Shielded by the Ruthless Military Boss novel · Chapter 7 of 24
Chapter 7: Sunday Dinner
My mother opened the door of the house on Pecan Lane before we reached the porch.
She was wearing her good pearls and a smile I had not seen since my father's funeral.
"Colonel Kerrigan," she said, and took his hand in both of hers. "What an honor. Please, call me Marlene."
"Mrs. Marsden."
"Marlene."
"Mrs. Marsden," he said again, evenly.
Her smile flickered and came back.
She kissed my cheek without touching me.
"Leah, darling, you look tired. Come in, come in. I invited a few friends so you could meet the family."
"And I heard about the hospital," she added, lower. "Dr. Colquitt telephoned me himself."
The notice with his blue signature was folded in my purse, and I had told no one but the colonel.
"He called you?"
"He's concerned about you. Come in."
I had not known there would be friends.
The dining room table was set for six.
Two women from the country club sat on one side, and across from them, in a gray suit, sat Keaton Pollard.
He stood up and held out his hand to the colonel.
"Keaton Pollard. No hard feelings about the lobby, sir. A misunderstanding."
The colonel looked at the hand.
He shook it once, briefly, and sat.
Dinner was roast chicken and green beans.
My mother filled the quiet with talking.
She talked about how proud she was of the Army. She talked about a cousin who had once met a general.
The colonel answered her in short, polite sentences and ate everything on his plate.
I noticed an envelope on the sideboard.
It lay under a candlestick, face up, with a bank's logo in the corner. The return address said Low Country Notes LLC, and a red stamp across the front said PAID.
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