Page 35 of Leave It to Us
She peered over her shoulder just after he pushed her. “You’re not serious.”
He shrugged. “I am serious. Because I learned early on to just let her have the last word.”
“Whether she’s right or wrong?”
“Yup,” he replied. “For one, I’m her younger brother, not her father. I let my dad handle all the rules with her, and my mom does all the bossiness. As for me, I just let her play with my dump trucks when she wanted to; hid her Barbie doll when our dog, Big Red, chewed its head off; and covertly threatened any guy who even glanced at her.”
She grinned at the last part, because it was sweet, and the previous parts, because they were sweet too. “So you figured out how to work around her early on.”
“That’s what you have to do with people,” he said. “Once you get a good idea for who they are and how they are, you can decide how you’re going to deal with them. It doesn’t have to be hard, and it doesn’t have to be a battle. If you don’t like them, don’t deal with them. But if they’re family and youhaveto deal with them, then you have to figure out how.”
She grew quiet as she let his words settle in. She’d always thought she had figured out how to handle her sisters, since she was the oldest and their mother had put her in charge all the time. It was a given without her even having to focus too hard on it. Except in these last few years since her mother’s stroke, she’d begun to rethink the relationship between her and her sisters and their mother. It all seemed so toxic now, so draining, and while she hadn’t been ready to make that a verbal admission, his words had her thinking that might be coming really soon.
“I just want to get through this summer without feeling any more stressed than I already am,” she said finally as the swing slowed because she’d stopped lifting her legs up and down and he’d begun pushing her slower.
She was about to get up when he touched his hands to her shoulders and held them there until the swing came to a complete stop, his voice stopping her.
“I can help you with that,” he said, his tone as soft as a voice that deep could get.
Before she could respond, he let his hands fall from her shoulders and came around to stand in front of her. “Now,thatwas flirting,” he said, and winked before he reached for her hand to pull her up.
She felt like she should tell him again that she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend and that she didn’t want him flirting with her. But then he said, “My mama makes the best Tummy-Yum Bread Pudding. C’mon over here and taste a slice.”
Bread pudding was one of her favorites, and she never turned it down.Ever.So she’d let the flirting slide this time, as long as it ended with dessert. “Okay,” she said, and allowed him to pull her across the yard.
Chapter 15
TAMI
Jeremiah was a smooth one. In addition to his almost-too-handsome face, he was also really smart and extremely easy to be around. From his laughter, to the way he listened intently to everything Tami said and then followed up with questions that proved he’d been listening to her—and, not to be forgotten, that sexy little cleft in his chin—he was the complete package, topped with college degrees and his own law office, the main one in Savannah and then a smaller version on the island.
Her mother would be pleased. Finally.
And for that reason alone, Tami had decided he wasn’t for her.
“That’s because she’s your girlfriend,” Tami said as she started up the steps to the front porch of the summerhouse. They’d been having a conversation about Cora and the dirty looks she’d continued to give Tami throughout the night.
“Ah, man, how many times I gotta say she’s not my girlfriend?” Jeremiah said from beside her.
They’d walked from Ms.Janie’s house to his golf cart. When he’d asked to take her home, she’d given Lana the keys to their cart and agreed.
“But she used to be,” she continued, and dropped down into one of the rocking chairs.
He sat down, his lips twisted to the side, and he huffed. “Okay, yes, she used to be. But that’s been over for a few months now. She’s gotta move on.”
“Easier said than done,” Tami said with a shake of her head.
“You speaking from experience?”
“Absolutely,” she admitted. Because why not? They weren’t in that sometimes awkward getting-to-know-you stage that new lovers initiate. She didn’t have to worry about whether her replies pleased him or not. “It’s not easy to get over somebody you cared about and perhaps saw a future with. And just because the other person feels like they’re over it doesn’t make it better. Like, what’s she supposed to do with all those feelings she had?”
“Wow,” he said, dropping his hands to the arms of the rocking chair. He leaned back until the chair started moving. “So you’re on her side, and you don’t even know what happened.”
She shrugged. “Not on anybody’s side. Just sayin’ that I can relate to what she’s feeling. And with that said, I’ll also note that being able to relate to her on some level doesn’t excuse her being an evil bitch to me all night just because she probably thought I wanted you inthatway.”
Now he blew out a breath. “I’m really sorry about that. I don’t know why she kept making all those ridiculous remarks to you.”
“Because she doesn’t like you smiling at me, I guess.” Even though Tami sensed there might be a little more to it than that because of the look Cora had given them when she and her sisters had first approached Ms.Janie. That look had made Tami feel like Cora and Sallie had already discussed her and her sisters and decided not to like them. It felt like a really childish thing for two grown women to do, but it wasn’t a totally foreign concept. But as long as the two of them kept their sour attitudes to themselves, Tami could ignore the hell out of them.
