CHAPTER 19
Tally
My eyes cut to the spot at the table where my father used to sit—it’s empty tonight because I set the table and couldn’t bear to put anyone there.
If my family or Walker has noticed, they’ve said nothing.
It’s a six-person table so I just put us in the four chairs in the middle.
With the bowl of pasta in my hand, I note that my mother and sister have left the spot next to Walker empty. Shoot.
Not that I can’t be an adult and sit next to him during dinner. It’s just … I know my entire body will buzz from his proximity. And I’ll be itching to turn and look at him all night—and wondering if he’s trying to avoid doing the same.
He’s attracted to me. He’s terrible at masking it—I caught him staring at my ass or my chest five times in the last twenty minutes alone—which is ironic since I can’t read any of his expressions outside of that.
“This looks delicious,” my mother says when I drop the dish in the center of the table. “Thank you, Tally.”
“Yeah, I haven’t had your chicken Parm in so long.” Penny hums as her eyes lift to me and then twitch toward Walker. “Special occasion?”
“My roommate requested it,” I say. “And I’m nothing if not accommodating. Right, Walker?”
He only grunts in response.
The entire tone of the dinner—which I thought would be focused on my apology, the farm, and how to fix the great deflowering—is different from what I expected. Instead, it feels lighter. Something I think everyone at this table needs.
“Glad the two of you are settling in so well together,” my mother comments as she plates her own food before passing the platter to my sister.
“Yeah. How has it been, sharing a house?” Penny chimes in. “Word to the wise Walker, my sister is a shower hog. If you want any hot water, make sure you shower before her.”
“Oh, we haven’t had any shower incidents yet.” I turn my entire body and bat my lashes innocently at Walker, who stays totally focused on his food.
“Yup. No shower issues.” The words are staccato. Quick. Like he needs to never say the word shower again.
The itch to push him sits at the top of my chest, and I can’t help but scratch at it.
It’s clear this isn’t some silly little one-sided crush on the hot older man I’m living with—it’s a forbidden thing that I can taunt him with.
So with that in mind, I reach my hand across him to where the Parmesan cheese is, lean in, and stretch my body in a way that has my chest brushing right against his shoulder.
“I wouldn’t say no shower issues. I mean you did walk in on me naked. ”
“Tally!” My mother’s mouth falls open, my sister squeaks, and Walker curses under his breath, his head falling downward in defeat.
“It was an accident.” I plow on, despite everyone’s discomfort. “We’ve figured out a system, though. We’re going to hang a sock on the door if either one of us is using the shower.”
“We’re not using a goddamn sock,” Walker growls, finally looking at me. The pained expression on his face has me ready to burst.
My sister snorts and I bite back a smile as my mother huffs. “Why can’t you just tell the man when you’re using his shower, Tally?”
I shrug innocently. “I tried, but he doesn’t read his texts.”
Walker’s fork clatters onto his plate as he hangs his head in his hands. “Because there are so many of them.”
“Tally sure can text,” Penny agrees. I love my sister.
She’s just as good at this game of teasing Walker as I am.
My mother shakes her head at both of us.
We used to do this all the time to our poor father, who would get all befuddled at our teasing.
It was the fast talking. And the fact that we never did secrets in our family.
All of us were open books, and my dad had to deal with three women who never shut up.
I glance at his chair and smile. He’d be doing the same thing as Walker right now.
“Can we talk about anything else?” Walker begs.
My mother smiles. “Of course we can. Penny dear, will you be able to take pictures of the first few weddings for the social media page?”
“Oh!” I cheer. “Will Walker be wearing his cowboy hat again?”
“Jesus Christ,” he groans.
My mom shrugs. “If he wants to. Though he does look so nice with his hair done. Doesn’t he, girls?” My mom gazes at Walker with a look of appreciation, and Penny and I grin at one another knowingly.
“I don’t know,” my sister says, dragging out the last word. “Kind of looks like he’s been running his fingers through it.”
“Or like he’s been thoroughly fu—”
“Tallulah Darling,” my mother warns before I can finish.
I smirk. “Definitely should wear the cowboy hat.”
He sighs and takes another bite of food, the annoyance flushing from his cheeks as he savors his meal. It’s what I love so much about cooking, and even more so with baking. Watching someone find enjoyment in a dessert that I made is a high I’ll never be able to replicate with flowers or weddings.
“Is there anything I can do to help with the weddings?” I ask my mother, focusing on the real reason I’m here.
My mom twirls her fork in her pasta, deep in thought. “Billie and I will have the bride and the wedding party handled. If Penny’s handling social media, I guess that would leave you with Walker. Whatever he needs for setup and cleanup.” She glances across the table at me. “Can you handle that?”
I remind myself that my mother doesn’t mean to sound like she’s doubting me, or like she doesn’t want me here, but I can’t help the way it hits. “Won’t be a problem. What about before the weddings, though? There’s got to be stuff to get ready on the farm. Catering—”
“Has been handled,” she says quickly, cutting me off.
Her focus shifts to my father’s chair. “Just do whatever Walker asks of you. Please. Everything that your father handled, Walker took over. He knows what needs to be done.” She sighs as she looks away from Daddy’s chair. My sister grabs her hand and squeezes.
I have to ball my own hands into fists to keep still. I’m a doer. Words of comfort were never my strong suit.
“You can count on me,” I promise.
Four loud buzzes interrupt the moment, and I almost sigh in relief as I turn to face Walker. “You going to get that?”
His eye twitches. I think he wants to say no, but he seems just as uncomfortable with emotions as I am so he digs out his phone from his pocket, welcoming the interruption. Then he sighs heavily, breaking the tension in the room. “I don’t even know who it is.”
He holds up the phone. There are a bunch of texts from unknown numbers, and they all say the same thing: Hi Walker.
I snort.
“Oh, that looks like Rayna’s number,” my mother offers.
“You gave Rayna McGovern your phone number?” Penny’s voice comes out confused. “I don’t even have your number.”
“Oh, you want me to text it to you?” I offer.
Walker barks. “Is that what you’ve been doing all day?”
“No. I only gave it to Eli.”
Penny coughs out a laugh as Walker’s phone buzzes again with another Hi Walker. “And it seems he gave it out to everyone in town.”
Walker massages his forehead as I try to hide my giggle. “I guess the town really is in cahoots.”
Another vibration has Walker squeezing his eyes shut. “Jesus, some woman just sent me a picture of her cleavage.”
The smile on my face evaporates as an odd sensation twists in my gut. “Excuse me. Who the hell would—” I grab the phone, but when I see what’s on the screen, that weird, uncomfortable emotion that I have no intention of identifying dissolves. “Oh, that’s Mrs. Simmons.”
My mom reaches across the table as I pass her the phone. She nods as she shows it to my sister. “Yup. Damn Ruby. I don’t think Mr. Simmons will be happy you asked her for nudes.”
Walker erupts. “I don’t even know who that is! I didn’t ask for this.”
“I expected better of you, Walker. She’s a Liberty Lady. She walks on our property every day. How is she going to feel, knowing that you looked at that?”
Walker pushes back his chair. “I didn’t ask for it, Gail. Jesus.” He shakes his head when Penny tries to hand him back his phone. “How do you even know it’s her?”
I pluck it from my sister’s hand and smile. “She always had that weird mole in the shape of South Dakota right here.” I point at my own chest. “And since that’s where my head reaches on her body because she’s so dang tall, it’s hard to miss.”
Walker is looking at us like we’re out of our minds. Poor guy. We’re torturing him.
“Yeah, we told her to get it checked out,” Penny tells him. “It’s just a birthmark, though, not cancerous.”
My mother nods. “We all went and got our moles checked out after that. Made it an annual thing. We even go to the spa the day before so we can study each other’s bodies to make sure we know exactly what to show the doctor.
Ruby’s South Dakota has nothing on Babs’s Texas on the underside of her breast.”
“Don’t forget Rayna’s Mexico on her ass,” Penny teases. “That one has hair.”
Poor Walker shivers at the image.
“She’s harmless.” I tell him. “You should tell her she looks great, don’t want her to get a complex.”
Walker glares at me. “Do not text that woman back. I promise it’s not harmless.”
Smiling, I stand and reach over Walker’s shoulder to grab his plate, whispering in his ear so only he can hear, “Well, at least you won’t be thinking about my boobs then, right?
” When I walk out of the room, I can feel Walker’s intense gaze on my ass again.
I pause in the doorway, catching him with a wink. “Anyone want pie?”