Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Mama Knows Best by Reece Taylor Mama Knows Best by Reece Taylor (ePUB, PDF, Downloads) Mama Knows Best (Twin Oaks #1) by Reece Taylor – Free eBooks Download. Description: Sometimes, Mama actually knows what’s best … The last thing MaCee Burkett wanted was to move back to her hometown—and in with her mother—but circumstances demanded she do just that. She finds the life she had before was not as bad as she had imagined, and she is happier than she thought possible. As she reconnects with friends, she finds a love she never dreamed would be hers. Tyler Dixon has an unexpected inheritance when his father suddenly dies. He decides to move to the small town of Twin Oaks and go back to his roots. MaCee is an unexpected bonus he soon discovers he doesn’t want to live without. Mama Knows Best is the introduction to the small town of Twin Oaks, where everyone knows everyone and then some. Mama Knows Best by Reece Taylor. About the Author. Other Works by Reece Taylor. Sometimes, Mama actually knows what’s best… The last thing MaCee Burkett wanted was to move back to her hometown—and in with her mother—but circumstances demanded she do just that. She finds the life she had before was not as bad as she had imagined, and she is happier than she thought possible. As she reconnects with friends, she finds a love she never dreamed would be hers. Tyler Dixon has an unexpected inheritance when his father suddenly dies. He decides to move to the small town of Twin Oaks and go back to his roots. MaCee is an unexpected bonus he soon discovers he doesn’t want to live without. Mama Knows Best is the introduction to the small town of Twin Oaks, where everyone knows everyone and then some. I would like to dedicate this book first to my daughter, who is behind me every step of the way. Devin you are always encouraging me, and I want you to know I appreciate everything you do for me. I love you with all my heart and so enjoy our “plotting sessions” where we talk about these characters as if they are living next door. Hopefully, all our dreams will come true. Next, I would like to dedicate this book to everyone who loves reading about small southern towns. They are so much fun and there is always something interesting going on. I hope everyone enjoys starting our journey into the world of Twin Oaks, where you never know what might happen next! What the ever-loving hell? How am I at the Twin Oaks Annual Cotillion, dressed in a very prissy white sundress, heels, and my Grannie Burkett’s pearls, for Christ’s sake? This is impossible! I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact I’ve moved back to my hometown, and in with my mother no less, then she somehow convinced me to come to this antiquated tradition the ladies of this town seem to think must happen every year. I have no idea how my mother made me think this was the place I simply must be at this moment. She has always been especially gifted at making others believe her ideas are good ones, only to find yourself at a cotillion you thought you would never attend again. I’ve been back in town all of a day, and barely have my suitcase unpacked, so to find myself in the country club banquet hall, where all major social events seem to occur in this town, is a bit of a shocker. The hall looks the same as it does every year for this event, white string lights around the doors and every fake plant in the room, white tablecloths and material around the windows, and every type of white flower available to the ladies in vases scattered around. All the unmarried ladies are expected to wear white, I guess to complement the décor. I’ve never thought to ask about that. Lucky for me, my mother just happened to have a white dress lying around. You would think she planned this or something. Also, once you reach the age of twenty you’re expected to show up with a date. I’m without a date which I am finding out is a big no-no. Mother presented me to all her society cronies, who have made several passive-aggressive comments about how lovely I look for an older girl who doesn’t have a husband or even a boyfriend. Good God, I’m only twenty-two and hello, welcome to the twenty-first century, women. A woman does not have to have a man to define her. Although my mother may be a pain in the ass at times, at least she doesn’t hold to most of these women’s backward beliefs. She even rolled her eyes behind Mrs. Anderson’s back, one particularly opinionated old biddy who said if I wasn’t careful my uterus was going to dry up. I was proud I didn’t start laughing, which would have totally outed her. I’ve always hated this event which I had to start coming to when I turned sixteen. It induces mind-numbing boredom, has watered-down punch and lame ass music. The last time I was forced to attend I was eighteen and found ways to overcome the misery with several of my friends, but now, I don’t recognize anyone here. All the girls are younger than I am and therefore making me look more and more like the dateless old spinster I apparently am. Wait! Is that Hannah Dale? She was a year behind me in school. Maybe I’ll talk to her and leave the undesirable wall I’ve found myself leaning against with all the other dateless wonders. Oh crap, she’s talking to Melody Sims. I know we’re supposed to be adults now, but I hate that woman. She is looking over at me. Bitch. I’ll just smile and tip my glass at her. Yep, she’s still a bitch because I just got the narrowed eye smirk. Don’t wave Hannah. Do. Not. Wave. Awwwww, you’re just too sweet. Now damn, I have to go over there. Might as well bite the bullet, I’m sure I would have seen Melody sooner or later. I start making my way across the room and bump into a tall guy from behind. “Well, hello, sweet thang! Wait … MaCee? MaCee Burkett? Damn, girl, where the hell have you been?” I’m spun around by strong arms and look up into the very handsome face of one of my oldest and best friends from high school, Justin Sims. Yeah, he has the same last name as the bitch—did I mention I’m from a small, very southern town? “Justin! Oh my, it’s good to see you! How long has it been?” I give him a hug and whisper in his ear, “Please tell me you have alcohol on you.” “You know it, darlin’. Meet me on the back patio in five, gotta bring Aunt Jeanine and Mama some punch.” He then winks and heads in the direction of a group of middle-aged women. I continue over to Hannah to speak and then hopefully I’ll make my way out to the patio. Hannah grabs me in a hug as she looks around behind me. That’s weird, who could she be looking for? I turn my head and only see a group of matrons. Strange. “MaCee, it’s so good to see you! When did you get back in town?” “Hannah. Melody.” I nod in the bitch’s direction and turn my attention back to Hannah, acknowledgment complete. I can be an adult, thank you very much. “I just got in yesterday and Mama seemed to think I needed to come to the cotillion tonight. I didn’t have the heart to disappoint her. Hannah, how have you been? Are you back from college?” I knew the girl was going to school at one time but really haven’t kept up with her. “Oh, I’ve been fine. I graduated from Northwestern with a degree in business, minor in marketing and am working at Daddy’s real estate office. I’m a licensed agent and have been home about six months now. Are you home for good or just the weekend? I heard you were a nurse, working at Tulane in New Orleans.” She is so sweet, which has me wondering why she is hanging around with Melody—that bitch will chew her up and spit her out. “Actually, I’m starting an internship with Dr. Collins to advance my degree to nurse practitioner specializing in women’s health. Mama was lonely, and this came up, so it worked out perfectly.” Melody looks at me and smiles. She has the worst fake smile around. I can tell she would rather spit on me and this makes me want to laugh. So happy to see some things never change, our mutual hate for one another being one of them. “That is so nice, it’ll be good having you back in town. Did your brother happen to come with y’all tonight?” Ah-ha, so that’s who she was looking for. I thought briefly in the past she may have a thing for my brother, but she was so young I passed it off as a teenage crush. Maybe there’s more to it than I thought. He could do worse. Who the hell am I kidding? He has done worse, many times over. “No, he said he was going to give me a chance to settle in before he came for a visit. I believe he’s planning on coming home in a couple of weeks, though. I was thinking of having a get-together when he does, you want to come?” I don’t know what made me invite her, but she’s just so cute and seems genuinely nice. I never hung out with her while we were in school because she was younger, but those rules don’t apply now that we’re in our twenties. “Oh, that sounds like fun.” “I’ll stop by the real estate office next week and give you the details.” Her smile could have brightened the room. I look over Hannah’s shoulder and notice Justin is waving me over to the patio. Can’t keep my smuggled alcohol waiting. “Sorry, I believe my mama is waving, talk to y’all later,” I lie to excuse myself as I hurry through the crowd and slip out the patio door to find Justin waiting on me, but he’s not alone. Damn, where did this piece of hotness come from? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this guy, or someone from high school has done some major changing. The stranger is over six feet tall, has black hair with light-blue eyes, and is lean and hard looking. I want to smack my lips because he looks good enough to eat. I don’t know who he is, but the cotillion just got a helluva lot more interesting. “Good, you brought your punch cup. Here I’ll give you a little splash.” Justin pours me something from a flask he had hidden in his jacket. “This helps these things become a bit easier to swallow, not to mention much more fun.” “Amen!” I take a swig and nearly choke, starting a small coughing fit that has Justin banging on my back. “What is this? Home brew?” It tastes like rubbing alcohol. “No, it’s Everclear, that’s why I only poured a little. I remember only too well how alcohol affects you.” Justin shakes his head as if that explains everything. The hottie I keep staring at finally elbows him, and Justin seems to remember something. “Oh yeah, MaCee Burkett, this is Tyler Dixon. He just moved here last month.” Justin points from me to the man and then takes a drink. I reach out my hand and he takes it. He even has hot hands, well nice hands, he’s just fine and I’m rambling, even if it is in my head. “Nice to meet you. Wait, are you any kin to Mr. Alan Dixon who owned Fair Oaks?” I didn’t know Mr. Dixon. Well, neither did anyone else in town. He kept to himself for the most part, and I certainly didn’t know of him having any family. “Yeah, he was my dad.” Whoa, wait a second. Reclusive Mr. Dixon had a son. I know I’ve never seen him around so he must not have grown up here. I try to be polite and not sit him down and give him the third degree, but man, curiosity is about to kill this cat. Mama told me Mr. Dixon died not too long ago in a freak accident. She tends to keep me up on all town gossip, but she left out this tidbit. “Sorry about your dad. I admit I really didn’t know him that well. He kept to himself. My mother told me what happened though.” Awkward … I’m going to shut up now. “Thanks, it’s strange. I get the same reaction from most folks around here. My parents divorced when I was young, and my dad lived in another town, but I saw him regularly. He actually worked for NASA and was in Houston often.” And you think you know someone. Well, actually, I can’t say that because I really didn’t know anything about Mr. Dixon except to think he was hot for an old guy when I was in middle school. “After all these years some people just don’t change. I see you’re up to your old boyfriend stealing tricks again, MaCee?” Melody Sims has the most annoying, whiney voice I believe I’ve ever heard. Did I mention she’s a bitch? “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if I’m stealing him from you it’s almost too easy.” I turn to smile up at her. It always irritated the piss out of me she was a good five to six inches taller and could look down her thin pointy nose at me. Melody is a very attractive woman with reddish-brown hair and a model figure. Her face would be considered pretty if the resting bitch face didn’t get in the way. It’s just really hard for me to see it because I hate her so much. I can’t imagine why she would bring up ancient history unless Tyler is with her. Please don’t let it be so! My respect for him will drop by leaps and bounds. “Oh, Justin! There you are. Hit me with a splash! I can’t take much more of this.” Sweet Hannah has no clue she has just walked into a hornet’s nest. I’m glaring up at Melody and know I have an evil smile on my face. Melody looks like she wants to stomp on me. “I cannot believe you’re out here flirting with my date. I see you haven’t changed one bit!” She moves over to Tyler’s side and grabs his arm. I notice he tries to step away from her, but she’s having none of it and tightens her grip on him. “Sorry, Melody, but can I help it if your ‘date’,” I even make quote marks with my fingers, “finds the back patio more interesting than you. Personally, I would rather spend time with the fountain, at least it doesn’t screech.” I believe if Tyler and Justin hadn’t grabbed her she would have lunged at me. Wonder what Mama would have said about me getting into a cat fight at the cotillion. This almost causes me to laugh and totally ruin the threatening look I’ve got going on. “Melody why don’t you go inside. I don’t know what you think you’re doing but you know damn good and well Tyler isn’t here with you,” Justin says in a very exasperated tone. Melody looks as if she might slap him as her face turns a violent shade of red. If I didn’t hate her so much I might feel sorry for her, but my dislike wins in this moment. She looks around and with a gasp turns on her heel to march back inside. Justin never did show her any mercy, and I see he still doesn’t. “Oh my, well, I see some things haven’t changed. You two still hate each other.” It appears Hannah isn’t as clueless as I thought. “Some hate just runs too deep, Hannah girl. She will never forgive me for pushing her down in the mud in kindergarten and I’ll never forgive her for stealing my extra cookie,” I say with a dramatic sigh. Justin cracks up laughing, and I can’t help but join him. “Are you here with Melody?” I ask a bewildered Tyler. “No, and I do mean no. I met her after being in town all of a day at the Save N’ Sack while getting a few gro ceries, and she proceeded to give me her number, which I never used. I don’t even believe I gave her my name. I still don’t know how she came by that information. She sent Justin out on a recon mission, which he still hasn’t told me how she managed, and we clicked to become friends, so he told her I wasn’t interested. She blackmailed him into getting me to come tonight and then told everyone I was her date,” he says with a shake of his head. “I’ve been avoiding her all night, and now Justin owes me big time.” I could see by the look of distaste, he had no interest in our resident man-eater. “Oh, how juicy! Justin, what did she use to blackmail you?” Hannah asks in that innocent voice of hers. I’m so beginning to see depths to this girl. “She threatened to tell Aunt Jeanine I was the one who killed Mama’s prize roses, which was a total accident. Once my aunt spills the beans, my life will be a living hell. Sorry, dude, but trust me, you were a small sacrifice. It was all probably for nothing because she’s pissed at me now and will tell anyway.” Poor Justin looks like I do when I know my mother is going to be nagging me about something for a while. I feel his pain. “Hey, why don’t we get out of here and go over to the Twisted Oak. Now that I’m not worried about Melody, I’m ready to blow this joint.” Justin seems to brighten up at the thought of leaving. “I’m with you, so you know I’m in.” Tyler turns and looks at me. Oh yeah, I’m definitely in. “You’ll have to give me a ride home. I rode with Mama. What about you, Hannah?” She smiles and nods her head. “I’ll need a ride too. I rode with my parents.” We walk back inside, and I go over to my mother to inform her I’m leaving with Justin and not to wait up. She smiles and waves me off with a “Have fun, dear.” Which is so not like my mother. Maybe she really is having issues? I’m slightly distracted as I head out the door to join the others. I’ll have to do some investigating into what is going on with her, although she could just realize I’m an adult and is genuinely happy I’m home. Nah, that can’t be it. Yep, I’m going to have to find out what is truly going on with her because she has me worried with her non-Mama ways she’s got going on. Addison Rae Picks Up a Smoothie After Dishing On Preparing For 'He's All That' Addison Rae is rocking a snakeskin print outfit while going to pick up a smoothie on Tuesday (October 20) in Los Angeles. The 20-year-old soon to be movie star picked up a purple drink from Earth Bar. The day before, Addison debuted a new episode of her and her mom Sheri ‘s podcast Mama Knows Best . During the episode, she opened up about her upcoming starring role in the movie He’s All That , a remake of She’s All That . “Yes, I am nervous for the movie. I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on me about it because it is a remake, so there’s kind of like already a standard for it, which is nerve wracking,” Addison shared. “I have been preparing a lot for it. I’ve been reading a lot, I’ve been working with my team, I’ve been working with the director, the producer, and everyone like that,” she continued. “It’s going to be so much fun and I know that it’s gonna be great because I am for sure putting in the right work for it to get it where I need it to be, and I feel like everyone’s very patient as well, so it’s a really good situation to be in.” In case you missed it, Addison co-starred in a fellow TikToker’s new music video. B&B Friday Recap: Reese presented Taylor with Hope's baby Beth. Dr. Buckingham has opened a can of worms that will lead to his downfall and shame his daughter in a way she never dreamed of. Create an account to continue reading this article - it's free and it takes 1 minute. Get all TV Shows news in your email every day Discuss what you love with a community of users who share your passion for TV Shows . Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about TV Shows through the insights curated by our editorial staff. On Friday's episode of " The Bold and the Beautiful " Brooke tried to make peace between Bill and Ridge for the sake of their mutual granddaughter Kelly. Hope insists that she still feels that her daughter Beth is alive, and with good reason. At the end of the show, Reese presented a baby to Taylor and when she asked where he got it, Dr. Buckingham was silent. When the truth comes out Zoe will be outraged that her father has done the unthinkable. She knew he was trouble but this is a new low for the con artist, in giving Liam's daughter to the mother of his other baby mama. Beth will be right under Hope's nose. Brooke spent the day doing damage control, first with her grieving daughter and later with the two men who are in love with her. She tried her best to console Hope over the loss of her baby and encouraged her to look to the future. Hope told her mother that she knows what happened to her little girl but can't shake the feeling deep within that Beth is still alive. Later, when Ridge was goading Dollar Bill and the two men began to argue, Brooke intervened. She pointed out that both men share a granddaughter and should put their differences aside for the sake of Kelly. Hope's instincts are on point and soon her daughter might be living under the same roof as her half-sister Kelly. When Taylor went to see Dr. Buckimgham, she wrongly assumed that he wanted to date her, and said she was not ready for romance at this time. Reese said he ha another reason for their meeting, then went into another room and emerged with a baby in his arms. Taylor and Reese now have a secret. Taylor was shocked and asked Reese where he got the baby, but he did not give her an answer. Introducing: John Dek0. It was assumed, by viewers and spoiler alerts, that Dr. Buckingham was going to sell the child and use the money to pay his gambling debt. He may have found a different way to obtain the cash he needs to ensure Zoe's safety and simply give Hope's child to Taylor. It's also possible that he is selling Beth to Taylor for a fee. Earlier spoilers from Celeb Dirty Laundry and Soaps She Knows suggest that Steffy will adopt the little girl as a sister for Kelly. The spoilers also say that, in time, a birthmark will reveal that the child is Beth and this is when Dr. Reese Buckingham's scheme will unravel. Be on the lookout for spoilers to update this bizarre storyline as it moves along. Continue watching "The Bold and the Beautiful" weekday afternoons on CBS at 1:30 PM EST. Famous TV moms. Love them or loathe them, here's some of television's most memorable mothers: Barbara Billingsley poses in a photo on Sept. 22, 1986. Billingsley gained the title supermom for her gentle portrayal of June Cleaver, the warm, supportive mother of a pair of precocious boys on "Leave it to Beaver." "One Day at a Time" "One Day At A Time's" Bonnie Franklin, center, is flanked by TV daughters Valerie Bertinelli, left, and Mackenzie Phillips at the CBS Turns 75 bash on Nov. 2, 2003. Franklin's Ann Romano's go-it-alone character on the sitcom, which ran from 1975-1984, made for groundbreaking TV. "She was the first one, who, on television - a single mother raising two kids," she said at a tribute to TV Moms in L.A. on May 7, 2008. "Family Ties" The cast of "Family Ties" reunited on the "Today" show on Feb. 2, 2007. From left are Michael Gross, Justine Bateman, Meredith Baxter, Tina Yothers and Michael J. Fox. Baxter played architect mom Elyse Keaton, who, along with her husband, were hippies with liberal viewpoints raising three children with strongly conservative views. TV Moms Tribute. From left, Barbara Billingsley of "Leave It To Beaver," Gloria Henry of "Dennis the Menace," Jane Wyatt of "Father Knows Best," and Marion Ross of "Happy Days" gathered for tribute to TV's favorite moms on May 10, 1991. "The Donna Reed Show" Donna Reed starred as Donna Stone in "The Donna Reed Show" from 1958 to 1966. Donna was a doting wife and mother, but her character was unique in that she frequently worked as a nurse, at a time when most TV mothers were housewives. "The Cosby Show" "The Cosby Show" cast, from left, Sabrina Le Beuff, Tempestt Bledsoe, Bill Cosby, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, Raven Symone and Malcolm Jamal Warner are shown in 2006. For eight seasons, Rashad played Claire Huxtable, the very eloquent, elegant and assertive wife, mother and attorney on one of the biggest TV hits of 1980s. "The Partridge Family" Actress-singer Shirley Jones, of the "Partridge Family," places a Partridge Family lunch box into a display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington on Tuesday, April 13, 2004. Jones played the widowed matriarch of the musical Partidge clan and drove their colorful bus in the TV series that ran from 1970-1974. "Father Knows Best" Jane Wyatt, top right, poses with her TV family on "Father Knows Best," the classic TV sitcom chronicling the life and times of the Anderson family in the Midwestern town of Springfield from 1957-1963. Wyatt won three consecutive Emmys for her role as mom Margaret Anderson - a role she first turned down because she "didn't want to be just a mother." "Julia" Diahann Carroll starred as "Julia" from 1968-1971 - becoming the first African-American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker. The widowed mom worked as a nurse and raised a young son following her husbands's death in Vietnam. She later played mom to Jasmine Guy's Whitney on "A Different World" and most recently, Mama Burke on "Grey's Anatomy." "The Simpsons" Marge Simpson, with her tall blue beehive and motherly pearls, no doubt knows how to keeps "The Simpsons" clan in check. Marge was named after, and loosely based on, Margaret "Marge" Groening, mother of series creator Matt Groening. In 2004, she was voted the UK's "Most Respected Mother" in a poll conducted by the Mothers' Union, beating Cherie Blair and Victoria Beckham. "Married. With Children" Played by Katie Sagal, Peg Bundy was not your typical TV mother. With her big red hair and leopard spandex outfits, she took time from her favorite pastime - sitting on the couch and eating bon bons - to dispense motherly advice to her dysfunctional children on "Married. With Children." "Brothers & Sisters" Sally Field won an Emmy in 2007 for her portrayal of Nora Walker -- a mother of five -- on TV's "Brothers & Sisters." "The Brady Bunch" "The Brady Bunch" actresses Susan Olsen, Florence Henderson and Ann B. Davis, are shown on March 16, 2003. Henderson played Carol Brady - a widowed mother of three young girls who married a widowed man with three young sons - from 1969-1974. "Good Times" Esther Rolle, shown in 1996, perhaps is best known as Florida, the matriarch from "Good Times" who, along with her husband James, never gave up trying to make the best of things for themselves and their three children during tough times living in a Chicago housing project. "All in the Family" Archie (Carroll O'Connor) may have called her a dingbat -- but the rest of us knew the loyal, loving and naive Edith Bunker was the rock of reason on "All in the Family." Played by Jean Stapleton, Edith was mom to Gloria, played by Sally Struthers, and also mothered her son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, played by Ron Reiner. "Mama's Family" Spun off from a sketch on the "Carol Burnett Show," Vicki Lawrence starred as the cranky, sharp-tongued Thelma "Mama" Harper on "Mama's Family" from 1983-1990. "Roseanne" For nearly a decade, wisecracking, working-class mom Roseanne Connor, played by Roseanne Barr, led her family through good times and bad on "Roseanne." "Everybody Loves Raymond" Doris Roberts won three Emmy Awards for playing Ray Romano's nosy, insufferable, manipulative, meddling mother, Marie Barone, on the long- running sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond." She reportedly beat out 100 other actresses for the role. "Two and a Half Men" Charlie Sheen, Holland Taylor and Jon Cryer of CBS's "Two and a Half Men" pose at a "TV Moms" tribute at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. Not all TV moms are good ones, especially Taylor's bitchy, bawdy Evelyn Harper - an "anti- mom" if ever there was one. "The Sopranos" Livia Soprano, played by Nancy Marchad, was the manipulative, scheming and abusive mother to Tony (James Gandolfini), Barbara and Janice on HBO's "The Sopranos." Livia put a hit out on her own son when he tried to put her in a "retirement community." "Arrested Development" Lucille Bluth (played by Jessica Walter), fourth from left, was the drunken, scheming matriarch on Fox's comedy "Arrested Development." Between drinks, she alternated between manipulating, criticizing, smothering and ignoring her adult children and grandchildren.