Chapter 6
JOSH
Well, that escalated quickly.
I hadn’t even set foot inside Violet’s grandfather’s house, and I was already second-guessing the plan to pretend to be her boyfriend.
Because of her sister.
This is a little messy.
Violet is cute. Beautiful even. I’m attracted to her in the way that a straight single guy is attracted to a beautiful woman. Objectively, I know that she’s beautiful and that kissing her would be pleasant.
But when I met her, I did not experience a slap-me-across-the-face-till-my-ears-ring-and-I-don’t-know-which-direction-is north-hot-lust-and-need.
I did with Thea.
In June.
And I’ve thought about her multiple times since then.
I did not go visit Harley in the hospital, hoping to run into her or to try to get information about her. In fact, I got zero information about her from Harley, and I was okay with that.
But I’ve still thought about my friend’s granddaughter more than makes sense, considering I met her while her grandfather was having a stroke, spent time with her in the back of an ambulance and a hospital emergency room, and haven’t seen her in six months.
But I can confirm now, seeing her again, that saying I’m attracted to her is like saying the ocean is a little damp.
This is going to be a problem.
I am now sitting across from her at her grandfather’s dining room table, eating one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time—not that I would ever admit that to Ellie—wondering what the fuck I’m going to do about this.
I’m your sister’s date. Really? That’s how I decided to explain to her what I’m doing here.
But it’s the truth. It’s not like she wouldn’t have found out within five minutes at this table because it’s all her family has been able to talk about.
Thea has now been regaled with a story of how I came upon Violet’s car accident, pulled her to safety, took her to the hospital, and sat by her bed until the family showed up.
They’ve also all exclaimed over what a small world it is and what a wonderful coincidence it is that I was the paramedic to save both Harley and Violet.
My mini-reunion with Harley was awesome. He was so happy to see me that I got a little choked up, and his hug was solid, demonstrating that he’s definitely gained strength and improved his balance since I last saw him.
We laughed over the fact that I never made the connection between Ellie’s brother and Harley. Ellie never used Harley’s name when talking about her brother, and Harley never told me his sister now lives in Autre.
When he was in the hospital, long, in-depth conversations were difficult. He’d lost some of his speech ability at first, and we’d stuck to easy topics, yes and no answers, and playing checkers—which he could move with his unaffected hand—and walks.
Since then, our text messages have consisted mostly of check-ins, comments about Nebraska football and New Orleans hockey, our favorite sports, and the occasional funny meme.
It’s more to show that I’m thinking of him, and when he responds, I know he’s doing well and still making progress with his cognitive and fine motor abilities.
Thea’s trying to avoid eye contact with me now.
I wish I knew what that meant.
“So, you know Ellie?” Ruth asks me.
“I sure do. I’ve been living in Autre for a couple of years now. I see Ellie every day.”
“I love her,” Ruth says enthusiastically. “And Leo. He’s here a lot.”
“Is he?” I hadn’t realized that.
“Leo and Harley are best friends,” Ruth says. “I mean, besides Bruce,” she says, looking at her great-grandfather Bruce.
He winks at her.
“Well, Leo’s my brother-in-law,” Harley says.
“What’s that mean?” Ruth asks.
“He’s married to my sister. So, by law, he’s my brother,” Harley explains. “But really, Leo would be like my brother even without the law.”
Ruth smiles. “You and Bruce were friends before you married him. What was that called?”
“Just friends,” Bruce says, reaching for the rice. “He was married to your great-grandma for a while before we got married. That’s how your grandma and uncles and everyone came to be.”
“Before great-grandma died, right?” Ruth asked.
Bebe nods. “Right. Bruce was always a good friend. Then, after my mom died, slowly Bruce and Harley realized they loved each other more.”
“Well, it wasn’t so slow for me,” Bruce says with another wink. “It took your great-grandpa a little time.”
Ruth has clearly heard this story before. She just smiles and keeps eating.
“You’ve known Ellie and Leo a long time, too?” I ask Bruce.
“Grew up with Ellie and Harley,” he says with a nod. “And I’ve known Leo since he and Ellie met.”
“You’re not from Autre, though?” Bebe asks me.
“No. I’m from Nebraska. Grew up in Omaha.”
“You’re a long way from home. What brought you to Louisiana?” she asks.
Oh boy. Well, I’m supposed to let them get to know the real me. “Honestly,” I say. “A woman.”
I shoot Thea a glance. She’s watching me now.
“Really?” Harley asks. “What happened there?”
He doesn’t seem a bit apologetic about asking.
“I followed her here when she relocated for a job.”
“Were you engaged or something?” Ruth asks.
“No. We weren’t even dating. But I was crazy about her.”
Everyone smiles at that. Ah, they are related to the Landrys. Everyone in Autre loves my love-sick story as well.
Okay, everyone except Thea smiles at that.
Her eyes are back on her plate now.
“What happened?” Harley asks. “You’re not together now, obviously.”
“She got married a few months ago,” I say.
Bebe gasps.
Harley leans onto the table and points his fork at me. “Please tell me you at least told her how you felt.”
I nod. “Yes, sir. I showed up at her work the day after he proposed to her and declared myself in front of an audience of about thirty people. Flowers, her favorite ice cream, and a big diamond ring. Told her she had options.”
Bebe is covering her mouth now.
Bruce is also leaning in. “What did she do?”
“Turned me down flat,” I say with a nod. “That was well over a year ago.”
“Would you say that you’re prone to going over the top?” Harley asks me.
I think about my past poker addiction, some of the stupid shit I’d done with the money I’d won—I’d been very good at poker—the way I’d uprooted my life to move to Louisiana in one day, the way I’d showed up at Fire Academy the day training started basically begging them to let me in, and the way I’d jumped into this situation with Violet.
I nod at Harley. “Yes. I’m afraid so.”
He grins. “Then you’re going to fit in just right around here.”
I chuckle.
“Was the wedding you and Violet went to in Autre?” Thea asks me. Or technically, she asks the collar of my shirt because she’s not making eye contact.
Okay, I don’t want to lie to them. So far, so good. But now, how do I answer this?
“The wedding wasn’t in Autre, no,” I say. That is true. However, I have no idea where the wedding was. But there were no weddings in Autre in the past month.
“Sounds like it was a doozy,” Bebe says.
I grin. “Really embarrassing for two grown women to end up on the floor wrestling in a wedding cake, isn’t it?” I say, repeating the story Violet told me.
Again, not a lie. That did happen at the wedding Violet went to, and that is embarrassing.
Harley laughs. “Embarrassment is all in the eye of the beholder,” he says.
“Some people deserve to be thrown into a cake,” Bebe agrees.
I chuckle and can’t help but watch Thea’s reaction.
She rolls her eyes, but there is a smile teasing her lips.
“It’s rude,” Bruce says. “Someone spent a lot of time on that cake, presumably. They could’ve thrown each other into the macaroni and cheese. That’s a far easier thing to put together.”
Thea’s father sits back in his chair, grinning. “So, you’re not opposed to people throwing each other into food. It’s more about which food?”
“Coleslaw,” Harley says. “Coleslaw is a big ass mess, but it’s not a lot of effort to make. That’s what you throw someone into if you’re trying to make a point.”
“What was the point?” Ruth asks. “Weren’t they just mad, and pushed each other, and the cake happened to be there?”
Bruce puts a hand on his chest. “Well, I certainly hope not. That’s an even bigger travesty. That poor cake is just a victim, then.”
“Agreed. If you’re going to push someone around, you have to be aware of your surroundings,” Bebe says. “You want it to be messy and uncomfortable, to do a number on their clothes and to make it difficult for them to just walk out nonchalantly, but you don’t want it to be something dangerous.”
“Like the table with the forks,” Harley says, nodding.
I snort and again look at Thea. Her smile has grown, but she is still simply taking bites of crawfish étouffée without comment.
“Well, forks, of course,” Bebe says. “But I was thinking that you want to avoid hot dishes. Or things that will stain.”
“If you’re mad at someone, why do you care if the food stains their clothes?” I have to ask.
“Well, of course, it depends on who it is. But the chances are you’re going to be over it in the morning.
You don’t want to damage their clothes permanently.
Like gumbo. That would stain. Or barbecue ribs—those not only have sauce that will stain, but those ribs could poke someone somewhere they shouldn’t get poked. ”
“Where should someone get poked?” Eli asks.
“Well, I—” Bebe starts.
“Butt cheek,” Harley says.
“Butt cheek,” Bruce says at the same time.
They look at each other and both say, “Exactly.”
I look at Thea again. She’s definitely laughing silently, and now she meets my gaze.
We share a grin, and I feel heat spread all the way to my bones.
“Anywhere else has the potential for damage,” Bruce says.
“Agreed,” Harley says.
“Cake wouldn’t damage anything,” Eli says.
“Still… the cake doesn’t deserve that,” Bruce protests.
“But the macaroni and cheese would be hot,” Bebe says.
“I’m telling you, coleslaw,” Harley declares.
“So how did you and Violet meet?” Thea asks me, obviously trying to change the subject.