With tears rolling down her cheeks, Lily counted the money. Seven thousand dollars—enough to take her and the kids on a cruise—and Mack, if he wanted to go. But the note meant more to her than all the money in Texas.

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Lily tried to sort through all the emotions of the day before as she drove to work, but it was totally impossible. She was glad to see Sally’s little red sports car parked right in front of the store when she drove up. Maybe her friend could help her figure out everything that was going on in her life. Then she noticed Teena’s business SUV parked right behind Sally’s car and almost squealed. She could talk to both of her friends at once.

“Yesterday was a roller coaster of nerves,” she told them as she took her coat off. “I’m so glad y’all are both here already. I feel like if I don’t talk to someone I’m going to explode.”

“Me, too,” Teena said from behind the counter, where she was pacing from one end of the space to the other and back again.

Sally came from the back with a quart of ice cream. She set it down with such force that the three spoons she’d stuck in it rattled together. “Must be the phase of the moon.” She dug into the mint chocolate chip ice cream. “I guess we all had a helluva night. Who’s going first?”

Teena held up a hand. “I will. Ryder’s girlfriend is pregnant. He says he’s dropping out of college and marrying her, and he wants me to give him a job in the real estate business.”

Lily stashed her coat and purse under the counter and plopped down in a chair. “He and Creed are only eighteen, right? He can’t be ready for marriage. Who is this girlfriend?”

“The twins were nineteen in November.” Teena handed a spoon to Lily, and then she dipped into the ice cream. “His girlfriend graduated a year before him. She works at a nursing home and is going to school nights to finish her LPN degree. She’ll be finished in May. The baby is due in July. I’m going to be a freakin’ grandmother. I’m too young for that.”

“Evidently not,” Sally said. “When’s the wedding?”

“They’re going to the courthouse this weekend, and he’s moving into her apartment with her. He says if he can work at the business with me, he’ll start at the bottom and take night classes to get his license.” Teena moaned. “I wanted my kids to do better than that, but what can I do?”