Page 56 of Cannon
“I would love a sweet tea. And I’m Jesse Franks. I don’t think we’ve met,” Jesse held her hand out, and the woman stuck her hand over the bar to shake.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ryanne but friends call me Ry. I think you and I are going to be friends.”
Jesse smiled because she loved Ry’s attitude. She took her glass and started to turn.
“Hey, she gets to call you Ry but I still have to call you Ryanne. What the heck?” Hennessy groused.
Ry chuckled. “We’re co-workers. Friends don’t rubberband the carbonated water sprayer open and then turn it off at the base. When I turned it on, it soaked me and my last clean pair of jeans.”
Hennessy huffed. “I said I was sorry. It’s a rite of passage to be pranked by me, Ryanne. Besides, maybe you should do laundry more often.”
Jesse chuckled and walked away. The way Hennessy emphasized her name was hysterical. She wondered what bet he’d lost again because he was wearing the pink Nelson’s shirt with the phraseAsk Me Why I’m Wearing Thison the back.
Jesse walked back over and sat down by Cannon. “You ready for this?”
He turned toward her with the scruff on his face and his ever-present hat on his head. He slid his hand along her face and into her hair, pulling her closer.
“Yes. With you, I’m good.”
He turned his hat around so he could get close to her lips. She didn’t care where she was or who was around. Her life was the one she’d always wanted. The only thing she needed a little more of was sleep and Cannon’s lips kissing her.
Catcalls had Cannon pulling back. Then turning his hat back around.
“Awww shut up. You’re just jealous,” he yelled.
“Welcome to our first annual Halloween Karaoke at Nelson’s. Now a couple of ground rules. Throwing anything at the singers or stage, no matter how bad their performance, is prohibited. I need Quinton to be able to cover the bar tomorrow for me, not be in the hospital,” Whiskey said, chuckling. “Now, let’s give a round of applause to our first act—The Franks Sisters withWaterloo.”
Jesse ran up to join the stage with her sisters. Sarah was standing there blushing.
“Do you think he’ll be mad?” Sarah asked.
“You mean, that you not only told us the victory dance he did after you had sex the first time but then showed us the moves for our karaoke number? Oh definitely,” Beth said.
“Guys, let’s just sway back and forth then instead of doing what I taught you,” Sarah suggested.
Jesse and her sisters all nodded, but she knew none of them were changing the number. If Scoop couldn’t take a little teasing from the sisters, he shouldn’t be in the family.
They got in line and nodded to have Hennessy start the backup music. They took turns singing the words. When they got to the middle part, they all sang and started swinging their hips while doing what Jesse would call theSaturday Night Feverarm moves. Between singing and dancing, Jesse still made sure she could see Scoop’s face when they started doing his moves. He was blushing, then leaned down and banged his head on the table before sitting up and smiling. He stood as they got close to the end and walked to the stage in front of Sarah. As soon as they finished, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, giving her rear a smack. He sat back down at their table and held her in his lap.
The crowd roared, and a couple of the guys slapped Scoop on the back. Jesse grinned and headed back to sit down by Cannon, Ellie, her sons, Lyle and Richy, and Vivi. The Nelson cousins went on the stage, all nine of them dressed in the bar’s pink t-shirts. The music started and Hennessy sang first. They were singingPinkby Lizzo but every time they should sing,hey Barbie, they were replacing the words with the different cousin’s names. The laughter from the audience was almost louder than their singing. Hennessy jumped off the stage toward the end with a microphone and came closer, singing to Vivi. Jesse giggled right along with everyone else.
When they finished, Ellie’s sons were sneering at Hennessy. Hennessy looked at them, cocking his eyebrow. When they didn’t answer, he leaned closer.
“What’s the sneer for?”
“Real men don’t wear pink,” Lyle said.
“It’s not tough. You’re a pussy,” Richy said.
“Richy, don’t use that word,” Ellie said.
“Dad said you’re just a gash,” Richy replied.
“Hey, we don’t allow men to disrespect women, and you’re old enough to know better. Now, a couple of points. Anyone who says ‘real men’ doesn’t know what a man is. Men come in all shapes, color, sizes, and temperaments. I wear pink because what I wear doesn’t define me as a man. It means I’m having fun with my family. Now, you both can stay for the rest of karaoke and continue to enjoy the snacks if you apologize to your mom.”
Jesse waited, watching the boys look at each other. Then Lyle looked back at Hennessy.
“What are you going to do if we don’t apologize?” Lyle asked. Hennessy glanced behind the boys and then back at them.