Chapter 74
“Please say we can go, Daddy.”
“What do you think, Tommy?” Jack asked, grinning broadly. He was as bad as the kids.
“All right, but only because a responsible adult needs to accompany you.” The real reason behind his concession was because he had no intention of allowing Rush’s parents and brothers to hurt him any more than they already had. Just the thought of it started his blood pressure rising.
“Do you think you can get us invited, Rush?”
“Yes, I…I think so.”
“Invited where?” Jan sauntered in, having spent the weekend with her latest boyfriend.
“To Gratton’s wedding.”
“The one in Atlanta? Ooo, me, too!” Jan enthused. “I’ve never been there. And to go to a high society wedding…”
“You’d…you’d all do this for me?”
Thaddeus cuffed Rush’s head. “Of course we would!”
“All right, then! Um…are you bringing Davy, Jan?”
“No, we broke up. He was getting too possessive.”
“Better get an extra invite anyway, Rushboy,” Thaddeus said in a stage whisper. “She’s sure to have someone new by then.”
Jan grinned and fluffed her hair.
And so Rush called his mother to ask if he could bring some friends to the wedding. Tom wasn’t privy to that conversation, but from what he gathered from Thaddeus’s angry scowl, permission, while granted, had been done so grudgingly.
“Geez, JT! They can afford it. Why are they acting like Rush is asking them to invite all of P&J?”
Tom patted his shoulder. “Some children just aren’t valued as they should be.”
“Well, if Iever have kids—”
“You’ll be an amazing dad, just like your father.”
Thaddeus blushed and ducked his head, but the smile on his face told Tom he was pleased with the comparison.
* * * *
As it turned out, since Jan hadn’t been able to find a replacement for Davy, her last boyfriend, she didn’t have a date to take her to the wedding.
“I’m not going.” She sulked.
“Don’t worry about it,” Thaddeus told her. “I’ll get you someone.”
“Fine.” She agreed so readily, Tom thought she must really be determined to go to the wedding. Or maybe she just wanted to go to Atlanta. “Just make sure he isn’t the Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
“Would I do that to you?”
She gave him a suspicious glance.
Thaddeus held up his hands and grinned. “I promise, he’ll be presentable.”
Jan flounced out of the room, and Tom took that opportunity to ask, “Who did you have in mind?”
“Mopp.”
“Billy Bob? Why?” The little redneck boy had been living at the ranch for a few months, ever since he’d gotten into an argument about religion with his daddy. It seemed their preacher, who sounded a lot like Jack’s daddy, believed even newborn babies were destined to go to hell because they hadn’t been “saved.” Billy Bob’s daddy didn’t like his youngest son challenging his beliefs and had struck him. Jack had seen the bruise and offered the boy a place to stay.
“Just thought I’d do a little matchmaking.”
Tom shook his head but grinned. “I do believe I’d like to see this.”
“At this Friday’s barbecue.” Thaddeus grinned himself and shot his cuffs. “Prepare to watch a master at work.”
Rush joined them. “Who’s the master?”
“I am.”
“Oh? I want to see, too.”
“What’s going on?” Rebecca joined them as well, and her brother sighed.
“We’re going to get Mopp to come to Gratton’s wedding as Jan’s date.”
“What’s this we, white man?” Rush teased, and Tom was more pleased than he could say to actually see the young man in a lighthearted mood.
“Come on, Rushboy.” Thaddeus caught his arm. “I’ll explain it to you.”
They left the kitchen, and Tom exchanged smiles with Rebecca as she gave a bounce. “You know something, Daddy Tom? I’m looking forward to this.”
“So am I, Rebecca.” He did love when she called him that. “So am I.”
* * * *
Billy Bob was helping himself to a hamburger, slathering it with mustard and then piling it high with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles.
When Thaddeus approached him, Tom, Rush, and Rebecca followed along. They were all interested in seeing how he planned to get Billy Bob to fall in with his plan.
“Hey, Mopp.”
“Hey, Tad. How are you?”
“I’m good. And you?”
“I’m good, thanks. This is a great barbecue.” Billy Bob took a bite of his hamburger and had to pause to wipe mustard from the side of his mouth.
“It is.”
Tom bit his lip to keep from laughing. So far the master seemed to be tangled in social amenities.