Tennessee’s face looked tight and resigned, her posture stiff.
Yup.
She definitely didn’t have anything to do with this.
I approached them, placing a hand over Tennessee’s back as I flashed them a good-natured smile.
“I see someone’s got your trousers in a twist. Anything I can do to help?”
The sight of my hand resting against Tennessee’s back sent Donna reeling. She went into a coughing fit while Bryan looked at me like I’d just landed back from Mars sporting a brand new green latex body suit.
Trinity grimaced, probably realizing she should’ve toned down her bitchiness toward her boss’ girlfriend.
Fuck it. The secret was already out in the open. It was better not to Band-Aid the situation.
It didn’t hurt that Robert was here to witness this with his own eyes.
To my surprise, Tennessee leaned a little into me, seeking my touch. Warm, pathetic liquid spread inside my chest, and I rested my chin atop of her head casually.
“It’s all under control. Sorry Rob’s here.” Tennessee cleared her throat.
“I’m not sorry,” Donna said defiantly, sticking her nose up in the air. “Bear needs a father.”
“You could’ve consulted us.” Trinity sighed. “What if Bear’s not ready?”
“Bear’s a child. He should do whatever he is told to do,” Donna pointed out.
Interesting take on parenting.
Effective one, too.
If you were a tyrant.
“You should’ve asked Mom.” Bear leaned into Tennessee, which made us look like a family of our own.
“Don’t talk to your mamaw like that,” Bryan tried to convey some authority, but his heart wasn’t in it.
His eyes were roaming the golf course across the lawn.
“Bear?” I heard a voice behind me.
We all turned around.
Rob was standing there, right in front of us. He didn’t look at me, even though the bruises from our fight had barely faded from both our faces. He didn’t look at Tennessee, either.
Just his son.
Bear’s face looked pained. A mix of dismay and longing I hadn’t seen on anyone before.
He’d seen him before, I knew, but only when Rob was about to get the boot and be kicked out of the vicinity.
And just like that, I realized I hadn’t taken into consideration the one leverage Rob had over me in this situation—bloodline.
“Rob,” Bear squeaked, separating himself from the group and pulling his shoulders back, extending to his full height to show his dad how big and strong he was.
“Hey, buddy.” Rob’s eyes went glassy. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking around. “I got you a bunch of presents. I know you threw most of them away, but I…I…I’m just glad your mamaw and papaw invited me here. Because I really want to get to know you. And, well, I can’t blame you for being hesitant, but…”
Tennessee’s shoulders slumped under my touch, and her face was overtaken by every emotion on the spectrum.
“Nice speech.” Bear shrugged it off. “But Mom beat you to it. Again. She already told me I have to see you. She said she won’t let me hang out with Cruz otherwise.”
Okay. That was not completely true. It also sounded terrible. It also made Tennessee and me sound like a couple.
An evil couple.
Rob nodded quickly. “Cruz’s fun to hang out with. We used to be best friends in high school. Would it be okay if I’m here tonight? I won’t sit next to you or anything. I just want to…watch.”
Silence rolled over the open barn. Everybody looked at Bear, waiting for an answer. The kid reddened, digging his sneaker deep into a patch of mud in the lawn and gnawing on his lip.
“That makes you sound like a creeper,” he said, finally, drawing chuckles from Tennessee and me.
“I promise I’m not a creeper,” Rob said.
“Mom said you got divorced twice.”
“That makes me hasty, and possibly a tool bag, but definitely not a creeper. What do you say?”
Bear lifted an eyebrow, glancing at Tennessee. She gave him a brief nod of confirmation.
“I say whatever, but you better not be telling Dad jokes. Too early for that.”
And that was that.
Robert was here, and we all needed to suck it up and play nice.
At the rehearsal dinner, I had to sit next to Wyatt and my parents and watch Tennessee from across the table. She was seated right next to Rob, an empty seat on the other side of her, where Gabriella should have been.
I had to weed out the conversation on my side of the table to be able to hear them, which wasn’t easy, seeing as Trinity and Wyatt were arguing under their breaths.
“…said you would at least try. If you’re not taking this marriage seriously, why do I even bother?”
“Feel free to stop being a bitch at any point, honey.”
“Maybe I should listen to Nessy and find someone who pays attention to me.”
“Yeah, she’s a great source of life advice.”
“Said the guy who married a tweaker. At least she made her mistake in her teens, not full adulthood.”
“She seems to be making new ones every day. With my brother, for instance.”
Meanwhile, things were looking better for Tennessee and Rob, which, frankly, made me want to shove my head into the nearest meat grinder and set the power on high.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you a heads-up. Your mother called me not even two hours ago. I tried to call, but you didn’t answer.” Rob turned to catch my girlfriend’s expression, looking wary.
“That sounds like a classic Donna move,” she clipped. “Apology accepted. Now if we could move on, please. No need to converse with leftovers. Do you always talk to food before you throw it in the trash?”
“I was very drunk,” he explained by way of an apology.
“You were a gasshole.”
“I was. Vindictive and stupid and jealous and so depressingly aware of everything I’d lost over the years. It’s no excuse, but it’s a reason. And I’m sorry for that, too.”
“You should be sorry for existing,” Tennessee said with dignity.
“I mostly am. But who knows, maybe Bear will need an organ transplant at some point and I’ll make myself useful. Dream big.”
“My big dreams died the day you ran away and left me to fend for myself.”
“Have you been getting my checks?”
“Yes.” Tennessee tore a piece of sourdough bread, popping it into her mouth, but that same fury I saw in her the first time I’d dropped her off was gone. She was getting used to his presence in her sphere. “I got them.”
“You still say gasshole and holy sheep.” Rob smiled.
She rolled her eyes. “Put your efforts where they matter. With your son.”
“Why?” Rob studied her, his hand twitching. He wanted to swipe a lock of hair off of her face. I knew, because I wanted to do the same. “Am I too late? Are you Cruz’s now? When I asked around town, no one said they knew anything about you two.”
That could also explain how half the people in town knew about Tennessee and me. Between Gabriella and Rob tag-teaming it to “fact check”, their lack of graces covered all the social bases.