Chapter Eighteen #2
“You should join us.” Adrianne waved her hand toward the booth. When both men continued to do nothing but stare, she tugged on Sam’s arm. “We’re attracting attention.”
“Fine.”
Not the most gracious invitation. Cilla was about to decline when Alex inclined his head. Curiosity overrode discomfort and she slid into the booth, leaving room for Alex beside her.
As if she’d been watching and waiting for the opening, Susie Harris, the owner of Susie’s Diner, bustled up to the table.
Her silver-streaked brown hair was pulled back in a short tail.
As always, she wore a bright bib apron with the diner’s name embroidered in white across the top over a pair of cotton pants and a red T-shirt.
Coffeepot in hand, she motioned to the clean mugs at each place setting.
“You folks want coffee or something cold?”
“Sweet tea,” Adrianne said.
“I’ll have the same,” Cilla added. When Alex didn’t say anything, she gave him a not-so-discreet kick under the table.
He frowned at her but ordered. “Water for me, please.”
“Coke,” Sam told Susie.
If ordering something to drink was this stilted, lunch conversation was going to be a bundle of fun. She’d have been better off staying home. This was too reminiscent of family dinners growing up.
Regretting she hadn’t made a run for it when she’d had the chance, Cilla plucked a laminated menu from behind the metal napkin dispenser and thrust it at Alex.
“I already know what I want.” Determined to be pleasant, she turned her attention to Adrianne, figuring it would be easier to talk to someone she already knew.
They weren’t close friends, but they’d gotten to be friendly over the summers Cilla had spent here as a child. “How are things at the farm?”
“Good. Lots of online orders. You?”
“It’s been a busy summer.” She wasn’t about to get into her current problems. Thankfully, Susie arrived with their drinks and took their orders. The men ordered the fried chicken special, Cilla chose the BLT, and Adrianne the fried catfish.
Alone again, silence descended on them. It was incredible how alike the two men were in size and coloring.
Both were about six and a half feet tall, all of it solid muscle.
They had black hair—though Alex’s was longer—dark eyes, and olive-toned skin.
Sam’s face was thinner, the sharp edges of his features more refined.
Alex had a slightly rougher edge to him.
“What are you doing here?” Sam glared across the expanse of the table. Cilla was glad that scowl wasn’t directed toward her. He was scarier than she remembered.
“The diner or the town?”
“Don’t be an ass. Why are you in Redemption?”
Alex sprawled back against the seat and slowly rotated the glass in front of him, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. But that was a lie. His leg was pressed against hers, the muscles like iron. “Dad decided what was good for you was good for me.”
Sam’s frown deepened, his brows lowering. “You’re not here for me?” He reached out and took Adrianne’s hand. “For us?”
Alex tilted his head to one side and studied their clasped hands. “You’re a couple?”
It belatedly occurred to Cilla that neither Alex nor his brother had introduced him to Adrianne.
“This is Alexiares Blackwell,” she blurted.
“I mean, you already know that from the conversation, but it was rude not to introduce you.
“Alex, this is Adrianne Sharp.” When he said nothing, she kicked him again.
“Stop that,” he growled at her.
Ignoring the heat climbing up her cheeks, she shot back. “I will when you’re polite.”
Sam didn’t quite smile, but his ferocious glare eased somewhat. “Looks like you met your match.”
“Did you meet yours?” With that cryptic phrase, the tension was not only back but ratcheted up a notch. “It’s nice to meet you, Adrianne.” He gave Cilla a sidelong glance. “Satisfied?”
She barely refrained from kicking him again. “Maybe we should get our meal to go?” What was supposed to be a relaxing outing was anything but.
“Please stay.” Adrianne elbowed Sam in the side, making him grunt. “How long have you been in Redemption?” she asked Alex.
“A few days. Dad unexpectedly sent me here.”
Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “Is he displeased with the way you’re handling business?”
“Yup.”
It wasn’t only what they said but how they said it. It was as though there were two conversations happening at the same time—the surface one and another beneath it, fraught with insinuation.
Cilla grabbed her purse. “I think I should leave and let you and your brother talk.”
What she knew about Alex’s life beyond Redemption could be boiled down to a few basic facts—he came from a rich and influential family, had built a business building, fixing, and customizing motorcycles and cars, and for some unknown reason, he was here because of some trouble with his father and was supposed to meet someone and take care of some business.
It was all rather vague and mysterious. On a more personal level, he took his responsibilities seriously, wasn’t afraid of hard work, had done everything in his power to make her life easier, and was an incredible lover.
They’d packed a lot into the days they spent together, but neither of them was living their normal lives. From the car crash to her falling through the stairs last night, it had been one calamity after another. Their emotions were heightened, making everything more intense.
“If you go, I go.” Stubborn to the core, Alex wouldn’t budge.
“Please stay and finish your lunch,” Sam echoed.
Left with no choice, she gave in with ill grace and tucked her purse back by her side. “Fine.”
Susie arrived with their food, giving them something to focus on besides the stilted conversation. Deciding to leave it to the brothers, Cilla nibbled on her sandwich, not because she was overly hungry—her stomach was too unsettled—but more to give herself something to do.
“How long will you be in town?” Alex bit into a golden brown piece of chicken.
Sam glanced at Adrianne and shrugged. “I’m here for the foreseeable future.”
“You’re not going back to Las Vegas?”
“No.” The finality in that one word sent a shiver through Cilla.
“So you’re running your business from here?” Alex pressed, waving his half eaten drumstick at his brother.
“Presently, I’m helping Adrianne run the farm.”
Once again, Cilla sensed there was a lot more being said than the actual conversation. She tried not to take it personally. There were family matters they needed to discuss. She decided to give them an opportunity to get whatever they had to say off their chests.
She’d been watching Adrianne, and the other woman seemed to be understanding what wasn’t being said as much as what was.
Feeling like extra baggage wasn’t pleasant.
That had been her role within her family growing up and during her marriage.
The only place she’d ever belonged was at Ivy House with her grandmother.
Her grandmother was gone, but Ivy House remained.
She grabbed her purse and gave Alex a shove. “Move, please. I’m going to the ladies’ room.” There was a back door she planned to use as soon as she was done.