Riverbend Reunion(58)

“That’s totally up to her,” Haley said, “but given her past, I wouldn’t put money on it. How does that make you feel, Daisy?”

“It makes me sad,” Risa answered before Daisy could. “Not for me as much as for Mama. Granny Stella is missing so much by not allowing me and the girls into her life, and she doesn’t have any joy.”

“I don’t want to grow up to be like her or Granny Martha—either one,” Daisy answered. “That’s how it makes me feel.”

“That’s good,” Haley said.

As usual, a cloud of dust followed the truck as Risa drove back to the old church. She could see blue skies ahead of her and dark clouds mixed with a gray fog of dust in the rearview mirror. But she was in the company of her family—twins by blood and a sister of the heart with two more sisters waiting at the bar. If there were such things as omens, she had them all right there in the truck on the way to her new job. The dark times in the past would come to her mind occasionally, but the future held blue skies. Her girls were with her, and their memories were good, and what she had with Haley and the rest of the team went so much deeper than just friendship.

“I’m happy,” Risa muttered.

“Me too,” the twins echoed from the back seat.

“I will be when this morning sickness is over,” Haley added.

“It won’t be much longer, and then you can use the excuse that you’re eating for two,” Risa said with a smile as she parked close to the front porch of the bar but didn’t turn off the truck engine. “Okay, ladies, today we have to vote on a name for the bar. Mr. Yandell, the lawyer, says all the final paperwork, now that we’ve all been approved for everything, is being filed today.”

“We’ve kicked around a lot of names, but I really like the idea of Danny’s Place,” Haley said.

Risa watched a couple of squirrels play chase on the old church steeple, which still sat at the end of the building like a little child in a time-out chair. Should they put it back on the roof and paint whatever name they chose on it? Risa didn’t think so. It had been knocked off for a reason. Maybe so that the building wouldn’t look like a church anymore.

“Mama, are you thinking or worrying?” Lily asked.

“Thinking,” Risa answered. “Oscar says they’ll call it the Old Church no matter what we call it, but I think Danny’s Place might stick better than Back Home or anything else that we’ve come up with.”

“Even better than Wade’s Place or Jessica’s Place?” Haley asked.

Risa nodded. “It’s just got a nice ring to it.”

“Why are we even thinking about Danny’s Place? Isn’t that just Wade’s brother’s name that died a while back?” Daisy asked. “What’s he got to do with our bar?”

“There’s a story that Jessica shared with us,” Haley answered and went on to tell her about Danny’s dream of owning a tiki bar when he got out of the service.

“And Danny graduated with all four of us,” Risa said. “If any of you have a better idea, then present it at the breakfast table, but I like the sound of Danny’s Place, so that’s what I’m voting for.”

“Me too, but for now better get on inside and put on the coffee,” Haley told them. “Now that the queasiness is gone, I’m starving.”

“Danny’s Place does have a nice ring to it. How did he die?” Lily unfastened her seat belt.

“Wade hasn’t shared that with us yet, but I imagine it was in the line of duty,” Haley answered.

Daisy slung the back door open and got out of the truck. “If I was going out to have a few beers and dance, I could say I was going to Danny’s Place for a burger. It wouldn’t be a lie that would cause Granny Stella or Granny Martha to drop down on their knees and start praying for me.”

“Yep,” Lily agreed, “and you old ladies better get a move on. The first big raindrop just splattered against the windshield.”

“Old!” Haley gasped.

Daisy and Lily barely beat Risa and Haley into the foyer, and then the downpour began. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Risa couldn’t help but wonder if the past was sneaking up on her and bringing trouble with it.



Wade jogged from his trailer to the back door of the church, dashed inside just before the rain started, and headed down the hallway toward the aroma of coffee and something that smelled like cinnamon. When he was only a few feet from Jessica’s room, she opened the door and fell into step with him.

“Good morning. This kind of day makes me glad that I moved out of the RV. You should consider fixing up the last Sunday school room and moving inside,” she told him.

“Good morning to you, and thanks for the offer, but right now, I’m happy in my little travel trailer,” Wade said. “I smell cinnamon. I thought Risa said we were having waffles this morning.”

“Yep, but she made some with cinnamon, some plain, some with chocolate chips, and then some with blueberries.” Jessica’s hand brushed against his as they crossed the bar area.

That giddy feeling that macho Texans and guys weren’t supposed to have flooded through his heart. His hands went clammy as he stood to one side to let her go into the kitchen ahead of him. “Too bad we aren’t serving breakfast when we open.”