Graham shook his head. “No, ma’am. I didn’t even want to go to college, but Mama wanted me to have that experience. After Rita left, I got my business degree by taking online courses at night. Experience and what my dad taught me was far more helpful. How about you? Ever want to do something other than what you do?”

It was her turn to shake her head. “Mama wanted me to be a high school home economics teacher, only they don’t call it that anymore. I think it’s called FCCLA. Never can remember what all the letters stand for, but it’s the same as the old home economics classes. I made it through one semester of college, wondering the whole time why in the hell I needed American History 101 to teach young girls and boys how to cook and sew.”

“Or English Composition 101 to learn how to run a car dealership,” Graham chuckled again. “So what did you do after that semester?”

“I got a job doing alterations in a fancy wedding-dress shop in Amarillo,” she answered. “Paula, Jody, and I’d dreamed about putting in our own shop and catering to plus-sized women for years. Then”—she frowned, as if she wasn’t sure if she should go on—“Paula was dating the father of her baby and it became a bad breakup. She needed a change, and after we’d made her sister’s wedding dress, we really got serious about wanting to put in our own shop. Jody was more than ready for us to come home and put in a shop, so we finally said it was now or never and we did it last December. We figured we’d have to build up the business for two years before we’d start seeing enough profit to pay our salaries, but we were wrong. We’ve made dresses for women from four states already, and we never lack for something to keep us busy. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

“Well, y’all have been a godsend to my girls. I’ve never seen them this happy,” Graham said.

“Daddy!” Dixie’s voice blasted through the walls.

“In the kitchen,” he called out.

“I should be going,” Mitzi said.

“No need to rush off because the girls are home. They’ll be excited to see you.” Graham laid a hand on her arm.

“Hey, Daddy, guess what!” Dixie stopped in her tracks as she burst out onto the porch with Tabby and Alice right behind her. “Hi, Mitzi!”

Tabby pushed around Dixie and gave Mitzi a hug. “We didn’t go to the movies. We went to the fabric store instead and got stuff to make us some shirts. We bought two patterns, and we want you to tell us which one is easiest.”