“Strip poker,” she groaned. “Whatever Audrey is thinking shows in her expression, so she’ll be the one with nothing but her underwear on at the end of the night.”
Her mind was still staggering around that idea when her phone rang again. Figuring it was Beezy, she didn’t even look at the name of the caller. “Hello?”
“With one word, you sound like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Travis said.
Her breath caught in her chest. She wasn’t sure if it was because of his slow Texas drawl or if it was because of the idea of Audrey having no restrictions when she went to college in a couple of years.
“Just dreading the future,” she said and told him about Beezy’s call and what she’d said about playing cards.
Travis chuckled. “Beezy’s right.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” Grace asked.
“Yep, I am—and yes, I lost,” Travis admitted. “Audrey sounds like she’ll be able to hold her own in any situation.”
“Yes, she has been known to.” Grace sat up straighter. “Are you on the way to the airport?”
“I can’t get there until tomorrow,” he said. “We had a flight problem with the company plane, but I’ll be there in the early afternoon. Can we still plan on our date at seven tomorrow evening... please?”
Grace was actually glad for the news. “Of course. Seven?”
“That sounds great. I’ll pick all y’all up at six thirty. I’m so looking forward to a vacation. I haven’t had one in years,” Travis said.
She stood up and walked over to the open patio doors and stepped outside. “We’ll be ready. Have a good trip.”
“I will. Goodbye, Grace,” he said.
The call ended before she could even say goodbye. She took in the salt air with every breath and watched her girls argue over who had won a race from one end of the pool to the other. Finally, she laid the phone in her hand on the bar to her right, unlocked the gate out to the pool, and sat down on one of the many empty chaise longues.
Audrey swam over to the side of the pool. “Mama, we’re glad you’re here.”
Raelene was right behind her. “We need a referee for our races, but you should go back inside and put on your suit. I wish I could call Granny and tell her about all this. She would be so excited that I’m getting to experience such an amazing trip.”
“I wish I could call Crystal and Kelsey.” Audrey frowned. “But then, I’m showing everyone on social media what a beautiful place this is. Since Crystal and Kelsey can’t see it, then I’m not tormenting them—I’m doing what’s right,” she said with a smile and a shrug.
Grace thought of all the times her mother had to settle heated discussions among all three girls. “I came to tell you that we’ll be having supper here. Travis can’t come...”
“Oh my!” Audrey said with fake concern. “Did Mr.Rich Britches call it off because he can’t really afford to take us all out to eat? I’m glad he’s not coming after all. This is a family vacation, and he’s not family.”
“No, he did not,” Grace snapped, “and don’t butt in again. He had a conflict of schedule with his company plane.”
All the color drained from Audrey’s face. “He’s got his own plane? I guess hecouldtake us to a fancy place.”
“I told Travis we would go to dinner with him tomorrow evening, but let’s all of us girls have pizza delivered tonight. I’m going to make a run to town for some groceries before I go out to the beach. Anything you girls want?”
“Potato chips, root beer in bottles, and chocolate,” Audrey answered. “And, Mama, I kind of have another confession. Since I’m being brutally honest with you about Travis, then I should probably tell you this, too. Crystal and Kelsey wanted me to call the school and say there was a bomb the day we went back to school after spring break.”
“But she told me,” Raelene said, “and we looked up what would happen if she got caught. I told her they were batshit crazy. Whoever does that can do some serious jail time because it’s a felony.”
“They said that I couldn’t be a friend of theirs if I didn’t do what they wanted and that they would get even with me. That’s when I started to really realize that you were right about them, but I didn’t want to admit it. That was probably the reason they were so ugly to me and Raelene on Monday,” said Audrey.
“Good grief!” Grace hadn’t realized what a blessing Raelene coming into their lives really was until that very moment.
“I know,” Audrey said with a nod. “I was willing to take the blame for their stupid things, but that was going too far.”
“Yes, it was.” Grace’s voice sounded hollow in her own ears. She needed to get away and think about things, so she stood up and took a step toward the condo. “I’m off to the store, and then I’m going to have a couple or three hours out on the beach. Raelene, is there anything you want?”
“I don’t drink soda, so maybe some tea bags and sugar. Those individual bottles are so expensive. I’ll be glad to make it by the pitcher. Other than that, I’ll be happy with whatever you bring,” she answered.
