“There’s a thing between her and the Murphys.” Lily snorted, shooting Nathan a look.

Nathan put his hands up in surrender. “Why you looking at me like that? I never dated her.”

Lily snorted. “No, you were engaged to her bestie though. And Dolly and her cabal went after Tate for a while. She’s a nasty piece of work and it is no surprise she’s alone.”

Beth snickered. “A spinster.”

Lily started laughing. “All alone. Watching episodes of Hoarders and eating TV dinners. Maybe she’ll order up a Russian groom.”

“Great idea. One that doesn’t speak any English so he won’t know how full of it she is.”

Joe grinned, shaking his head as they kept on.

“Best to just stay out of their way when they get like this.” Nathan sipped his tea.

“I have zero interest in Dolly. Just sayin’.”

Beth looked his way. “Course you don’t. You have me. But she needs to keep her mitts and her eyes to herself. Sheesh.” She went back to laughing with Lily.

“Guess she told you.” Trey grinned.

“My sisters don’t mess around.” Jacob chuckled.

Royal heaved a sigh. “No kidding.”

“Man comes to a point in his life when that’s what he needs and he’s not too proud to admit it. I like a feisty woman.” Joe grinned.

“Ha. Good thing since this family doesn’t seem to make any other kind.” Nathan winked at Beth.

“Jacob, I bumped into Heather yesterday.” Beth turned her attention to her baby brother. “She didn’t know you’d moved back to Petal.”

“Heather is engaged. My living situation isn’t her concern.”

“Well, now. There’s a story here. Do tell.” Joe waggled his brows.

“Jacob and Heather were inseparable in high school,” Beth explained.

“And then I went to college. And she moved on. She’s going to marry someone else.”

Beth shrugged. “She sure seemed interested.”

“Leave it be, Beth. How’d you feel if Steffie’s friends were plotting to break up Nathan’s engagement?”

Stefanie was Nathan’s ex. A sort of crazy woman who’d apparently taken it upon herself to announce their engagement without telling Nathan. And then she’d capped it by showing up at Nathan’s place with wedding invitations.

Beth rolled her eyes. “First of all, Steffie is a dingus. However, I didn’t give Heather a key to your apartment and tell her to get in your bed naked. She came in for a haircut. We chatted. She asked after you. I told her you and Trey had a place here in town and that you were splitting your time between Joe’s shop and Tim’s plumbing business. That’s hardly plotting—”

A loud crash interrupted the good-natured teasing, grabbing the attention of just about everyone in the place.

Murmurs began to get louder as everyone turned toward the side doors leading out to the other end of the street, right off the alley.

“What on Earth is going on?”

“It’s Friday night. Probably some spillover from Buck a Bud night at the Pumphouse.” Nathan shrugged.

The yelling got more distinct, and Beth turned to Joe as it hit him just who it was.

“You’re part of it! Get the hell out of my way or I’ll make you.”

Joe’s stomach dropped as he stood. He put a restraining hand on Beth’s shoulder. “Stay here.” He rushed toward the sounds of the fray. Voices rising. More voices joining in.

Beth followed. He turned. “I said stay back. He’s not in his right mind and I don’t want you hurt.”

She took his hand. “Be quiet. Go deal with him.”

“I mean it, Beth. Back off.” He took his hand back and jogged over, leaving her in his wake.

His dad stood in the alley swinging a lead pipe, screaming at one of the cooks. His hair stuck up in patches. His eyes were wild, leaving behind any hope of calm any time soon. His clothes were disheveled and his left forearm had a cut that was bleeding pretty heavily.

“Carl, calm down,” the cook reasoned. “There ain’t no need for this. Someone’s gonna call the cops.”

“Go on ahead and call ’em. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to!” He moved in with that pipe, swinging it at the cook’s head.

Joe stepped between them, grabbing the pipe and yanking. His father stumbled back as he lost his grip and then he rushed Joe, head down, straight into his belly.

They burst into the restaurant as people dived from the way. The moment was eerily similar to some of the experiences he’d had in Iraq, and his world, the then and the now, shifted slightly, sending him off balance in more ways than one.

But he didn’t have time for any of it. He had to deal with this before it got any worse.

Nathan and Royal approached, ready to help. Joe couldn’t think about where Beth was or what she thought. His father was already bleeding. Joe had no idea if he was injured in any other way.

Carl went sprawling backward as Joe was able to get his feet, to stop the movement of his dad’s attack.

People tried to help, but it only made things worse as his father’s panic seemed to grow and grow.

The yelling, punctuated by a scream here and there made Joe’s head hurt.

“Dad. Stop.” He kept his voice calm, his hands open. Trying to get his father to focus on him, to see it was all right to let go of this rage.