Her eyes move to the crowd, looking for someone to come to her defense. There are no takers.
“One last thing.” I poke her beneath the shoulder blade. “Alex might marry you and you may even get to have the wedding of your dreams. But you’ll have to go to bed with him every night knowing I’ve been there first.” I drop my voice to a whisper so only she can hear. “And you’ll wonder, is he focused on you? Or is he remembering and wishing it was me?”
She flinches. Her mouth twists in a sour expression. Paige surges forward to stand between us. The disappointment in her eyes fuels my anger. Cadence already has Alex. Paige cannot choose her, too. I couldn’t stand it.
She shakes her silver-blond head. “Enough.”
She’s right. I’ve had enough. Why can’t she just be on my side? “I’m sorry I keep ruining your parties.” I take a step back.
“Oh, Charlie…” Her brow knits. “I…” She can’t finish the sentence, so I leave her to stand with her Maid of Honor.
The crowd parts wordlessly as I move through them. I grab my purse from the back of my chair and don’t stop until I’ve hit the high ceilings of the country club’s lobby. A loud jangling and the click-clack, click-clack of pointy stilettos staccato behind me. Patsy, Brook, and Jolene are running to catch up with me.
“Y’all don’t have to leave the party.” I wipe away the wetness leaking from each eye.
Jolene presses me into her ample bosom. “We’re family.”
“We stick together,” adds Patsy, kissing the side of my head.
“That’s right.” Brook wraps her arms around the three of us.
I feel faint from the heady excess of imposter perfume, but for the first time today, I feel like I belong.
Brook squeezes us tightly. “Everything’s gonna be okay, baby.”
Patsy rests her cheek on my head. “Mmmm-hmmm. Besides, you’re our ride.”
It’s amazing how fast laughter can interfere with sadness. I smile into the warmth of Jolene’s embrace. This is what family is for.
Chapter Ten
Twenty Days Until Carl Knocks Over the Champagne Tower
There’s no sight more unpleasant than the view of Willy’s hairy-ass as he leans over the beer cooler. “Ma!” he calls, dumping a bag of ice inside.
Jolene emerges from her trailer. It’s permanently parked on the other side of Patsy’s and close enough to Daddy’s you could spit on it. I know because the boys have hosted an annual competition to see whose spit can come closest each year. They’ve dubbed it
The Spit Jump
.
“What?” Jolene, three fishing rods in hand, comes to stand beside her son.
“You pick up that case of Nat Light for today?”
“It’s in the cooler.” It should be noted that Jolene calls all coolant devises, ‘the cooler.’ The window a/c?
“Turn off the cooler! What’d you think, I’m made of money?”
The freezer?
“Grab me one of them chuck roasts out the cooler.”
The cold tap?
“Get me some water from the cooler. I’m fixin’ to make some sweet-tea.”
Willy leaves in search of his beer and I head back inside to grab my own rod. My family goes fishing over at Martin Creek the first Sunday of every month. Well, technically Paige hasn’t been in years and I haven’t gone out since April, but the boys, the aunts, and Daddy get out there regularly. The fiasco at the engagement party has only strengthened our family bond. My father was so upset on hearing that Paige didn’t stand in my defense he threw the clicker clear across the living room. Both Willy and Wendell offered to egg Cadence’s car for me. I declined, and Wade, ever refined, wondered if I’d consider them breaking into her house to douse her wardrobe in deer urine.
I’ll admit, that one gave me pause.
A truck pulls up to the trailer. A big truck with a big driver behind the wheel.
Great, this is just what I need.
“Daddy,” I call, watching out the window.
“Yeah?” He pads noiselessly down the hallway in his slippers.
“Did you invite Luke to join us?”
“Yeah.”
I bend my head in frustration. “Why?”
My father falls back into his recliner and slips off the house shoes. He grabs a pair of fishing waders from the side of the chair and shoves his feet inside. “I ran into him at the field yesterday. He mentioned he hadn’t been fishin’ in a while, so I invited him to come along.”
“No. Nuh-uh. You are not getting off that easy.” I wag my finger in his direction. “I told you, Luke and I are just going to be friends.”
“You’ve only been on one date. Sometimes these things take a few tries before they stick.” He heaves himself up and grabs a ball cap from the counter.
“Daddy,” I warn.
Exasperated, he turns to me. “I just don’t want you saying no to something before you’ve given it a proper try.”
I open my mouth but he talks over me.
“Just give the poor man a chance to prove his worth. That’s all I’m asking.”
I roll my eyes but nod in submission. I suppose I can play along for the day. I follow him outside and help load the equipment and a half dozen ice chests between the three pickups parked in the street. Luke sends me furtive glances when he thinks I’m not looking and I do my best to appear not to notice.
“Now who the hell’s that?” Barry fits his hand over his eyes like a visor.
A dark, sleek and shiny blue sedan kicks up dust along the side of the road as it slowly winds its way toward us.
“What’d you do now?” Patsy asks her son, obviously believing the luxury sedan belongs to law enforcement.
“I didn’t do nothin’, I swear.” Barry scratches his chest.
As the car turns onto our street a tingle crawls up my spine. I know that car.
Nearly every member of my family has craned their neck in his direction. Alex exits and removes a pair of black sunglasses, seemingly undaunted by the twelve sets of blue eyes focused on him.
He comes dangerously close to spitting distance from me. “Hi.”
I search his face for some clue as to why he’s come. “What’re you doing here?”
“Can we talk?” He looks around us, smiling politely at my family. “Maybe somewhere a little more private?”
The temptation to throw him to the wolves, or in this case, a half dozen rednecks in camouflage, is tempting, but I don’t want my father hearing whatever Alex has come here to say. I lead him into my childhood home, turning to face him once we’re inside the cool quiet of the living room.
He stands silently, taking me in.
Uncomfortable and upset by his presence, I cross my arms over my chest. “How’d you find me here?”
“I struck a deal with your neighbor. Your dad’s address for a lock of my hair.” His finger hovers around a point on the top back of his scalp.
“You might come out on the losing side of that deal. I hear Amber’s a mean hand at a casting a curse.”
“I’m not too worried about it.”
“I would be if I were you.” I tap my boot on the floor. “I’m a woman scorned and Amber owes me for about four dozen cinnamon roles. You might be bald by the time you get back to Dallas.”
He smiles, too playfully, and I turn half away from him, not wanting to participate in any more lighthearted banter. “What do you want, Alex?”
I watch him drag a hand across his face and scratch his chin in irritation from the corner of my eye. “That,” he says, pausing, “is a loaded question.”
Annoyed, I hug myself tighter and look directly at him. “Then allow me to rephrase. Why the hell are you here?”
“I heard about what happened between you and Cadence and I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
I huff, aggravated. “If that’s why you’re here you shouldn’t have bothered. My issues with Cadence go back long before you.”
He nods in agreement and seems reluctant to say whatever he’s come to say.
“Listen, we’re headed out so--”
“I miss you.”
White-hot anger stabs me in the gut. How dare he show up at my house, in front of my family, and stir things up again. I walk around him to the kitchen, needing space between us.
“Charlie…”
“Don’t you dare,” I verge on yelling but hold back, speaking between clenched teeth. “You’ve got some balls to show up and say you miss me after everything you’ve put me through.”
Alex moves toward me and into the kitchen, his head bowed slightly. “I know.”
“Do you, Alex? Do you really know what you’ve done to me?”
His eyes look dull and older. It fills me with unhappiness. “Just get out, leave before you make things any worse. If that’s possible.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.” He fixes me with a defiant stare. “I’ve messed things up for everybody, and I just… I want to try and make things right.”
“Well you’ve picked a bad day I’m afraid. See, me and my
kin folk--
” I use my best country drawl, “--are headed out to snag us some catfish for dinner. I’m sure a prep-school boy like yourself doesn’t know the first thing about fishing.”
“You’re right, I don’t. Maybe you could teach me.”
I scowl at him. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. See, I promised my sister no more cat-fights with her Maid of Honor, so you and me? We’re going to have to say our goodbyes here. Now.”
Alex stands immovable at the entrance of the kitchen, blocking my path to the front door. “You’ve got a habit of running out on me--”
“Ha!”
“--and I’m not letting you do it again.”
I place my hands on my hips and stare him down. “At least I’m not standing still, waiting for someone else to plan out my life for me.”
We glare at each other, neither of us willing to back down. The front door squeaks open and Brook pokes her head inside. “I don’t mean to rush you, but it’s getting’ on eight o’clock and those fish aren’t going to bite all day.”
Alex crosses his arms over his broad chest. His crisp white shirt, navy suit pants, and shiny black leather dress shoes officially make him the sharpest dresser to have ever stepped foot in this trailer.
A spark of pure evil ignites inside my mind. “Tell the boys to make room for one more,” I say to Brook. “Mr. Ramirez has just contracted our services for the day. We’re going to show him how to have fun. Harlow style.”
A flicker of uncertainty passes behind his eyes before he smiles at me. “Can’t wait.”
I run my hand across that gloriously hard chest of his as I walk around him. I can feel his muscles tense beneath my fingers. “Well then, let’s get this party started, Cowboy.”
To my utter disappointment, Alex has turned out to be a quick learner when it comes to fishing. He didn’t even flinch when I handed him a Cool Whip container full of worms and told him to practice baiting. And when Barry accidentally squirted Bass Feast Smelly Jelly down the front of Alex’s pristine button-up, he didn’t bat an eye. Just laughed it off and stripped down to his undershirt. He smells like death but still looks absolutely gorgeous out here on the lake.
The jerk.
I didn’t want to end up anywhere near Alex so as soon as the boys started buddying-up, I shoved him in Wade’s direction and drug Luke to my boat. I’m still a little sore over how unruffled he was about the Smelly Jelly. I thought I could count on Wade to properly gross him out. But floating across the water from them for the past hour has shot that theory to shit. The two are practically best friends now.
At least choosing Luke as my fishing buddy is getting a rise out of him. He’s paying more attention to our boat than he is to his catch. Not that it’s hindered his haul any.
I look at my one pathetic Black Crappie and flinch. Alex has already caught two Big Mouth Bass and an eight-pound Catfish.
I bet all the fish he’s catching are girl fish. I bet they’re literally dying to die at his feet.
The jackass.
“Woo-wee, we got another one!” Wade readies the net for Alex’s newest catch.
I look down at my own unlucky rod and slowly pull in the line to cast again.
“Here.” Luke passes me a beer. We’re sitting back to back in the old canoe Daddy bought me when I was ten.
I shoot Wade a hateful glare.
It’s not just Wade, though. Patsy, Brook, Jolene, Barry, his brother Carl, Wendell, Walter, Willy, and Wayne have all gone out of their way to make Alex feel welcome. The first time in my life I counted on them being hillbillies and they act damn near civilized.
Traitors.
Luke nudges me with his shoulder. “You okay?”
I cast my line. “Yeah.” I lean against him, tired from holding my stiff-backed position for too long.
“You can talk to me, Charlie. We’ve known each other since we were little kids.”
“I know but this is…different.”
“Ah.” Luke arches his neck back, searching the sky. “Because you’re in love with him and don’t feel comfortable discussing it with me?”
My heartbeat quickens significantly. “Luke…”
“It’s all right. Shoot, I could tell it the minute you two saw one another. You wanna tell me what happened to put you in this state?”
I turn the reel in my hand. “Not really.”
“Alright.”
We sit quietly for several minutes. One of the best things about country boys is their ability to sit still and listen. Luke’s a world-class listener. I’m sure he’d rather put the skill to use sitting on a duck blind, but I’m grateful for his versatility. He’s such a good man. Why couldn’t I have fallen in love with him? Life would be so much simpler.
Jolene calls everyone back to land for lunch. Luke hands me his rod and turns to row us in. He stops short of putting the paddles in the water. “I know it’s not any of my business, but you’re a great girl and you deserve someone who’s going to treat you right.”
I swallow with difficulty, moved by his words. “Thank you.”
He nods, saying no more, and rows.
Alex, Wade and Wendell pull up beside us. As I grab the side of the boat to hop out, Alex takes my hand. The unexpected connection jolts me and I lose my balance. I’m headed face-first for the lake muck when strong arms close around me. I’m only off my feet a few seconds but it feels like an eternity by the time he sets me gently on the soft grass.
“Careful.” His arms are still cradling me.