Harper immediately wondered if the reading caused his hunger or if this little getaway was to enjoy a few days of blissful pot smoking. She eased away from the curtain and tiptoed across the floor toward the back door with Tawny and Zed right behind her. Chalk one up for all three of them. Wyatt had driven away that morning without even coming by the café. Marcus wasn’t interested in Dana and only wanted a buddy when it came to Tawny. The Clancy girls had all flunked Boyfriend 101 that weekend. They would have to take the class over at a later date.
It had been a strange day for Dana. Stepping into Tawny’s business had made her feel like a real sister, and she was still trying to analyze that emotion when she brought out a huge bowl of caramel corn as Brook chose the Saturday movie. She’d thought her sisters might come to the house tonight, since Brook had invited them the week before and reminded them at least a dozen times that day.
At eight o’clock neither of them had arrived, so she hit the button on the remote to start Something to Talk About. The music had barely started when Tawny knocked on the front door, and immediately Harper’s heavy rap hit the back. Brook yelled for them to come on in and Dana pushed the “Pause” button so they wouldn’t miss anything.
“What are we watchin’? And should we start invitin’ Uncle Zed to these movie nights?” Harper flopped down on the sofa, kicked off her shoes, and propped her feet on the coffee table. “I love doing this. Mother would have passed gold bricks if we’d ever put our feet on the furniture at home, but Granny Annie was so laid-back that we could be ourselves in this house.”
Brook told them the title of the movie and the two lead actors. “You’re goin’ to love it. Movies keep y’all from fighting, you know.”
Tawny claimed the recliner after she’d loaded up a smaller bowl with caramel corn. “Anything that’s got Julia in it is fantastic in my books. And we’ve always liked movies, so I guess this is a good place to start being really civil and not just pretend for Uncle Zed’s benefit. I would’ve been here sooner, but the last customer had a problem with their car and didn’t arrive until five minutes ago. Why were you late, Harper? Waiting on Wyatt to come keep your bed warm?”
“Hell, no, Marcus was doing that for me,” Harper teased. Tawny threw a piece of popcorn at her. She caught it midair and popped it into her mouth. “Don’t waste good food. You might get hungry someday and wish you had what you threw away.”
“You ever been that hungry, Aunt Harper?” Brook asked.
“Couple of times. Now let’s watch this movie. Is it funny?”
“Oh, yeah.” Brook nodded.
Dana nudged Tawny on her way to the kitchen to get sweet tea for everyone. “You still mad at me?”
“A little bit. You aren’t my mother, and you don’t have the right to interfere in my life,” Tawny answered. “Want some help with that tea?”
“Sure do. And I’m your older sister.” Dana filled four glasses with ice and then poured tea into them. “Someone has to look out for you.”
“And who’s going to look out for you?” Harper called from the living room.
“I’m the oldest. I can take care of myself,” Dana declared.
“Bullsh—crap!” Harper said when she realized Brook was listening. “I’ll be your guardian angel when it comes to men, and you can be Tawny’s.”
“Then who is yours—Aunt Tawny?” Brook asked.
“Heaven help me. That does mean she’s mine,” Harper groaned.
“Backed right into that son of a bitch, didn’t you?” Brook laughed.
“Brook!” Dana squealed.
“Well, Aunt Harper did.” Brook giggled even harder.
“And since I’m your boyfriend keeper, what happened last night with Wyatt? Was it good?” Tawny asked. “You goin’ to pick up where you left off ten years ago?”
“Probably not, and nothing happened except that he slept beside me and held me all night to get me through the hardest day of every year. And that’s all I’ve got to say about that,” she answered.
“That’s a Forrest Gump answer. We’ll have to watch that one next week,” Brook declared. “Hit the button, Mama, and let’s get this party started.”
What Harper had said about it being the most difficult day of the year kept running through Dana’s mind as she watched the movie for probably the tenth time. She glanced over at Harper, who wiped away a tear when she saw a little blonde-haired girl in the movie.
“Men!” Tawny said. “Can’t trust them.”
“Then why’d you put up such a fuss today over Marcus?” Dana asked.
“I did have a little attraction. But it was more about you trying to run my life like my mother does than fighting for a guy I’d only met a few minutes before. I’d go out with him if he asked me whether you like it or not,” Tawny answered.
“Yuck! You can do better,” Brook piped up from the floor. “He’s not for you, Aunt Tawny. He’s got a cat and he lives with his mama.”
“For real?” Tawny’s face screwed up in disbelief.
“Yep, he’s always talkin’ about his mama’s cookin’ and how if he’s gone for a day or two, the cat is fine, but if his mama is gone for a day, it pouts. He talks about his mama like she’s got a halo,” Brook said.
“So?” Dana turned to look at Tawny.
Tawny shrugged. “Not a thing to worry about. I’m just a sucker for blue eyes.”
Me too, Dana thought as a picture of Payton’s eyes flashed through her mind.
“Well, Annie, we made a little progress today,” Zed said as he put stuffed bunny rabbits in four Easter baskets. “They actually looked out for Tawny when Marcus Green came to stay a couple of days in a cabin. You remember his mama bringing him to the café when he was a baby? I’d never seen such a mama’s boy and he didn’t outgrow it, neither. I was glad when Dana and Harper took a stand together. What’s it called these days? Oh, yeah, an intervention. I hope they opened up her eyes a little and she don’t get involved with him, or I’ll have to do something about it. Can’t have one of our girls livin’ with that miserable mother of his, and I sure don’t see him ever moving out away from here.”
He stuck a chocolate bunny in each basket. “What do you think, Annie? I wish you were here to help me get the baskets all ready. We had such fun doing this when they were little girls.”
He stopped, removed a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped his eyes. “We had good years together, didn’t we? Raisin’ the girls up to be teenagers, and we even kind of had the empty nest thing when they didn’t come around so often anymore. Yep, we had us a good life, and if you was here, then they wouldn’t be. It don’t make it no easier to take.”
He finished up the job and sat down in his recliner. “Just look at ’em, Annie. You think they’ll be surprised?” He cocked his ear toward her empty chair. “I’m glad that you think they’re pretty. I just hope the girls like them.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Zed could hardly contain his excitement on Sunday morning. He awoke before five o’clock and lined the Easter baskets up in front of the chairs. “Just look at them, Annie. It’s been years since we got to make baskets for the girls. Pink is for Brook. She was wearing a pretty pink dress the first time Dana brought her to see us. I wonder what her daddy was like. I smell a rat in Dana’s story, but she’ll come around with what really happened one of these days.”