“Need a shot of whiskey?” Harper asked.

“Or a beer?” Tawny patted her on the back.

Dana raised her head. “Thank you both. I’ll be fine. I can keep my cool in the middle of a crisis, but when it’s over, well, that’s a different story.”

“Me too,” Harper whispered.

“Not me.” Tawny went back to eating. “I fall apart right then. My nose runs and I cry like a baby. I’m not tough like y’all are.”

“Bullshit,” Harper said. “I’ve seen your tough side.”

Tawny carried her plate to the kitchen and returned with three glasses and a pitcher of tea. “I used to be tough when I had you around to back me up, but after you left, everything went to hell. Mother and Daddy started fighting more and more and everything was my fault. Then Daddy died and she never wanted kids anyway and how dare he leave her with a teenage daughter. Her words, not mine. Believe me, she could break steel down into a puddle of liquid. I was so glad to go to college that I didn’t even go home that first year, not even for Christmas.”

Dana whistled through her teeth. “Wow. My mother is a piece of work, but she didn’t go that far. I never one time felt unloved or unwanted. She told me that she’d made a mistake, but that I was a blessing from that and not a burden. She didn’t even fuss at me when I got married without telling her. ’Course, we know how that ended.”

“We’ve all got parent baggage,” Harper said.

“Yes, you do, but you don’t have to carry it,” Zed said as he entered the café. “It’s your choice whether you have a funeral for that baggage or strap it to your shoulders.”

“Good advice, but a hard thing to get done,” Tawny said. “I’m going back to my cabin. If anyone needs me, just holler. And Uncle Zed, I would have taken care of the store if you’d called me.”

“I know that now, but me and Flora, we been doin’ it alone so long, I clean forgot. Next time I’ll remember that we’ve got more help now,” he said.

“Good,” Harper said. “I see a couple of cars pulling into the lot—we’ve got some customers, Uncle Zed.”

“Time to get to work. I like it when we’re busy. Makes the day go by faster,” Zed said.

“We’ll get on to the store. Flora can go back to her jobs.” Dana picked up the plate with the gingerbread and carried it with her. “I can’t bear to see this wasted, so I’m takin’ it with me.”

A blast of lemony cleaner met Dana when she entered the store. Flora, who could put the fear of God into a speck of dust, looked up from the back of the store, where she was wiping down the baseboards.

“Perfect timin’. I ain’t had the time to give this store a good goin’-over in a few weeks,” she said as she carried a bucket of soapy water and her rag to the bathroom. “Brook came through a few minutes ago and gave me the story. That damn boy has been trouble since the day he was born. His mama grows weed out in the woods behind their house and he sells it. I hope they put her in jail with him. Any of that gingerbread left?” She eyed the plate as she crossed the floor. “I could sure use a pick-me-up now.”

“There’s still a third of a pan in the kitchen. It smells and looks great in here, Flora, thank you.” It was on the tip of Dana’s tongue to spit out that Cassidy had a crush on the drug boy, but she clamped her mouth shut.

“See you later, then.” The bell above the door rang as she left.

Dana got her phone from her purse and hit “Speed Dial” for her mother before she remembered there was no service in the area. She tossed it back into her purse and hiked a hip on the bar stool behind the cash register. It took her a few minutes to remember her mother’s number after she’d picked up the landline phone. She waited for five long rings before Lacy picked up.

“Hey, kid, what’s goin’ on in the boondocks?” Lacy giggled.

“Your granddaughter got in trouble at school today,” Dana said and went on to tell her the whole story.

“And how are you?” Lacy’s tone had gone from happy to serious.

“Why do you ask that?” Dana could not mask her anger at anyone thinking Brook would have drugs in her purse.

“Brook is a tough kid. She’ll get things straightened out. But, as a mother, you will worry about how this will affect her. You’ll be second-guessing yourself about whether you did the right thing by moving there. Don’t! Simply don’t. You are an amazing mother. Much more so than I ever was. You got that from Annie. Brook is going to hit rough spots growing up. We all do, so just trust her like I trusted you and everything will work out in the end,” Lacy said.

“Thanks, Mama. You always make me feel better,” Dana said.

“You can always still come and live with me,” Lacy told her.

“We’d kill each other after the first six weeks,” Dana chuckled.

“Probably so, but the first few days would be great. Got to go now, kiddo. I’ve got an appointment to get my nails done. Did those two princess sisters take up for Brook?”

“Yes, believe me, they are very protective of their niece,” Dana answered.

“Well, imagine that,” Lacy said before the line went dead.

Dana returned the receiver to the base. “It is a bit of a miracle.”