Anna Rose reached behind her for the bowl of bread and set it on the table. “I was just waiting for them to throw punches or scratch each other with those fake nails. If they had, I would have stepped in and helped break a few things. I never have liked those orange vases.”
“Anna Rose!” Jorja scolded. “That would be deceitful.”
“Maybe so, but those hideous vases would be gone,” Anna Rose said.
“I’m afraid to think about what they would do next if they didn’t bring food,” Clinton said.
“Probably declare that they are pregnant, and the baby is yours,” Taryn said. “This is Texas, and daddies don’t take well to guys who sleep with their daughters and then refuse to marry them when there’s a bun in the oven.”
“Lock your doors after work, and don’t answer when anyone knocks,” Jorja said. “One of us will be with you during the day.”
“But ...” Taryn raised an eyebrow. “Elaine was there Monday night, so in six weeks, she just might ...”
Clinton shook his head. “Nothing has happened with any of them.”
Anna Rose laid a hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, darlin’. If they make accusations like that, I will say that we’ve taken turns spending the night with you and there’s no way you have energy enough for two women a night.”
“Good Lord!” Clinton gasped. “That would be even worse than the contest they’ve got going.”
“Like I said, we’ll protect you as long as you share your bounty of casseroles and food with us,” Anna Rose said with a smile.
“I won’t go that far,” Jorja said from across the table. “These other two can spread that kind of gossip, but I’m not losing my reputation.”
“Y’all better not be telling that kind of thing.” Clinton took a piece of bread from the bowl. “Irene would shoot me, and Ruby would bury me in her rose garden.”
Taryn’s knee brushed against Clinton’s under the table, and the same tingly feeling she got when he’d held her hand swept over her. Shereally needed to get out and date, but how was she supposed to meet anyone working from home?
Her nana’s voice popped into her head:You could go out to eat rather than calling that place that delivers.Or maybe go to church—or heck, even a bar once in a while. Just don’t get involved with any of those dating sites on the computer. You could wind up getting hurt, and I would have to take care of things. It’s not that I mind spending my last days in prison, but Ruby would be lost without me.
Taryn giggled.
“What Clinton said wasn’tthatfunny,” Jorja said.
“Didn’t you see that glazed-over look in her eyes?” Anna Rose asked. “She wasn’t listening to Clinton. She was off in la-la land. Were you thinking of wedding cake and venues, Taryn?”
“I was not,” Taryn declared. “I know it sounds silly, but sometimes Nana Irene’s voice pops into my head. She was telling me that I don’t get out enough.”
“She does that all the time to me,” Jorja said.
“Me too,” Anna Rose said with a nod.
Clinton pushed back his chair, stood up, and got the pitcher of tea from the bar. “Got to admit that she does the same with me.” He refilled his glass and then topped off the other three. “I kind of appreciate it. Her advice is always good.”
“Right now, all we can get is what little she hands out to us when she pops into our heads,” Taryn grumbled, “since we can’t go see her or call her through the week. Why did she make such a stupid rule, anyway?”
“She has her reasons for what she does,” he said.
Taryn had figured Clinton would defend Irene.
“Well, I for one would like to ask her about the big yellow cat that seems to have taken up homesteading under our porch,” Anna Rose said.
“I can help with that,” Clinton said, picking up the bread bowl and passing it over to Taryn. “That would be the cat with no name. Shestarted showing up at the back door of the shop about a month ago. Irene and Ruby told me not to feed her or she would never leave, and I was sure not supposed to name her. I couldn’t stand to see her begging for food, but I also didn’t want her on my landing every morning, so when I had scraps, I fed her on the trailer porch.”
“I’ve named her Goldie, and when I leave, I may take her with me since she poses for me,” Anna Rose said.
“If you don’t, I could adopt her, and I wouldn’t even make her change her name,” Taryn offered. “I kind of like Cat with No Name, but she’ll have to learn to travel. I’m never in one place for more than six months.”
“Why?” Clinton asked. “I thought that you worked from home?”
