But tonight all he could think about when it came toneeding a lifewas that smile Matilda had aimed at him outside.And how it was still sitting deep in his belly, like a shot of very good whiskey.
Tennessee didn’t have the slightest idea what he intended to do about that.
Cat waved her hand, still in the middle of her summary.“And me, the youngest.Got married almost a year and a half ago, going to school, planning to become a nurse one day.But here’s the question.How do we, with so little to go on when it comes to any kind of happy family situation, make sure that we’re the happiest?As we promised?”
“Board games?”Raleigh contributed blandly.
And maybe that wasn’t funny, in the grand scheme of things.But it was so ridiculous, and sonotwhat this group seemed likely to do at any point.Plus it was delivered in that lazy drawl of his.
Whatever the reason, they all burst out laughing.
Even Tennessee.
And they all had the same goddamned laugh, which they clearly all noted at the same time—because they laughed even harder.
“I don’t know,” Finn said when the laughter died down a little.“Seems like this is a good start.”
There was a group consultation over what food to order where they found, to no one’s great surprise, that they all liked the same kind of pizza.So it was easy to go and get a few pies, and some side salads so folks could feel virtuous, and when Tennessee made noises about chipping in some money when Finn announced he’d pay tonight, Finn waved him off.
“This is going to be a weekly thing.You can pick it up next time.”Then he looked at his brother.“And then we can start down the line chronologically, so everyone can contribute to this family-building experience we’re having here.”
“Sir, yes sir,” Raleigh drawled at his older brother, with a smirk.
Tennessee went up to the counter with Finn and waited as Finn gave Indy Bennett the table’s order.Then the two of them stood there a minute, looking back at the younger four.
“Raleigh’s not actually shiftless,” Finn said after a moment.“He does like to act like it, though.”
Tennessee considered.“Dallas probably would do the same if he could.But the military beat it out of him.”
They ordered another round of drinks that Tennessee carried over to the table.And when he came back, he stood with Finn a while and filled him in on the Cowboy Point lore he thought any sort of newcomer or interested visitor should know.Like the miners who refused to leave Cowboy Point, the ones who went back down to Marietta, and the really crusty ones who hightailed it out deeper into the mountains, leaving their stamp on the area in markedly different ways.
He was talking about the age-old Lisle family feud with the Careys that Cat had personally ended by marrying Wilder Carey when Kitty Bennett came bustling out from the kitchen with her auburn hair piled on top of her head, holding two huge pizzas.
“Hear anything about that new restaurant?”Tennessee asked her as she slid the pies onto the counter.Beside him, Finn seemed to stiffen.
Kitty wiped her hands on her apron.“College friends, apparently.”
“I heard that part.”
“Four women, according to the rumor I heard,” Kitty told him.“Maybe one of them a local?But that’s unclear.”
“As long as they’re still going for that full farm-to-table, high-end shit,” Tennessee replied.
“Exactly.”Kitty smiled then, and the smile took over her whole face.“So absolutely no competition for you or me, friend.Delighted to be able to support this new venture wholeheartedly.”
“One hundred percent my take,” Tennessee agreed with a laugh.
Kitty rushed off back into the kitchen, where, knowing her, she was already plotting out a new set of recipes.She liked to switch up the special pizzas weekly—even in winter—and they were always shocking combinations of ingredients that tasted fantastic together when most folks were sure they couldn’t.
Tennessee didn’t make that kind of food.His regulars wanted staples and they wanted consistency, and that was what he delivered.Day in and day out, with some special hours and dishes in the summer.
That was why he liked Kitty.They both knew their place, and the role of their kitchen in the community, and they delivered.
Tennessee picked up one of the pies on its tray and was surprised to find Finn still standing stiffly there beside him.Looking a lot like he’d seen some kind of ghost.
“You all right?”he asked his new brother.
“Never better,” Finn said, seeming to come back to life with a jolt.He smiled.“I think I just realized how hungry I am.”
