And then she left the bar, Sam fol owing her to say good-bye. Or to make sure she actual y got in her car. Or both.
By the time he returned, I was so desperate for something to do I was about to start counting the toothpicks in the clear plastic dispenser. “We can get back on that paperwork tomorrow,” Sam said in passing, and continued walking. He avoided my eyes. He was surely embarrassed. It’s always good to give people time to recover from that, especial y guys, so I cut Sam some slack.
A work crew from Norcross came in, their shift over and some celebration in progress. India and I began putting tables together to accommodate al of them. While I worked, I thought about young shifter women. I’d encountered more than one who was very aggressive, but there were very few female packleaders in the United States, especial y in the South. An outstanding few of the female Weres I’d met were extremely vicious. I wondered if this exaggerated aggression was due to the established male power structure in the packs.
Jannalynn wasn’t psychotic, as the Pelt sisters and Marnie Stonebrook had been; but she was uber-conscious of her own toughness and ability.
I had to abandon theoretical thinking to get the drink orders right for the Norcross men and women. Sam emerged to work behind the bar, India and I began moving at a faster pace, and gradual y everything settled back to normal.
Just as I was about to get off work, Michele and Jason came in together. They were holding hands. From Jason’s smile, it was easy to see what her answer had been.
“Seems like we’re going to be sisters,” Michele said in her husky voice, and I gave her a heartfelt hug. I gave Jason an even happier one. I could feel his delight pouring out of his head, and his thoughts weren’t so much coherent as a jumble of pleasure.
“Have you two had time to think about when it’l be?”
“Nothing stopping us from having it soon,” Jason said. “We’ve both been married already, and we don’t go to church much, so there’s no reason to have a church wedding.”
I thought that was a pity, but I kept my mouth shut. There was nothing to gain and everything to lose by adding my two cents. They were grown-ups.
“I might need to prepare Cork a little bit,” Michele said, smiling. “I don’t think he’l kick up a fuss over me remarrying, but I do want to break it to him gentle.” Michele stil worked for her former father-in-law, who seemed to have more regard for Michele than he had for his lazy son.
“So it’l be soon. I hope that it’s okay if I come?”
“Oh, sure, Sook,” Jason said, and hugged me. “We ain’t eloping or anything. We just don’t want a big church thing. We’l have a party out at the house afterward. Right, honey?” He deferred to Michele.
“Sure,” she said. “We’l fire up our gril , maybe Hoyt can bring his over, too, and we’l cook whatever anybody brings. And other guests can bring drinks or whatever, vegetables and desserts. That way no one wil worry and we’l al have a good time.”
A potluck wedding. That was very practical and low-key. I asked them to let me know what I could bring that would be most helpful. After lots of mutual goodwil had been exchanged, they left, stil holding hands and smiling.
India said, “Another one bites the dust. How you feeling about this, Sookie?”
“I like Michele real wel . I’m so happy!”
Sam cal ed, “They engaged?”
“Yeah,” I cal ed back, a few happy tears in my eyes. Sam was making an effort to sound upbeat, though he was stil a little worried about his own romantic situation. Any irritation I’d felt about the Jannalynn episode simply melted away. Sam had been my friend for years, while significant others came and went. I went up to the bar and leaned against it. “Second time around for both of ’em. They’re real good together.”
He nodded, accepting my tacit reassurance that I wasn’t going to bring up Jannalynn’s little outburst of jealousy. “Crystal was al wrong for your brother; Michele is al right.”
“In a nutshel ,” I agreed.
Since Hol y cal ed in to say her car wouldn’t start but Hoyt was working on it, I was stil at Merlotte’s when JB came in about ten minutes later. My friend, the secret stripper, was looking handsome and hearty as always. There’s something about JB, something warm and simple that’s real y appealing, especial y when added to his nonthreatening good looks. He’s like a great loaf of homemade bread.
“Hey, friend,” I said. “What can I get for you?”
“Sookie, I saw you last night.” He waited for my big reaction.
“I saw you, too.” Just about every inch of him.
“Tara was there,” JB told me, as though that would be news. “I saw her as she was leaving.”
“Uh-huh,” I agreed. “She was.”
“Was she mad?”
“She was real surprised,” I said cautiously. “Are you seriously tel ing me you-al have not talked about last night?”
“I got in pretty late,” he said. “I slept out on the couch. When I got up this morning, she’d already gone to the store.”
“Oh, JB.” I shook my head. “Honey, you
“What can I say? I know I should have told her.” He made a hopeless gesture with his hands. “I just couldn’t think of any other way to earn some extra money. Her shop’s not doing so great right now, and I don’t make a lot. We don’t have good insurance. Twins! That’s gonna be a big hospital bil . What if one of ’em’s sick?”
