She snorted. Lord help her, but if she ever had kids, they’d be spoiled rotten, because she’d do just about anything to avoid listening to that. “I wasn’t plannin’ on makin’ you wear ’em the whole time, but if you keep on like that, I will.”
They both shoved on the hats without another peep, and the three of them waved to Rory as Mac turned the cart around and started on their meandering path toward the main house for their standing Sunday supper date. When Rory’s place was out of view, Mac floored it, the hats came off and were tossed somewhere—no doubt hopefully never to be found again—and the chatter started up.
The girls were complete opposites—where Ava loved fashion and makeup and dance, Ella preferred fishing and camping and getting dirty outside—so giving them equal airtime was challenging.
“I’m so excited for the wedding!” Ava squealed, hands clasped together and tucked under her chin. “And I can’t wait to try on my dress. It’ssopretty.”
Ella groaned, and while Mac wanted to, she kept that feeling locked up tight. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her sister to be happy, or that she wanted to spoil her day in any way. It was more she just…didn’t understand. She didn’t comprehend why getting married had to involve this huge, stressful event full of shit—expensiveshit—they were never going to use again, all the while being surrounded by people they barely spoke to. Ruby could take care of that at town hall for twenty bucks.
But Mac had learned early on that Willdidsee the value in all those things—and so did Ava—so Mac shut her mouth and supported them both. But inside, she felt a whole lot like Ella, which was to say she’d rather be out in the wilderness, peeing in bushes and avoiding poison ivy, than messing with all this nonsense.
“Are you goin’ with Will for the cake tasting?” Mac asked.
“Of course!” Ava bounced in the seat, her age—where it was practically the law to play it cool—no match for her excitement.
“I am too.” Ella poked her head between the seats and grinned her toothless smile. “It’s the only good part of this whole stupid thing! At least I get cake, even if I have to wear a stupid, fancy dress.”
Mac stifled a laugh—Ella was her soul sister, through and through, whereas Ava and Will were two peas in a pod. “You sure say stupid a lot.”
“Well, it is.”
“At least you can wear your Chucks with your dress, though, right?”
“I guess,” she grumbled. “Wish I could just wear jeans too.”
“You’d look dumb if you did that.” Ava rolled her eyes.
“You’dlook dumb,” Ella snapped, leaning up close and getting right in her sister’s face.
Ah, sibling rivalry. Depending on the day, they were either the best of friends or the worst of enemies. And Lord, did they push each other’s buttons. Kind of like what Mac and her sisters had done their whole lives.
The three of them pulled up to the back of the main house, and Ella was out of the golf cart, bright green hat left behind on the seat, before Mac had even come to a complete stop.
“What’ve I told you about that, Ella Jane?” Mac yelled.
“Sorry!”
The little shit didn’t sound sorry at all, but Mac couldn’t hold it against her. She had places to go and woods to explore. “I put some new flags out there last week,” Mac called. “Let me know how many you find.”
Her only response was a wave, and then Ella disappeared into the brush.
“Looks like it’s just you and me.” Mac climbed out of the golf cart, Ava close behind. “You sure you don’t wanna go out there with her instead of helpin’ inside?”
Ava shrugged. “I don’t like gettin’ dirty. Plus, I like hearin’ what y’all talk about.”
Mac’s lips tipped up on the side. She remembered being Ava’s age—too young to be considered an adult, but feeling too old to do the kid stuff. Stuck in this strange in-between where you weren’t quite sure how you fit.
She hooked her arm around Ava’s shoulders and tugged her into her side. “Well, I like havin’ you in there with us, so that works out just fine with me.”
Ava beamed up at her, and Mac felt like she’d won the lottery. Not many people looked at her like that, and she wasn’t sure how much longer her nieces would, but she’d take it while it lasted. These amazing kids never saw her as the grand sum of all her failures like everyone else did, and it was a hell of a reprieve from what Mac had been facing for years.
As soon asthey walked through the back door, Mac knew something was off. For one thing, there were no scents—no chicken or pot roast, no cinnamon hanging in the air from an apple pie baked earlier in the day. And then there was her momma’s voice, strong and clear—the tone one she’d used on the girls only a handful of times in their lives. The one that said she meant business, and now was not the time to push.
“Dammit, Richard, youwilllisten to what Dr. Snyder said, or so help me…”
“Now, sweetheart, I said I would, and I will,” Mac’s daddy said, his tone the schmoozing one she absolutely loathed. “But can’t we start next week?”
Mac’s brow furrowed, remembering what Edna had said the other day about seeing Daddy coming out of the clinic. Maybe somethingwaswrong and it wasn’t just a man cold.
