Sweet Vidalia Brand (4 page)

Carefully, she set the mug on the kitchen table. “You haven’t been neglecting me at all, hon. We see each other every day.”

“I know, but we haven’t really talked, except about the kids.” She sipped her own coffee from a far less interesting mug, and said, “How are things with you, Mom? Anything...new?”

Subtle, she wasn’t. “Don’t beat around the bush, Maya. You’re too old for that. Just tell me what’s on your mind.”

Maya didn’t return her steady gaze. She looked past her instead, into the living room where the twins were playing with the plethora of toys Vidalia kept on hand, but eyeing the ornaments on the giant balsam fir tree as if they would far prefer to play with those.

“I heard a stranger came into the Corral last night.”

“Strangers come into the Corral every night.” She wasn’t going to make this easy on her firstborn. Vidalia was an adult woman and she didn’t need supervision from her offspring. And yes, she was feeling very defensive about this. About Bobby Joe. And for good reasons that were her own fault and not Maya’s. Still, she couldn’t help bristling a little.

“I heard you went outside to talk to him. And that you seemed...flustered.”

Vidalia shrugged. “I wouldn’t say flustered is the right word. And he’s not a stranger. He’s Bobby Joe McIntyre.”

“So who is he? What’s going on?”

“You mean you don’t remember him?” Vidalia asked.

“No.” Maya tilted her head and frowned. “Should I?”

Shrugging, Vidalia examined the now half-naked cowboy on her mug and thought Bobby looked better. He’d looked better then, and he still looked better to her. She’d always had a weakness for that man.

“He used to be a local.” Vidalia shrugged as if it didn’t much matter. “He bought the old feed & grain place, and he’s turning it into a big glitzy tourist trap he calls a saloon.”

Maya blinked, maybe not expecting the answer she got. “So...you don’t
know
him.”

“Oh, I
know
him.” Vidalia got up from the table and went to the coffee pot on the counter for a refill. Never mind that it put the cowboy’s shirt back on. She’d take it off again in short order. “He was my handyman, back when you and your sisters were still young enough to respect your mama’s privacy. You must’ve been about six. He and I turned a run-down motel into the OK Corral on a shoestring budget with nothing much more than elbow grease and determination.”

Maya frowned as if trying to remember. Vidalia thought she might if she gave her a few more clues, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to. “What’s this guy’s name again?” she asked.

“Bobby Joe...that is Jason Robert Joseph McIntyre.”

“Jason Robert Jos....JRJ McIntyre? The Texas Billionaire?” Her eyes were bigger than an Oklahoma harvest moon just then.

Vidalia just shrugged. “He was no billionaire back in the day,” she said, thinking back. “Poor as a church mouse, and pretty much alone in the world. We had him over for Christmas dinner two years in a row. Maybe three. And he brought you gifts every time. Remember those little rag dolls with the black button eyes you all got one year? And there were four pairs of shiny black patent leather shoes another. He even got the sizes right.”

Maya was frowning. “Four...then it was before Selene came along?”

Vidalia got up from the table and wandered to the sink to dump out that second cup she shouldn’t have poured. “Must’ve been. Who can remember?”

“Sounds like you remember it pretty well.”

She didn’t look back around at her daughter, probably because she was afraid Maya might see her guilty secret in her eyes.

“So you and he were...close.”

Vidalia turned then, and speared Maya with her eyes. “Just what are you asking me, daughter?”

“I just...I thought you and Caleb’s dad–”

“Caleb’s father is a city slicker, born and bred. You can’t possibly think that was ever going to go where he wanted it to.”

“So you’re saying it’s not?”

“Of course not. And since when do you get to ask me questions about my love life, Maya?”

“Love life? Jeeze, Mom, up until now I didn’t even know you
had
a love life.”

Vidalia bit back the urge to tell her daughter that whether she did or not, it was none of her business. They were a close family. And if she were honest, she would admit she’d dished out the same kind of third degree she was now being served with each of the girls. But she did not need and would not seek her offsprings’ approval when it came to...feelings like the ones Bobby stirred up in her. Feelings she was too ashamed of to even talk about with her minister, much less her kids.

“Mom, did this guy mean something to you?”

Vidalia lowered her head. “I was a married woman.”

“Not legally, you weren’t.”

She shook her head. “It’s been more than twenty years. It’s ancient history that doesn’t matter in the least anymore.” She looked in at the twins. “They’re trying to peel the plastic off the candy candes with their teeth, Maya. Best take them home and feed them.”

The five concerned daughters of Vidalia Brand met at Edie and Wade’s gorgeous place overlooking the falls, because it was the farthest from home. Vidalia’s big farmhouse would always be “home” to them. Maya had called the meeting, but Edie had been about to, and she wasted no time getting to the point once they were all gathered around the giant Christmas tree in her living room. It went clear up to the cathedral ceiling and filled the front window. Breathtaking, Edie thought. She loved her home. Sally, the Great Dane, lay on the floor in front of the tree, her favorite spot, and sighed repeatedly to convey how much she hated being mauled by children. Yet she didn’t get up and leave, and she didn’t growl, and every once in a while her tail thumped the floor. The fraud.

“So,” Edie began, “Mom’s pickup truck was parked alongside Main Street last night, way out at the edge of town in the middle of nowhere. It was after closing time, so you know it was the wee hours. I heard it was there for a while, too. Who knows what’s going on?”

The others frowned and lowered their heads, but, Edie noticed, Maya looked alarmed. “Heck,” she said with a look at her twins, who were playing with Sally’s dog toys, while Tyler, older and wiser and no longer wearing braces on his legs, stroked the dog’s head slow and lovingly. “Was it anywhere near the old Feed & Grain?”

“Yeah. In fact, that was the only thing nearby, according to Sunny from the bakery,” Edie said. “Why?”

Maya sighed. “Something’s up with Mom. Some handsome stranger came into the Corral last night, and she got all worked up, ended up going outside with him for a while.”

“Mom did that?” Selene asked, her eyes wide and searching each of her older siblings’ faces.

“Go, Mom,” Mel muttered. Kara just smiled to herself.

Maya said, “I asked her about it this morning, and she got all defensive and tight lipped. But she did tell me who he was. JRJ McIntyre. Though she calls him Bobby Joe. He was her handyman back when we were little. Helped her change the Corral from an old motel into a saloon.”

“Maya, that had to have been more than twenty years ago,” Kara said.

Melusine pulled out her phone and started tapping keys. “Funny. Google says RJR McIntyre is a billionaire tycoon from Dallas. Must be a different one. How does he spell–”

“That’s the one,” Maya said. “She said he was poor back then. And that he came to Christmas at our house a few times.”

“The Raggedy Anne Dolls!” Kara all but shouted. “I
do
remember him.” She tipped her head sideways. “He always seemed kind of sad to me. Cool that he went out and got all rich and famous.”

“He’s famous,” Edie agreed, “but not for much more than being rich.”

“I don’t remember him,” Selene said, frowning.

“It was before you were born, Selene,” Maya went on. “But that’s beside the point. I don’t care who he is or who he was or how many dolls he bought us when we were kids. He’s back in town, and there’s something going on between him and Mom. I think we need to find out just what the son of a gun is up to. What his intentions are.” Maya got up and paced to the tree, taking an ornament out of CC’s hand and putting it back on its branch. “Look, but don’t touch, okay kids?”

“They’re not gonna break anything, sis,” Edie said. “And if they did, I wouldn’t care.”

“Your home belongs in a magazine, Edie. I’m not gonna risk it.”

Mel sighed. “I’ll talk to Alex. We’re the P.I.s in the family. So it stands to reason we’re the ones who should dig into this guy a little bit.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea at all,” Kara said.

“Be discreet,” Maya said, almost as if Kara hadn’t said a word. Edie saw Kara notice and frown. “Mom’s super sensitive about this for some reason,” she went on. “She finds out we were snooping, there’s gonna be hell to pay.”

“We’re professionals, Maya. We do this for a living. We know how to be discreet.”

“I’ll consult the Tarot,” Selene said.

“Um, why don’t we just talk to Mom,” Kara asked.

“I tried that, Kara. She’s not talking.”

“Well, maybe that’s because it’s not our business.”

They all went silent, staring at Kara with their mouths open. Then they almost jointly shook their heads and resumed the discussion. All except for Selene, who met Kara’s eyes and gave a subtle nod to let her know she agreed with her.

“Damn, woman. You look like you just stepped off a cloud, hung up your halo, and came down to visit with an undeserving sinner.”

Bobby Joe had always been a charmer. Vidalia met him at Haggerty House, the best restaurant in Tucker Lake, a short drive from Big Falls. As an added benefit, it wasn’t very busy at lunch hour. But it was nice. A giant old Victorian house that had been converted to a lush restaurant that served the best meals in a thirty-mile radius. There was a bar off one side, but not like the Corral. It was more a place for folks to get drinks while waiting for a table, than a place to hang out after a hard day’s work.

Vidalia liked it here because she identified with its owners. Betty Jean Haggerty had been running the place for as long as anyone could remember, and she had five beautiful granddaughters who helped her. The girls were near the ages of Vidalia’s own brood. No wonder she loved it here.

Besides, family business was family business. They had to support each other. The restaurant’s tall, ornate windows looked out over manicured lawns that were not at their prettiest just now, all brown and barren. Vidalia thought again of snow. Second time in as many days.

There were only a few other people in the place, and she didn’t know any of them—thank you, Lord. Bobby had been standing near the hostess booth when she’d walked in. And he looked good enough to make her knees buckle with his faded jeans and shiny boots. His shirt was black with pearl snaps, just like the one on her favorite coffee mug, which filled her head with the kinds of thoughts she hadn’t had about a man in quite a long time.

Dang.

“I just paid you a compliment, lady. Aren’t you even going to thank me?”

“I was gonna, but you distracted me. You look pretty good yourself, cowboy. So where are we sitting?”

“I thought I’d let you pick.”

She shrugged, finally noticing the hostess who stood nearby with menus in one hand. She was young, pretty, and familiar. Frowning, Vidalia said, “Wait, wait, I’ve got this. You’re Bridget!”

The girl flashed a bright smile. “Hello again, Ms. Brand. It’s been too long.” Then she looked at Bobby and there was an expectant pause.

“Oh. Um, this is Bobby Joe. He’s an old friend, back in town on business.”

“Nice to meet you Bobby Joe,” Bridget said. “Any friend of the Brands is a friend of ours. Where would you two like to sit? Pretty much all the tables are up for grabs this early in the day.”

“Near the fireplace,” Vidalia returned. “This time of year, that’s the best view anyway.”

“Right this way.” And then she turned, taking Vidalia by the arm and leaving Bobby Joe to follow behind them. Leaning in close, she whispered, “Don’t take it wrong, but you two look like the perfect couple.”

“You inherited your grandma’s matchmaking genes, I see,” Vidalia said. “How is Betty Jean anyway?”