The Mulberry Tree

The way Patsy had hurt Janice’s feelings didn’t sit well with Bailey. “You mean, as opposed to selling this place for millions and moving to the south of France?”

It was Janice’s turn to laugh.

Patsy looked at Bailey in speculation. “You have a tongue on you, don’t you?”

“You’re not bad yourself,” she said. “But I can warn you that I don’t like petty snipping.”

“Got ya,” Patsy said, then smiled at Bailey.

“So what do you plan to do with your life, if I might ask?” Janice asked politely. “Or did your husband leave you well off?”

Bailey was thinking that she couldn’t believe she’d just met these two women. Did all of Virginia ask personal questions ten minutes after meeting someone? “To tell the truth, I don’t know what I’m going to do. My husband left me this farm and a bit of money, but not enough to live on for the rest of my life. I guess I’ll have to get a job. Do you know of any openings?”

Janice looked Bailey up and down. “You don’t look like the Wal-Mart type. What were you before you married?”

“A teenager,”

Bailey said.

“I’ve got two of those,” Patsy said, “but they’re boys, and they work for their uncle. You don’t know anything about carpentry, do you?”

“I wish I did,” Bailey said wistfully. “The house is falling apart. There are holes in the roof, and I don’t think the floor in the attic is safe. And I’d like to knock out some walls to make a few of the bedrooms into something else. The way it is now, I could run a boardinghouse.”

Janice had been standing to one side and looking at Bailey, but suddenly her eyes lit up. “What you need to do is get married again,” she said.

At that Bailey laughed. “I don’t think so. I was mad about my husband, and I don’t think I’ll be able to—”

“Of course there aren’t too many eligible bachelors in Calburn,” Janice continued, more loudly, as though Bailey hadn’t spoken.

“I do not want to get married again,” Bailey said with emphasis. Truthfully, the idea of marriage hadn’t crossed her mind, and right now she didn’t like the way the conversation with these two odd women was going. “Maybe we should go back to the house. I’ll show you the bathrooms.” The sight of those rooms should get their minds off matchmaking!

Bailey walked toward the barn door, but when neither of the women moved, she looked back at them. Janice was looking at her hard, but Patsy was staring at the loft, as though she were trying to remember something.

“You need a younger man this time, someone who would be useful to you on this place,” Janice said, emphasizing the word. “Could help you.”

“I don’t—” Bailey began.

“That’s it!” Patsy said. “I just had a brilliant idea: you should get married again.”

“That’s what Janice just said!” Bailey said in frustration. “Didn’t you hear her? She’s standing three feet away from you.”

Patsy didn’t so much as blink. “You need to get married again, and more than that, you need to marry my brother-in-law, Matthew.”

Bailey gave the women a tight little smile. Nosing into her personal life was one thing, but this matchmaking had to stop before it went any further. “That’s kind of you to offer,” she said firmly, “and I’m sure your brother-in-law is a wonderful man, but I don’t think that—”

Patsy acted as though Bailey hadn’t spoken. “He’s a great guy, but he was married to a real bimbo. As soon as Matt got some money, she ran off with someone else. Why she’d leave a wonderful man like my husband’s brother, I don’t know, but it’s her loss. So now he’s been at my house taking up room for six long months. Why don’t I give him a call and ask him to take you out to dinner tonight?” she said as she lifted up her shirttail and unsnapped a case that held a cell phone.

“No!” Bailey said so loudly that both women stared at her. “I mean,” she said more quietly, “I was recently widowed, and I need some time. I don’t want to get involved with anyone right now. Not that I’ve thought about it, but I can’t imagine . . . well, being with another man. Surely you must know what I mean.”

For a moment, both women blinked at her in silence.

“All right, then,” Patsy said, “how about dinner next Thursday?”

Bailey took a breath, let it out slowly, and counted to ten. She was not going to be bullied by these two women, each of whom refused to acknowledge that the other existed. “When I said that I needed time, I meant—”

“What this place needs is a building contractor,” Janice said loudly, yet again cutting Bailey off.

Good, Bailey thought. She’d made her point, and they were going to change the subject. She smiled. “I have a card from a handyman.”