my pistol,” Tootsie threw over her shoulder as she started downstairs—a lot slower than when she’d come up them.
“Did you really do that with the dishes and the mattress?” Joanie asked as she followed Diana into her room and sat down on the bed.
“Yes, I did, and I gave all his clothes to Goodwill. He was so mad when he came for them that it made it worth the time and energy it took.” Diana smiled at the memory of the fit.
“Did it really help you get past all the pain?” Joanie asked.
“A little bit, but then that damned week of depression hit. Remember that?” Diana hung up her things in the armoire and filled the empty dresser drawer with her underwear and nightshirts.
“God, I hope I never have to go through this kind of thing, but I’m terrified now that it could happen to me.” Joanie barely got the words out of her mouth when her phone rang. She darted across the hallway and grabbed it from the nightstand.
“Brett, I’m so glad you called. Tell me you love me,” Joanie whispered.
“I love you, darlin’,” he said. “I just talked to Eli. How’s Carmen holdin’ up?”
“She’s outside working out her anger on a pile of firewood. She’s got an ax in her hands, so maybe it’s a good thing that Eli is a million miles away,” Joanie said. “Now tell me you’re never putting me through this kind of hellish nightmare.”
“You know me better than that.” She could hear him smile. “I love you, Joanie.”
“Gerald loved Diana at one time, and Eli loved Carmen. Things change,” she said.
“Since Carmen is out chopping wood, I take it y’all are in Scrap, wherever the hell that is, now?” Brett changed the subject.
“We’re here,” Joanie answered. “We’re just getting unpacked and settling in. Diana, Carmen, and I have bedrooms on the second floor, but we have to share a bathroom. It has one of those old claw-foot tubs in it that I can’t wait to get in with some bubbles and bath salts.”
“Is Tootsie staying in the motor home?” His voice sounded kind of distant, as if he didn’t really want to talk to her. Was it possible that he’d seen women in the past or maybe was stringing one along now? Was she in the bathroom taking a shower while Brett called her?
“No, she has a bedroom on the ground floor. Luke has the motor home now.” She eased the bedroom door shut. “I think Diana may be attracted to him.”
“It’s about time she moved on with her life,” Brett said.
Did his comment mean that he was moving on with his—without her? Her chest tightened at the idea. He’d never given her reason to believe he was cheating, but then Carmen hadn’t a clue, either, until the divorce papers were dumped in her lap.
“He’s seven years younger than she is,” Joanie whispered.
“That’s nothing. Kate is fifteen years younger than Eli,” Brett said.
Sweet Jesus in heaven! Was Brett defending Eli because he was seeing someone?
“Holy crap on a cracker! That means she was just a little girl when Natalie was born. That ought to go over like a dead mouse in the church punch bowl with his daughter,” Joanie said.
A long silence on the end of the line made Joanie hold the phone out from her ear to make sure she hadn’t lost the connection. “Are you still there?” she asked.
“Eli didn’t tell Carmen that Kate is only twenty-five, did he?” Brett asked.
“No, just that he’s leaving the service when his enlistment is up. Retiring so he can be at home with Kate and do things different this time,” Joanie said.
“It’ll be easier on Carmen than it’s been for Diana . . .” Brett let the sentence hang in the air. “Kate is from Kentucky, so they’ll be living out there.”
“Well, that’s a bit of good news at least. Then I won’t be the bitch who refuses to go to picnics with her,” Joanie said.
“My time is up. Got to go on a fake mission with a bunch of green recruits. I’ll call when I can,” Brett said.
“Love you,” Joanie whispered, but he was already gone, and he hadn’t told her that he loved her. A cold chill ran down her back, and her hands went all clammy. Diana opened the door and peeked inside. “Are you all right? You’re as pale as a ghost.”
“You’re not going to believe how old Kate is,” Joanie whispered.