Chapter 5
“You are the most stubborn man on the face of this earth.” Lottie pulled the trigger on the nail gun half a dozen times and then gave Knox a dose of stink eye. “No, that’s not right. The earth isn’t big enough. You are the most exasperating guy in the Universe.”
“Whoa!” Thomas said. “That’s giving him a lot of credit, and my wife, Angie, would say that he’d have to fight me for the title.”
“What’s the problem anyway?” Gabe asked.
“We’re going to Spanish Fort for the weekend. She wants to take her trailer,” Knox answered.
Leave it to a man to not explain the whole situation. She popped a dozen more nails into the supports to hold up the last wall and seethed with every one of them.
Eddie stretched up and nailed in braces to hold the two walls together. “What’s wrong with that?”
“We’ll have to take two vehicles,” Knox answered. “There’s plenty of room at the Paradise for her to stay there two nights, but she won’t leave her cat alone that long.”
“Why can’t you ride with her?” Thomas asked.
“Because I don’t let anyone else drive my truck, and he’s being a…” She couldn’t think of a word mean enough to say.
Thomas glanced over at Knox. “If that means you’d have to ride in the passenger seat, then I don’t blame you for taking your own vehicle.
I hate it when Angie insists on driving and I’m over on the other side trying to brake by stomping the floorboard.
I swear that woman should’ve been a NASCAR driver. ”
“Same with Jeannie,” Eddie agreed. “She’s the princess of procrastination and always leaves the house in a rip-roaring hurry. She’d be the queen, but her mama is still alive and kicking.”
“Y’all are not helping!” Lottie declared. “Whose side are you on, anyway?”
Gabe laid down his nail gun and threw up both hands. “We still love you, girl, but facts is facts.”
Eddie went back to work but stopped for a minute to look over his shoulder. “Is that cat worth all this, or do you just want to have your way?”
“Yes, Prissy is worth it. She’s brought me through some tough times.
She listens to me when I talk and never betrays me like the bunch of you.
But then she’s a girl and understands. I’m so aggravated with all y’all right now that we could plug one of these nail guns into my ear and run it on the electricity from my body. ”
“Honey, you’re not mad at anyone but me,” Knox told her.
“If you would have let me get a word in edgewise, I would have told you that I need a vehicle while I’m in Spanish Fort.
I want to go out to the farm while you ladies are shopping, and I really want to check on Tripp at the leather shop.
You could hook up your trailer to my truck if you weren’t so bullheaded. ”
“Or I could check in on Prissy each day,” Jack said as he rounded a stack of lumber.
“Mandy is driving up here to pick out flooring and shop for new furniture this afternoon. She’ll be staying in my trailer until Monday, but she wouldn’t mind helping me take care of your cat.
She loves Prissy. No need for y’all driving in two trucks and pulling a trailer behind one of them.
Now get this wall up so y’all can get on the road. ”
“Are you sure?” Lottie hated that Knox was getting his way, but at the same time, she was tired, and it would be nice to get to catch a nap on the way.
“I’m sure,” Jack said.
“Well I, for one, will not argue about knocking off work a couple of hours early. We might even get home in time for supper if I drive like Angie.” Thomas chuckled.
“Hush!” Lottie growled and then smiled at Jack. “Thank you. Prissy will love to see Aunt Mandy. I’ll feed her before we leave.”
“I’ll check on her before bedtime,” Jack said. “Now, get busy and finish what you are doing before I change my mind and tell you to start building trusses.”
“Yes, sir!” Lottie threw up her hand and saluted him.
“And no more arguing,” Jack said with a wide grin.
“Can’t promise that,” Knox said. “I’ve got to ride with her all the way to Spanish Fort, and she’s in a mood.”
“I am not in a mood!” Lottie protested. “Men! Y’all are jackasses.”
“Maybe so, but it’s against the law to shoot us,” Eddie teased.
* * *
Like a good boyfriend, Knox loaded Lottie’s garment bag and suitcase in the back seat and then opened the truck door for her. When she had settled, he jogged around the front of the vehicle and slid in behind the steering wheel.
“Why are you so happy?” Lottie asked.
“I’m going home. I have a girlfriend, so Aunt Bernie can’t make me go on a blind date. The weather is beautiful. We get to leave early, which means we can eat supper at the Paradise with some of the family. Is that enough, or should I go on?”
“It’s enough,” she answered.
Knox started up the engine and drove away from the project.
He looked back in his rearview mirror at six foundations and one place with four walls standing.
Had this been a real relationship with Lottie, their beginning could look like that.
A few dates would equal some walls going up, and a few more would be like the roof going on the top.
“Are you changing your mind about introducing me as your girlfriend?” she asked.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Your expression went from all sunny and bright to dark. Not quite a tornado, but a big storm on the horizon,” she answered.
“No. Not just no! But hell, no! I am not changing my mind!”
“You don’t have to raise your voice,” she snapped.
“Yes, I do. I want you to understand that I’m in this for the long haul,” he declared. “Now, do you want to stop at the first convenience store to get a cold drink?”
“Maybe we could find a Sonic and get a raspberry tea instead?” she suggested.
“There’s one about a mile up the road. I like the ice they use in their soft drinks,” he said.
“You are a great boyfriend.” Lottie’s tone softened. “I suppose I can ask your sisters and two sisters-in-law to tell me stories about you, but you could make the trip seem shorter if you would do it.”
“I’ll tell you a funny one about when Brodie first knocked on the door at the Paradise,” he said as he slowed down and turned into the Sonic parking lot.
“Every one of us was as jittery as a squirrel on espresso, waiting to see what kind of reception he would get. Bo, that’s one of the sisters, answered the door, and insisted he tell her why he wanted to see Joe Clay.
He said later that he wasn’t sure if those seven half sisters were going to shoot us all or what, but they welcomed him as well as me and Tripp into the Paradise and into the family that very day. ”
“What’s so funny about any of that?” she asked.
“You would have had to have been there,” Knox answered. “Brodie is the big, mean ex-special services brother who wasn’t afraid of anything. Well, maybe except Aunt Bernie, but we’re all afraid of her. To see him so nervous was…”
“I understand,” Lottie said with a smile. “My brothers are all on that overconfident list too.”
Knox pulled into the first available space and pushed the call button. A tinny voice welcomed him to Sonic and asked for his order. “A raspberry tea and a root beer, both extra-large, and an order of fries.”
“Have that right out,” the voice said.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Knox said and turned back to Lottie. “Fries can be our appetizer. I called Mary Jane and told her we’d be there for supper. Remy and Ursula are bringing smoked brisket, so we don’t want to be full on burgers when we get there.”
“For good barbecue, I would give up everything else, including ice cream, and that is my weakness,” she told him. “But I’ll be a good girlfriend and share with you, so you can have all the brisket that you can hold.”
“Thank you,” he said and flashed a wink her way.
“Tell me another story, maybe one on Tripp,” Lottie said.
“He’s our quieter, more introverted brother, but Willa Rose has brought out a whole new side to him.”
“That would be his wife, right? The one in the gorgeous vintage wedding gown, who has a little baby boy?”
“That’s right. Her sister didn’t want to be a mother, so Willa Rose and Tripp adopted Nicky. Tripp and I were adopted at birth too. We were lucky to get such amazing parents who loved us, and when they were gone, we were blessed to have Mary Jane and Joe Clay take us in.”
The carhop brought out their order, and Knox handed her a bill. “Keep the change, and thank you.”
“Thanks,” the girl said. “Y’all have a nice rest of today.”
“You too.” Knox set the cups in the holders in front of the console and handed the fries to Lottie. His hand brushed against hers, and a few hot little sparks flitted around in the truck cab.
He silently reminded himself that they were not a real couple.