Page 17 of Wrath’s Nightingale

The way she talks, I can tell the years without her dad were a horror show. And she only had a childhood when she was with him. Or him and Lisa. I observed the family over the last few days. Lisa treated Millie like she’d given birth to her. In fact, the two women played a few pranks on the younger Barnes boys.

I shouldn't call them boys. They’re twenty-two and twenty-three. From what I’ve observed, they take their responsibilities seriously. While Millie’s parents are retired, the boys took vacation days so they could spend time with their sister. I love that she has that. I know how important family is.

Chapter 10

Millie

Idrag poor Wrath into half the shops in Nashville, and its only noon. We stop at the Jack and Jill nut shop. It’s just past the Brown County Playhouse. I pick up a few pounds of nuts and pepitas. And a few pieces of chocolate. I can’t resist their nut covered toffee. Never could.

I spot a sign for a shop I haven’t been in before called A Happy Homestead. We follow the sign. It’s tucked away in a building in an alley behind the main thoroughfare.

“We should get in all our steps today,” Wrath says as we duck between buildings.

I chuckle. “I’m sure we’ll double that ten thousand, easily.”

The shop is warm and welcoming. It smells like cinnamon when I step through and look around. Everything is rustic country. I AM IN LOVE.

“It’s a good thing we rode today. If we had the SUV, I’d fill it up and the trailer too.”

Wrath chuckles. “You like this kind of stuff?”

“My apartment isn’t this rustic, but when I build my dream home, this is what I want. Wood and tin. Repurposed furniture and wood.”

“Do you want a log cabin?”

“I’d love a log cabin. I know it’s impractical for Louisiana, but we have several around here. They even do a tour every year.”

“Our President Gambit built a log cabin for Stormy. His pops have one in Baton Rouge. If you’d like, I can show both to you when we get back.”

“I’d love that.”

Wrath pries me away from the store nearly an hour later.

“We’re not far from the Artist Colony. How about we have lunch there?” I ask.

“We’ll eat wherever you want.”

Fingers entwined; we walk back to the Artist Colony. My family and I have been coming here for years. They’re crowded by the time we get there. I overhear one of the servers say a local church group arrived en masse fifteen minutes ago.

Wrath excuses himself to use the bathroom. Not a minute later, I spot a familiar head of red hair. The kind that’s a few shades short of the golden arches clown himself. Delia Tanner, my brother's number one fan, baby mama, and all-around pain in my ass. She hustles toward me with a sneer on her face.

“Millicent Amanda Barnes, did I just see you with a darkie?”

The hackles on the back of my neck stand up, and I barely resist the urge to plant my fist in her face.

“If you mean the devastatingly handsome black man that just went to the bathroom, yes. I am with him. Proudly so. Not that it’s any of your business, but he came home with me for a family vacation.”

Her sneer turns uglier if that’s possible. “Wait until I tell your mother and brother.”

“My mother already knows. We’re staying with my mom and dad.”

“That bitch is not your mother.”

“Watch your mouth, Scarlet Johnson.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Come outside with me and find out.”

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