“But I’m the one breaking up the friendship,” Joanie groaned.

“No, honey.” Tootsie patted her on the knee. “Nothing could ever break up what we have. We’re family, and those bonds can’t be broken.”

“Thank you.” She held up her glass. “To family.”

They all touched theirs with hers and repeated what she’d said. Then Tootsie turned to Diana. “It’s your turn to share.”

“Hello, I’m Diana.” She grinned at Joanie. “I’ve been hiding behind a couple of birth certificates to keep from facing an attraction I have for Luke. That makes me an idiot, I know, but I’m afraid to trust anyone even after five years. Please don’t make that same mistake, Carmen.”

“I’ll do my best.” Carmen’s dark hair fell in front of her face when she nodded. She pushed it back behind her ears and picked up another cookie. “We’re getting crumbs on your bed.”

“We’ll take the bedspread out on the back porch and shake it when we adjourn this meeting. Go on, Diana,” Tootsie said.

“So Luke and I had a talk on Saturday.” Diana went on to tell them that she realized Luke had made perfect sense. “And so when we get home, Luke is going to ask me out to dinner, and I’m going with him. Then we’re coming back to my house, and we’re going to watch a Bourne movie.”

“And?” Joanie raised an eyebrow.

“And I’m still terrified to tell Rebecca that I’m really dating, as in maybe a serious relationship on down the road a few months or a year from now,” Diana added. “And I’ve never taken a man into the house I shared with Gerald. Sure, I broke the dishes he ate from and gave all his clothes away, but the house itself is where we had good times as well as bad ones. I’m afraid it will be strange having Luke there.”

“Yet, it could completely erase any spirit that Gerald left behind. You’ll just have to see what happens.” Tootsie shared the last of the wine between the four of them.

“What if it doesn’t, but then we get really serious—maybe deciding to spend the rest of our lives together?” Diana asked.

“Then you simply move into another house. I told you that Luke sold his company and made millions in the profit. If you get that serious, he can build you whatever kind of house you want. Hell, you can raze the one you’re living in and build a new one right there. I’d love having you two close to me,” Tootsie said.

“Are you serious?” Diana said.

“Oh, honey, I’m very serious. Luke isn’t a rich man like most folks might think. He’s just an ordinary bighearted guy who has a shitload of money,” Tootsie informed her. “Now do we have any more new business?”

“I can’t believe I was so gullible,” Carmen said.

“It’s all right to be angry. God gave us anger for a reason, and it’s fine to use it when we need to. Better to get it out rather than let it sit there in your gut and fester,” Diana told her.

“Amen.” Tootsie nodded. “I think we pretty well covered it. Now, Diana, you can read the plaque that’s over there on my dresser tonight. We’ll close with it every time we have a meeting, because we all need to hear it.”

“Is that the one that was in the motor home?” Diana asked.

“It is. I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without it. Not even from the motor home to this house,” Tootsie said.

Diana read:

MAY GOD GRANT YOU ALWAYS

A SUNBEAM TO WARM YOU

A MOONBEAM TO CHARM YOU

A SHELTERING ANGEL SO NOTHING CAN HARM YOU

LAUGHTER TO CHEER YOU

FAITHFUL FRIENDS NEAR YOU

AND WHENEVER YOU PRAY

HEAVEN TO HEAR YOU.

“I feel better now, don’t y’all?” Tootsie said.

“I sure do.” Carmen slid off the bed. “When’s the next meeting?”

“Every Sunday night from now on, and once Joanie has moved, we’ll put her on speakerphone,” Tootsie said. “Good, cheap therapy.”

“When we get home, I’ll bring the wine,” Diana offered.

“We’ll take turns bringing it.” Tootsie grinned. “Now let’s all go to bed. I betcha Smokey will have a lot to say to me tonight after he’s heard all this.”

Chapter Eighteen

Diana’s sweater and jacket did little to keep the whistling north wind from chilling her to the bone as she carried a bundle of letters to the mailbox. She wasn’t used to late October being so cold. In Sugar Run, they’d still be using the air conditioner. She put up the flag to let the rural carrier know there was something to pick up and braced herself for the wind to hit her in the face as she started back. Then she heard the distant rumble of a vehicle and waited to see if it might be the mail truck.

Sure enough, it was, and the carrier put several things in the box, waved at her, and then drove on. She turned around and retraced her footsteps back to the mailbox, kicking leaves out of her way. She gathered a bundle of letters close to her body so the fierce wind wouldn’t blow them out of her hands. She did notice that the one on top had Carmen’s name on it and Natalie’s return address in the upper corner.

“Mail call,” she shouted as she entered the house. Joanie came from the kitchen, where she was making dinner, and Carmen ran down the stairs so fast that she almost fell. Tootsie laid her book aside, and Luke took out his earbuds.

“Okay, first one is Carmen’s; then there’s what looks like a bill for Luke.” She handed them out one by one.

“Lucky me. Carmen gets a handwritten letter, and I get a power bill,” he grumbled.

“Is it from Natalie?” Joanie asked.

“Yes, it is, and I’m going to take it up to my room and read it five hundred times and cry over every word, even if they’re just telling me how many push-ups she’s doing and what she’s eating.” Carmen started for the stairs.

“And another one for Carmen. This one has been forwarded from Sugar Run, so you might want to read it first,” Diana suggested.

“Happy Halloween to me,” Carmen sing-songed.

“And here’s two for Joanie, no, three. This one looks like a card, and it’s got Brett’s return address.” Diana passed them to Joanie.