I head quickly in the direction of laughter and voices, and the darkness is broken by a bonfire and fishing poles.
Down by the water, Logan’s teaching Gigi how to fish. He has his hands around her pole from behind, a sight I would rather not have seen. Her sisters are giggling and pointing at the creek like they’ve never seen natural water before.
I go sit down on the grass with Ginny, Dave, and Blake, and Skip joins us.
“You should see this,” Ginny whispers to me. “Gigi and her sisters are acting like they didn’t know where fish come from—it’s like they think all food just magically appears on your table.”
“Hi, Macey!” Gigi drops her pole to wave. “Your blueberry pie looks so delicious!”
I smile. “Have as much as y’all want.”
“Gosh, I hate cooking,” Gigi says. “I don’t know how you stand it, Macey.”
“Macey’s an amazing cook,” Logan says.
Ginny clears her throat and jabs my side with her elbow.
“Not me.” Gigi giggles. “My mother always orders out. It tastes just as good as homemade if you ask me.”
“Well, that’s because you haven’t had Texas barbecue before.” Blake stands up and goes to check on the grill. “Just about ready, folks. Come eat up.”
“Hey, what’s he doing here?” Logan stares at Skip, who’s stuck to my side like an appendage.
“Are you still helping him with the Darcy Legend?” Ginny says. “Doesn’t he know enough by now?”
“Apparently not. Skip, help yourself to some food.” I grab some chicken and a bun, slather on barbecue sauce and some onions, and then sit back down on the grass.
Skip plops down next to me and Ginny and rambles on about how much he loves a good barbecue. I try to ignore him by staring out at the flowing water and cypress trees leaning over the creek.
Gigi plunks her ass down right in front of Ginny and me and looks at us intently.
Does she expect us to initiate girl talk or something?
I look back at her in silence and try to think of something to say but come up empty.
“Gigi, are you ready for your big day?” Ginny finally asks politely.
Gigi closes down her expression, and I look at her in surprise.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
She whips her head over to me, and that girlish enthusiasm returns to her expression. “Oh, yes, I’m very okay. In fact, Logan and I are going to have a big pre-wedding party at Brick’s Barbecue the night before our wedding here. My mom and I think it will be so quaint.”
“I don’t think Brick’s is quaint,” I say, not able to keep my mouth shut.
Ginny freezes next to me.
After it pops out of my mouth, I worry Logan will tell me off, so I’m surprised when he starts to laugh. Dave and Blake laugh, too, and Gigi glares at all of them.
“It is too quaint!” she says. “What would you call it, Macey?”
“I’d call it country. Yeah, it’s a little old-fashioned, a little redneck. But it’s not something you can point at from a distance and judge, Gigi.”
Logan stops laughing, and his eyes blaze into mine intently.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Gigi says. “I don’t judge Darcy. And neither does my mom. She was here a few years ago, and…”
Logan kicks his tackle box so hard the sound reverberates off the water.
