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“So what?” Lee asked. “I’ve liked lots of women.”
“Lots?” Will repeated, his surprise right there on his face.
The back door opened and Ford walked in. “This needs to be over,” Lee said.
“I’m doing the poll.” Will got to his feet and opened his arms to Ford. “Get over here, Ford, and give your favorite uncle a hug.”
Ford grinned and ran toward Will. Lee watched them hug and talk and laugh, and he did count his brothers as two of the biggest blessings in Ford’s life. His too, if Lee were being honest.
A shrieking ring filled the cabin, and Will reached for his phone. “This is Gretchen. I’m headed to church.”
“Take him with you,” Lee said, glaring at Travis. His youngest brother simply put his palms together in a praying gesture and left the cabin with Will.
Lee enjoyed his breakfast with his son, and then they spent the morning outside near the stream so Ford could show him all the fishes and rocks he’d been finding that morning.
By the time Lee walked into the white farmhouse where he’d grown up, his heartbeat felt like someone had hooked him up to live electricity. It zapped him every few seconds, and then his pulse would skitter everywhere. He could barely get a decent breath, and when he did, he got the scent of caramelized onions.
Surprise bolted through him—which did nothing to settle his pulse—when he found Mama standing in front of the stove. “Mama,” he said, quickly moving toward her. “What are you doing?”
“Making French onion soup,” she said with a smile. She wore a tied scarf around her head, but her life still shone from her in her eyes. Her whole face today.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, turning back to the onions. “I’m fine, Lee. You can set the table if you’re concerned.”
“Mama,” he said.
“Sorry,” she murmured.
Lee accepted her apology and got busy doing what she’d said. Daddy had been picking up the slack around the farmhouse for the past five years while Mama had been battling cancer. Today, Lee hadn’t seen his father yet, and he kept glancing toward the arched doorway that led out into the foyer and then down toward the bedrooms on this level.
When he had the whole table set for ten, he returned to the kitchen. Mama finished pouring in the beef broth and stirred everything together. “I’m feeling tired,” she said, handing him the wooden spoon. “Can you just babysit it while it thickens? Then we’ll melt cheese over it under the broiler. Rissy can do it.” She used the counter to steady herself as she moved away from the stove.
“Sure,” he said, picking up the stirring where she’d left off. “Ford, help Nana out to her swing.” He’d checked out there for Daddy too, but his father wasn’t there. “Mama, where’s Daddy?”
“He wasn’t feeling well after church,” Mama said, her voice growing softer as she moved away. “He went to take a nap.”
Lee nodded, but Mama was already gone. Ford stayed right at her side, his hand in hers as they went outside. Mama loved Ford with her whole soul, and Lee wasn’t surprised that she kept him outside in the swing with her. She could talk to him about anything and everything, and Ford loved his nana too.
Lee decided the soup wasn’t going anywhere, and he left it to go check on his dad. Just as he stepped into the bedroom, his dad sat up. “Here you are,” Lee said, trying to decide if Daddy needed help standing or not. He’d been in this bedroom a lot over the years to help Mama, though Will and Trav had been doing that more than Lee lately.
“Need a hand?” Lee fisted his fingers, hating how drawn and sunken Daddy’s face looked. He’d always been the harsh taskmaster around the farm. He’d loved hard, but he’d worked his sons harder. Lee had wanted nothing more than to please his father growing up, and strangely, that hadn’t changed for him as an adult.
“Yes,” Daddy said, and Lee flew toward him. He helped his father to his feet and made sure he was steady before moving back. “It smells good.”
“Mama made soup,” Lee said, remembering he’d left it on the stovetop unattended.
“This is boiling over!” a woman yelled, and that would be his sister Clarissa. “Daddy?”
“Just stir it,” Lee called as he moved toward the bedroom door. He turned back to his dad. “What do you need, Daddy?”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” his father said. “I’m okay, Lee. Just tired and a bit under the weather today.” He gave Lee a smile, all of the glorious greens in his eyes lighting up when he did.
Lee left the bedroom and heard Rissa say, “You can’t just walk away from French onion soup,” in a disgusted tone. “Baby, put those rolls down. Will, get away from those treats!”
He braced himself to enter the kitchen, though the energy he’d find there actually drew him forward faster. Yes, his family was loud. They yelled at each other. Rissa would skewer him with a look that was ten times as loud as any lecture, and he didn’t pity any child of hers.
At the same time, he couldn’t wait to hug her and feel if her baby had started to bump out in her abdomen yet, and he’d even put up with Will’s poll. He didn’t think for a moment that his brother would let that go. In fact, he was quite sure Will had texted the entire family about it, and Lee better be ready for the Presidential inauguration of speeches.
