assessment.
“Avery?”
“It’s a heart attack, Suz. He’s so pale.” Fear blurred her sister’s words. “Are you on your way?”
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Nate reached around and took her hand, comforting her without a word, taking a small piece of her burden on himself.
SIX
F or a man trying to recover from a heart attack, Daddy was embroiled in chaos. His room flowed with aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Avery rested her head on the bed beside him, holding his hand in hers. But Susanna watched from the corner, smiling when Daddy’s tired eyes met hers.
Typical Truitt tumult
.
It’s what he always said when the family descended upon them and Mama started bossing everyone around.
“Are we eating or not?”
“Who wants to watch a movie?”
“Y’all, let’s get a round of cards going. Start a tournament.”
A perpetual organizer. If she had to stop bossing, Susanna thought her mother might just lie down and die.
At the moment, she was shoving her clipboard at cousin Zack, telling him to note his shift at the Rib Shack.
“Aunt Glo, come on.” He laughed. “I’ve not worked at the Rib Shack since my first summer in college.”
Susanna smiled. Brave soul, Zack. Taking on Mama. A parks-and-recreation director, he surfed every morning and socializedevery night. His white-blond hair, sky-blue eyes, and sun-roasted skin made him popular with the women of the island.
“Can you work a ladle?”
“Yeah, I’m not
stupid
.”
“Then you can work the kitchen.” Mama wrote on the clipboard schedule. “Come in Wednesday at six. Get your fish-frying legs back before the Friday rush.”
“Aunt Glo …” Chuckle, snort, ha-ha, but Zack’s face said it all. He was going down. “Look, I’ve got … stuff … to …” Mama’s one-eyed glare cauterized his rebuttal. He shot Susanna a visual plea.
Help?
“Don’t look at me. I don’t have the magic elixir.” If she did, she wouldn’t have given up a Christmas break trip to tour three of Europe’s most beautiful gardens—Keukenhof in Holland, Mirabell in Germany, and the Lecharran in Brighton—her senior year of college to manage the restaurant while Mama surprised Daddy with a snowy Vermont getaway.
But Susanna had seen the miracle of their healed divorce, and it’d been years since they’d gotten away together, so she’d agreed to watch the Shack and Avery. Far be it from her not to lend love a hand when asked.
Zack exhaled and fell against the wall, running his hand through his hair.
“It’s like the Borg.” Silas, Zack’s brother, popped him on the arm, laughing. “Resistance is futile.”
But Silas’s laugh was short lived.
“Silas.” Mama shoved the clipboard at him. “I’ve got you down for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.”
“Me?” Eyes bulging, he pressed his hands to his chest. “Aunt Glo, I’m even less experienced than Zack. I haven’t
stepped
into the kitchen since, like, tenth grade.”
“Fine, then you can bus tables.” Mama scribbled on her clipboard. “Your construction company isn’t bringing in much workright now.” Mama glared up at him. She knew everything. Even if she didn’t, she made you think she did. “You start bringing in some cash, and maybe Hadley will give you a second chance.”
Silas’s cheeks beamed hot. “We weren’t fighting over money.”
“Nothing is sacred, Silas,” Susanna said with a laugh. “You know that.” Not even the brokenness of her own daughter. Already “I found the right ring but not the right girl” was halfway embedded into the family lore and lingo. All because of Mama.
Silas squinted at her. “You doing okay, cousin? Since the whole, you know, Adam thing?”
“I’m doing fine, Si.” Zack and Silas were more like brothers to her than cousins. When she was little, their mama, Daddy’s sister Linda, would keep Susanna for a day or two when Daddy and Mama got into a rip-roaring fight.
“Glo,” Daddy raised his raspy voice. “Leave
“Avery?”
“It’s a heart attack, Suz. He’s so pale.” Fear blurred her sister’s words. “Are you on your way?”
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Nate reached around and took her hand, comforting her without a word, taking a small piece of her burden on himself.
SIX
F or a man trying to recover from a heart attack, Daddy was embroiled in chaos. His room flowed with aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Avery rested her head on the bed beside him, holding his hand in hers. But Susanna watched from the corner, smiling when Daddy’s tired eyes met hers.
Typical Truitt tumult
.
It’s what he always said when the family descended upon them and Mama started bossing everyone around.
“Are we eating or not?”
“Who wants to watch a movie?”
“Y’all, let’s get a round of cards going. Start a tournament.”
A perpetual organizer. If she had to stop bossing, Susanna thought her mother might just lie down and die.
At the moment, she was shoving her clipboard at cousin Zack, telling him to note his shift at the Rib Shack.
“Aunt Glo, come on.” He laughed. “I’ve not worked at the Rib Shack since my first summer in college.”
Susanna smiled. Brave soul, Zack. Taking on Mama. A parks-and-recreation director, he surfed every morning and socializedevery night. His white-blond hair, sky-blue eyes, and sun-roasted skin made him popular with the women of the island.
“Can you work a ladle?”
“Yeah, I’m not
stupid
.”
“Then you can work the kitchen.” Mama wrote on the clipboard schedule. “Come in Wednesday at six. Get your fish-frying legs back before the Friday rush.”
“Aunt Glo …” Chuckle, snort, ha-ha, but Zack’s face said it all. He was going down. “Look, I’ve got … stuff … to …” Mama’s one-eyed glare cauterized his rebuttal. He shot Susanna a visual plea.
Help?
“Don’t look at me. I don’t have the magic elixir.” If she did, she wouldn’t have given up a Christmas break trip to tour three of Europe’s most beautiful gardens—Keukenhof in Holland, Mirabell in Germany, and the Lecharran in Brighton—her senior year of college to manage the restaurant while Mama surprised Daddy with a snowy Vermont getaway.
But Susanna had seen the miracle of their healed divorce, and it’d been years since they’d gotten away together, so she’d agreed to watch the Shack and Avery. Far be it from her not to lend love a hand when asked.
Zack exhaled and fell against the wall, running his hand through his hair.
“It’s like the Borg.” Silas, Zack’s brother, popped him on the arm, laughing. “Resistance is futile.”
But Silas’s laugh was short lived.
“Silas.” Mama shoved the clipboard at him. “I’ve got you down for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.”
“Me?” Eyes bulging, he pressed his hands to his chest. “Aunt Glo, I’m even less experienced than Zack. I haven’t
stepped
into the kitchen since, like, tenth grade.”
“Fine, then you can bus tables.” Mama scribbled on her clipboard. “Your construction company isn’t bringing in much workright now.” Mama glared up at him. She knew everything. Even if she didn’t, she made you think she did. “You start bringing in some cash, and maybe Hadley will give you a second chance.”
Silas’s cheeks beamed hot. “We weren’t fighting over money.”
“Nothing is sacred, Silas,” Susanna said with a laugh. “You know that.” Not even the brokenness of her own daughter. Already “I found the right ring but not the right girl” was halfway embedded into the family lore and lingo. All because of Mama.
Silas squinted at her. “You doing okay, cousin? Since the whole, you know, Adam thing?”
“I’m doing fine, Si.” Zack and Silas were more like brothers to her than cousins. When she was little, their mama, Daddy’s sister Linda, would keep Susanna for a day or two when Daddy and Mama got into a rip-roaring fight.
“Glo,” Daddy raised his raspy voice. “Leave
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