Page 94 of Living Hell

THIRTY-ONE

Tyler

“THAT’S JUST A BOWLof whipped cream,” I said pointing to what was in front of Iona.

She nodded and smiled as a glob of cream dribbled down her chin. “And it’s delicious.”

I had to be thankful that she didn’t have any more of the pickle juice and raisin cravings. All her food desires now involved fat and sugar—two things I never kept in my house. That was until the woman I loved got knocked up.

If it made her and the baby happy, then I’d drive hours across state borders to get the craziest cravings she desired.

“It does look good. I don’t see that on here,” Olivia said as she lifted the Fire and Ice diner menu.

“That’s because they don’t serve it here unless it’s special ordered. Isn’t that right, Debbie?” Carter had his arm on the back of Olivia’s chair as he gazed over to the waitress.

“Anything for the mother-to-be. And since it’s such a special occasion, I made sure Jack had all the ingredients to make whatever Iona wished. You never know what a pregnant woman might find appealing.” She elbowed Babette.

Iona’s manager blushed before straightening in her chair. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Just coffee and those apple fritters, please.” Babette handed her menu to Debbie.

“Of course.” Debbie took the menu and glanced across the long table to my brother. “And for you, runt?”

I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I watched my brother grit his teeth. He didn’t mind Iona calling him that, but hated when anyone else brought it up. I think he took pride in his height. He enjoyed looking like Big Foot with less hair.

“Plate of bacon, sausage, and some fruit.”

We had all gathered here to reveal the sex of the baby. We had found out yesterday and decided to bring everyone together to tell them.

What everyone, including Iona, didn’t know was that I too had a surprise. I had other plans for this gathering.

Iona was so relieved she got passed the first trimester that she cried that night. Last night she turned to me and said it was a sign. That knowing the sex of the baby, to her, meant that it would live. She said it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

I agreed and then made her a bowl of ice cream slathered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce. She cried with happy tears as she ate and then had terrible gas all night.

I never knew pregnant women could clear a room with their farts, but there were several times I nearly passed out due to asphyxiation from her flatulence.

Everyone was here to celebrate—Iona’s agent and assistant, my brother, Olivia and Carter, and the only person missing was Austen. He was meeting with the prosecutors about Mayor Keaghan Bailey’s court case.

“I still can’t believe Austen was in on the case the whole time. He didn’t come across as the type of guy who would be working undercover for the police.” Jake shrugged.

“I remember when he got the call from the mayor about Iona coming to town. I offered my knowledge of the call to Garrison but he didn’t seem interested,” I said, still a little bitter that Austen got to work closely with the sheriff and I didn’t.

“It’s terrible the mayor wanted Austen to spy on Iona,” Cara said to the table before placing a hand on Iona’s arm. Iona hadn’t noticed her touch, too busy scarfing down whipped cream.

“Yeah, even bribed him. The mayor had no idea Austen was a stickler for the rules. He went right over to the sheriff with what Keaghan had done. But apparently, the FBI had already been in contact with Garrison about the mayor.” I crossed my arms over my chest, excited to share the juicy details.

“Some drug gang snitch wanting a lesser sentence mentioned that the mayor had bribed him long ago. Keaghan wanted the guy to pretend to be different people on the phone to gather information to bribe them for money. One of the phones he answered was back when I would try to call Iona when she first moved out West. Keaghan had been breaking the law since high school. He’s going to go to jail for a long time,” I said as I put my hands behind my head.

A perfect ending to a disgusting jackass.

“That’s crazy. I can barely make sense of all the lies he’s told. I’m glad you’re not like that, bro. You could have easily turned out like him because of our parents, but you didn’t.” Jake gave me a light slap on the back.

I frowned. “Speaking of lies . . . I need to be honest for a minute. I lied about the reason we’re all here today,” I said, raising my voice as I stood. The table wobbled which caused a ripple effect with the two other tables pushed together so we could all be seated together at the diner.

Everyone turned their heads toward me, even Iona took a break from her cream to stare up at me. The bowl was empty, and I noticed it had been licked clean.

Walking over to Iona, I got down on one knee. She gasped and a glob of cream fell from her nose. Holding out my hand, she placed hers in mine. I slipped off my grandmother’s ring from her finger and held it up.

“Will you, Iona White Feather Dell, do me the honor of taking this ring and promising to marry me? I swear to love and be there in good and bad. I swear to put up with pickle juice and dirty diapers at two in the morning. Will you make me the happiest man in the world by saying yes?”

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