After they left, Tawny came through the door, wiping sweat from her forehead with a bandanna.

“I need an icy-cold Pepsi and a candy bar. I never realized how much Brook helped until she wasn’t there for the afternoon. That girl is a godsend. But I agree with you, she does need some time to play. We should give her every Sunday afternoon off, Dana. She needs to be a kid as long as possible. I sure didn’t have to spend all my time working when I was her age.”

“Neither did I,” Dana said.

The phone rang, and Tawny reached across the counter to grab the receiver. She stretched it too far and the base fell on the floor with a loud clang. “Lake Side Resort,” she said with a giggle.

“Dropped the phone, didn’t you? Can’t get used to these things with cords,” Brook laughed. “Can I talk to Mama?”

“How do you know this isn’t your mama talking?” Tawny asked.

“Because her voice is deeper than yours.”

“It’s Brook.” Tawny handed the receiver to Dana and rounded the counter to put the phone back where it belonged.

“You are kiddin’ me. Did you really?” Dana covered the mouthpiece and said, “She just caught a five-pound catfish and the guys are cleaning it up for her. They’re going to fillet it so we can have a fish fry sometime this week.”

Tawny gave her a thumbs-up sign.

“Tell them they’re all invited to supper that night,” Dana said, pausing to listen again. “Okay, thirty more minutes, but then you’d better come on home because Payton is bringing the pizza about then.”

She handed the receiver back to Tawny, who laid it on the base. “Where were we?”

“Talkin’ about her having a guy for a best friend. You comin’ to the house to meet Johnny and have pizza with us tonight?” Dana asked. “Harper called and said that she and Wyatt are going out on the boat this evening, so she won’t be there.”

“I’ve got to get cleaned up, but I’ll be there. Save me a slice.” Tawny picked up the bag with her snacks and disappeared just as the clock ticked to closing time.

Dana hurriedly locked the door, grabbed two large bottles of Coke, and rushed home to take a quick shower and change since Payton had agreed to join them and to pick up the pizza and pasta at his favorite place in Tyler.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The cool shower water beating down on her body reminded Tawny of playing in the summer rain when she was a little girl. Her mother would have probably cut off all ties with Granny Annie if she’d known how often they were allowed to run around in the rain in their underwear.

She was padding across her bedroom with a towel around her body when the phone rang. Expecting it to be Dana fussing at her for being late, she picked it up and said, “Give me ten minutes and don’t eat all the meat lover’s.”

“What are you talking about?” her mother asked bluntly.

“Hello, Mama,” Tawny said.

“So how are things in the boondocks?”

“Great. Wonderful, actually. Why don’t you come up and spend the weekend? I can get you a discount on a cabin.” Tawny propped the phone on her shoulder and towel-dried her hair as she talked.

“No, thank you. I’m not interested in spending one minute there. I didn’t like staying overnight when your father was alive, so I’m sure not going there again. I called to tell you that I pulled some really big strings and got you back into college for next semester.”

Tawny dropped the towel. “How did you do that?”

Did this mean that her mother was finally coming around? Could they possibly have a decent adult relationship?

“Does it matter? You get to finish your degree. Of course you’ll be on probation, but you’ll have it all done in one semester, so that’s no big deal.”

Leaning back in her chair, she looked at her bookcase full of sentimental items—the latest was a beautiful monarch butterfly that had died in the laundry room that day, prompting her thought about Brook needing to spread her wings at least once a week.

“Are you there?” Retha’s tone was demanding.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not going back to college. I don’t need a degree with this new job. But next time you are flying through Dallas on one of your trips, call me and I’ll drive up to the airport and we’ll have lunch or dinner.”

Retha’s snort said that wasn’t going to happen. “I’m as disappointed in you as I am in Harper.”

“Mother, you are going to end up a lonely old lady, but it’s not too late to turn things around. We probably won’t ever have the kind of relationship Dana has with her mother or that we all had with Granny, but we could start to build some kind of foundation.” Tawny tried to reach the thermostat to turn down the air-conditioning, but the cord wouldn’t go that far.

“Your granny Annie gave me a lecture one time about your father. She had the opinion that he was a king and needed to be treated like one. But anyway, she said that sometimes the door gets shut and no one can open it. You might remember that. This offer isn’t for anything other than the fall semester,” Retha said.

“I’ll hope that you change your mind, and if you do, you know where to get in touch with us.” Tawny eased the phone back onto the base. Her mother was the one shutting that door.