Free Julia's Journey (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 2) by T.I. Lowe Page A

she
asks and the dude balks at her with a stern eye roll.
    “ Sweethea’t , do I look like I’d
know that?”
    “A girl can hope,” she flirts while batting her prissy
eyelashes at him. This makes me roll my eyes.
    “All’s you need to know is eat it.” He cuts me a sharp look.
“Stop stahvin yah lady, pal.”
    I hold my hands up. “I’m with you on that, bro.”
    “You want a laga ’ to go with
that?”
    I pipe in before Julia can answer. “Nah,
man. Just water would be great.”
    Without another word, the guy, Sully, leaves us—never once
offering a menu or anything. He’s rude in a fun way and I’m getting a kick out
of it.
    “I’m in love with him,” Julia teases, making us both laugh.
It feels good, too. She’s over the somber mood from earlier.
    Sully brings back the clam chowder almost instantly and
tosses the cups in front of us without spilling a drop somehow. He then brings
back two glasses of water, and plops them down too.
    The cup of creamy soup is making my mouth water. “Thanks,
man. This looks great.”
    “I’ll be back with the rest of you’s food.” He points to Julia sternly. “You be ready to eat.”
    After the waiter disappears, Julia slaps the thick wooden
table top with enthusiasm. “He used R!” We both crack up at this.
    “I think the rule is to only use R at the beginning of a
word,” I say as I grab Julia’s hand and bow my head. “Thank you dear Lord for
this life and this special woman before me. Please bless this food to the
nourishment of our bodies. Amen.” I let go of Julia’s hand, and without meeting
her gaze, I tear into the rich chowder. It’s thick and creamy and I find myself
trying to slow down and really enjoy it.
    I notice her staring at me, but I ignore it. I let out a
sigh of relief when she finally lifts the spoon, taking a small taste test. “Is
that oil or butter I detect?”
    I’ve already put about half my chowder away. I shrug my
shoulder. “Probably both. It’s sinfully good.”
    Julia eats all of two bites before dumping the rest into my
cup.
    “What are you doing?” I ask, but already know.
    “Just help me out and eat it. That man scares me. Who knows
what he’s gonna force me to eat next.” She shivers as
though the idea repulses her. This is Julia, so I guess it does.
    Sully brings more food than we can possibly eat. As he
slings the plates down he rambles off the lunch items. “ Lobstah rolls. Baked beans. Onion rings. Clams.”
    “Wow. How good is this stuff?” I ask in awe. “Is it just
good or w—?”
    “It’s wicked good.
Now don’t be a chowdahead and make me say it again.”
He walks away.
    I pop a fried clam in my mouth as I look over at Julia.
“Wicked good,” I comment, making her laugh.
    She turns serious as she inspects the food. “Ugh. I can’t
eat any of this.”
    “Why not?” I ask around a mouthful of lobster roll. It’s buttery
goodness.
    “Everything is slathered in fat.” Julia pushes the plate my
way while looking around for the waiter.
    “I can’t eat all of this, Thorton .”
    “Just eat what you can, honey. I don’t want Sully to scold
us,” she says full of tease.
    “I will if you take one bite of the lobster and eat one
clam.” I’m bartering with her like she’s a child. It frustrates me to no end
that she just won’t eat. She finally agrees to my demand, so I let it go and
dig in.
    By the time I roll out of the tavern, I feel nearly drunk
with the food overload. The closer we get back to the RV, the sicker I feel
myself get. Dizziness and nausea is rolling over me with such force that I
cannot even answer anything Julia asks. I’m not really clear on what she’s
saying anyway. All I can focus on is keeping the food down and getting to the
campground. I climb in the driver’s seat and cringe with the knowledge that
it’s going to take forty minutes to get to the campground. I don’t think I have
even twenty minutes, but I give it all I’ve got.