“The ambulance gathered up those three guys and took them to the hospital, where they told a story about a gang of thugs attacking them as they were leaving. No way were they ever going to admit that old Barney had beat the crap out of all three of them. At once.”
Wyatt chuckled. “Did they ever pick on him again?”
“Nope, they cut a wide swath around him from then on. I couldn’t believe they even came back to the bar. When I asked him why he’d done it, he said that sometimes folks have to learn things the hard way. His words come back to haunt me pretty often, because I’m one of those people.”
“No, darlin’, you aren’t. You just endured a lot of hard knocks in life, but you’ve eaten your toad frog.” He kissed her on the forehead.
“Toad frog?”
“It’s one of your granny Annie’s sayin’s. She said that if you get up every morning and eat a toad frog, then the rest of the day has to be better. You’ve had your toad frog and now it’s time for you to be happy.” Wyatt found her hand under the blanket and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Zed quickly snuffed out the cigarette in his hand so that the red glow wouldn’t attract attention. Wyatt carried a barefoot Harper to the door, set her down, and then brushed a real sweet kiss across her lips.
“Do you want to come in?” she whispered.
“No, it’s late and you have to get up early.”
She reached up and touched his cheek.
“I’ll be back tomorrow night, if that’s okay,” he said.
“I’ll look forward to it.” She smiled. “But wait, I’ve promised to stay with Brook while Dana goes out with Payton,” she said.
“Any reason why I can’t babysit with you?” he asked.
The boy was persistent. A good sign in Zed’s book.
“Not one I can think of, but it could be a boring evening,” she said.
“Time spent with you could never be boring.” He kissed her, this time on the forehead. “See you about seven thirty, then?”
“I’ll be at the house, not here.” She waved.
Zed waited until the truck and boat were completely out of sight, and then he made his way around the back of the café to his place. He removed his jacket and hung it on the coatrack inside the door and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
“It’s lookin’ good, Annie. She looked right happy tonight when he brought her home. It was so sweet the way he carried her from the truck to the porch because she was barefoot. Brought back some memories for sure.”
He adjusted the shower water and put all his dirty clothing into the hamper as he removed each piece. Then he had a coughing fit that left him hanging onto the vanity for support. “I swear, them cigarettes is goin’ to kill me just like you said they would. Sometimes I just wish they’d get on with it.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I’m too old for a babysitter. Cassidy is keeping kids and she’s my age, so why do I have to have a sitter?” Brook was arguing with her mother when Harper poked her head in the back door that evening.
“Hey, I’m not babysitting you. Tawny might be, but not me. I want you to meet Wyatt. You can tell me what you think of him,” Harper said. “He’ll be here in about half an hour. I thought we might build us a bonfire in the backyard and roast some marshmallows to make s’mores with. What do you think?”
“You aren’t foolin’ me.” Brook crossed her arms over her chest. “But I would like to meet your Wyatt. Does he have a friend we could fix up Tawny with? Then there could be three men that I’m determined not to like.”
Tawny came into the house without knocking. “I heard what you said, Brook. We’re paddling the same boat. No one will ever be good enough for you in my eyes, either. And I don’t need Harper to fix me up with men. God Almighty, girl! Can’t you just see what she’d haul in for me?”
Brook’s frown ended, and a smile split her face. “But she could bring in the man who is your soul mate.”
“Like Ryson is Cassidy’s?” Tawny asked.
Brook shook her head. “Don’t try to throw me off the subject. And Cassidy just has a crush on him. He’s not her soul mate. I do feel sorry for him because he doesn’t have a good life at home, and the day after that drug thing, he came to school with a black eye and a bloody lip. Cassidy said that his mama beat on him with a belt because he lost that bag of pot.”
“What ever happened with that? Did the police do anything?” Harper asked.
“Don’t know. He didn’t get expelled. Cassidy said there were too many fingerprints on the bag to even get it processed, and since no one could prove where it came from, well . . .” She shrugged.
“Does Flora know about this crush?” Harper asked.
“Cassidy really likes him, but I’m sworn to secrecy, because Flora would have a fit. His mama is white, but his daddy is black. He kind of looks like he’s Hispanic, but, well, it’s a problem with Flora, I guess,” Brook whispered.
“Uncle Zed’s mama was half white, and Flora doesn’t hate him,” Tawny said.
“Yep, old people are strange,” Brook said. “But I’m still not going to like Mama’s new man, Aunt Tawny.”
The doorbell rang, and Dana opened it wide. “Come on in and meet my sisters and daughter.”
Payton’s blue button-down shirt matched his eyes perfectly, and his blond hair was slicked back into a short ponytail. His jeans hugged his body and stacked up over alligator cowboy boots. He handed her a bouquet of red roses.
“Oh, Payton, red roses are my favorite.” She sank her nose into the roses and inhaled deeply. “And they even smell like roses. I love them.”
“They can’t come close to matching the aroma all around this house or the beauty of the first rosebushes of spring . . . or you,” he said.
“Well, thank you. Now introductions.” She blushed as if she’d just remembered that there were other people in the room. “This is Harper and that’s Tawny, my sisters. And this is my daughter, Brook.”
His hand shot out toward Brook first, and his smile lit up the whole room. “I’m pleased to meet all of you. Has anyone told you that you look a lot like your mother?”
“Of course.” Brook dropped his hand. “Her curfew is eleven o’clock, and if she’s not home by then, I will text her every five minutes. So I’d advise you not to be late.”
“Yes, ma’am. And I will promise to walk her to the door,” Payton said seriously. “Harper?” He shook hands with her and then turned around. “Tawny? Pleased to make y’all’s acquaintance. Now if you’re ready, Dana, our reservations are in thirty minutes. You look stunning tonight.”
Brook rolled her eyes toward Harper, who had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. Dana frowned at Brook, and Harper covered the escaping laughter with a cough.
Finally, Dana and Payton were out of the house, and Brook threw herself on the sofa with a loud moan. Harper couldn’t contain it any longer and her laughter echoed off the walls.
“What’s funny?” Brook asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “Mama wouldn’t let me leave the house with a boy if he had a ponytail like that. And did you see the way he looked at her? Like he was the Big Bad Wolf and she was Little Red Riding Hood. Like he couldn’t wait to get her into a motel room. Well, I’ll tell you one thing—they aren’t sleepin’ in this house together. Not while I’m here. Oh. My. God!” She sat up with a jerk. “What if she gets pregnant?”