Riverbend Reunion(52)

They each took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and escaped up the stairs before anyone could say anything else to them.

“Men, menopause, kids, divorces, deaths, friendships,” Jessica said. “It’s a good thing we’ve got each other. My confession today is that y’all are right about this horrible crush I’ve got on Wade. I know it would be crazy for us to get involved.”

“Why?” Haley asked. “Neither of you are engaged, married, or dating someone else, are you?”

“No, but we are partners,” Jessica answered.

“We can almost see the sparks between y’all when the two of you are in the room together, so your confession doesn’t shock us like Haley’s did,” Mary Nell said.

“Or like my girls’ suggestion for the peaceful demonstration did.” Risa shook her head. “Who would have thought those two would come up with a plan like that?”

“Like mama, like daughters,” Jessica laughed. “And I’ve been careful, so how did y’all know about the attraction I have for Wade?”

“Sisters know those things,” Haley answered.

“Nothing can come of it,” Jessica declared with a sigh. “Like I said, we’re partners, and it would be very awkward if we started something, then broke up.”

“You’ll never know unless you give it a try,” Risa said.

“I believe the two of you are secure enough in your own selves that if you did break up, you could still be adult enough to make your partnership work,” Haley said.

“Me too,” Risa agreed.

“Honestly?” Jessica asked.

“I made a mess of my marriage, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a happy-ever-after out there for you,” Risa said.

“And I screwed up my relationship,” Mary Nell told her. “I should have walked out of that situation years ago, but somewhere down the road, I hope to find someone who still wants to have kids in our old age.”

Jessica turned to face Haley. “We are not old. We aren’t even really middle-aged yet.”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Haley said. “I’ll be staring sixty in the eyes when this child graduates from high school, and that is old. But if there is a happy-ever-after floating around out there, I hope you find it. You deserve it for everything you’ve done for us.”

“Motherhood,” Risa said with a smile. “My mother sure gives us a role model in what not to be.”

“And, Risa, you give us a role model in what to be,” Haley said.

“Here we are,” Jessica said. “Risa is a mother with teenage girls. Haley is about to be a single mother. Mary Nell and I are jealous of you both because we want a family. We had great mothers, so we’ve got role models to go by. We’ve come a long way from those cheerleaders from twenty years ago, haven’t we?”

“Speaking of that,” Mary Nell said, “I got a letter from the homecoming committee reminding all former cheerleaders to get their forms sent in if they want to ride on the float. It was forwarded to me from my address in Nashville, and they’d like to have our answers by July first.”

“Not me,” Risa said. “My mother would throw raw eggs at me if I got on that float.”

“If Risa isn’t going to ride on it, then I’m not,” Haley declared.

“Or me,” Jessica answered.

“So the vote is unanimous. We will not be riding on the homecoming float for the cheerleaders,” Mary Nell said.

“One for all, and all for one.” Haley felt better than she had in weeks.





Chapter Eleven


The whole bar had smelled like fresh-baked cookies all day. Jessica, along with Oscar and Wade and the rest of the crew, had made several visits to the kitchen to grab one of their favorites right out of the oven. The twins had made cookies on Monday, but then they’d gotten worried about having enough, so they had decided to make a few more on Tuesday. They were just finishing supper that evening when a crunch of gravel and the noise of several vehicles out in the parking lot signaled the arrival of lots and lots of cars.

“Well, crap!” Risa sighed. “I was hoping Mama couldn’t get enough people to come out, and she would give up on this thing.”

“Or that maybe she was just blowing a lot of hot air when she made those threats,” Jessica said.

“Not me,” Lily said with a head wiggle. “I want a big audience for me and Daisy to play for this evening. Come on, Sister, let’s get the two packages of plain old sugar cookies put on a tray and taken out to Granny Stella’s table.”

“You do that,” Daisy told her, “and I’ll start taking the platters of the good stuff out to the backyard.”

Seeing the excitement in the girls pumped Jessica up almost as much as she’d been when she was being dropped into a war zone on an important mission. There was always that adrenaline rush when she and the team went into that mode, and she had thought she would never feel it again. This wasn’t a life-or-death situation where she was rescuing a hostage, but it did make her feel alive.

She had always wanted a sister, but that evening, she wished that she’d had a twin. Someone who could finish her sentences, argue with her, and yet have her back when the going got tough.