Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
We were just finishing up dinner when I heard the rumble of trucks pulling up outside. It was definitely more than one. I looked up at Graham, and he didn’t look surprised.
“Who’s that?”
“Should be Simon, Roan, and Hart. And if I had to guess, Roxie.”
“Oh good. They’ll be just in time for dessert,” Miss Laverne said as she got up from the table. She picked up her plate, but I stopped her.
“You know the rules.” I smiled. “You did all the cooking. I’ll clean up. Graham will let everybody inside. Why don’t you go with him?”
“That sounds lovely.” She followed Graham out to the other room, and I started clearing the table. I was in the kitchen, pulling out the leftover chocolate cake, when Roxie and Ava burst into the kitchen.
“What the fuck?” Ava shouted.
“Ava! Lower your voice. Miss Laverne will hear you.”
“What the ever-loving fuck?” Ava whisper-yelled. “Some asshole from London followed you to Tennessee?”
“How did you find out so fast?”
“Hart told Brent, then he told me,” she explained.
I looked over at Roxie, and she shrugged. “Graham told Hart. And he did tell Brent. These guys gossip worse than a sewing circle.”
“No wonder you were so freaked about the flowers. I would have plucked off all the petals, then put the stems through the shredder.” Ava went to the cabinet and started pulling out plates.
I giggled. It felt good. Really good.
Roxie peered over my shoulder. “Did you bake that cake with sour cream?”
I stood up straight. “Is there any other way?”
“And dark cocoa?”
“Damn straight.” I grinned.
“Hart is going to dump me and marry you.”
I laughed again. These women were good for my soul. Miss Laverne and I had only taken small pieces to taste-test, so there was plenty left. Well, maybe not plenty, considering how big Graham, Hart, Roan, Brent, and Simon were.
“I’ll take out the cake. You can get the drinks, glasses, plates, and forks.” I nodded to the girls.
“On it.”
We had everything set out in the dining room in a quick minute.
“Hart, Joy baked a dark chocolate cake. You might want to come in here before we eat it all,” Roxie hollered.
I didn’t hear the thud of boots. Instead, Miss Laverne came into the dining room. “Those boys went out to the porch to talk. Apparently, they didn’t want a little old lady to hear what they had to say,” she grumbled. “Where’s the milk? You can’t serve dark chocolate sour cream cake without milk.”
“You’re right.” Ava hustled back to the kitchen.
“I’ll go get the men,” I said.
“I think you should leave them alone right now, sugar. They seem pretty intent on working some things out, and if I were you, I’d let them be.”
I pulled out Miss Laverne’s chair, and she sat down. Roxie cut her a thin slice of cake.
“That’s perfect, honey.” Miss Laverne patted her hand.
Ava came back with a gallon of milk. She immediately poured Miss Laverne a glass. “What did I miss?”
“I was just telling Joy to leave the boys alone for the time being. They need to figure out how they think they can protect her best. It will make them feel better.”
“It won’t just make them feel better,” Roxie shook her head. “Graham, Roan, and Simon were served. Then Graham and Simon were special forces. I’d trust all three of them with my life,” Roxie said.
“That’s bullshit,” Ava said without heat. “You know damn well that Hart and Brent might not have been in the service, but if it came down to it, they could be just as deadly.”
Roxie tilted her head, then nodded. “You’re right.” She turned back to me. “Suffice it to say, you’re in good hands, Joy.”
“Why don’t we all sit down and have a piece of cake while we wait for the young men?”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Ava held out a plate to Roxie. “Cut me a slice twice as large as the one you cut Miss Laverne.”
“Coming right up. What about you, Joy?”
“The same.”
Roxie cut three pieces the same size, and two of us sat down with glasses of water while Roxie poured herself a glass of milk. If I’d known they were coming, I would have had a bottle of wine waiting for them.
Miss Laverne took a delicate bite of her cake and set down her fork. “Girls, I need to catch you up on something important.”
Ava looked up from her cake. “What's going on?”
“Joy never told her family about what happened in London three years ago,” Miss Laverne said. “Not a single soul back home knows she was stabbed.”
Roxie's fork clattered against her plate. “Are you fu— uhm, serious?” She glared at me.
“Kind of,” I mumbled around a mouthful of cake.
“Joy.” Ava's voice carried that same tone as when she found out I’d been giving all my extra cash to the same guy at the freeway entrance day after day.
She told me if I felt a need to donate, I should give to the local food pantry instead.
“You were fucking stabbed?!” She looked over at Miss Laverne.
“Pardon my French.” She looked back at me.
“But seriously, Joy, what were you thinking, not telling your family?”
“I wasn't thinking straight, okay? I had a concussion too, so I was totally out of it for the first two days, and by the time I was thinking straight, I knew they would be horrified and descend on me like a cloud of locusts and eat me alive.”
“You were in the hospital two days?” Roxie leaned forward.
I took a gulp of water, trying to unclog the cake. “Three days,” I admitted.
Miss Laverne reached over and patted my hand. “The poor thing was scared and hurt. She made the best decision she could at the time.”
“But three years?” Ava shook her head. “Joy, your mama probably thinks you spent your time in London as Mary Poppins, singing with chimney sweeps and dancing with children.”
“Pretty much,” I admitted.
Roxie set down her milk glass. “Okay, so we need to figure out how you're going to tell them. Especially with everything that's happening now.”
“I can't tell them.” My stomach twisted into knots. “Not only will they want me to live at home, Seth and Randy will probably move back into their old bedrooms. Plus, there’s no way I’m giving up my time with Graham. I just won’t do it.”
Miss Laverne cleared her throat. “What if we start small? Maybe just tell the women in your family to begin with?”
“The women?” I asked.
“Your mama, Esperance, Gladiola, your Great Aunt Pattie, and your Aunt Lettie.” Miss Laverne counted on her fingers. “I’ll invite them all over for a luncheon. You can tell them about London first, then work up to what's happening now.”
“And Emmie,” I piped up softly.
“And Emmie,” Miss Laverne nodded.
Roxie nodded. “That's actually brilliant. Women handle this kind of news better than men anyway.”
“Speak for yourself.” Ava snorted. “I wanted to hunt down this creep the second I heard about him.”
“But you didn't immediately start planning to lock Joy in a tower,” Roxie pointed out.
“True.” Ava took another bite of cake. “Your dad and brothers would have you hog-tied and brought back to the homestead within an hour.”
“Homestead?” Roxie lifted an eyebrow. “This isn’t the Wild West.”
“You know what I mean,” Ava defended herself.
My chest tightened. “My brothers would definitely be over here. Then they would also be gunning for Graham. Talk about a shitshow.” I winced and glanced over at Miss Laverne. “Sorry.”
Miss Laverne leaned back in her chair and laughed. “I think shitshow just about sums things up if we don’t handle this correctly. But you do know your family loves you. They're going to want to help.”
“I know they do. That's the problem.”
“So, we start with the women,” Roxie said. She turned to Miss Laverne. “When can you set up the luncheon?”
“I don't know. Maybe tomorrow afternoon? After the diner closes.”
“Good.” Roxie smiled. “You tell them about London first. Get that out in the open. Then we'll figure out a way for you to bring up the current situation.”
“How am I supposed to ease into ‘Hey, remember that stalker I never mentioned? He followed me to Tennessee?’”
Roxie drummed her fingers on the table. “You don't ease into it. You just say it.”
“That'll go over well.”
“Joy.” Ava's voice went gentle. “Your family needs to know. What if something happens and they find out from the sheriff instead of you?”
The thought made my stomach drop. “You're right.”
“Of course I'm right. I'm always right.”
Roxie, Miss Laverne, and I all chuckled. “Okay, maybe not always,” Ava admitted.
“Now that we have that settled, what's this silly idea with you and Graham staying here to watch over me?” Miss Laverne asked.
“We figured you shouldn't be alone,” I said. “In case this guy tries to use you to get to me, or something.”
“That's sweet, honey. But now that you’ve explained things, I’ve decided to stay with the Wylies. I’ve been wanting an excuse to watch over Delilah, so this works out well.”
“I don’t want my troubles to chase you out of your own home.”
“You’re not. You’re allowing me to do the neighborly thing, without Jerome feeling like he can’t handle things on his own.”
I mulled this over and realized she had a point.
Miss Laverne took another sip of milk. “Besides, you and Graham need some time alone to figure things out.”
Heat crept up my neck. “Miss Laverne.”
“I'm old, not dead, Joy. That boy looks at you like you hung the moon.”
Roxie grinned. “He's completely gone for her.”
“It's mutual,” Ava added.
“Can we please not discuss my love life right now?”
“Why not?” Miss Laverne asked. “It's the best part of this whole mess.”
Before I could respond, Roxie's phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen, and her expression shifted into a goofy grin.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Text from Hart.” Roxie looked up at me. “He says to tell you that you're starting the day shift tomorrow. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”
“Absolutely not.” I shook my head. “I told Graham I won't ask you for favors.”
“You're not asking. I'm telling.”
“Roxie, you needed someone for nights. I can't just abandon my shift.”
“You're not abandoning anything.” Roxie's voice carried the authority I'd heard her use with difficult pet owners. “I've got it covered.”
“How?”
“There's a tech at the emergency clinic in Franklin who's been wanting to earn the pay shift differential by working nights. I was going to talk to you about switching when she could get moved, but she won’t mind starting earlier.”
“I can't let you rearrange your whole clinic for me.”
“Joy.” Roxie's expression softened. “You're not letting me do anything. I'm choosing to help because that's what friends do. Anyway, it was always my intention to move you to days. Face it, you’re not alone in this.”
Miss Laverne beamed. “See? I told you that's how Jasper Creek works.”
The sound of heavy footsteps on the porch interrupted us. The screen door creaked open, and Graham's voice carried into the dining room.
“Ladies, we need to talk.”
Ava muttered under her breath. “Here we go.”
“Whatever they've planned,” I said, “I'm glad you're all here.”
“We're not going anywhere,” Miss Laverne said.
Graham appeared in the doorway, his expression serious but not panicked. Behind him, I could see Hart, Simon, Brent, and Roan waiting in the parlor.
“What did you decide?” I asked.
“That depends. Are you ready to hear it?”
I straightened my shoulders and met his gaze. “I'm ready.”
The uncertainty in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. Whatever plan they'd come up with, my quiet life was about to completely change.