Bree couldn’t keep from smiling at her brother’s statement. Words, tone, delivery—all were exact duplicates of her dad’s. Everybody always commented on how much she and her twin brother looked like their dad. It was comforting to know he was still so much a part of them. Especially today. But it also made her ashamed of the news she was going to have to break to her mom and brother...which, of course, could wait until dinner was finished.
“Oh, I wouldn’t have done that if Tank hadn’t stopped by. Another roll?” Her mom held out the basket of homemade yeast rolls.
Gil took two, slathering them with butter. Mom waved them in Bree’s direction as a matter of etiquette, Bree supposed, knowing they’d be declined. She hadn’t deliberately ingested white flour—or white sugar, or anything with corn—in ten years, but her mom still acted as though her eating habits were a strange phase she would grow out of.
“Tank told me later he wouldn’t have known he was the same man,” her mom said, continuing her tale. “It was amazing the difference a shave and shower and some clean clothes made, even ones that were too big for him. I’m thinking I may cut off a pair of your dad’s trousers and hem them and have them waiting in case he takes me up on the offer to use the shower again.”
So, her mom was finally letting go of some of Dad’s things. That was a move in the right direction. Ten years was more than enough time to grieve.
“Dad would like that somebody finally got to use that shower, but I’m not sure he’d be as pleased about your having a naked man in the garage.” Bree laughed as the blush crept up her mom’s neck and into her face. The garage with the mudroom-plus-shower had always been a dream of her dad’s and a frivolous notion to her mom, who had finally relented, and the garage had been built. Ironically, it had been completed only a couple of weeks before he died, and he never got to use it. To Bree’s knowledge, yesterday’s shower, taken by a stranger, was the first time the shower stall had ever been occupied by anything but plants.
Gil laughed and directed a wink Bree’s way. “You’re not going to make naked men in the garage a habit, are you, Mom?”
“Oh, shush now, you two. Your conversation’s hardly appropriate for the dinner table.” She brandished the serving spoon from the carrots in both of their directions. But her stern expression gave way to a small grin. “But you should’ve seen Sue’s face when I hired the poor man. Lord, she looked like she was going to blow a gasket!”
Bree and Gil had seen that look on Sue’s face enough while they were growing up to picture it easily, and they shared a chuckle at their mom’s small victory.
The running feud between Stella Rice and Sue Marsden was a topic the people of Taylor’s Grove could always fall back on when nothing new was stirring. The fact that Sue Yager had been in love with Isaiah Rice, but Isaiah had been in love with Stella Gilbert had been common knowledge since the three had been in junior high school.
Even after she’d found what appeared to be true love with her husband, Ed, Sue Marsden was not one to let go of a grudge. The feud had continued.
Bree’s mom wiped her mouth with her napkin and took a sip of her iced tea. “But, enough of this. What’s going on with y’all? How’s work?”
Bree avoided the subject for a little while longer by stuffing a forkful of yellow squash into her mouth. She nodded at Gil to go first if he had any news. The big grin that broke out on his face said he did...and it was wonderful. So, while she adored her brother and wished for good things to come to him, another part of her brain pouted that sometimes his timing really sucked.
“John Dunn is looking to open a gym between Paducah and Murray. I told him about Dad’s building, and he seemed really interested.”
Her brother’s news rendered Bree momentarily speechless, but it brought a delighted gasp from her mom. “Oh, Gil. That’s terrific!”
The building in Benton that had housed Isaiah Rice’s insurance business had been leased to his partner for the first six years after their dad’s death. But then, Ralph had retired and moved to Florida, leaving the building vacant. It had been on the market for three years, taking its toll on their mom’s finances. Isaiah had left his wife comfortably well off, but paying the taxes and keeping the old, empty building in good condition took an ever-increasing amount each year.
Her mom’s expression flashed from joyous to wary. “Does he really think Benton’s large enough to support a gym?”
“Not by itself,” Gil answered. “But he figures it’s the perfect location to pull in from all the smaller surrounding communities...like Taylor’s Grove. Lots of people around here would love to belong to a gym, but they don’t have the time or desire to make that hour or hour-and-a-half round-trip drive.”
Bree had always chosen to work out of a gym...well, until yesterday morning. Gil, on the other hand, had put the personal in the title personal trainer. He charged by the hour, working with individuals or small groups—mostly businessmen and bored, well-to-do housewives.
“But that’s not the best part.”
Her brother’s news had already sent a shock wave through Bree, and she braced herself for whatever was coming next.
Gil’s smile broadened, and his eyes darted between her and her mom. “He’s offered me the manager/trainer position.”
“Will you...” Bree’s throat closed, and she paused to get some air. “Will you be hiring?”
“Why?” Gil grinned around the dinner roll at his lips. “You thinking of leaving that hoity-toity club that Langston sucked you into?”
“Maybe.” Bree shrugged.
Gil placed the uneaten roll back on his plate and looked hard at her. Through her, actually. “You’re serious. What gives?”
Her mom set her fork down and clasped her hands on the table by her plate, turning her full attention to Bree. “You’ve been quiet all evening.” She reached out, her warm hand enveloping Bree’s cold one. “I thought it was the anniversary that was making you melancholy. But it’s something else.”
Bree nodded. “I got fired yesterday.”
Mom and Gil both straightened in their seats.
“What in the hell happened?”
Her mom shot a look at Gil. “Watch your manners, Gilbert.”
Gil shrugged. “Sorry. What in the hell happened...Brianna?”
For her mom’s sake, Bree decided on the G-rated version. “I broke up with Todd. He got mad and pulled the entire athletic account.”
Gil gave a low whistle. “Whew! That’s a huge chunk of business to lose.”
Bree nodded in agreement.
“But that’s what you get for messing around with clients.” There was Dad’s tone again.
“We weren’t ‘messing around.’ We were dating,” Bree snapped.
“Call it what you want. It’s suicide in the business world.”
“Believe me, if I’d ever thought—”
“That’s your problem, Bree. You don’t think.”
Mom slapped her hand on the table. “Stop bickering, you two.” She sighed, and her angry glare softened. “Don’t you see? ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ Isaiah told us that all the time.” Her chin quivered as her eyes traveled back and forth, giving each child equal time. “You think it’s just a coincidence that we have a prospect on the building? And that prospect wants to hire you, Gil? And you, Bree, just happen to be looking for a job?” She smiled, and a tear traced its way down her cheek. “And all this just happened to come to pass on the anniversary of your father’s death? I’m telling you, kids, this is your dad watching over us.”
Her