Riverbend Reunion(31)

“I like him as a friend and a partner.” That was as much as Jessica intended to admit—even to her best friends. “But I’m willing to let Oscar think there’s more if it will help Mary Nell out.”

“We’d probably be better off, to be honest.” Mary Nell sighed. “But thanks for the offer to pretend to like him, or like him for real, whichever the case might be.”

“You are welcome,” Jessica said with a slight nod.

“Let’s talk about all those secrets we’ve been keeping through the past twenty years. I was silly enough to think that we knew everything about each other,” Haley said with a wide grin that lit up her brown eyes.

Risa stood up and headed for the door. “I’m going to the kitchen. I’m not discussing any more secrets today.”

Mary Nell pushed her chair back and stood up. “And I’m all done with bookwork for right now, so I’m going out to the sanctuary—or should I call it the bar?—to help Daddy and Wade tear down pews.”

“You know that I’ll drag every single one of your secrets out of you before the end of summer, don’t you?” Haley asked.

“Maybe so,” Jessica said as she stood and raised her arms to stretch the kinks out of her back. “But not right now. And beware! While you’re unpacking our baggage, we’ll be doing the same for you. Do you have a crush on Wade?”

“Never did. Never will. He’s not my type,” Haley answered. “I like . . .” She stopped and shook a finger at Jessica. “Are you sure you weren’t a chaplain or a counselor in the military?”

“Positive,” Jessica threw over her shoulder as she left the room. “I’d tell you my exact job description, but then I’d have to . . .” She stopped at the door. “You know the rest. What I did was so classified that it went from my building over to headquarters in a locked briefcase.”

“Was it handcuffed to the courier’s wrist? That sounds so James Bond–ish.” Haley followed her out of the room.

“Sometimes, but not always,” Jessica said.

“So, you were an analyst?” Haley asked.

“Something like that”—Jessica lowered her voice to a whisper—“but just between me and you, I like the idea of being a bartender a lot better than what I was doing.”

What Jessica did wasn’t necessarily classified anymore, but she didn’t like talking about her job in the military, and she sure didn’t talk about the nightmares that she still had concerning some of the decisions she and her team had to make.

Back in the bar, Haley popped her hands on her hips and said, “Carrying these one at a time is ridiculous. I’m going to go out to the barn and bring in that thing that guys lay on to roll up under a vehicle. I saw it out there when we were snooping around. I bet we can stack at least four on it, maybe more.”

Jessica popped a palm on her forehead and groaned. “Why didn’t one of us think of that before now?”

“Hey, everyone, I’m going to make a trip to the grocery store in town for some sugar,” Risa called out. “Anyone want me to pick up anything while I’m out?”

“I need to go to the lumberyard for drill bits and a box of screws, and I noticed we’re getting low on bottled water. I can pick up the sugar for you,” Oscar said.

“I’ll go with you,” Jessica said. “I’ve got to pick up a prescription at the drugstore.”

“Okay, then.” Risa waved. “Supper is in the oven, so the girls and I can help out here until y’all get back with the sugar for the sweet tea.”

Jessica grabbed her purse from the bedroom, made sure she was at least semi-presentable to go out in public, and walked out into the summer heat with Oscar right beside her. “I guess we’re going in your truck unless you want to wait for me to unhook everything on the RV.”

“Nope, I surely do not.” Oscar opened the door to his vehicle for her. “I’m glad we’ll have a few minutes alone, though. I’ve got a couple of things I need to talk to you about.”

“Oh, yeah, what’s that?” Jessica felt a twinge of concern about his comment. What if he wanted to enlist her help in getting Mary Nell and Wade together?

He slammed the door shut, and took his own good time walking around the truck and sliding in under the wheel. “I’m worried about Mary Nell,” he said as he started the engine and drove out of the parking lot. “She was in college and planning to be a CPA when she met Kevin. He sweet-talked her into believing that he was the next big thing in country music, and she quit school. You know all this already, but I’m worried that some other smooth-talking man will come along, and it’ll be the same thing all over again.”

“She told me that she needs some time to find herself,” Jessica said. “She won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“I hope not.” Oscar sighed. “I’m getting old, but I’d hate for my grandkids to ever have to visit me in prison, and if another man treats her ugly, that could be where I spend my last days.”

Jessica laid a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll help her stay on the right track. Matter of fact, with all the problems we’ve all come back to Riverbend with, we’ll be helping each other through this tough time.”