Paula pulled a silver angel charm from her pocket and kissed it. Neither Jody nor Mitzi had to ask what she was doing. They knew she was putting a protection aura around Ellie Mae’s mama so she wouldn’t have a heart attack.

After a week, Graham Harrison still hadn’t gotten everything unpacked in the new house in Celeste. He didn’t regret moving there, not after that last bout of bullying his girls had experienced at their bigger school. From what Alice, his sister, said about the smaller Celeste schools, they didn’t tolerate such things, and as the high school English teacher, she’d be on the watch. He poured a cup of coffee and carried it to the kitchen table. The girls were up that morning and rattling around in their bedrooms, so he only had a few more minutes of peace.

Dixie breezed into the kitchen, poured a glass of orange juice, and grabbed a box of cereal. “Mornin’, Dad.”

“Mornin’, sweetheart.” Graham wondered what kind of life his girls would have if their mother had stuck around. But that was water under the bridge, and even though she was living in Dallas now and had said she wanted to be a part of their lives, it was about fourteen years too late.

Tabby stopped long enough to give him a kiss on the forehead. “Did you talk to that place about our dresses for Mother’s friend’s wedding yet?”

“It’s on my to-do list today. Did y’all decide what color or style?”

“Lizzy said bubblegum pink and whatever style we like. I hate that color,” Dixie said with a groan. “I’m going to look like a big mound of cotton candy.”

“The senior bridesmaids are wearing burgundy, so Lizzy thought we’d be cute in pink. She hasn’t seen us since we were babies and only asked us because Mama put a guilt trip on her,” Tabby said. “I still don’t want to go.”

“Well, Lizzy better get ready for a big surprise when we show up as junior bridesmaids in our bubblegum-pink dresses.” Dixie poured a bowl of cereal and added milk. “We’re not little girls anymore.”

Tabby giggled. “You got that right about us not bein’ little girls anymore.”

Graham could put his amen on that, but he kept his mouth shut. He was six foot five, and his twin daughters had taken after him instead of their petite blonde mother. Last time he’d measured the girls, they were both five feet, ten inches, and like him, they certainly weren’t beanpoles.