The Devine Doughnut Shop(47)

All three of them seemed to be thinking about making a change. The need for a change, even if it broke that three-corded rope, lay heavy on Sarah’s heart. She felt that if she didn’t do something soon, like in the next couple of years, the “trees”—as Macy called all the drama going on around them—were really going to smother her. “You’re probably right, but a change looks good to me. I’m thirty-five years old, and if I’m ever going to have a family, time is running out. Most guys my age are either married and have a family started or are just out for a good time and want no commitments. Like some guys I could mention.”

“My clock is ticking, too,” Macy said with a sigh, “and I want a family so much it hurts, but I just can’t imagine not doing what we are right now every day.” A smile broke out across her face. “But I’ve got to admit, I could go for a beach bum if he was honest and treated me right. Not that beach bum getting married to Darla Jo, though.”

“Maybe what we need to do is close shop as soon as school is out and take Raelene and Audrey to Florida like we’ve talked about. Make it a reality instead of an idea,” Grace said. “It would be a test to see if we would even consider a drastic change or if we’d be homesick and wishing for our old routine after the first couple of days away from Devine.”

Lightning flashed through the window, and thunder sounded as if someone had spilled a whole wagonload of potatoes on top of the shop. It startled Sarah so badly that she dropped the wooden spoon she was using to stir the dough.

“Dammit!” she swore under her breath. “That scared the bejesus out of me. I love the sound of rain, but I’ve always hated thunder and lightning.”

“Probably because Mama used to talk about lightning coming down through the rafters in church and striking someone who had been gossiping or who had done wrong things,” Grace said with a giggle.

“Is that an omen? Is it telling us that we should all walk away from this business or that we shouldn’t close up shop for two weeks?” Macy asked. “It came when we were talking about both.”

“I’m not sure, but whichever it is, it has got my attention.” Sarah wiped up the mess on the floor and got a clean spoon from a drawer. “I like the idea of closing up shop and taking a family vacation. We could call it Raelene’s graduation present from us.”

The rain began in a downpour, with a hard wind that slammed a spray of water against the windows so hard that Sarah thought they might crack and break any minute. “If the windows break, then I think it’s a sign that we need to move away from Devine. Let’s plan on heading to Florida first. I hear the beaches are white and that this is a lovely time of year to visit.”

“If they break,” Grace said with a nervous laugh, “we will put both girls on homeschooling and be gone tomorrow. That way, I don’t have to deal with Travis Butler.”

At five o’clock, the display case and the parking lot were both full. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, and the lightning had stopped flashing. Sarah slid in the last tray of doughnuts and opened the front door. In just a few minutes, the tables were all taken and there was a line at the counter. Umbrellas dripped on the floor, and the whole place buzzed with conversations.

“Neither rain, nor wind, nor fear of tornadoes shall keep folks—whether we like them or not—away from doughnuts and gossip,” Sarah said with a long sigh and headed to the cash register to ring up sales.

“Amen!” Grace nodded toward Carlita and Lisa coming through the door. She grabbed a tray, put three cups and a coffeepot on it, and headed over to the table where Claud and his two buddies were sitting.

“We were surprised to hear that Audrey is back in school. We really thought it would be best if that girl was homeschooled,” Carlita said.

“Maybe you should do that with your kids,” Sarah said.

“Don’t you get sassy with us,” Lisa said. “We’ll boycott this business.”

“Please do,” Sarah snapped.

“I heard that Grace is getting married and leaving Devine,” Carlita said and laid a ten-dollar bill on the counter. “We’ll take a dozen assorted to go this morning. Are you and Macy going to be able to keep this place going without her?”

Sarah made change and leaned as far over the counter as she possibly could to mutter, “Who told you that?”

“We have our sources,” Carlita said with a smug grin.

Lisa stepped around from behind Carlita, clearly eager to amplify any mean gossip. “Audrey must be all excited about moving to Europe. Who would have thought that Grace would snag a man like Travis Butler?”

“It’s a mystery, for sure, but from what we know, your two daughters started that rumor just to mess with Audrey. Enjoy your doughnuts and coffee,” Sarah said and dismissed them by looking past them to the next customer.

Carlita grabbed the bag and the change that Sarah had laid on the counter, and they left in a huff, like usual.

The rain had almost stopped when Audrey and Raelene arrived thirty minutes before the school bus was scheduled to run that morning. The windows were all intact, so Sarah figured that she couldn’t tell them they would be doing their homework on the beach after all.

“Did you girls have breakfast, or do you want to choose something from what’s left in the case?” she asked.