“Gotcha. Well, we’ll risk it and walk to where we’re putting the gate. Here’s hoping for no reckless grannies.” I found myselfstroking Emerson’s chubby little cheek with my index finger as he blew spit bubbles at me and shook the teddy bear. “Bye, kiddo. See you later.”
Demi smiled and left with him, and Lombardi and I got to work.
The next day, the hordes descended. And by hordes, I meant the ladies from the church Gigi Fern had gone to when she’d felt “particularly sinful” as her namesake had told me. Apparently the older Fern Harrington hadn’t been much for church, but had gone on occasion just to glare at the “good Christians” that were Mike and Jenn’s parents.
Since it was a small town, most people went to the same church and these ladies that now came over for gossip to spread in town, some of them were church people. Not the bad kind, Jenn had made sure to cultivate her friend group over the years. She and Mike never went to church, and neither did any of their kids. But Gigi Fern’s graceful and sometimes spiteful generosity had made a mark and her legacy lived on.
To be fair, Hawk, as he ducked out of the house after lunch, had told me that some of the friends of the family who now wanted to visit were people from the town’s chamber of commerce Mike and Jenn were involved with.
There were others, of course. So, so many people.
When I left the house after my lunch, Mike escaped for a bit with me and chuckled as he rubbed his face with his hands.
“It’s a lot, eh?” I murmured as we stood together on the porch.
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I mean, it’s great to see people care, but could they care a bit less?”
I snorted, then clapped his shoulder. “Hey, at least the gate’s not up yet.”
He laughed. “At least there’s that.”
A few hours later I went to Jenn’s office to print out some paperwork for them to sign.
There were people in the house but not that many. Who was there, though, was a tired as fuck looking Emery who was stuck in the corner of the couch with an elderly woman quizzing him about… heart operations?
I dodged another, younger woman in the hallway on my way back out.
“Ville? A minute?” Jenn called out from the kitchen where she sat at the table.
“Are you supposed to be doing that?” I blurted out when I realized she was fixing what looked like Payton’s afternoon snack.
Her eyes flared with fire, and I immediately raised my hands in surrender.
“Here’s the paperwork for you and Mike to look over, I’m going to put it over there.” I shuffled away from the reach of her knife and placed the papers on the counter where important things lived.
“I want you to take Emery with you. Take him riding or something. He needs a break. Don’t let him come back until dinnertime,” she spoke quietly and firmly, eyes on her task, before piercing me with a sharp gaze.
“Noted.” I went to the fridge to grab a couple of bottles of water. My eyes widened at the amount of casserole dishes. “Jesus. It’s like someone died.”
Jenn snorted behind me. “Better check my pulse, yeah?”
I closed the door and playfully went to grab her wrist just as Mike walked in.
“You making moves on my woman?” he asked in a mock stern voice, but his eyes were dancing with mirth.
Jenn smiled. “He’s checking if I still have a heartbeat. You know, because all the funeral food in the fridge.”
They immediately started to bicker in the way loving couples did, playful and teasing in their tone, and I took the opportunity to dodge out of the kitchen.
I walked to the family room and cleared my throat. “Excuse me, Ma’am,” I said in my best polite boy tone.
“Oh, you’re the security expert!” The old lady exclaimed.
“Yes, Ma’am. I’m going to need to borrow Emery for a while, if you’d be so kind as to let me steal him for a bit.” I smiled at her.
She had hearts in her eyes by the time Emery got up and made his escape.
I followed him outside, a few paces behind, and saw him leaning on the porch railing, looking so damn tired.
