Page 47 of Honey Be Mine
“Ugh. That’s one way to shut him up.” Leif slouched into one of the kitchen chairs.
Dane had done him a favor. Admiring or staring at Rosemary wasn’t in line with the whole friend-zone-only decision he’d made yesterday. A decision he was going to stick to, dammit, no matter what. Besides, Shelby had asked him a question—a question he still hadn’t answered.
“From what I heard, lots of folk felt more in control by the time the day was over. I think it helped to learn that most of the paint used in paintballs is washable. A little peroxide, some soap, a whole lot of patience. It’s a pain, but for the most part, the paint will come off.” Everett ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Sheriff Myers had state troopers and game wardens on hand to help out so it wasn’t just him up there, a talking head.”
“Hold on a second.” Rosebud took the glass of water to the back door. “I don’t want to miss anything, but I want to take this to Astrid.” She hurried out the back door.
“The training was great.” With a sigh, Tansy slipped out of Dane’s hold. “It looks like there were plenty of people signing up to take shifts, too. We did.”
Dane nodded.
Everett could only hope this whole city watch thing would be warning enough to put an end to the paintballers’ reign of terror. “So far, so good.”
Rosebud came back. “Okay, I’m back.” Her gaze darted his way.
He smiled.Dammit.
“It wasn’t the training. It was other stuff—typical stuff mostly.” Dane shrugged, taking the cup of coffee Tansy poured for him. “Thank you.” He winked at her. “Dennis Hobart acting like Everett was supposed to come up with funding to fix the damages. Man, does he need an attitude adjustment.”
“So does his son, Wes. Guy’s a...tool.” Leif frowned. “He almost got into a fight with Clay Dwyer over something. Then he tried hitting on Kerrielynn. And Grace. And Halley. And he was all kinds of rude about Libby.”
Everett didn’t know anything about all that, but he wasn’t surprised.
“He sounds like a charming boy.” Magnolia’s disdain was almost comical.
Dane chuckled and went on, “And once Hobart was done making noise, Willadeene couldn’t wait to join in, too.”
“That woman.” Magnolia’s voice was brittle. “She’s not happy until everyone else is miserable.”
Roman finished putting all the bacon onto a platter. “Remind me to avoid her.”
“Don’t worry. As long as you’re with Aunt Mags, you’re safe.” Rosemary smiled at her aunt. “Even Willadeene knows better than to cross verbal swords with Magnolia Hill.” But when she glanced back at Everett, her brow furrowed deeply. “What did she want from you, Everett?”
It wasn’t so much what she wanted done as what she wanted known—whether she was reminding one and all that, since they had no way of knowing where or what the bastards would do next, this whole training was a sham to benefit his career, or her not-so-subtle implication that he’d accomplished as much as he had in his position because he’d beeninvolvedwith the right women to advance his career. Either way, Willadeene Svoboda had made sure everyone in the cafeteria heard herobservations. While he’d like to think most folk would laugh off her accusations, there’d been a fair amount of looks, whispers, and uncertainty directed his way.
“To hear herself talk.” Everett made a silly face at Bea. Willadeene might be a pain in his rear, but he could handle it. “You tell Rosebud there’s nothing to worry about, Bea.”
“Ro Ro no wee?” Bea waited, her hands waving back and forth.
“Right. No worries.” Everett grinned at Bea, then Rosebud—who was smiling again. And what a smile.
“Come here, little Bea.” Shelby held her hands out. “Breakfast yums are ready.”
“Yum-yums.” Bea leaned out, reaching for her mother. “Yum.”
“Yums for everyone.” Magnolia waved everyone to the table. “Charlie and the girls should be here any minute.”
“Should we set up outside on the porch?” Everett asked, glancing at Rosebud.
“For Astrid? You’re a genius.” Rosebud smiled up at him.
Dammit all.He shouldn’t like that she looked so pleased with him. This was going to be a hell of a lot harder than he thought.
“Excellent idea.” Magnolia crossed the kitchen, opened one of the cabinets lining the wall, and pointed at the top shelf. “There are trays up there.”
Tansy located some folding tables, Shelby and Roman set them up, and everyone else helped move the food, plates, and utensils onto the wide porch that wrapped around the Hill family home. They were just getting settled when Charlie, Nova, and Halley came walking across the yard.
“Are we having a picnic?” Nova was skipping. “I like picnics.”
