Page 80 of No More Heartbreakers

“Thank you, Neanderthal and Cro Magnun. Aric, do you need anything? Can we pass you something? Speak fast—more evolved human beings run the risk of going hungry with this crowd.”

Aric gave her a dazzling smile and asked to try the fried okra. “This all looks really good. I’ve never had this before. Or those little beans.”

“Black-eyed peas. They’re really something, but you’ve gotta have them the way Marjorie makes them, with bacon fat and hot sauce,” Daddy explained.

“No cardiologists in the family, I’m afraid,” I said to Aric across the table.

He grinned back at me, obviously having a great time. He chatted easily with my brothers about every sport they mentioned. When my dad produced a gross fishing lure from his pocket, Aric engaged him in conversation about a local bass-fishing rodeo he’d covered.

When mom mentioned her current play, he quoted her some of Captain Von Trapp’s lines and confessed a childhood crush on Julie Andrews.

He had them all eating black-eyed peas (with hot sauce) right out of his hand.

How did he do it? Blend in so effortlessly? It had been a while since I’d first brought Hale home, but if memory served, it had taken him a couple years to really settle into my family.

His parents were so much more formal, the atmosphere in his family home dominated by his rather exacting and hard-to-please mother. It had always kind of freaked me out the way she insisted he call her, “Mother” instead of the more common “Momma” or “Mom.”

I’d preferred for us to spend time here rather than go to his house, and he seemed to prefer it, too. In fact, I used to suspect he came here largely to escape the tension there.

The doorbell rang. My father answered it and came back into the room with a slightly worried expression.

Hale was by his side. It was like my memory had summoned him.

As I sucked in a breath, the crumbly cornbread went down the wrong pipe and made me cough. Mom pounded me on the back and handed me my glass of sweet tea.

“Hey everybody.” Hale had started speaking before even rounding the corner into the kitchen. “I brought some chips, though it looks like you’re already having…”

Dinnerwas probably the word he’d intended. “Company,” was the word that came out when he caught the whole picture, including Aric sitting at the table, flanked by my father and Tee.

“Hale!” Everyone called out his name in that where’ve-you-been sort of way.

“Heidi didn’t tell us you were coming by tonight, sweetheart,” Mom said.

“Oh, well, Heidi didn’t really know, I guess.” Uncertainty colored Hale’s voice.

The last time he’d called, he’d asked about my family, and I’d mentioned I would probably go to their house for dinner and football Monday night. I hadn’t expected him to feel comfortable dropping by at this point in our non-relationship.

Clearly hewasn’tcomfortable now. “Listen, looks like you’ve got a pretty full house here…”

“Don’t be silly,” Mom said. “I always cook enough to feed a couple of armies.”

“Hi.” I coughed again, standing up and pushing away from the table. “You know there’s always room here for one more. Take my seat. I’m finished.”

Aric came to his feet as well, extending his hand over the table toward Hale. “Good to see you again, man. Aric Amore.”

Hale gripped his hand and let it go, sliding into my spot at the table. He cast an evaluating eye over Aric.

“Sure. I remember. You work with Heidi. You’ve been doing a nice job on sports.”

“Thanks. So, you come by to see the game?”

“Yeah. The game. I was watching at home and figured I’d drop by and see what the guys were up to.”

Of course Hale would have to drive an hour and fifteen minutes from Madison to Peachtree Valley in order to “drop by” my parents’ house and “see what the guys were up to.”

Oh, I had a bad feeling about this.

It was way past time for me to cowgirl up and ask him where he stood on our relationship.

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