Page 75 of Inseverable (Carolina Beach)

Trin lifts the beer out of my hand and takes a sip, an evil grin unlike I’ve ever seen aimed at her brother. “Aw, Momma, that’s so romantic,” she gushes. “Why don’t you tell us all about it?”

And then she does!

“Oh, it was sweet,” Miss Silvie says, fondly. “Owen was fresh out of the Marines and I was finishing my degree in Anthropology when he joined our volunteer group. Well, he didn’t know anything about fruit trees, or so he claimed. So one night, after everyone went to bed, he talked me into taking a walk with him in the jungle so I could teach him.” She sighs, as if remembering. “But he’s the one who taught me.”

Lord, help me.

Miss Silvie tosses the pillow case on top of the basket and plays with the long braid in her hair. But she’s not done talking. Nope, not Trin’s momma. “Turns out this young stud just wanted a taste of my fruit,” she says, adding a wink. “If y’all know what I mean.”

By now Landon’s covering his ears. “Momma, please stop right there,” he begs her.

I drag a hand down my face.Yes. Please stop.

Trin, being Trin, only encourages her. “Is that how Landon was conceived, Momma? Up against some mango tree?”

“No . . . I think they were plantains?”

“No.Hell, no!” Landon says, mercifully cutting her off. He pushes off from the table shuddering. “I could have gone my whole life without hearing that.”

Owen in turn keeps cleaning his shotgun, but now he’s laughing, and offers his wife a wink of his own. “That was a nice night, wasn’t it, sugar?”

Landon chugs the rest of his beer, his face grimacing in pain. This time, it’s my turn to laugh at him. He notices and points at Trin who’s adjusting my arms so I’ll actually hold her. “I was watching out for you,” he tells her. “He’s a bartender for shit’s sake.”

“Says the man dating a stripper,” she replies simply.

Landon lowers his hand as all eyes fall on him. Silvie steps away from her basket and closer to her son. “You told us Bernadette was a professional dancer,” she tells him, slowly.

“Oh, that’s her profession, all right,” Trin says.

“You’re dating a stripper,” Owen repeats, appearing equally as thrilled as his wife.

And suddenly, I don’t feel so bad about being a bartender. This time, I’m the one smirking as I drink my beer.

Owen starts throwing his cleaning supplies back in his kit, looking ready to lift his gun and smack his son upside the head.

Landon releases a sigh. “She’s only dancing to put herself through engineering school,” he says.

“That school of hers takes singles?” Trin asks. “Just wondering,” she says upon catching Landon’s death glare.

“You’re dating a stripper,” Owen says yet again.

“With a bedazzled vagina,” Trin throws in.

“How did you?” Landon cuts himself off and clears his throat.

And now, Trin has everyone’s attention. “I went to that gentleman’s club in Charleston where she works,” she says. “Over Spring break when I was home.”

“What were you doing in a place like that?” I ask her, at the same time her father questions the same thing.

“It was no big deal,” she tells, stroking my beard with the back of her hand.

“Yes it is,” I say, my frown deepening. “I don’t want you in a place like that.”

The corners of her mouth curl. “I didn’t go by myself. Hale, Mason, and Sean were kind enough to go with me.”

“Wasn’t that nice of them,” both her daddy and I mutter.

We exchange glances. While I still don’t think he’s fully accepted me, I can’t shake the feeling that we have more in common than our military careers . . . like not wanting any harm to come to this sweet young woman in my arms.

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