The Strawberry Hearts Diner(26)

“Shane has roots. I’ve grown a pretty good set of wings,” she said.

“Wings can be clipped,” Nettie said.

“Not unless you stand still and let someone do it,” Jancy answered. “How about you, Emily? You got wings or roots?”

“My roots are so deep in Pick that they run down halfway to China. No one could ever get me out of here permanently.” Emily went to the drink machine and filled four glasses with lemonade.

“Oh, honey, don’t give up your wings,” Vicky said. “You are still young. There is plenty of time to settle down. Let those wings take you to places where you’ll build beautiful memories.”

Emily set a glass in front of Vicky and kissed her on the top of the head. “Memories can grow like a big old oak tree with roots here just as easily as they can on the wings of someone who can’t ever find a place to settle.”

She was right, but not all memories were good ones. Jancy was the poster child for bad ones. Maybe that’s why she kept moving around—outrunning what she didn’t want to remember.





CHAPTER SIX

Vicky’s heart had gone out to Jancy as they were drinking lemonade. There was a lot of pain in her face—the kind that no one her age should have to deal with. She should have been in college with Emily, having fun and worrying about whether she passed a test, not sleeping in her car and worrying about where her next meal would come from. Vicky felt a desperate tugging on her heartstrings to help Jancy find her roots, almost as much as the pull for Emily to find her wings.

“It hasn’t changed,” Jancy said when Vicky pulled the van into a parking place at the park.

“Not much does in Pick.” Emily slid open the side door. “And I hope it stays like this forever.”

Vicky was fighting with Carlton over the same thing, so she couldn’t say a word. If she didn’t win the fight, there wouldn’t be a park in a few years. With two swing sets, a slide, and a merry-go-round, it wasn’t a big park, but it did have a pavilion with three picnic tables and a basketball court. The city paid to keep the lights on until ten o’clock every night. The parents of the kids who gathered there on the weekends to sneak a beer or make out would have gladly paid their share to the power company. Darkness bred all kinds of mischief that the lights kept at a minimum.

“Hey.” Shane waved and hurried over to the van to help unload the food. “Is that Nettie’s meat loaf? Man, who wants barbecue when we got this?”

“Our host isn’t here yet?” Vicky asked.

“No, he’ll wait until the park is full and then make a grand entrance,” Ryder said as he took the sheet cake from Nettie’s hands.

“What makes you say that?” Emily asked.

“Because if I was a con man trying to fleece a bunch of country bumpkins, that’s what I’d do,” Ryder answered. “This goes to Darlene, right? She’s been cuttin’ cakes and pies since I got here.”

“That’s right, and I see at least two hams and a turkey over there on the tables, so he don’t need to show with his store-bought barbecue,” Nettie said.

“I’m pretending that this is my welcome-home party,” Emily laughed.

“It is, darlin’,” Ryder teased. “I’ll be right back and take that meat loaf over for you, Nettie. Don’t let Shane carry it. As clumsy as he is, he might drop one. Folks’ll look down on me for eating it off the ground with my fingers.”

“I’m lighter on my feet than you are,” Shane argued. “And if I drop it, then it’s all mine.”

“Boys!” Vicky smiled. “I’m glad I had a daughter.”

“I was thinkin’ that I’d fight both of them for it. A little dirt and grass would just add fiber,” Emily said.

Vicky shuddered. “You guys carry that gently. If I see my prissy daughter eating off the ground, I’ll shoot whoever dropped it.”

“What can I do?” Woody rounded the side of the van.

“We got it taken care of,” Ryder said. “Did you bring the strawberry wine?”

“It’s over there in a cooler gettin’ a good chill on it.” Woody said. “Y’all got to watch the kids. If they ain’t twenty-one, they don’t even get a sip. It’s some pretty strong stuff.”

“I’ll m-m-make sure they don’t get any,” Shane said. “Just set it by the band and w-w-we’ll guard it.”

Woody chuckled down deep in his chest. “I imagine you will.”

“M-m-might keep me from stutterin’,” Shane teased. “Don’t forget that you promised m-me a dance, Jancy.”