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I took her hand. “He does seem to give his opinions freely.”
She shut the door behind me and beamed. “I bet he has some for you about the handsome doctor.”
“That he does.”
She waved her hand in the air. “The boy is awfully opinionated for someone who wouldn’t know what a good relationship was if it bit him in the butt. Not that I don’t blame myself for that, but he’s a little too high and mighty for a man who’s dating a woman who wants to be introduced as his intimate. What does that even mean?” Miss June was so fired up she didn’t even take a breath to let me answer. “And get this, he’s supposed to say it as inti-mate.”
Mate? I could hardly breathe. “They’re mates, as in mating?”
Miss June grabbed her heart. “Oh, darlin’, don’t ever say that. If Brooks procreates with that woman, I’m going to rent my clothes and cover myself in sackcloth and ashes.”
She made me snicker. “From the sounds of it, I think she’s not interested in bearing babies, so you’re probably safe.” I rubbed my heart, begging for that to be true. I knew I shouldn’t care, but if he had a baby with Morgan, that was it. Game over.
“Child, let us pray.” She clapped her hands together and looked up to the popcorn ceiling.
You know, praying wasn’t such a bad idea. I threw up a silent one for the cause. Maybe it was sacrilegious to pray for such things, but after my time with Brooks and Julian, I had a feeling Brooks would have a miserable life if he got permanently entangled with that family. On the other hand, I had a feeling Brooks would be a great daddy. I loved watching him with his nephews.
As soon as Miss June said, “Amen,” she focused right back on me. “How about some iced tea and a talk?”
“How did you know I needed to talk?”
“Oh, darlin’, I remember that look on your face.”
My eyes filled with tears. “A talk and some tea would be perfect.”
She took my hand and led me to the kitchen that was still decorated with wallpaper that had lemons on it. “Let’s talk in here so we don’t wake up Tom. He’s still mighty tired.”
“He did good this afternoon walking to the mailbox and back.” It wasn’t much, but it was a start. I had followed him while he’d used his walker. He had fussed at me the entire way, embarrassed he couldn’t stand or walk on his own and that he got so winded going there and back.
“He did, but, boy, did he cuss about it after you left. At least he didn’t lose the dirty part of his vocabulary.” She laughed. “Take a seat, honey.” She pointed at the table in the breakfast nook. The old tablecloth matched the wallpaper. There were lemons everywhere in the large, once top-of-the-line kitchen.
I sat down, and so many good memories hit me. There was no telling how many times I had eaten dinner here growing up. Or how many school projects I had done on this very table while Miss June told us stories of the boys she used to date in high school. On this very table I had made Brooks’s campaign posters while he had done his homework. I remembered him looking up several times and smiling at me. I loved his smile. I still did.
Miss June set a large glass of iced tea in front of me. She sat across from me and flashed me a Cheshire grin. “You need to talk about boys?”
I held on to the glass for dear life. “Yep. Boys.”
“Are you falling for Julian?” She seemed hesitant to ask. More like hoping my answer would be no.
I ran my finger around the rim of the glass. “Not really. Don’t get me wrong, I like him, and we have a good time together. But . . .”
“You have feelings for Brooks.”
“I shouldn’t.”
She slapped the table. “Why ever not?”
“He’s dating Morgan.” Or should I say mating Morgan? I internally cringed. “And he told me he would never wish himself upon me. Then Julian practically said the same thing to me tonight. The crazy part is, when I’m with either one of them, it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve found myself feeling connected and longing for a man’s company. Even if Brooks and I fight most of the time, we’re together.”
Miss June’s eyes lit up like the fireworks going on outside. “This is excellent news.”
“It is? Because I’ve been thinking it isn’t.”
“Darlin’, don’t you see how badly Brooks is fighting against his true nature? When he was young, all that boy ever wanted to do was grow up to be like his daddy, right down to going into corporate law and living on the same street as him. Then he became a teenager and Morgan filled his head with stupid ideas. He rebelled a bit, like all kids do. His rebellion was rejecting our ideals. Toward the end, he was coming back around, but unfortunately, the divorce happened at the worst possible time and caused him to cling to his contrary ideals. And you, sweet girl, represented everything he then told himself he’d never wanted in the first place. Everything he wants so badly now but is too stubborn to admit it.”
