When Aunt Becky got to the walkway, she stopped and looked Liam up and down.
“So, you’re Larissa’s git?” Aunt Becky asked.
Liam looked at Elissa, who nodded. He took a step forward and then extended his hand.
“Yes, …ma’am, she’s my grandmother,” Liam said with a smile. Aunt Becky looked down at the hand, took a step forward, and then kneed him in the groin. Elissa watched Liam go down, and her aunt walked right around him.
“Welcome to the family. I’ll be back. I need to get some water to hear this story.”
Chapter Nine
Liam couldn’t remember the last time he had been sent to his knees. No one in their right mind would do such a thing to him.
“Are you okay?” Elissa asked.
All sorts of answers came to his mind, but he couldn’t articulate a single one of them. Liam didn’t know what was worse the initial hit or the recovery as blood flood everywhere, making it torture to move into the nearest seat and agonizing to stay on the ground. It was pride that made him grit his teeth and push himself up. He was seeing the world through a filter of sparkles and colored spots, but at least he could breathe.
“The good news is he didn’t wear those skinny jeans that are all the style. If he had, he wouldn’t be able to move this quickly,” Colleen said. Liam looked to the side and saw even Colleen had a shred of sympathy on her face.
He pushed up, and Elissa guided him to a chair. A few moments later, Aunt Becky came out and took a seat in front of him and Elissa.
“I was at the church today. You do know where the church is, Mr. Butler?”
Liam nodded. Then he felt the slight nudge of Elissa’s foot against his. The gesture was light, but the pain it generated made him grit his teeth.
“Yes, ma’am, I do.”
“Good, good. It bodes well for you that you know where the house of the Lord is. Anyway, as I was saying. I was at the church and when I arrived there were some strangers there. Now it’s true we are growing as a town, but you usually see the city folk in the diner or in the quaint dessert shop. You don’t ever see them in the church. I wanted to assist them, so you know what I asked?”
Liam was sitting in the chair, and the ability to move the right half of his body had come back. The left side still throbbed, but he was slowly making it to an upright position. When he looked over at aunt Becky, he could see an eyebrow going up, and for a moment he was scared she’s knee him again.
“What did you ask, ma’am?”
Aunt Becky smiled. Well, what I asked was, “You there nice gentleman, why are you here?”
“He said he was here to see the woman who he thought had finally managed to tame the wild billionaire and bring him to the alter. Now you know this is Chusada. There ain’t a whole lot of possibilities for that title.”
“No, ma’am.”
“But I’m thinking to myself, self, that can’t be because if such a thing had happened, he would have presented himself to me all proper like.”
Liam heard her voice building like the eye of the storm in a tornado. This wasn’t going to end well for him. He couldn’t believe that he was here in his home town and while Liam had prepared to face all types of businesspeople, he was being schooled by one of grans friends. He couldn’t even imagine what would happen when gran found out.
“Ma’am I was coming to –“
“Oh my goodness, look at that sparrow!” Elissa said.
Her aunt Becky gave her a look, and Elissa became obsessed with her hands in her lap. Her aunt Becky might not be wearing a corporate suit, but he could see she would be able to give the sharks a couple of lessons on how to control the masses.
“Now, where was I, oh yes we were about to hear you try and lie to me?”
Liam heard her voice gathering momentum, and his leg unconsciously shifted to cover his crotch.
“Ma’am I wouldn’t -“
“Baby sparrows on the ground, I think!” Colleen called.
Aunt Becky turned to Colleen and then looked between Elissa and Colleen. “You two, you keep up with that sparrow business, and you’ll find yourself in Sunday’s choir singing about it since you are so obsessed.”
“Excuse me, ma’am, please let me start over.” Liam Butler stood up gingerly and then held out his hand.
“I’m Liam Butler. Larissa Butler’s grandson and the man who’d like to take care of your niece, Elissa.”
Aunt Becky shook his hand. “It’s a start. We have some talking to do before I go ahead and give you my baby.”
“That is my cue. I’ll be leaving now. Elissa, Aunt Becky have a good day. Liam, hopefully, I’ll see you around,” Colleen said as she exited.
Hopefully, she knew what was going on. It didn’t matter. Liam couldn’t let himself be distracted because he had a feeling that this was one parental meeting that he might have wanted Travers to be at.
“I’m an open book. You can ask whatever you like,” Liam said, trying to be open.
“Yes, I’m sure you will tell me,” Becky said.
Liam flinched when he heard that. It was like the evil witch in the wizard of oz saying I’ll get you and your little dog too!
“The first thing I need to know is, can you take care of Elissa?”
Liam let out a sigh of relief. This was a question he could do answer with confidence. When he looked over to Elissa, she didn’t look as sure. She had just gotten him to sign over eighty thousand dollars!
“Ma’am, I’m a billionaire. I’m the CEO of Butler hotels. I can take care of Elissa,” he boasted.
“Is that true?” Becky said, leaning back in her chair. Liam gave his best press smile. Any moment she would begin the ooh and aah that came after that kind of announcement.
* * *
They were dead! Liam thought his fake smile and saying he was a billionaire was going to be the holy grail, but Elissa knew better. While he thought he was projecting confidence, from this side of the fence, he looked like he was a snake-oil salesman who had come to the door and was selling the elixir to cure all things. He had a rakish smile. He was leaning to the side like those old 1950’s lead males did when they were projecting “maleness.”
“Well then, you won’t mind telling me how much cash you have?” aunt Becky said with a no-nonsense edge.
“Cash? I mean I have assets –“
“No, I don’t mean that fake money that is all digital. If the computers died, how much money do you have? Certainly, you have a safe. You can’t be one of those people who keeps everything on some flimsy plastic card and hopes the cyber people out there don’t steal from you? A man needs to have cash,” she reiterated.
“Cash?” Liam said as if it were the first time he was hearing the word. Elissa had to do something but still tell the truth because there was no way she would lie to her aunt.
“Liam doesn’t usually keep cash, but he just gave me some, and I have to get it from the bank,” Elissa said.
Her aunt turned towards her. “It’s enough to take care of you and your own?’
“It’s a good nest egg, auntie.”
Becky sat back with a smile on her face. She looked them both over. “Are you two sure? You’re not rushing into this because there’s a bun in the oven, are you?”