Riverbend Reunion(37)

“I wonder why they named it that.”

“I asked Oscar about it, and the original name for the church was Preacher’s Church, so when they had to name all the roads for the emergency crews, they just named this one Preacher’s Road. Then Elijah decided to call it the Community Church, in hopes that he could lure folks into it from the other religious organizations, but the road was already named, and it was too much trouble to change it.”

“But it was always called the Old Dock Road before Uncle Elijah built the church,” Jessica said.

“Yep, and folks still call it that. Just like Oscar said they’ll do about calling the bar the old church.” Wade covered a yawn with his hand. “Not bad company, darlin’, just a long day. I’m glad we’re all taking Sunday off even during the building of this place. After tomorrow we’ll need a day of rest.”

“I guess we should take Sunday off since this started out as a church.”

“Yep, but we’ve really adapted very well to the idea of this being a bar. We’ve already stopped referring to that room as the sanctuary”—he motioned toward the door with his hand—“and this one as the fellowship hall. It’s now the kitchen, and your quarters and Mary Nell’s office aren’t Sunday school rooms anymore.”

“Progress,” she agreed.

“By the time we open for business, we will have forgotten that this was ever anything but a bar and grill.” He finished off his coffee. “Thanks for listening to me, and for confiding in me, too.”

She smiled at him and said, “BTT.”

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“It means Been There Therapy,” she answered and picked up her dirty dishes.

“Amen!” he said as he got up and carried his plate and glass to the sink. “That’s the only kind of therapy that works for people like us.”

His shoulder brushed against hers when he put his plate and cup in the sink, and there was that little burst of electricity. She glanced over and saw the dreamy look in his green eyes and knew in that moment that he could feel the chemistry between them, too.

Not that it would do a bit of good—they were partners, and mixing pleasure with business was too risky.

“And you got that right,” she told him as she headed for the door. “See you in the morning.”

“Good night, Jessica,” Wade said.

“Sweet dreams.” She managed a smile, but what she really wanted to do was take a step forward and wrap her arms around him. Wade had suffered—was still suffering—just like she was from the jobs they’d had. Would a simple hug be so bad?

Yes, it would, because it would start something that has no future, the voice in her head warned her.

“See you tomorrow morning at breakfast,” he said and disappeared into the darkness of the bar area.

The moment was gone, and there was a good possibility it would never happen again. With a sigh, Jessica turned out the lights in the kitchen and made her way across the dark bar to the hallway leading back to her quarters.

She went right to the bathroom, flipped the switch to turn on the light, and was met with the lingering scent of Wade’s soap, which smelled a lot like leather. She took a long breath and held it for a moment. If he took a shower every night, which she expected he would, how was she ever supposed to go to bed and not think about him?





Chapter Eight


Dust hung over the weathered wooden bleachers like smoke in an old-time honky-tonk, blocking out the stars and what there was of the moon over Jessica’s head that evening. Wade and Oscar had come up with the idea for them all to go to the ranch rodeo. According to them, everyone had worked so hard that they deserved a little fun that Saturday night, but Jessica figured the evening was mostly for the twins’ sake.

Jessica had been to a couple of local rodeos, but seeing the events through the eyes of a couple of teenagers was a whole new experience. They were both wide-eyed though the bull-riding event, and when the second contestant stayed on for the full eight seconds, their whoops and hollers put the enthusiasm of everyone around them to shame.

“I want to do that,” Lily said. “Can I take lessons? Maybe on one of those fake bulls?”

“Not me.” Daisy shook her head. “I’m like Mama. I’m as graceful as an elephant on ice.”

“Hey, now!” Risa argued. “I can do better than that.”

“Want me to start giving examples?” Daisy teased.

Risa nudged her daughter with a shoulder. “Only if you want me to tell secrets, too.”

“I will shut up right now.” Daisy giggled.

“That kid that just managed to stick to the bull’s back for the whole time has been riding since he was mutton busting, and he’s your age, Lily,” Oscar said. “I’ll introduce you to him if you want, and you can talk to him about learning to ride.”

“Are you serious?” Lily asked. “Would you really introduce me to him?”

“What’s mutton busting?” Daisy blurted out over her sister’s question.

“It’s when kids from four to seven climb on a wild, woolly sheep and try to hold on for six seconds. Cole and his cousin, Peyton, have been competing since right after they turned four. It’s also known as wool riding,” Oscar explained. “But yes, I will introduce you. Can you girls two-step?”