chapter twenty-seven

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"He's teasing her." Abilene says. "You were teasing her, right?" She asks August.

"Yeah." August chuckles.

"I smell coffee." Cordell walks in.

"Hey!" Bonham greets.

"Oh! Hey!" Abilene smiles.

"What's up, dad?" August nods.

"Hey. Hey." Cordell smiles at his family.

"I just made it fresh." Abilene says, pouring him a mug.

"Perfect timing." Cordell says, taking the mug.

"So what did the doctor say?" Abilene asks.

"Well, I... passed my two week checkup with flying colors." Cordell informs. "They do want me to carry on with, uh, physical therapy though, so..."

"Well, you had your bell rung." Bonham says.

"Yeah." Cordell mutters.

"I just can't wait to tell Geri in person thank you for getting you through that." Abilene says. Cordell takes the paper towel off the plate, but finds only bacon crumbs.

"Ah, great." He sighs.

"There's, uh, there's more bacon on the stove." Liam points. Cordell goes over to the stove. "Hey, did Geri ever tell you what kept her away so long?"

"Uh, when she's ready." Cordell says. "Mmm, she's actually stopping by The Side Step today." He says, walking back over to the counter and standing next to Janie.  "Um... uh, Stella Blue, did she text you or Colton what time?"

"Uh, no, not yet. And Colton actually left for Vegas this morning." Stella informs.

"No way! That's actually happening?" August asks.

"Mm-hmm." Stella nods.

"What-- what... what's happening?" Cordell asks. "Colton's in Vegas? Okay. You better not be planning to meet him there and get married, because if he proposed to you without calling your daddy first, I'm telling you--"

"No way in the world would she go to Vegas when she has a perfectly good venue right here." Abilene says.

"I need you to go marry Colton in Vegas just so you can give dad a heart attack. I need that reaction." Janie says, the three voices overlapping. Cordell glares at her and she cutely smiles.

"No, no. No." Stella says, getting the three to stop. "There is a chef there. Colton submitted to this culinary internship a while back. He didn't get in, but the person that they picked dropped out and they called him. It happened kind of all of a sudden."

"Oh, that's fantastic!" Abilene exclaims.

"That's great!" Bonham declares.

"That's big." Cordell says.

"I still think you should go get married in Vegas just to kill dad. Even if you just fake it." Janie says.

"I-- hold on--" Cordell tries to talk.

"You like the idea so much, you do it." Stella tells her sister.

Janie's eyebrows raise before she smiles.

"Ah. No. No." Cordell states. "You are a minor. You can't go and get married without my permission."

"Never said I was gonna do it now. Might happen after I graduate though." Janie grins.

"No." Cordell firmly states. He stutters over his next words making Janie look at him in amusement. "Do-- not happening."

"Why? What, are you gonna leave me in jail overnight for a crime I didn't commit?" Janie asks. She glances at her family's expressions -- mostly her dad and sister. "Too soon?" She bites into her piece of bacon.

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