Rebelonging (Unbelonging, Book 2) (29 page)

Loretta thought it looked upscale.
Personally, I thought it looked like room service for twelve.

But I'd gotten almost used to it. Just like
dressing for dinner, Loretta liked things a certain way. If things
weren't always so tense, it might've actually been fun. But it
was
tense, and fun was a word I never associated with this
house.

Walking back toward the table, I looked down
and spotted Lauren Jane's bare knee rubbing against Lawton's leg.
Either Lawton didn't notice, or he was choosing not to react.

I had a reaction, alright, but nothing I
could act on. If sassing was rude, stabbing Lauren Jane in the leg
with my fork was definitely off-limits.

So, with a stupid smile plastered to my face,
I returned to my seat and glanced in Lawton's direction. With his
muscles, tattoos, and T-shirt, he looked completely out of place,
but somehow, it only made him look better, at least to me,
anyway.

As I watched, Lauren Jane nudged her chair
closer to his.

Okay, make that two of us.

As if feeling my gaze on him, Lawton looked
up. Our eyes met. He gave me a smile filled with secrets and just
the tiniest hint of amusement. He was laughing at them. Did they
realize that? I looked around.

Apparently not.

"So I hear you're some kind of fighter," my
dad boomed at Lawton.

Lawton turned to give my dad a deadpan look.
"Yup."

My dad's smile faltered. "You're not gonna
try any of those fancy punches on me now, are you?"

"Nope." Lawton smiled. "At least not 'til
dessert."

My dad's eyebrows furrowed, and then he
laughed, a big booming sound that rang hollow in the formal dining
room. "Hah!" He pointed at Lawton with both his index fingers. "You
got me there."

Lauren Jane giggled and leaned in close to
Lawton's ear. "You're so funny," she said. She turned to my dad.
"You'd better watch it, Daddy, or he's gonna get you."

Daddy?

Lauren Jane flipped her hair over her
shoulder. "Speaking of funny things," she told Lawton, "did you
notice that
your
name begins with an 'L' and
my
name
begins with an 'L'?"

She gave me half a glance across the table.
"Sorry, Chloe, I guess you're not in the club."

"Uh-oh," my dad said in mock concern,
"
My
gal's name begins with an 'L', too." With a big chuckle,
he shook his index finger in warning. "But you don't be stealing my
Loretta."

I glanced at Loretta. She was giving Lawton a
speculative look, like my dad's comment had gotten her
thinking.

I jumped up. "Want me to get the turkey?"

Loretta's cool gaze slid in my direction.
"Are
you
the hostess?" she asked.

Oh crap. There it was. That look again.

"No," I said. "But I'm happy to help." I
paused. "Unless you'd rather do it?"

With a little sigh, Loretta pushed back her
chair and stood. "So much for a relaxing dinner," she said. "Chloe,
will you please sit? You're making everyone nervous."

So I sat. And with a solemn air, Loretta
started delivering platters to the table, lifting the silver lids
to murmurs of appreciation, mostly from my dad, as she announced
what each dish was. There was baked turkey and stuffing and mashed
potatoes, along with dinner rolls, whipped butter, and homemade
cranberry sauce.

The mashed potatoes were making me nervous. I
knew we'd probably have them. Almost everyone had mashed potatoes
for Thanksgiving, especially with the turkey. So we'd be having
turkey gravy, right? But as each dish was revealed, and no turkey
gravy had been presented, I started to get that sick feeling in my
stomach.

She wouldn't do it. Not again. Would she?

And then she brought over the final platter,
a small one with a tall silver lid. With a great flourish, she
lifted the lid. My hands grew clammy. There it was, a small silver
gravy boat filled to the rim.

I couldn’t afford to be obvious, but I was
desperate to know what it was.

But soon, I didn't have to guess, because
with a thin smile, Loretta announced, "and finally, my very own
holiday specialty, oyster gravy."

Shit.

I glanced at Josh. His face was deathly white
as he looked down at his plate. Next to him, Lawton looked
completely oblivious as he listened to Lauren Jane chatter about
her latest trip to Cancun.

I tried to catch his eye. Why, I had no idea.
What could he do? What could I do? Should I spill it? Pretend to
faint? Grab Josh and run for the car?

But Lawton never even looked in my
direction.

Slowly, I let my gaze drift to Loretta, who'd
resumed her seat and sat with her hands steepled in front of her.
Our eyes met, almost like she'd been watching for my reaction.

I knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted me
to freak out. I'd look like a total idiot, especially in front of a
guest. This posed an even bigger question. Would she make Josh eat
it in front of company?

This shouldn’t be a big deal. I was blowing
things out of proportion. It'd be fine. Maybe.

Slowly, the dishes starting making their way
around the table. I took a little of everything, even the cranberry
sauce, which I'd never liked.

So far, the gravy was just sitting there,
uncirculated and unmentioned, except for Loretta's introductory
remarks. But the longer it sat, the more tense the table became. I
could feel it in the air – anticipation, dread, or in my dad's
case, probably a mixture of both.

And then, someone reached for it.

Lawton.

He picked up the gravy boat and surveyed its
contents. "You said oyster gravy, right?" He took a big, whiff of
it and grinned. "My favorite. Did you know, my great-grandma, she
was a fishwife on the Detroit river, this was her specialty
too?"

I snuck a glance in Loretta's direction.

She bared her teeth in a pale imitation of a
smile. "How nice."

Lawton shrugged. "Not really. She stunk like
fish something awful. But man, she made the best gravy."

As I watched, he ladled a scoop onto his
mashed potatoes, then kept going, one ladle after another. Loretta
hadn't made a whole lot, probably because only two people were
expected to eat it. Soon, the entire gravy bowl was empty.

Lawton's eyebrows furrowed. He looked toward
Loretta. "This wasn't all of it, was it?"

Loretta sat, her back straight and her eyes
narrowed. "I'm afraid it was."

Lawton looked down at his plate. "Oh jeez.
I'm sorry." He held out his plate toward Loretta. "You want
mine?"

"No," she said. "That won't be necessary. But
thank you."

"Oh well. More for me." And Lawton started
digging in.

I watched in absolute horror, and more than a
little admiration, as he started to devour everything on his plate,
gravy and all. In mid-bite, he looked up. "You guys are eating too,
right?"

Suddenly, it occurred to me how incredibly
rude we were all being, watching him eat like some kind of zoo
animal. I grabbed my fork and started eating too. Soon, Lauren Jane
and Josh followed suit. Finally, with a shrug, my dad joined
in.

He looked at Lawton. "Boy, you sure have a
good appetite," he said.

"Can't help it," Lawton said. "I never eat
this good at home." He offered up a conspiratorial grin. "And if
the tabloids are true, I have two French chefs."

According to the tabloids, he also had a pet
leopard and a dick the size of Texas. Only half of that was
true.

And it wasn't the leopard.

My dad dug into his plain mashed potatoes.
"Two chefs, you say?" he boomed across the table. "Lucky me, all I
need is Loretta."

I slid my gaze in Loretta's direction. Her
fork still rested by her plate. Slowly, I realized I wasn't the
only one looking. We all were.

"Gee Mom," Lauren Jane said, "aren't you
gonna eat anything?" She rolled her eyes. "You're not on another
diet, are you?"

"No," Loretta said through a clenched jaw.
"I'm not on a diet."

"Then dig in, honey," my dad said. "This is
some darn good eatin'."

I turned to stare at my dad. Was it
Talk-Like-a-Cowboy Day or something? This wasn't the way he usually
spoke, even in front of company. Usually, his grammar got better,
not worse, even with his volume turned way up.

Unless – was this for Lawton's benefit? Was
this my dad's way of trying to sound tough? It might've made sense,
except for one thing. Lawton wasn't a cowboy.

Lawton grinned at me. He leaned back and
rubbed his stomach. "It shore is, ma'am. Mighty thanks."

I glanced at his plate. It was empty. Oh my
God. He'd actually eaten all of it. The man deserved a medal. Or a
stomach pump.

Loretta pursed her lips and made no
response.

"Gee Mom," Lauren Jane said, "aren't you
gonna say 'you're welcome?'" Lauren Jane leaned her head close to
Lawton's and said in a loud whisper. "Parents can be so rude."

Loretta was looking daggers at her daughter.
"So can daughters," she said.

Lauren Jane smirked. "Well at least I say
you're welcome when someone thanks me."

Loretta cleared her throat. "Lawton, I
apologize. Of course, you are quite welcome.'"

"See?" my dad said. "Now honey-bun, was that
so hard?" He pounded his fist on the table. "Now what do you say we
rustle up some dessert?"

I stood. "I'll get it."

And then, remembering what happened last
time, I froze in mid-motion. I looked toward Loretta. "Unless you'd
rather?"

She waved her hand loosely toward the
sideboard. "Go ahead. Whatever." She reached up to rub her temples
with both index fingers. "I give up."

I retrieved the dessert dishes and started to
serve everyone a slice of cheesecake and a piece of apple
cobbler.

Lawton waved the dessert away. "None for me,
thanks."

"You sure?" I said. Didn't he want something
to wash away the taste of fish barf?

He nodded and reached for his nearly full
water glass. He downed it in one long, gulp. Concerned, I reached
for the pitcher of ice water and refilled his glass. He looked up,
meeting my gaze. "Thanks, dumplin'."

I snickered and then caught myself, turning
it into a poor imitation of throat-clearing.

"Oh you," Lauren Jane said, giving Lawton
another playful swat to his arm. "How come you never call me
dumpling?"

"Stop it!" Loretta said from her end of the
table. "I don't know what's gotten in to all of you, but I've just
about had it."

My dad's brow wrinkled. "What's wrong, Sugar
Cube?"

Loretta glared at him. "I. Am. Not. Your.
Sugar. Cube." And then, as if remembering herself, she gave him an
stiff smile. "Alright?"

My dad held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Woah. Hear ya loud and clear, chief. No more sugar cubes." He
looked around the table. "Got that, everyone?"

"Oh for Heaven's sake," Loretta muttered,
reaching for her wine glass.

"So," Lauren Jane said to Lawton, "you and my
sister are just friends, right?"

Her sister?Just friends?

Although Lauren Jane and I had been
stepsisters for years, I barely knew her. Funny too. The more I
knew her, the less I liked her.

Across the table, Lawton grinned at me.
"Chloe? You wanna answer that one?"

I smiled back. "Not particularly."

Lauren Jane's brow wrinkled. Again, she
turned to Lawton. "So how'd you two meet? Was she your waitress or
something?"

Lawton leaned back in his chair. "Nope."

My dad gave another slap to the table. "Don't
be shy, son. Go on. Tell us how you two met."

Lawton looked at me. "Chloe, you wanna tell
the story?"

My mouth opened, but no words came out. What
story should I tell? The one where I saw Lawton kick two guys'
asses in the parking lot where I worked? The time I showed up on
his doorstep, soaked and looking for a dog that wasn't even my own?
The time I fell half-naked over his fence?

"Never mind," Lawton said, leaning forward.
"Lemme tell it."

I reached for my own wine glass and downed
what little remained. I glanced at Josh. He was grinning from ear
to ear, with both eyes on Lawton.

Lawton looked around the table. "It was right
after this underground fight in downtown Detroit. I'd just had the
worst beating of my life. Total massacre. And I'm lying there in a
pool of my own blood—"

"Oh for the love of God," Loretta
muttered.

"Mom!" Lauren Jane said. "Don't interrupt."
She gripped Lawton's arm. "It's just getting good." She leaned
closer to Lawton. "Go on. We're all dying to hear the rest of
it."

"And I look up," Lawton said, "and I saw this
girl, and she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

Lauren Jane's brow wrinkled. "Who was
she?"

Josh spoke up. "It was Chloe. Wasn't it?"

Lawton nodded. "Yup." He gave Josh a
significant look. "And you know what?"

"What?" Josh asked.

"She probably saved my life."

"I knew it!" Josh said.

Loretta was frowning. "That's some story,"
she said.

I tried to keep from laughing. It sure was.
I'd never even been to one of Lawton's fights, not the real ones,
anyway.

Lawton held up a hand, palm out. "All true, I
swear."

Lauren Jane looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"But you've never lost a fight in your life." She straightened in
her seat and announced, "I know everything about him, probably even
more than Chloe."

I snorted. If she had to
ask
him about
secret tattoos, she was way behind the curve on that one.

"What's so funny?" she said.

I blinked back at her. "Nothing." I gave a
little pat to my throat. "Chicken bone."

Her jaw clenched. "We had turkey."

"Oh. Turkey bone then."