These days, he was turning over a new leaf. Now that Slade knew the truth and Atticus wasn’t avoiding him completely, Carson no longer felt the need to play games. He figured the only way to see if this could work was to be upfront and honest about his intentions. With both of them.
The waitress appeared. “What can I get you boys?”
“Chicken fried steak, okra, and mashed potatoes. Extra gravy. And an iced tea,” Slade rattled off.
Rachel looked at him. “And you?”
“Same. But I’ll stick with water.”
“Bread?”
They both shook their heads at the same time.
“Be back in a minute with your tea,” she told Slade before heading for the next table.
“You look good,” Carson told Slade when they were alone.
Slade’s eyes narrowed.
Carson could practically hear his brain coming up with a snide comment. That was pretty much all they’d exchanged since they stopped seeing each other. That or Carson was taunting him because that had always been his go-to response. Until he met Atticus, Carson hadn’t thought much of it. Then, after his conversation with Slade at the bakery, he realized that wasn’t what he wanted anymore. He didn’t want to be the jackass who purposely pushed everyone away. And he certainly didn’t want to push Slade away.
“I talked to Atticus, too,” Carson explained.
“It’s not a contest,” Slade bit out.
Carson held both hands up, palms out as he leaned back. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Shit. He was already fucking this up.
“Then howdidyou mean it, Carson?” His voice was a rushed whisper. “You think I don’t know Atticus is talkin’ to you?”
Carson took a deep breath, reminding himself that Slade had every right to be pissed at him. “I mentioned it because I want you to know this is on the up and up. I’m not lookin’ to do anything behind his back. Or yours.”
The waitress returned with Slade’s tea. She set it on the table and kept going.
“How’s JJ?” Carson asked, figuring it was a much safer subject.
“If you’re talkin’ about Baz bein’ arrested, he wasn’t.”
“Arrested?” Clearly Carson wasn’t linked into the grapevine because he hadn’t heard about it.
Slade huffed and took a sip of his tea. “Round Rock PD came out to Brantley’s, weapons drawn. Took him in. They let him go a few hours later.”
Apparently, Slade didn’t want to talk about it, so Carson reverted to his original question. “And JJ? She doin’ okay after all this?”
Slade’s jaw unclenched. “Yeah. They went to the doctor earlier this week. Found out they’re havin’ twins.”
“Holy shit. Isn’t she like almost due?”
“Couple more months, but yeah. Somethin’ about the heartbeats were in sync, and the doctor didn’t decipher there were two.”
“So, is this good news? Are they happy?”
“Over the moon.”
“That’s good. And what about the people who took her? Did y’all find them yet?”
Slade sighed. “No.”
