“Well, that’s the thing.” I swallowed, readying myself for the barrage of questions and some pissed-off brothers. “Flash took me to a biker bar and we ran into his club.”
“I told you to stay the fuck away from that MC,” Joey interrupted.
“Language, son,” Pop said, and then returned his eyes to me. “Go on.”
I shifted in my seat, worried that the dinner would turn into a free-for-all, but I knew the information about James would both be a relief and a worry. “When I got there, one of the men at the table wouldn’t look at me. He was acting funny.” No one was eating, and everyone was staring at me. “When he finally made eye contact with me, I knew it was Tommy,” I said, leaning back in my chair.
A collective gasp sounded around the table as my words seeped in.
“Is he okay?” Ma asked, dabbing at her eyes.
“Yeah, he’s good, Ma.” It wasn’t an outright lie. He was okay, relatively speaking.
“Did you get to talk to him?” Pop asked, resting his fork next to his dinner plate.
“I did. We spent an hour alone together.” I nodded and smiled. The last thing I wanted to do was add more worry to their lives. “He promised me he’d be home soon and he asked me to send his love. He misses us all.”
“How did he look?” Joey inquired, leaning forward with his hands clasped over his plate.
“He looked tired, but otherwise good,” I answered.
“How exactly did you get time alone with him?” Anthony asked, the perpetual scowl on his face intensified.
“That’s not important,” I snapped, glaring back at him and biting my lip.
“Like hell it isn’t. Spill it, sister,” Joey growled with snarled lips.
“Jesus,” I muttered. “He kinda called dibs on me for the night.” I smiled, pretending like it was no big deal.
“I’ll kill Flash!” Joey yelled, slamming the bottom of his fist on the table.
“Fuck,” Anthony groaned.
“Dead man walking,” Mike growled.
“Calm the shit down!” I yelled over their over ramblings.
“What’s that mean?” Ma asked, confusion written all over her face.
Pop shook his head, patting my mother’s hand. “I’ll explain it later, love,” he said to her.
“No matter how it happened, I was able to spend time with Tommy,” I said, looking around the table. “I wouldn’t trade my time with him for anything—not even the nonsense I had to go through to be with him.”
“Tell me more about what he said,” Ma said, ignoring the others at the table.
I spent the entire dinner talking about Tommy and answering questions. Knowing that he was alive and breathing was something we didn’t know on a day-to-day basis. Not being able to hear his voice over the phone or get a text message were the hardest parts to deal with.
He’d been missing from Sunday dinner for so long that it had become the norm. His seat was never filled; it sat open, waiting for his return.
I ate my last forkful of pasta, placing my napkin on my plate, and sighed. I felt relieved to get the information off my chest and be done with the questioning by my family.
“Thanks for the great dinner, Ma.”
She patted my shoulder as she walked by me on the way to the kitchen. “Thank you, Isabella.”
I smiled at her, nodding. As she left the room I looked over at my brothers, who were still wearing scowls. They were like little girls who couldn’t let shit go easily.
“We’re not done here,” Joey barked, standing from his seat and carrying his plate in the kitchen.
“Oh boy,” I whispered, breaking out into a fit of giggles.
Pop winked at me. He always knew when shit was going down. He had my back. That I knew. He’d make sure the boys didn’t get too crazy.
As I stood, plate in hand, Suzy stood too, following behind me.
“James, huh?” she teased, elbowing me as we entered the kitchen.
“Yeah.” I rolled my eyes, placing my plate on the counter next to Ma. “Want help?” I asked her as she rinsed the pans.
“Nah, baby. Go sit with everyone. You’ve had a long weekend. I’ll be fine.”
I sighed, turning and running into Suzy. She smiled and winked at me. She wanted to know only about James, and it made me uncomfortable. I walked by her and made my way toward the family room and my usual spot on the floor.
“Did you talk to him?” she asked before my ass hit the carpet. She settled down next to me instead of next to Joey.
“Who?” I asked, playing stupid.
“James,” she groaned. “Come on. I know there’s more there than you’re saying.” She grinned, tilting her head and studying me.