I laughed at myself. Maybe at one point I’d imagined having a biker crew. I’d certainly never anticipated having a mommy crew.
“Parrish and I… um… got married,” I said hesitantly. “Kind of… by accident?”
Four sets of eyes stared at me without blinking until Ava tilted her head. “Yeah, run that by us again?”
I pressed my lips together, second-guessing myself about revealing this information. But I was messing everything up with Parrish, and I needed some help.
“So, like—” I cleared my throat. “The lawyers said our chances would be better if we went ahead and got married on paper even though…” I glanced around, reminding myself they all thought the Parrish engagement was real. “Even though we wouldn’t normally have the, ah, the ceremony until later.”
Ava threw some attitude. “Damned right, you wouldn’t. One needs time to plan certain things. And I had plans for that wedding.”
I continued. “Right, so, we didn’t really understand at first what was happening, and then afterward when we saw the marriage certificate—”
Maureen held up a hand. “We’re going to need details about how one can be tricked into marriage by highbrow attorneys.”
“We weren’t tricked,” I assured her. “We were just kind of not paying enough attention.”
“Mpfh,” she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Continue.”
I tried to think about how to ask them for advice without telling them the whole story. “I was upset, and I dropped him off at his place instead of bringing him home with me.”
Ava’s face dropped, and Wade let out a muffled “Uh-oh.”
“I think I messed things up,” I admitted before lowering my voice. “I just… I just don’t know if someone like Parrish Partridge can really want to be with someone like me.”
The slap to the back of my head came from Ginger. The otherwise sweet, unassuming woman glared at me. “Diesel, lemme ask you something,” she said in her Southern drawl. “Who changed Pastor Mitchell’s flat tire the night his niece went to the hospital for appendicitis?”
“I was already out that way. Anyone would have done the same.” I busied myself pulling out Marigold’s water cup, but she kept going.
“And who made a million mini quiches for the senior center when their kitchen went on the fritz in April?”
I shot her a warning look. “That was supposed to be anonymous. Besides, I had extra eggs that needed cooking.”
Maureen chimed in with a knowing smile. “And who donated a new washer and dryer set to the firehouse last year when theirs succumbed to the most ironic lint fire in history?”
“It was hardly new,” I corrected. “And, again, anonymous…”
Maureen laughed. “Hard to sneak two big metal machines into the firehouse without someone noticing. And anyway, those guys are the worst gossips in—”
Wade interrupted, wrinkling his nose in dismay. “And who always volunteers to change poopy swim diapers at the splash park?”
“Nice try,” I said.
Ava reached over to take my hand in hers. Her smooth, clear skin stood out in contrast against my ink. “Diesel, anyone with eyeballs can tell that sweet man is loopy for you. He’s also the kind of human who has a huge heart. Do you agree?”
I nodded automatically.
“Right,” she continued. “Does he seem like the kind of person who would reject someone over where they came from or how they live or what they look like or—”
“No!” I said harshly. “Never.”
She smiled knowingly, and I realized I’d been had. “What exactly do you think he wouldn’t approve of? The fact you run your own business? The way you love your niece more than anything? The little anonymous things you do to better your community?”
“Apparently there’s no such thing as anonymous in the Thicket,” I muttered.
Ginger laughed. “Your lips to God’s ears.”
Paul stepped over and grabbed Marigold from Ava’s lap so she could sit next to Beau and splash. I gave him a smile of thanks.
Ava pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “Maybe you should do something nice for him. Plan a surprise that will show him you’re sorry and you love him.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat that had formed the moment she mentioned the “L-word.”
My mind drew a blank. “Like what? Take him out to dinner or something?”
Maureen rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You’re more romantic and creative than that. Besides, any ole guy can wine and dine Parrish. What can you do that will really show him you know him better than anyone?”
I fidgeted. I didn’t know him better than anyone. How could I when we’d only known each other such a short time?
“What’s his secret pleasure?” Wade asked, settling back down after a trip to the restrooms nearby and placing his baby on the blanket in front of us. I watched her roll to her front and try and get up on her hands and knees.
Cora’s little butt was covered with a giant blue-and-yellow butterfly stitched into the cotton pants she wore.