Chapter Twelve

Evelyn

 

The dreaded dinner with my parents had finally arrived. The only thing that would make it bearable was the fact that Axel would be there as a buffer. It was nice having him around, especially since he was about the only family member I was close to that didn’t go to law school. All the talk about the firm, about how I should be in New York, that my degree was being wasted in a backward Texas rancher town, ugh, I hated the thought of it. I knew Axel would change the topic, act offended, anything he could to make it stop, not just for me, but because I was certain he couldn’t stand it any better than I could.

I pulled to the restaurant, parked next to a giant boot that stood as tall as the brightly painted building and knew instantly that my parents would hate it. It couldn’t get more Texas than this.

Axel was waiting by the door as promised, ensuring I didn’t spend any time alone with Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, big time attorneys that could fast talk me back to New York if I wasn’t careful.

“Hey there,” Axel greeted me with open arms, squeezing me tightly against his hard chest.

He reeked of cologne, too much, but I just let him hug me, curious as to why he was being so sweet. He didn’t say one word about my hair drooping in long curls, not a peep about the fact I wore five-inch heels and still couldn’t see past his shoulder. The comment I held on to about him bathing in cheap cologne had to be tucked away for another time. It was a little strange.

When he released me, he smiled, one that made me a little uneasy. Was something wrong? Was this dinner meant to deliver bad news?

“Is everything okay?” I questioned, studying him for reactions that could tell the tale of what doom I was about to face.

“Everything’s great, I just haven’t hugged a little person lately,” he teased.

Relief fell on me at his ribbing. Maybe things were okay.

“Have they arrived yet?” I asked, peeking through the front glass at the crowded dining room.

“Oh yes, and trust me, it was like a circus to accommodate them,” Axel laughed.

I giggled at the image of the poor staff inside trying to find a table fit for Mr. and Mrs. Pierce.

“So, they’ve seen you?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“Oh God no, I stayed back out of the way,” he gasped.

“This is probably the tackiest restaurant in Amarillo,” I rolled my eyes.

“I know,” Axel snickered as he placed his hand on the small of my back to lead me inside.

The hostess looked frazzled when we approached her stand, and I was certain my parents had something to do with her mood. She showed us to their table, a larger round top by the window. My mother, Virginia Pierce, looked absolutely mortified by her surroundings, and my father, William Pierce, looked positively bored.

They both stood when we arrived at the table, my mother grabbing me quickly for a tight hug while father greeted Axel with a firm handshake.

My father stared at me with a disappointed expression for a solid thirty seconds before he finally reached out and brought me in for a hug. It was a test, a trial to break me, but I remained silent, winning this round.

As soon as we sat, a waiter appeared, looking as frazzled as the hostess. We were given waters with fresh lemon before we’d even ordered them, and cloth napkins were placed on the table in front of us like we were royalty. I looked around the room; everyone else had a metal napkin holder at their table, but not ours. “Paper napkins,” I could hear my mother gasp at such a sight. I’m sure they scurried to find her something suitable.

“I’ll have a beer,” Axel smiled in my direction.

He knew I’d love to have a beer, but I wouldn’t dare in front of my mother and father, even though I was well past forty.

“Have you had enough of this place yet, dear?” mother asked, the wrinkles in her forehead pushing towards her eyes. Time for more Botox, Mrs. Pierce.

“I actually love it here,” I smiled.

“I don’t understand why,” she scowled, pushing the glass of water to the side as if it were contaminated.

The waiter brought us menus, and I immediately shoved my nose inside, hoping to avoid any more serious talk for at least a few more minutes.

“Tell us about the cases you’re handling,” my father interrupted my hiding.

I set the menu down and sat up as straight as I could while I spoke. Nothing I was handling was interesting enough to keep his attention, which kept moving towards his watch.

“Everything is fried,” my mother gasped as she pushed the menu away to Exile Island with her water.

Axel kept up the conversation with a steak challenge he found on the menu, giving me a moment to breathe. I giggled to myself at the thought of Axel taking on the challenge, turning our table into a giant spectacle.

The waiter returned to take our orders, and I was disappointed when Axel selected a smaller Ribeye instead. I ordered the half slab of ribs and then turned the poor waiter over to my parents.

“Is everything fried?” my mother asked, giving the waiter a look of disappointment.

He pointed out the salmon that was charbroiled, the only item on the menu not fried, so she agreed. Dad announced to the entire table that he was in the mood for seafood, even though we were in a steakhouse. He ordered fried shrimp and fried mountain oysters with a side of coleslaw while my mother gave him a disapproving glare. I wondered how many cases she won with that same glare, shaming the jury into voting in her client’s favor. It was impressively effective.

No one, not even the waiter, pointed out that the mountain oysters weren’t actually oysters. I heard Axel snicker under his breath as he ordered, and now I couldn’t wait for dinner to arrive.

The usual dialogue started about my wasted talents, the fact that I wasn’t getting any younger, and that all the successful and eligible men were in New York, not Texas.

I thought about James. He was the only man I’d been even remotely interested in for a long time. I knew mom and dad would disapprove, which made me like him even more.

Finally, the food arrived, and dad ate the testicles that he thought were oysters like they were candy. Axel snickered, I almost burst out in laughter, but we managed to keep it together. I wondered if we would ever tell him. Probably not.

“We decided to leave in the morning,” my dad announced as he finished his last mountain oyster.

“Why?” I tried to sound disappointed.

“There’s a break in one of my cases, and I really think I should be there to present the details to the judge,” he rubbed his round belly.

“What will we do when we retire, dear? There’s no one to leave in charge that we trust,” my mother pushed into the conversation.

“I’m sure any one of the partners there could handle the firm. You two deserve some time off,” I insisted.

My parents were hard workers from my earliest memories. They both came from money, old money, but neither would settle for simply living off their trust funds and inheritances. I had to respect their ethic. I only wished they respected mine. I didn’t need to be part of high-society, show my face at the top charity events, or have my face plastered all over the front page of the New York Times for a win on a high-profile case. I liked it here. They would never understand that, but it was what I wanted for my life.

While dad stepped away to make a phone call, and my mother headed towards the little gal corral, Axel sucked down the rest of his beer.

“So, James said he’s getting you on a horse?” he questioned.

“He mentioned taking a ride, but I never agreed,” I protested.

“Hmm. He’s pretty confident he can do it. We actually bet on it,” Axel smirked.

I was fuming that they would make such a bet. Axel knew how much horses scared me, and I was sure he’d told James. What were they doing talking about me anyway?

“If you could do me a favor and get on the horse, I’d really appreciate it,” Axel urged.

“No way,” I scoffed.

“You know James could use some money right now, and it would put a hundred bucks in his pocket,” Axel pushed.

“He doesn’t need a hundred bucks that badly,” I snorted, not divulging the fact I had full access to James’s bank accounts. He was doing fine, as long as the ranch wasn’t lost.

“I owe him money on a stupid bet we made back when we were in the SEALs, and he never would let me pay him. It’s bothered me, and this would be a way I could pay him back and clear my conscience,” Axel persuaded.

I hated when Axel asked me for favors. He was always doing something for me, like tonight. I’m sure he had much better things to do.

“Fine,” I agreed reluctantly.

“I know James wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” he assured me.

I knew he wouldn’t either, but Axel was starting to sound like he knew something he shouldn’t. Would James have told him about the night in his truck? Surely not.

I made a mental note to call James when I got home, just to feel him out. The thought of Axel being so okay with me and James hooking up didn’t seem realistic, so I just needed confirmation from James.

My eyes directed towards the front of the restaurant where my dad was walking back inside. The woman behind him was Jill Jasper, and she was on the arm of a gentleman twice her age.

I was still staring in that direction when my dad sat down, alerting Axel’s spider senses and sending him on the hunt for what was distracting me. His elbow nudged into me until I finally leaned in and whispered who the woman was, and why I thought it was odd that she was with such an older man.

“That entire family is full of crooks,” Axel grumbled as if he knew anything about the family.

“Let me do some digging,” he offered.

I agreed. There was no one better skilled for the job of uncovering dirty information, and I was certain there was something shady going on.