That seemed a strange way to refer to Don’s being in jail for shooting her. “Jim Collins hates you,” I said.
She gave me a very strange look. “That’s a lot to read into a look across the yard,” Bernie said. “Don’t worry about Jim, Sookie. Let’s go get you some ice tea.”
So Sam hadn’t told his mom that I could read minds. Interesting.
I followed Bernie down the short hall and into the kitchen. The kitchen was quite a bit larger than I’d expected, since it also encompassed an eating area set in a bay window. Deidra was sitting at the big round table with Mindy’s little girl, Bonnie, in her lap. The child was holding a soggy cookie and looked quite happy. Through the bay window, I saw Mason and his dad in the backyard playing catch with Craig and Sam. I went to the door and looked out at the family scene. When he saw me, Sam darted an inquiring look my way, to ask if I was okay. He was willing to come in if I needed support.
I smiled at him, genuinely pleased. I nodded reassuringly before I turned to the table. There was a pitcher of tea and a glass filled with ice ready for me. I poured my tea and sat down beside Deidra. Mindy had put a laundry basket full of clean clothes on the kitchen counter, and she was busy folding them. Bernie was drying dishes. I’d thought I might feel like an intruder, but I didn’t.
“Sookie, you’re the first girl Sam’s brought home in years,” Mindy said. “We’re dying to know all about you.”
Nothing like cutting to the chase; I appreciated the direct approach. I didn’t want to lie to them about our relationship, but Sam had brought me here to deflect the wedding fever. I would have felt worse if Sam and I hadn’t been genuinely fond of each other. After all, I told myself, I was literally Sam’s “girl friend,” if not his “girlfriend,” so we were more bending the truth than breaking it.
“I’ve worked for Sam for several years,” I said, picking my words carefully. “My mom and dad passed away when I was seven, and after that my grandmother brought me and my brother up. Gran died a couple of years ago, and I inherited her house. My brother lives in my parents’ house,” I added, so they’d know that was fair. “I graduated from high school in Bon Temps, but I never got to carry my education any further than that.”
This Sookie-in-a-capsule got a mixed reception.
“Is your brother married?” Mindy asked. She was thinking of her own brother who was getting married, and the possibility of another grandchild to make her mother happy. Bernie was going to get one sooner than Mindy imagined.
“He’s a widower,” I said.
“Gosh,” Deidra blurted, “people in your family don’t have a long life expectancy, huh?”
Ouch. “My parents died in a flash flood,” I said, because that was the public story. “My grandmother was murdered. My sister-in-law was murdered. So we never got to find out how long they would live.” Actually, they’d all been murdered. I’d never put it to myself like that before. People in my family really, truly had a short life expectancy. If I followed the family trend, I could expect to meet my end through violence in the not-too-distant future.
I glanced at the appalled faces of Sam’s womenfolk, who’d gotten more than they’d expected. Guess they wouldn’t be asking me any more personal questions, huh? “But my brother’s still alive,” I said brightly. “His name is Jason.”
They all looked relieved. Deidra grabbed a napkin and began dabbing at Bonnie’s smeared face. “Bonnie, you have a chocolate mouth,” Deidra said, and Mindy and Bernie laughed while Bonnie stretched her mouth into a wide grin, enjoying the attention.
“How big is your family, Deidra?” I said, to get off the topic of my life.
“I got two sisters,” Deidra said. “I’m the oldest. They’re seventeen and fifteen, still in high school. And I’ve got two brothers, both older. One brother works here in Wright, and one brother’s in the army.”
“How about you, Bernie? Do you have any younger brothers or sisters?” I asked Sam’s mother, to keep the conversational ball rolling.
“Oh, they have to be younger? I must be showing my age.” Bernie turned a wry face to me. She was stirring something on the stove.
“You have to be the oldest, if you’re the shifter.”
Then they were all looking at me, this time in surprise. “Sam did tell you a lot,” Mindy said. “Humph. He doesn’t usually talk much about his heritage.”
“I’m not sure if I heard it from Sam or from a werewolf,” I said.
“Unusual,” Bernie said. “Have you dated other shifters?”
“Yes,” I said simply. “And my brother’s a bitten panther.”
There was another round-robin of exchanged glances among the women, broken by Bonnie demanding to go potty. Mindy stopped matching socks to sweep her up and carry her off to the hall bathroom.
“So you have no problem with wereanimals at all,” Bernie said.
“No,” I replied, and I’m sure I sounded as surprised as I felt.
“We just figured . . .”
“What?”
“We just figured,” Deidra said, “that your family wouldn’t like the idea of you marrying into a shifter family, like my family didn’t. I mean, they’ve come around now, but when they saw the woman change on television, they freaked out.” The two-natured, following the vampire pattern, had sent their most personable representatives to local television stations to change on the air.
Don hadn’t been the only one who’d reacted with panic.
“If I had a big family, there might be more of a problem. But my brother wouldn’t mind me marrying into a family with the shifter gene,” I said. “He’s all I’ve got to worry about.” And I wasn’t any too worried about his opinion. “Not that I have any plans to get married,” I added hastily. I hadn’t even planned on getting married in the vampire way, for that matter. “Are you going to wear the traditional white dress, Deidra?” I had a doomed feeling that no matter how I tried to keep the conversation on the actual wedding about to take place, the women of the family were going to continue to steer it toward a possible future match between Sam and me.
The bride nodded, smiling. Gosh, Deidra was a dentist’s dream. “Yeah, it’s pure white and strapless,” she said. “I got it on sale at a bridal shop in Waco. It was worth the drive.”
“How many bridesmaids?”
A cloud crossed her face. “Well,” she began. After a perceptible pause, she tried again. “Two,” she said, smiling for all she was worth. “My sisters.”
“Two of her friends backed out after the shooting,” Bernie said, her back to us. Her voice was flat.
Mindy had come back into the kitchen with a scrubbed daughter, and she let Bonnie out into the backyard with the men. “Incoming,” she yelled, and shut the door. “Bitches,” Mindy said abruptly, and I knew she was referring to the bridesmaids who’d reneged on their obligations.
Deidra flinched.
“I’m sorry, sweetie, but that behavior was low,” Mindy said. “Any true friend would be thinking more about you and your feelings than about their disapproval of our family.”
Mindy had good sense.
“Well, you still got the two best ones,” Bernie said, and Deidra smiled at her mother-in-law-to-be. “Sookie, I hope you like baked chicken.”
“I sure do,” I said. “Is there anything I can be doing to help?”
Bernie said no, and I could see that the cooking area would be easier for one person to manage without a newcomer getting in her way. To keep the conversation going, I told them about having to step in at the Bellefleur double wedding when one of the bridesmaids had had a sudden attack of appendicitis. They all laughed when I described trying not to breathe in the too-tight dress or move too quickly in the too-small high heels, and I began to feel a little more at ease. Mindy finished folding clothes, Bonnie came in crying with a skinned knee, and Craig accidentally threw the ball over Doke’s shoulder and into Mr. Collins’s backyard.