The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance by Katherine Logan (comprehension books .TXT) 📗

he put a rescue team together to go after Tavis. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

Ted and Laurence walked away, chatting with each other, and Ensley wondered what they were saying. They were probably conspiring about how best to torture her in the morning.

“Do they live here, or are they on the traveling team?” she asked.

“They have a house here on the plantation, another one on MacKlenna Farm, and an apartment in Napa. Ted has Elliott on such a strict diet and exercise program that he goes wherever Elliott goes. But Laurence usually stays here.” Kenzie walked around to the other side of the bar and opened the refrigerator. “I bet you’re a Corona gal.”

“I’ll be whatever kind of gal I have to be tonight because tomorrow I’m going to die!”

Kenzie uncapped two bottles of Corona and handed one to Ensley. “You have a self-deprecating sense of humor, don’t you?”

Ensley tipped back her beer, took a long pull, and then lifted it to signal her thanks to Kenzie. “I used to watch TV reruns and old movies with my mom. She didn’t like to watch anything current. She was weird like that. But one of her favorite comedians was Bob Newhart. I got infected by his wry, self-deprecating humor.”

“Have you heard the story about the cop who called his captain to tell him a giant ape was climbing the Empire State Building?” Kenzie asked.

“No. Was it one of Newhart’s jokes?”

Kenzie rolled her eyes, but a suspicious tug at her lips told Ensley she was having difficulty not laughing. “No, it wasn’t, but have you heard the story?”

Ensley took another swig of her Corona. “Nope.”

“Well,” Kenzie said, straight-faced. “The captain asked what floor the ape had reached, and the cop answered, ‘He’s on the eighteenth or nineteenth, depending on whether the building has a thirteenth floor or not.’”

Ensley burst out laughing, spraying Kenzie with a mouthful of beer.

Kenzie calmly grabbed a handful of napkins and wiped the beer off her arm. “Nobody’s spat on me since the twins were two years old. Thanks a lot.”

Ensley kept laughing. “That’s the dumbest joke I’ve ever heard.”

“Oh, sweetie. I’m just getting started.” And for the next ten minutes, while Ensley finished one beer and opened another, Kenzie went through her repertoire of dumbest jokes of all time, and Ensley couldn’t stop laughing. It wasn’t that any of them were funny. They weren’t. They were stupid. But the lighthearted moment stood in stark contrast to the confusing and often painful weeks Ensley just endured.

Austin came up behind her, kissed the top of her head, and whispered, “I love hearing you laugh. Don’t stop.” Then he left her to flip channels with the guys, looking for what else but basketball playoff games, of course. But now, oddly enough, she saw athletes in a different light, and if Austin wanted to drink beer and watch games, he had her full support. Well, he did as long as he slipped away every once in a while to pay attention to her.

Amber removed a plate of sliced tomatoes from the refrigerator, placed them on the bar, and then grabbed a casserole dish off the oven’s bottom rack. “Look at the way Ensley is staring at Austin. She’s got it bad. Don’t you think?”

“What? Me?” Ensley asked. “Nah.”

Kenzie took a swig of her beer. “You know what, girls? I don’t think they’ve done the deed yet. Ensley doesn’t have that look that says they did it and can’t wait to do it again.”

Penny took the potholders from Amber and pulled out a pan of buttermilk biscuits from the top rack. “Don’t pay any attention to Kenzie. You take your time and do it when you’re ready. But you’re in for a wild ride. O’Grady men are passionate, protective, giving, and very romantic. But mostly, they’re respectful. Their late mother was an incredible woman, and she and Pops raised those boys right. And”—Penny rubbed her very pregnant belly—“they’re great fathers.”

Kenzie transferred the biscuits from the cookie sheet to a basket. “All our men are great fathers. If they weren’t, David would kick the shit out of them. He had a difficult father, and he won’t put up with men being assholes around their kids or disrespecting their women.”

“Usually, men who have difficult fathers become difficult fathers themselves,” Ensley said. “I was lucky. I had a great dad growing up.”

Kenzie gave her a sympathetic look, and Ensley shook it off. Right now, she didn’t want to think about her parents and Erik. She opened her mouth to change the subject, but Remy did it for her.

“Steaks are ready,” he announced, setting the platter on the bar along with a dish of grilled sweet corn mixed with zucchini and mushrooms.

“Grab that covered casserole dish out of the warming oven,” Amber said. “It’s Austin’s favorite mac and cheese.”

“Gosh, I didn’t bring anything.” Ensley felt guilty for coming to a party without a gift or dessert or even a bottle of wine. “And you all even made my guy his favorite dish.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kenzie said. “You just spent a week with Elliott in a pissed-off mood. That earns you a huge credit. You don’t have to cook or wash dishes for the next six months.”

“The guys usually wash dishes anyway,” Penny said. “They get lucky when they do household chores or give kids baths without being asked.”

“That’s funny,” Ensley said. “I’ll have to remember that, but as for cooking, I don’t. In New York, it’s easier to order out than buy groceries to rot in my refrigerator.”

They all gathered at the table, except for Remy, who stood up at the counter to eat since he couldn’t sit down. And dinner went off without a hitch. They talked, laughed, and kidded each other with spicy stories that turned mellow and bittersweet, funny, and at times raunchy. Ensley had never enjoyed a group of people more in her life. They were warm and accepting and genuinely cared for each other.

Watching Austin with Rick was heartwarming.