The stone façade around the door accentuated the cream colored siding surrounding it. Lanterns adorned the walkway and lit up at night to guide the way. The big pine tree in the front of the house, blocked the best feature, the picture window in the living room. Ramona and Skylar had spent a lot of time here with Brett and Luka. Skylar had loved the ambience of this house that was missing at her own.
Her mother’s style had been staider. Less hominess than Luna’s house because it didn’t have the personal touches. No pictures adorned the walls because Nancy Bradford’s decorator thought personal pictures cheapened the home. That was one thing that Skylar had changed. There were pictures around the house now of her sisters and Ava. Even her horse. Her mother was probably rolling over in her grave.
Skylar had also replaced the two windows at either end of the upstairs hallway with the original stained glass windows that were there when her mother and father bought the farmhouse. The sunlight shone through one and lit the other as it rose high in the sky and when it set at night. It was a beautiful sight that she loved having back in her home.
The ranch belonged to all four sisters but only Skylar and Ava lived there now. She thought when the younger sisters graduated they would probably stay where they were. Chloe in Columbus where she attended college and Roxy in Louisville. Skylar couldn’t imagine either of them coming home again. They had never enjoyed the small town life. She thought Ramona stayed just because Skylar and Ava needed her.
Luna greeted them at the front door. She hugged Ava hard. “How’s my girl today?”
“Good Grammy. Can I feed the kittens?” The tiny kittens were always on her daughter’s mind. She had talked of nothing else since Luna’s barn cat had given birth to them.
“Sure, I left them for you. Bottles are on the table. Get one of your uncles to help you. The boys are in the kitchen.” They were once and would always be Luna’s boys even though they were all grown men now.
“Thanks Grammy. Daddy, come see Grammy’s kittens.”
“I’m coming sweetheart. Right away.”
“Mom,” Luka hugged his mother.
“I was beginning to think you had a new home.” She eyed Skylar trying to determine how she was handling Luka’s presence in her home.
“Funny Mom. I’ve just been enjoying spending the day with my daughter and antagonizing her mother.”
Skylar snorted in an undignified manner. Luna chuckled. “Run along and see your daughter’s kittens,” she told Luka.
With hesitation, he left his mother and Skylar alone. Luna stepped onto the porch. “I need to talk to you.”
“What’s wrong?” She searched Luna’s face which she
could now see was filled with concern.
“I had a call from Ramona this afternoon. She wanted to bring a date.”
Skylar looked at Luna with confusion. “Did she actually call it a date?”
“She did.”
“Oh no. She is pissed at Brett so she’s going to try to make him jealous by bringing someone with her.”
“Why is she mad at Brett?”
Skylar sighed heavily. “I popped in this morning to see Ramona to talk to her, caught them together.”
“Who?’ Luna was confused.
“Brett and Ramona.”
“I am under no illusions that my sons have had numerous sexual partners but is this a first time thing?”
“Uh no,” Skylar replied feeling weird discussing Brett’s sex life with his mother.
“Oh boy.” Luna rolled her eyes. She wiped her hand across her brow clearly concerned by this chain of events.
“Yeah, oh boy. Let’s go inside. We will wait and see who she brings.”
They went to see the kittens too. All five of the large brothers were crammed into the tiny laundry room with six mewling kittens and Ava. She was feeding the tiniest one at the moment. She turned her face up to Skylar who could only smile. Luka was sitting next to her on the floor and Ava was grinning so wide her dimple was showing in her cheek; the dimple she had like her daddy.
“See Momma, I’m feeding them.”