As I watched, Lauren Jane nudged her chair closer to his.
Okay, make that two of us.
As if feeling my gaze on him, Lawton looked up. Our eyes met. He gave me a smile filled with secrets and just the tiniest hint of amusement. He was laughing at them. Did they realize that? I looked around.
Apparently not.
"So I hear you're some kind of fighter," my dad boomed at Lawton.
Lawton turned to give my dad a deadpan look. "Yup."
My dad's smile faltered. "You're not gonna try any of those fancy punches on me now, are you?"
"Nope." Lawton smiled. "At least not 'til dessert."
My dad's eyebrows furrowed, and then he laughed, a big booming sound that rang hollow in the formal dining room. "Hah!" He pointed at Lawton with both his index fingers. "You got me there."
Lauren Jane giggled and leaned in close to Lawton's ear. "You're so funny," she said. She turned to my dad. "You'd better watch it, Daddy, or he's gonna get you."
Daddy?
Lauren Jane flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Speaking of funny things," she told Lawton, "did you notice thatyourname begins with an 'L' andmyname begins with an 'L'?"
She gave me half a glance across the table. "Sorry, Chloe, I guess you're not in the club."
"Uh-oh," my dad said in mock concern, "Mygal's name begins with an 'L', too." With a big chuckle, he shook his index finger in warning. "But you don't be stealing my Loretta."
I glanced at Loretta. She was giving Lawton a speculative look, like my dad's comment had gotten her thinking.
I jumped up. "Want me to get the turkey?"
Loretta's cool gaze slid in my direction. "Areyouthe hostess?" she asked.
Oh crap. There it was. That look again.
"No," I said. "But I'm happy to help." I paused. "Unless you'd rather do it?"
With a little sigh, Loretta pushed back her chair and stood. "So much for a relaxing dinner," she said. "Chloe, will you please sit? You're making everyone nervous."
So I sat. And with a solemn air, Loretta started delivering platters to the table, lifting the silver lids to murmurs of appreciation, mostly from my dad, as she announced what each dish was. There was baked turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes, along with dinner rolls, whipped butter, and homemade cranberry sauce.
The mashed potatoes were making me nervous. I knew we'd probably have them. Almost everyone had mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving, especially with the turkey. So we'd be having turkey gravy, right? But as each dish was revealed, and no turkey gravy had been presented, I started to get that sick feeling in my stomach.
She wouldn't do it. Not again. Would she?
And then she brought over the final platter, a small one with a tall silver lid. With a great flourish, she lifted the lid. My hands grew clammy. There it was, a small silver gravy boat filled to the rim.
I couldn’t afford to be obvious, but I was desperate to know what it was.
But soon, I didn't have to guess, because with a thin smile, Loretta announced, "and finally, my very own holiday specialty, oyster gravy."
Shit.
Chapter 60
I glanced at Josh. His face was deathly white as he looked down at his plate. Next to him, Lawton looked completely oblivious as he listened to Lauren Jane chatter about her latest trip to Cancun.
I tried to catch his eye. Why, I had no idea. What could he do? What could I do? Should I spill it? Pretend to faint? Grab Josh and run for the car?
