He and Luna’s husband, Shane, eased a huge cutout of an Easter basket out the door and carried it across the yard.
“Mary Jane said this goes on the right side of the bunny,” Shane said.
“And there’s some eggs that are supposed to be scattered around the yard,” Remy added.
“Lookin’ great!” Mary Jane yelled from the back screened-in porch. “Just like I imagined.”
Joe Clay brought two four-foot-tall wooden eggs out of the house and laid them in the yard. “Will you guys stand these up and then anchor them down while I bring out the other four? When we get that done, it will be time for dinner. I can almost smell that chili simmering in the kitchen.”
“What about the tables and chairs that need to be put up for the leftover potluck tomorrow afternoon?” Knox asked.
“We’ll get that done after we eat and take a rest,” Joe Clay answered. “Remy, if you and Shane will go with me, we can make short order of this job.”
“So, it’s real?” Tripp asked when he and Knox were alone.
Damn it!Knox thought. Tripp was his twin, and even though they weren’t identical and were even different in their thinking processes, they were still close. And Knox had never lied to him. He couldn’t beat around the bush any longer.
“What makes you think it’s not?” Knox asked.
Tripp pounded the last anchor into the ground and then straightened up. “My gut tells me something isn’t quite right. Y’all act like you are a couple, but there’s something in her eyes and yours that says different.”
“So, now you are reading my eyes?” Knox chuckled.
Tripp clamped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Do you remember when you told me that you could see that I was inlove with Willa Rose? That was before I even realized it and was damn sure not willing to admit it.”
Knox nodded. “I do, but what’s that got to do with me and Lottie?”
“Neither of you have the twinkle in your eyes,” Tripp answered. “She’s got a little bit, but that could be because y’all are pulling the wool over Aunt Bernie.”
“It’s early in the relationship. Maybe love hasn’t hit us yet. Maybe we’re just barely getting to know each other,” Knox argued.
“It’s fake,” Tripp said seriously. “If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be avoiding my questions.”
“Busted!” Knox finally said with a sigh. “But please don’t tell anyone. Lottie only told her mother, and now I’m letting you in on the secret.” He went on to tell Tripp the whole story from the time that Lottie asked him to be her boyfriend and why. “I know you and Willa Rose don’t keep secrets, but I’m asking you not to tell her. We need to keep this on the down-low for five more weeks.”
Tripp gently squeezed Knox’s shoulder. “Your secret is safe with me, and the idea is genius. She gets to be free from advances, and you from Aunt Bernie. It’s a win-win situation, until you tell the family that you’ve broken up with her.”
“Oh, no!” Knox said. “My story is that we are having a long-distance relationship when she goes to El Paso, and I come back home. She’s going to do the same.”
“Even smarter, but what if you meet someone that you would really like to date?” Tripp asked.
Knox nodded toward the three guys coming toward them with the rest of the wooden eggs. “I’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. Maybe that will be when she breaks my heart, and I will need someone to help mend it.”
Chapter 8
Lottie figured the preacher’s sermon would be on the resurrection since it was Easter Sunday, but Parker opted to speak on loving your neighbor—like Jesus did in his lifetime. According to what he had to say that morning, Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection were important times to remember, but the more vital thing was those years between birth and ascension into heaven. That was where the life lessons were.
That guilty feeling that had draped itself over her shoulders earlier got even heavier when she thought about lying to Bernie. The old gal had been nothing but kind to her and deserved more respect than that. Add in the shame of what they were doing to the rest of the family, and it put another hundred pounds onto the weight.
She hated both the shameful feeling, as well as the attraction that seemed to be growing by the hour to Knox. With Knox’s shoulder pressed against hers and sending waves of heat flowing through her body, she battled two wars within her heart. She glanced up at the ceiling and wouldn’t have been a bit surprised to see lightning streaking down upon her head.
Man plans. God laughs.
Lottie figured that remembering that old saying was toteach her what impulsiveness would get her. She should have figured in all the odds when she sat down beside Knox and asked him to be her fake boyfriend. But she hadn’t, and now she was in a pickle.
If she was honest with herself, she’d done that on the spur of the moment because she thought he was sexy. Now she was developing feelings for him, and he couldn’t feel the same way. If he did, he wouldn’t be sitting beside her as cool as a snow cone.
On more than one occasion, her mother had scolded her when she wasn’t paying attention. According to her, Lottie had squirrels chasing around in her head. That meant she couldn’t grab onto a thought and hold it before she was off chasing another one. Lottie thought she had overcome the inability to control her brain waves. But evidently, she was still chasing a virtual, hyperactive squirrel on a fast-moving merry-go-round that morning, because she couldn’t grab one idea or memory before another one pushed it out of the way.
