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“You mean I have to stop dating now that we’re together?” he asked, the outraged shock clear on his face.
I snorted out a laugh and opened the car door again. “You’d better. Or Colburn will be investigating your murder next. Though it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out how you died with all my embalming equipment hooked up to your twitching body.”
“Harsh, Doctor Graves. And inventive. Your intelligence and creativity continue to turn me on.”
“Jesus. You’re sick.”
“Maybe you can cure me later.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“It’s going to rain again,” Jack said as we parked in front of Martha’s Diner. “At least before dark.”
“It must be your farming skills that make you predict the weather with such accuracy.” Jack came from a long line of tobacco farmers, but for the past two generations the Lawson men hadn’t spent a lot of time out in the fields working the land. They mostly just enjoyed investing their money and pursuing the things that interested them.
Jack grinned and we got out of the Suburban and headed inside.Grilled onions and grease assaulted us as soon as we walked through the doors and conversation came to a stand still. It was right in the middle of the lunch rush, so the silence made quite an impact.
Jack and I made our way to one of the turquoise Formica tables and the voices whooshed into conversation again. The vinyl seats were cracked with age and I let Jack have the side that faced the entryway. He hated sitting with his back to a door.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Martha Smith swung out of the kitchen with half a dozen plates stacked on her arms and managed to make it look graceful as she dropped off food from table to table.
She’d been serving burgers and giving hell to her customers for sixty years. I had no idea how old she was, but her hair was dyed fire engine red and the lines on her face were deep and numerous. Her lipstick matched her hair and her dingy white apron wrapped twice around her tiny frame.
“Long time no see, Sheriff. Doc Graves.” She nodded to us both and whipped out the ragged pad she kept in her apron pocket. “Though can’t say I blame ya. I’ve heard nothing for the past two weeks but how the two of you were shacked up together living in sin. That’s the best way if you ask me.”
She pursed her lips and arched a penciled brow. “I always thought sin was way more fun than marriage. Husbands are a pain in the ass. I should know since I’ve had four of them. And then I managed to birth eight boys who aren’t any better at marriage than their fathers were. Though I’m not sure Jimmy belonged to any of my husbands. He never has been right in the head and he was conceived about the time that traveling revival came through town.”
I kept my head buried in one of the plastic menus that sat behind the miniature jukeboxes on the table.
“You think I’m going to be a pain in the ass, Jaye?” Jack asked. I could hear the smile in his voice.
“More than likely. You’ve been doing a pretty good job of it for the last thirty years. You might as well continue the streak for the next fifty or so.”
Marta cackled and slapped her notepad on her thigh. “Well I’ll be. Does that mean congratulations are in order? I sure as hell hope so. I’ve got fifty bucks riding on the two of you.”
“We’re still in the planning stages,” Jack said tactfully. “But we plan to get married soon.”
“How come I don’t see a ring? It’s not legitimate until there’s a ring on your finger, girl. I thought you knew better than that.”
I looked up long enough to narrow my eyes at Jack and glare, but he just winked back at me. “We’ll take two burgers made how we like them and the fries crispy. Iced tea to drink.”
“Humph,” Martha said. “You can’t keep it a secret for long. Good thing your mama is coming in to pick up an order soon. I’ll get all the details from her.”
Jack and I looked at each other and froze, my eyes widening in panic.Jack didn’t ruffle easy, and if I didn’t know him so well I wouldn’t have been able to see theOh, shitlook on his face beneath the placid façade.
Marthahmphedagain and went off to the kitchen.
“I take it you haven’t mentioned marriage to your mother,” I askedstiffly. My feelings were hurt, though I wasn’t completely sure why considering I hadn’t been all that much in favor of it to begin with.
“Actually, I have,” he said. “Several months ago, as a matter of fact.”
“I’m sorry? What?” I shook my head hoping it would clear the cobwebs and things would start to make sense.“We weren’t even together months ago.”
“I remember,” he said, lips twitching. “You were hurt and hiding. It didn’t seem like the time to bring it up. But my mother knows me well and knew I was about at the end of my rope as far as waiting for you. She’ll be thrilled. I’d just hoped to tell her without dozens of ears listening in on the conversation.”
Martha brought back our drinks and burgers in no time and we settled in to eat. About that time the front door opened again and Jack’s mother walked inside. Mrs. Lawson was a tiny woman—maybe an inch over five feet—and it never ceased to amaze me that she’d managed to produce a son the size of Jack. Her hair was as dark as her son’s, but her eyes were a blue so pale it was almost startling. Her skin was smooth and the lines around her eyes hinted at good humor and a lot of laughter.
Jack got up from the booth and intercepted her in a big bear hug before she could reach the counter and the bags of food waiting there for her. He plucked her right off the ground and squeezed her tight. I couldn’t hear what he said but whatever it was made her laugh.
