Page 129 of Nothing But It All
Jack takes my hand and leads me into the cabin.
Harvey sits in the recliner with a giant bag sitting on the couch beside him. Snaps is perched on his lap, watching every move Mrs. Shaw makes. Mrs. Shaw, for her part, fusses over Harvey, a cotton ball and a tube of some kind of ointment in her hands.
“Harvey, sit still,” she says.
“Or what?”
She smacks him on the shoulder.
Michael, Maddie, and Ava are gathered around the table with plates full of food. They’re engrossed in their own stories. What arethey talking about? I don’t know. But Maddie seems to have forgotten, at least temporarily, that her life was in shambles this morning.
“Think we could just sneak back off into the bedroom?” Jack whispers in my ear.
“I wish.”
“We do need to get cleaned up.” He steps away and holds his arms out. “I think we smell like the woods.”
“Jack, Lauren—there’s a pot of beef stew on the stove and a pan of cornbread. Lauren, I had to use your oven to bake my cake. I hope that’s all right, sweetheart.”
I laugh. “Yes, Mrs. Shaw. That’s fine. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
“Oh yes, I did. I knew you would be back wet and tired. It’s the least I could do.”
“Well, thank you. It’s very appreciated.”
Jack walks across the room to his father. “I see what you’re doing now.”
“What are you talking about?” Harvey asks.
“You probably pulled this whole stunt on purpose just to get Mrs. Shaw over here, fawning all over you.”
Harvey snorts. “I don’t have to pull a stunt to get her to fawn all over me.”
“Harvey Reed, you better stop telling fibs.”
“What’s that mean, Mrs. Shaw?” I ask, winking at Jack.
She sighs. “He acts like it’s just me fawning over him. This father-in-law of yours goes out of his way to fawn all overme. He’s the biggest flirt I’ve ever seen.”
Harvey’s chest puffs out. “Yeah. That’s me.”
Everyone in the cabin laughs. Harvey quickly quiets and holds his ribs.
“You need to see a doctor, Dad?” Jack asks.
“No, I don’t need to see a doctor.”
“You’re holding your rib cage.”
“Yes, I know where my rib cage is, Jack. Thanks for checking to see if I knew.”
Jack shakes his head. “Why do you have to be such an ass?”
“Must not be too big of one.” Harvey grins. “Your wife asked me to move in with you.”
“You’re moving in with us?” Maddie asks.
I turn around. “How did you hear that when you’re in the middle of your own conversation over there?”
