All of Jamie’s doubts about moving were erased by that gesture. Gracie was happy even after the excitement was over. Mama Rita had told her she’d made the right decision and that she might even retire to Bootleg. She was not going to let the doubts and fears cloud her world anymore.
Gracie twirled around in the middle of the floor, arms out to her sides. When she finally stopped, she fell backward on the bed and giggled. “Everything is still spinning, Mama.”
“Well, you silly goose, you’ve scrambled your brain and it has to settle back down.” Jamie laughed.
“I’m not a goose,” Gracie argued. “I’m a little girl and I knew them people at the school were going to give you a job.”
“How did you know?” Jamie asked.
“Because I asked God when we said our quiet prayer in Sunday school. Hattie says that if we ask God in secret, he will say okay and he did,” Gracie said seriously. “Can we have pancakes for breakfast?”
“We sure can. Sausage or bacon?” Tears filled Jamie’s eyes, but she quickly wiped them away before Gracie saw.
“Both.” Gracie giggled and took off for the kitchen in a run.
Amanda heard laughter and awoke from a beautiful dream about her baby’s first Easter. Aunt Ellie had made him a cute little basket.
She laid a hand on her stomach. She would have rather spent the day with the rest of the crew out at the ranch, but she should not miss a doctor’s appointment. After that scare with Braxton-Hicks, she really wanted to be sure everything was all right. Tugging the nightshirt down over her belly, she padded barefoot to the kitchen, where the smell of bacon was already wafting through the house.
“Good morning.” She knuckled sleep from her eyes.
“Today is the day!” Gracie exclaimed.
“For what?” Amanda teased.
Gracie rolled her eyes. “Ah-mannn-duh!”
“Oh, I forgot, this is the ranch day when you and Lisa ride in a stage, right?” Amanda winked at Jamie.
“Yes, and see the animals. And we’re having pancakes for breakfast with bacon and sausage. And when is that baby coming out of your stomach anyway?” Gracie finally stopped to draw in a breath.
“In about four weeks,” Amanda said.
She was about used to Gracie asking so many questions, but that one took her by surprise. Still, she was glad that she’d answered honestly and not stammered around trying to find something right to say.
Amanda made a cup of decaf and took a sip. “Now my eyes are open. What can I do to help?”
“Get a pound of sausage out of the fridge and start it to cooking,” Jamie said.
“For gravy or patties?” Amanda asked.
“Patties. We’re having pancakes, bacon, and sausage.”
“Sweet Lord!” Kate said from the doorway. “It’s going to take a year for me to lose the weight I’m gaining.”
“It beats the devil out of those green things you were drinking when you got here. Besides, with your height and build, I’d be willing to bet that you never gain a pound no matter what you eat.” Amanda poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Kate.
“Never have, but then I’ve never tested it like I’m doing now. What can I do?”
“Set the table,” Jamie said.
“We’re eating on the deck,” Gracie said.
“Since it’s outside, shall we use the good plates or the plastic ones?” Kate asked.
“The good ones,” Gracie said. “This is a special day and I’ll help you.”
Amanda carefully arranged eight sausage patties in the cast-iron skillet while Jamie did double duty frying bacon and flipping pancakes on the grill. Amanda’s thoughts went to the last time that she and Conrad made breakfast together in that same kitchen. That morning they’d had eggs Benedict, and afterward he’d taken her to the bedroom for one last bout of sex before they’d gone home from the honeymoon.
She’d thought that Conrad was the reward for turning her life around. She’d had a rebellious streak right out of high school. For a year she’d hung out with the wild crowd and frequented the bars around Wichita Falls, mostly country honky-tonks where she could always pick up a cowboy to take home for a one-night stand. Then one morning she awoke to find her cash and credit cards gone, right along with her laptop, her phone, and every piece of jewelry that she owned.
It took a lot of courage to go to Aunt Ellie and tell her what had happened, and it took hours of phone calls to get everything taken care of and reported. She’d lost what dignity she had left when she couldn’t identify the cowboy to the police—when she didn’t know if he was tall or short, had dark hair or light, or if he was young or old. Aunt Ellie put her back in church the following Sunday morning.
“Do you think that we get punished for our past sins?” Amanda whispered.
“Did you repent of them?” Jamie flipped two pancakes onto the platter and poured two more to cook.
“With many tears and lots of humiliation,” Amanda said.
“Then they are forgiven and forgotten,” Jamie answered.
Amanda frowned. “Why do they keep coming back to haunt me?”
“Who is haunting you?” Kate asked as she came back inside. “Gracie says she is going to watch the birds until we bring out breakfast.”