Page 56 of Beehives and Broken Heroes

Allie groaned. She knew that authoritative tone anywhere.

“Alice Elizabeth Ward,” her mother said, “you open this door right now.”

For the love of peach pie! “Go away, Mama! I don’t want to talk.”

“Did I ask you what you wanted?” Clara said.

Allie scrunched her eyes closed and counted slowly to ten. Maybe if Allie didn’t say anything, she’d go away. She finished her count and glanced toward the door. No sounds came from the other side. “Mama?”

“I’m still here,” Clara said.

Allie could practically see her standing with her hands on her hips, chin raised, judgmental gaze drilling a hole through the door, red hair in a wild mass above her head. She moaned, but she rolled out of bed and opened the door.

Clara stood exactly how Allie had imagined her, which was perfectly coiffed and somehow more intimidating that way. All five feet, three inches of Clara were somehow imposing in the frame of the door—still mighty intimidating.

Jo sat on the couch in the living room behind her, and she stared with her brow creased and chin down. Allie shot a glare at her.

Clara swatted Allie on her hip. “Stop glaring at your sister. She had nothing to do with me coming here.” She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. “Now, tell me what happened between you and Brandon.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Clara went to the bed, smacked Honey on the behind, and startled him off—she was the only person who Honey feared. Then she started making the bed. “I wouldn’t want to either if I’d destroyed the best chance at happiness I’d ever had.”

Allie slumped down in an old wicker chair that sat in the corner. She dropped her head to her hand. “I did no such thing. He did it.”

Clara finished making the bed and sat primly on it—posture straight, chin high, staring down her nose. “I find that hard to believe. That man was made for you and you for him, and if you’re too stubborn to see it, then you’ll lose him.”

“I’lllosehim?” Allie huffed in indignation “He lied to me about another woman. And when I confronted him about it, he refused to tell me who she was. And yet I’m the bad guy? You know what? I’m just so done with lying men. We lost our house because of a liar. I almost lost my company because I was dating acheatingliar, and Daddy—”

She snapped her mouth shut, her eyes whipping up to her mom.

Clara’s eyes widened, a fire sparked behind the green irises, and she narrowed her gaze.

Shoot, Allie was in for it now.

Her mother stood up. “Your father what?”

“Mama,” Allie whined, and she plunked back in the chair. Little pieces of wicker jabbed her in the back.

Clara took a step toward Allie and put her hands on her hips. “Your father … what?”

Fine. If her mother wanted to go there, she’d let her. She was so past trying to protect her from the discomfort of what she and Daddy had done to Millie Douglas. She marched over to her closet, found the ugly pair of jeans where she’d stored Millie’s picture, and retrieved it. “I know Daddy used to date Millie. And I know that he cheated on her with you.” She handed her mother the picture.

Clara stared down; shock was clear on her face. “Did Millie tell you that?”

Allie pointed at the photo. “This was taken the same year you were married. But yes, she did tell me. Came in at the end of last year and demanded the pearls back. Daddy was a liar and a cheater, just like all of them.”

Clara took a deep breath, a calming breath—one that Allie and Jo had called Clara’s I’m-about-to-lose-my-patience breath. Most the time, she preferred the breath, because the other option was Clara whipping her shoe off and chasing Allie around the house with well-aimed smacks to her behind. But right now, she wasn’t sure she preferred the breath. It made her uneasy.

“Now, you listen here, daughter mine, and listen good. Your dad broke up with Millie well before he even met me. I was in college at the time. I came home for summer break, and we started dating casually toward the end of summer. Millie found out and begged him to take her back. He did, for a time. She knew and I knew he was seeing us both—I was fine with it because we weren’t serious yet. Millie wasn’t, but your daddy wasn’t willing to give me up, and when he realized that he loved me, a couple weeks into seeing us both, your father ended it with Millie for good.

“She got ticked and threw his necklace at him before storming off. A month later, your father and I confessed our love for the first time. A month after that, we were engaged, and a month after that, we were married. We moved fast because we couldn’t stand the idea of being without one another, but there was no cheating and no lying. Your father wasn’t perfect, but neither was I. We all make mistakes. Do you hear me?”

Allie stared blankly as the pieces came together. Of course, that’s how it happened. And of course, Millie would see it through jaded glasses. She dropped her head to her hands. She’d been thinking so poorly of her dad, for so long. “I’m sorry, Mama.” She sucked in a gasp, then another. The tears began to flow freely until she was sobbing, loudly. Snot ran down her nose, her eyes got so puffy she couldn’t see.

She was so relieved. Her dad wasn’t a big fat cheater pants!

“Oh, baby.” Clara pulled her into her arms and started sobbing too.

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