“My wife needs a doctor,” Anna’s ex said to Cheri.
Kaci twisted her head. Then she blinked. Then she stood and looked Anna’s ex up and down.
“Oh, shit,” Anna said again. She looked at Jackson and winced. “Sorry.”
He winked at her. “Don’t worry. My momma didn’t hear.”
“Who are you?” Kaci said to the idiot.
“I—”
“You crashing my wedding?” She stomped a slipper that took her four feet closer to the captain. “’Cuz I’ve heard whatyoudo at weddings, and I ain’t got no use for that.”
“Kaci,” Anna said.
“She needs a doctor,” the captain tried again, but under Kaci’s stare, the yahoo went green.
Kaci glanced at Jackson, then back to the captain. “You ever see combat?” she asked. She flicked at his four medals that clearly stated he hadn’t. “I reckon she’s in about the best hands she could be right now, so you go on and fix yourself a plate, then go on and sit in the corner and eat it, then you go on and get out of here before I tell my momma about what you like to do at weddings. You seen my momma yet? You ain’t seen a Southern woman mad ’til you seen my momma dealing with wedding crashers who make the kind of toasts you do, and that ain’t a sight I reckon the likes of you will live through.”
“Anna?” the captain said. “Look, sweetheart?—”
“My wife was polite about it,” Lance said, “but I won’t be.”
“Won’t look good when this gets back to your commander,” Cheri said. The steel in her eyes belied her easy posture.
Jackson almost felt sorry for the guy.
“I’m only letting you all handle him because my head hurts,” Anna said.
He laughed out an exasperated sigh. “Darlin’, it’s being handled because you picked the right friends. Same as doing it yourself in my book. You getting sleepy?”
Worry lines branched from the corners of her eyes, but her pupils were fine. Even had some spark to them again. “Adrenaline crash,” she said. Her gaze followed her ex disappearing into the crowd. “I’ve got half a mind to ask your momma to have a go at him.”
“I swear to sweet baby Jesus, if one more ex-husband shows up at this wedding, I’m strappinghimto a firecracker,” Kaci said. “Anna, you all right? For real?”
Forming that pretty smile seemed to perk Anna up. Did wonders for Jackson too, truth be told.
“I have three nephews. Not my first bump on the head. I’ll be fine.”
And Jackson found that Anna’s being okay meant more to him than getting pie tonight.
Anna was a mess.Her temple throbbed, she was beyond embarrassed, and she’d run through at least three cycles of being furious with Neil, then furious with herself, and then back to furious with Neil.
All this Southern gentility had gone to her head. In retrospect, it was clear she should’ve asked him to step outside before dinner, racked him, and dumped him in the bathroom for a janitor to find.
Much less messy.
And on top of it all, she was afraid Jackson had stuck around only because his momma would’ve had his hide if shehad heard he abandoned a lady in distress.
She obviously wouldn’t be stripping him out of anything tonight.
There went her fury again.
Jackson returned to his seat beside her. If he noticed she’d moved from sorting the rainbow mints to lining up the random wedding-shaped silver confetti sprinkled around the candle centerpieces, he didn’t comment. He plunked another cake plate in front of her, this one with actual cake on it. Three ketchup packets too. “Kaci’s orders,” he said. “She threatened to tell my momma some very uncomplimentary stories if I didn’t bring it over for you.”
She managed a small smile. “Thank you.”
“I’m right proud of you, Anna Grace. Using your manners and everything.” The sparkle in his eyes wasn’t as bright, and he couldn’t seem to look away from the spot on her temple that was currently throbbing. “Sure you don’t want anything for that?”
