The Strawberry Hearts Diner(10)

“But in your car? That’s dangerous,” Vicky said.

“It wasn’t so bad. We did it pretty often when we’d move into a town where my dad had to save up paychecks until he could rent a place. Few times he made a deal with a run-down motel. If Mama and I cleaned for them, they’d give us a couple of rooms. It was the way it was. Other than Pick for those two years, I usually went to three or four schools a year. Mama was determined I’d get my diploma. Daddy was just as determined that I’d earn my keep.”

A vision of her mother flashed through her mind. Elaine hadn’t even been forty when she died, and she’d looked sixty. Jancy glanced over at Vicky. How could she be forty years old? They’d probably ID her at a club before they’d serve her a beer. Had Emily held on to her beauty the past six years? She’d sure never looked like her mother. Folks said that she took after her maternal grandmother with all that height, those big blue eyes and blonde hair. Vicky wasn’t a bit taller than Jancy, had jet-black hair and brown eyes.

“Well, tonight you’ll have your choice of a nice long bath or shower and a decent bed to sleep in,” Nettie said. “Towels are in the linen closet right outside the bathroom door.”

“Thank you”—Jancy smiled—“for everything. I’ve got a question for you before I go sink into a tub of water. What on earth kept y’all in Pick all these years?”

“It’s home,” Nettie said simply. “Now I’m going to bed. See y’all at six tomorrow mornin’ when we open up for breakfast. Vicky and I usually walk to the diner together. If you want to go with us, we leave at five thirty. It’s fine if you want to sleep until the last minute, too.”

“I’ll be ready at five thirty,” Jancy said.

Vicky yawned and pushed back her chair. “I’ve got some book work to do, so I’m going to my room. Help yourself to more coffee or there’s milk in the fridge. We don’t keep much soda pop in the house.”

Jancy wiped down the table and then went to her new bedroom, gathered up her things, and carried them to the bathroom. She filled the old claw-foot tub half-full of water and then sank down into the warm water and sighed. Dunking completely under the water to get her hair wet and then resurfacing, she felt as if she’d been baptized. She was leaving the old behind, and of all the crazy places in the world to land, it felt good to be back in Pick.





CHAPTER THREE


Mama, are you crazy?” Emily yelled. “Don’t y’all ever watch the news? Jancy mighta been a quiet-type girl in high school, but she might be a criminal now or maybe even working for that horrible man who tried to buy the diner. Give her enough money to get her out of town or at least to a cheap Frankston motel.”

Vicky held the phone out from her ear. “And how is she supposed to get to work tomorrow morning? Her car burned up in the diner parking lot. If you were stranded in a town with no motel, I’d sure hope someone would help you out. Besides, her granny was Nettie’s friend and Jancy lived right here in Pick for two years.”

“Will you at least promise me that you will lock your bedroom door and call me first thing in the morning?” Emily moaned.

“Before dawn?”

Another groan. “Yes, or earlier if something insane happens, like she kicks in your door or points a gun at your face. Call Shane or Ryder if something goes wrong. They can be there in five minutes and hold the place down until the Frankston police arrive.”

“You’ve been watching too many cop shows,” Vicky laughed.

“Don’t make me come down there.” Emily laughed with her. “But, seriously, Mama, I am worried.”

“Don’t be. I’m pretty good at reading people, and I don’t think Jancy is going to kill us in our sleep for the chocolate cake out there in the kitchen,” Vicky said.

“You are mean to mention Nettie’s chocolate cake. I like it even better than tarts,” Emily whined. “It’s not fair that Jancy gets tarts and cake and I’m a million miles away.”

“Nettie will make another chocolate cake on Friday, and you are not a million miles away. You are only in Tyler. The semester is over in four days. You’ll be home and we’ll have the whole summer together.”

“I’m holding you to that promise. And, Mama, I sure hope Nettie hasn’t lost her touch when it comes to reading people. Good night.”

Vicky kissed her finger and touched Emily’s forehead in the picture beside her bed. “Good night. Sweet dreams.”

Nettie stuck her head in the door just as Vicky laid the phone on the nightstand. Dressed in her favorite nightgown that barely had any of the original lilac color in it at all, she shut the door behind her and twisted a red bandanna in her hands. Her short gray hair stuck up all over her head in wet spikes from her shower. All it needed was pink or purple streaks to make her look like a punk rocker.

“Nettie, what is wrong? Are you sick?”

“Did I make a mistake?” She crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m second-guessing myself.”

“About selling the café for a development that won’t do our town a bit of good? I don’t think so. The people who buy the fancy houses will stay to themselves. They’ll get up early to go to work and come home late. They’ll buy whatever they need in Tyler or Frankston and they’ll take their kids up there to private schools.” Vicky stopped for a breath. “And what would we do? We’d be lost without the diner.”