other hand, the cheese has most definitely started to slip off your cracker.”
Tanyalee squeezed her eyes closed to block out the ugly truth. She’d be turning thirty in a few months. She was a grown woman. She should have a career, a family, and a home of her own. And above all, she shouldn’t be sharing a house and a supper table with Aunt Viv and Graddaddy Garland. It was as unnatural as it was annoying.
A warm, strong hand touched hers under the table. Tanyalee jerked in surprise, then slowly opened her eyes to see Dante looking at her, one corner of his mouth tipped in a smile.
“Where is your family from, Agent? Any brothers and sisters? Are your parents still living?”
Dante answered Aunt Viv’s questions without giving any indication that he’d just laced his fingers with Tanyalee’s and squeezed. “New York City, ma’am. Brooklyn born and raised. I have a twin sister, Dayana, and my mother is going strong. My father died suddenly a few years ago.”
Her aunt shook her head and clucked. “So sorry to hear of his passing…” She paused, which Tanyalee knew was a clue that the next thing out of her mouth would be mortifying.
“Aunt Viv, would you please pass the—”
“New York City?” Viv said, ignoring Tanyalee’s attempt to change the subject. “That must be a very unsafe place to live, what with all the crime and drugs in the North.”
Dante started to respond, but Granddaddy saved him the trouble. “Nowhere is crime-free anymore, Vivienne, and I’d venture to guess that what’s going on in Cataloochee County these days is just as vicious as any big city, north or south. Am I right, Agent Cabrera?”
“Yes, sir. That’s correct, unfortunately.” Dante’s leg brushed up against Tanyalee’s. It took a great deal of restraint for her not to gasp in pleasure.
“I do read the Bugle, Garland,” Viv snapped. “I am well aware of what goes on in the world.”
“As the World Turns, maybe.”
Viv sucked in her breath, deeply offended. “You know my story’s not on the TV anymore. You know they canceled it a few years back. That was just plain mean to rub it in like that!”
Tanyalee dared look up into Dante’s face. When he turned toward her again, she saw the half smile was still in place but there was a new gentleness in his expression. He winked at her, squeezed her hand, and pushed his thigh harder into hers. Tanyalee was struck by how reassuring all that was. He was telling her not to be embarrassed by her bickering relatives, which was surely kind of him, but damn near impossible to comply with.
“No cheese on the cracker,” Granddaddy repeated, shaking his head.
“Crazy old man,” Viv snapped, beginning to gather up the dishes.
“Dinner was delicious,” Dante quickly interjected. “I appreciate you asking me to join you, but I should probably get going.”
“But you haven’t had any cobbler!”
“As much as I’d love to taste your—”
“Nonsense.” Viv used her foot to kick open the swinging door to the kitchen. “Your clothes are still in the dryer. Why don’t ya’ll go enjoy the beautiful evening on the porch swing while I get dessert together.”
“Sounds like a mighty fine idea,” Granddaddy said.
“Not you, you nosy old coot. I was talking to the young people!”
Tanyalee pulled on Dante’s hand as she stood. “Thank you for a lovely meal, Aunt Viv. We’ll be back in a little while.” She led him through the foyer, to the front door, and down the porch steps.
Dante looked over his shoulder at the porch swing. “I thought—”
“Shh. I need some air.”
Dante’s eyes widened. “In this?”
Tanyalee forgot that Dante was still dressed in selections from Granddaddy’s chifforobe—a pair of threadbare sweatpants, a hooded sweatshirt with paint splattered all over it, and old plastic flip-flops. “You’ll blend right in where we’re headed,” she said as they reached the sidewalk.
“We’re going to Walmart?”
Tanyalee laughed. “Next best thing, Mr. Yankee smart aleck. We’re gonna take a stroll through the neighborhood. I’ll show you around.”
She noticed how Dante looked down to where their fingers remained laced together. Her heart sank. She dropped his hand. “Sorry.”
“About what?” he asked.
“I’m sure you’d rather not have the neighbors see you holding my hand.”
“I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks,” Dante said, weaving his large fingers with hers again. “I thought you didn’t want them seeing me holding your hand.”
Tanyalee pretended to scan the trees like she found them fascinating and hadn’t been looking at them since the moment she’d been born. That