Chapter 19 #2
“You’ll have to forgive my granddaughter’s manners, August. She was raised by musicians.”
The comment was so unexpected a laugh burst free, half-choked due to the sip of iced tea I’d just taken. “Grams.”
“I’m sorry sweetie, I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.”
For some reason the word hit me harder than usual.
Dead. The word rattled my bones. Dead. Overdosed.
The reminder was sobering and I wondered what the media had to say about the whole thing.
Had my mom seen the news, wherever she was?
Did she think about him, or me, at all? I’d never met her and didn’t really care to change that any time soon, but every now and then I wondered about her.
My thoughts returned to the mess we’d left behind, that Louise was no doubt dealing with on my behalf.
Were they showing pages of the autopsy I hadn’t known he’d had?
Speculating about the drugs that killed him?
The cover-up? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
I’d deleted my social apps and set my phone to ‘do not disturb’ so that only calls from Louise or Cade could get through.
For now, the wound was too fresh for me to go digging around inside it, obsessing over every article, theory, or comment.
I blinked, coming out of my thoughts when Wyn slipped her arm into the crook of mine. The kitchen had become very quiet and Gram’s face was unusually serious. The smile I pushed to the surface was entirely forced. “It’s okay, Grams.”
Haven, ever the peacemaker, began to tell us a story about one of the new horses they’d taken in last month but I barely heard a word he said.
August’s eyes caught hold of mine, their warmth steadying as he watched me. I nodded slightly, reassuring him, and he nodded back. The tension slowly left my body. It was a strange but comforting feeling, that someone was on the inside of your bubble with you, looking out.
The oven opened and the smell of warm chicken filled the air, making my mouth water as Joe added the sliced vegetables and potatoes to a casserole dish inside the heat before closing the door again.
My stomach growled and a few good-natured chuckles rang out as Joe kissed me on the cheek.
“Not long to wait now.” Her eyes were soft but her smile was all mischief as she sat back down beside me. “Have you been out to see Tea yet?”
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t had the chance, but I’ll go and see her in the morning.”
“Nothing like an evening ride,” Wyn countered but I didn’t miss the gleam in her eye or the double meaning in her words. “Horse ride, I mean,” she added, widening her eyes at my look.
“I have to get back and feed Muffin when we’re done here,” I murmured, mostly to myself, and Wyn nodded as Ryder looked up.
“What is a Muffin and why does it need to be fed?”
“Muffin’s a cat,” August said before I had the chance. “Here, see?” He pulled out his phone and passed it to Ryder, who ran his eyes over the screen in a cursory look that might have annoyed me if I hadn’t seen the softness in his eyes.
“Cute.”
“You took pictures of my cat?” My voice was high and I cleared my throat, gulping some more iced tea. “Why?”
August shrugged and his borrowed tee rode up, showing the taut muscles of his lower stomach. “She wanted to. I came out of the shower and she was on my bed, rolling around and posing for me.”
“I get it man.” Haven nodded emphatically, his lopsided smile threatening to burst free from its confines when he continued, “Chicks do that for me all the time. Guys, too.”
“Looks like you’ve got some competition, boss.” Ryder’s laugh was throaty and I grinned, unsure if he was referring to Muffin or Haven. Probably both.
We chatted for a little while longer while Joe and Lisette grabbed the food from the oven when the timer went off. Then there was mostly quiet as we dug into the food.
Once our plates were cleared and my stomach was content, we moved to the lounge and flopped out on the sofa while we drank our drinks.
Haven shook his head. “I can’t believe nobody brought pie.”
“Next time, we’ll all bring pie,” I mused and Haven pointed at me.
“You. I knew I liked you.”
The sky outside had darkened beyond the windows in the front room, and I knew the temperature had to have dropped a lot too while we’d been inside.
But I was looking forward to the cool air, bracing as it may be, and the short walk back to the Pink house to ease my feeling of fullness.
The dark didn’t really phase me though, I’d walked the trail between houses so many times in the few summers I’d spent here that I could have navigated it drunk, blind, and sleeping.
“I should probably get back. Muffin will be pissed if I give her dinner late.”
“Beholden to the pussy,” Ryder remarked and Lisette slapped the side of his arm in a gentle chide.
I ignored him, looking instead to August. “You coming with me? Or do you want to stay here a while longer?”
“I’ll come with you,” he said, voice low and making my head swim with inappropriate thoughts despite knowing he hadn’t meant it that way.
“Yeah he will,” Joe muttered to me as she passed, flashing me a smirk that rivaled Ryder’s as I sighed.
“Alright. See you guys later.” I bent down to press a kiss to Grams’ cheek and waved to the others as I headed for the door. “Thanks for dinner Joe, it was great.”
August murmured his goodbyes as I held open the front door, the air smelling like rain and grass and waking me up a little from my comfortable stupor. Now I just had to survive the night, knowing August was just down the hall from me.
Fuck.