Chapter 13
“So, how are things with you and Big Country?” Damaris asked as the sisters sat on Leah’s all seasons back porch. Tonight was their monthly get together and she had no way out of spilling all of the tea. But she could deflect for a bit by dropping the news about their father. She would have filled them in sooner, but Noah had other plans which kept them occupied well into the night.
“Girl, we went out last night and it was great. But you will not believe what happened. Not in a million years.”
She had both women’s attention, her sisters scooting close, wine glasses in hand. “Spill, sissy.”
“Guess who we saw while we were at ‘Driftwood’.”
“Who?” they asked in stereo.
“Daddy all hugged up at a table with another woman.”
“I know you a goddamn lie!” Miriam chortled, ripping off her glasses.
“I wish I was. And before I could fix my face Noah saw it, so I had to explain it to him.”
“So, he got a live action lesson as to why you are so gun shy.”
Leah nodded. “When I tell you I was shocked and embarrassed. Daddy should know better.”
“Did the bastard say anything to you?”
“Ri-Ri, when we locked eyes, he blinked then had the nerve to look bothered and a bit angry. Like I’m the one out cheating on my spouse.”
“I wonder if he and Theresa have some kind of understanding now,” Damaris said. “Maybe she got her own boo thang.”
“I don’t know,” Leah said. “But wait, there”s more.” She filled them in on his confrontation and how he seemed perturbed that Noah was White.
“Not the adulterer being prejudiced!” Damaris cackled.
“Whatever his problem is, I’m really about tired of it. I’m considering going low contact with him.” The only thing causing her to hesitate on pulling the trigger was her youngest sibling. She had no doubt her contact with Josh would become nonexistent as retaliation and she admitted that as her underlying concern.
“They are petty enough to do it. Especially Theresa.”
“Girl, come on and join me on the Darkside. I have wine and cookies,” Miriam giggled. “Daddy can’t stand the fact that I don’t care to talk to him or his lunkhead wife. The peace of mind is amazing. And I get to talk with Josh whenever you guys have him so I’m getting the best of both worlds.”
“Their marriage is literally the reason I refuse to even entertain a minister when it comes to dating,” Damaris said. “They put the ick in toxic.”
“Girl, the mere idea of marrying a minister makes me want to hurl. I’d toss myself off a building first.” The look of disgust on Miriam’s face made Leah giggle. “I mean, headfirst so I’d have no chance of survival.”
“Hey, Noah’s a real-life example that all men aren’t created equal.”
“Facts, but he’s also not a minister.”
“Oh, and another tidbit I need to run by you guys. He’s invited me to a family cookout at their house on Kiawah Island next weekend.”
“Oh, shit! They got a house on Kiawah! That’s some money.”
“I have a place on Kiawah,” Leah reminded her sister. “They might have inherited it just as I did.”
“Still, you know the property value is ridiculous. And the fact that you were offered nearly seven figures for a two bedroom cottage, and you wouldn’t budge still blows my mind.”
“In the long run it’s worth well more than that.” The properties left to her by her grandmother were the one physical tie she had left to her mother, and she would never part with them. The money generated from using the cottage as a rental property alone funded her lifestyle. Her custom skate business was still growing and turned a nice profit, but her real estate portfolio was her cash cow. “Now, back to my dilemma. Do y’all think I should go?”
“Girl, if you don’t go with that man!” Damaris sighed loudly. “Ri-Ri, if you could have seen the way he was looking at her the other day. He is so gone for you, Lea-Lea.”
“You might be exaggerating a bit, Dee-Dee.”
“I don’t think so. The man looked downright lovesick when you wouldn’t have anything to do with him.”
***
As Noah”s truck pulled up to his family”s property, he saw several of his nephews outside in an unorganized game of catch. Leah sat next to him, her eyes appeared a bit hesitant as she took in the scene. He wondered if she was having second thoughts. When she agreed to accompany him to his family”s cookout, he”d been stoked but managed to temper his excitement. She’d prepared a batch of her apple pie popcorn to bring, even though he told her it wasn’t necessary as he’d already sent several pounds of meat by way of his father. But she insisted, stating that she was taught never to show up for a visit empty handed. “I love coming to Kiawah,” she said. “I have a cottage not too far from here. It makes for a nice getaway.”
“You want to head there instead?”
Leah pivoted in her seat, tipping her head at him. “No. Why would I?”
“Maybe to escape my rambunctious family.”
“No, I”m fine. Besides it wouldn”t do any good now. They”ve spotted us.”
Noah looked back up towards the long driveway and saw two of his nephews charging towards his truck. Rolling down the windows he greeted Wesley, the only one present that could reach the open window. “Hey Wes.”
“Hey Uncle Bubba,” the boy panted after his sprint to the vehicle. He looked past Noah and offered a big grin to the woman seated next to him. “Hey Uncle Bubba”s girlfriend.”
“Hi,” Leah said. “It”s nice to meet you, Wes.”
“I wanna see Uncle Bubba girlfriend.” Wesley bent down to pick up his smaller cousin Harris, lifting him up until the 4-year-old’s head filled the window. His face broke into a grin. “Hi Uncle Bubba girlfriend.”
He turned to see Leah grinning at the curly haired boy. “Hi, cutie pie.”
“You both can call her Ms. Leah,” Noah said. “Now, move away from the door so I can get out. And both of you hang out so you can help me carry some stuff in the house.”
“You’re Uncle Bubba?”
Her giggle warmed his heart. “Yeah. When Riley was born, she couldn’t say brother. The closest she could get was Bubba. So, at thirty-eight, I’m still Bubba to my sisters and Uncle Bubba to the kids.” Noah pushed open his door and upon stepping out, he was immediately swamped by the boys. The pair chattered with Harris holding a small football up towards him. “We’ll play later. I promise. Right now, we need to get this stuff inside.” He handed off the large bag of popcorn to Wes before scooping up Harris and placing him on his shoulders. “Wes, take that on inside and Harris, you can help me open Ms. Leah’s door.”
When he pulled open the truck door, he was met by beautiful brown legs that went on for days. The pink seersucker romper matched with canvas sneakers in the same shade was adorable and sexy all at once. “Hi Uncle Bubba Girlfriend,” Harris chirped.
“This is Harris, my nephew. And Harris, her name is Ms. Leah.” Noah helped her from the high-profile vehicle, and as he moved towards the house, his fingers became loosely entangled with hers.
“We going fishing, Uncle Bubba?”
“We’ll talk with Big Daddy and see. Okay, Harris?”
“Okay.”
As they neared the house, he saw two of his sisters, Riley and Paige on the porch. His baby sister sat in one of the rocking chairs, her hands resting on her very pregnant belly while Riley opened the door for her son, giving him instructions for the package he carried. “Anything else in the truck, Bubba?”
“No, we sent all we had with Wes.” He made the quick introductions and when they entered the house, he led her throughout the home, again introducing her to family members. He hadn’t expected the house to be so full, or maybe he was now looking at it from an outsider’s perspective. With all of his sisters and their husbands and kids present, not to mention his father and grandfather, the house was teeming with activity.
Leah seemed to be flourishing amid the chaos. Shortly after arriving, she got pulled onto the beach to fly kites with his nieces Carly and Savannah. Right now, the trio was out on the beach, barefoot, catching breezes, to keep their kites in the sky. “You are in trouble with that one, Bubba.”
Noah looked over his shoulder to find his sister Virginia standing just behind him watching the competition. While his second youngest sibling was the spitting image of his mother, she was the only girl out of the four who inherited the Wesley premature silver at the temples. The streaks sat in such stark contrast to her nearly black hair, in high school, their father had to prove that his daughter wasn’t breaking the dress code at their fancy prep school with her ‘unnatural hair color’. “You should know by now that I’ve never been one to shy away from trouble, Ginny.”
Taking a seat next to him on the large wraparound porch, she kicked off her sandals and placed her bare feet on the railing. “Big Daddy says he gives it six months.”
“Six months till what?” When his sister began to hum the Wedding March, Noah rolled his eyes dramatically. “Dear Lord. I told that man not to get ahead of himself.”
“Well, he thinks it’s rings and rice time. And,” Ginny said, leaning in as if she was about to share a secret, “I don’t want to say Big Daddy has predicted each one of our marriages, but he for sure predicted mine.”
Noah”s gaze swept over Leah as she ran with the girls. Joy was the only word he could think of to describe the look on her face as she moved to keep her butterfly shaped kite in the sky. “Lee!”
Noah and his sister turned towards the sound of the little voice coming from behind them and found his niece Eleanor walking out of the door, her tiny fist full of tissues. “Ellie, where are you going?” her mother asked.
Eleanor pointed in the direction of Leah and his nieces. “Lee,” Eleanor repeated.
“Foxy, Ellie”s looking for you,” Noah said as he aided his young niece off the porch. He watched her take short little steps down the sand where Leah met her halfway. The little girl raised her fist, opening her hand to present the tissues to Leah. Noah watched as Leah wiped her nose for the umpteenth time this afternoon. The trend started when Leah saw his niece walking towards her with a runny nose on her way to retrieve her doll from the living room sofa. Grabbing a tissue from the countertop, Leah wiped her nose and sent her on her way. After that no one else could wipe Eleanor”s nose for her. She would seek Leah out to complete the task.
“Enjoying the glimpse of your future, Bubba?” His sister bumped his bicep.
There was no way he was letting her get away. Leah Vines would in short order become Leah Wesley. “Maybe just a little.”
“Should I tell Big Daddy he”s right?”
Noah leaned back in the rocking chair, removing his grey ball cap to give his head a scratch. “No need to have him gloating all weekend. We just got here. Besides, I”m sure he already knows.”
“Of course he does. He was just waiting for you to catch up.”
“Enough about that, Ginny.” Noah pulled his chair closer to his sister. “I would like to do something special for Leah and I need your help.” Ginny’s skill as an event planner would absolutely come in handy.
“Oh, you want me to plan the engagement party?” she giggled.
“You joining Big Daddy’s marriage parade?” His sister lifted her shoulders. “Nothing like that, but it is something that I think would bring a smile to her face.”
“Well, I’ll do what I can, Bubba. Besides, looks like she’s gonna be around for a long while.”