Page 20 of Miles. Alton & The 9:04 (Modern Mail Order Brides #19)

“The one who broke into my house to make me dinner?” he said.

“That one, a sweet woman, who cashed in my plane ticket for gas money to fuel her three-day drive from South Dakota.

However, in my defense, Aunt Sue, I did as you taught me, I took it to the Lord in prayer.

If potential bride number three was my gift, then I would humbly accept the fairy chaser as my wife, and if she wasn't the right life partner for me, please show me a sign.”

Thom pointed at Mae. Everyone looked at her, making her blush.

“The next morning, arriving on the 9:04 line, driving her own diesel engine, and wearing a cute little engineer's outfit was this beautiful creature.

She hit those air brakes, climbed down from that engine, and said, ‘I'm looking for Thom Brown,’ and I heard the angels on high singing, and now, she's agreed to be my wife.”

“Well, after hearing you singing that song on Mateo's album, I would have agreed to anything,” Mae said, laughing.

Katherine frowned, “Thom singing?”

Mae blushed, “Yeah, the song he won the Grammy for on Mateo's album.”

“Thom, you have a Grammy?” Gael asked.

“You can sing?” Kimbrae asked.

“Do you people even know me?” Thom asked, leaning back in the seat, seemingly defeated.

Aunt Sue was the only one who was not surprised. She was aware of Mateo's shenanigans with Thom and had never approved. The matriarch guided the conversation.

“Thom, why did you start singing with Mateo?” Aunt Sue asked.

“Honestly, I didn't have a choice,” he said. “He would come to Chicago, when I was still living there, and take me to these after-hours spots. One or two looked as if they were former Speakeasies or bordellos. Heck, Miss Essie's was a whorehouse.”

“Thom!” Aunt Sue said.

“Sorry ma'am, but it was. And Miss Essie ran a tight ship,” he explained.

“Essie was, or is, a big gal. She has these giant assets that dangle unharnessed, and they swing like huge pendulums. That woman came out of the back room, spotted me, and made a beeline for my crotch.

I had nowhere to run since the spot was tighter that a nun's knees. She grabbed me by my good ear and yanked me forward, and I was suffocating between those massive casabas. I was told that I had to perform. Perform what I asked that woman? She held one massive boob in one hand and a mic in the other. I went for the mic.”

Mae touched his arm and asked, “Thom, what did you do?”

“What do you think I did? I got my scrappy butt on stage and began my rendition of Stormy Weather,” he said, singing a bit of the song.

“Each time I finished a song, Essie's legs would spread wider as she sat in the front row. I think I sang five songs by the end of the night and she stuffed four hundred dollars down my pants. I felt so dirty.”

The table erupted into laughter. Thom didn't think it was funny. “Mateo also learned that night that hot spots paid extra for a trio. I was making the money, but he was burning me out. The money was good. Kimbrae, what was it, like fifty thousand in three years, cash money?”

“Pretty close,” she said. “I always wondered where that money was coming from, but I never asked.”

Gael asked, “A Grammy for real? Which song?”

“Overdressed Toads,” he said.

“That's you? That's you singing that song?” Peter said, having not said much at all during the meal. “Well, you learn something new every day.”

Mae was now looking at him, twirling her hair.

A smile of pure pride covered her face as she watched her man explain how he made a bit of scratch on the side.

In her heart, she knew marrying him would be the best decision she could ever make because in a pinch, he would get on stage if that's what was required to feed his family.

Aunt Sue watched the woman. Her odd little boy, who collected trains, played music, and grew vegetables like he was born to it, had found himself a wife.

The lady had good energy, and Thom seemed at ease seated next to her.

It also impressed Aunt Sue after lunch when Mae helped clear the table, wash and put away the dishes, and offered to help snap peas for supper.

She sat at the table with Katherine and Kimbrae as if she'd been a part of the family her entire life.

“He chose well,” Aunt Sue said, smiling at her.

Aunt Sue brought over to the table two bowls and six apples, three green and three red.

She passed Mae a paring knife. Mae didn't respond, simply took the knife and began to peel the apples which she assumed were for a pie.

As when she was a child, she sliced the apple, ensuring it was the right size before cutting the others and placing the slices in the bowl.

Aunt Sue passed her a lemon, which she halved and squeezed the juice on the cut slices of apples in the bowl.

“I like a hot water crust for my pies,” Aunt Sue told her. Step by step she walked Mae through making the crust for the pie. “In my apple pie, I add golden raisins and walnut pieces.”

Mae followed her instructions, watching Aunt Sue sift through the brown and white sugars along with the flour and cinnamon, creating a dusting over the apples.

Real butter got cut into chunks, going into the pie pan as the final top layer went over the pie.

An egg wash was created, and Mae brushed the pie, placed it on a cooking sheet, and slid it into the oven. Aunt Sue set the timer.

Tears came to Mae's eyes when she looked at Aunt Sue. It took everything in her to not bawl her eyes out when she looked at the sweet woman. She got it. She understood it.

“This is his favorite dessert, isn't it?”

“It is, and now, you know exactly how I make it,” Aunt Sue said. “However, that should not prevent you from sitting at this table one weekend per month, if available. Understood?”

“Yes, Ma'am,” Mae said, sniffling.

In a water bottle, Aunt Sue added a sprinkle of salt, lemon juice, and water.

She told Mae to take it outside to Thom.

Doing as she was told, Mae found her man sitting on the tractor, plowing a small section of land.

It would make a nice sized garden. In her mind, she thought of the small patch in the backyard by the deck, and she realized he must be planning a garden for that area.

“Hey, pretty lady,” Thom said, stopping the tractor. “How's it going?”

“I just put an apple pie in the oven for dessert,” she said, cocking her head.

“Good ole Aunt Sue,” he replied. “Are you okay?”

“I'm good. Are you almost done, looking all sweaty and farm boyish and stuff?” she replied, grinning at him.

“Yea, I'll run it back through with compost today, then tomorrow, I run it back through and add some water,” he said. “It will take a couple of weeks to balance out the soil before we can add seeds.”

“Good enough. I'll leave you to it,” she told him, blowing a kiss.

Mae made her way to the house, watching Katherine waddle her way home and entered the back door to see Aunt Sue in the living room in her recliner. Kimbrae sat at the table with a cup of tea, and she offered one to Mae.

“Sure,” Mae said. “It appears to be nap time.”

“Katherine is taking one as well,” Kimbrae said. “Gael works from home, so he's back in his office. Peter is grading papers and I am taking a minute to enjoy a cup of tea.”

“This seems like it was a nice place to grow up,” Mae added.

“Girl, it was chaos. Constant, unadulterated chaos,” Kimbrae said. “Hell, I slept in the bed with Aunt Sue until I went to college with so many boys in the house. To this day, I don't share a bathroom, not even with my husband. He has his own bathroom and can't use mine.”

Mae started laughing. “There is a lot of love in this home. Does Aunt Sue have children of her own?”

“Legally, me, Gael, and Macalister are hers,” Kimbrae said, “ but the others still had living parents, except for Jeremy.

We formed our own family. We are all still very close, and at least once a month, one of the original seven is here.

Gael moved into the carriage house a few years ago, and I'm only an hour away. Thom is here once a month.”

“Good to know,” Mae said, as the oven dinged. “Pie is ready. Let me take that out. Do I set in on the windowsill?”

“Only if you want to fight the flies,” Kimbrae said, watching the woman. She had a good vibe about her, and she too felt Thom had chosen well.

“I know how to make his favorite dessert now,” Mae said, looking at the wonderful-looking pie. “Hell, I just dropped fifteen hundred on cookware, but it is so stunning.”

“What kind?”

“LeCruset.”

“Please tell me you got it in that delightful orange?”

“I did!”

“I have it too! I love it, especially the teakettle,” Kimbrae said, laughing. “I rarely splurge, but I wanted it and got it.”

“Same here,” but then Mae stopped. “Oh, my God. Do you think that Thom chose me because I reminded him of you?”

Kimbrae stood and walked over to her. “It sounds to me as if a higher power chose you for Thom and arriving driving your own diesel engine was the deal closer.

Now, while we're alone, let's talk about some of those business ideas you have, what can work, and what is feasible and/or reasonable to accomplish without stressing yourself out,” Kimbrae told her.

“Kimbrae, I am actually going to quit my job on Monday,” she replied softly. “I'm going to quit and figure it out as we go along. I'm going to quit, marry Thom, go on a honeymoon to an island, and move on with our lives. We're going to have a good life.”

She took a pause to allow the words to fully sink into the thoughts and steps which came next. Mae Weston wasn’t broke by any means, but if she planned to take it easy for a while, a financial plan needed to be in place. By in place, she needed some help.

“Kimbrae, if you’re taking any new clients, I would like to be on that list,” Mae said. “I need to look at what I have, my savings, make some solid investments while rethinking the long term. Can you help me sort through all of that?”

“I would be honored to take you on Sis,” Kimbrae said.