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Robert nodded and picked up a carafe from the pot behind the bar. The youngest Brand girl, Selene, slid onto a barstool and said, “We don’t need a table, the bar’s just fine.” Then she ran a hand over it and nodded. “Real fine.”
One of the sisters elbowed her, Melusine, if he had them straight. “We’re here to talk about our mother and your father.”
“And if our mother knew it, she’d probably disown us,” one of the two tall ones put in. Edie or Kara. Edie he thought, but either one could be the former model. Heck, any of them could. “So we’d appreciate your discretion.”
Joey frowned and looked at Jason. In fact, Robert was looking at him too. Jason sighed. “My brothers only arrived this morning. I haven’t filled them in yet, and to tell you the truth, I probably know less than any of you ladies.”
“Wait, wait, wait, now. Our father and their mother–” Joey began.
“Didn’t you get the last name, Joe? Brand. Their mother isVidaliaBrand,” Jason said.
“Holeeesmokes.” That was Robert. He was looking at one of the glossy flyers with her likeness on it. An open box of them still sat on the bar, the few left that Jason and his dad hadn’t plastered all over town already.
The women were frowning from one to the other. Kara said, “You know our mother?”
“Knowofher,” Joey said. “Dad’s...mentioned her.”
“Might as well be honest, Joe. Dad’s kind of obsessed with her.”
“Robert–” Jason’s voice had a warning tone.
“C’mon, Jay, these girls are clearly concerned about whatever is going on here. They have a right to know the truth, don’t they?”
“Youdon’t even know the truth,” his older brother muttered.
Maya was still standing. She moved behind the bar to help Joey put out cups and saucers, found the creamer in the mini-fridge down low, while he grabbed a box of sugar packets and set it out.
“None of us know the whole truth,” she said. “Our mother’s been keeping secrets, and that’s not like her.” Then she sighed. “This can’t be easy for you to discuss. I’m sure your loyalty lies with your mother–”
“Our parents’ divorce was the best thing for both of them. They were both happier afterward, which meant we were as well. And Mom’s happily married to a guy who’s crazy about her now,” Robert said.
Jason took the carafe and filled a mug, passed it to Maya, then filled another and offered it to Selene.
“There’s always been another woman on Dad’s mind,” Joey mused softly. “The one that got away. The one he never got over. The most stunning beauty west of the Mississippi. Sweet Vidalia Brand.” He gave the words dramatic flair with a hand on his chest and a faraway look in his eyes.
“What’s your mother’s...situation?” Robert asked.
“What do you mean,situation?” Melusine returned. Jason knew which one she was, because he’d seen her photograph online when he’d been checking into this family. She and her husband Alex were high priced P.I.s.
Robert lifted his brows. “Relationship-wise.”
Maya said, “My father-in-law’s half in love with her.”
“So’s my brother in law,” said the youngest, which made Jason lift his eyebrows in surprise.
“And don’t forget Reverend Jackson,” Kara put in.
Mel shrugged. “But Mama hasn’t shown much interest in any of them.”
“Still, nothing could possibly have ever happened between them in the past,” Kara said. “Mom was still married to Daddy when she knew Bobby Joe. Right?” She blinked from one of her sisters to another.
Selene shrugged. “Don’t ask me. It was before I was born.”
“She was married,” Maya stated it flatly.
Mel shook her head. “She thought she was married. But it was never legal. Our father already had a wife when he married our mother. We’re all bastards, if you want to know the truth of it.”
Jason heard more underneath the words, but decided not to pry. His father’s warnings about never looking twice at a married woman, however, were suddenly taking on a whole new meaning. Maybe he’d been speaking from experience.
