15. Dakota
"What?" I shot back, my teeth gritted.
I couldn’t believe this was happening—one minute, we were talking about Austin going to the gym, and now we were in the middle of what felt like a breakup conversation, even though we weren’t even together.
He opened his mouth, clearly ready to unleash whatever retort he had brewing, but before the words could leave his lips, Austin and Phoebe came bounding up to us with Gertie trotting behind them like the self-appointed guardian of the family.
I scoffed inwardly, watching as Tucker’s eyes narrowed at them. If he thought the easy, instant camaraderie between Austin and Phoebe was anything other than two kids passing each other’s vibe checks, he was even more delusional than I thought.
“What’s up, buttercups?” I asked, quickly pulling Phoebe into my side and giving her a little squeeze. I needed something to distract me from the tension still simmering between me and Tucker.
“The DIY Scarecrow Contest is about to start,” Phoebe announced, her voice filled with excitement. “It’s at the Corn Maze. I told Austin about it, and he wants to go. Can we head over there after we eat?”
I smiled down at her, feeling the weight of Tucker’s glare raining down on me from somewhere on high. "What’d MeeMaw say?" I asked at the same time Tucker muttered, “We’ll probably head home.”
I sent him a look that I hoped would silently tell him to knock it off, then turned back to Phoebe, my smile genuine. "Even if these boys don’t come, I’ll take you if MeeMaw’s good with it."
“She is,” she said, though she didn’t look nearly as excited as she had before Tucker stomped on her plans.
"Sure y’all don’t wanna come?" I asked, aiming my question directly at Tucker, my voice as sweet as I could make it. "It’ll be fun. Definitely somethin’ a newly datin’ couple would do," I added with a pointed smile.
The look he shot me was pure fire, his eyes flaring again, but this time, I was ready for it. I wanted him to see that this wasn’t just about him—it was about making my girl Phoebe smile again. And if that meant dragging Tucker along to a scarecrow contest at the corn maze, then so be it.
Austin shuffled his feet, glancing up at Tucker nervously. "Tuck, I know it probably sounds lame to you, but?—"
Tucker’s response was immediate, his hand landing gently on Austin’s shoulder. "If you think it sounds fun, so do I.”
Austin didn’t look entirely convinced, but when Phoebe clapped her hands, and her grin returned in full force, it seemed like no one was going to challenge Tucker’s sudden change of heart.
The moment Phoebe’s excitement hit a peak, Momma’s voice called out from the kitchen. “Y’all, dinner’s ready!”
Tucker’s introduction to my dad and Judd Wilson was a lot less eventful than I imagined. It was a simple round of hands shaking, nods, and manly mumbles. Nothing I’d expect from them if he were actually my boyfriend, which was strange, considering he was—as far as they knew.
The familiar sound of plates being set on the table and chairs scraping against the floor filled the house as we all crowded around the dining room. It was a cozy chaos—just the way suppers in this house or the one next door always were.
The long wooden table was set with a colorful array of dishes, bowls, and platters piled high with comfort food. Steam rose from a dish of baked macaroni and cheese, while fluffy rolls sat next to a basket of fried chicken, and collard greens glistened with just the right amount of bacon grease.
“Everybody grab a seat!” Momma said, her voice a mix of command and excitement. Tucker and I exchanged a look, and I could tell he was taking it all in—the organized chaos, the easy laughter, the warmth that seemed to pulse through the room. I led him to the open seats near the middle of the table, hoping he was ready for the whirlwind of conversation that was about to hit.
“So, Tucker, you should hear some of the stuff people are sayin’ about your reason for bein’ in town,” Momma said as we started passing platters of food around the table.
My dad groaned, eyes on the ceiling. “Aw, shoot, honey, leave the man alone.”
“I will not,” she insisted.
“Has she ever?” Georgia asked, eyes twinkling.
“Left anyone alone or listened to me when I told her to?” Daddy replied.
There was a collective murmur about how neither of those things ever happened, and I chuckled, shooting Tucker an apologetic smile. “You might as well let her get it out of her system. She won’t stop until she’s satisfied.”
“Is it true you’re a private investigator?” Momma asked.
“It is.” Tucker pursed his lips, and I could tell he was once again cursing our town for their big mouths. But really, a man who had such a love of secrets had no business here if he was so opposed not no one having any.
“And you’re here investigatin’ a case?”
“I am.”
Georgia gestured at him with her fork. “And that cute partner of yours—did y’all serve in the military together?”
Tucker’s gaze swung to me, and I held up both hands. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t even know that.”
“Oh, sugar, look at him,” she said to me. “Have you spent any time watchin’ how those boys move around town like their heads are always on swivels?”
“We don’t do that,” Tucker muttered under his breath.
“No one needed to be told that you’re either former military or former law enforcement,” Momma said. “So, which one is it?”
“Military,” Tucker allowed with a resigned nod.
“Tuck and my uncle Colt were in the Marines,” Austin boasted.
“Once a Marine, Always a Marine,” Judd said with a butterknife aimed in Austin’s direction.
Phoebe scowled. “Whoa, PawPaw, don’t stab him.”
While Phoebe and Judd went back and forth about whether or not he would, Momma picked up on the new breadcrumb of info. “ Uncle Colt? So all three of you are brothers, then?”
“They’re not really brothers,” Austin supplied. “It’s just a thing.”
“Well, they’re really brothers in the Marine way,” Georgia said.
Tucker leaned over to me, whispering right against my ear, “This is how the whole dinner will be, isn’t it?”
I ignored the goosebumps that crept along my neck and angled my face so he could see my confusion.
“Growing up,” he went on, just as close as before, “I ate by myself in front of the TV. Austin did the same.”
He leaned away, apparently not planning to say more.
I watched as he tried to follow the ping pong match of conversation. He didn’t seem to be judging us, or calling it a bad thing. The chatter that swirled around us—not even pausing during that private interlude—was just… foreign. Like visiting another planet, if the look in his eye was anything to go by.
I bet it wasn’t much different for him now, either. He kept to himself so much that if he weren’t eating with Austin or Colton, I’d bet my last dollar he still ate dinner in front of the TV alone. Shoot, maybe they watched TV while they ate together, too.
But in this house? Half the meal was the conversation, and by the time someone left this table, they were full on both.
“He’s real cute, darlin’,” Georgia whispered to me from my other side.
I gave her the universal signal to hush, but I couldn’t help mouthing my agreement before turning back to the conversation.
Judd was busy filling Tucker in on his time in the Marines, as well as the tradition he had with his boys where he encouraged each of them to do at least one enlistment in the branch of their choice.
“And it’s a good thing you gave them that choice instead of makin’ them be a Marine like you,” Momma said.
“No one can make anyone become a Marine,” Judd replied with a short laugh.
“Oh, you know what I mean.” Momma waved him off and turned to Tucker. “Jackson—Phoebe’s daddy—was bandaging up the rest of the kids from the time he could walk. Grew up to make a fine medic in the Navy, and now he’s a paramedic here in town.”
“He and my mom both are,” Phoebe said proudly.
“That’s really cool,” Austin told her, and I had to bite down on my lip to keep from squealing when a faint blush colored her cheeks.
As covertly as possible, I pulled out my phone and navigated to the group chat I had with my sisters.
Me: brEAKING NEWS
Laney: You kissed the PI guy?
Aubree: Not a good idea, Kota.
Me: I think Phoebe’s got her first crush!
Laney: On the PI guy?!
Aubree: DEFINITELY not a good idea.
Me: OMG, girls. Stop. On his little bro.
Laney: Cute!! Wait, why are they even together?
Me: Long story short, Tucker and Austin are at the house for supper. Wish us all luck.
Aubree: Should I say it again?
Laney: Oh, boo, Aubs.
Me: Why does she keep saying that?
“Dakota Jolene,” Momma warned, and I instantly tucked my phone under my thigh and smiled innocently over at her. “Are you textin’ at my table?”
“No!” I lied.
She knew it, too, and I held my hands up in a silent promise to be done.
Tucker shook his head beside me, and I could’ve sworn I heard a low chuckle just beneath the sound of Phoebe telling Austin all about her best friend—of the four-legged variety.
“Where is Gertie, anyway?” I asked, looking around for the mischievous goat.
Phoebe pointed, and we all turned to look. When he spotted her in her perch on top of the china cabinet, Tucker actually flinched.
To be fair, I would, too, if she had that angry stare focused on me the way she was zeroed in on Tucker right now. It was creepy.
“What’d you do to the goat?” Austin asked his brother.
“I have no idea.”
“Probably nothin’,” my dad said. “That’s just her face.”
“Is it, though?” I asked, cocking my head. “She never looks at me with that expression.”
“You should’ve brought your friend,” Momma said as she passed Tucker the dish of cornbread. “We have plenty of room at the table tonight with everyone else doin’ their own thing.”
“We’d make room even if we didn’t,” Georgia promised with a wink. “Our usual Sunday suppers have grown quite a bit over the years. Now we have to set up tables outside.”
“But we do it fancy, of course,” Momma added quickly. “You should come to one of those when the whole crew is in town. It’s really somethin’ else.”
“It’s not that fancy,” I whispered. “Jeans are still the uniform around here.”
“Thank you, that’d be nice,” Tucker told my momma, shooting me a tight smile.
“And don’t worry,” Momma continued, “we’ll keep your little cover story to ourselves.”
Tucker and I looked at each other while the parents all nodded in agreement.
“What cover story?” I asked, straightening in my chair.
“The one where y’all pretend you’re datin’, of course,” Georgia supplied. “It’s believable—I mean, look at the two of you. You look like you’d make a beautiful couple. But we know it’s all for show.”
Again, I looked at Tucker, who shrugged.
“Why would you think that?” I asked, still trying to play it off.
“Oh, sugar, it’s just… Well, we know you’d never date someone…” Georgia trailed off, looking to the rest of the table for help.
When it seemed like none would come, I prompted her. “Someone…?”
“You know, sweetheart,” Momma said.
“A grumpy private investigator?” Austin supplied, earning himself a scowl from Tucker.
Momma laughed, and Georgia patted my leg as she looked around me at Tucker. “We’re not sayin’ anythin’ offensive about you , honey. You’d be quite the catch for anyone but our girl, here.”
I felt my cheeks growing warm, but when I felt Tucker shift next to me and turned to see the storm brewing in his eyes, I became more focused on him and what he was thinking about all of this than on myself.
Not that I expected him to voice what he was thinking, private as he was. But was it bad? Were they saying something bad about me, and did he agree with whatever it was?
“It’s because you’re basically a tourist,” Phoebe cut in, breaking the tension as all eyes turned to her. “I mean, I know you’re not a tourist, but you’re not a local. You’re leaving.”
“And that means I wouldn’t date him?” I asked, still confused but also a little miffed by that.
Why wouldn’t I? In fact, I’d gone on a date with a tourist before. Two, even. Not that it went anywhere, but still.
“Honey, we all know you wouldn’t leave Charlotte Oaks,” Momma said gently, and with a small smile.
But it was the too-sweet kind. The bless-your-heart kind.
“You did choose the closest nursin’ school to home, Kota Jo,” my dad added, clearly hoping the nickname he hadn’t used in years would soften the blow.
Momma chuckled to herself as she started clearing plates. “Let’s get this table cleaned up so we can have some of Georgie’s pumpkin pie. Anyway, Kota, it’s not realistic to expect this man who has a business set up clear across the country to relocate to our little town, is it? So, y’all are just tryin’ to pull one over on the busybodies so Tucker can solve his case. It’s a smart move. Georgie, didn’t I tell you that’s what they were doin’ when Bernice called and told me about the two of them?”
Georgia nodded. “Sure did, and it is smart. The leads in the high school play got into a fight on openin’ night, and all the parents jumped in on it. It only just happened an hour ago, but I think you two not bein’ a match waitin’ to happen means the book club will turn to mendin’ fences between those folks instead.”
“I…” Trailing off, I bit my lip.
I had no idea what to say to that. I was glad our plan worked, even if my family could see right through it. At least the book club—and the rest of the gossips—would leave Tucker alone.
But as for why my family saw through it? I wasn’t sure how I felt about all that.
Sensing something from me—though was wasn’t quite sure exactly what vibes I was giving off—Georgia tilted her head. “Are we wrong about it bein’ fake?”
I opened my mouth to say they weren’t wrong, I just didn’t like their explanation.
But then I felt Tucker’s arm around my shoulders, and I looked up at him instead.
“You are, actually,” he said, shrugging one of his broad shoulders as he smiled—actually, honest-to-goodness smiled— at me. “Really wrong, aren’t they?”
There was silence at the table for a whole minute until someone cleared their throat, and I finally looked away from those twin flames in Tucker’s eyes.
Daddy leaned back in his chair. “You two are really datin’?”
“Well, this supper would’ve gone a bit differently if we’d known that, huh, Grant?” Judd muttered with a laugh, but I had no idea what he meant by that.
Tucker seemed to get it, though, because he angled toward my dad—still keeping his arm around me—and lifted his chin. “I’m sincerely interested in your daughter, sir. And if you’re worried about me putting her in danger based on my job or why I’m in town, you don’t need to be. She’s safe with me.”