A package of cold cuts was in the meat drawer, and the freezer atop the fridge held a whole chicken and a nice-sized brisket. James knew without looking there would be casseroles and likely sweets in the small chest freezer in the laundry room.
“It looks like someone brought over some groceries,” Pamela said. Her smile was a sight to behold, and he and Adam couldn’t help but return it.
“Mother would have seen to it the place was ready for you. She hates traveling herself, and she would have thought you could do with a rest when you finally got home.”
“Your mother’s very considerate. The truth is the flight did take a lot out of me. Likely because it was my first, and I used up a lot of energy worrying about it.”
And likely worrying about meeting your new relatives. James didn’t speak the thought aloud, but he thought it might be so. He couldn’t honestly blame her, if that was the case.
Tonight’s supper would be a small group by Lusty standards—just their parents and their grandparents. He had enough friends and knew enough about how the world worked outside of Lusty to know two things. The moment a woman met her in-laws for the first time was an important moment in her life. And women inevitably worried about such meetings far more than men did, though men did worry a little.
He could certainly empathize because that Friday evening when he and Adam spoken to Reg Franklin was very recent in his memory. The fact that it had been Adam asking to marry Pamela hadn’t diminished the nervous factor for James one bit. He brought his attention back to their woman.
So far, Pamela clearly liked everything she’d seen.
“We want to show you our bedroom.” Adam’s simple sentence must have shocked Pamela, because she turned her head quickly to look at him.
“No coy invitation to see your ‘etchings’?”
James laughed, and Adam chuckled. “No, sweet. Seriously, we want you to see it. We’ll unpack our bags…well, ours should stay down here because we have mostly laundry in them. But we can help you unpack. If you’d like a rest, we can do that, too.”
James decided to rescue his brother. Neither of them was a smooth talker and likely never would be. But James understood he was a little less awkward with his words than was Adam.
“We’re hoping that, tonight, we can have some intimate time together with you in our bedroom,” he said. He picked up her hand and kissed it. “But I think seeing the room will assuage some of the doubts I know you have about life here in Lusty.”
Pamela met his gaze. He didn’t think he imagined the relief he saw there. He looked over at Adam, who seemed surprised by James’s words.
He loved his brother, who was truly his other half despite their not being twins. And he accepted that Adam would always have challenges with the concept of nuances.
Since he had hold of her hand, James began to lead her up the stairs. Her eyes widened when she realized that the two of the three good-sized bedrooms on the right side of the hall were occupied.
“This one was mine, and that one, Adam’s. We’ll both be moving into the master suite today. Come, look.”
Adam went ahead of them and opened the large double doors on the other side of the hallway.
She hadn’t even crossed the threshold when she gasped. James held back his smile. He’d heard that, for those not used to the private amenities here in Lusty—which pretty much covered the rest of the world—seeing the bed could be a shock.
“Good heavens look at the size of that bed!”
“We call it Jessop-size. But it’s also called Benedict-size and Kendall-size or, perhaps, just Lusty-size. Depending.”
Adam turned to her. By the expression on his face, James saw that big brother finally seemed to understand what was needed. “This is the master suite. It’s been here, waiting for the day we’d find the woman meant to be our wife. We’ve never slept in this bed. No one has, as it was brand-new when we moved in. This is our sanctuary, as is the attached master bath.”
She followed Adam’s nod and walked toward the attached room. The clawfoot tub, he knew, would fit four comfortably, as would the shower and the newly installed Jacuzzi tub.
There were three sinks. She explored the linen closet, which was filled with towels and had the added luxury of a mini dryer in the bottom part of that space. She opened the other closed door in the room, discovering the toilet and bidet in that private inner room.
“Most every home in Lusty has a comparable master suite,” James said. “There are families comprised of a single husband and wife. There are some, like ours, that are three, and some that are four. And there are some, men and women, who’ve remained single. The founding principle of Lusty was that people should be free to love who and how they chose, if they chose.”
“Our town appears to be the ultimate expression of the right to the pursuit of happiness cited in the Declaration of Independence.”
Our town. James sighed. He really was he was the luckiest man in the world. He walked over to Pamela and used a finger to lift her chin.
“That’s exactly right. Tonight, at supper, you’ll meet our mother and our fathers, as well as our paternal grandmother, and our grandfathers. And I can tell you without a doubt, they will be delighted to meet you.”
“I’m nervous. I want to make a good impression.”
Adam joined him. They gathered her in, together, and James’s heart soared to have their woman in their house, between them.
“Baby,” Adam said, “they’re going to love you. I absolutely guarantee it.”
Chapter Five
“Oklahoma, huh? Why the hell do you want us to go all the hell and gone out there? I like the East Coast, Scooter. I like New York
