“Jana, dear, your mother’s right,” Sue started. “The one white gown wasn’t right for you given your past and the cost—”
Lifting her chin, Amy cleared her throat.
“You fuckin’ sure you ain’t stealin’ my boy’s fuckin’ money or sabotagin’ your girl’s weddin’?” Uncle Christopher asked.
“Your son put me in charge of the budget,” Amy said flatly. “As Jana’s mother, I havethe right to tell her if she’ll make a fool of herself. I also have the right to withhold funds if I don’t agree with her vision.”
“What is your vision of your daughter’s wedding, Amy?” Aunt Meggie said. “As opposed to hers? You know? The bride.”
“What would a girl like her need with the kind of wedding her drug-addled brain has conjured up?”
Aunt Meggie lifted a brow and Amy laughed nervously.
“I am looking out for your son, Meggie,” she said. “She wanted custom everything. A custom-made gown. A designer cake. Tons of flowers. A sit-down dinner. A band. An open bar. This. That. The other. I almost fell off my chair when I discovered I’d pay nearly three hundred dollars per person. Even with twenty-five guests, that’s seventy-five hundred dollars for an overpriced meal. For her.”
Jana flushed and could barely meet Diesel’s eyes. He wondered how mad she’d be if he stabbed Amy. She probably would miss that cunt since she still wanted them acknowledged as her parents.
“I think twenty-five dollars a person is more than enough.”
“Six hundred twenty-five dollars for these twenty-five people,” Aunt Meggie said.
Amy nodded. “Exactly.”
“I suggested fifty dollars a person,” Sue said. “I showed Amy a pretty dress for Jana that cost two hundred fifty dollars.”
Diesel slid forward to the end of his seat and rested his elbows on his knees. Uncle Christopher always hid Aunt Meggie’s face if she were close when he had to kill motherfuckers. He probably should send her and Jana away.
“You’d like that, right, J-Bird?” Sue asked, smiling at Jana. “You know how your mama is.”
Jana returned her father’s smile. “Yes, Dad.”
“What we need to see are receipts,” Aunt Meggie said. “I know my son has started funding that account, so if everything Jana wants is too expensive, what have you been doing with the money?”
“I didn’t say it was too expensive,” Amy gritted. “I said Jana didn’t deserve what she wanted.”
“I beg to differ,” Aunt Meggie said evenly. “That’s up to Diesel and Jana to decide. What have you done with the money?”
“I resent your implication,” Amy screeched.
“Raise your fuckin’ voice to my woman one more fuckin’ time and Ima fuckin’ kill you before Diesel can get his fuckin’ hands on you,” Uncle Christopher snapped.
Sue loosened his tie, then reached over and grabbed his wife’s hands. “Leave this to me—”
“I’m not interested in what you have to say,” Diesel said.
“Diesel, son—” Sue smiled weakly. “What’s more embarrassing? An inexpensive wedding or in-laws in debt?”
Diesel processed that information and almost exploded in rage. “Are you fucking telling me you used my money to pay your goddamn bills?”
“That isn’t a nice way of putting a very dire situation,” Amy said tightly.
Jumping to his feet, Diesel growled. Unfortunately, Uncle Christopher got to his and grabbed Diesel. “Neither your ma or that whiny cunt your wanna marry want them dead, so take a fuckin’ walk and cool off.”
Either he obeyed or he killed. Since Aunt Meggie laid down the law, he stormed out of the living room. He intended to take a walk outside via the mudroom to cool the fuck off but a flash of golden hair caught his attention, so he redirected his steps and followed her into the rose garden, walking in just as she sat on the bench, looking so incredibly sad.
She heaved in an agitated breath. “Go away.”
“Hurting you the way I did was the last thing I wanted to do.”
