When they got back to the truck, they picked up their conversation where they left off as they started the short trip back to the house.
“As I was saying before. There’s nothing wrong with you wanting awards. Listen. If Miss Leona can do it, so can you. And I don’t mean to downplay Senior’s accomplishments. He’s good. And he’s got plenty statues of his own, but you’ve got thatitthat Miss Leona has.”
“You’re just—”
“No, I’m not just saying that.” Zach pulled his truck to a stop in front of his grandmother’s front door. They’d missed Jesse when they stopped by the office to grab Zach’s computer, but he could see the lights on in Jesse’s house. “I watchedInfernofive times its opening week. You are fucking brilliant in it. You went from stunt rider to scene stealer in actual features, and you didn’t use Miss Leona’s name to do it. You made this happen.”
“Man, I guess—”
“No ‘I guess.’ You know I’d clown you into next week if you were stinking up the screen. You’re only twenty-six. You’ll get there. You’ll get that statue.”
Sam was quiet for a moment before he looked over at him. Their relationship was built on 97 percent comedy, but neither of them had any issues telling the truth, and Sam knew it. “Thanks, man. I wish I could get you in front of the camera. I can’t believe you do that accent with guests.”
It had been a joke when they were on the rodeo circuit with Senior when they were kids. One way to cope with good ole boys who were still pissed that slavery had ended and even more pissed at how much prize money Jesse Pleasant Sr. and his sons used to walk away with every year.
“Hey, you know how it goes.” Zach slid into the accent again. “You come all this way for a slice of country living, you expect a show.”
“Shit, I’m glad Jesse decided to the raise rates.”
“You and me both. Now get the fuck out of my truck. I need to shower.”
“You coming back over for dinner?” Sam asked as he stepped down from the cab.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a bit. Don’t eat it all.”
“No guarantees.”
Back at his place, Zach undressed and got right in the shower. He knew if he sat down or even looked at his bed he’d be out for the rest of the night. He needed to eat and, of course, he’d taken it upon himself to make sure Evie was settling in okay. It was nice to spend time with his baby brother, a nice break from Jesse’s stone-faced demeanor, but as soon as Zach stepped under the hot spray he only had two things on his mind. His empty stomach and a certain chef.
Now that he was back in Charming and Evie was out of immediate danger, Zach couldn’t stop thinking of all the what-ifs and what-could-have-been scenarios that might have popped up over the last ten years. Yeah, it pissed him off to no end that his brothers had carried on some type of relationship with Evie while he was left thinking she’d written off the whole family. As recently as a week ago Evie Buchanan still hated his guts, but he couldn’t undo the truth of where they were now and what part he’d had in getting them there. Seeing the way she’d reacted to him in the hospital, the way she’d taken his hand as he’d shown her to her room, their almost-kiss, Zach couldn’t give up on this.
As he rinsed the conditioner out of his hair, he had to wonder what would have happened if he had just taken a chance over the last decade. He would have altered Evie’s career in some way, but would he have ruined it? There was no way for him to tell. All he knew for sure was how badly he missed her, how much downplaying not having her in his life had wounded him. He lost Nana Buck and Evie all at once, and he didn’t handle either loss well. But he had to handle the situation right this time.
Zach knew he’d fucked up. He could still hear the way Evie’s voice broke, still clearly remember the tears running down her face when he told her to go back to culinary school. He wished he’d said the right thing, even though he was too young to know what the right thing was at the time. It just never occurred to him that his brothers would carry on whole relationships with her and not say a word about it. Not even a singleI checked in on Evie. She’s doing fine. Nothing. A shitty voice in the back of Zach’s head thought they might have been trying to protect Evie from him, but that couldn’t be true.
Zach shook off all the speculation and hypotheticals when he realized he was just standing in the shower, wasting time. He got ready and headed back over to Miss Leona’s place, which was oddly silent when he opened the door. Lilah was quiet except for when she sneezed, but when Sam and Corie got going you could hear them across the valley. He followed the faint sound of George Benson coming from the kitchen and found Miss Leona alone, putting away a pitcher of her holiday punch.
“Where is everyone?” Zach asked.
“Evie’s turned in for the night.”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Oh, I thought you only came rushing back here, drenched in cologne, just to see Evie,” she said, pinching her nose.
“Drenched is a strong word. You told me not to come back into your house smelling like the horses.”
“I didn’t want the smell of a cosmetics factory either. Sam and Corie wouldn’t stop cutting up, so I sent them to the movies. Evie and Tilde were trying to rest. They didn’t need all that noise. Jesse turned in for the night too. You hungry?”
Zach double checked his phone. Little punk Sam didn’t even drop him a text. “Uh, yes, ma’am.”
“Go ahead and make yourself a plate.” She nodded toward the covered leftovers on top of the stove. Zach made a bowl of Lilah’s chili and cornbread and then another plate of the ham and greens and mac and cheese Miss Leona had made. With all the houseguests and Jesse’s daily caloric intake, the massive spread would be wiped out by the following afternoon.
Zach set himself up at the kitchen island, smiling at his grandmother as she sat down beside him with a glass of that hundred-proof punch.
“So what are you going to do now?” she asked as he swallowed his first bite.
“About what?”