Page 38 of What Hurts Us

“Falls right off the bone,” I said reverently. “The sauce is my Gran’s recipe.”

She shivered as a gust of wind whipped up under the tent. “Sold. Chicken it is.”

“Here.” Before she could argue, I took my jacket off and draped it over her shoulders. I didn’t miss the way she tilted her chin and sniffed the collar. A coy smile flirted with her lips as if she was trying to avoid letting the expression slip.

“I don’t want you to be cold,” she argued.

“I’ll be fine. What kind of a future fiancé would I be if I let my lady shiver in the rain?”

Finally, we were at the front of the line. As soon as the family ahead of us scurried off with their plates, I slipped my arm around Layla’s waist, preparing for the surge of well-intended haranguing.

“Callum Anthony Fletcher!” Gran shrieked as she slammed the money box shut, rattling the loose change like a tambourine.

Layla snorted. “You got middle-named, dude.”

“Laylajoon!” Sepideh Nazari shouted from behind the table of chip bags and bottled drinks.

I leaned down, my lips grazing the top of her head. “You sure you wanna be poking fun at me right now?”

She scowled and whispered back, “You did this on purpose, you sneaky—”

But she couldn’t finish her thought. My Gran and Ms. Sepideh hustled around to the other side of the tables, putting their fundraiser progress on hold without a lick of care for the hungry people behind us. Gran wiped her hands on the waist apron tied around her middle. “Callum Anthony, first I hear rumors that you’re seeing my dear friend’s niece, and then you don’t even have the decency to bring her by for dinner.”

I bent and hugged my Gran. She was the most important woman in my life. If Layla had really been my girlfriend, I would have introduced them in a heartbeat. But that wouldn’t have happened because I didn’t date. “Gran, this is Layla.”

“Hi, Mrs. Fletcher. It’s really nice to meet you,” Layla said with a smile as she offered her hand to my Gran.

Gran scoffed at the offer of a handshake and pulled her into a back-breaking hug instead. “Don’tMrs. Fletcherme. Just call me Gran, sweetheart. Everyone in town does.”

Layla laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Joonam!” Sepideh said as she barreled into the group and squeezed the daylights out of Layla.

They exchanged a quick greeting in Farsi before turning to me. “Cal, this is my aunt.Khale joon, this is my boyfriend, Callum.” The way ‘boyfriend’ rolled off her tongue was so natural.

Sepideh waved her hand dismissively. “Of course I know who he is,joonam.Bea has been running her mouth ever since she saw you moving your things into his house.

Gran nodded in agreement. “The least you two could have done was tell usfirstso thatwecould have started the rumors.”

I slid my arm around Layla and tucked her into my side. A united front. “You know I prefer keeping my life private, Gran.”

“This is Falls Creek!” Sepideh scoffed. “There is noprivacy.”

“How else are we supposed to take care of each other if we don’t know what’s going on?” Gran continued as she hustled back around the table to continue taking payments and donations.

“Chicken for Lay, and pulled pork for me,” I said as I tugged my wallet out of my back pocket. Layla was digging around her purse. I leaned down and pressed my lips to her temple. “I got it, honey.”

She froze—her whole body tensing for a moment before slowly relaxing. “Thanks. That’s… thoughtful.”

“You’re my girl,sugar buns.”

She exploded in laughter, drawing a reluctant smile out of me—something I had been doing a lot more lately.

Gran counted out my change, and I stuffed it back in the donation box. The Ladies Auxiliary was raising money for one of the Falls Creek firefighters who had been injured in the line of duty and was now forced into retirement. The town rallied together to take care of Jerry and his family when disability didn’t cover enough.

I grabbed two Cokes off the table while Layla picked out bags of chips. Gran and Sepideh worked double time to get hungry patrons fed and sent on their way. We left them with promises to visit soon. For now, that appeased them.

A second tent had been set up in the grass with folding tables and metal chairs arranged underneath. Deciding that the cold wasn’t that bad, we found two empty seats and dove into our plates.

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