Page 42 of My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding

“What’s more difficult to beat than smart?”Tori asked, scooping up another forkful.She might regret her fitted cocktail dress later but she didn’t care.

“Determined,” Ellie said.

“Bloodthirsty,” Leo said at the same time.

Tori laughed.She only had two bites of pie left so she asked, “You guys bet big bucks?”

“We bet for chores,” Leo said.“Way more valuable than money.”

“Chores around the tour company?”

“And more specifically for who has to work with Sawyer,” Leo said.

“Sawyer’s in charge?”Somehow she could see that.There was something about the guy that seemed very take-charge.And serious.Kennedy might run the schedule, but Sawyer was the go-to guy.

Leo nodded.“He and Tommy were the primary partners.They bought me out about ten years after Danny died.”He nodded at Cora.“Cora, Danny, me and El have been best friends since we were kids.Danny and I ran that company for forty-two years together.I did it on my own with the kids and grandkids’ help until the boys were old enough to take it over.”

That kind of history wasn’t foreign to her either.There were plenty of people who had lived in Elton all their lives and grown up together and who passed their farms and businesses down to the next generations.Her dad and his best friend, Dean, had been friends since childhood.Her mom and her best friend, Linda, had known each other since third grade.“It’s really nice that you’ve kept it in the family.”She glanced at Cora.“Do you have grandkids?”

A flicker of sadness passed over Cora’s face.Then she smiled.“I do.Tommy was a majority partner in the business with Sawyer until he died last summer.”

The last bite of crawfish pie felt like lead as Tori swallowed it.“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you,” Cora said.“I miss him every day.”

“We all do,” Ellie said, wrapping an arm around Cora.“Tommy was one of our bright lights.”

Everyone was quiet for a long moment.Then Cora sniffed.“And then I’ve got Madison, Tommy’s sister.Maddie went to live with her other grandparents in California when she was twelve, after her mom died.”

Tori set her fork down.Cora had lost a lot of loved ones.“I’m…sorry,” she said again.What did someone say to a woman who had lost a child and a grandchild?

“Thank you.It was best for Maddie,” she said.“They were able to give her everything.She went off to college and works for an art gallery in San Francisco now.”It was clear that Cora was proud of Madison, but that it hurt to have her far away too.

“Tommy being gone is why Sawyer is so damned difficult,” Leo said.

He sounded angry, but it seemed more like concern when Tori looked at him.

“He was always the serious, organized one who kept things running, but since Tommy’s accident, he…” Leo trailed off, shook his head, and wiped at one of his eyes.

“He doesn’t smile much.He worries about everything and everyone.And he’s generally a pain in the ass to be around a lot of the time,” Ellie said of her oldest grandson.“It breaks our hearts.When it’s not pissing us off.”

Tori took a breath.This family was a lot.She had the feeling that no one really left Sawyer alone to brood or whatever.Maybe that was for the best.Surely that could be annoying, but being loved so…loudly…had to be nice too.

“So we take turns playing poker for who has to work with him on chores.The boys do the tours and Kennedy takes care of reservations and such, but when it comes to maintenance stuff, Sawyer insists on doing it and that’s when you get bitched at the most,” Jeremiah said.

“You make Kennedy deal with it most often?”Tori asked.

They all chuckled.“Trust me, honey,” Ellie said.“Kennedy’s the best one to take it.She’s a tough cookie, she’s had a lifetime of dealing with her brothers and cousins saying shit she doesn’t listen to.Plus, she’s his baby sister.He’s nicer to her than the rest of us.”

Tori shook her head, smiling in spite of the topic of all the loss this family had been through—and it was clear that Cora and her kids and grandkids were a part of this family even if it wasn’t by blood.“I’m really…glad I got to meet you all,” she said.

“Well, sweetheart, hurry back,” Cora said, pushing away from the bar.“Now I better get busy in that kitchen.”

As Cora disappeared, Tori frowned.It really might be the last time she saw Cora and the rest.The wedding activities were going to take up a lot of her time while she was in Louisiana.Josh would be with her—a thought that made her heart flutter—but they’d be at the plantation or in New Orleans.She knew the agenda contained some tours and such for the guests.There was a bus tour of New Orleans tomorrow.There was a paddleboat ride at some point.Maybe on Sunday?She hadn’t really looked too far ahead.This had seemed like a deal-with-it-day-to-day kind of situation.And now that Josh would be there, she was feeling a lot more optimistic about all of it.

But she was a little sad to think that she might not see Ellie and Leo and Cora and Jeremiah again.Which was so weird.As was her disappointment over not being able to get to know Kennedy and Owen and even grumpy Sawyer better.

Leo slid off his stool and pulled the keys to the bus from his pocket.

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