Barefoot Brides by Annie Jones Page B

away.
    Dodie kept holding her.
    Mom. The woman clearly wanted Moxie to say, “That means a lot to me, Mom. ”
    Moxie wanted to comply but then stopped herself. Calling Dodie Mom was not something she could do lightly. It was, in essence, acknowledging a bond had formed between them. One of the greatest bonds in all human nature. Mother and daughter. Was Moxie ready for that?
    She didn’t know. That was answer enough to keep her from blurting it out just to free herself from the awkwardness of the moment.
    She had promised herself she would set boundaries. She had begun that work by letting Dodie know how much her thoughtless exclusion of Moxie had hurt. The Cromwells respected her in a totally new way now. No more running roughshod over her emotions based on their own notions of family and the proper pecking order.
    That made Moxie smile, her conviction that Kate and Jo and Dodie would back off a little now. They would give her room to breathe. Allow her to take her time to sort out what she wanted and how she wanted to approach things.
    â€œOkay. Kate concurs with my diagnosis of pneumonia.” Lionel stepped into the hallway, clapping his hands together. “I’m sending him to be checked out at the hospital. Have you decided how you want to get him there?”
    Moxie opened her mouth.
    â€œI’ll take him,” Dodie volunteered. “I have the most comfortable car. Y’all can come along, too. Plenty of room.”
    No, there’s not! Moxie held her breath to keep from shouting it right there in the hallway. There was not enough room in the whole state of Florida if this was how Dodie planned to do things—to promise to back off and defer to Moxie one minute then the first time a decision must be made she up and says—
    â€œHello? I’m here.” A strong, masculine voice with a Northern accent rang out from the lobby. “Have an appointment to talk to the doctor about doing some advertising with the Sun Times? ”
    â€œGreat!” Moxie recognized the voice and the accent immediately. Just what she needed to put the cherry on the top of this rancid ice-cream sundae of a day.
    â€œI’ll tell him you need to reschedule,” Vince said to Lionel.
    â€œWe’ll all go.” Dodie turned to lead the way. “Then we can hop in our cars and caravan to the hospital.”
    The whole group turned and hurried down the hallway.
    Moxie looked at Lionel. “They’re doing it again.”
    â€œDoing what?”
    â€œCrowding me out of my own dad’s life.”
    â€œThey are just trying to be helpful.” Lionel gave her a smirk then shook his head. “You have to get your dad to the hospital and you can’t use your truck. Who else are you going to rely on if not your family?”
    Moxie shut her eyes. She could just imagine her old truck stalled in the road, needing help, having to rely on who knew what kind of character to…
    â€œLeave that to me, Lionel. I have a great idea.” She hurried to cut the group off before they reached the lobby. Boundary setting in the most primitive but effective way. “Well, not a great idea, but it’s going to have to do.”

Chapter Eleven
    â€œT he Bait Shack does not need to run no full-page ad in the Sun Times to draw in customers.”
    â€œShh, Daddy.” Moxie gave the heavyset sixty-something man a push toward the white Mustang convertible in the parking lot. “Think of it as a goodwill gesture to thank our patrons and show support for our local paper.”
    â€œGraft is what you mean. You offered that new editor an ad in exchange for the favor.”
    â€œThat’s not exactly how I look at it.” Moxie meant that. The truth was she had always thought her father had skimped on marketing and failed to spread his success among other local businesses. “Now, do you want to sit in the front or backseat?”
    Billy J jerked his arm away from