by J. E. Parker
All eyes were on Evan and I as we walked back into the bar and sat down at the table where our entire group—minus Brantley and thankfully, Ty— had gathered. Ignoring everyone and their goofy smirks, I sat down on Evan’s lap and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
Mentally, I wondered who would be the first to say something.
Turns out, I didn’t have to wait long.
“Well,” Grandmama said, “did you at least have a good time?”
Across the table, a drunk Clara chuckled. “I don’t see how she couldn’t have. I mean, I’ve never seen a co—” Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “Nevermind,” she said, giggling. “I’ve embarrassed C and Heidi enough for one night. I can’t bear to torture them anymore; even if it is at the big guy’s expense.” Laughing harder, she met Evan’s eyes. “And boy is it big.”
Laughter erupted around the table as Carissa’s cheeks flamed again—because of course—and Heidi giggled while ducking her head forward.
Kyle though? He was the only one besides C who didn’t laugh.
Instead, he looked ready to lose his mind. I had no doubt that Clara had spilled the beans about what she’d seen, and it was obvious that Mr. Obsessive was peed off that Carissa had glimpsed someone else’s dick.
Grandmama, not one to remain quiet, looked over at me and arched a brow. “You got any pictures?”
I almost died on the spot.
“Grandmama!” Maddie shouted from across the table. “Stop it!”
Grandmama scoffed in return. “What? It’s not my fault. Y’all keep talking about your men having big penis’s and I ain’t seen a one yet.” Shaking her head back and forth, she folded her hands in her lap. “I need photographic evidence; preferably on one of them fancy camera phones y’all—”
“Okay,” Shelby interjected. “That’s enough!” Her eyes locked on Grandmama. “Time for a subject change because hearing about Evan’s junk is not at the top of my to do list.”
“What the fuck?” Brantley hissed from behind Shelby. Holding his phone in his hand, I assumed he’d gone outside to make a call, and apparently, he’d reappeared at the perfect time.
Looking at him, Clara smiled. “Hey there, pretty boy. We were just talking about your twin over there”—she nodded at Evan—”and his big package.” Eyes dancing with amusement just like they had earlier when she’d burst in the closet, she continued. “Tell me, did you inherit the same gift?” She paused, licking her lower lip. “Or did you get the short end of the stick?”
Brantley’s heated eyes raked over Clara’s face before falling to her ample chest and curvy hips. “You want to find out, Red? All you’ve got to do is say the word and I’ll show you exactly how not short my stick is.”
Oh. My. God!
Maddie made a choking sound as Hendrix scrunched up his nose. “Damn, man!” He looked from me and Evan to Brantley and Clara. “You four need to get a room.”
Shelby rolled her eyes. “Says the man who’s had his hand up his wife’s skirt more than once tonight.”
It was Maddie’s turn to turn the color of a fire hydrant. Throwing her hands up in the air, she said, “Okay, that’s it.” Then, she looked over at Grandmama. “You wanted us to sit down, Old Biddy, so start talking.” Before Grandmama could say a word, Maddie continued with, “and no talk of penises, either.”
“Fine,” Grandmama said, setting her glass of water on the table.
Must’ve drunk all the moonshine.
“Since I’m not allowed to give a toast at the wedding tomorrow,” she grumbled, clearly disappointed. “I’m going to do it right now.”
“Oh hell,” Evan murmured before pressing his face into my hair. “This should be interesting.”
Grandmama swung her gaze to him. “Do I need to pull out my flyswatter?”
“No, Grandmama,” Evan retorted. “You don’t.”
“Good,” she answered before standing. “Now”—she picked her glass back up and raised it in the air—“I’d like to propose a toast.”
Silence fell over the table as the look on Grandmama’s face changed from one of amusement to one of nothing short of love and adoration. “To my beautiful granddaughter, Shelby. You may not have my blood running through your veins but that doesn’t matter. You’re still my grandbaby.” Tears filled Grandmama’s eyes along with Shelby’s. “Beautiful, smart, and fierce, you are the epitome of a strong woman.”
Oh God, I’m totally going to cry.
“And with a heart bigger than the Grand Canyon you make me proud every single day.” Grandmama’s gaze switched to Anthony. “You couldn’t have found a better woman in Shelby or a better son in Lucca.” Anthony opened his mouth to speak but Grandmama kept talking, cutting him off. “But I’m warning you now, Detective Moretti, if you step out of line or dishonor either of them in any way, I will shoot you where you stand.”
Running his tongue over his bottom lip, Anthony nodded before pulling Shelby against his side. “I would hope so.”
Blowing out a breath, Grandmama dabbed at her teary eyes with the lace handkerchief she’d whipped out of her pocket. “Now,” she said, raising her glass higher. “Anthony and Shelby, congrats on finding your happily ever after.”
Wearing a huge grin on her face, Grandmama took a gulp of her drink.
Cheers erupted around the table as everyone else followed suit.
Well, everyone except Evan and I. Sadly, we didn’t have anything to drink. Not that I needed another drink. I was still pretty drunk thanks to the multiple pomegranate martinis Clara kept ordering for me, and Evan hadn’t had but one beer all night since he was the one driving us home.
“Hey,” he said, drawing my attention to him. “You ready to leave yet?”
I was about to answer him when Shelby hollered, “No, she isn’t ready to leave. She still owes me a game of pool.”
Oh Lord, I thought. Not again.
Grumbling something under his breath about Shelby being a complete pain in the wazoo—my word, not his—Evan stood, taking me with him. “One more game of pool,” he whispered into my ear. “But after that we’re leaving.”
I nodded, leaning against him. “Good,” I replied. “Because I’m ready to go home and climb into your bed.”
Smiling from ear-to-ear, he pressed a kiss to my cheek and whispered two sweet little words.
Those two words? Me too.
Thirty-Seven
Evan
It was almost three in the morning when we left the bar.
We would’ve left an hour earlier but Grandmama, of all fucking people, wanted to stay until last call. Old as she was, the woman still had as much energy as me. Swear to God, I’d never seen an old person dance the way she did. I fully expected a video of her line dancing and drinking moonshine out of a jar to be uploaded to Youtube come morning.
I chuckled at the thought.
“What’s so funny?” Hope asked, her head in my lap. Even though she’d sobered up some, she was still close to passing out. My girl needed her sleep, and I intended to make sure she got it.
“Just thinking about Grandmama.”
It was Hope’s turn to laugh. “She’s a hoot isn’t she?”
“That she is,” I said, running my fingers through Hope’s silky hair causing her eyes to slide closed.
“You know she’s on a mission to get Brantley and Clara together, right?”
“Yeah.” I shifted my weight in my seat. “Doubt that’ll happen though. Clara has her own set of issues—rightfully so—and B’s jaded over the shit Chastity pulled. I don’t see him ever getting married again.”
Hope sighed. “I’d like to see both of them happy. I don’t know, call me crazy all you want, but I think they’d be good together. Liam and Declan need a strong man in their lives and Isabella needs a loving woman; Heaven knows Chastity doesn't care about anything other money.”
“I know, baby.” I continued to run my fingers through her hair, careful not to mess it up. The move comforted me as much
as it did her. “But it’ll all work out. The boys have Hendrix, Anthony, Pop, Keith and me. Hell, they’ve even got Felix now.” And all six of us would do whatever it took to make sure those kids grow up to be good men. “And Isabella has my madre, Charlotte, and you. She’ll be fine.”
Hope turned to her side, pressing her face into my stomach. Clutching my shirt in her hands, she mumbled, “I love that little girl like she’s my own. I can’t imagine life without her.”
“And she loves you,” I replied just as heavy drops of rain started to batter the windshield. Reaching over, I flipped on the wipers and slowed down as the rain fell harder, making it nearly impossible to see beyond the front end of the truck.
Hope sat up. “It’s raining.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Oh my God!” she shrieked, grabbing my arm. “Pull over.”
I didn’t bother to ask why because I already knew.
Just like when we were kids, she wanted to dance in the rain. Course, back then we were more interested in getting muddy than dancing, but I had a feeling tonight would be different. Even drunk, I didn’t see grown up Hope stomping around in a puddle of red mud.
Pulling the truck off the side of the road, I shifted the transmission into park and cut the engine. Before I could pull the key out of the ignition, Hope had opened the passenger’s side door and jumped out into the rain.
Opening my door, I climbed out.
Huge drops of summer rain pelted my face, neck, shoulders, and arms, each one stinging worse than the last. But I didn’t give a shit about that. At that moment, the only thing I cared about was the melodic laughter spilling from Hope’s lips.
“Little bit,” I called out as I jogged toward her. “What are you doing?”
Standing in the middle of the desolate rural road, Hope held her arms outstretched to her sides. Head tilted back, she was looking up at the sky. “Big guy,” she yelled, “come dance with me.”
I didn’t need her to tell me twice.
Meeting her in the middle of the road, I pulled her into my arms and held her close.
Grasping my shoulders, she rested her head on my chest.
Then, together, we began to move.
“I can hear the beating of your heart,” she said, digging her fingers into my skin. “I think it may the most comforting thing I’ve ever heard.”
Her words hit me directly in the gut.
… Most comforting thing I’ve ever heard.
I was such a piece of shit. I should’ve comforted her, should’ve held her a lot more than I had over the last few years. But I didn’t. Instead, I wallowed in my own guilt when I should’ve been taking care of her.
My actions were inexcusable.
Heart pounding erratically, I slipped a finger beneath her chin and lifted her face to meet mine. I’d done so much shit wrong when it came to her. I needed to apologize, needed to fix it. I didn’t think she understood how sorry I was and that didn’t sit well with me.
“I’m so sorry, beautiful girl.”
Her brows furrowed. “For what?”
“For pushing you away. For hurting you. For wasting so much time.” I paused and licked my dry lower lip. “If I could go back—”
Hope pressed a finger to my lips, silencing me. “It’s okay, Ev. I understand.” A small yet genuine smile spread across her face. “Besides, I’ve already chosen to forgive you.”
The ache in my chest eased some at her statement.
“Maybe,” I replied, pulling her closer. “But I still planning on spending the rest of my life making it up to you.”
“Yeah?” She asked. “And how are you going to do that?”
After pressing a soft kiss to her lips, I replied, “I figure I’ll spoil you rotten and see where it gets me.”
My girl laughed before pointing up at the sky. “Look!” The expression on her face reminded of when she was a little girl. So sweet. So innocent. It made my heart pound even harder. “The clouds are clearing.”
She was right. The rain had all but stopped. Above us the moon appeared, bathing us and the open road surrounding us in soft light. It was beautiful, and I could’ve stayed out there all night, but I needed to get Hope into bed.
“Baby, come on,” I said, taking her hand in mine. “You need to go to sleep. You’ve gotta be up by noon to get ready for Shelby’s—”
Before I could finish my sentence, headlights illuminated Hope and me both, followed by the sound of a car horn blaring.
I grabbed Hope and jerked her out of the way of the approaching car.
A car that, upon closer inspection, I recognized.
Staring at the white Cadillac that was headed straight for us, Hope asked, “What is that music blaring from the speakers? Is that Elvis singing about a hound dog?”
I nodded. “Sounds like it.”
A few seconds later the car came to a stop in front of us. Bending down, I peeked in through the partially opened passenger’s side window. “Grandmama, what the fuck are you doing?”
She opened her mouth to answer me when Brantley—what the hell?—stuck his head out the window from the backseat. “Evan, man, you’ve gotta help me. I’ve been kidnapped!”
I wasn’t sure what to say.
“Grandmama kidnapped you?” Hope asked from beside me. “How did she do that?”
“Move, jackass,” Clara—oh hell—snapped from beside Brantley. Pushing him out of the way, she stuck her head out the window. “Hope, please,” she pled. “She’s finally gone off the deep end.” Clara stuck her arm out the window trying to reach the outside handle. She came up about six inches short. “And she’s got the doors locked from the inside somehow so I can’t get out!”
I moved to open the door but stopped short when Grandmama pointed at me, a malicious look on her face. “Don’t you even think about it. You open that door, and I swear I’ll shoot you.” I stepped back, and she smirked. “Y’all broke down or what?”
Hope replied before I could. “Nope. Just stopped to dance in the rain.”
A smile lit up Grandmama’s face. “Aww, now isn’t that sweet.”
“Evan!” Brantley hollered from the backseat. “Dude, open the fucking door!”
Hope tilted her head to the right. “I know I’m sloshed, but I don’t understand what’s going on here.”
Grandmama smiled. “I’m plotting, itty bitty.” Placing both hands back on the steering wheel, she turned to face the road again. “Now stay out of the way. I’ve got a mission to accomplish.” Waving in our direction, she hollered out, “See ya at the wedding!”
It was the last thing she said before stomping on the gas and burning enough rubber to turn her tires bald. Brantley stuck his head out the window again as they drove away. “Evan, swear to God, I’m going to beat your—”
Grandmama slammed on the brakes, making Brantley slam his head against the window.
“Sit down, boy. It ain’t safe to ride without a seatbelt. I swear, to be a lawyer you sure are dumb,” Grandmama yelled loud enough for us to hear.
With that, they once again took off.
I looked down at a laughing Hope. “Those two are so screwed,” she said, her face turning red.
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Closing her eyes, she leaned into me. “I’m soaked from head to toe, and I’m tired, big guy. Think you can take me home now?”
Bending down, I scooped her up into my arms bridal style. Hope squealed as she wrapped her arms around my neck. “Let’s go, beautiful girl. It’s time I strip you out of your wet clothes and put you in bed.”
I expected her to laugh or say something smart about me stripping her out of her clothes, but she didn’t. When I looked down at her, I saw why.
Eyes still closed, her lips were slightly parted, and her breathing had slowed.
She was almost asleep.
Holding her tight, I walked to her side of the truck, popped open the door, and slid her inside. After laying her down on the bench seat, I pulled
my dry sweatshirt off the back seat and placed it on top of her. Unable to resist her pull, I kissed her lips one last time.
“Love you, Hope,” I whispered against her cheek. “Forever, baby.”
With that, I stepped back and rounded the truck.
Jumping behind the wheel, I slid the key into the ignition and started the engine.
Then, I drove us home.
Thirty-Eight
Hope
It was Anthony and Shelby’s wedding day.
Already dressed up, us ladies—Grandmama, Maddie, Ashley, Clara, Carissa, Heidi, Mama, and me—were not-so-patiently waiting to be let into the small bridal suite located near the back of First Baptist Church in downtown Kissler. None of us had seen Shelby since the night before, and we were are itching to help her get ready for big day.
Across town, all the men and kids were getting ready at Pop’s house.
I’d tried to bring Isabella with us, but she wouldn’t leave Declan’s side. They may not have known each other long, but those two were already connected at the hip.
Trouble is brewing with those two. I can already smell it.
Saddling up to the door, Mama tapped on it three times.
Tap, tap, tap.
“Alright, Blondie, time’s up. Open up,” she said, a smile on her face.
Footsteps sounded from the other side of the door a second before it was pulled open and Shelby came into view. I’d expected her to say something smart or make some sort of joke, but she didn’t.
Instead, she just stood there looking half scared to death.
“Hey, honey,” Mama said “You okay? You look a bit nervous.”
Shelby forced a smile. “A bit? More like a whole lotta nervous.”
Mama smiled in return and pushed a stray strand of hair out of Shelby’s face. “And that’s completely normal.” Moving to stand beside her, she ran her hand up and down Shelby’s back in long, comforting strokes. “Have you eaten anything this morning? If not, we need to get something in your belly.”