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“Um, yes,” I answered. “That’s me. Hooch. Turner Hooch.”
Did I just introduce myself like James Bond?
What the absolute fuck, Turner?
Castiel walked past me into the kitchen.
Castiel’s parents, as well as Lauriel and her husband, who’d introduced himself as Avner of all things, all continued to stare at me.
When Lauriel broke off to go into the kitchen, I winced when I heard her say, “Another rich one, Cassie? Really?”
Avner, Castiel’s mom—Judith—and Castiel’s dad—Ciel—both looked at me with worry plain on their faces.
Holy shit. What was this?
What had I walked into?
“Umm.” I juggled the turkey. “Where do you want me to put this?”
It was Ciel who pointed at the counter. “You can put it there. But we don’t need another turkey to fry.”
I thought about just turning around and walking straight out of the house and back to my truck to, I don’t know, drive like a bat out of hell out of here, but Castiel stopped me in my tracks by his words.
“I told her she could come over here and we’d cook it. The oil will already be hot, and it won’t take but a couple of minutes,” Castiel interrupted my inner musings. “Now, stop acting like assholes.”
“It’ll take like forty minutes,” Avner said. “Not a couple. And I’m not acting like an asshole.”
“You’re staring at her like she’s an interloper in your domain,” Castiel countered.
Lauriel crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her hips against the counter. “Well, she is.”
My arms were starting to ache, but there was no way in hell that I was walking in there without first knowing whether I was truly welcome.
I could take my turkey back home and cook it on high before I was subjected to a Thanksgiving that I wasn’t welcome at.
But, when Castiel moved, taking the turkey from me and setting it on the counter, I knew that he wouldn’t be waiting.
I’d be staying, because taking one look at Castiel’s face? I knew that he was pissed.
“Stop messing around, you’re making her feel unwelcome,” Castiel ordered, turning back to the room and me.
His eyes went to my face, and he stiffened even further.
I tried to wipe away my discomfort, tried to hide it, but it was very plain on my face and I was shit at hiding my emotions.
Avner walked to the counter and took a look at the bird. “How much does this one weigh?”
Castiel’s eyes once again cut to me.
I opened my mouth and then closed it. “I searched for a fourteen-pound bird.”
“You’re not sure on the exact weight?” Castiel asked.
I shook my head. “No. I could go back home and look in the trash.”
And never come back.
Castiel likely understood what would happen if he sent me home because he shook his head immediately. “We’ll make do.”
“If you burn down my garage because you don’t know what you’re cooking, she’s paying for it,” Lauriel exclaimed.
That was when I stiffened even further.
I wasn’t going to be able to do this.
But then Lauriel laughed and walked to the sink, washing her hands.
“I don’t have any butter injector for this one, either,” Ciel mentioned. “We’ll have to make some up really quick like we did last year when Lauriel couldn’t find it.”
Castiel walked up to my side and pulled me into his chest, dropping his mouth to my ear.
“They’re really good people,” he said. “They’re protective of me, and the last time I brought someone home, she tore my heart out and stomped on it. Give them a little bit of time to get used to you.”
And I tried to remind myself of those words at least once every five minutes over the next hour.
At first, I’d tried to go outside and be with Castiel. However, that didn’t work out because in the last hour, a cold front had barreled its way through the town, and since I was without a coat, I was forced to go inside, despite Castiel offering me his coat.
There was no way in hell I was taking his coat, though, because it was more than obvious that he needed it since he was the one out there cooking.
Meaning I’d gone inside and offered to help Judith and Lauriel.
They’d snubbed me, telling me to find a seat at the bar and not ‘worry about trying to help.’
So that was where I sat for the next long while, listening to them talk to each other and completely ignore me.
And, since I wasn’t rude like they were, I’d left my phone in the vehicle, purposefully trying to make a good impression.
Turns out, I needn’t have bothered. No matter what I did or how hard I tried, no good impressions would be happening today.
“It’s just that Castiel seems to have a habit of bringing home rich women with problems,” Lauriel said snottily. “What’s your problem?”
At first, I wasn’t sure that she was talking to me.
