Page 52 of Tiny's Law

Almost as if my mom didn’t even say her name, Evie doesn't move. Her feet stay cemented to the floor. “Ev?” my mom questions.

Evie shakes her head again and finally steps forward. I watch curiously as Kourtney seems to curl in on herself, making herself seem smaller.

What the hell’s going on?

Kourtney tentatively reaches forward, and Evie returns the handshake, but from my angle, it seems that Evie is looking at the wall directly behind Kourtney’s head.

As if oblivious to both of their discomfort, Mom claps her hands together. “Dinner is done! Let’s move this chat to the dining room.”

Evie spins on her heel fast and mumbles something about needing to go to the bathroom. Mom heads in the opposite direction to the kitchen.

I wrap Kourtney under my arm once again and press a kiss against her head. “That was awkward. Do you know my aunt?” Kourtney quickly shakes her head. I decide to leave it be for now and lead her away from the entryway and through the hall towards the kitchen and dining room.

I pull out the chair next to my usual spot and wait for Kourtney to settle before taking her bottle of wine. “I’m just gonna grab a glass and an opener for this. I’ll be right back.”

My mom is bent at the waist, pulling garlic bread out of the oven, when she notices me. “Oh my God! She is so beautiful!” she whisper-yells.

I smile at her giddy excitement. “I know, Mom.”

Searching through the big ass drawer of kitchen utensils, I riffle through the many spoons and spatulas, looking for the bottle opener.

“No, seriously, Nathan! She is gorgeous.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I smile at her. I can feel her enthusiasm from across the kitchen. “I think so, too.”

“Good! You guys are absolutely adorable together. You said she was a lawyer? So she’s smart too! And oh my gosh, her blonde hair and blue eyes? You two are going to make absolutely beautiful babies.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head at that. “Alright, lady. Slow your roll there. We just ‘made it official’ like five seconds ago.” I added air quotes since I know my mother would scoff if I called Kourtney my ol’ lady. She finds it barbaric that we call our other halves that, but she doesn’t understand the importance of that title. If she did, I think she’d feel differently.

I finally find the damn bottle opener on the counter near Evie’s empty bottle after searching through every drawer in my kitchen. Grabbing a glass and a beer from the fridge for myself, I head back to the dining room.

I walk through the archway just in time to hear Evie cursing something under her breath as she glares at my ol’ lady.

“What the fuck’s going on in here?” I spit, setting Kourtney’s wine glass and my beer bottle down on the table with a little more force than necessary.

“Nothing,” the both of them say in tandem. Evie’s seated in the chair across from Kourtney with her arms crossed, avoiding eye contact with me. Kourtney has her eyes transfixed on the wine glass I just sat down, and it pisses me the fuck off that she won’t meet my gaze.

As soon as my mom enters through the doorway, it’s as if nothing even happened. Evie smiles at my mom, and Kourtney straightens in her chair, watching my mom put the lasagna on the table in front of us with a neutral expression.

I wait until my mom’s seated before taking my own seat. Opening the bottle of wine, I pour some in a glass and hand it to Kourtney. I don’t know what the fuck is going on with her and my aunt, but I make it a point to press a kiss to the side of her face. “You ok?” I say against her ear and pull her chair closer to me.

She nods and turns her full attention to my mom as she gushes about their drive down from Phoenix, which makes Kourtney flinch.

It really pisses me off to be in the dark. Kourtney’s and Evie’s moods seemed to be absolutely fine until they saw each other. So what the fuck is going on?

Thankfully, the majority of dinner seems to go okay as my mom asks Kourtney about herself and her family.

“So, Kourtney, what made you want to be a lawyer?” my mom asks after finishing her last bite of pasta.

Kourtney swallows a sip of her wine and clears her throat. “My dad’s a lawyer. Growing up, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to follow in my mom’s steps or my dad’s. My mom ran a small boutique, and she passed on her love of fashion to me, but there was never a doubt in my dad’s mind that I was going to be just like him.”

Evie scoffs and rolls her eyes, and I’ve finally had about enough of her nasty fucking attitude since Kourtney got here. Even Mom has turned an inquisitive eye on her sister's bizarre behavior.

“What the fuck, Ev?” I bellow. “Kourtney hasn’t done a goddamned thing to you. Why the fuck have you been so nasty to her? And under my damn roof!”

I can feel more than see my mom’s head rear back. I have never spoken to her or Evie with any disrespect before. But yesterday, I made a promise to Kourtney by claiming her as my ol’ lady, and that was never to let anyone treat her less than she deserves, even if it is my own flesh and blood.

Evie’s eyes widen at me in shock, but then her face hardens and she zeroes her glare in on Kourtney. “Why don’t you ask your little girlfriend, Nathan? Ask her why she suddenly moved from Phoenix to little old Desert Rose.”

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