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ChapterTwo
Sweetie felt like Dorothy when she woke up in her bed at Auntie Em and Uncle Henry’s after the journey to Oz.She felt like everything that had happened in the last twelve years had been nothing but a strange dream.Or possibly a nightmare.But unlike Dorothy, she hadn’t fought to get back home.Instead, she had stubbornly stayed away until she could return a famous country music superstar and prove to her daddy and the townsfolk that she had chosen the right path.
She still wanted to prove herself.Not just to her family and the townsfolk, but also to herself.But now she realized she had let her stubborn pride keep her from her touchstone, from the one place that filled her up rather than drained her dry.
She was so overcome with emotions she didn’t realize that Decker had stopped the car, or that she was bawling like a little baby, until a handkerchief landed on her lap.Not a bandana like most country boys carried around in their back pockets, but a white linen hankie with a border of bluebonnets embroidered along the scalloped edge.
She glanced at him, but he kept his gaze on the road as he drove under the entryway.
On the way to the house, Sweetie expected to see herds of longhorn cattle grazing along the white slat fences and lazing in the shade of scrub oak and mesquite trees.She didn’t see a one.Or one horse.Or one goat, sheep, or herding dog.Or ranch hand.The only animal she saw was a prairie dog peeking its head out of a hole, then ducking back down as the tires spit out gravel.
Sweetie was more than a little confused.
Thankfully, the house looked the same.The two-story farmhouse was still painted her mama’s favorite color of pale green with white shutters and a wide porch to beat all porches.Big enough to hold a table and eight chairs on one side and a cushioned wicker sofa and chairs on the other.It even had room for a porch swing on the very end.A porch swing her great-grandfather had made himself out of old barn wood.
Even though it was well past Christmas, the red-and-green ornament wreath, Sweetie remembered from her childhood, hung on the front door and colored lights lined the windows and eaves.Obviously her mama had been too busy taking care of Hank to take down the Christmas decorations and put up the Valentine hearts and wreath.
Darla Holiday had married into the right last name.She loved celebrating any and every holiday and had filled the attic with plastic bin after plastic bin of decorations for Christmas, Valentine’s, St.Patrick’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.When Sweetie had popped out on February 14th, she’d taken it as a sign from God to name all her children after something related to the holiday closest to their births.
Sweetheart.Clover.Liberty and Belle.Halloween.Noelle.
Halloween, or Hallie as she demanded to be called, had never forgiven her mother for her obsession with holidays.
“How long are you staying?”Decker’s question pulled Sweetie from her thoughts and she turned to find him studying her.His mouth was stern again.Not that he had ever been a smiler.Even as a kid, she’d had to work hard to get the solemn look from his face.The rare times he had caved and flashed his teeth, she’d always felt like she had achieved something special.
“Trying to get rid of me so soon, Deckster?”She’d given him the nickname after she’d found out he was a straight-A student.It used to make him smile.Now it made his jaw tighten.
“You might be welcomed home, but you won’t be welcomed in town.It would be best for everyone if you stay out here.”
She knew he had good reason to be upset with her.She had hurt his cousin.She had hurt him badly.But that didn’t mean she was going to be bullied.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to see about that.I’ve had a hankering for good Texas barbecue and no one makes it better than Bobby Jay.”
Decker studied her.“If you cause problems for me, I won’t hesitate to toss you in jail.”
“Ooo, did the big bad lawman just threaten me?”
“Not a threat.Just a promise.And unlike you, I keep my promises.”
Before she could tell him that what happened between her and Jace was none of his damn business, the screen door swung open and her mama came charging out.Darla Holiday was a petite ball of energy and always had been.She started her day at five in the morning and didn’t stop until everyone else was in bed.
She loved as hard as she worked.
As soon as Sweetie stepped out of the car, her mama had her in her arms.Nothing had changed about her mama’s hugs.They were warm, tight, and scented with the honeysuckle lotion she applied every morning.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were getting here so early, Sweetheart Mae?I haven’t even had time to get the Christmas decorations down and your decorations up or change the sheets on your bed or finish baking your favorite gooseberry pie.”Her mama drew back and gave Sweetie the once-over.“And it looks like you could use a few pies.You’ve lost weight since the last time I saw you.You’re nothing but skin and bones.Isn’t she, Mimi?”
Sweetie glanced back at the porch and saw her grandmother standing there with a soft smile on her wrinkled face.Most of Sweetie’s memories of Mitzy Holiday were of her kneeling in her gardens with a wide-brimmed hat perched on her head and bees dancing around her like flies to honey.
Sweetie hadn’t gotten her grandma’s way with bees or her patience for gardening.Or her sweet disposition.Like Sweetie’s mama, Mimi was a soft-spoken woman who had never raised her voice or interfered with running the ranch.Or the raising of her granddaughters.But she had always been there with a wise word or a shoulder to cry on when her son’s stubbornness had upset the Holiday sisters.Unlike Sweetie’s mama, who had visited Sweetie in Nashville often over the years, Mimi didn’t care for long road trips or flying.She did call Sweetie weekly and text her questions about Sweetie’s love life, followed by a row of wedding emojis.But phone calls and texts didn’t compare to seeing her grandmother in person.
“Mimi!”Sweetie hurried up the porch steps to hug her grandmother.
Mimi’s hugs were just as good as Mama’s.But instead of smelling like honeysuckle lotion, she smelled like the earth she loved to dig in and the Icy Hot she rubbed into her sore joints.
“There’s my girl.I was worried I’d never see your sweet face on this ranch again.”She drew back and patted Sweetie’s cheek.“But here you are.And your mama is right.You have lost weight.You’ve even lost your boobs.”
“Mimi!”Sweetie glanced over her shoulder to see if Decker had left.He hadn’t.In fact, he had gotten out and now stood at the bottom of the porch steps.Her face heated as Mimi continued.
