A wry smile curled her lips. “That’s a bad thing?”
“Why do you want to be with them?”
“Because I love them, and they love me. Yeah, I know it’s not ‘normal.’ I know it makes life complicated. We’re happy. We’re all adults and no one is being forced to do anything. Isn’t that enough?”
He stood and dropped the pre-nup into a shredder on the floor by his desk. “I guess it should be.” He started for the door. “Why don’t you marry one of them? Legally it would protect you.”
“If I can’t marry both of them, then I can’t marry one of them. They are both my husbands. I refuse to choose.”
Chapter 20
“I’d really rather not go. I’ll be fine,” Nevvie said.
Thomas shook his head. “If you think I’m leaving you alone, especially on our first Thanksgiving together, you’re outta your pea-picking mind, sugar.”
“I cannot believe your family is going to welcome me. I mean, okay, they were fine with you coming out with Tyler, but this isn’t the same.”
“Hey, my mom watches Big Love.”
“I’m glad you think this is funny.”
He took her hand. “Look, they’re my relatives. They welcomed Tyler, they’ll welcome you, too.”
“This isn’t the same.”
“No, you’re right, it’s not. I’m not saying it’ll be easy. I’m not leaving you alone.”
She looked at Tyler. “Can I get some help here?”
“What do you want me to say? He’s right, it’s his call. I’m not willing to leave you alone either. I go where he goes. If he says we’re all going to Savannah, then we go.”
Nevvie fought a losing battle against her tears. “Thomas, your family loves you guys. I don’t need to go.”
“Look at me.” Thomas’ sweet brown eyes captured her heart and soul. “If you don’t want to go, then none of us goes. It’s that simple.”
“No, Thomas, I want you to go.”
“We go with you, or we don’t go.” He looked at Tyler. “Right?”
Tyler nodded. “Right.”
“If you’re worried about me being alone, I’m sure Pete and Eddie wouldn’t mind—”
“Nevvie,” Thomas’ voice was unusually firm and quiet. “We’re a family. Either we all go, or none of us goes. End of story.”
“They’re going to hate me. Then they’re going to be upset with you. Please, don’t make me go!” She’d had more than enough rejection in her life. She didn’t need to voluntarily walk into one more.
“They’re not going to hate you, love,” Tyler assured her. “They’ll be startled when we break the news, but they’ll get used to it, never fear.”
“Yeah,” Thomas agreed. “The evil genius will sweet-talk them and blink those baby blues and have them eating out of his hand.”
“I think this is a mistake, boys. I think it’s way too soon to dump this on them.”
Thomas carefully brushed her tears away. “It’s my mistake to make.”
They would leave early Wednesday morning, and Nevvie’s stomach had twisted in painful knots by Tuesday. She couldn’t eat and drank Mylanta straight from the bottle. Tyler waited until Thomas left for the office to confront her in the kitchen.
“Trust him. I know this isn’t easy on you.”
She whirled on him. “You have no idea! They’re going to hate me, and then I have to live with the guilt that I’m responsible for him being estranged from his family!”
He took her hands and kept his voice quiet. “Love, I do know what you are feeling. Thomas has chosen to make us a part of his life. Those others are his relatives, yes. He is blessed that his family welcomed me, but I have no doubt he wouldn’t hesitate to cut them out of his life if they chose not to accept you or I.”
“I don’t want that guilt.”
“It’s not your guilt to bear. It’s his choice. As someone who loves him you should support him.”
“They’re not going to want me. Nobody wants me. They never have.”
He stroked her hair, holding her tight against his chest. “We wanted you, sweetheart. We loved you from the moment we met you. Are you saying we don’t count?”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it.”
Tyler knew she needed to get it out of her system.
“Look,” he whispered, “we’re staying in a hotel. It’s not like we’re staying at the house. We’ll be able to unwind and decompress every night. They’ll come to love you, I promise.”
“You can’t promise that. You have no control over what they do.”
“I won them over, so can you. Simply be your sweet self.”
“Has he told his mother about me?”
“Not exactly. She knows you’re coming with us and that you work for us. He wants to tell her in person.”
They left early Wednesday morning before sunrise and arrived in Savannah late that afternoon. With her nerves wrenched into a contorted mess, Nevvie struggled not to throw up as Thomas pointed the Ridgeline up a clay road, then down a rutted driveway. A few minutes later the driveway opened into a huge yard. Peggy Kinsey walked onto the wrap-around porch, smiling and waving.
Tyler opened the back door and coaxed Nevvie into taking his hand, leading her to the porch where Thomas engulfed his mom in a bear hug.
Peggy’s rich Savannah accent made Thomas sound like a Yankee. “Oh, Tommy sweetie, I’m so glad to see y’all!” She let him go and gave Tyler a similar welcome. “Y’all have got to be tired.”
Nevvie stayed at the bottom of the steps, struggling to control her nervous tears. Thomas grabbed her hand and forced her up to the porch.
“Mom, this is Nevvie. Nevvie, this is my mom, Peggy Kinsey.”
Nevvie mustered a smile. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Peggy hugged her. “Oh, sweetie, Tommy told me you’ve had a rough time of it. Come inside with me. Let me get y’all some tea.” Peggy left her arm around Nevvie’s waist, making her walk with her.
Nevvie cast a nervous glance at Tyler, her steadying force in situations like this. He smiled and silently waved her on.
The house was large and airy, what she’d imagined a true Georgia home would look like. Tyler had told her it was built by Tom’s father, Adam Kinsey, with plenty of room to accommodate all the girls. After her husband died Peggy didn’t have the heart to sell it. She’d just retired from nursing that past summer, and enjoyed spending time at home.
High ceilings, exposed beams, and a homey, country, lived-in feel welcomed her. The huge eat-in kitchen held an enormous table, and Peggy patted Nevvie on the shoulder.
“Sit right there, I’ll get you some tea.” She pointed Nevvie to the seat at the end of the table and turned to Thomas. “Oh, shoot, I nearly forgot. I told Mr. Jones next door I’d send you boys over when you got here. He got his tractor stuck down by the pond this morning, and he can’t get his truck started to pull it out. Can you go yank it out for him with your truck?”
The men exchanged nervous looks. “Ty doesn’t need to go, Mom.”
“You might need his help. Go on.” She waved them toward the door. “We’ll sit and have a nice chat until you’re done. Shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes.”
The boys shifted uneasily. Nevvie felt close to a panic attack. “I could go help.”
“Sugar, those two big strappin’ boys won’t need y’all’s help. Now, go on. Shoo.”
Tyler cast a look back at Nevvie as he followed Thomas out the door.
Stay calm, that look said. We’ll be back soon.
Peggy opened a cabinet and fetched glasses, retrieved a pitcher of tea and ice from the fridge, and sat next to her. “You like sugar in your tea?”