Riverbend Reunion(15)

“Yep, but that’s okay.” Wade grinned.

“How do you figure that it’s okay?” Jessica asked.

“You ever taken a vehicle out on a back road and ran it as fast as it would go to blow the cobwebs out of it?” he asked.

“We’ve all done that, but what’s that got to do with Stella?” she asked.

“A hissy fit will clear out her mind.” Wade chuckled.

What started out as a giggle quickly turned into a guffaw. Jessica never did laugh like a lady, but more like a burly truck driver. The laughter was so infectious that soon the whole truck cab was filled with their mirth.

Finally, Wade got control and said, “That felt good. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard that I got tears in my eyes.”

Jessica pulled down the visor to check her reflection in the mirror. “We better order ice cream from the drive-through window. My mascara is making black streaks down my cheeks.” She wiped at her cheek with her palm, but it just smeared. “Rumors will have it that you’ve made me cry if anyone sees me like this.”

Wade opened the lid to the console and handed her a couple of individually wrapped wet wipes. “This ought to take care of the problem, but it would be a good idea to stay in the truck anyway. It’s only just now cooling down.”

“Thank you.” Jessica opened a package and cleaned her face with it.

With a man that sweet, why was she feeling doubts about taking him on as a partner? Or even becoming the half owner of a Texas honky-tonk?

Because it was an impulse decision, something you never make, the voice in her head said. That does not mean it wasn’t the right one.

“I hope so,” she whispered.

“Are we still talking about Stella’s hissy fit?” Wade asked.

“No, I was woolgathering, and hoping that the bar is a big success for all of us, and that we’re making the right decision. Just a few days ago, I didn’t know what I was doing with that building, my life, or even where I was going to settle down, and things are happening so fast that I’m second-guessing myself,” Jessica answered.

“Do you ever watch NCIS?” Wade asked.

“Every chance I get,” she said. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Remember Gibbs’s rules?”

“There’s no such thing as coincidence,” she recited.

“Rule number ninety-one: don’t look back.” He drove straight to the Dairy Queen and pulled up to the window. “Whether we made this decision on the spur of the moment or we took five years to think about it, we should commit to it and not look back.”

Jessica took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Since Gibbs is never wrong, I’ll accept that rule, and remind you of it if I catch you having regrets.”

“Sounds good to me.” He smiled across the console at her.



Risa carried a basket of cucumbers and tomatoes from the vegetable garden in her mother’s backyard to the back porch. She left her shoes beside the door and got a whiff of fresh bread baking in the oven when she went inside. She set the vegetables beside the sink, poured herself a tall glass of sweet tea, and carried it to the table. Her mother had the remote phone lying on her shoulder and was talking as she arranged lunch meat and cheese on a plate for lunch.

Maybe talking wasn’t the right word. She mostly just listened and shot dirty looks toward Risa every five seconds. Stella finally put the phone back on the base, tapped her foot—a clue that always meant trouble was on the way—and glared at Risa.

“I’ll slice up some of those tomatoes and cucumbers to go with our sandwiches.” Risa hoped she was wrong, but her gut feeling said that the only thing she wasn’t right about was the fierceness of her mother’s anger. “Nothing smells as good as bread baking in the oven.”

“I hope you enjoy it and the sandwiches we’ll have for lunch”—Stella’s tone was even colder than her stony stares—“because if what I just heard is the truth, and you’re involved in it, this will be your last meal here in my house.”

Risa’s heart missed a beat. Surely the news of even the possibility of making the old church into a bar hadn’t spread that quickly. Jessica had just called Risa while she was harvesting the vegetables to tell her that it was a go and what all she needed to have ready on Wednesday for the lawyer. Jessica said that she and Wade were having ice cream to celebrate, and they had lots of ideas on how to save money on the renovations that Jessica wanted to discuss with everyone that evening.

“What are you so angry about, Mama?” Risa knew the answer, but hoped she was wrong. She and the girls might very well be sleeping on the floor at the old church until Wade could get some beds moved in from Haley’s place.

“Hey, what’s going on in here?” Lily popped into the kitchen.

Risa hoped that the girls being in the kitchen would break the tension, but Stella’s expression didn’t change at all.

“Smells like lunch. Looks like lunch. My stomach says it’s time for lunch,” Daisy teased. “What can I do to help? Set the table? Pour the sweet tea?”

“You”—Stella whipped around and pointed a finger at Daisy—“can be honest with me. Did you know that your mother has been going to the old Community Church the past three nights, and that she and her friends are talking about turning it into a bar?”