No Place Like Home (13 page)

Clint laughed. “And what if God has different plans?”

Brady hopped from the fence.

“He won't.”

 

Dottie stopped by Heavenly Inspirations after leaving Prudy's to tell Lacy and Sheri that she would be leaving the next day. She'd forgotten Norma Sue and Esther Mae had informed her at dinner at Lilly's that they were going in for a little TLC on Monday morning. Just seeing them all together brought a sudden wave of regret. It had been such a short time, but she'd come to love them. She'd miss them.

“Lacy!”

Esther Mae was shouting from beneath the dryer as Dottie stepped into the salon. The squeal in Esther's voice was hair-raising.

“You need to put one of them mud baths in here,” she continued shouting. “I saw on the Travel Channel that
women love to climb into a vat of that nasty-looking stuff but it must be good—”

“Ha! Esther Mae,” Norma yelled back from where she sat in Lacy's chair. Lacy waved at Dottie and smiled a welcome instead of interrupting what promised to be an enlightening exchange. “I can just see me in a vat of mud!” She patted her ample belly. “It wouldn't be pretty. You telling me you'd pay to get in a tub of dirt and water?”

Esther Mae frowned. “Well, surely. It'd be one more thing to draw women to Mule Hollow. We could have one of those day spas. Get real classy like. Mud's not hard to come by and I grow cucumbers in my garden every year. We could use them specially grown for ladies' dark circles.”

Norma harrumphed and shook her head. “Esther, listen what you're saying. That ain't just any kind of mud. It ain't like they just got some dirt and turned on the water hose.”

“Well, Norma, I know that! That mud had sea salt from the Mediterranean—no, I think it was from the Dead Sea—no, wait, maybe it was the Nile.”

Lacy chuckled. “Esther Mae, I might have to special order some mud just for you.” She removed the cutting cape from Norma Sue. “You're a free woman, Norma Sue. Your turn, Dottie. How's it going this morning? You should have seen Cassie last night. That girl had more fun helping deliver that calf. Of course, poor Jake, that kid has it bad. He just beamed the entire time, explaining every little thing that was happening.”

Dottie didn't know what to answer first. “I'm glad
she enjoyed it. That's what I came to talk to you about. I'm leaving tomorrow and I need to figure out what's going to happen to Cassie when I go.”

Adela was sitting quietly getting her nails done, and by the expressions around the room she obviously hadn't said anything to anyone about their conversation the day before.

“You're leaving!” Norma exclaimed, grabbing the broom and sweeping her hair up off the floor.

“No, no, no,” Lacy said, taking her by the arm and tugging her into the styling chair.

“Oh, boy,” Sheri warned. “You're in for it now.”

“Did someone die?” Esther Mae shouted, lifting the hood of the dryer.

Norma Sue swung around and snapped the dryer off. “You're driving me crazy, Esther Mae! Dottie just said she was leaving.”

“But she can't leave! She has to marry Bra—”

“Esther Mae—”

“It's okay, Norma,” Lacy said, spinning Dottie toward the mirror. “Let's let Dottie talk.”

Dottie had known they all had high hopes that something would develop between her and Brady. But it wouldn't. She'd be lying if she said she didn't have feelings for him, because she did. She'd realized yesterday after their painful conversation that she was falling in love with Brady Cannon. Who wouldn't? He had to be the most perfect man in the entire world…except he'd made up his mind to live his life alone…

Stop it.
At the moment she didn't have time to think about herself. She had to get to California. Her friends needed her.

Taking a deep breath, she retold everything. From the loss of the lease to the excitement her brother was feeling that the Lord was going to provide for No Place Like Home.

When she finished speaking not a whisper was heard inside Heavenly Inspirations as Lacy, Esther Mae, Norma Sue, Sheri and Adela all stared at her with their mouths open.

And then pandemonium broke out!

“T
hey should come here!” Esther Mae exclaimed, her freshly dried red hair shaking she was so excited.

“Yep, yep, yep!” Lacy laughed. “It's the perfect solution!”

“You were right, Lacy,” Norma gasped. “God had it under control the whole time, and here I was thinking our intuition had gotten its antennas crossed.”

Sheri folded her arms and shook her head. “If you build it they'll come.”

Lacy nodded at Sheri. “That's right. God is so full of surprises.”

Dottie needed to sit down—but she already was. “Hey,” she called out. “I'm sorry, but that wouldn't work.”

Necks almost broke as heads whipped around.

“Well, sure it will,” Esther Mae declared.

Dottie stood, suddenly feeling nervous. “It's not that simple, these women. They… They've been through so
much. As wonderful as Mule Hollow is, it is too far away from where—from what they're used to.”

“That's the beauty of it,” Norma Sue sighed.

Norma Sue sighing—Dottie did a double take on that. “Look, maybe sometime for a visit. But it is not feasible to think they could relocate this far away from their homes and whatever little bits of family they have left.” Dottie looked at Adela for help. Maybe she would back her up but Adela just smiled gently and said nothing.

“Dottie, Dottie!” Lacy exclaimed. “Do not tell me you really think that things happen by coincidence? No way, not this scenario—” She slapped her hand on her jutted hip and her baby blue eyes danced. “Come on now, replay everything that's happened to bring
you
to be in Mule Hollow, our little one-horse town, for just this moment!”

Dottie felt light-headed. The film in her head rolled, even though she didn't need it to—Cassie on the road that day, the newspaper clippings, the fire, the mechanic being out of town… “No. I'm sorry, I have to think about this.” Three strides and she made it to the door, she had to get outside.

Adela's hand on her arm stopped her just before she stepped outside. “Turn it over to God.”

Their eyes met, Dottie nodded and then she swept out into the fresh air and bright sunshine.

She turned right, her steps clipped as she hurried along the plank boardwalk. At the intersection she turned right again. In Mule Hollow there weren't many
options. At the end of the boardwalk, where the edge of town gave way to endless pastureland, she stopped and stared as the road made a straight shot to the horizon then disappeared.

What was she running from?

The question came out of nowhere. Wiping a hand down her face, Dottie leaned her forehead against the porch post and stared down at her shoes.
Dear Father. I'm so confused. Am I thinking of my friends, of Stacy, Rose, Nive and Lynn?
She called them all by name. Picturing their faces and those of each of their children.
Or am I thinking of myself? Please show me the way.

Dottie watched the sun on the faraway horizon and she had to be honest. Mule Hollow would be a wonderful place for her friends. Rose had a thirteen-year-old son. He'd been struggling, and like Brady had told her over and over again about Cassie, Mule Hollow was the perfect place for a mixed-up kid. She knew everything they'd said was true.

But she couldn't do it.

This was about Brady Cannon.

It was one thing for a woman to be falling for a man who never intended to get married—if that woman was moving on, riding off into the sunset, moseying off over the horizon to find a new life. A life where she stood a chance of forgetting the man who very easily could break her heart.

But…

It was an entirely different ending to that movie if the
poor girl had to live in the same town with the guy. See him every day and pretend that she didn't long for exactly the life he'd turned his back on.

Oh my goodness! After all her professions of following God's lead, she was contemplating not giving her friends the opportunity to choose Mule Hollow as their new residence because of selfish personal reasons.

The truth sank in and she closed her eyes in shame. How low could she go?

Evidently pretty amazingly low.

What was she? A woman with a purpose? Or a mouse? Kicking away from the post, Dottie hurried back toward Main Street and hung a left and nearly tripped when she saw Lacy and the others standing outside the salon watching for her.

“Okay,” she snapped. “Give me a phone and let's make this call. Forgive me for being small-minded and selfish. I have to give them the option at least.”

Everyone started talking at once. It was decided to head over to Sam's and have a huddle to hammer out details before making the call. As Adela pointed out, they needed to figure out where to put everyone if they decided to move to Mule Hollow.

Dottie sobered at that bit of detail, but actually felt better thinking about it. There was still a chance that Mule Hollow wasn't the place for No Place Like Home. The ball wasn't in her court at all. Housing for this endeavor would have to be provided and that put the ball completely in the Lord's hands.

 

Brady held the door of Sam's Diner. Despite his better judgment he'd come to town to invite Dottie to lunch. She would be leaving soon and he didn't see what spending time with her would hurt. There was a good chance that after tomorrow he'd never see her again. It was hard to think about. But he knew it was for the best.

But Clint hadn't helped temper the yearning his heart was feeling.

Brady had left his friend's ranch longing for Dottie's company. What could lunch hurt? He found the RV at Prudy's after remembering he was back to fix it. The mechanic spared no detail about how Dottie was leaving town. Whatever. The girl still had to eat lunch. He'd try Sam's. He just hadn't expected to see Sam's packed.

His heart seemed to swell when right there in the middle of the group, he spotted Dottie.

“Brady Cannon!” Lacy exclaimed. “You're just in time. We need all the brain cells we can gather on this big news.”

“And what's that?” He removed his hat and hooked it on the peg by the door. Needing the distraction to refocus on something other than the way Dottie's eyes had sparked when their gazes met, or the memories of their mudding expedition, he took a seat at the counter. With his back to her.

“We need a house,” Norma Sue called out. “A big house. What do you think about the Nelson house? You remember, it's out on Fullson Road. They had those four
adorable kids. Their place was pretty nice, 'course it's been setting vacant for years, like all the houses out here.”

“Norma, that house might work,” Adela said. “It's been years since I've been out there, though. Have any of you seen it lately?”

Brady had. “I was out that way a week ago.”

“Yeah, what kind of shape is it in?” Esther Mae asked.

Esther Mae was not one to be able to curb her enthusiasm and Brady could hear the excitement in her voice. What were these gals up to now? If there was one thing the men of Mule Hollow had learned, it was that when there was a gathering at Sam's of the women of Mule Hollow, something was up. However, the house they were talking about was off the market as of last week. But he didn't have the right to tell anyone the particulars. He turned to face the room of ladies.

“It's in fair shape,” he said, curious. “What's up?”

“We're looking for a house for Dottie's friends in California. Their lease didn't get renewed and now they have less than nine days to get out. No Place Like Home is coming to Mule Hollow—”

“Now, Esther Mae,” Dottie broke in, her voice breathless, cautious. “We don't know that for certain. We still have to invite them. And find a house.”

Brady had stalled on the information. “You mean Dottie isn't leaving?” Now, why'd he go and blurt that out? Every knowing set of eyeballs in the room turned on him. Sam's included.

“Not if we can help it,” Lacy sang. She had a
tendency to do that when she thought romance was on the wind. He'd learned to be wary of her singing. “We're making the case to her that Mule Hollow is the best place in the world for a group of women wanting to start a new life. You know, good old cowboy hospitality!”

He met Dottie's gaze, she wasn't smiling.

“So what brought this on?” he asked, choking on the coffee Sam had filled his cup with, coffee that only accelerated the drumming of his heart. Dottie staying. He'd faced death many times in his career as a city cop, pulling people out of burning cars, mangled wrecks with leaking gas tanks… Once he'd run into a burning building and carried an old man to safety, but the thought of facing Dottie every day and trying to hide his love for her…well, that was the scariest thing he'd ever faced.

And he'd realized that he did love her. Right this very minute.

“That house is not on the market,” he managed to say.

“What?” Norma Sue barked. “Since when?”

“Last week.”

“Last week!” Esther Mae beat everyone else to the exclamation. “Who bought it?”

He cleared his throat. “I'm not at liberty to say.”

“To say what?” Molly Popp asked, entering the diner.

Brady was certainly not at liberty to say anything to Molly. The cowboy who'd bought the place had specifically said he didn't want to see anything about his buying a ranch in her weekly newspaper article. The guy had a point. Molly didn't mean any harm with her
column; it had been great for the most part. But everything that happened in Mule Hollow didn't have to be reported to her faithful readers. With that in mind, Brady honored his friend's wishes and said nothing.

“We need a big house,” Esther Mae told Molly. “But Brady just informed us the one we thought might work has sold. Sold right beneath our noses and we didn't have a clue. Who is it?”

Brady shook his head. “Now, Esther, you know I can't break a confidence. Much as I'd like to fill you in on the surprise, it's not my call.”

Esther Mae scowled. “That just ain't right.”

“Okay,” Lacy said. “Then let's move on. Adela, Norma and Esther—oh, and Sam, you're in on this, too. You and Brady, you have lived here longer that me or Sheri, so think where there is a house that's big enough to house four women and their children? We don't want to split them up. Mule Hollow is about to get the privilege to minister to these women's needs, spiritually, emotionally…this is a huge and seriously awesome undertaking.”

Brady was listening to Lacy, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sheri quietly explaining the whole story to Molly. You could tell Molly'd already started writing her next article.

“What about Brady's house?”

He almost didn't hear Adela's soft suggestion. Then it hit him. My house!
“My house!”
he exclaimed, suddenly struck by the fact that the last fifteen minutes
had been full of exclamations. But once the shock of the suggestion settled, he let it sink in. It would be perfect.

“Miss Adela,” Dottie gasped. “That's Brady's house. He lives there.”

Brady met her faltering gaze. “Actually, it's a good suggestion.”