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“That’s too bad. I’d like to lift the skirt of your dress and bend—”
“Enough, Jude.” The redhead’s voice cut through the dulcet tones of Clapton like a gunshot.
In sync, every head in the dancehall turned toward her and Jude on the dance floor. No one wanted to miss a single juicy tidbit.
“No, it’s not,” Jude hissed. He tugged her close and kissed her like she was his reason for breathing.
For a moment, it looked like she was into it, grabbing Jude’s lapels and sinking into the kiss. Until she jerked away from him and slapped him hard across the face. The wedding guests gasped. Jude stumbled back, landing on his ass. The woman flipped her long hair out of her eyes, wiped her lips, and stormed toward the exit. People jumped out of her way, not daring to slow down her retreat.
“Shit,” Atley muttered, and he stepped past me to help Jude up off the ground.
Atley
Finally, the wedding reception was over.
Inside the dancehall, the event staff hired for tonight was finishing cleanup. The caterer had left about half an hour ago, and Melvin and Wanda an hour before that along with the last of their guests.
It felt like days, not hours, ago I had poured drunk Jude into a sheriff’s deputy’s car for a ride home after the incident on the dance floor. Poor bastard. He would hate himself in the morning.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired.” Rae flopped into the folding chair next to me. She’d started with the wedding setup around noon, and it was hedging toward one am.
“After The Stomp,” Wilson offered.
“True.” Cami kicked off her shoes and groaned in either pain or ecstasy.
“No, this is worse. High heels and too much wine.” Rae tipped her head back and looked up at the fairy lights strung in the oak trees.
“Here, this will help.” Gabe passed her and me each a tumbler with a large shot of whiskey in it.
Jameson handed Wilson and Cami glasses and took a seat on the other side of the circle. We sat almost exactly where the charcuterie display had been during the cocktail party. The faint aroma of cheese and olives lingered in the air or my imagination.
We’d all had more than enough to drink during the party, but we’d earned this one. I shrugged and took a sip of the booze.
“To Rae. Big sister, the first wedding at Blue Star was a five out of five stars.” Wilson stood and lifted his whiskey.
“It wasn’t a big—”
I nudged her hip, and she stood with a sigh.
“Take a bow,” I told her, and after a brief pause, she did. It was silly and overly dramatic. I loved it. Eh, I loved everything about her. Silly or serious.
“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it alone.” She blushed slightly, but the big smile on her face proved how she loved the praise.
“To many more!” Gabe raised his glass.
“Hear, hear,” Jameson chimed in, and we all joined him. Glasses clinked around our small circle.
Rae sat, and a precious silence descended on our group. The sound of crickets and a cow lowing in the distance were a welcome change from the music and noise of the party.
This was the perfect time to do this. These were the people I wanted to tell my news to. I stood; this wasn’t something a man did sitting down. I cleared my throat, and everyone looked at me.
My throat was so tight I had to force my words out. “It’s time to make it official.”
Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out a letter I’d been carrying around since the second closing on Coyote Ridge fell apart. I told myself I’d give it to Wilson as soon as the ranch was mine. My check had gone to the buyers three days ago. The deal was done.
It was a bittersweet moment to give up all I’d accomplished at Blue Star. Starting over at a new place that was all mine and Rae’s was a mix of exciting and daunting. All opportunities in life were like that. Staying safe never got you anywhere. And with Rae at my side, we could do anything we put our minds to.
Wilson raised an eyebrow and held out a hand. He knew. I handed him the resignation letter. We’d talked about it. This was all a formality.
