Stretch widened his eyes. “Really?”
Mom lifted a brow at Fee. “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”
Fee drew her brows together. “Really, ma’am? Like, really?” She raised her hands when his mother opened her mouth to speak. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Familiar with that verse, Mrs. King? Mathew Chapter 7, Verse 3. One of my mother’s favorite’s. I don’t know the bible as well as you apparently do, but the way you’re throwing little digs under the pretense of religion is insulting and unnecessary.”
“Indeed you are Outlaw’s sister,” Lena said coolly.
“Indeed I am.”
They stared at one another until Mom drew herself up. “Let’s go inside,” she suggested. “Your cousins are here, Louis. Most of the family. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you and meet your girlfriend. Come, son.”
Stretch hesitated. His mother hadn’t seen him since he’d lost his ability to walk properly. Besides, with his uncle and cousin watching him, he hated to move.
At Dillon’s smirk, Stretch took a painful step forward, bracing most of his weight on his cane.
“I’m right beside you,” Fee clucked, falling into step with him. Acting as a girlfriend. Her hand at the small of his back—her sweet consideration and quiet strength—inspired him.
“Thanks, babe,” he whispered as they topped the porch and walked inside.
She smiled. “I’m here for you, always.”
The differences between him, Cash and Fee would be quite telling upon seeing the poor condition of the house. Stretch never felt unwelcomed or inferior around Cash and his wealthy siblings. Comparing the gorgeous Denver mansion they sometimes visited, to the peeling paint on these walls and dull hardwood floors made Stretch wonder what Cash thought. Even Fee, who came from a similar socio-economic background as Stretch, now lived in relative comfort thanks to her brother.
Once again, Stretch was the misfit. The odd man out.
Entering the kitchen and seeing family members for the first time in years should’ve thrilled him. The sudden silence humiliated him. Instead of a greeting, they all stared. The smell of coffee scented the air.
Everything was as he remembered. The house had been remodeled the year Stretch turned ten. At first, he’d loved the light blue-green cabinets, white furniture, black and white tiles, and red table and chairs. Now, nineteen years later, not only did it look outdated and worn, but tacky.
Relatives crowded the kitchen and hallway. He wanted to turn and flee their stares. Not one of them attempted to understand him. They refused to believe his inner turmoil or allow him to find comfort from the cruelty of the world, with them, his family.
“You said no one was here, Mom.” That’s one reason he’d moved heaven and hell to get to her.
“We live minutes away,” Uncle Harry blasted from behind. “Lena wanted you here purely for solace. When she looks at you, she sees him.
No one said anything until Fee spoke.
“Stretch needs to sit,” she announced. “Unless one of you are willing to move, we have to get to a seat somewhere else.”
One of them referred to his four aunts, each sitting in one of the red vinyl kitchen chairs.
“This is Ophelia,” his mother announced to the room at large. “His girlfriend.”
“Should’ve got here sooner. We forgot you were coming, boy.” Uncle Harry brushed past him and went to the refrigerator for a bottled water. “All the butterscotch pie is gone.”
Mom glanced at the floor. She looked haggard, as if she hadn’t slept in hours.
“I didn’t expect so many guests, Louis,” she started. “I’ll find a place for you to sleep, but I don’t have room for your girlfriend. She’ll have to find a motel. Your, er, club mate can crash in the living room with the cousins. I have an extra sleeping bag for him to use.”
Cash plastered a smile on his face. “That won’t be necessary, ma’am,” he drawled, all traces of violence gone. “But I appreciate the offer. As a matter of fact, I’m going to call a cab and leave you all to it. I need food and drink.”
“Why don’t you and your girlfriend go with your friend?” Lena suggested with a hopeful smile. “By the time you return, I’ll have sleeping arrangements all figured out.”
In other words, his mother needed him gone until she placated the rest of the family. Her attitude shouldn’t have upset him, but it did. She was treating him just as badly as she had in the past.