Noah is the first to pick up a wing and Everett is right on his heels. They start in on them just as a wild riot of screams and squeals emits from behind, and I turn just in time to see an entire herd of dirty pink pigs running this way at top speed.
“Mom!” Evie quickly moves both me and somehow Carlotta out of the way. Both Noah and Everett jump from the table in time as about a hundred bewildered beasts blow right through it, and then blow through the table and chairs as if they weren’t even there.
And once the dust settles, Woody steps back onto the stage with a laugh.
“Let’s hear it for our dual champions! Congratulations, men. You’ll both be going home with prizes.”
Evie howls with delight, “Cheesy jalapeño cornbread muffins here we come!”
“I know what we’re having for dinner!” I howl right along with her.
Cluck Norris floats by just as a couple of ponies dart past us.
“I’ve done it, Lottie! My brothers and sisters are free!” He flies off to join the melee as if he were free himself.
“Speaking of done,” I say as Noah and Everett stagger this way.
Everett hands me the keys to my minivan before doubling over and letting out an awful groan. Noah’s face goes white as a sheet before turning an abrupt shade of green and he quickly runs behind the registration desk and doubles over himself.
Carlotta cries out from my left, and Evie and I look that way to see Mayor Nash lying on the ground with his purple face to the sky, clutching at his chest.
“I think we need a medic!” she shouts.
And before we know it, Noah, Everett, and Mayor Nash are all being treated by a team of professionals.
Noah and Everett are able to ride home with me, but Mayor Nash is taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
So much for having some safe and sane fun.
Lottie
As expected, there were moans and groans and more than a few screams of terror in the night.
A team of professionals evaluated Mayor Nash and determined him to have a bad case of heartburn. Both of my half-sisters, Kelleth and Aspen, texted to ask why I was trying to kill our father. I let them know it was his own fault, but that if they wanted to spread the blame they could shed a little in Carlotta’s direction. My half-brother, Finn, texted an entire string of laughing emojis and said the old man got what he deserved.
Mayor Nash spent the night in Carlotta’s room, and Carlotta spent the night on the toilet. I know this because every five minutes she’d shout fire in the hole—at the top of her lungs.
Noah spent the night in the nursery, and I kept a supply of ice-cold milk next to him, checking on him every few hours. He went from puking to having chills, to rolling around on the carpet for a few hours.
Everett slept like a corpse, so very soundly that every now and again I checked to see if he was still breathing. I guess he really does have a stomach of steel.
Evie slept like a baby, and ironically the baby slept as if she, too, indulged in a few too many hot wings. Then, at just about five-thirty, once my head hit the pillow and I fell into an instant deep sleep, a certain dead rooster decided to resurrect himself right over my bed as he doled out the loudest rooster call known to the living or the dead.
Suffice it to say, I’m a walking, talking zombie today.
We’re already deep within the courthouse, standing right outside of the very courtroom where Everett’s fate will be sealed for better or for worse. And if I’m not mistaken, it’s the very same courtroom where Everett presided over me the first day we met. But I don’t dare bring this up to him in the event he takes it as a nefarious omen.
Everett is dressed to kill in a jet-black suit with a baby blue dress shirt underneath that makes his eyes pop. He looks miraculously well-rested and strong as iron with his shoulders back and that stoic look on his face never once flinching.
Evie and her friends are here. Noah is speaking with Eliza, and Meghan is just a few feet away. Cormack and Cressida have even bothered to show—only God knows why. My mother and Wiley are here as well. And, of course, I’ve brought Lyla Nell.
Everett said he wanted her here, not as a strategy the way his attorney, Fiona Dagmeyer, proposed, but to simply have her near him. And if she starts to fuss and cry, I’ve already made arrangements for my mother to step out of the room with her.
“Oh, Everett.” I pull him close and sandwich Lyla Nell between us as she sits in the carrier over my chest. “I need this to be okay. I need you by my side every single day. I need you more than you will ever know. You mean everything to me.” I pull him into a molten hot kiss and hold the scent of his cologne deep inside my lungs.
“Lemon.” He peppers a trail of kisses to my ear. “Everything is going to happen just the way it’s supposed to. I’m a firm believer in that. The trial will be short. It may not even last a few hours.”
I nod up at him, doing my best to hold back tears. “And then it goes to the jury.”
“It does.” He runs his thumb over my cheek. “Having you as a juror in my courtroom a few months back was one of my best memories here. Outside of those visits to my chambers, of course.” A dark smile rides on his lips a second too long.
“Don’t worry. We’ll pick right up where we left off in two weeks’ time. Dr. Barnette said that after six weeks I was welcome to resume normal activity with my baby maker, and believe me, I’ve got quite the wish list building up.”
His chest rumbles with a laugh. “Hopefully, I’ll be around to help you with that.”
Before I can steer him back to a far more positive mindset, Carlotta and Mayor Nash hobble this way, looking injured and sleep-deprived and more than a little sick to their stomachs.
“You came,” I say a little too loud.
“She said she couldn’t miss it.” Mayor Nash nods to Everett. “I wouldn’t miss it either. You have our full support, Judge Baxter. I think I’ll hit the restroom before the proceedings begin.” He excuses himself as he takes off.
“That’s right, Sexy.” Carlotta offers him a slap on the back. “Come heck or high toilet water, there was no stopping me. I put on my big girl panties right over my diaper and here I am.” She leans my way. “No need to worry about me disrupting proceedings with frequent trips to the loo.” She gives her bottom a pat and the sound of crinkling plastic sounds off. “See you kids inside for the dog and pony show. Don’t worry, Sexy. You’ll do great. Remember, if you get nervous, try to envision the audience in their underwear—but then, you’ve probably already seen most of the women in that courtroom in just that. Break a leg, would you?” She takes off and Noah strides up.
He nods up at Everett. “I’m sorry.” His dimples dip in as he takes a deep breath. “I wish I could take your place. It should have been me,” he says as he takes off for the courtroom.
Noah is taking the stand today, and I’m afraid he has the power to hurt Everett as much as he does help him, especially if he sticks to the truth.
Lyla Nell vocalizes after him as her arms and legs flail. She looks up at Everett, and it sounds as if she’s saying her vowels—a, e, i, o, u as loud as she can.
Everett pushes out a gentle smile as he kisses her on the forehead.