to do for remodeling, but I like the idea of using the wood we’ve got before we go buying more.”

“There was money involved, and not just this old church?” Haley asked.

“Yep,” Jessica answered. “He left his entire estate to me. There’s enough to pay a lawyer to take care of all the legal stuff and redo this place, and probably float us for a year until we can start making a profit.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the lawyer found out that you’d need to close up the doors from the sanctuary into the former Sunday school rooms.” There was excitement in Wade’s voice. “You could probably leave the one from the fellowship hall to the bedrooms if it worked out. But I’m sure the lawyer will find out all the particulars for that kind of thing.”

“Are we serious?” Haley asked. “I’ve got money saved, and I’ve got a place to live, so I wouldn’t need to take up any of the rooms. I could just keep Mama’s house and live there, or I could sell the house, and we could use all the furniture in her house to furnish this place like a home, and I could have one of the bedrooms.”

“We’ve got bathrooms in the foyer for guys and gals,” Risa said, “but what about a shower or tub?”

“The room that the evangelist was supposed to use has both. A garden tub and a walk-in shower,” Lily said. “Daisy and I found it when we were looking around. Can I have that room?”

Risa shook her head. “Nope, Jessica should move into that room, but maybe she would let us use the tub and shower. What am I saying? This is just a pipe dream, isn’t it? Kind of like playing house when we were little girls and drawing up the rooms in the dirt with a stick.”

Jessica remembered those days fondly, but this was a lot more serious than their imaginary playhouses and pint jars filled with wild daisies and whatever flowers they could pilfer from their mothers’ flower beds.

“The people in town might set fire to the place, but fate is sure telling us that this is a possibility,” Wade said with half a chuckle.

“Naw.” Risa shook her head slowly. “They’ll cuss and rant and rave, but they wouldn’t burn down a building. God would be madder at them for doing that than He would be at us for making a bar in a church.”

“Granny Stella will lead the ranting party,” Daisy said.

“Yep, she will,” Lily agreed. “Are y’all really thinkin’ about this?”

“Right now, we’re just thinking about it,” Jessica said, but her mind was going ninety miles an hour. “I’ll have to talk to my lawyer and see if it’s even possible.” She turned to look up into Wade’s green eyes. “Are you serious about buying half interest in this thing?”

“Yep, especially if you’ll let me park my trailer out behind the bar for free and move my equipment into that storage barn out back,” he answered.

“I didn’t even know there was a storage barn.” Jessica went to the end of the hallway and threw open one of the back doors. Sure enough, there was a metal barn out back. “I wonder what’s in it?”

“A couple of old lawn mowers and some extra pews.” Wade headed back toward the fellowship hall. “I peeked in the window a few weeks ago, when I came past here on my way down to the fishing dock. The road has gotten pretty rough and not many people use it anymore, but I like the peace and quiet at that particular place on the river.”

“We’d all have jobs.” Mary Nell’s tone was full of hope and excitement. “Haley, you could come work here in the summers, and we could all be together for a few months every year.”

“I might not even go back to Alabama if we decide to do this,” Haley said. “I might be ready for a change in my life.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jessica asked.

“Yep,” Haley answered. “Besides, I’d be jealous that y’all would be here together, and I’d be off in Alabama.”

“Having you here would be great,” Jessica said. For Haley to even consider staying in Riverbend seemed to put the icing on the cupcake for her.

“Y’all want a beer?” Wade asked. “We just made a pretty big decision. We should celebrate with a beer at least. If I’d known we would get serious about a bar, I would have brought champagne.”

“Yes,” the women chorused.

“How about you girls?” Wade turned around. “I’ve got cold root beer in bottles.”

“Yes, and thank you,” the twins said in unison as they rushed past him.

“We’ll get them, and bring y’all each a beer,” Lily said.

Wade turned to face Jessica. “I have a confession. I wanted to buy this place from you and put in a bar myself, but I didn’t have enough money to do what I envisioned doing with it. I can go half with no problem, though.”