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“Do you think the sisters know?”Rome asked.
“If they didn’t before, they will when they all get there.”
“So all the sisters are coming home?”
Decker nodded.“That’s what I hear.And I don’t think it’s a good thing.Those girls can get into a lot of trouble when they’re together.”
Rome grinned.“Worried you’ll have to haul them in, Deck?”
He was a little worried.They were all as obstinate as Sweetie and he was going to have his hands full.
“Speaking of the Holiday sisters.”Rome tapped his bottle of beer on the table.“I got a weird prank text the other day.”
“From one of the sisters?”
“No.From Ms.Mimi.At least that’s what it claimed.Since I don’t have Ms.Mimi’s cellphone number, I can’t be sure.Although it seems unlikely given the proposition.”
Decker laughed.“Ms.Mimi propositioned you?And here I thought she was such a sweet little ol’ gardening grandma.”
“Which is why I think it’s a prank.”
Decker watched with surprise as George picked up the ball he’d ignored for the last month and dropped it at Dixie Chick’s feet.The ball was much too big for the little dog’s small mouth.Which could explain why she ignored it.Or it could have been George’s dog slobbers covering it.
“So what did the text say?”Decker asked as he reached down and picked up the ball to see if George would fetch it now that he had a female to impress.But the ball dropped right back out of his hand when Rome answered his question.
“It said if I could convince one of her granddaughters to marry me, Mimi would give me the ranch.Every last acre.”
ChapterEight
Sweetie arrived back from the errands her mother had sent her on to discover the Christmas lights and wreath had been taken down and a string of heart lights and a red-ribbon-and-glittery-heart-festooned wreath had replaced them.But it wasn’t the Valentine’s decorations that held her attention.It was the two cars sitting in front of the farmhouse.One was a beat-up Chevy pickup with a bumper sticker that read:Beer, the official champagne of Texasand the other was a plain white Honda Civic.
Just the sight of the vehicles made Sweetie squeal with joy.
She parked behind the truck and got out.Before she could make it to the porch, the screen door opened and her two sisters came charging down the porch steps.
Or Hallie charged.Cloe moved at a more sedate pace and waited for Hallie and Sweetie to stop hugging, squealing, and jumping up and down before she took her turn at greeting Sweetie.Which was so like Clover Fields Holiday.She had always been the one who waited patiently for her turn.She didn’t jump or squeal.She just gently pulled Sweetie into her arms.While Sweetie was short like their mama, Cloe was tall like their daddy and always smelled like clean country air.Even when she no longer lived in the country.
Hallie, on the other hand, always smelled like homemade bread, probably due to the yeast she used to brew her beer.
Sweetie hooked an arm around Hallie, pulling her into the hug with Cloe.“I’ve missed you both.I wish y’all could’ve come out to Nashville in August like Liberty and Noelle.A year is too long to go without seeing y’all.”
“I was too busy getting ready for the school year,” Cloe said.“You should have come to College Station for Thanksgiving.”
“I should have.That gig singing in the mall for Black Friday turned out to be a waste of time.Everyone was too busy shopping to stop and listen to me sing Christmas carols.”
“Maybe they would’ve listened if you sang your own songs,” Hallie said.Cloe shot her a warning look, but Hallie had never paid any attention to warnings.“What?I know the Holiday Secret Sisterhood voted that we weren’t going to mention Sweetie’s phobia of singing songs she writes in front of people, but how is she going to make it big if she only sings songs someone else writes?”
Sweetie didn’t know what surprised her more—the fact that her sisters knew about her phobia or the fact they had called a Holiday Secret Sisterhood meeting to discuss it.
The Holiday Secret Sisterhood had been Belle’s idea after she had readDivine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhoodin sixth grade.Sweetie had been in ninth grade at the time and thought herself above a silly club.But since Belle rarely asked for anything, Sweetie had gone along with it.Besides, as the oldest sister, it was up to her to make sure her younger siblings weren’t going to do something stupid.Over the years, she’d had to veto Hallie’s idea of blood oaths using a sharp kitchen knife.And Belle’s idea of summoning their deceased ancestors by having a séance in the hayloft using real candles.
But she’d gone along with most of the other sister bonding ideas: Swimming buck naked in Cooper Springs every full moon—Liberty’s idea.Stealing a bottle of Mimi’s homemade elderberry wine from the cellar every New Year’s Eve—Noelle’s idea.Swearing on the family Bible to never ever poach another sister’s boyfriend—Cloe’s idea.
The sisters still met to discuss life issues and family problems.Sweetie just didn’t think they would meet to discuss her.
“You had a Holiday Secret Sisterhood meeting without me?”
Cloe narrowed her eyes at Hallie before returning her attention to Sweetie.“We were just worried about you.Every time we talk on the phone, you seem depressed.”
