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“So you’re saying it’s not?”
“Of course not. And since when do you get to ask me questions about my love life, Maya?”
“Love life? Jeeze, Mom, up until now I didn’t even know youhada love life.”
Vidalia bit back the urge to tell her daughter that whether she did or not, it was none of her business. They were a close family. And if she were honest, she would admit she’d dished out the same kind of third degree she was now being served with each of the girls. But she did not need and would not seek her offsprings’ approval when it came to...feelings like the ones Bobby stirred up in her. Feelings she was too ashamed of to even talk about with her minister, much less her kids.
“Mom, did this guy mean something to you?”
Vidalia lowered her head. “I was a married woman.”
“Not legally, you weren’t.”
She shook her head. “It’s been more than twenty years. It’s ancient history that doesn’t matter in the least anymore.” She looked in at the twins. “They’re trying to peel the plastic off the candy candes with their teeth, Maya. Best take them home and feed them.”
* * *
The five concerned daughters of Vidalia Brand met at Edie and Wade’s gorgeous place overlooking the falls, because it was the farthest from home. Vidalia’s big farmhouse would always be “home” to them. Maya had called the meeting, but Edie had been about to, and she wasted no time getting to the point once they were all gathered around the giant Christmas tree in her living room. It went clear up to the cathedral ceiling and filled the front window. Breathtaking, Edie thought. She loved her home. Sally, the Great Dane, lay on the floor in front of the tree, her favorite spot, and sighed repeatedly to convey how much she hated being mauled by children. Yet she didn’t get up and leave, and she didn’t growl, and every once in a while her tail thumped the floor. The fraud.
“So,” Edie began, “Mom’s pickup truck was parked alongside Main Street last night, way out at the edge of town in the middle of nowhere. It was after closing time, so you know it was the wee hours. I heard it was there for a while, too. Who knows what’s going on?”
The others frowned and lowered their heads, but, Edie noticed, Maya looked alarmed. “Heck,” she said with a look at her twins, who were playing with Sally’s dog toys, while Tyler, older and wiser and no longer wearing braces on his legs, stroked the dog’s head slow and lovingly. “Was it anywhere near the old Feed & Grain?”
“Yeah. In fact, that was the only thing nearby, according to Sunny from the bakery,” Edie said. “Why?”
Maya sighed. “Something’s up with Mom. Some handsome stranger came into the Corral last night, and she got all worked up, ended up going outside with him for a while.”
“Mom did that?” Selene asked, her eyes wide and searching each of her older siblings’ faces.
“Go, Mom,” Mel muttered. Kara just smiled to herself.
Maya said, “I asked her about it this morning, and she got all defensive and tight lipped. But she did tell me who he was. JRJ McIntyre. Though she calls him Bobby Joe. He was her handyman back when we were little. Helped her change the Corral from an old motel into a saloon.”
“Maya, that had to have been more than twenty years ago,” Kara said.
Melusine pulled out her phone and started tapping keys. “Funny. Google says RJR McIntyre is a billionaire tycoon from Dallas. Must be a different one. How does he spell–”
“That’s the one,” Maya said. “She said he was poor back then. And that he came to Christmas at our house a few times.”
“The Raggedy Anne Dolls!” Kara all but shouted. “Idoremember him.” She tipped her head sideways. “He always seemed kind of sad to me. Cool that he went out and got all rich and famous.”
“He’s famous,” Edie agreed, “but not for much more than being rich.”
“I don’t remember him,” Selene said, frowning.
“It was before you were born, Selene,” Maya went on. “But that’s beside the point. I don’t care who he is or who he was or how many dolls he bought us when we were kids. He’s back in town, and there’s something going on between him and Mom. I think we need to find out just what the son of a gun is up to. What his intentions are.” Maya got up and paced to the tree, taking an ornament out of CC’s hand and putting it back on its branch. “Look, but don’t touch, okay kids?”
“They’re not gonna break anything, sis,” Edie said. “And if they did, I wouldn’t care.”
“Your home belongs in a magazine, Edie. I’m not gonna risk it.”
Mel sighed. “I’ll talk to Alex. We’re the P.I.s in the family. So it stands to reason we’re the ones who should dig into this guy a little bit.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea at all,” Kara said.
“Be discreet,” Maya said, almost as if Kara hadn’t said a word. Edie saw Kara notice and frown. “Mom’s super sensitive about this for some reason,” she went on. “She finds out we were snooping, there’s gonna be hell to pay.”
“We’re professionals, Maya. We do this for a living. We know how to be discreet.”
