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“Nonsense,” Nana Noel cuts me off. “You two will simply come to family dinner instead.”
“You can’t be serious,” I deadpan. Bringing Thorin to family dinner night has disaster written all over it. Dad would be fuming, Nana Noel would pretend nothing bad is happening, I would be trying to hide under the table, and who knows how Thorin would feel being thrust into the awkwardness of family dinner at the Hastings residence.
“I’m not letting you have any excuses this time,” she warns me. “This is happening so you better go tell Thorin where he’s expected to be. If he doesn’t want to show up, fine, he’s under no obligation to.You, however, are. I let you get a pass because I didn’t particularly want to clean blood off my floors, but you’ve had time to cool down. So I’ll see you on Sunday at four sharp, correct?”
It’s not as if she’s leaving me any wiggle room to argue. “Alright, but I make no promises about Thorin.” She nods in satisfaction before ambling away back towards the kitchen to begin cooking with the rest of the nosy grannies.
“What am I under no obligation to do?” Thorin asks from behind me, startling me.
I place my hand against my chest as I whirl around. Tonight he’s dressed lowkey in sweats and a plain long sleeve shirt. His hair is a little messy and cheeks tinged pink from the nip of cold air outside. “Right,” I clear my throat as I glance up into his captivating eyes. “Nana Noel just informed me that I have to cancel on Sunday since she’s demanding we have family dinner. You’re invited if you want to come, but it’ll be horribly awkward. Dad will be there and it’s usually an hour of uncomfortable silence or forced talking points Nana Noel deems are necessary. But you’re not a Hastings, so your participation isn’t necessary.”
Thorin shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets at the same time. “Sure. What time do I need to be there?”
I blink several times, giving him ample time to toss outI’m kiddingbut he remains silent, watching me back. “You want to come to Sunday dinner?” I repeat, just to ensure he’s not agreeing to something else instead. Maybe he heard me wrong and he agreed without fully thinking it through.
“Yeah. Why not? Do you not want me there?”
Thorin being there might be the only appealing thing about having dinner with my father. But still, I don’t think he’s quite grasping what I’m trying to explain. Slowly, I say, “My father will be in attendance. We mostly just stare at our food and not speak to one another. And if we do speak by some miracle, it almost always ends up becoming an argument. He doesn’t want anything to do with me. And I know how you are, you’re a caring person so you’ll feel the need to defend me or stay out of it, but it will be extremely awkward.” That being said, “If you want to come, I won’t stop you. I just want you to be aware of what you’ll be walking into.”
He reaches out to squeeze my limp hand. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. I understand it will be awkward.” Thorin leans down, his gaze sliding towards the kitchen, “Honestly, I’m just trying to win brownie points with your grandmother.”
Now I’m confused. “What? Why would you need to do that?”
“She threatened to douse me in horse manure the last time I saw her.”
Nana Noel didwhat? My mouth gapes open, unable to formulate a response to his outlandish claim. There’s no way Nana Noel said that to him. She’s too sweet to say something so crude, especially to someone like Thorin.
Thorin snickers. “You don’t believe me. She did. She wouldn’t tell me if you were okay when I came to visit you the other day when you had a migraine. I honestly thought I was going to be walking back to my car covered in feces, but she just went about her merry way.”
I can’t imagine my sweet little grandmother doing anything of the sort. However, I know her sass can get ahead of her sometimes, so there’s a small chance Thorin isn’t fibbing and she went off on him. “Okay,” I say carefully. “If that were true, I’m sure she’d never actually do it.” Probably not, at least.
“Sure she wouldn’t.” But Thorin winks, clearly amused by my grandmother’s antics. “Are you helping in the kitchen again or tutoring with homework?”
I toss my thumb in the direction Nana Noel headed. “Kitchen first, then I’ll be out here to help you.” I spy the group of boys eyeing Thorin again. “I think your church gang has arrived and is waiting for you. Try to keep the Cheerios off your face this time, okay?”
Thorin takes a step back, hands poised in the air innocently. “I can’t help it if you’re not cool enough for initiation.”
Watching him walk away and join the boys, he seems to be received well. Losing the rich kid clothes definitely is working in his favor. Even the older children are starting to look at him curiously, as if realizing he’s there to help them and not just toss money at a perceived problem. Thankfully, this time we’re alone here at the church to donate our time, so it feels less daunting than when Aillard and Whitney showed up last month.
Turning around, I make my way into the kitchen towards where Nana Noel is whispering with Rita. When she spots me, she offers a grandiose smile like she’s not doing any diabolical planning.
“What’s this I hear about you threatening to fling horse manure at Thorin?” I ask, making sure Rita can hear the gossip.
Nana Noel’s entire face turns beet red. “Why would I threaten the poor man with that?”
I narrow my eyes at her to silently berate her for her actions, but all she does is narrow hers back at me. “Be nice.”
She places her hand daintily on her chest. “Me? I’m always proper towards guests. I simply reminded him that while I may be old, I still take care of my loved ones and he would do well to remember that.”
“We can put a worm in his spaghetti,” Glenda offers, one of Nana Noel’s other elderly friends who only shows up once a month for church night.
Nana Noel screws up her nose as she tosses Glenda an exasperated look. “We’re above putting worms in people’s food.”
“But not so above throwing horse shit,” I counter.
Nana Noel waves me off. “It’s not like what I said scared him off. Don’t think I didn’t notice you came home late the other night. I was staying up watching my shows when I saw your headlights pulling in the drive. If you can look past his personality faults then so can I.”
“What personality faults?” Rita asks, peeking her head through the kitchen window that overlooks the main area. “He looks perfectly sane to me.”
