Hard as Stone(126)
“Yes, ma’am.” Jake nodded, bending to brush a kiss against Harmony’s temple. “Be right back,” he murmured against her warm skin before she jerked her head away.
Faith waited until Jake left the room before turning wide eyes on Harmony. “So…. are you going to forgive him?” she asked, jerking her head toward the doorway where Jake had disappeared.
“I don’t know. I told him I needed time, but he just won’t go away,” Harmony said, her teeth clenched. “Honor, you’re going to have to evict him for me to get any peace,” she said, directing her remark at the youngest sister. “I bet he’d listen to you.”
Honor shifted in her seat, refusing to meet Harmony’s eyes. “We’ll see,” she murmured.
“Well, he’s built like a brick shithouse, not hard on the eyes, and carries a big gun,” Patience noted, wriggling her eyebrows. “But, I’d still let his ass twist in the wind for a while after the shit stunt he pulled. He might have done it with the best of intentions, but it was still a crap play to make.”
Harmony huffed, nodding her head at Patience. “See…this is what I’m saying.”
“You say the boy’s got nine inches on him, honey?” Aunt Orla asked, speaking for the first time from the other end of the table. “I could forgive a whole lot of sins for nine inches worth of lovin’, child.”
“Aunt Orla!” Honor and Harmony yelled in unison as Faith and Patience cackled.
“What?” the elderly aunt asked nonchalantly, taking a sip from her own tea cup. “I could!”
Turning to Patience, Harmony glared at her sister. “Do you have to tell everything you know?”
“What?” Patience shrugged. “So, I might envy you your boyfriend’s dingaling. Sue me.”
“Hellllooooo! Anybody home?” they all heard a bright, cheerful voice call from the living room.
“Ohhhh! Mags is here!” Patience clapped, spinning in her seat to look out the door.
Sighing, Honor pointed at her excited sister. “Don’t wind her up, Patience,” she ordered. “Tonight is going to be a long enough evening as it is without you two tag-teaming Abel.” Turning her head toward the doorway, she called, “We’re in the dining room, Maggie!”
“So, I hear Tanner Dickhead Suarez has managed to completely ruin Tequila Tuesday for us all,” Margaret Winstead announced as she reached the entrance to the dining room. “For that alone, I’m willing to help you girls hunt him down and separate him from the tiny piece of manhood he claims as his swinging dick!” she announced in lieu of greeting. Standing in the doorway clad in a vintage white lace sleeveless Dolce & Gabbana shirt, Maggie glared at the room at large, one hand perched on a rounded hip. “This is completely unacceptable! I depend on my Tequila Tuesdays with Patience. I work for Abel Turner, and she, of all people, understands my need to drink where that man is concerned!” she huffed, marching forward on her sleek black Leon Max pumps to slap a teal-colored file on the scarred farmer’s table where the rest of the women sat. Turning her startling green eyes on Harmony, her lips tightened. “That bastard,” she snarled, cataloguing the oldest McKinnon daughter’s injuries with a keen glance. “Harmony, your face, honey!”
“I’m okay, Mags,” Harmony assured the other woman, rising from her chair to offer Maggie a hug. “Really, it’s not as bad as it looks,” she added as the stunning redhead wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. “I’m fine.”
“Have you told that to the garish purple bruises all over your jaw?” the other woman snapped, already reaching for her gold Hermes bag and rifling through it. “Here,” she said, pulling out a gold tube. “This will help. It’s a concealer from Clinique that works wonders,” she explained, pressing it into Harmony’s palm. “Abel told me that the cowardly freak worked you over, but he didn’t mention this,” she growled, gesturing at Harmony’s face before turning and offering Honor a quick hug.
Harmony chuckled, trying to give the makeup back to her friend. “Maggie, I don’t need this.”
“Trust me, sweets, you do,” Maggie replied with a meaningful look at Harmony. “Now, sit down,” she nodded to the chair behind her, “Is there a plan yet?” she asked, tossing her long red hair over one shoulder as she looked around at the women. “Tell me, there’s a plan. It looked like there was a lynch mob forming out by the barn when I arrived, and I’m happy to join it.”