Page 12 of The Party Line

“But, Mama, I’m the only one there, and I would be happy if you moved in with me,” I told her. “I get lonely rattling around in that place by myself.”

“You’ve got Jasper, and you can always come to my house.”

At that moment Connor and Everett came around the end of the house and got into a dark blue pickup truck. They both waved, and Mama stuck her arm out the open window on her side and waved back.

“That Connor is a good-lookin’ guy. He and Everett always leave a good tip when they eat at my place.” She put her vehicle in gear and drove down the lane.

“You are changing the subject,” I said.

“Yes, I am, and I’m also telling you to be real careful of him, Lila.”

“Why’s that?” I enjoyed the fresh spring wind flowing through the truck, even if it was blowing my hair in my face.

“Since he moved back to this area, he approached Aunt Gracie several times with an offer to buy her house and land. Offered her more than it was worth, even.” Mama fumbled around in the console and handed me a ponytail tie. She always seemed to have exactly what I needed, either in her purse, in the pocket of her jeans, or hidden away in the car. “I don’t have a brush, so you’ll have to just finger comb it up.”

“I actually met Connor today, Mama. He’s going to run the strawberry business this next week. I expect the folks who want to pick their own berries will keep the road hot and dusty until the plants are bare. He asked me if I planned to stay in the house or if I was just here until I could figure out if I wanted to stick around for the long haul. Maybe not in those words, but something similar.”

“He’s layin’ the groundwork to sweet-talk you into selling out to him,” Mama said. “It’s your property, but you need to think long and hard before getting rid of it. It’s been in the family for more than a hundred years. Gracie was born in that house.”

I bit back a giggle. “You won’t even come inside the house unless you have to. I’d think that you would be glad to see me sell it, take the money that’s been left to me, and move far away from the eerie feeling you get in the place.”

“Don’t laugh at me.” Her voice went into that scolding mode I recognized from my youth. “I grew up knowing when something wasn’t right. If I had listened to my heart instead of my hormones, I would have known that your father was never going to be anything but a bad boy.” She sighed and turned onto the road leading to the grocery store. “But then, things happen for a reason. If I hadn’t had you in my life, then who knows what would have happened to me. You were the light in both mine and Aunt Gracie’s world.”

“Even if there were eerie feelings in her house?” I teased.

Mama pulled into a parking spot fairly close to the front of the grocery store. “Yep. She knew how I felt and said she understood, so we usually visited on the porch or else at my place. There at the end of her life, she had me bring her and Jasper takeout from the café several times a week. Rain or shine, she would meet me at the door because she knew how uncomfortable I was in the house, and it’s worse now.”

We got out of the truck at the same time and headed across the parking lot. I slowed my stride to match hers and asked, “Did anyone else feel like that about going in her house?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Mama said with a shrug. “Her Sunday school group came about once a year for the monthly meeting that rotated among them. Come to think of it, her turn to be the hostess was always in March—about this time of year. She always ordered food from the café and made strawberry shortcakes for dessert. After she retired, she and several of her friends got together to play poker on Friday nights.That ended maybe ten years ago. She was the last one of her age group when she passed away, other than Jasper.”

Mama grabbed a cart and pulled a list from her big black purse. “Let’s meet back here when we are finished. I don’t need a lot, so it won’t take long.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said and pushed my cart toward the deli. I needed to stock up on sandwich makings for the next week to ten days since I had been given the job of making lunch for “the strawberry crew,” as Aunt Gracie used to call them. On the way to the back of the store where the deli market was located, I picked up a big box of tea bags, five loaves of bread, and two big containers of individually wrapped chips in various flavors. Cookies were on sale, so I added six packages to the cart.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. “Lila Matthews, is that you?”

I whipped around to see a man who looked vaguely familiar. It seemed like I recognized the voice, but putting it with his face didn’t work. Not one name surfaced.

“Richie Brewer,” he finally said.

My mind felt like a hamster doing double time on a wheel. Where did Richie Brewer fit into my life? With that mop of gray hair hanging down to his shoulders, he looked too old to have gone to school with me.

“I worked at the café with your mama when we were both in high school. I remember when you were born,” he explained. “I was real sorry to hear about your aunt passing away, but I understand you are back here to stay.”

I smiled as if his explanation made all the sense in the world to me. “Yes, I am. It’s good to see you again, Richie. Do you still live in this area?”

“I retired and moved back here six months ago. Lost my wife a couple of years back. Kids are all grown, have kids of their own, and are scattered seven ways to Sunday, as my granny used to say.” He ran his fingers through his hair in a nervous gesture. For a minute, I wondered if he was about to ask my permission to go out with my mother.“Well, it’s good to see you again, all grown up. I heard that Gracie left her place to you. Wouldn’t be interested in selling it, would you? A little strawberry farm might be just what I need to keep me busy on a part-time basis.”

“Nope,” I answered. “I plan on staying right out there in Ditto, and Everett Thurman still has the lease on the strawberry farm.”

“If you change your mind, give me a call,” Richie said and pushed his cart on around me.

I nodded but had no intentions of selling my newly acquired property. The warning Mama gave me about Connor popped into my head. Was he just another one in a line of folks who were coming out of the woodwork to get my house?

Mama said she felt an eerie presence in the place, but Jasper never mentioned anything like that. I personally felt a sense of peace there, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t keep asking about the Poteet secret until I found an answer. She was already at the checkout counter when I pushed my cart to the front of the store. She went on ahead of me and had her full sacks in the back seat of her older model Chevy Silverado truck when I arrived.

“I’d have been here sooner, but I ran into Richie Brewer,” I said.

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