Coming Home to Paradise (Sisters in Paradise #3)

Chapter 23

The morning after the wedding and Christmas program, Bernie came into the house like a tornado and plopped down on a kitchen chair. She crossed her arms over her chest like a child who didn’t get her way on the school playground. “Get me a cup of coffee, and clean me off a space, Mary Jane, because I’m about to give your daughter a piece of my mind.”

“Aunt Bernie,” Bo started.

Bernie held up a palm. “What in the hell—I mean, devil—did Maverick think? Showing up like that, crashing Endora’s wedding like he did.”

“He was invited to the program a long time ago,” Bo reminded her. “He had no idea there was going to be a wedding when he came to the program.”

Bernie’s finger shot up so fast that Bo was glad she was sitting across the table from her aunt. “But you invited him to the reception and the Christmas with Santa at the potluck dinner. That’s on you, and I don’t like this, not one bit.”

“We are business partners,” Bo explained. “He’s buying the old store building from Noah, and maybe later, he’ll build a house on the land behind it. For now, he’s getting things arranged to park a travel trailer next to the store. Feel free to tell me that you told me so but remember this—he came back because he was miserable.”

“You and Rae never did listen worth a damn,” Bernie hissed.

Mary Jane pushed back her chair, filled a mug with coffee, and handed Bernie a spoon. “Aunt Bernie,” she said in a soft voice, “I want to you to take a breath and a bite of this pie. You know how much you love chocolate. Now, think about the time when you won your bar in a poker game. What did your twin sister say about you moving into the ratty apartment in the back of the place or, for that matter, running what was a glorified beer joint on your own? Respectable women didn’t do those things”—she paused—“or a lot of the stuff you did, but you didn’t give two hoots and a holler what anyone thought.”

“Your mama said I was a disgrace to the family,” Bernie answered in a chilly tone.

“And?” Mary Jane asked.

“I told her that my life was mine, and I would live it however I wanted. I also told her that if I couldn’t make a fair living in the bar, I would start charging for what I was giving away free in that ratty apartment,” Bernie answered through clenched teeth. “That shut her up for a little while.”

“That’s right, and each of my daughters is going to listen to her heart and live her own life just like you did. If they make a mistake, we are going to be there to support them while they get over it. That’s what families do.” Mary Jane sat down and took a sip of her coffee.

Bo reached under the table and patted Mary Jane on the knee. “Thank you, Mama, and for the record, Aunt Bernie, I know that you just want the best for me and Rae. I love you for that and for all you’ve done for me personally since I came back to Spanish Fort. Most of all, I’m grateful that you have given me advice on my new career. I really believe I’m going to love teaching music, and…” She paused.

A smile tickled the corners of Bernie’s mouth and her eyes twinkled. “And what?”

“My life is mine, and I’m going to live it the way I want to,” Bo finished her sentence.

Bernie slapped the table. “That’s my girl!”

The noise startled the cats that had been sleeping in the warm morning sunrays coming through the window and sent them running toward the foyer. Pepper jumped up from under the table and had trouble getting traction on the tile floor, but finally slid out of the kitchen on his belly.

Bernie pushed back her chair. “You are welcome, and when—not if —you need help on how to tame that wandering man you seem to have your heart set on, you know where to come. After all, I run a romance advice blog. Now, I’ve got to go make sure Pepper hasn’t had a heart attack. Carry on with your life.”

“Yes, ma’am. I will do that, and thank you again,” Bo said.

“Anytime, darlin’ girl, anytime.” Bernie patted her on the shoulder on her way out of the room.

Bo swiped a hand over her forehead in a dramatic gesture. “Thank you, Mama!”

“Once a mother, always a mother, and nobody messes with a mama bear’s cubs, even if they are grown,” Mary Jane said.

Rae came into the kitchen, slumped down into a chair, and took a sip of the lukewarm coffee Bernie had left behind. “What was that noise? I bet Endora heard it all the way at the parsonage.”

“Aunt Bernie and I had a come-to-Jesus talk,” Bo answered.

Rae covered a yawn with the back of her hand, carried the coffee to the sink, and poured it out. “Who won?”

“With Mama’s help, we came to an understanding that left her with her pride and me with my sanity,” Bo answered.

Rae sniffed the edge of the coffee cup and chuckled. “She had some reinforcements before she left her trailer. I can smell weed a mile away, and she left a little residue on the edge of this mug,” Rae said and changed the subject. “Can you believe our baby sister is waking up a married woman this morning? I’m more than a little jealous, which brings me to a question, Mama. If—and I’m not rushing anything—things were to work out for Gunner and me, how are you going to feel about step-grandchildren?”

“Rae, there is no such thing as ‘step’ anything. Joe Clay told me that the day we got married. You girls were his daughters as well as mine, and he was your dad. If things work out for you and Gunner, then Daisy and Heather will be my granddaughters. Some grandchildren you get with a birth certificate. Some you get with a marriage license. It’s all just worthless paper. What’s in the heart is what matters, and I already love those little girls.”

“Can I grow up and be just like you?” Bo asked.

“No, but you can grow up and be better than me,” Mary Jane answered.

“Impossible,” Bo and Rae chorused together.