Page 27 of Rex's Honor
The courses came and went, and the conversation seemed to stay off whether or not she and Rex were made for each other. She enjoyed listening to Rex’s tales from his service in the military, his new job, and the fires he fought, though he did say,I can’t talk about that,a lot.
By the time the after-dinner coffee was served, but before dessert, it was obvious to everyone that Louisa was exhausted, even though she kept trying to say she was fine.
“Let’s get you up to bed,” Gerry said. He was so good with his Louisa and it warmed Tilly’s heart how this family could come together in the end for Louisa.
Tilly had her fair share of resentment toward Louisa in the early days. They had their own disagreements, but Louisa had been kind and patient. Loving even.
“You should be saying that to your current wife, not your ex-wife,” Louisa said, teasing.
He smiled. “As soon as we get you upstairs, I plan on taking her home and?—”
“Dad,” Rex said with a scrunched nose. “This is just too weird for me.”
Gerry laughed. “Welcome back to the nuthouse, son.”
“I’ll help.” Judy rose, guiding Louisa out of the chair.
“Good night, son.” Louisa hugged Rex.
A warmth spread over Tilly’s heart seeing Rex embrace his mother again. She really needed to relax and just get with his mother’s program for the week. After that, Rex would be gone.Sure, he’d be back and the dance would start all over again, but she’d have a reprieve. Time and space to go back to her life and forget about Rex, until the pretending had to commence again.
“I’ve had the staff make the bed in the room next to Tilly’s. I think you’ll be comfortable there.”
Tilly coughed, burning her lips on the hot coffee she’d just brought to her lips. “That’s a shared bathroom.”
“I know. I didn’t want the cleaning people to have to deal with another one. This is just easier.” Louisa patted her shoulder. “Stop fighting it, dear. Trust me. By the end of the week, you’re going to realize how madly in love you two still are.”
She opened her mouth, but snapped it shut. Nothing good would come from saying exactly what she was thinking. Leaning across the table, she took the second bottle of wine that had been opened and poured herself a hearty glass. Once Louisa was out of the room, she turned to look at Rex. “Cheers.” She chugged half of it. “I should have left when you shut the cabin door on me.”
“I would have still come.” He joined her in more vino. “I needed to do this as much for me as for her.”
“Okay, but we wouldn’t have had sex last night, which opened up this crazy can of worms.”
“My mother doesn’t know we had sex. She’s just?—”
“I do now,” Louisa said, pushing her IV pole through the dining room. “I forgot my cheaters. Can’t see a damn thing without them.”
Tilly dropped her head to the table and groaned. A wave of nausea flowed from her toes to her brain.
“You might as well share a room. I have no issue with that out of wed?—”
“Louisa,” Gerry said sternly. “Leave them alone.”
“Good idea,” Rex said. “I think we’ve all embarrassed Tilly enough for one night.”
Tilly kept her head down, breathing deeply so she didn’t hyperventilate. This was worse than getting caught with her hand in Rex’s pants when they’d been in high school.
“Everyone’s gone.” Rex brushed her hair to the side, tracing his finger across her neck. “For the record, I thought you’d want to keep the tattoo to yourself, which is why I took your hair down. But you pushed my buttons, so I pushed back.”
“They’ve all seen it. Made their comments. Trust me. I’ve been dealing with this longer than you have.”
“So, I just made it all worse.”
She bolted upright. “It wasn’t just the letting my hair down thing, but you made a sexual innuendo?—”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just that it does really make my mother happy, and I’ve come to realize I’ve caused her so much pain. I’m trying to make it up to her.”
“I’m glad. Really I am, and I’m willing to play along. Just we don’t have to take it that far, much less announce what happened last night.”
