Chapter 3
Eddie rubbed his eyes in a dramatic gesture when Lottie and Knox walked out of the rec room bathroom together. “I don’t believe it, not even after I’ve seen it for myself.”
Lottie set her bag of dirty clothes and the one with her toiletries on a chair and took two bottles of sweet tea from the refrigerator. “Believe what? That Knox and I shower or that we’re about to do our laundry?”
“That y’all are really together,” he answered. “If you are taking showers together, then I guess it’s for real.”
“You didn’t believe us? Have I ever lied to you?” Lottie asked in a hurt tone.
Knox had to swallow fast to keep from spewing tea all over his clean shirt.
The jeans, shirt, and underwear he had worn all day were folded neatly on top of his duffel bag.
He shrugged when he realized that Eddie was staring at him.
“Dating has its benefits. We don’t waste water, and we can share a washing machine. ”
“Don’t forget your towels,” Eddie said. “You know the rules. Jack provides them, but we have to keep them clean and folded.”
“I’ll get them.” Knox slid a sly wink toward Lottie on his way to the bathroom. “In all our excitement, we forgot about them.”
“I bet you did.” Eddie chuckled, picked up his olive-green tote bag, and headed toward the bathroom.
Knox hurried in ahead of him, gathered up the wet towels and washcloths, and stood to the side to let Eddie enter the bathroom. “We left a little hot water for y’all.”
Eddie wiggled his thick eyebrows. “From the looks of that foggy mirror, that’s not all the heat you left behind.”
“A gentleman does not kiss and tell.” Knox grinned.
“But a nosy coworker can see it in the glow on y’all’s faces.” Eddie grinned and closed the door.
“Did you bring laundry soap?” Lottie asked on her way down the short hallway.
“No,” Knox answered. “I didn’t even know we had a laundry on-site. I’d planned to take all my stuff home on the weekends and do it at the Paradise or at my brother’s house.”
“I’ve got enough for tonight, but you better pick up some on your way back down here this weekend. We’ll take turns buying it.”
“Yes, ma’am. Do you have a particular brand that you like?”
She shook her head. “Anything that doesn’t have fabric softener in it. That stuff makes me break out in hives.”
Knox nodded and piled the towels into one of the two stacked washers and dryers that sat side by side. “Not a bad setup, but aren’t the new cabins plumbed for washing machines?”
“Yes, but in most of Jack’s estates, he has a setup like this installed. If there’s a party or some kind of event, they can do the laundry here instead of taking it back to one of the houses,” she answered. “Putting our things in together seems pretty personal for a fake relationship.”
“Got to keep up appearances,” Knox said.
“Who knew that”—she lowered her voice—“this could be so much trouble?”
Knox kissed her on the forehead and whispered softly, “Be careful what you say. The walls could have ears.”
She nodded and sighed. “You are right. We’ve got thirty minutes. Want to go whip up some supper for me, or wait around long enough to put our things in the dryer?”
“It’s your night to cook,” he teased.
“How do you figure that?”
“I brought leftover pizza last night,” he said with a wide smile.
“Then it’s either bologna or grilled cheese sandwiches and a can of vegetable soup,” she said.
He took her hand in his and led her out of the laundry. “You can have that if you want, but I’m having shrimp scampi over linguine noodles and steamed vegetables. I have a small turtle cheesecake thawing for dessert. I can set a place for you if you want to stay here and finish up the laundry.”
“Is it one of those frozen things that you heat up in the oven or made from scratch?” she asked.
“My mama would come down from heaven and beat me with a wooden spoon if I ever served my girlfriend a premade meal,” he answered. “She didn’t allow those things in our house.”
Lottie pulled out a chair, sat down at one of the tables, and removed a book from her toiletries bag. “I’ll be at your trailer in an hour, then.”
He started toward the door. “White wine, beer, or…”
“Sweet tea for me,” she answered.
Knox opened the door just as Eddie came out of the bathroom, and Thomas and Gabe entered the rec hall. He whipped around and went back to kiss Lottie on the cheek.
“What was that for?” she whispered.
“Credibility,” he replied. “Hey, y’all. Looks like perfect timing.”
“For what?” Gabe asked as he headed across the room.
“Eddie has the bathroom all warmed up for you,” Lottie answered.
“Not as hot as Lottie and Knox left it for me,” Eddie told them.
Knox slipped out the door and whistled all the way to his trailer. This fake stuff wasn’t so bad. He got most of the benefits without having to worry about the girlfriend getting stars in her eyes when she picked up one of those magazines with pictures of rings, cakes, and big white dresses.
He started the playlist on his phone and wiggled his shoulders to Caylee Hammack singing “Family Tree.” Every lyric in the song made him think of the family dynamics of the folks that had lived or even were living at the Paradise.
Mary Jane had no idea what she had started when she moved into the old brothel in a near-ghost town more than twenty years ago.
She raised seven daughters there and watched all of them come back home after moving away.
The words to the song talked about the roots running deep, and nothing could shake the family tree.
“Absolutely!” he agreed when the song ended. “You got that right, Miz Caylee, and I feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t have the love that we are all lucky enough to share at the Paradise—even with our nosy Aunt Bernie.”
* * *
Lottie was deep into a sexy scene in her romance book when Thomas touched her on the shoulder and startled her so badly that she dropped the book on the floor. “Damn it! Why’d you do that?”
“The washer just buzzed. You need to go transfer your stuff to the dryer so you don’t hold us up,” he replied.
She picked up the book, shoved it back into her bag, and stood up. “You are forgiven.”
“I didn’t have anything to apologize for, so I don’t need forgiveness,” Thomas told her.
“Okay, then, but don’t sneak up on me like that when I have a book in my hands.”
Thomas sat down beside her. “So, according to what Eddie told me, you really are seeing Knox.”
“Is that a question or a statement?” she threw over her shoulder as she started toward the laundry room. “The answer is yes, no matter what it is.”
“He’s not your type,” Thomas said.
Lottie stopped and turned around. “What is my type?”
“You ever heard that song that came out a while back by Caylee Hammack?”
“Which one? I listen to a lot of her work, and what does any of it have to do with ‘my type’?” She air-quoted the last two words.
“I was thinking about ‘Small Town Hypocrite,’” Thomas answered with a smile. “You usually go for losers that leave you in tears. I talked to Jack about Knox. He’s a decent guy. Like I said, not your type.”
“So, you’re saying that no good man would be interested in me?” she snapped.
Thomas put up his palms in a defensive gesture. “Hey! I’m just tellin’ it like I see it.”
“Maybe I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to bad boys,” Lottie said.
Eddie carried a brown paper bag full of food into the rec hall. “I’m making spaghetti. Who all is eating with me?”
The aroma of soap that smelled like leather followed Gabe out of the bathroom. “I’m in if it’s not that stuff that comes out of a can.”
“Me too, especially if you are making it with your famous poor-man dinner rolls,” Thomas answered.
Lottie loved Eddie’s spaghetti and the cheesy bread he made from hot dog buns, but there was no way she was turning down shrimp scampi. “I’m having supper with Knox, but you can save me some leftovers for a midnight snack.”
“Are you cooking?” Eddie asked.
“If so, the honeymoon phase might be over,” Thomas teased.
Lottie frowned at the whole bunch of them and muttered the whole way into the laundry room. She might not like to cook, but she could outwork all three of those guys. And she did not always have relationships with deadbeats.
Oh, yes, you do. Remember Danny and Toby and Jimmy? More than one therapist reminded her of the past boyfriends.
“I’ve learned my lesson,” she argued.
The smell of onions frying with hamburger made her stomach growl when she came back to the rec hall kitchen. Waiting for the clothes to dry was going to last forever, especially when Eddie popped those cheese rolls into the oven, and that aroma spread across the room.
Gabe took three beers from the refrigerator, set two on the bar separating the sitting room and kitchen, and twisted the top off the third. “Everybody looking forward to going home for the big Easter weekend?”
“The kids are all too grown up to hunt eggs at my folks’ place, so Mama doesn’t make a big deal out of that holiday. But you can bet we’d all better be there for Christmas Day, or she’ll send us on a guilt trip that will lay on our shoulders for a whole year,” Lottie answered.
Eddie stirred the sauce and added the meat and onion mixture to it. “I hear you, but my kids are still young enough to get all excited about the day. My mother insists that we go to church with her, then have a big family dinner and the traditional Easter egg hunt.”
“So, are you going home with Knox for the weekend?” Gabe asked.
“Of course,” she blurted out, and she wished she could put the words back in her mouth.
As if a miracle fell from heaven, her phone rang. When Bernie’s name came up, she answered on the second ring.
“Hello, Bernie. What’s going on in your neck of the woods?” she asked.
“Easter weekend is coming up, and if you don’t have plans, I wanted to invite you to come up here.
We have a big to-do. The sisters all get together on Saturday to cook and get the eggs ready for the big community egg hunt, and the guys get the backyard ready for the event.
The menfolks hide the eggs after our family dinner, and Mary Jane takes pictures of each family in front of the Easter bunny.
That’s a six-foot-tall wooden cutout that Joe Clay made for her to use as a backdrop for her photos.
We set up tables under the shade trees for snacks and visiting after the egg hunt is over.
” She stopped for a breath and then went on.
“And there’s plenty of room in the Paradise for you to stay there. You can ride up here with Knox.”
“Thank you for the invitation, but since Knox and I are kind of dating, he should be the one asking me, don’t you think?”
“Well, praise the Lord and pass the biscuits!” Bernie shouted so loud that Lottie held the phone out from her ear. “I’ve done it again! Another star in my matchmaking crown.”
“Don’t go having that big old diamond polished and set into your gold tiara just yet,” Lottie said, laughing. “We’ve only decided to go out with each other since the wedding, and maybe he wouldn’t want me to interfere with his family time.”
“Bullshit!” Bernie said. “Holidays mean family, and you are coming. Don’t even try to argue with me. I’ve got to go now. See you tomorrow night.”
“Hey, y’all!” Lottie raised her voice as she headed for the door. “Just throw my laundry on the folding table, please. I’ll come back and get it later.”
“Sure thing, but what’s making you race out of here?” Gabe asked.
“I don’t want my shrimp scampi to get cold,” she answered and jogged all the way to Knox’s trailer.