Misfit(126)
“Sure, Mom,” he said. He’d made the decision to come, so he wouldn’t make a big deal over her behavior. “I need food, too.”
“Of course, son. Go on. Call me before you come back. Okay?”
He went to her and kissed her cheek. “I will.”
She nodded. “Remember, the eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.”
“Um, yeah, Mom, okay. Whatever,” he lumbered and walked out.
An hour later, checked into a suite of a nice hotel that Cash had reservations at, Stretch considered ordering room service. The flight from Portland had worn him out and the visit to his mother’s house unsettled him.
Fee walked into the sitting area. She’d changed from jeans, T-shirt and tennis shoes to a short jumpsuit and ballet flats. The sight of her legs heated his blood. He had it bad for her. It wasn’t only her body, either. It was her, her beliefs, and her attitude.
“You up for going downstairs with us to eat?” she asked.
He shrugged as Cash walked in.
“Told you,” Fee said to Cash. “Let’s just order in. Restaurants are overrated anyway.”
Stretch smiled at Fee. “If you say so.”
“I do,” she insisted, grabbing the folder with the information for the guests, including the room service menu. She sat on one of the nearby chairs. “I’ll have the penne pasta.”
“I’ll have the biscuits and gravy,” Stretch said, once he looked at the menu and decided against a barbeque chicken sandwich. His father always made the best barbeque. At a young age, he’d schooled Stretch in on the differences between the various sauces. “My father’s dead,” he said to no one in particular, returning to his seat on the sofa. “I should’ve called him. Took it upon myself to make up with him.”
Cash’s obscenity almost drowned out Fee’s cluck of sympathy. A moment later, she sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. “You only would’ve ended up hurt if what I witnessed today is anything to judge by. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“He was my father, Fee.”
“Exactly. He was your father,” she echoed. “He had some responsibility…No, he had all of the responsibility. The burden of rejection was on his shoulders, not yours. The reason for turning his back on you is proof that you were better off without him in your life.”
Stretch nodded, torn up inside.
“Do you know the difference between Texas style barbeque sauce and Kansas City style?” he asked, to lighten the mood.
“Umm, the taste,” she guessed.
“And the consistency.” Cash stared at Stretch through his lashes, giving no hint to his thoughts. “Some Texas recipes also contain coffee as opposed to vinegar.”
“You would know that, Southern boy,” Fee teased.
Chuckling, Cash winked at her, offering an elaborately sweeping bow. He tipped an imaginary hat to her. “At your service, ma’am,” he drawled.
She poked her tongue at Cash. “You’re a wicked flirt.”
“You’re a dirty seductress,” he tossed back, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.
“Let’s get back to the conversation, Cash,” she said primly. “We’re cheering Stretch up, so get your mind out of the gutter.”
“My mind isn’t in the gutter, princess,” Cash retorted. “It’s in your panties and his boxer briefs.”
High color rose into her cheeks and she licked her lips. Cash’s words went straight to Stretch’s cock. Fee was right. The man was a wicked flirt.
“Let me finish schooling you on the sauces.”
The timbre of Cash’s voice, the desire on his face made Stretch’s balls tingle.
“KC uses molasses and sugar to thicken the sauce, and vinegar to add tanginess. KC has some of the richest sauces around, although Texas has the best tasting.” He smirked at Stretch. Cash loved to point out how everything was bigger and better in Texas. “Our sauce has a Mexican influence with hot peppers, cumin, and chili powder. It’s thinner, too.”
“No vinegar?” Fee asked.
“In some recipes,” Stretch answered, considering himself the barbeque maestro between them. He’d been weaned on it. “A lot of the store brands are similar to my city’s style.” He added this fact to annoy Cash.
“Do either of you really give a fuck about barbeque sauce right now?” Cash asked, sex always uppermost on his mind.
Cash’s father thought money solved everything. Cash believed fucking did.
Unbuttoning his shirt, Cash nodded to Stretch and Fee to do the same. As Fee stood, lifted her hair, and presented her back to Stretch so he’d undo her zipper, he froze.