Page 56 of Five Alarm Love
“Hi, Lou.How’s it going?”He reached out to hug or kiss her, but at her raised eyebrows, he held off.
“Good.”She bit her lip, and a jolt of heated interest shot right through him at the small gesture.Not the right time.
He made a big show of sniffing the aromas.“I’m hoping we get to have something that involves the efforts of our life-threatening berry picking.”After they got back to town, he had given Lou all of their forage.
Because he couldn’t face his Grandma empty-handed, Tuli had then bought out the Three Bears’ supply of blackberries and put them in the empty bucket.That bill put a dent in his monthly budget.Groceries in Alaska were generally expensive, what with blackberries running ten dollars per pint and eight pints in a gallon.But no way would he come home with less than two gallons of blackberries.
So, it was probably good he was eating at the Wrights’ tonight.Maybe they’d let him take home leftovers so he could save a little money on the next meal or two.
A high-barked laugh came from the recliner on the far side of the living room.
“Gganaa’, Gordy!”He waited for the guy to form a fist so Tuli could bump it.“You staying out of trouble?”
The sharp shake of Gordy’s head made his response clear before he pressed the buttons.“No way.”His smile stayed put.
Tuli leaned against the armrest on the end of the nearby couch and pointed at the TV.“Ooh, ESPN.Are we watching the Seahawks?”
“We are absolutely not watching the Seahawks.”Mrs.Wright walked over, picked up the remote, and clicked off the TV.
Gordy pulled a face, but his unrepentant smile quickly returned.
Lou laughed as she helped Gordy to stand.He lurched up, bracing his hands on her shoulders.Tuli instinctively reached out but held back, unsure of how much he should assist.After a minute of steadying him, Lou took a step back and gripped Gordy’s upper arm as he walked to the kitchen.One of his legs didn’t lift properly.
Tuli knew all about that.
Gordy stumbled on the wood flooring, but Lou caught him.
“Everything okay?”her dad asked over his shoulder as he helped his wife.
“Gordy’s just demonstrating the joke about ‘have a nice trip, see you next fall.’Right?”Lou said.
Her brother laughed out loud and clapped once before he continued on to the table, where Lou settled him into a chair.
“Anything I can help with, Mrs.Wright?”Tuli asked.Normally, younger adults called elder womenauntie, but it didn’t seem like the correct name to call Lou’s mother.
Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice.“No, I’m good.Go have a seat, and we’ll have dinner out in a moment.And please call us Melinda and Steve.”
“All right.”Tuli wandered back into the living room, where Lou straightened up some magazines on the end table.He stopped a few inches away from her.“You okay?”he murmured.
“Yes.”
“What was Hunter doing here?”
Her eyes darkened and her brows drew together.“Hunter was… being Hunter.”
“Which aspect of being Hunter are you referring to?”
She whispered, “The part where he’s trying to butter up Dad for some reason.Wants to meet with the mining committee members.”Tossing her hair over a shoulder, she said, “It also feels like dropping hints about you as well.It’s all super strange.”
Tuli wanted so badly to figure out Hunter’s angle.Was it a con or simply a guy returning to his roots?He had to tread carefully.Hunter was also part of Lou’s family.
His heart hammered in his chest and the prickles of sweat popped up again.“Hopefully, this evening will take care of any rumors circulating.”
“I agree.”She peered at him.“Don’t worry.You’re not surprising my parents.They do understand that you’re here because we’re starting to see each other.”
He made a big, brow-sweeping gesture.“Phew.”
After everyone was seated around the pine table in hand-carved chairs, Tuli rubbed his hands together.“Dinner looks amazing and smells even better.”
