Ty laughed, strumming a random chord on his guitar. “Silly girl. Never say you ain’t hungry if a Delisle’s doing the cooking.”

LJ opened the front door for her. “Here, why don’t you go inside and cool off? See you in a second.”

“Sure, okay.” She bit the inside of her lip, then forced another smile for everyone as she went inside. She’d missed the sound of his voice so much, had actually been looking forward to how much richer it might be when he was home and relaxed. Instead his inflections were northern-university flat and precise.

The door closed, leaving her alone in a small kitchen with barn-red cabinets and an upright piano tucked into the corner across from the oven. Chicago Cubs pennants hung from two of the walls, and a fan on the table blew tepid air across her skin, only making her sweat more.

Outside, a low male voice said, “Damn, LJ. No wonder you weren’t in a hurry to come home.”

Laughter broke out. “Is that how the girls look up in Montana? Because I could get on up there and ride some horses. How hard can it be? I’ll ride them horses all night long.”

There was the sound of a smack and more laughter.

“Y’all get on out of here before you scare her off,” LJ said, his accent rolling low and sweet through his words again. She closed her eyes and just listened.

“Yeah, I had my money on you being back before Halloween, but now I’m gonna bump it out to Mardi Gras.”

Her forehead creased. Had he told them he was moving to Montana for only a few months, or were they making assumptions?

“Has Mama D met her?” a baritone voice asked. “She’s been talking to my mom for weeks, telling her all about LJ’s girl, saying maybe he was going to give her some grandbabies. Bet you didn’t tell her you were just messing around with a white girl up there.”

Andra flinched, her hands curling into fists, her arms feeling intensely bare.

“Don’t be a jerk, Reggie.” Tash’s voice sounded even smaller in the silence. “Just because she’s not from the Lower Ninth don’t mean he can’t be serious about her. Maybe he wants somebody he has more in common with.”

A loud snort. “Right. Because since he went to college, he’s too good for the ladies round here? Maybe you ought to have more respect for yourself, Tash.”

“Hey!” LJ’s voice snapped out. “You watch who the fuck you’re talking to right now.”

“Hey, hey, hey . . .” That sounded like Ty, though the tones were more placating than they’d been earlier. “LJ! Come on, man.”