After Luca Santini, harsh grilling would be an understatement. Tom wanted full background checks on any man who even intended on taking his daughter to dinner and he’d pull whatever strings he needed to get it.
Tom and Tess sat at the dining table finishing their breakfast when JC emerged from the hallway, freshly showered, wearing an ocean blue summer dress. She meandered toward the table hand-in-hand with her date. From a glance, the tall rugged man looked more like an athlete than the usual man-scaped suit and tie European men that typically stood by her side.
“Hey, Momma. Morning Tom.” JC greeted them with hugs and kisses, before immediately returning her attention to the compelling male companion. “Ummm, Mom, Tom, this is my boyfriend, Reed.” she stammered timidly with pink cheeks.
Taken by complete surprise, Tom’s head flinched slightly, unable to hide a scowl as his gaze darted from JC to Reed.
Reed stuck his hand out toward Tom.
Tom gripped hold giving him a firm handshake. “Tom Clemmins,” he said curtly.
“Reed Rider. It’s nice to meet you sir.” The heavy drawl slipped from his lips as gave a polite nod.
Tess opened her arms and raised to her tiptoes, offering a welcome embrace. “It’s nice to meet you Reed.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am.”
“Please, call me Tess.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Tom caught a peek of his wife who looked as if she might combust from excitement at any moment. Neither she nor Tom missed the introduction of boyfriend or the fact that JC was holding his hand as they entered the room.
JC clasped her arm around Reed’s waist, curling her fingers into the seam of his white cotton t-shirt. He draped his arm over her shoulder, coasting his palm up and down her arm. “Reed’s from Texas.”
“I figured that much.” Tom’s brow puckered deeper into a grimace, examining the glow on JC’s cheeks flushing redder by second.
“Have a seat Reed.” Tess wafted her hand toward a chair tucked under the dining table. “I’ll make the two of you omelets. You wanna come help me?”
JC gave a quick bob of her head and kissed Reed’s cheek. “You do like omelets, don’t you?”
Reed pulled the richly upholstered chair out across from Tom. “I love omelets.”
Tom settled back into his seat taking in the sheer size of JC’s boyfriend. Reed stood a good four inches taller and outweighed him by fifty pounds of fit muscle. It didn’t impress Tom, or scare him or intimidate him one bit.
“Help yourself.” He pointed toward a thermos of coffee and a pitcher of orange juice in the center of the table.
“Yes sir, thank you.”
“Call me Mr. Clemmins,” Tom insisted politely in brusque fatherly tone.
JC hollered from the kitchen, “I heard that Tom Clemmins!”
“Call me Tom,” he corrected, catching a glimpse of JC glaring at him from around the corner. She waved her hand in a circle above her head indicating for him to straighten his halo.
****
JC retrieved the eggs from the fridge. She could hear Tom begin to drill Reed for personal information.
“Rider? That name sounds familiar. What do you do?” Tom questioned in an impeccable voice of commanding influence.
“Oh, for God’s sake. Seriously?” JC groaned loud enough from the kitchen so Tom would hear her from the table.
Her mom brushed her hand across her back and flashed a sympathetic smile. “He can’t help it, baby. He worries about you.”
“I know,” JC acknowledged warmly then raised her voice as a warning for Tom in the other room, “But he better be nice!”
“Well? Who is he? And where did you find him?” Tess cracked three eggs into a bowl.
“He lives next door now. The crazy old lady was his aunt.” JC pointed at the bowl. “Is this Reed’s?”
Tess nodded.
“He’s probably hungry.” JC added two more eggs to the bowl, hiding her scarlet face from her mom’s view.
“I knew she passed away. That woman certainly lived a long colorful life.” Tess bent slightly in order to observe JC. “Holy crap!” she gasped, giving her the once over as if inspecting her for chicken pox. “How long have you been dating the neighbor?”
“We’ve been hanging out together for a week, but last night was our first official date. And we’re not dating, he’s my boyfriend,” she corrected, separating the yolks from the whites of her eggs into a bowl.
Tess poured Reed’s whisked eggs into the skillet then added JC’s to another. As the two women stood side-by-side in front of the stove, Tess turned to her daughter, studying her acutely once more.