Riverbend Reunion(68)

“Nope,” Mary Nell said, “or that you and Wade Granger would be putting in a bar together, either, but it feels right and good. And I’m glad to be where I am. I didn’t realize how unhappy I was with Kevin until tonight. A year ago on this holiday, I was in Nashville at the fireworks show. I was miserable. I was trying to shape my whole life around what he needed, what he wanted, and trying to please him.”

“Why tonight?” Jessica asked. Then she pointed and squealed. “Look, everyone! There’s a shooting star!”

“You saw it first, so you get to make the wish,” Wade said as he came outside.

Jessica glanced over at Mary Nell for an answer before she made her wish.

“It’s a feeling that’s hard to explain, but I’m glad I’m here and not still there,” Mary Nell answered. “Now, make your wish.”

Jessica closed her eyes and wished for a real, honest-to-goodness kiss from Wade. Maybe then she would stop thinking about it.



Last year, Mary Nell and Kevin, along with some of his friends, had watched the fireworks show in Nashville at Riverfront Park. Like always, it had been spectacular, but Mary Nell hadn’t known just how tense and strained their relationship had become by then, not until she came to Texas. As her mother often told her, she had finally put some distance between her and the forest she had been living in. The fireworks package that Oscar had bought for the twins was pretty meager compared to the tens of thousands of dollars that had been spent on the big show in Tennessee. But the laughter and the feeling she had that evening outshone every moment of the big show the previous year.

“And here goes the last one,” Lily yelled. “Enjoy it, everyone.”

A brilliant blast of red sparkles lit up the dark sky, and everyone applauded.

“Good job, ladies,” Mary Nell told them. “Now what do we do?”

“I’m having another hot dog, and a bowl of watermelon,” Daisy declared. “Maybe next year we’ll have made some friends, and we can invite them to our show.”

“Maybe even the cheerleaders, and Mama can talk Jessica, Mary Nell, and Haley into doing cheers for us, too,” Lily teased.

“They can do cheers,” Mary Nell said with a laugh. “Darlin’, if I could find my cheerleading outfit, I couldn’t fit into it. You’d think working three jobs would jerk the weight right off me, but it didn’t.”

“All that I own is out there in that RV or else in my bedroom, and there’s not a cute little, short skirt or a tight-fitting top in either place. There will be no cheering from this woman,” Jessica declared. “But I’m more than glad to give y’all some pointers if I’m not too old to remember how it was done.”

“It’s like riding a bicycle,” Risa said. “Once you get on, you remember how to balance and how to pedal. Haley and I have been helping them with their tryout cheers, but you and Mary Nell are more than welcome to share what you remember.”

Mary Nell shook her head slowly. “I’ll do what I can, but it’s been twenty years. I won’t be doing any cheers.”

Risa covered a yawn with the back of her hand. “Y’all can stay out here as long as you want, but I’m going to start carrying the leftovers inside. Then I’m going to go home, take a long, hot bath, and read a good book until I fall asleep.”

“Awww,” Lily whined, “can’t we stay a little longer?”

“I’ll bring them home after a while,” Haley offered. “I’m wide awake, and I’ll help with cleanup. I haven’t pulled my share today. Go on home, Risa.”

“I’m not going to argue.” Risa stood up and headed around the end of the church.

Mary Nell heard a vehicle leaving, and in a few minutes, the crunch of gravel told her that another one was arriving. “I wonder what your mama forgot.”

“Probably her purse,” Lily answered.

A car door slammed, and then a deep voice yelled, “Hello, the camp.”

“That don’t sound like Mama or Granny Stella,” Daisy said.

“Come on around and make yourself known,” Wade said, raising his voice.

“I’m Landon Greeley. We were wondering if we could park here and walk down to the river to do some fishing.” The light provided by half a dozen citronella candles showed a muscled-up kid who looked like he was either a football player or a weight lifter. He had dark hair and eyes, and his face was clean shaven.

Altogether a good-looking boy, but Mary Nell didn’t like the way he was sizing Lily up. She recognized him as the youngest son of Billy Greeley, one of the guys on the football team when she was in high school. “How are you, Landon?”

“Just fine, Miz Wilson. Hello, Oscar. Hey, Wade.” He tipped the bill of his cap toward them.

Oscar and Wade waved.

“And you are David Adam’s son, right?” Mary Nell asked the shorter kid, who had red hair that touched his collar and a bit of scruff on his face that reminded her of Shaggy on Scooby Doo.

“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded. “I’m Eli, the youngest of us five boys. Me and Landon will be seniors at Riverbend High this fall, and we’re starters on the football team. Landon is quarterback, and I’m his backup.”

“Go Gators,” Jessica said with a smile. “All of us graduated from Riverbend High School.”