at the corners of her eyes. “He’s getting too big for you to cart around like that, kiddo. Gonna wreck your back.”
Sharon’s gaze flicked past the camera and into the distance, the smile stretching her lips loving and kind. “My boy will never be too big for Momma’s lap.”
“Might want to check that wish before tossing it out into the universe. Have you seen the size of the boy’s daddy?” Vanna tossed the towel over the line and left it there for now, walking slowly towards the house. “I’ll be back in a minute, Myrt. Leave me some work to do, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The girl’s unwavering politeness was lost in the quiet tension held in her words, and Vanna glanced to see Myrt’s shoulders had pulled in, her head dipped down and to the side as if avoiding a blow.
“God bless,” she murmured and sighed as she stepped into the kitchen. “What’s shakin’, Shar?” On the phone, Sharon’s brows drew together. “I’ll tell you all about my visitor as soon as you dish on why you called me today.” Something she’d intended to do over the past couple of weeks, but each call had been cut short by one child or another needing something. “So, the faster you give me whatever it is you’ve got to tell me, the sooner you hear all about my adventures.”
“You’re something else, Vanna.” The phone traveled away from Sharon’s face, and Vanna saw the edge of a table as the device was wedged into place. This’ll be a longer conversation, then. “Josh didn’t want to look for bugs because Kitten put worms in his bed, and he didn’t see them before climbing under the covers. They squished, and you know how he feels about hurting anything.”
“Kitten did that?” Vanna didn’t try to contain her laughter. “Does she know that’s not nice?”
“Oh, yeah, she knows now. Doesn’t help Josh’s guilt over smushing a half a dozen earthworms. You should have seen his face when Gunny was talking about taking him fishing soon and demonstrated how to bait his hook. It was only a gummy worm, but my poor Joshie was traumatized.” Sharon’s eye roll revealed exactly how she felt about her husband’s efforts with their son. “Gunny sometimes doesn’t know what to do with our sensitive child.”
“Hey, now, Cade’s plenty sensitive.” The oldest girl was the caretaker of the trio, had been since Kitten had been born, persistently bringing her baby sister all her favorite toys and blankets until Gunny had explained Kitten had her own things. “Kitten’s the one who’s misnamed, for sure.”
“More like a roaring lion than a purring kitten,” Sharon agreed. “I thought middle kids were supposed to be the peacemakers. Why isn’t she more about making sure everyone’s okay?”
“Because she takes after her mother.” Sharon’s expression of fake shock had Vanna laughing again. “No, she’s Gunny all over again. I bet if we could talk to his grandmother, we’d find a lot in common.”
“Yeah. I’m glad the kids have my folks as well as Jase and his family, but I feel like we’re all missing out because they don’t have the same connections on Daddy’s side of the family.” Sharon shook her head, strands of hair escaping her messy bun to trail along her cheeks. “It’s good they’ve got Vanna Mom, too. You help keep us all balanced.”
“Think you can peel him loose anytime soon and come for a visit?” Vanna hoped but didn’t expect she’d be successful. It was worth a little wheedling, though, just in case. “Vanna Mom misses her kids. I miss you and Gunny, too, but man, I miss those kids.”
“Unlikely. He’s in Milwaukee this week and will be in Kansas City the next. They’ve got him roaming all over to help keep things smooth with all the change that’s happening.”
Gunny was an officer in the Rebel Wayfarers motorcycle club. He was based out of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Sharon was calling from today, but traveled wherever the club needed him. Vanna understood, probably more than most, because Truck was also a member, based out of the Little Rock clubhouse but given special dispensation to stay close to home most of the time.
Most of the time. Vanna glanced up at the clock, mentally counting down the hours until Truck’s bike would roll into the driveway. “Truck’s over in Adken again. That new chapter is taking a lot of his time these days. He was in Texas a couple of weeks ago, and when he got back, I’d