ETERNAL

by Cecy Robson

  “I can see that,” he says.

  “I’ll get more menus,” Lashanda offers.

  “Thanks, Lashanda,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose.

  So much for a romantic getaway.

  I’m not embarrassed that Luci is with me. But as much as I like her and am ready for more, I’m not exactly mentally prepared for her to meet my family. Don’t get me wrong, my family are among the best people to every walk the earth.

  The problem is, even the best people have their flaws, and if I’m right, they’re preparing to wave those flaws like flags and poke me with the staffs.

  Luci had scooted all the way in. It’s darker than sin in here, but I can tell she’s already blushing. With everyone honed in on her the way they are, I can’t exactly blame her.

  I chuckle. What the fuck else am I going to do? Knowing my family, that there is the first of many blushes to come. “Everyone, this is Luci. Luci, this here’s my sister, Trinity, her husband, Callahan, and my parents, Owen and Silvie Summers.”

  She shifts timidly forward, managing to reach the end by the time I’m done with the introductions.

  “Hello,” Luci says, extending her hand to my mother first. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Hello, dear,” my mother says.

  My father takes her hand gingerly. “Charmed,” he says, eyeing her carefully.

  Callahan nods cordially when Luci greets him, adjusting his hold over Cal. But as she turns her attention on my nephew, that smile gets a whole lot brighter. “Hello, little man,” she says, rubbing my nephew’s wrist with her finger. “What’s your name?”

  “That’s Cal, Jr.,” I say, watching the way she interacts with him. “You like kids?”

  She doesn’t even look at me when she answers, too fascinated with Cal who’s giving her a toothy grin. “Are you kidding? I love children,” she says, beaming at him.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Trinity says, a big shit eating grin on her face. “You’re the girl from Becca’s party. The one who helped me with my crab cakes.”

  Luci tucks one of her long waves behind her ear, embarrassed. “I wasn’t sure you’d remember.”

  “How could I forget? You were so sweet to help.” Trin’s words should put me at ease. But I know Trin and she’s just getting started. She swivels around. “Becca’s party was New Year’s Eve,” she reminds me and our parents.

  “New Year’s?” my father says. “And we’re just meeting her now?”

  Trin places her hands on her hips. “Funny, you should say that, Daddy. I was thinking the same thing,” she tells him.

  My body stiffens. Of course, why would that discourage Trin?

  “Now, Landon,” she says, her thick accent turning up a notch as it often does when trouble isn’t too far away. “Seeing how you’ve waited so long to properly introduce your lady friend here to your folks, I’m sure you’ll agree this is the perfect opportunity for all of us to get to know each other.”

  More like perfect opportunity to be bitch-slapped in public. Christ, I can practically hear the wheels in her head turn.

  “Well?” she asks when I don’t reply. “Aren’t you going to invite us to join you?”

  “He doesn’t have to do that,” Callahan says.

  “Oh yes, he does,” Trin and Momma reply.

  Callahan, swipes at his mouth, trying not to laugh. He shrugs, assuring me he’s done his best and that I might as well give in.

  “I insist that you join us,” I mutter through my teeth.

  “You sure?” Trin asks. “Far be it for us to impose.”

  “Of course,” Luci says. “Please, we just arrived.”

  She scoots back down to her seat. “Uh, uh,” I say, hooking Trin’s elbow when she tries to follow. “You, over there.”

  I point to the opposite side of the table and to the far end. That doesn’t discourage her in the least. No, not my sister. “Even better,” she says, moving quickly so she can sit facing Luci.

  I place myself beside Luci. It’s the least I can do seeing how Momma follows Trin and Daddy isn’t too far behind.

  “May I?” I ask Callahan, extending my arms to my nephew.

  He laughs, knowing perfectly well I’m about to use his son as a human shield.

  Cal, Jr. comes easily to me, and takes even quicker to Luci. “Hang tight to the kid,” I whisper, plopping him onto her lap. “He’s the only chance you have to make it out of here alive.”

  She lifts him so he’s facing her and standing on her lap. “What?”

  “Run away,” I mumble.

  She blinks back at me, puzzled. Poor, sweet, innocent Luci. She has no idea what she’s in for. Instead of prepping herself for the worst she gives Cal her full attention. “Hey, cutie,” she says. “How are you doing, handsome boy?”

  I don’t think Cal, Jr. finishes his giggle before Trin and Momma start in. “Look, Momma,” Trin says. “She’s a real woman, with real parts.”

  “And no glitter,” Momma points out, thanking Lashanda when she returns with a tray of waters.

  “And no tassels, neither,” Trin murmurs.

  “Mm-hmm,” Momma says.

  Luci stills in place, confusion as evident on her face as the glee on my sister’s. Before I can give it much thought, I slip my arm around her. The baby doesn’t seem like enough, someone has to protect her from Hell’s version of Steel Magnolias.

  “Tassels?” Luci asks, probably thinking she misheard.

  Trin folds her arms on the table and leans forward. “So, Luci. Do you have any hobbies?” she asks. “Scrap booking, horseback riding, or say, um, bedazzling unmentionables?”

  “Trin,” I warn.

  “I like to read,” Luci answers. “But I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of time.”

  “She can read,” Daddy says, sounding impressed.

  “Oh, come on,” I reply. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “Yes, it was,” they all mutter, including Callahan.

  Luci gapes back at me in the same way any sane person would. “Believe it or not, they’re insulting me, not you,” I assure her.

  “I could learn to bedazzle,” Luci says slowly.

  “No,” Daddy, Momma, and Trin say, holding out their hands.

  “So, you’ve been together since New Year’s?” Trin asks, ignoring the way Callahan cackles.

  Luci and I exchange glances. “Not exactly,” I admit. If she wasn’t beside me, I might have said yes. God knows I haven’t looked at another woman since I first laid eyes on her.

  “We met that night,” Luci says, her face growing more flushed with each breath. “But we didn’t start dating right away.”

  “Is that a fact?” Trin asks, enjoying herself. “Ivy Lionelle told me she lost track of you, Landon, that you seemed to disappear and no one could find you.”

  “Did she?” I reply. Good ol’ Ivy Lionelle never could keep her trap shut.

  Trin’s smile widens, ignoring my scowl. “Well, I suppose now we know why.”

  “Trin,” I say again.

  She taps her chin, giving it some thought. “And maybe, just maybe, that explains why you opted out of brunch on Saturday. Oh, and Sunday, too.” She grins like the Cheshire cat after eating the damn rabbit. “Hmm. And why you seemed so tired when we finally did see you Monday.”

  I grin right back. “I’m going to kill you, and bury your body right next to Blackbeard’s.”

  “Do you think he might show me his booty?” she counters. “Or are you more concerned about showing Luci yours?”

  “Trin,” I warn, again, like that’s going to do anything.

  “You like her,” she says, as if I don’t already know.

  I look to Callahan. “Jesus, doesn’t your woman ever shut up?”

  “Nope,” he answers, taking a sip of his water.

  “You do like her,” Momma agrees, her voice more careful. “And it seems to me, she really likes you.”


  The muscles in my neck are so stiff, it takes some doing to turn to look at Luci. For as red as her face is, she’s smiling in a way I’ve never quite seen.

  I’m not openly affectionate with women in front of my family. I don’t know, it’s not that they’d say anything, it’s just never felt right around them.

  It feels right now. My fingers skim down Luci’s arm and I kiss her cheek. “Good,” I say. “Cause you’re right about me liking her.”

  Luci lowers her chin, her shyness returning full force. When she glances up, her gratitude is as evident as the warmth in her stare. I love her. I know it now, despite everything that warns me I shouldn’t.

  “Look at you,” Momma says. “And you used to be so shy.”

  “When in the hell was this boy ever shy?” Daddy counters. “Don’t you remember when he went through that naked stage? Every time we had some place to go he’d strip down to nothing and tear through the neighborhood climbing trees and pretending to be Tarzan.”

  “I was two!” I fire back.

  “Five,” my family reminds me.

  “Christ,” Callahan says, despite the way he’s covering his mouth laughing.

  “The wild boy of Kiawah, that’s what they called him,” Daddy says.

  “He even made the paper,” Momma, adds proudly.

  “Thank God Trinity never pulled that,” Daddy says, shaking his head like this is something I still do. “Worst thing she did was sit on the beach and eat sand.”

  “Well, yeah, she was always the sensible one,” I agree.

  Trinity pretends to scowl, but ends up laughing. “Did y’all come down for Spring break?” she asks, turning her attention back on Luci.

  Luci seems hesitant to answer. She doesn’t know Trinity, at least not well, but Trin has this gift for simultaneously busting balls and charming hearts. I hope Luci understands that despite her needling, she means no harm. Regardless, I try to shift the attention away from her. “We’re just down for the weekend. Grant Parsons called me. This is a slow time of year for him and told me he’d redo the kitchen for me at a sweet price.” My voice grows serious. “I would have called, but you said you’d be away.”

  “Like I told you, son, we wrapped up business quick and came home,” Daddy says. “Trin hasn’t been feeling like herself.”

  I frown. “Everything all right?”

  “It’s great,” Trin says. “We’re going to have another baby.”

  Momma wipes her eyes, although she’s trying not to let anyone see her. I scoot up to hug Trin and shake Callahan’s hand. “That’s the best news I heard in a long while,” I admit.

  “Congratulations,” Luci says. “You must be so excited.”

  Trin laughs when Callahan gives her a wink. “We are. We’ve always wanted lots of babies.” She shrugs. “God willing, we’ll keep having them.”

  “What about you, Luci?” Momma asks. “You think you might have children one day?”

  Momma glances at me, but thankfully Luci doesn’t appear to notice. “I hope so,” she answers, her attention wrapped around Cal, Jr., “I’ve always dreamed of a big family.”

  We’ve never talked about kids and kept our talks about our future to a minimum, not that I mind what she has to say.

  I ease my arm back around her shoulders when she quiets. “You all right?” I ask.

  She surprises me by cuddling Cal, Jr. closer. Between the other patrons, and my family, it’s loud in here. But Cal is fading away, his eyes blinking fiercely as he fights to stay awake.

  The way Luci holds him, and the way he’s so at ease against her, gives me one hell of a pause. “You know what this reminds me of?” she asks, motioning around the table.

  “The looney bin?” I offer.

  She laughs, so does my family. “No,” she says. “It reminds me of the day you met Kee-Kee and the rest of the staff.”

  “Who’s Kee-Kee?” Trin asks.

  “One of the junior partners at the law firm where we work,” Luci explains.

  My father frowns. “You got Luci a job there?”

  Here we go. “No. Luci has been working there for years. I . . . didn’t know until my first day when I saw her.”

  They stare blankly at us, and while I’m not looking directly at Callahan, I can feel his stare, too.

  “That there’s fate if I ever saw it,” Momma says.

  I normally laugh off Momma’s superstitions, but I don’t laugh this time. Not with how I feel having Luci this close and not when she feels this perfect in my arms.

  Chapter Twenty

  Luci

  Landon punches the code to his alarm, disarming the system protecting the house. The only lights on are the one on his front porch and the one in the foyer. The small amount of luggage we brought with us is swallowed by the expanse of the area. I’d forgotten how large his house is.

  I bend to reach the handle of my travel bag, only to cement in place when his arms wrap around me. He kisses my shoulder. “I meant what I said about us not doing anything.” His fingers splay along my belly. “But having you this close makes it damn hard.”

  A small groan of anticipation cuts through my throat. I turn around, intent on wrapping my arms around him. I manage one arm, but then I stop to stroke his face. He didn’t shave today, and I think he skipped yesterday. It doesn’t bother me. I love the way the small hairs skip along my fingertips, and the way his gaze softens as he watches me.

  “You miss the beard?” he asks.

  “A little.”

  He turns his head to press a kiss along the fingers stroking him. “Why?”

  I almost don’t admit as much as I do. “It tickled.”

  “Oh, yeah?” His smile will be the death of me. “Where?” he asks.

  I think my blush is enough of a response. “You like embarrassing me, don’t you?” I ask.

  His teeth nip me gently across my jaw. “I think embarrass is too harsh a word.”

  “What would you call it?” I murmur, my hands sliding down his chest.

  “Making you happy.”

  His words combined with his serious tone halt my movements, and I swear I can’t breathe. “I like you happy,” he tells me. “And that’s how I want to keep you.”

  He kisses me long and deep. I welcome him as I do each beat of my heart. Landon stirs a sense of security I’ve never felt. “Home” that’s what he feels like, the place I’ve always needed and have spent a lifetime without, within a man who captured my heart.

  My grandmother’s small apartment always felt temporary. No matter how long I lived there and how much she welcomed me, I remained that little girl, waiting for my mother to return.

  I give his hand an extra squeeze as he leads me down the hall, the lights automatically switching on as we pass.

  I glance around. “Your house is so pretty,” I say, worried I’m not saying enough.

  “It’s nice,” he agrees, glancing back to wink at me. “But it’s better with you in it.”

  “If you’re trying to win me over, you already have.”

  “Yeah?” he asks, leading me to the deck. “Baby, I’m just getting started.”

  He releases me as he reaches the control panel. The buttons beep in a slow succession as he taps them. Almost at once, the blinds part, unveiling a view that’s too beautiful to be real.

  The moon hovers above the ocean, it’s a magnificent glow turning the water a deep blue. “This is incredible,” I say, so mesmerized, I’m not certain I speak.

  I almost crash into the glass, forgetting it’s there. Landon hooks my waist, just in time. “Thank you,” he says over my apology.

  “For what?”

  “For loving this view as much as I do,” he quietly explains.

  “I really do,” I admit, taking in the millions of stars blanketing the sky. My hands fall over his forearms, sliding across them. In the distance the waves gently crash, matching the mood of the tranquil night.

&nbs
p; “Let’s go outside,” he says. “There’s something I’ve been dying to do with you.” He opens the door. “After you.”

  I step out carefully, my heart thumping as my ankle length boots tap against the wooden deck.

  There’s a small part of me who’s frightened, who isn’t sure how this happened, and who fears it might all slip away. But most of me is so consumed by Landon’s presence, the fear I sense is barely there. We have the entire weekend to spend together. I can’t think of anything better.

  The skirt of my dress slaps against my knees. I turn slowly only to jump when Anne Wilson’s voice belts Black on Black from every direction.

  Landon pokes his head out. “Sorry!” As I watch, he punches several buttons on his control pad. “Wrong song,” he yells over the first verse.

  I cover my mouth, laughing as he steps onto the deck. He reaches me as Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight begins to play, it’s a soothing tune as hypnotic as the melody of the ocean waves.

  He lifts my hand and kisses it, then places it around his waist. My head falls against his shoulder as we begin to sway to the music. If I could choose a super power, it would be to freeze time so I could hold onto this moment forever.

  “I wasn’t in a good mood the day you left,” he tells me.

  I smile, saying nothing and allowing him to speak.

  “I came back out here and blasted the most rage-filled music I had to match what I was feeling.”

  My smile turns sad. “Why were you so angry?”

  He edges away so I can see his face. “Because you were gone and I didn’t do anything to stop you.”

  “I know,” I say.

  He grins. “Know what? That I should have stopped you?”

  I shake my head. “I mean I wish I could have stopped it, too. I wasn’t ready for our time to end.”

  He spins me around slowly, bringing me back just as smoothly as the breeze sweeping my hair above my shoulders. I dissolve against him, welcoming the heat from his body as he pulls me close. “We don’t talk a lot about that weekend,” he says quietly.

  “No,” I agree.

  “Why do you think that is?” he asks.

  I dig through my memory of that day until I find the right words. “Because it was too much like an end, rather than a beginning.”