He cut off the rest of my question about lunch with a quick, hard kiss which still managed to nearly rock me on my toes. Drawing back, he murmured, "I've been wanting to do that ever since you told everybody to go fuck themselves. Politely, of course."
"You probably shouldn't curse in church. God is listening. Or kiss me like that, since God is probably also watching." I glanced over my shoulder, not surprised to find Tammy scowling. "And even if He or She isn't, that one over there is."
"Like I told you last night, people might as well get used to the sight of me kissing you." He did it again, longer this time, only pulling away when Dolly and Conway started giggling. "I plan to do it any time I can, Jeannie Jackson."
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
"Are you sure you don't want to go home, check on Kitty? Maybe start getting ready for school tomorrow?" I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed when Tammy rolled her eyes. "Let me guess-you've been ready since... Friday night? Wait-Thursday."
"No." She snorted and rolled her eyes again. "That would be stupid considering we moved yesterday." She crossed her arms and lifted her chin, doing a sort of wiggle in her seat. "But I did it last night before I went to bed. And Kitty is fine. I texted her while you were sucking up Pastor Neal."
"I was not sucking up to the pastor." I turned around, flicking a glance at Abraham out of the corner of my eye, pretending to frown at his smirk. "I was sucking up to his wife. Everybody knows if you're going to have anybody on your side in a small town, the first choice is the pastor's wife. Second choice is the local law enforcement."
"And since your aunt already has Sheriff Pete wrapped around her little finger, it only stands to reason she would get started on Mrs. Neal." Abraham pulled the car over to the shoulder, shifting it in to park and turning until he was able to look at all three kids lined up in the backseat. "Here's the thing, kids. I have to go eat lunch with my parents and your aunt has said she'll go with me."
"Okay." Dolly shrugged her shoulders. "So we'll go, too." She beamed at him. "We like you." She nudged her brother, who nodded. "We like spending time with you."
"And I like spending time with you, too." Some of the tension in his face melted away, his lips curving in a soft smile which set butterflies fluttering in my stomach. "Which is the problem. See, my parents... they're not nice. So even though I like spending time with you and would love to hang out with you this afternoon, I don't necessarily want you to have to deal with my parents."
Dolly cocked her head. "Are they like Harold?"
Abraham and I must have looked confused because Tammy said, "What she's asking is if one of them is going to call Conway a little sissy boy or call her stupid or call me fat or-."
"I think we get the point." And even though it was probably a little sacrilegious, I couldn't quite help sending up a quick prayer of thanks that my sister had shot her bastard of a husband. Clearing my throat, I shook my head and said, "No, they're not, because I won't let them."
"And neither will I." Abraham reached over and squeezed my knee. "And if they won't stop being rude, we'll leave."
Dolly looked at Conway and then Tammy before turning back to Abraham and nodding. "Okay. We're going."
"Okay." Abraham faced forward, shifting the car in to drive and pulling back on to the road, keeping his hand on my knee. "If we don't make it to dessert-which is usually the best part of the meal, if I'm being honest-then we'll go to the grocery store and get all the ice cream we want."
"Awesome." Conway pronounced the word slowly and when I glanced in the rearview mirror I saw he was smiling from ear to ear. "Ice cream is awesome."
"Well, I found the path to Conway's heart." Abraham gave my knee a squeeze and I shifted my gaze to him. "Want to give me a clue on how to do the same with you?"
THE HANSOM HOUSE was set back a good mile from the main road, the graded but unpaved drive lined with old oaks on both sides, creating a canopy from the early afternoon sun. I'd never seen the house itself-after all, that would have required an invitation, which would have taken an act of God in high school-but I'd heard rumors about its grandeur. When the drive ended in a rolling expanse of brilliant green lawn leading up to a two story house with columns, a wrap-around porch, and a terrace, I realized the rumors hadn't been exaggerated. Flicking a look at Abraham, I said, "You might have warned me I was underdressed."
"You could be wearing couture and be underdressed as far as my parents are concerned." Abraham parked directly in front of the steps leading up to the porch, shifting the car in to park and killing the engine. Unfastening his seatbelt, he rolled his shoulders and rubbed one thumb over his eyebrow piercing. "That's not a dig at you, it's just who they are."
"Then why do I think you're about to take out most of your piercings?" I reached over, wrapping my fingers around his wrist and pulling his hand away, pressing it on the seat between us. "If it doesn't matter, if they're going to be assholes no matter what you do, why bother catering to them? It just makes you sad and gives them more power than they deserve."
He stared at me for a long moment before leaning over and kissing the tip of my nose. "Okay, Jeannie Jackson. Lord knows why I listen to you when I'm sure it's only going to get us in trouble but okay."
"How old do you have to be before you can kiss boys?" Dolly's question, interspersed with Conway's giggles, drew my gaze to the backseat, where she was watching with avid interest while Tammy was pretending she wasn't. "Because you do it all the time so it must be fun."
"And that's a discussion we'll have at some other time." Pasting a smile on my face, I reached for the door handle and said, "Let's get this show on the road so we can go home and relax, hmm?"
We were still in the process of climbing out of the car when the front door opened and a tall, thin woman who looked as if she should be pinching cheeks and rapping knuckles with a ruler stepped out, her long black dress falling nearly to her ankles, her snowy white apron plain and frill-less, her thin, bony hands clasped at her waist. She stared at each of us in turn, ending with Abraham. "Mister Abraham. You neglected to mention you would be bringing guests."
"No, I didn't, Nora." Abraham wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me tight against him, his fingers flexing once before lying flat. "I told you there would be an additional four to five people for lunch. If you chose not to believe me, that's up to you."
Even with the distance, her sniff was indignant and audible. Lifting her chin, she said, "I'm afraid there isn't anything appropriate for... children."
"Oh, they're pretty flexible when it comes to food. Aren't you, kids?" I took Conway's hand, squeezing when he pressed himself against my leg, half hiding behind me. Next to him, Dolly had her hands planted on her hips, meeting the older woman's glare with one of her own. Tammy's face was blank, which was more than a little troubling. The last time my oldest niece had looked that calm was the moment before she laid in to Sheriff Pete and while I had a feeling I would enjoy watching her rip Abraham's parents a new one, something told me it wouldn't help Abraham one little bit. "No picky eaters here."
A lie, but I was relatively certain God would forgive me.
Nora sniffed again before opening the door wide, stepping to one side. "Your parents are waiting in the drawing room, Mr. Abraham." She slid her gaze over the kids, her upper lip curling in a sneer. "I'm afraid children aren't allowed in there."
"And I'm afraid I don't give a damn." I meet her sneer with a smile, pushing Dolly ahead of me as I knelt and scooped up Conway, settling him on my hip. "They go where I go unless there's a legal reason why they can't and last time I checked backwards social mores didn't qualify as a legal reason."
"Mr. and Mrs. Hansom-."
"Will be just fine." I paused in front of her, holding her gaze, willing her to blink first. When she finally did, I nodded and said, "I trust we understand each other now."
"Of course... miss." If I wasn't already fighting an uphill battle I would have taken issue over the slight hesitation before her address but as far as insults went it was far from the worst I'd ever had. She gestured to one of the arched openings and said, "Appetizers are available in the parlor. Lunch will be served in ten minutes."