Linda June whispered, “if y’all ever want to forget about what society thinks and join my commune, I can make room for you.”
The woman had best not make that offer to Carmen. To get away from having to go home to an empty nest, she just might take her up on it. Come to think of it, Diana might throw her laptop in the trash and run away herself.
And leave Tootsie? There was that voice again.
No, she’d never do that, and neither would Carmen. Tootsie had been too good to them to desert her. But it was tempting.
“Thanks for the offer, but we’re pretty happy where we are. See you later.” Luke pulled Diana in the opposite direction. They went through a door and a hallway and wound up in the church sanctuary.
“Break time. We’ll go back for act two in a little bit. That’ll involve sitting beside me at the dinner table, but you’re doin’ good.” He let go of her hand and sat down on the back pew.
She melted into the place right beside him. “Linda June is a trip, but I’ve got to admit, her offer to run away to a commune sounded kind of good.”
“Takes all kinds.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I hadn’t considered a commune.” He rubbed a hand across his chin. “But I’ll go if you will.”
Diana giggled. “I could never do that. Tell me about her. Seems like she kind of got stuck in the hippie days.”
“You are so right.” He nodded. “She’s Aunt Mary Lou’s only child. Mary Lou is the oldest child in the Colbert family, and she had Linda June when she was about sixteen or seventeen. So Linda June is probably close to seventy, but she never got past her bell-bottom jeans and all that went with them.”
Heat from his touch raised the temperature in the sanctuary at least ten degrees. “Does she have children?” Diana asked.
“About ten or maybe eleven, but only the last five belong to the man she’s still with now. From what I understand, they all live in the commune with her. She’s the queen bee of the place,” he said. “After meeting her and Aunt Mary Lou, you’ll break up with me at five after four for sure, and I had my hopes set on this being the foundation of an amazing relationship.”
Diana poked him in the ribs. “If I was in love with you, it would take more than a few crazy relatives for me to throw you over the pasture fence. And besides, you haven’t met my family. They’d probably put this one to shame.”
“Oh!” He raised an eyebrow. “Is that an invitation to meet your cousins?”
“No, sir. My cousins would try to seduce you,” she teased.
“Does one of them have red hair? I’m a sucker for redheads.” His eyes glittered.
“Yes, Molly does, and she has six kids. I think two of them have the same father, but that’s only because they’re twins. She believes in free will. It would be like dating Linda June, only younger. I’ll have to warn you that most of her walls are painted with ketchup or mustard. Or whatever was in the diaper that day. But you go ahead and flirt with her when you come to my family reunion.” She patted him on the cheek.
“Let’s invite them all to our wedding, darlin’. Molly’s kids can smear cake icing on the floor, and Linda June can offer to take them all to her commune.” He picked up her hand, brought it to his lips, and whispered, “Aunt Mary Lou has opened the door enough to peek through.”
Diana smiled up at him when he kissed her knuckles and then wrapped her arms around his neck, twined her fingers into his hair, and brought his face to hers for a long, lingering kiss. When it ended, she moved over to sit in his lap and whispered in his ear, “Now there’s three sets of eyes on us. Man, they really do want to see you settled down, don’t they?”
This was turning out to be a hell of a lot more fun than she’d ever imagined. It was like being a sophomore in high school and making out in the back seat of a car, plus the excitement of being just a little devious in tricking folks into believing that she and Luke were a couple.
“I’m the baby of all the grandkids,” he told her. “My dad was the youngest child, coming along when