Coming Home to Paradise (Sisters in Paradise #3)

Chapter 7

Parker laced his fingers with Endora’s on the way across the church parking lot, removed his tie with his free hand, and tucked it into his coat pocket. “You are the absolute bright spot in this cloudy day.”

“You are a hopeless romantic,” Endora said, “and I love every minute of it.”

“Just the truth the way I see it,” he told her as he opened the truck door for her, dropped her hand, and cupped her chin with his fist. His mouth found hers in a long kiss that left her knees weak. “I love you so much,” he whispered when the kiss ended. Then he slipped his hands around her waist and lifted her up into the passenger seat.

Every hormone in her body whined for her to ask him to drive to Nocona or to Wichita Falls and book them into a hotel room. She wanted to go somewhere and snuggle down with her head on his chest and listen to the steady beat of his heart. To wake up in the morning cuddled up next to his back with an arm around his broad chest.

“I love you, too, and March seems like an eternity away from now,” she panted.

“It does, but it will pass, and you’ll have time to plan your perfect wedding.” He slammed the door shut and whistled all the way around the vehicle.

“Let’s really get married right after the Christmas program like we’ve teased about doing,” she blurted out when he slid under the wheel. “All our families and friends will be at the church. Our old pastor is coming back to visit during that time, so we have a preacher to perform the ceremony. The potluck can be our reception. We can surprise everyone, have a couple of days’ honeymoon at the parsonage, and…”

Parker’s hazel eyes widened, and the edges of his mouth turned up in a smile. “Are you serious? What would your mama say?”

“I am very serious, and Mama has two more daughters. She can plan big weddings for Bo and Rae,” Endora answered.

“Then let’s do it,” Parker said. “We can tell your folks at dinner.”

“Oh, no!” Endora shook her head. “Mama and Luna will freak out. They’ll start worrying about centerpieces and shopping for the dress and all that. Let’s surprise everyone—except Rae and Bo. They’re going to help me get the dress to the church and sneak a cake into the reception hall.”

“Best man and maid of honor?” Parker asked.

“The only real reason we need them is so they can sign the license as witnesses. We’ll pick a couple of folks to do that after the wedding,” Endora suggested. “Maybe Aunt Bernie, since she’s been fussing to be a part of one of our weddings, and your dad or grandpa?”

Parker got out of the truck, walked around it, and opened the passenger door. “I want to seal this plan with a real kiss, and not with a console between us.”

He drew her so close that neither air nor light could have gotten between them and kissed her with so much passion that her knees went weak. When the kiss ended, she had to lean against him to keep from melting into a pile of hot hormones right there in the church parking lot.

“Just three weeks,” she whispered.

Parker took a step back and stared into her eyes. “Sounds better than three months. Have I told you today how beautiful you are, and what a lucky man I am?”

“Only a few times.” Endora didn’t blink but let her soul blend with his for several seconds. “But I never get tired of hearing it.”

Parker put his hands on her waist and lifted her back up into the passenger’s seat. “Let’s always be this much in love.”

“We will because we are soulmates,” she said.

***

“Aunt Bernie and Gladys have boarded the ship. She called me a few minutes ago to send a picture of how enormous the ship is and the two of them having their first drink—something called a dirty banana,” Rae announced as she and Bo entered the kitchen together, “and Bo brought a guest to dinner.”

“Aunt Bernie sent me a text, and I believe our new guest is Maverick Gibson. Your daddy and I met him in the church parking lot. We didn’t make it to Sunday school,” Mary Jane said.

Bo focused on her twin sister without blinking. “Did you tell Aunt Bernie that Maverick is here?”

Rae shook her head. “The boat doesn’t sail until four o’clock.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Bo asked.

“If she thought Maverick was here, she would get off and come straight home to talk some sense into you,” Rae answered.

“What are y’all gossiping about?” Endora asked and then lowered her voice. “Parker agrees with the plan.”

“Hall-le—” Rae shouted.

“Lujah!” Bo finished for her.

“What are y’all celebrating?” Ursula asked as the rest of the sisters and Mary Jane turned to stare at them.

“Three things,” Rae answered. “Dinner is almost ready. Aunt Bernie is ecstatic to be on the boat, and…” She looked right at Bo.

“And Endora tells us that”—Bo smiled at the crowd—“she and Parker want to start a family really soon, but don’t tell anyone in case it takes a while.”

Endora shrugged. “Mama, you’ve been saying that you wish you had a houseful of grandbabies. Maybe Parker and I will get lucky and have twins.”

“I can’t think of any better news than having more grandbabies,” Mary Jane beamed and then took in Luna, Ophelia, and Tertia with a frown.

Luna threw up both palms in a defensive gesture. “Those other two are older than me. They should get to start families first.”

“But you got married before us,” Tertia argued.

“Only by half an hour,” Luna shot back.

“You owe me,” Bo whispered for Endora’s ears only.

“We both should disown Rae for starting the problem,” Endora snapped. “I thought for sure you were going to let the cat out of the bag. I really don’t want the hassle from everyone for the next three weeks.”

Rae filled glasses with ice for sweet tea and said in a low voice. “Sorry about almost letting that slip. It won’t happen again, I promise. I’m so excited for you, Endora, and…”

“What are y’all whispering about now?” Mary Jane asked as she took a huge pan of roast beef from the oven.

“I swear, Mama!” Rae shook her head. “There is nothing wrong with your hearing.”

“Baby names,” Bo said in a hurry.

“Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched,” Mary Jane warned. “And for all of your information, I did not like the empty nest when all of you left home. Joe Clay and I will love having more grandchildren whenever they get here.”

“We are here,” Tertia yelled from the back door, “and bringing a couple of peach cobblers we had left over from the café yesterday.”

“And we have three more guests, so set some more plates,” Noah said as he ushered Gunner and the twins into the kitchen through the back door. “These folks forgot that the café is closed on Sundays and showed up for lunch, so we invited them to join us.”

Bo nudged Rae on the shoulder. “Comeuppance just walked in the door to punish you for the way you’ve teased me about Maverick,” she whispered just for Rae’s ear. “I’m going to tell Aunt Bernie when she gets back. I bet she doesn’t go off and leave us again.”

“Welcome to the Paradise, Gunner,” Mary Jane said. “We just have a buffet meal on Sundays. Everyone sits wherever they can find a place—dining room, kitchen or even out on the back porch. There’s a blaze in the firepit, so it should be fairly warm out there.”

Nothing had ever seemed to faze Mary Jane, but then she had raised seven girls and managed to write several bestselling novels all at the same time. Looking back, Rae wondered how her mother managed to meet all her writing deadlines, put three meals on the table every day, keep up with laundry and whiny or giggly girls—leaning heavy on the whining some days. More importantly, she did it all with a smile on her face. Rae had never admired her mother more than she did right at that moment.

“Miz Rae!” Heather squealed and skipped across the kitchen. “I didn’t know you were going to be here. Am I Daisy or Heather?”

Before Rae could answer, Daisy asked, “Is this your house? Is it a farm? Do you have little kids? Why don’t you bring them to church?”

“You are Heather,” Rae said and pointed at the right twin. “And this is where I live, Daisy. I grew up in this house. It’s not a farm, but my sister lives on a ranch next door. I don’t have any children.”

“How do you know us apart?” Heather asked.

Rae squatted down and looked the little girl right in the eye. “Do you know what classified means?”

Heather shook her head.

“It means that it’s a secret so big I can’t tell you what it is.” Rae stood back up.

“Why can’t you tell us?” Daisy asked.

“ Classified says I don’t tell anyone,” Rae said with a smile.

“Can we go outside and look at all the decorations, Daddy?” Heather asked.

The expression on Bo’s face told Rae that she worried about what might happen if those two little girls were turned loose unsupervised.

“How about we eat first, and then you can go with Bo to take Pepper for a walk, if that’s all right with your dad?” Rae answered.

“Who is Pepper? Is it a dog? I want a puppy for Christmas. Daddy says puppies aren’t in Santa’s sleigh because they’d be afraid to fly that high.” Daisy stopped for a breath and then went on. “Do you think puppies are scared? I wouldn’t ever take one up in a tree if I had one. Do we have to have a Sunday school lesson in your house?”

“Whoa!” Gunner held up both palms. “Enough questions for the whole day.”

“But, Daddy…” Heather argued.

Gunner tucked his chin down slightly and looked down at both his girls with a look that Rae remembered all too well from her own childhood. When Mary Jane cut her eyes around or down on one of the sisters, the argument was over—no if s, and s, or but s. Heather and Daisy snapped their mouths shut. She heard her mother chuckle in the background and caught a wink when she glanced that way.

“Pepper is a Chihuahua that belongs to our Aunt Bernie. Bo takes care of him while Aunt Bernie is away, but I bet she would let you go with her to take him for a walk after dinner,” Rae said and shot a smile over at Bo.

She got a double dose of stink eye for her suggestion.

“Really?” Daisy’s eyes widened. “Is Pepper a big or a little dog? Do you got any more animals?”

“He’s a little bitty dog, but he thinks he’s as big as a lion,” Bo answered. “After we take him for a walk, Rae might let you pet our cat, Sassy.”

“I don’t know what kind of magic you sprinkled over my girls in the Sunday school room, but they sure do like you,” Gunner whispered close to Rae’s ear.

“I’m not only a twin, but I also have a set of identical twin sisters,” Rae told him. “Guess it’s a genetic thing that causes us to recognize that.”

“I think it’s more than that,” Gunner said. “It’s because they can’t fool you. They respect that.”

“I hope so. You do know that classified is a very good thing, right?” Rae stepped away from him to avoid the sweet little tingles created by his warm breath on her neck.

“Yep, and I intend to use that word more often in the future,” Gunner answered.

Bo sidled up next to Rae and said, “I will get even.”

“Hey,” Rae protested. “I didn’t cause Gunner and his girls to be here, or for that matter, I didn’t invite Maverick either. Blame two of our other sisters for that, not me. Evidently, they’ve been standing too close to Aunt Bernie, and some of her matchmaking mojo has rubbed off on them. Besides, you have already got me back by saying I’d let them pet Sassy. You know she hates kids of any caliber or size.”

“You started it when you volunteered me to let the twins go with me to walk Pepper.” Bo reminded her in a cold tone.

Rae hip bumped her. “Take Maverick with you too. If he can keep peace in a bar, he should be able to handle a couple of rowdy girls.”

***

Bo thought she was sneaking away from everyone when she carried her plate of food to the screened-in porch. Maybe she would even get lucky, and Gunner would take the little girls home before it was time for Pepper’s afternoon walk.

“Well, hello.” Maverick waved up from the picnic table, which sat not far from the firepit. His smile caused a vision of him tangled up in bedsheets, with his hair flowing out over a pillow, and those long eyelashes resting on his high cheekbones. She hoped that he blamed the heat in her cheeks on the blaze in the pit.

Bo nodded and sat down across from him. “What brought you out here?”

“Remy said he and Ursula would join me in a few minutes,” Maverick said. “This is some mighty fine food. It’s not often I get home cooking like this, and I understand there’s cobblers for dessert?”

“That’s right. Tertia brought them over. She and her husband, Noah, own the café across the road from the Paradise. If you want good old southern food, then drop by there any day of the week except Sunday. They serve breakfast and lunch every day.” Bo realized she was babbling and stopped talking abruptly.

“I will remember that, but…” He paused. “There’s something about being around a big family that makes the food even better.”

“Do you come from a big family?” Bo asked.

“Kind of,” Maverick answered. “I only have one brother—the good kid in the family. He followed in Dad’s footprints and is a banker. I’m the rebel child who wanted to see the world and try new things.”

“Are you about finished seeing the world?” she asked.

He took a long drink of his tea. “I’ll never know until I get the right feeling.”

“And what would that be?”

“You already know the answer.” Maverick took a drink of his sweet tea and then set his tea glass to the side of his plate. “You had it when you realized you were tired of chasing a dream and came back to Texas.”

“Does that mean you are still running after your dream?”

“Yep, but I will know it when I find it,” he answered.

Ursula came through the door with Remy right behind her. “Sorry it took us so long. Clayton wanted me to hold him until he went to sleep.”

“No one else but his mommy would do.” Remy chuckled.

“No complaints,” Maverick said. “Not when I can spend time with a big family and get a meal like this to boot. Plus, Bo and I have been getting to know each other. I do have a question. Is Bo your real name, or is it a nickname?”

“It’s what’s on my birth certificate,” she answered. “Bo Arlene Simmons. All seven of us are named after the heroines in whatever book Mama was writing at the time. Bo was a singer, and Rae was a detective. They weren’t twins in her story, but they were cousins who solved crimes together.”

“Was there a happy-ever-after?” Maverick asked.

“Always,” Ursula answered.

“You might change your mind about having a good home-cooked meal after you spend the afternoon helping us put up the rest of the Christmas decorations,” Remy teased as he sat down beside Maverick.

Maverick’s eyes widened. “How could there be more?”

“There’s always room for one more thing when it comes to getting the Paradise ready for Christmas,” Ursula answered and slid onto the bench beside Bo. “You’ll have to stick around until dark. We always turn on the lights on Sunday night after Thanksgiving.”

If Bo could have figured out how to kick her sister sideways without causing a scene, she would have done so. “You were about to tell me how you only have one brother, and yet you have been to big family dinners.”

“My dad has eight brothers and one sister. My mother has four sisters and two brothers. Lots and lots of cousins, and both families get together for Thanksgiving and Easter. We have to rent a venue, but it’s a wonderful, chaotic day,” Maverick replied. “I haven’t been out to the Panhandle for one of those reunions in five years, but today kind of reminds me of those times.”

“Where in the Panhandle?” Remy asked. “Rae was just over the border in Oklahoma for a few years, and Tertia spent time in Vega, Texas.”

“Dumas,” Maverick answered. “From our house, you could almost throw a stick over into Colorado or New Mexico. How about y’all? Have you two always lived in Spanish Fort?”

“Most of the time for me,” Remy answered. “Ursula was raised right here, left for a few years, and came back last year just before Christmas.”

The door burst open and two little girls came rushing out of the kitchen and onto the porch so fast that they were a blur. They stopped right beside Bo and stared at her plate, which was still half-full of food.

“When can…” Heather started.

Daisy butted in. “We go with you…”

“To walk Pepper?” Heather finished.

Maverick picked up the pepper shaker from the middle of the table. “Here you go, ladies. You don’t really need Bo to go with you to walk this. Just be careful and don’t fall down or run with it. If you get too much of it up your nose, it will make you sneeze. You really should take salt too. She will be sad if she’s left behind.”

Heather covered a giggle with her hand. “You are silly. Pepper is the name of a dog.”

Daisy crossed her arms over her chest. “Daddy says that a Chihuahua is a little dog. That’s the kind we want for Christmas.”

“Well, then”—Maverick slid a sly wink toward Bo—“you do know that you have to be extra good for Santa to bring you a puppy, don’t you? He and his elves make toys all year, but they have to really work hard to find puppies and kittens.”

Bo thought of the kittens she and her sisters had found in a box the previous year on their way home from a Christmas shopping trip. Endora had claimed them both, and somehow, those cats, along with Pepper and the Paradise cat, had inspired her to write children’s books. Would a puppy help the twins get past losing their mother at such an early age? Bo couldn’t imagine life without her mama, and she was staring thirty right in the face.

“Why don’t you girls go sit on the swing while I finish eating?” Bo suggested with a nod toward the other end of the porch.

“Then we’ll take the dog for a walk?” Daisy asked.

“That’s right,” Bo answered.

Heather’s eyes twinkled. “Can I hold his leash first?”

“I’m the oldest!” Daisy declared. “So, I get to hold it first.”

“Only by five minutes, so”—Heather did a perfect head wiggle—“it don’t matter.”

“I’ll hold the leash,” Bo said.

Daisy let out a lungful of air in a loud whoosh. “See what you caused.”

Heather stormed over to the swing and plopped down. Daisy marched across the wooden porch floor and sat down as far from her sister as she could.

“Good luck.” Maverick chuckled.

“Luck, nothing,” Bo said. “I need a miracle.”

***

Parker and Endora were among the few people sitting around the kitchen table. Several conversations were going on at the same time in both the kitchen and dining room. Endora didn’t even try to keep up with them, but concentrated on the desire shooting through her body when Parker placed his hand on her knee.

“Are you sure about the Christmas program?” He leaned over and whispered in her ear, then kissed her in the soft spot on her neck, sending even more tingles down her spine.

If she hadn’t been sure about the decision she had made to steal Luna’s dress and get married before the original date, the touch of Parker’s hand convinced her. She only wished that the wedding was that day instead of three weeks away. “I’m very, very sure,” she whispered.

“What was that about the Christmas program?” Joe Clay asked. “I’ve been hearing that we might need to build a bigger church for all the people who are planning to be there.”

Parker gave Endora’s knee a gentle squeeze. “I’ve heard the same thing. We might have to put a screen up in the fellowship hall so the overflow can watch it.”

Endora’s chest tightened when a vision popped into her head of Joe Clay walking her down the aisle amongst all those people. The majority of them wouldn’t have been invited to the wedding if she and Parker had kept the original date.

What all have I set in motion with the idea of getting married after the Christmas program? Endora asked herself.

“Sounds like I’d better be sure we have plenty of presents for Santa to give to the good little boys and girls”—Mary Jane smiled at Joe Clay—“and goody bags fixed up for the kids to take home.”

“What about the bad ones?” Ursula asked.

“At Christmas all the children are good,” Mary Jane said.

“We can always get Gunner and Maverick to help us with that,” Joe Clay said with a wide smile.

Rae held up both palms. “Whoa now, Daddy! Before you talk them into saying yes, you better be honest and tell them what you made Shane and Remy do last year.”

“Santa Claus”—Mary Jane nodded toward Joe Clay—“always needs some extra help at the Christmas church party after the program is over. The helpers dress up like elves and hand out the presents.”

“Are you helping with that this year, Parker?” Joe Clay asked.

Endora covered his hand with hers. “Not this time, Daddy. We’ll need to mingle with the people, but we’ll be there for pictures. We all know how much Mama loves her photographs every year.”

“Yes, I do,” Mary Jane said with a nod. “Y’all want me to drag out a few from years ago to look at this afternoon?”

“No!” several of the sisters said in unison.

“We’ve got to finish the decorations this afternoon,” Endora reminded her mother, “while we’ve got all these strong men to help us.”

“Another time, but we will get them out and look at them before the holiday ends.” Mary Jane’s tone didn’t leave room for argument.

“I’d love to see them,” Gunner said and grinned. “My mother gave me all the family photo albums a few years ago. The twins think it’s a hoot to see me when I was a kid.”

“We’ve got one that our mama made, too,” Heather said.

Daisy held up her hand but didn’t wait for anyone to notice. “We got a picture of our mama in our bedroom.”

Endora’s eyes glazed over at the idea of Heather and Daisy—ornery as they were—losing their mother at such a young age. Without Mary Jane, Endora might have never moved on after the terrible experience she had gone through with her fiancé and best friend. Worse, yet, thinking about having to live with her biological father, Martin, and his wife made her shiver.

“Are you chilly?” Parker asked.

“No, just a terrible thought went through my mind and caused me to shiver,” Endora answered. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

Joe Clay finished off the last of his coffee. “It gets dark early, so I reckon we’d better get busy if we’re going to put the final touches on the Paradise. We want it all done and ready to flip the switch on the lights by nightfall.”

“And this year, I don’t get to do that, do I, Daddy?” Endora asked.

“Nope,” Joe Clay shook his head. “You are no longer the youngest member of the family.”

“Ursula will hold Clayton’s little hand, and help him do the honors this year,” Mary Jane said and then swept a look down the table at Tertia, Ophelia, Luna, and Endora, “and maybe next year we’ll have a new youngest member to do the honors.”

“One can hope,” Joe Clay added. “But that’s in the future. Today is the present, and we’ve still got to string lights around the porch posts and put up the greenery on the railings out there.”

Parker removed his hand from Endora’s knee, pushed back his chair, and stood up. “Let’s get to it, then. I want to be here when everything is lit up. Endora and I have to be at the church at six thirty for evening services.”

Endora missed his touch when he headed toward the door. “Great dinner, Mama, and wonderful pie, Tertia.”

“Family and friends always make everything taste better,” Mary Jane said. “Rae, you and Endora are on cleanup duty today.”

“We can do that,” Endora agreed. “You will need to help Daddy supervise, and everyone else can follow your orders.”

“Does that mean you can’t?” Luna asked.

“You should know the answer to that question,” Endora answered. “After all we have always been two peas in a pod.”

“Just like my girls,” Gunner said with half a sigh. “What one can’t think of, the other can.”

“I remember those days,” Mary Jane said as she led the way to the foyer, where everyone put on their jackets and followed her outside.

Endora waited until she and Rae were alone and asked, “Did you see the way Maverick kept sneaking looks at Bo all evening?”

“Yep,” Rae answered.

“Aunt Bernie is going to have a fit,” Endora said and then lowered her voice when Maverick, Remy, and Ursula came inside from the porch. “She’s already laid down the law, just like she did when Noah and Tertia were flirting.”

“What are we talking about?” Ursula asked.

“Shhh…” Endora rolled her eyes toward Maverick and Remy.

“Okay, now they are outside,” Ursula said a couple of minutes later. “Did y’all see the way Maverick was looking at Bo?”

“Yep, but we aren’t telling Aunt Bernie, are we?” Endora answered.

Ursula put leftovers in containers for the refrigerator. “Maybe it’s that reverse thing she pulled with Tertia and Noah.”

“Could be, but…” Rae said.

“No one wants to test her.” Ursula giggled.

“Amen.” Endora said, remembering that Aunt Bernie had been so disappointed she couldn’t be the maid of honor at any of the four previous weddings. Endora did not like to break promises, but she would have if she had promised her great-aunt a position at her wedding. Suffering the wrath of Aunt Bernie wouldn’t even make her change her mind about moving up the date several months.

“I hear Clayton fussing in the living room,” Ursula said. “Sorry, but I have to go.”

Endora handed the empty green-bean bowl to Rae to rinse and put into the dishwasher. Then she shredded what was left of the roast, scraped it into a slow cooker, and added a bottle of barbecue sauce.

“You sure are quiet,” Rae said. “Do you have wedding jitters now that you’ve made up your mind?”

“Nope,” Endora answered. “I was actually hoping that Aunt Bernie wouldn’t be disappointed. She wants to be a bridesmaid or a flower girl in one of our weddings. But”—she giggled—“I’m leaving that to you and Bo.”

“In your dreams, Sister!” Rae snapped.