“As sure as I am about this being the right move for me and Zeke,” Darlene answered.
“Did I hear my name?” Zeke came through the back door.
“I’m telling our daughter to go be with Knox,” Darlene replied. “Where have you been?”
Zeke slipped an arm around Lottie’s shoulders. “Listen to your mama. She’s a wise woman. Let’s go hitch up your trailer. It looks lonely now that it’s the only one out there. Almost as unhappy as you do.”
“It kind of does,” Lottie agreed.
In less than an hour, she had everything locked down in the trailer, Prissy in her carrier and seat belted into the back seat, and had left Swan Song Estates in her rearview mirror. In only two hours, she would be home.
Home!
That was a word she hadn’t used very often since she was an adult.
“I’m going to raise my kids right there on the property so that they have a permanent childhood home to come to when they are grown,” she muttered. “I’ve learned that home isn’t really where you hang your hat. It’s where your heart is content. I’ve learned from visiting the Paradise that I want to be like Mary Jane when I grow up.”
One traffic accident and a five-mile stretch of road construction slowed her down a bit, and then there was a stop at the grocery store in Nocona. So, it was about three hours before she reached the house, and no one was there.
She made sure she entered the right code at the gate and parked her truck and trailer behind the house. “We’re here, Prissy. You’ve never known anything but a cramped trailer, and you might be a little bewildered. There’s plenty of room for you and Bally, so I expect you to play nice or else find a hiding spot.”
She unloaded all her things through the back door and kept an eye on the two cats. Surprisingly enough, Bally decided that Prissy was her mother and followed her around as she snooped through every corner. Finally, Prissy curled up on the sofa with Bally right beside her.
“Well, I’ll be…” She giggled. “There’s my sign. If Prissy is happy to have a little sister, then everything is going to be fine.”
* * *
“Hey, anybody home?” Knox yelled as he stepped inside the leather shop.
Willa Rose came out of her father’s apartment located inside the store. “Only by a few minutes. It’s closing time, and we’re about to go home.”
Knox reached out his arms to take the baby boy, Nicky, from her. “He’s twice as big as he was a week ago.”
Tripp came from the back of the store and clamped a hand on Knox’s shoulder. “He’s already four months old and has two teeth. Are you home for good? Where’s Lottie?”
“She’ll be along soon. She wanted to spend some time with her folks,” Knox answered. “I unloaded my livestock at the house and came straight here.”
“Livestock?” Willa Rose asked.
“Remember, I told you I have adopted a rooster and a kitten. Cheeto is checking out the yard and warning all the squirrels that he’s the king. When I left Bally, she had a case of the zoomies, running in circles around the coffee table, down the hallway, and back again to tackle one of her toys. She’s been used to living in a trailer, so she probably thinks she’s moved into a castle.”
That last word brought back to mind the weekend that Knox teased Lottie about being his queen and the old farmhouse being their castle. They had only been apart for a few hours, but it already felt like a whole week, or maybe a month, but at least it wasn’t for the entire summer.
“Come home with us and have some supper,” Willa Rose said.
“Thanks for the offer, but I want to make the rounds and then go on back home.” Knox handed Nicky to Tripp and led the way outside. “See y’all at church tomorrow morning. Mother’s Day is only a week away. I’ll need to do some shopping for Mary Jane. Has she mentioned anything?”
“Not to me,” Tripp answered, “but Audrey will find something special. Got to admit, this is the time of year when I sure miss Mother.”
Knox swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, unable to say a single word.
His last stop was at the farm to see Brodie and Audrey. He found them in the barn with Pansy and her litter of tiny potbellied pigs.
“Welcome home,” Brodie said. “Where’s Lottie?”
“She’ll be along in a little while. She hung back to visit with her folks,” Knox answered for what seemed like the hundredth time. “When are the little critters going to be ready to join my livestock collection?” he asked and went on to tell them about Bally and Cheeto.
“You could take them right now, but you probably should get a pen built and some kind of shelter. Pansy seems to be happy with her setup here. She’s got the barn in bad weather, and when the sun is out, she can use the pet door to go out into her run,” Audrey replied. “Want to pick out which one or ones you want? She’s got five, and we’re keeping the black-and-white spotted one to give her some company. Rae’s twins want one, but they are arguing about which one. That leaves three.”
