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“I’m learning that.” The warmth in her tone makes me itchy.
Thankfully, we’re back. I pull into the drive and put the Jeep in park before hopping out and starting for the restaurant without another word.
“Hey, where are you going?” Rachel calls after me. “Zane!”
I hesitate, turning to the side, but not looking back. “Dylan asked me to help her with the Thanksgiving decorations.”
“We can help, too! Just give me a minute.”
“Don’t you need to eat something? You were doing all that exercise.” The last thing I want is her fainting again.
“Nope.” I look up to see her pop a purple candy into her mouth.
“That works?”
She shoves a hand in her backpack and pulls out a box ofgrape Mike and Ike candies. “Yep! I’ll just drop off my stuff, and we’ll head down.”
I wave and continue down the bluff to the restaurant, where I can see people moving around inside. Cooters & Shooters is closed from two to five to get ready for the dinner crowd, but we don’t usually have customers until closer to seven.
“Oh, good, you’re here.” My sister is in her usual cutoffs and logo T-shirt, which is a turtle with crossed pool cues behind it, and flip-flops. “Allie is helping me dig out the November boxes. We’ve got orange twinkle lights and a few hay bales outside, and the first-grade class made these adorable popsicle-stick turkeys.”
“Look at my turkey, Uncle Zee!” Kimmie dances over to me holding up a wooden bird withGobblestamped on its stomach.
“That’s actually pretty good.” I lift her onto my hip, and she walks the turkey up my shoulder making gobble noises.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” Dylan mutters.
“Your stuff was always construction paper that fell apart as soon as it got outside in the humidity.”
“Kimmie’s teacher is very clever when it comes to crafts.” Dylan shows me a box full of popsicle-stick turkeys. “The kids will get a kick out of finding their turkeys stashed around the restaurant.”
“Smart, and good for business.”
“We’re giving her a discount all month.” My sister winks before heading to the bar with the decorations.
Allie is there putting pilgrim outfits on the condiment holders. “Where’s Rachel?”
My jaw tightens, but I don’t snap a reply. I don’t think the girls are in on the high-pressure campaign.
“She’s dropping off her stuff at the house, then she’ll walk down with Edward.”
Kimmie wiggles, and I put her on her feet. “I’ll show him my turkey.”
“Oh, good! I was hoping they’d come down and help,”Dylan calls over her shoulder. “We might actually have this place done before the dinner crowd shows up.”
“Folks won’t mind if we’re finishing up while they’re here.” Salina Duck, who’s been a waitress since she graduated high school walks through. “Hey, Zane.”
She says it in a sly voice and even winks, which has my chin pulling back.What was that?
Dylan grabs my arm before I have time to process. “Come with me.”
I follow her into the storage closet near the exit to the pool tables. We duck and go inside where she has painted pumpkins, corn stalks, and scarecrows in the center of the small space.
“We’ll do all the inside stuff. You can start on the porch.”
A ladder is folded in the corner, and I lift it onto my shoulder. “Did Gloria say anything to you about a pool tournament the other night?”
“No.” Dylan crawls behind a cabinet and drags out a giant cornucopia. “Is this too much?”
