Free Sweet Vidalia Brand by MAGGIE SHAYNE Page A

said.
    He sent her a wink. But his smile died as he settled into his chair behind the desk. “I can see you’ve got something on your mind, Vidalia.”
    She sighed. “I’ve committed a terrible sin, Reverend Jackson. And I just can’t seem to figure out how to make it right, or if I even can.
    “You?” he frowned. “Tongues have been wagging around town. About you and this McIntyre fellow. Bobby Joe. Does this have to do with him?”
    She nodded. “Has to do with him, and me, and John...and maybe Selene. It’s a guilty secret I’ve been keeping for more than two decades. I need you to tell me what to do.”
    He leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingers, was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, “We’re not Catholics. You don’t have to confess your sins to me.”
    “I know that. And if there was a way to figure this out without telling you, believe me, I’d rather. But I need guidance right now.”
    “Guidance.” Reverend Jackson lowered his head, shaking it slowly. “I’ve learned more from you, Vidalia Brand, than you probably ever have or ever will from me. How to be a better parent to my daughter tops the list. So I’m
    gonna give you a suggestion. And then if you feel you still need my guidance, I’m here to listen. All right?”
    “All right.”
    “Whatever this is, whatever sin you committed, and whatever action you need to take to make it right, I want you to imagine one of your girls coming to you and pouring out everything that you were about to pour out to me. Every detail. Pretend it all happened to Maya or Edie or Kara. And then I want you to think about what you would tell them to do about it. How you would tell them to make it right.”
    She frowned at him. “It’s not the same thing.”
    “It’s exactly the same thing. They’re the age you were when all this happened, aren’t they?”
    “Well, yes, but–”
    “And you’ve raised them with the same moral code you believe in, haven’t you?”
    “Well of course I have but–”
    “Write it all down, in the form of a letter to your younger self, or do it all inside your head, and talk to that younger Vidalia as if she were one of your own daughters. And then, Vidalia, no matter how hard, you take your own advice.”
    She sat there blinking slowly, and realizing that she knew exactly what she would tell one of her daughters about something like this. Tell the truth. Apologize profusely, beg forgiveness, offer atonement if necessary but first, buck up and tell the truth.
    She drew a deep breath, got up from her seat and nodded. “You’re one hell of a preacher, Reverend Jackson. I ever tell you that?”
    “A time or two.” He got up as well, reached out and took her hand, holding it between both of his own. “You remember one thing, Vidalia. God would never judge you as harshly as you are judging yourself right now. And there is nothing He wouldn’t forgive.”
    She knew that. She knew all of that. Why had she been half-expecting divine retribution to come crashing down on her instead of loving forgiveness? She knew better, didn’t she?
    She just had to come clean. And not just to Bobby Joe. But to her daughters. Oh Lord, why couldn’t doing the right thing ever be easy?

    By noon, Bobby’s sons had all arrived, and he’d given them the grand tour of the Long Branch, and pitched his invitation to help him with the grand opening, and then stick around for the holidays.
    Joey was eager right off the bat, always up for a good time. Rob was less than enthusiastic, until Jason chimed in with an unrestrained yes and a meaningful look at the other two.
    Hell, if they didn’t already suspect something was up, they would now, Bobby Joe thought. But he wasn’t going to let that put a damper on his day. He had every intention of enjoying his time with Vidalia this afternoon. So he left his sons with a list of jobs that needed doing around the place. Now that the crews of workers had packed up and gone home, there was no