"You did what? This is a piss poor time to give Elsie a day off," Griffin raised his voice. The words were scarcely out of his mouth before he realized he wasn't angry about Julie taking responsibility on the ranch, but the way she looked that morning in the kitchen—flour on her nose, bustling around as she cooked. She was beautiful beyond what words could describe and he liked it entirely too much.
Chuck had just made it to the doorway and stopped in his tracks. He put his hands over his ears. "What did I do wrong?"
"Not one thing, sweetheart. This is a big-people fight. You kids are fine. Sit down and have some orange juice. I'm making pancakes for breakfast," Julie said.
He took his hands away but eyed Griffin seriously. "I didn't do anything wrong?"
"No, you didn't. How would you like to help me in the barn today?" Griffin asked. "If Julie is going to cook then the girls can help her."
Chuck's face lit up like the star on the Christmas tree.
"We get to help?" Lizzy asked.
"Sure you do," Julie said.
She turned back to Griffin. "I should've talked to you, but it was late and she said she didn't have her shopping done. I can cook for a crowd, believe me. I used to cook for the homeless shelter in the summer when we went on mission."
Griffin hung his coat back up and waited for Chuck to have breakfast. "It's all right. I always get antsy the week of our sale."
Julie poured three small glasses of orange juice and set them on the table.
"You'll get to see where the sale is," Lizzy told Chuck while they ate pancakes as fast as Julie could flip them and put them on a platter.
"What's a sale?" Annie asked.
"That's when the people come and buy the cows," Lizzy said.
"Does a big truck come to take the cows away? I saw a truck like that when Momma and me moved to here. It had cows all shoved up in it," Annie said.
"The sale people bring the trucks. We have to make a party for them," Lizzy said.
"Party?" Julie looked at Griffin.
"Don't worry. Elsie knows what to do and it won't interrupt your schedule at all," he said.
After breakfast she braided Annie's and Lizzy's hair to keep it out of the food, and gave them small jobs to do in the kitchen. Lizzy washed lettuce leaves. Annie brushed butter on the top of the yeast rolls.
After lunch the girls helped clean up and then went into the den to play Barbies. Chuck begged to go back to the barn with Griffin.
"I forgotted one of the Barbies. We're having a sale dance," Annie skipped through the kitchen and into the foyer on her way to her bedroom to get whatever they had "forgotted."
"How many Barbies does it take to have a sale dance?" Julie followed her into the den.
"Lizzy says it takes a lot, maybe all of them acause the sale dance is the biggest thing ever," Annie said.
The front door opened and Julie went to see who had arrived. Annie followed her, still afraid that Dian might reappear and cart her off again. Her left hand held the Barbie; her right one clutched her mother's hand tightly. Two women shoved a couple of suitcases through the door and stopped when they saw Julie and Annie.
Julie recognized Griffin's mother immediately. The tall blonde had to be his sister. The eyes were the same, even if the hair was different.
The one with the white streak in her hair opened her arms. "Lizzy, darlin', come and give Grandma a hug."
Annie's lower lip protruded and quivered. "I'm Annie. I'm not Lizzy."
The tall blonde with Griffin's mother giggled. "You been watching that movie again, have you? Remember when she watched it a couple of years ago and wanted a red wig so she could be Annie? Excuse us for barging in. Are you the new baby-sitter? I'm Melinda, Griffin's sister, and this is our mother, Laura."
Julie stepped forward and extended her hand. "I'm Julie Donavan."
Griffin's mother was breathtaking. Laura wore jeans and a short-sleeved denim shirt over a red tank top and there wasn't an ounce of fat on her. She scarcely looked old enough to be Griffin's mother. And his sister: blonde, blue-eyed, model pretty, and slim with long legs. Julie felt unkempt in her faded tank top, her unruly red hair up in a ponytail, wearing no makeup.
"You look surprised. Didn't Griff tell you we were coming?" Laura asked.
Julie shook her head.
"Isn't that just like a man?" Melinda asked. "Okay, here's the deal. The big sale is Friday. We always come to the Lucky Clover to help Marita get things ready. This year I guess we'll be helping Elsie. It'll take the whole week, trust me—with the cooking for the crew and getting the barn decorated for the dance. It's a big, big job and we won't get in your way but we might enlist your help along the way."
"I see," Julie said.
Just when she thought she had it all under control, another flying saucer came hurling toward her. Griffin might be hanging from the nearest pecan tree come evening. He'd best talk fast or it would be the last meal he ever had.
Lizzy came out of the den and threw herself into Laura's arms. "Grandma! I knew you'd be coming, I knew it because Daddy said the sale was almost here and you always come and I wanted you to see Annie and can we go to the dance just for a little while this year?"
Melinda's face went pale.
Laura's eyes kept darting from Lizzy to Annie.
"Did you see Annie? We're cousins acause my momma came yesterday and stole her and we had to go find her at Mamie's and my momma had pink hair and I didn't like her too much, Grandma. Is that a sin?" Lizzy kept on.
Laura bent down on one knee and looked long and hard at the child. "I don't think so. I'm pleased to meet you, Annie. I see you and Lizzy and I all have the same streak in our hair. That makes us special, doesn't it?"
"Why don't you girls go on back out to your Barbie sale party? Come on in the kitchen. I'm making dinner today for the hired hands. I gave Elsie the day off. I'll explain what I can. It's a long story and I've got to get on with the dinner preparations. I can work while I tell it for the thousandth time," Julie said.
Griffin might not even get supper. He might drop dead from the daggers shot from a red-haired woman's eyes when he walked through the door.
Laura and Melinda were glad to sit. Their heads were spinning faster than a ride at a carnival. From the looks of those two girls, Griffin had a hell of a lot of explaining to do in addition to whatever Julie told them.
"I'm Julie Donavan. Annie is my child. Lizzy is two days older than Annie. She does not belong to your son, Griffin, Mrs. Luckadeau," Julie began.
"That would be Laura, please."
"Then Laura it is. Annie is not Griffin's child, even though she and Lizzy look like twins."
Laura didn't know she was holding her breath until she let it out in a whoosh.
"She does, however, belong to Graham," Julie said. "So even though I never thought of her having paternal grandparents, I guess you are her grandmother."
"Damn!" Melinda said. "What are you doing here?"
Tears built up behind Laura's big brown eyes and ran like tiny rivers down her jawbones to drip onto the collar of her denim shirt. "There's a bit of Graham left in the world. Who are you and why didn't you bring her around before now?" Laura looked at Julie with accusing eyes.
"And what in the hell are you doing here now?" Melinda asked a second time.
Julie explained from start to finish, ending with the Dian story from the day before yesterday.
"And you honestly didn't move here to claim her birthright?" Melinda asked suspiciously.
"Hell no, I did not," Julie said. "I moved to the country to get away from everyone and to bring my daughter to a place where no one knew about her. I feel like I've been tossed naked into a rattlesnake den. I think maybe it would be best if Annie and I went to my parents for the rest of the holiday and got out of your way."
"I agree," Melinda said.
"I don't," Laura said. "Don't go. I'd like to get to know my granddaughter."
"Not me. She's here for something other than Saint Jo sunshine. I bet everyone in town took one look at Annie and thought she was Griff's kid, didn't they?" Melinda accused.
Julie started up the stairs. "They did, so I had to tell them that she was Graham's. I'm tired of hiding and sneaking around. I'll leave. Tell Griffin when he comes in we'll be staying with Miz Alvera when we return. I'll get the rest of our things at that time. Dinner is done except for the rolls. Three-fifty for half an hour. Surely you two can take care of the rest of it."
"Tell Griffin what?" He came in the back door with Chuck in tow. One look at Julie's face told him that she was upset and he was in trouble. A second one at the two women sitting at the table told him exactly why.
Melinda pointed at Chuck. "That she's leaving. Griffin, what in the hell did you mean letting her squirm her way into the house? Is that her kid, too?"
"No, he's my foster child. Julie is not his biological mother. And Julie is not going anywhere. I planned on calling you tonight, Mother. You are here a day early," Griffin said.
"It's Monday, isn't it? We always come on Monday," Laura said.
"Guess it is… and you've met Annie, and Julie told you the story? I was thinkin' you came on Tuesday, but I'm glad you are here."
Melinda crossed her arms over her chest. "She did and I'm not believing a word of it."
"Frankly, sister, I don't give a damn what you believe. Julie is staying. Lizzy and Chuck have been promised Christmas with Annie and they will have it," Griffin said.
Julie stopped halfway up the stairs. The whole bunch of Luckadeaus were crazy. They had another think coming if they thought they could tell her what to do. "I'll do what I want. You don't tell me what to do and neither does your family, Griff."
"Mother, do you want to get to know Graham's daughter?" Griffin asked.
"Yes, of course I do."
"It's Annie and Julie or nothing. They don't separate."
Melinda cleared her throat. "Griffin, I thought you had better sense. Especially after Dian."
He glared at his sister. "Melinda, that's enough."
Laura looked up. "Please stay. We apologize. It was just the shock and after Dian…"
"Don't ever judge me by that bitch. I'm here at Griffin's invitation. I can leave any time it runs out. I'm going upstairs for a few minutes before I start saying things that are very mean and ugly. I'll make up my mind while I'm there," Julie said.
The lump in her throat refused to budge. Hindsight was the only truly perfect vision in the world. If she could go back, she'd certainly do things differently. When she reached her room, she picked up the phone and dialed her mother's number.
"Hello, Julie. I love this caller ID thing," Deborah said with a lilt in her voice. "Did you change your mind? Are you coming home for Christmas?"
"Right now I'm not sure what I'm doing. Momma, what would you do if Eli had a child and you just now found out about it and he'd only just had a one-night stand with the woman?" she asked.
"Grandma came to visit, did she?" Deborah asked. "And did she accept you or throw a hissy fit?"
"She appeared with no warning and if Griffin hadn't asked me to stay, I'd be on my way to Jefferson in ten minutes," Julie said.
"Okay, first thing is that I wouldn't blame the child. I'd try real hard not to blame the woman, especially if Eli was dead. Am I doing all right? Do you need to come home?" Deborah asked.
"No, I think I'll stay and put up my dukes. Great great-grandma wouldn't have let a bunch of Cajuns run her out of Ireland, would she?"
Deborah laughed so hard that she got the hiccups. "We named you well. You don't have to prove shit to those people, Julie. Make them prove to you that they are worthy to even look at Annie."
Julie held the phone out and looked at it. "Momma, did you just say
shit
?"
"I did. I might pray about it later but it'll be a hell of a lot later. You are my child and by damn they can appreciate you for the wonderful person you are or else they can take their sorry asses on home to whatever rock they slithered out from under," she said.
Julie held the phone out away from her and stared at it for a minute. Was that truly her passive preacher's wife mother talking?
"Don't be so stunned. They're messin' with my kid now. How would you feel if Annie called you with the same problem in a few years?"
"I'd kick their sorry asses," Julie said.
"Okay, then, now you understand," Deborah said. "Stay and tell 'em all to go to hell on a rusty poker if you have to. I'm going now. I think that's enough bad words for one day. You make them prove up their worth before you trust her with them."
"You could come help me. I could make reservations at the hotel. I think the house will be full," she said.
"I don't think so. I'm going to stand back and let you take care of this. Call me if you need me, though. It's always good to be needed."
"Remember what you told me when Annie was born?" Julie asked.
"Of course. The same thing my mother told me. Once a mother, always a mother unto death," Deborah said.
"It's time for me to share or this wouldn't be happening, right?" Julie said.
"I think so," Deborah said.