Adam had been concerned that as Rose Marie grew inside her she might become uncomfortable behind the wheel of her convertible BMW Z4. She’d tried to convince them otherwise, demonstrating that the seat moved back a reasonable distance and she would be fine, but they were hearing none of it.
They wanted to cocoon her in the solid safety of a Cadillac for the rest of her pregnancy, and she hadn’t been able to convince them otherwise. Ethan reminded her that she would need it anyway for transporting the baby. She couldn’t argue with his reasoning, because her convertible was a two-seater. Infant car seats and two-seated vehicles did not mix well.
“I agree with Ethan and the others that the Escalade would be safer if that incident on the road was directed at you personally. It’s fortunate you were on a straight section of road and could just roll off into the grass. What if it had happened on the bridge or an area that had no shoulder?”
Remembering what had happened to Rachel at the bridge when she and Ace Webster had collided with two chasing deer, Grace knew Maya was right and agreed. She climbed carefully from the bed and gave her a tour of the bathroom, including the ridiculously enormous tub centered before the dual-sided fireplace that faced the bathroom and the bedroom.
Knowing time was ticking down on Maya’s night with her men, Grace walked her down the stairs. Grace shook her head in amusement when her men jumped up and ran up the stairs to help her the moment she appeared on the landing. She was afraid they’d hurt themselves always jumping up to help her.
“I just got off the phone with Hank Stinson,” Jack said, handing her a bottle of water.
Grace looked into his eyes for a trace of concern about the Sheriff calling, but only saw amusement. “What was he calling about?”
“He couldn’t get through on Kendall’s phone and asked if I’d pass a message on. I was just telling the guys about it. It appears that gal Brenda Sanderson came back through town.”
Maya groaned as she stood beside Grace and asked, “What did she do? Was she making a big stink?”
Jack chuckled and replied, “Well, the guys told me some of what transpired between the four of you and her down at the creek. She evidently stopped into the Dairy Queen to make good on her ‘town crier’ threat and was saying a lot of stuff about y’all.”
Boone picked up the storyline. “Which is exactly what we expected her to do—head into town, stop a few places, and run her mouth off. If the Divine Morality group had been the ones she encountered it might have worked for her. She met up with a different crowd at the Dairy Queen, though.”
Grace chuckled, having a feeling she knew who Brenda had encountered.
“Was Joe there?”
Jack nodded. “Oh yeah. Dad was there and so were Adam’s folks and Woody and Charlene Porter. Brenda actually struck up a conversation with the Porters, of all people. You can imagine how well-received her tale was.”
Grace knew the Porters did not put up with gossips or any of the petty bullshit aimed at her and the other girls. The local justice of the peace had let it be known on several occasions how he felt about the ugliness and gossip that followed her and the rest of the girls.
Jack continued. “So they let her join them and go on and on. She may be wily, but that girl isn’t terribly bright for not picking up on their reactions sooner. She even made mention of how poorly treated she was the last time she trolled through town, mentioning the Carlisles and Grace in particular.”
Grace remembered with relish kicking that loud-mouthed tramp off her property two years before. The only way the moment could have been more satisfying was if Ethan and Adam had not stopped her from chucking that clay flowerpot through the back window of her dually pickup.
Jack said, “She probably thought she had an audience who would be sympathetic to her ‘mistreatment’ at your hands, especially Boone for ‘manhandling’ her as she put it.”
Maya growled softly. “I knew she would blow that out of proportion. He barely had his hand around her bony arm.”
“She claimed he bruised her, dragging her to her car. Anyway, after she’d laid it on good and thick, Charlene proceeded to tell her what she thought of her, and then Adam’s mom took over. Next thing you know Woody is on the phone with Hank, who shows up and personally escorts the young lady out of town.”
“I hope that’s the last we see of her,” Maya said.
Grace shook her head pessimistically. “No, she’s like a bad penny. She’ll turn up again.”
Maya joined her men, and Grace felt her heart thump with happiness for them as she watched how Kendall, Boone, and Richard orbited Maya in much the same way Jack, Ethan, and Adam did her. Those men had a good example in her husbands, and she prayed the same kind of happiness to come to Maya that she enjoyed. They said goodnight, and after they’d all hugged Grace they slipped out the back door.