Chapter 21
Lila Mae liked driving with Trap in the passenger seat. He normally drove them everywhere they went together, and since she’d stayed at Seven Sons until her tiny house was finished, she knew the way without him having to give directions.
She’d met Micah and Simone Walker before, but as a client, not as their son’s girlfriend. She glanced over to Trap, who kept flipping his phone over and over on his thigh.
“Are you nervous?” she asked, her own anxiety spiking.
“Yes,” he said simply, the word almost a bark.
“Why?”
“I’ve never introduced my girlfriend to my parents.” He looked over to her, his dark eyes gleaming with energy.
Lila Mae smiled. “I’ve met a man’s parents before, so it will be fine.”
“You have?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “I dated my last boyfriend for a couple of years, and I met his parents several times.”
“Did you ever take him home to meet yours?” he asked.
“No,” Lila Mae admitted. “And my parents never came up to Maryland, so nope.” She took a deep breath and let it go, allowing the tension that always came with talking about her family go with it.
“Momma knew about Chris, and I’d sent her a lot of pictures.” Lila Mae cut a look over at Trap. “She was extremely disappointed when we broke up.”
“Really? Why?”
“In general, I’m quite the disappointment to my parents,” Lila Mae said. “But this break-up was because I’m not married, don’t have children, and now I’m thirty.”
“Are either of your brothers married?” he asked.
“One,” Lila Mae said. “Donovan and Stella, but they don’t have any kids either. Momma never hounds them, because Don’s the golden child.”
“I didn’t think you were talking much to your mom since you moved here.”
“I do and I don’t,” Lila Mae said.
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Trap peered at her, but Lila Mae maintained her attention out at the very straight highway in front of her. “Talking is one of those things you either do or you don’t, not that you do and don’t.”
“I text her how things are going,” Lila Mae said, throwing him what she hoped was a withering glare. “She may or may not text me back. I’ve actually set an alarm on my phone to call her once a month, but she didn’t answer last time.”
“Is that normal?” Trap asked.
“For my mother?” Lila Mae made a horrible scoffing sound and wished they could talk about something else. Of course, she’d put off talking about her family all this time, and she couldn’t blame Trap for having questions.
“Yes, absolutely,” she said. “If you do anything my mother doesn’t like, there’s no guessing about how she feels. She’s ruthless, and she has an iron will.”
“Do you think she’ll ever come to Texas?”
Lila Mae made the turn onto the dirt road that was technically part of Seven Sons, though their arch sat further back, by the homes around the corner. “I don’t know.” She sighed. “And I know I’m stupid for hoping that she will, but, well, I hope she will.”
“You’re not stupid for hoping that,” Trap said. “You’re working really hard on Feline Friends, and it’s something you really care about. It’s natural to want to be able to share that with your family.”
He reached over and took her hand in his, and Lila Mae appreciated the human contact. It grounded her to reality and reminded her that while she’d like her mother’s approval, she didn’t actually need it.
She’d worked her whole life to have her mom say she was proud of her, and when it had never happened, Lila Mae could admit she’d given up.
“Just like you’ve learned that you need to learn to rest better on the Sabbath.” She glanced over to him, hoping she wasn’t putting words in his mouth. “I’ve learned that I can’t change my mother. She is who she is.”
She made the turn and then pulled in to Trap’s parents’ driveway, just as their garage door lowered all the way.
“All right.” Trap exhaled heavily and glared at the house. “Here goes nothing.”
“It’ll be fun,” Lila Mae said, and she got out of the car and met him at the front corner of it. He took her hand in his and led the way up the steps.
“I really love this house,” Lila Mae said, admiring the gorgeously carved wood and how every piece fit perfectly together.
Trap chuckled. He grinned at her as he reached for the door handle. “You’re saying it a little bit too soon, sweetheart.”
“Am I?” Lila Mae asked.
“Yeah, you gotta say it when my daddy can hear.”
He opened the door and held it while she smiled for all she was worth. She didn’t want to be a complete suck-up, but she really did love the craftsmanship in this house—and Trap’s father had built every inch of it with his own hands.
“I love the wood in here,” she said, and yes, made her voice a little louder than necessary.
Simone stepped out of the kitchen, a towel in her hands. “Come on in, you guys.”
“Momma, I have some rules,” Trap said, his hand in Lila Mae’s tightening.
“Rules?” His mother’s eyes widened, and Lila Mae would really like to hear his rules too.
“Yes,” he said.
His momma folded her arms and cocked a hip. “I guess you better tell them to me.”
“I don’t want you asking us a bunch of questions. We’ve been dating for three weeks, and I want today to be restful, not embarrassing.”
His mother blinked at him, and then she said, “That seems fair. Come in, come in. I promise I won’t ask anything too embarrassing.”
“I’m pretty sure you will,” Trap said.
“I was just going to ask Lila Mae why she didn’t wear a hat today.” She entered the kitchen and smiled prettily over to Lila Mae.
“I almost didn’t make it to church at all, ma’am,” Lila Mae said. “I think I’m pretty lucky I’m wearing two of the same shoe.” She laughed, and Simone gave a genuine smile.
“Lunch isn’t quite ready yet,” Simone said, and Lila Mae swore that Trap growled. His mother didn’t seem to hear it, or at least she didn’t care. He started toward the couch just as his sister came into the kitchen.
“Laurel wants to play a game,” Simone said.
“No way,” Trap said. “Nope. Nuh-uh.”
“Oh, come on, Trap,” she said. “No one ever plays anymore.”
“That’s because it’s not fun,” he said. “We’re adults. We don’t have to do things we don’t like, right?”
“Not entirely,” his mother said.
Lila Mae’s eyes dropped to the box in Laurel’s hand. “What’s Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza?” she asked.
Laurel grinned. “The greatest game ever invented.”
“It hurts my knuckles,” Trap said.
“You don’t have to bang so hard on the table.” Laurel moved over to the dining room table, which wasn’t anywhere near set for Sunday lunch.
“Are you going to play, Momma?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ll play. Let me finish mixing up the coleslaw.”
Lila Mae watched the discontent move across Trap’s face, but he changed course and moved over to the table, where he sat down across from Laurel.
“This is a card game,” he said. “And it’s pretty easy to play.”
Laurel launched into the explanation, and Lila Mae thought that as long as she had the box right in front of her so she knew which order to go in, she could play it.
“Where’s Daddy?” Trap asked as Laurel started shuffling and dealing out cards. She only made three piles, which meant Simone wouldn’t be playing that round with them.
“He went to help your uncle with something on the ranch,” Simone said. “He’ll be back in about a half-hour.”
Trap rolled his neck and looked at Lila Mae. “A half-hour, right.” He rolled his eyes, and Lila Mae gave him a smile, hoping to convey to him that she didn’t mind. She’d spoken true—she didn’t care what they did, as long as they were together.
The game started, and they went around in order, putting out a card and saying, “Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza.” If the card matched what they said, she had to slap the pile, and while Lila Mae felt like she used her brain all day, every day, this was in an entirely different way.
“Taco,” Trap said, and he’d actually laid down a taco card. Lila Mae knew she needed to do something, but both Laurel and Trap got their hands in first. Hers came down on top of Trap’s and he grinned wickedly at her.
As the last one, she had to pick up all the cards and add them to her deck. She certainly knew she wouldn’t be winning this game. Still, she laughed, because it was a card game and not brain surgery. That, and she wasn’t alone.
She missed every special card, and when Laurel finally went out, Trap held up two cards and scoffed in disgust. “That’s the closest I’ve ever come.”
Lila Mae held the whole deck in her hand, and he grinned at her and chuckled. “I like playing games with you,” he said.
“That’s because you’re going to win.”
Laurel smiled and took the cards from Lila Mae to start shuffling them again. “Be nice to her, Trap. It was her first time.”
“I’m being nice,” he said. “I just said I like playing games with her.” He put his hand over hers and grinned. “What else do you want to play, Laurel?”
“Did you like this one, Lila Mae?” Even Laurel rubbed her knuckles, and that made Lila Mae grin like a fool.
“Yeah, that was really fun,” Lila Mae said. “I don’t think I’ve ever played a family game before.”
Laurel looked at her with wide eyes. “Ever? Any family game?”
The atmosphere around her changed, and Lila Mae realized what she’d said. “My family’s not really into games,” she said, as Simone opened the fridge and put the coleslaw she’d been working on inside.
“We get a new game for Christmas every year,” Laurel said, switching her gaze to Trap. “Well, I mean, we used to before Daisy moved to Houston and Jenson got so busy with his stuff.”
“Yes, my kids love games.” Simone joined them at the table. “It comes from their father.”
“But Daddy’s no fun to play with,” Trap said.
“Why is that?” Lila Mae asked.
“He’s so competitive,” Laurel said. “And he kind of throws a fit if he doesn’t win.”
Simone smiled at her children. “Be nice about Daddy. He can’t help how competitive he is. It’s the Walker genes inside of him.”
Lila Mae looked over to Trap, because he certainly had Walker genes too, and she would never describe him as competitive. Driven, sure, but not competitive.