Badass (20 page)

“If you want to practice anything – anytime – anywhere – you come to me. Got it?” He probably thought he was intimidating the crap out of her, but all he was succeeding at was giving her a thrill. Since they weren’t even riding the bikes today, Avery thought it was a mute point – but she did like that he was concerned about her. Loading up in his pickup they headed west.

When they rolled under the big arch proclaiming McCoy land, she felt chill bumps go over her body. Oh, she had been here before – for one such function or another – but this time she was here in a far different capacity. For now, she belonged. Pulling into a parking spot, Isaac stopped his King Ranch and helped Avery out. Taking the small suitcase that held her clothes, he announced. “We’ll get the rest of your things, later.”

“I’m just here for the day,” she reminded him. “We’re just playing, remember?” Even though it hurt her to say it, she wanted to make him understand that they weren’t getting married. Not yet – anyway. Now, if he fell in love with her, for real? Well, that would be another story.

Her protest didn’t faze him. It was if she hadn’t said anything. “Okay, doll-face. You’re in for a grilling. There’s gonna be questions. Do you want me to deal with it?” He put his arm around her and fitted her next to him as they walked.

“No, I can handle myself.”

Isaac looked down at his perfect armful. She wasn’t lying. Lord, she knew how to handle herself – and him too. “How about we handle it together?” He couldn’t resist kissing her.

“Help me, help me, help me,” a slightly panicked female voice sounded from the far end of the porch. As they climbed the wide front steps, Isaac spotted Jessie teetering on a low stepstool. Both he and Avery rushed to her rescue.

“Lord, help girl. Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Jessie?” Isaac ran over and grabbed the young woman and set her carefully on her feet.

Avery knew Libby, but she had never met Jessie. The fact that the girl was very pregnant did not escape her attention. A lot had happened while she had been caught up in her own drama in Nevada. “Are you all right? Do you need a drink of water or something?”

“That would be nice. I’m Jessie,” she smiled over Isaac’s shoulder. “I had refilled the hummingbird feeder and was just trying to rehang it.”

“That’s Avery. She’s with me.”

“Avery, of course, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m so glad you’re here. Granny Fontenot said you were coming.”

At that revelation, Isaac winked at Avery. “I can’t wait for you to meet that lady. Hold the door, sugar, and let’s get her inside.” Avery smiled as she stepped over and opened the wide wooden door and held it as Isaac carried Jessie in. “Jessie is Jacob’s fiancé,” he explained.

Hearing her beloved’s name, she clasped her hands together. “Please don’t tell Jacob I was doing something so foolish. He didn’t want to leave me as it is. He’s trying to finish with the surveyor before he and Joseph have to take the pig off the grill.” Directing her next comment to Avery, “I’ll have to show you the house plans and the spot we’ve picked out. It’s where the boy’s grandparents used to live. Jacob is going to build me a beautiful log house.”

“When’s your baby due?” Avery asked as she followed Isaac through the beautiful entrance hall and into the kitchen. She couldn’t help but glance around. It had been years since she had been in the Tebow main house.

“The doctor says eight weeks, but I don’t think I’ll make it that long.” She patted her stomach. “At least we’ll be able to say ‘I do’ before Bowie Travis comes.”

“The wedding on the 16
^th
is a double and Jacob’s naming the baby after his child-hood best friend,” Isaac explained.

Avery pulled out the dining table chair and started hunting a glass, “I know, Heart Strings is doing the flowers.” Isaac sat Jessie down gently. Watching him with his family just tugged at her heart’s strings. If only the rest of the world knew the Isaac that she knew.

“Eloping would have been fine with me, but you know how sentimental and traditional Jacob is. I swear this wedding means so much to him, and he’s been so good to me – I mean, considering that this baby isn’t even his.”

Finding a cupboard full of glassware, Avery got some water and handed it to the pale girl. She was becoming ill at ease, “Do I need to leave?”

“No, no” Jessie assured her as she sipped the water. “None of this is secret from the family.” Avery didn’t miss that she had just been classified as family.

Isaac pulled a chair over near Jessie and straddled it so he could look her in the eye. “Jess, you listen to me. Jacob is the father of that baby in every way that counts. Marrying you is the most important thing to Jacob – not how or when or where – you and that baby are his highest priorities.”

Avery couldn’t keep her eyes off of Jessie. She was so beautiful. Pregnancy agreed with her, and it was true what they said – she glowed. A jolt of jealousy pierced Avery’s heart. Oh, to be pregnant with Isaac’s baby. What a joy that would be.

A commotion in the other room made them look toward the door. Leaving the two women, Isaac went to see what was going on. There was a wizened little woman with skin the color of an aged magnolia. She was standing at the foot of the stairs looking up, and if Isaac wasn’t mistaken, she had a pair of panties on her head. She didn’t see him, and he didn’t linger. He backed back in the kitchen and just stood there, and then he peeped back around and looked again. Jessie noticed him and laughed, “I bet I know what you see. That’s Granny Fontenot.”

“Okay,” Isaac spoke slowly. “Why is she wearing underwear on her head?”

Avery couldn’t pass that up. “I bet I know, let me see.” She crept over and peeped out the door and sure enough, there was a small lady all decked out in cream-colored lace with a pair of baby blue, satin granny panties fitted over her head like a helmet. “Yep, I’ve seen that syndrome before. It’s common in churchwomen. They get their hair fixed every week; it’s called a standing appointment. And that hairdo has to last for seven days, so to preserve it they wear a pair of satin drawers on their head to prevent it from getting messed up.”

She spoke with such assurance that Isaac almost cracked up. “Are you serious?”

“I can see that,” Jessie struggled to sit straighter. Clearly her back was bothering her. “Makes sense to me. Right now, my head is the only place where my panties still fit.”

“Oh, Lord,” Isaac grumped, “TMI! Women! Although, I do remember when Joseph would wear Mom’s bra on his head when we were like five or six years old. He thought he looked like Mickey Mouse.”

“Awww, I bet he was cute,” Jessie rubbed her tummy.

“May I have a word with you, Miss Jessie?” the fragile little voice caused them all to turn around. There stood Granny Fontenot. She had removed the drawers from her head, but Isaac smiled a little to see that she still held them in her hand. When she realized they were all looking at them she grinned a semi-toothless smile. She had front teeth, but that was all. “I’m not crazy, children. Wearing my skivvies keeps my do pretty.”

“No please, stay. This is important to all the family.” Sitting down heavily, the old matriarch folded her hands on the table and looked at Jessie. “I understand you are planning a double wedding with the eldest and his bride.”

Jessie glanced at Avery, as if for support, then back to Granny Fontenot. “Yes, that was the plan. All the arrangements have been made. Is there something wrong?”

“Don’t do it.”

“What?” Jessie looked completely taken aback. “I don’t understand.”

“Why not?” Isaac took the chair on the other side of the old lady. He dwarfed her. Avery didn’t know what was going on. What did this woman have against Jacob?”

“I’m trying to protect you,” she stated simply. “With all the excitement and worry over Cady’s Joseph, she neglected to tell Honoria or any of our family that you were considering celebrating two weddings on the same day. In New Orleans, we know not to do this. To be fair, Cady may not even know about this belief. She has always been so focused on healing that we have not trained her in all aspects of our ways. Cady is special. Until Joseph, she has not ventured into realms of the heart.”

Jessie looked near to tears and Isaac appeared concerned, but he didn’t refute Granny Fontenot’s words or ask her to refrain from upsetting his future sister-in-law. Little snippets of information came back to her, including Jessie’s statement that this woman had known she would be arriving. Surely not.

“Have you seen something?” Jessie put her hand over Cady’s grandmother’s wrinkled, arthritic fingers and held them gently. “Tell me, please.”

“No, no, I have seen nothing. Neither have any of the others. Nothing specific. But it is a common belief among my people that if two couples willingly share the moment of matrimony – a double wedding – one of the grooms will die an early death. Marry him any other day, before or after the other wedding, but not together.”

“Isn’t that just a superstition?” Avery couldn’t help but ask.

Isaac grabbed her by the hand and pulled her on his knee. “We’ve learned to respect Cady and her family’s gifts,” he spoke softly. “I’ll explain later.”

Pushing up from her chair, Jessie stabilized herself and walked over to look out the window. “I’ve seen what you and the others can do and what you know. Only recently did I learn that it was Cady who told the Sheriff where to find me when Kevin McCay was torturing me in that little shack.” She turned around to face the others, “if you say it is unwise, I will heed your advice. Jacob will be disappointed, but he will understand. His life or the life of Aron is not worth the risk. We will elope.” As soon as she said the words, a look of relief came over her face. “Libby will have her big day all to herself.”

A surreal feeling filled the air. Too much had happened; Avery was having a hard time taking it all in. She looked at Isaac who sat there so confident, so serene. There was no qualm in his expression – he had no fear of the strange behavior of his houseguest. All of her dad’s reservations and the church’s teachings flowed in her mind, but she weighed them against what she knew of this family and what they stood for in the community and she was amazed to realize that her faith and trust in Isaac outweighed any fear she had of the unknown. In fact, she wanted to know more. “How did you come by this information, mam?”

Granny Fontenot let out a peal of laughter. “Ancient knowledge, my dear. Did you know that most of the modern day wedding ceremony that is held as so sacred and so holy is full of customs that originated in magical beliefs? For example, in hoodoo and voodoo, crossroads and thresholds are favorite haunts of evil spirits. That is why the groom carries the bride into his home, to protect her. A new bride always seems to attract the attention of the spirit world, perhaps because of the high emotions that are created by the love and lust of the happy couple.”

“Better be safe than sorry,” Isaac mused as he offered his hand to the elderly lady. “I’m Isaac by the way; I don’t think we’ve met. And this beautiful woman on my lap is my Avery. Avery Sinclair, meet - I’m sorry – all I know is Granny Fontenot. I’m sure you have another name.”

“Adele is my name.” She placed her hand in his. “It is my pleasure to meet all of you. To see my Cady so happy in your midst is the answer to a lifetime of prayers.” Turning her attention to Avery, Adele gave her a saucy wink. “I like women with spunk and this man will have the devil of a time keeping you in line.”

Her announcement disturbed Avery. “Causing trouble is not my goal.” Had she disrupted Isaac’s life? Maybe, she had. With a little tug, she tried to stand, but Isaac’s arm was like a band of steel around her waist.

“Don’t you try to get away from me,” he growled in her ear. “I’ve got you right where I want you.”

Aron’s laughter pealing through the house followed by Libby’s trying to shush him announced their return from the doctor. “Where is everybody?” he yelled.

“Kitchen,” Isaac answered.

“Excuse us, Adele,” Jessie smiled. “These men lived without female companionship in their home up until a few months ago. Libby and I are still trying to instill some manners into them. In many ways they are sadly lacking.”

Avery felt Isaac’s chest rumble as he chuckled. “Do you think I’m lacking, baby-doll?” Just his whispered teasing made her body tingle.

“Be good,” she playfully chastised.

“I thought I was,” he gave her bottom a soft pinch. She jumped in his arms about the time Aron and Libby walked into the kitchen.

“Avery!” Libby hugged them both as a unit. “I’m so glad you’re here. And I see you’ve met Adele. Isn’t she a character?”

“That she is,” Isaac agreed.

“Libby, I need . . . .” Jessie spoke up, obviously wanting to confer with her friend. But Aron had something to say, and he couldn’t wait to say it.

“Ya’ll will never guess what Libby did.” No sooner had he said the word ‘did’, Libby whirled on him and ruffled every feather she had.

“If you tell that story in mixed company, Aron, you will wake up tomorrow with your manhood all dressed up and nowhere to go. Do you understand me?” She meant business too, Aron actually backed up about six inches and Isaac hoorawed. “I think that you and Isaac need to go find something productive to do while I make myself and these ladies a cup of tea.”

Isaac gave Avery a peck on the cheek as he helped her up. “Meet me outside in fifteen minutes and we’ll escape this madhouse.” She gave him a warm smile. It sounded like a good idea to her.

Aron good-naturedly grumbled all the way out, but he left with Isaac. As soon as they were alone, Jessie grabbed Libby by the hand. “What did you do?” As the men left, Cady and her mom joined the ladies. “Come in, you two. We’re about to make tea.”

“Let me do it, please.” Making tea was something that Avery was good at. Fitting into the excitement at Tebow – not so much. She didn’t get very far, before Cady spied her.