Chapter 6
“Curtain is coming up,” Lottie said when Knox turned down the lane to the Paradise. “Places. Action.”
“Smiles. Jazz hands,” Knox added and parked at the end of a line of vehicles.
She unfastened her seat belt. “What do you know about jazz hands?”
“My mother thought we should have a well-rounded education, and that included theater and drama classes. I was Danny Zuko in our high school musical, Grease!”
“No way!” she gasped. “I was Sandy in ours.”
“Small world, ain’t it?” Knox said as he got out of the truck, rounded the back side, and opened the door for her. “It’s show time, darlin’. Think we can do this?”
“I have faith,” she muttered, and reminded herself that she was up against Bernie.
As if on cue, Bernie came out the front door and motioned them inside.
“I’m starving, and Mary Jane won’t let us start eating until y’all get here, so don’t lollygag around out there.
You can talk after supper. If you sniff the air, you can probably smell the brisket and baked beans all the way out there. ”
Knox took her hand in his and whispered out the corner of his mouth. “Lights. Camera. Action.”
“You are too funny,” Lottie said and took a deep breath. “Lord, that smells good! I hope we can eat before Bernie figures out that we are lying.”
“She’s smart, but if we are good enough to fool the guys at the site, we can do this.” Knox kept his voice low.
“Did you hear me?” Bernie yelled.
“Yes, ma’am, but we’ve worked all day and sat in a vehicle for two hours. We aren’t moving fast just yet,” Knox raised his voice and then added, “Everything smells wonderful, and we only shared an order of fries on the way.”
Bernie picked up Pepper and held the door for them.
“They just don’t make young folks with the stamina I had at your age.
Welcome to the Paradise, Lottie. Come on in and meet everyone.
” Then she headed straight through the foyer and into the kitchen.
She passed Bo on the way and frowned. “Don’t get to talking to them and hold up supper. ”
“You are here.” Bo gave each of them a hug. “Hurry up and eat, or else make a plate and take it with you to the bar.”
“Why?” Knox asked.
“Maverick has the flu, and I need help. Lottie, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I am going to drag Knox away from you for the evening.”
“I’ll be glad to help,” she said. “I’ve never done that kind of work, but I’m a fast learner.” Getting to know one sister would be better than staying back with half a dozen more to answer their questions. Worse than that, she would have to deal with Bernie.
Bo tiptoed, gave her another quick hug, and whispered. “You can thank me later.”
“For what?”
“Giving you a chance to get away from Aunt Bernie and all her nosiness.” Bo’s green eyes twinkled as she led the way to the kitchen, where supper was spread out buffet style.
“Joe Clay will offer grace, and then we can all dive in,” Mary Jane said, “but first I need to welcome Lottie and hug Knox. Seems like he’s been gone for weeks instead of days.”
“Mamas and their kids.” Joe Clay grinned.
Mary Jane wrapped both Knox and Lottie up in a three-way hug, then stepped back and nodded to Joe Clay. He bowed his head and said a quick prayer, and then everyone lined up to load their plates with food.
The dining room table was huge, but there were enough people around it that they were shoulder to shoulder.
Every time that Knox moved, his upper arm brushed against Lottie’s, and the vibes got hotter and hotter.
She tried to take her mind off the attraction by studying each family member and putting names with faces.
Remy and Ursula went together, along with their toddler, Clayton.
Bo owned the bar where she and Knox were supposed to work that night.
Her eyes shifted to Bernie, and the old gal winked.
Did that mean she had invited Lottie to the Paradise to see for herself if the relationship was real?
That alone broke Lottie’s concentration. Then Knox leaned over and added to the rush of heat she was trying to avoid, and whispered, “Aunt Bernie is giddy with excitement.”
“And in six weeks, we are going to break her heart. It’s not going to be easy to fool her for all that time,” Lottie said out the side of her mouth.
A strand of Bo’s strawberry-blond hair escaped the messy bun on top of her head, and she pushed it back behind her ear.
“Y’all stop talking and eat,” she scolded from across the table.
“Mama, can we take our dessert to go? We really have to get on the move soon as these two”—she nodded toward Knox and Lottie—“finish their food.”
“I’m swallowing my food whole already, and I need to put our stuff upstairs,” Knox said.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Bernie asked. “You know very well that few people ever show up the minute the doors are open.”
“If I’m not there at six on the dot, Maverick will start to work. He’s not contagious at this point, but I don’t want him to wear himself out so badly that he won’t feel like coming to Easter on Sunday.”
“Then swallow that last bite of food, Knox, and get a move on,” Mary Jane said. “We’ll have plenty of time to visit tomorrow. I don’t want Maverick to miss our big day.”
Knox swallowed, downed the last of his tea, and pushed back his chair. He laid a hand on Lottie’s shoulder and said, “I’ll get our things taken up to our rooms while you finish. Do you need to change or…”
“I’m good just the way I am,” she said.
He kissed her on the top of her head. “Yes, you are.”
“Before you get away, and I forget,” Bernie said. “In two weeks, I’m having one of my senior mixer events. We’re doing it from two to five on Saturday afternoon. That way it doesn’t interfere with Bo and Maverick’s regular hours. Can I depend on y’all to help me?”
“What do we need to do?” Lottie asked.
“Basically, help decorate and draw up free beer,” Bo answered.
“Sure,” Lottie answered. “I reckon I can do that.”
“And do some karaoke singing,” Bernie added.
“I’m out!” Lottie declared.
Knox threw up both palms. “Me too.”
“She’s pulling your leg,” Bo said with half a giggle. “The juke box will be playing old songs all afternoon. Karaoke night isn’t until the following weekend. Maybe y’all can come back then and sing a duet.”
“Only if you want us to clear out the bar in record time,” Knox said on his way out of the room.
Lottie felt like the only chicken at a coyote convention when the room went silent as a tomb. Everyone seemed to be staring at her, expecting a speech or, at the very least, a complete sentence. Her mind went blank, and she pretended she was alone in her trailer with her cat.
They’re sizing you up, the voice in her head said.
Someone say something. Anything. About any subject. Everyone can even talk at once. Just make noise. This quietness is deafening, she screamed without making a sound.
“Are your parents in the building business?” Joe Clay finally asked.
“No, but my mother’s brother, Jack, is, and he gave me a job when I was in high school.
I went to college, and when I graduated with a business degree, my three brothers offered me a job in each of their businesses.
” She didn’t tell him that she was more comfortable around a bunch of carpenters than she ever was in a dorm full of giggling and whining young women who were only interested in their makeup and shoes.
Thank God, her parents had sprung for a private room, or she would have checked out after the first semester and gone straight into the construction business.
“But you liked the construction business better?” Bernie asked.
“Yes, I did,” she answered.
“Okay, folks, y’all can ask her more questions tomorrow,” Bo said as she stood up. “Thanks for supper. The brisket was amazing, like it always is, Remy. I appreciate you making a plate for me to take to Maverick. I hear Knox coming back downstairs. See y’all tomorrow around noon.”
Knox poked his head around the corner. “Y’all ready, or are you going to stand around and talk for another thirty minutes?”
“We would have already been there if you hadn’t taken time to comb your hair and put on fresh cologne,” Bo fussed at him.
Knox crossed the room and took Lottie’s hand into his. “Hey now, a guy has to do his best when he’s got a beautiful girlfriend. All the customers at the bar will try to take her away from me.”
“I’ve only got eyes for you, darlin’.” Lottie played along with the charade with only a smidgen of guilt, but her insides were a jittery mess of tightly bound nerves.
Knox let go of her hand when they reached his truck. “I apologize for my sister dragging you into this.”
“I’m glad she did. I wondered all through supper if I had something on my face,” Lottie said. “And when you left, everything got quiet and…”
Knox helped her into the truck and patted her on the shoulder. “They couldn’t help staring at you because you are beautiful.”
She fastened her seat belt and crossed her arms over her chest. “We’re alone. You don’t have to keep up the fake stuff.”
“I’m tellin’ you the truth.”
“Then thank you,” Lottie said, and part of the tension left her body.
“What did Bo do before she bought a bar?”
“She spent several years in Nashville trying to break into the country music scene. When she got tired of that, she came home and went to work for Aunt Bernie in her matchmaking business. She fell in love with Maverick, and they settled down in Nocona to run the bar.”
“Do they all have happy-ever-after stories?” she asked.
He backed the truck up and followed Bo’s vehicle down the lane. “Pretty much. Some of the stories got a little stormy at times, but when the obstacles were cleared, they all seem happy now. You’ll probably hear all about them tomorrow.”
“We should be absolutely sure that we’ve got our stories straight if you’re going to leave me alone with all of them.” The tension got so tight in her shoulders that they ached. How did getting a fake boyfriend become so complicated?