Chapter 174: Thanksgiving
*Really? Do I think you made enough food? Did you invite the whole damned state? – Toad*
Turkey; smoked, baked and fried. Ham. Venison. Rotisserie and baked chicken.
Hot dogs and chicken nuggets for the kids.
Mashed potatoes. Potato salad. Baked potato bar; russet and sweet potatoes. Candied yams, sweet potato casserole and pie.
Stuffing. Macaroni and cheese. Green bean casserole. Peas and carrots. Candied carrots. Green beans, English peas and black eye peas. Deviled eggs.
English pea salad. Cranberry salad. Fruit salad. Salad bar.
Yeast rolls. Biscuits. Sweet rolls. Potato bread.
White, brown and turkey gravy.
Pies – if it could be in a pie crust, there was at least one. Probably two. Apple, cherry, pumpkin, mincemeat, pecan, lemon, chocolate, coconut and rhubarb. And merengue pies. Peach and apple cobblers, too.
White, chocolate, yellow and carrot cakes. And a cherry dump cake which Siobhan was craving.
And of course, half a million cookies. Even Cookie wasn’t sure what all the flavors were. Mia and Nessie exchanged recipes and they were made at the Cookie Jar.
Extra tables had been set up around the clubhouse since almost every flat surface in the dining hall was already covered. The bar, the common area, the media room and the church meeting room all had folding tables and chairs.
“You’re going to give yourself an ulcer if you don’t quit worrying.” Knuckles said from the doorway of the dining hall.
“I just want to make sure that I have enough feed yeh all.” Nessie said looking around. Again.
Shaking his head, he walked over and picked her up. She landed on his shoulder with an oomph. Before she could respond, he walked out towards the bar.
“Black and tan?” Noel asked with a grin as she drew up two glasses of Guinness.
“Two." Knuckles said and Nessie popped his ass. “Please.”
“Much better.” Nessie said as he plopped her down on a barstool.
“You’re not moving from this spot until both are gone. You have to drink them.”
“I thought yeh were worried about me getting an ulcer.”
“You’re Scottish. You don’t get an ulcer from a wee Irish draught. You don’t get drunk if you can still hold onto the grass to keep from falling off the earth. And you don’t get hangovers, just a wee little man with a jackhammer in your head.” Knuckles said with a horrible imitation of her accent.
“Are yeh making fun of me?” She teased as Noel put the first Guinness on the bar.
Knuckles turned Nessie so that her back was to the bar. Then he stepped between her legs and leaned in, trapping her between his arms as his hands rested on either side of her against the wooden bar.
“Never, babe.” He lightly touched his lips to hers. “Maybe. But only a little. I just want you to enjoy yourself. You and your staff have been cooking for this for a week. Now it’s time to relax and enjoy all your hard work.”
“But-"
“No.”
“What-"
“No.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Neither was willing to be the one to back down.
“What if there’s not enough?” She finally whispered, her insecurity showing through.
“We’re going to be eating leftovers until Christmas.”
“I should have done a goose.”
‘’Babe, Americans don’t eat goose. Cow. Pig. Turkey. Chicken.” He gave her a devilish grin. “Pussy, it’s one of my favorite meals. But we don’t eat goose.”
“Yer horrible.”
He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Give me a few hours with my face buried in your pussy and you won’t be saying that.”
“Hours?” Nessie squeaked.
“You probably won’t let me stay there for days.” He began kissing her neck. “Although, I’d love to. Just take up fucking residency in that lovely cunt of yours and not leave for about a week.”
Nessie put her arms around his neck and pulled him to her lips. When she finally released his lips, he rested his forehead against hers.
“Are you going to relax now? If you’re not, I can always borrow something from Ink and Tank and tie you to the bed.”
“What if something happens? Something goes wrong? Nobody likes the food? What if I did it all wrong?”
“It’s Thanksgiving.” He smiled gently at her worried face. “There’s no right or wrong. You get together with your family and annoy the hell out of each other while overeating. Watch too much football while overeating. And you’ll be thankful while overeating.”
“And you trust your staff to handle anything that pops up, right?” he asked lifting his head a little and cupping her cheek.
“Aye. They’re good girls.”
“Okay, so we’re in agreement, you’re taking the day off.”
“But-"
“Whip! I need to tie my woman up!” He called with a grin.
“About time.” Whip said from the doorway where Noel had chased them all out so the couple could have some privacy.
