My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding

by Erin Nicholas

  Everyone chuckled.

  “Not exactly,” Cora said. “There were a couple bloody noses and black eyes and some shot-out truck tires and a few broken headlights before it was all done. But yeah, they turned around eventually.”

  “I was so fucking glad they came too,” Jeremiah said.

  Leo nodded.

  “You were?”

  “Hannah told me he’d been hitting her and her mom for a long time.” Even now, all these years later, his hand tightened around his mug of beer. “I so needed a chance to beat the hell out of him. He even swung first so I could justify it all.”

  “It all?” Tori asked.

  “He still doesn’t breathe normally out of his nose,” Jeremiah said. His tone was dark, and unapologetic. It was the first time Tori had heard anything from any of these people that wasn’t happy and teasing.

  “And then that was it?” Tori asked. “Hannah just stayed here and you got married?”

  “Nah, they tried a couple other times. I beat the shit out of her brother and he beat the shit out of me. A bunch of them showed up at my house once or twice,” Jeremiah said.

  “But that didn’t amount to nothin’,” Leo said. “We had guys camped out there, watching the place. They didn’t get within a hundred feet of the house.”

  “Guys from Autre camped out at your house to help protect you and Hannah?” Tori asked.

  Jeremiah nodded. “Of course.”

  Of course. He said it so matter-of-factly. As if anyone would have done the same thing. And maybe down here that was true. “So what made them finally leave you alone?” she asked. “I mean, I assume they finally did?”

  “The day she turned eighteen, I asked her to marry me. She said of course and we were hitched by sunset,” Jeremiah said. “After that, her dad had no claim on her at all.”

  “Yep, exactly how it happened,” Leo said.

  Jeremiah gave him a look and chuckled. “Yep. That’s what I’ve always thought.”

  Tori frowned, looking back and forth between the men. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

  “Well, there’s this rumor,” Cora said. “That someone snuck into her dad’s house the night after the wedding, handcuffed him to the bed, then set their kitchen table on fire. They let him sweat for about twenty minutes, thinking he was gonna die. Then they put the fire out and told him that if anyone in Autre saw him within ten miles of the town, or Hannah, the next time he wouldn’t be so lucky.”

  “That’s a rumor?” Tori asked.

  “Well, there really was a fire at his house. But he’s never been able to name any names. Apparently the guys wore masks. But everyone knows he’s a crazy drunk and he’d actually set his back shed on fire twice before on his own. So no one’s really sure what to think.” Cora looked around. “But that man’s never been even within twenty miles of this town.”

  Tori also looked around. She got the definite impression that if these men hadn’t personally been involved, they knew exactly who had done it. And that they’d all take it to their graves. It was odd to have a read on a whole group of strangers like that, but the loyal-friends-who-felt-like-family vibe was strong here.

  “That’s a pretty amazing story,” she said to Jeremiah. “You were willing to put a lot on the line for a girl you’d just met.”

  “I would have gotten anyone out of that situation if I could,” Jeremiah said. “But…” He shrugged and grinned. “No one and nothing has ever made my heart pound like that woman did…and still does.”

  “And once you’re part of the Landry family, you’re part of the Autre family. And vice versa.” This came from Ellie as she set a plate down in front of Tori.

  Tori thought about her own hometown. There were a lot of people there she knew she could count on. They would help her out if she asked. They’d believe her if she told them she was having a problem. But would they swoop in and literally carry her out of a situation? Would they take a black eye or broken nose for her? Would they line up their pickups on the road, blocking an entire group of people from entering the town for her?

  No.

  They’d encourage her to go to the police, probably. They’d talk badly about the other people, possibly, over coffee at the diner. They might offer her money. They might even call the police for her. But they wouldn’t necessarily put themselves on the line, physically, repeatedly, personally, for her.

  But, again, she thought that might be normal.

  Jumping into pickups and grabbing shotguns and immediately being prepared to actually physically fight someone was maybe not the go-to for most people. She didn’t think this Montague-Capulet-standoff thing was typical. At least not as the initial reaction to something. It was passionate. That was for sure. And a little over-the-top.

  And, dammit, there was something really nice about it. It wasn’t rational and it wasn’t following any kind of proper procedure. But it got the job done. And there was something about having someone so into you that they’d do whatever it took to help you. Something about having someone on her side with such an ardent group of people on their side, just because of who he was.

  She thought it said a lot about Jeremiah that the entire town was ready to rally behind him even if he’d been overreacting.

  Maybe Landrys just overreacted naturally.

  Maybe people from Autre did.

  Hell, maybe it was a Cajun thing.

  “That is…something,” she finally said.

  “So now you understand,” Ellie said. She handed Tori a fork.

  “Understand what exactly?” Tori asked, taking the fork. The aroma from the crawfish pie was making her mouth water.

  “Not to be surprised by anything,” Ellie said.

  “Anything about Josh?” Tori asked. “Or the town?”

  “Yes,” Jeremiah said with a chuckle.

  “All of it?” Tori took a bite of the pie. And moaned. Out loud. She couldn’t help it.

  Cora looked pleased.

  “Any of it,” Leo said. “You can be…amazed. But don’t be surprised. You’ve been warned.”

  Tori took another big bite and thought about the difference between amazed and surprised. Yep, amazed sounded good. She nodded. “I’ll try.”

  “And now you better scoot,” Ellie said. “If you’re not back to the plantation on time, Josh’ll kick Leo’s ass.”

  Tori took another quick bite, not at all prepared to leave the crawfish pie unfinished. The flaky crust and the tender seafood and the spices…she might move down here just for this pie. “He’d fight his grandfather?” she asked after she’d swallowed.

  “He’ll kick his ass at poker,” Ellie said with a wink.

  “Can he do that?” she asked Leo.

  He shrugged. “Yeah. We usually team up to just be sure Kennedy loses, but if I get in Josh’s sights, I’ll lose a shit ton.”

  Tori wanted to keep them talking until she could finish the pie. “You guys gang up on Kennedy?”

  “That girl needs to be humbled as often as possible,” Leo said with a nod.

  “And it takes them all teaming up to beat her at poker,” Jeremiah said, clearly proud of his daughter.

  “It’s all you guys’ fault she’s so feisty,” Ellie said pointing at Jeremiah and Leo. “She’s terribly intelligent. Then you both and her brothers never let her win a damned thing, so she became something even more difficult to beat.”

  “What’s more difficult to beat than smart?” Tori asked, scooping up another forkful. She might regret her fitted cocktail dress later but she didn’t care.

  “Determined,” Ellie said.

  “Bloodthirsty,” Leo said at the same time.

  Tori laughed. She only had two bites of pie left so she asked, “You guys bet big bucks?”

  “We bet for chores,” Leo said. “Way more valuable than money.”

  “Chores around the tour company?”

  “And more specifically for who has to work with Sawyer,” Leo said.

  “Sawyer’s
in charge?” Somehow she could see that. There was something about the guy that seemed very take-charge. And serious. Kennedy might run the schedule, but Sawyer was the go-to guy.

  Leo nodded. “He and Tommy were the primary partners. They bought me out about ten years after Danny died.” He nodded at Cora. “Cora, Danny, me and El have been best friends since we were kids. Danny and I ran that company for forty-two years together. I did it on my own with the kids and grandkids’ help until the boys were old enough to take it over.”

  That kind of history wasn’t foreign to her either. There were plenty of people who had lived in Elton all their lives and grown up together and who passed their farms and businesses down to the next generations. Her dad and his best friend, Dean, had been friends since childhood. Her mom and her best friend, Linda, had known each other since third grade. “It’s really nice that you’ve kept it in the family.” She glanced at Cora. “Do you have grandkids?”

  A flicker of sadness passed over Cora’s face. Then she smiled. “I do. Tommy was a majority partner in the business with Sawyer until he died last summer.”

  The last bite of crawfish pie felt like lead as Tori swallowed it. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you,” Cora said. “I miss him every day.”

  “We all do,” Ellie said, wrapping an arm around Cora. “Tommy was one of our bright lights.”

  Everyone was quiet for a long moment. Then Cora sniffed. “And then I’ve got Madison, Tommy’s sister. Maddie went to live with her other grandparents in California when she was twelve, after her mom died.”

  Tori set her fork down. Cora had lost a lot of loved ones. “I’m…sorry,” she said again. What did someone say to a woman who had lost a child and a grandchild?

  “Thank you. It was best for Maddie,” she said. “They were able to give her everything. She went off to college and works for an art gallery in San Francisco now.” It was clear that Cora was proud of Madison, but that it hurt to have her far away too.

  “Tommy being gone is why Sawyer is so damned difficult,” Leo said.

  He sounded angry, but it seemed more like concern when Tori looked at him.

  “He was always the serious, organized one who kept things running, but since Tommy’s accident, he…” Leo trailed off, shook his head, and wiped at one of his eyes.

  “He doesn’t smile much. He worries about everything and everyone. And he’s generally a pain in the ass to be around a lot of the time,” Ellie said of her oldest grandson. “It breaks our hearts. When it’s not pissing us off.”

  Tori took a breath. This family was a lot. She had the feeling that no one really left Sawyer alone to brood or whatever. Maybe that was for the best. Surely that could be annoying, but being loved so…loudly…had to be nice too.

  “So we take turns playing poker for who has to work with him on chores. The boys do the tours and Kennedy takes care of reservations and such, but when it comes to maintenance stuff, Sawyer insists on doing it and that’s when you get bitched at the most,” Jeremiah said.

  “You make Kennedy deal with it most often?” Tori asked.

  They all chuckled. “Trust me, honey,” Ellie said. “Kennedy’s the best one to take it. She’s a tough cookie, she’s had a lifetime of dealing with her brothers and cousins saying shit she doesn’t listen to. Plus, she’s his baby sister. He’s nicer to her than the rest of us.”

  Tori shook her head, smiling in spite of the topic of all the loss this family had been through—and it was clear that Cora and her kids and grandkids were a part of this family even if it wasn’t by blood. “I’m really…glad I got to meet you all,” she said.

  “Well, sweetheart, hurry back,” Cora said, pushing away from the bar. “Now I better get busy in that kitchen.”

  As Cora disappeared, Tori frowned. It really might be the last time she saw Cora and the rest. The wedding activities were going to take up a lot of her time while she was in Louisiana. Josh would be with her—a thought that made her heart flutter—but they’d be at the plantation or in New Orleans. She knew the agenda contained some tours and such for the guests. There was a bus tour of New Orleans tomorrow. There was a paddleboat ride at some point. Maybe on Sunday? She hadn’t really looked too far ahead. This had seemed like a deal-with-it-day-to-day kind of situation. And now that Josh would be there, she was feeling a lot more optimistic about all of it.

  But she was a little sad to think that she might not see Ellie and Leo and Cora and Jeremiah again. Which was so weird. As was her disappointment over not being able to get to know Kennedy and Owen and even grumpy Sawyer better.

  Leo slid off his stool and pulled the keys to the bus from his pocket.

  Tori drank down the rest of her sweet tea and then started to swivel away from the bar. But Ellie stopped her. The little woman leaned over the bar and took Tori’s face in her hands.

  “The regulars around here are already a little crazy, but we can make anyone crazy, given half a chance.”

  Tori laughed. “Is that a selling point?”

  “It is when you realize how damned much fun it is to have people crazy about you and to be crazy about.”

  Tori swallowed hard. Her parents loved her. Her grandparents, who were all gone now, had loved her. Her aunts and various cousins cared about her. She had acquaintances and classmates she still saw on a regular basis, though more as clients now than friends. But she wasn’t sure anyone had ever been crazy about her. Andrew was her closest friend, and he’d never done anything really crazy or gone out on any limbs for her. Not that she’d given him any reasons to, come to think of it. She was pretty easy to just be around. No craziness required.

  But the idea that someone might feel inclined to lose his head a little…that caused some butterflies.

  “Thanks,” she said quietly, looking into Ellie’s eyes. “I had a great time here.”

  “You’re welcome any time.” Then the older woman gave her a little kiss on the cheek and let her go.

  Tori turned and slid off the stool. Then she looked over at Jeremiah. “It was nice to meet you.”

  “Well, you have to come back,” he said, lifting a shoulder. “Hannah is gonna be pissed at all of us that she didn’t get to meet Josh’s Mardi Gras girl.”

  Every time she heard Josh’s in regards to herself, she felt a little flip in her chest. “Where is she right now?”

  “Working,” he said. “She’s a teacher in N’Awlins.”

  “Well, I would have liked to meet her.”

  He winked at her. “We’ll be seeing you, Tori.” He said it with promise.

  Finally, she took a deep breath and headed out to the tour bus with Leo.

  6

  Josh wiped his hands on the thighs of his pants and took a deep breath.

  He was nervous? Why was he nervous?

  Maybe because his family had given Tori their entire family history—and a healthy dose of their nuttiness—yesterday.

  They’d told her his mom and dad’s story.

  That wasn’t something a person told a girl he’d just met.

  And they’d told her Leo and Ellie’s story.

  Both stories. Day one. That was a lot to process for someone he definitely didn’t want to spook.

  Of course, both of those stories were pretty good.

  Okay, his family wasn’t really crazy. They were just a little eccentric and over-the-top. Especially as a group. The what-the-hell multiplied when all of those offbeat personalities got together.

  But now Tori knew that Landrys tended to think falling in love within ten minutes was no big deal and that he’d been “mooning over” her for the past year.

  “Don’t worry, darlin’, she knows you’re hoping for something big with her,” Cora had told him.

  Yeah, great. Let’s just tell the girl that he had diamond rings on the brain within an hour of seeing her again. That was totally normal. That wouldn’t make her nervous at all.

  And, for the record, he did not have diamond rings on the
brain. Exactly. He wanted to date her first. Spend time with her. Maybe dance with her. Definitely kiss her some more. Hear more about her family and her work. Talk about things like their favorite holidays and pizza toppings. Sure, that was kind of boring and didn’t really matter. He’d like her whether she liked pepperoni or not. But he was kind of hoping to do this like an ordinary couple who met and liked one another and wanted to get to know one another before he talked her into staying in Louisiana. Forever.

  Of course, the fact that he was even thinking about doing that was probably not normal.

  But he’d told his family and all of the bar regulars all of that when he’d gone in for food—he had no idea if this cocktail party included real food or just little puffs with spinach in them—before heading to the plantation.

  Not that they’d cared that he was annoyed. They all loved Tori—also within a very short period of knowing her, he noted—and wanted him to bring her back soon.

  Which, of course, meant that he couldn’t.

  If he brought her back, they’d for sure bring up diamond rings.

  Maybe even one of the diamond rings. Yes, in his family, there were several meaningful wedding rings that had been passed down through the generations. Of course there were.

  There was no doubt in his mind that someone would bring up how his great-grandfather had proposed to his great-grandmother after getting a letter from her intended for someone else, writing three more letters back and forth, and hitching rides all the way to Savannah to meet her. Yep, the first time he ever saw her in person, he proposed. That was definitely one of the rings.

  Josh shoved a hand through his hair.

  Hell, he wasn’t sure he was going back to Autre any time soon. Mitch was covering for him on tours for the next few days, and his mother was going to be so pissed when they all told her that not only had they met “the girl” that he’d been distracted about for the past several months, but that they’d had an hour of time with her.

  Truthfully, he’d love to introduce Tori to his mom. But that was serious. He didn’t introduce women to his family. Because, well, the wedding bells in their brains and stuff.