AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And if and when it ever happens, we know it won’t be Linnie Elgin, don’t we?” Sean said.
Wiley’s smirk faded. “What about Linnie Elgin?”
“She was my nurse off and on while I was in the hospital. When she found out you were my brother, she frowned, then she said she wouldn’t hold it against me.”
Wiley flushed.
Shirley frowned. “I am going to assume whatever asinine thing you did was forgivable.”
“Mostly,” Wiley said.
Wolf laughed out loud. “Sorry, Shirley, but I want you to know this has been, without a doubt, the most enjoyable meal I have ever had, with the most delightful people I’ve ever met. Does anyone here want to adopt me, too?”
“You’re already in, or you wouldn’t be sitting here,” Sean said.
Shirley sighed. “I promise, I raised them better than this. Anybody want coffee?”
Ella held up her hand. “You know how I like it,” she said.
“Two sugars with a splash of cream,” they all echoed.
Wolf grinned. “Wanna know how I like my coffee?”
“Black, with a splash of whiskey,” Amalie said.
He blinked. “How did you know that?”
She looked startled. “Know what?”
“How I like my coffee?” Wolf said.
Amalie felt the room tilt, then looked at Sean in sudden panic. “Crap. Did I do it again?”
He slid his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead. “You’re just teaching me early to never lie to you,” he said, then made a joke of it for her benefit. “Pay her no mind, everybody. She’s slowly turning into Aunt Ella and still doesn’t have a feel for her brakes. After her wreck, Mother Nature gave her this wild streak,” he said, running his finger down the white streak in her hair, “andthen opened up a little window in her brain that started showing her past, present, and future. That makes her special. I got shot and woke up as confused about life as ever.”
Now everyone was looking at Amalie with renewed respect, including Wolf. One family member with “the sight” was special. Two might just put them on the map.
“Then coffee with a splash of whiskey, coming up,” Shirley said, and pointed at Wiley. “Son, would you please go get the bottle of Jim Beam, and don’t pretend you don’t know where it is because I know you do. It hasn’t been touched since you moved out.”
Wiley got up from the table and came back moments later with the whiskey she’d asked for and set it on the counter.
Shirley winked. “Thank you.”
Wiley took the cake server out of her hand, swung her into his arms, and began dancing her around the kitchen, with Shirley pink-cheeked and giggling, telling him to stop. He danced her back to the counter and returned to the table, grinning.
“What? She’s my mama and she’s pretty,” he said, and sat down.
Ella clapped her hands in delight. “Lord, Shirley, that boy is just like your daddy.”
“Thank God,” Wiley muttered. “Way better than being like mine.”
The blow landed straight in Shirley’s heart. She walked to where he was sitting and put her arms around his neck.
“You are my sunshine, Wiley Pope, and don’t you ever forget it.”
The dark shadows passed, and Wiley was all smiles and laughter again. “So, what does that make Aaron?” he asked.
Shirley moved around the table, placing her hand on each son as she passed. “By order of birth alone, Aaron became our rock. The one I knew who would always pick up the pieces. Sean is the guardian—protecting us, standing between us and trouble.”
