No Quarter (NOLA's Own #2) (47 page)

“Seriously? You’re buying my underwear, too?” I had asked her dryly.

“You needed something under it to match,” she’d explained sweetly.

Once we were done up, three of us placed the mad amounts of stuffing in my trunk, and we headed out, dropping off Alys at her parents’ house along the way. Lili would be coming with me over to Mr. Deveraux’s. Lewis, having volunteered to help Louis get everything finished in time, was already there.

Pulling Gretchen into Da’s driveway, Da, Gloria, and Connor came out of the house, ready to go. Da’s enormous truck fit all five of us as comfortable as was possible.

“You two look gorgeous!” said Gloria, giving both Lili and me a hug. “Kenna, you’re stunning in dresses. I wish you’d wear them more often.”

“You and Phil both,” said Lili. She herself was in a flowing black dress and a killer pair of electric-blue pumps.

Transferring everything into the bed of Da’s truck and securing it, we pulled out of the neighborhood.

A nervous twinge made its presence known in my chest and grew stronger the closer we got to Phil’s dad’s place. My family, while not poor, had never dreamed of living in the type of luxury that Phil had grown up in. I suddenly wondered if Da would feel inadequate in some way, arriving in such an upscale neighborhood.

But no one mentioned anything as I told Da where to turn, and Da had nothing to say as he pulled into the long horseshoe driveway, parking his Chevy Truck next to the five-car garage. He didn’t seem the least bit intimidated.

I was very aware of how much I loved my family just then, how proud I was of them. We were a weird bunch of rascals, but damn it, we were fabulous people.

Connor and Da grabbed the boxes with the stuffing and scalloped potato casseroles, Gloria carried the single bowl of ambrosia, and Lili grabbed a bouquet of autumn-colored flowers for Mr. Deveraux. I got the tin of after-dinner sugar breads.

Since the front door was open, we just walked on in.

“Hello?” I called out.

There was plenty of noise all around us. X and his family had already shown up, and there was a great deal of chattering coming from the backyard and kitchen. A few seconds after I had called out, Phil came out from the vicinity of the kitchen, and time stopped.

Oh. My. God.

Lili and Gloria gasped.

“
Holy shit
,” whispered Gloria.

Da shot her a glare.

Always,
always
, I thought Phil was the most beautiful man on the planet.
Holy shit
, the man was stunning
, breathtaking
. From head to toe, he was fucking perfect.

Wearing a dark brown pair of
fitted
trousers and a matching vest, he looked fucking delectable.

Fucking incredible
.

Under the vest with his sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, he wore a light-green shirt, matching my dress to perfection, and a brown-gray-and green striped tie. On his feet, he had dark brown leather shoes, and a leather belt showed off just how deliciously narrow his hips truly were. His silky, thick dark brown hair was in two loose braids hanging over his enormous shoulders, the side with the heavier part tucked behind his ear. Face shaved, he had tamed his sideburns with a trim.

Phil fucking Deveraux had just rendered me speechless, breathless, and completely mindless.

He spotted me, stopping dead in his tracks as he stared at me, his eyes going wide. Then, he smiled, and his dimples…

Fuck. I’m done for. Someone is going to have to mop my ass off the floor.

Technicolor could not describe the colors my world had burst into. Striding up to me, not taking his glowing warm eyes off of mine, he reached out to take my face in his hands, and he leaned down to brush his mouth over mine.

“You look
amazin’
, Baby Girl.”

Connor twitched, hearing Phil call me that.

Da cleared his throat.

“So do you, Da,” said Phil, not taking his eyes off me.

Da snorted and took the tin from my hands. “Thanks, son. Way to make th’ rest o’ us look bad.”

“Come on,” Lili said, laughing. “I know where the kitchen is.”

Had it really only been a few hours that we’d been apart?
It suddenly felt like so much longer, and seeing him so…
polished
made me fiercely ache in my chest and ovaries.

“Phil,” I whispered, searching his eyes. I stepped closer, sliding my arms around his neck.

“Yeah?” he replied, his arms circling my waist, pulling me in.

“You look incredible,” I whispered, unable to find my voice.

He might have rendered me breathless, voiceless, mindless, but my libido was in good working order.

“Not as incredible as you do.” He dropped his Third Eye to mine.

He filled me with his unconditional love, the pride he felt from just looking at me and knowing I was
his.
He was just as stunned as I was, seeing me in the dress that showed the world that we matched, that we were together.

“Do Sheri and Jason have matching outfits?” I giggled.

“Ha-ha, yeah, now that you mention it. I’m guessing Alys is gonna show up in something pink.”

“X is wearing
pink
?”

“Mmhmm.”

He was holding me so close, just swaying us to some music churning in his head. It must have been something slow and sweet. Resting his cheek against mine, he sighed.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“I missed you, too.”

Louis had had a tented pavilion placed in the backyard with four long tables, and the food was set up buffet-style on one of them. Danielle acted as bartender while Martin watched their kids with Uncle Phil’s help.

Alys had indeed been forced to wear a really cute pink dress that matched X’s shirt and gray vest suit. It made me wonder what Sheri had been thinking.
Had she done the same for Flipper and Vivian?
She and Jason were in their blues and grays.

“Where hae I seen tha’ mon before?” Da whispered to me.

Danielle, Phil, and Louis cleared the tables of the flatware after we were finished with dinner. Dessert was next, and I honestly didn’t think I could put more food in my body.

“Mr. Deveraux?” I asked in a hushed tone.

“Aye.”

“Haven’t you met him before?”

“Nae. I know he and yer mam were guid friends all their lives, but I ne’er had th’ pleasure. But I swear, I’ve seen ’im.”

Keeping my mouth shut, I just shrugged. I didn’t want Da to remember Louis had been at Mom’s funeral because I didn’t want Phil to know about it. Louis had known of his son’s infatuation with me. Phil had told his family about meeting me at Bougainvillea. Louis had known I was here
the whole time
and had never said anything to Phil.

Did he not want the two of us together for some reason?

The whole thing was a hot mess in my head. Louis had been ecstatic when Phil brought me home to meet his family. Louis had wanted to share stories of growing up with my mother and had been shocked to find out that my grandmother had passed away.

Then, why? He knew how badly Phil was hurting. How could he not at least let Phil know how to find me?

He must have had his reasons, and I wasn’t so sure I wanted to know what they were. And for that, I said nothing to Da. Hitching a smile on my face as Phil came back and took his seat, I pushed those thoughts from my mind.

He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips, smiling back at me. “I love you,” he said softly.

How is he able to do that? Just erase any misgivings or doubt within me with three simple words?

There was no point in wondering about the whys and wherefores. Phil and I were together now, and our families got along beautifully. Phil and I were stronger than ever. Whatever reasons Louis had had for keeping us apart, they no longer applied.

Hours later, with most of the people gone, Phil and I were side by side at the kitchen sink, washing up the things that couldn’t go in the dishwasher.

He looked down at me, his warm maple eyes molten, smiling almost shyly. “Today was fuckin’ awesome,” he said.

That voice…it was as though the warm vibration of it cocooned my soul and hugged tight.

“Yeah, it was.”

“I could get used to this. We should have Christmas at our place.”

Our place.
“Yeah, maybe. That might be fun. Would you guys play for us then?”

Dropping a kiss on my head, he laughed. “Once a fan, always a fan.”

“Too fuckin’ right.”

Laughter floated in from the patio, and Louis and Da came in with their mugs of coffee with Danielle and Gloria trailing behind them. Out back, X and Jason were talking with Connor over a few beers.

“She must’ve had a fit!” Da laughed. “Betty loved them bluidy flowers. Her mon planted the lot o’ them the first year they lived in tha’ house.”

“Yeah, she wasn’t too happy about it,” said Louis, laughing.

Da looked at Louis, recognition blooming in his silvery-colored eyes, and cried, “Tha’s it! I
knew
I hae seen ye before! Ye were at Laurie’s funeral. I saw ye speakin’ wi’ Betty.”

Phil handed me a plate to rinse and set in the drying rack. My heart felt as though it had crawled up and lodged itself in my throat.

“I wanted to speak with you and Kenna, but I had no idea what to say to you. I had never met you before, and I hadn’t seen Kenna since she was a toddler. Kenna looked so…she hadn’t looked well.”

I glanced up at Phil to see if he was paying any attention, and he smiled at me.

“A’weel, it was hard times on all o’ us,” replied Da.

The smile slowly faded from Phil’s face as it clicked in his brain what they were saying. His eyes widened at me, and I reached out and placed my wet hand over his heart. Disbelief and shock blanked out his features.

My heart sank. “No,” I said gently.

His nostrils flared and behind his eyes…
hellfire
, fury, rage, shadows and pain. His eyes snapped to his father. “
You saw her
,” he seethed.

The sound of that voice raised the hair on the back of my neck and arms.

“You
knew
her. You knew she was
here
. The whole.
Fuckin’
.
Time
!”

The kitchen went so, so quiet. I could hear the blood pounding through my ears, the drip of the faucet, the harsh breath sucked through Phil’s nose.

“Phil,” I said softly.

He looked back into my eyes, and I saw the sense of betrayal he felt.

“He
knew
, Kenna,” he said harshly.

Danielle gasped from the other side of the counter. “Oh my God, Dad.
No
…”

Phil had started to tremble, the rage inside him burning hot. He was gearing up to explode, and I knew that he’d never forgive himself, his father, even me, if I let this happen in front of my da. Phil went ugly when in a rage. I had seen it. He had it inside him to make Krakatoa look like a zit popping.

Turning to my da, I said, “We have to go. Now.”

“Wha’?” he asked, startled and confused.

“Get Connor. Gloria, take Da, and get Connor. Go around the side of the house. I’ll meet you out front.”

“You’re leavin’ me?” Phil asked, incredulous.

“I’m
saving
you from going all Hulk in front of Da!” I hissed.

His jaw clenched. “Don’t leave with them.”

“Okay. I’ll just walk them out. I’ll be here.”

“How
could
you?” Danielle whispered hotly to her father as my own parents went through the sliding door to the patio.

My eyes met Louis’s as I made my way after my family, and I could see that he was sorry. I hoped my own eyes spoke of forgiveness to him. The four of us made it to the side of the house before we heard the explosion that was Phil’s voice.

“
You knew I was looking for her! You knew the whole fucking time where she was
!”

“Ah, Jaysus!” said Da. “No wonder he’s the lead singer. That bluidy voice carries, don’ it?”

Connor busted out laughing, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

Leave it to Da to see some sort of humor in this situation.

We could still hear Phil roaring as we made it to the truck.

“I’m sorry, lass—”

“No worries, Da. He’d have figured it out sooner or later,” I replied.

“Will ye no’ come home wi’ us?”

“I can’t leave him like this. He’s hurting.”

Da nodded, and Gloria pulled me into a hug.

“It was a lovely time.” She smiled. “They’ll get past this. Those two love each other very much. You can
feel
the love in that family. I’m happy we’re joining it.”

By now, Louis’s booming baritone had joined in with Phil’s.

Da laughed. “A’weel, we know where the boy gets it from.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I told them. “Connor?”

“Yeah?”

“If everything is settled, you want to come hang out tomorrow?”

“Hells yes.”

“Language!” barked Da.

Rolling his eyes, Connor pulled me in for a hug. “Soothe that beast in him, Baby Girl.”

“Caught on to that, did you?”

Pulling back, he looked into my eyes. “Not for a second did I ever think
you
were Phil fucking—”