“You looked like you might,” Eliza added.
“No one would have blamed you,” Lucy said.
“I have alibis,” Spencer offered with a grin, breaking the tension.
She let out a short laugh. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
I stayed quiet, watching her. “You okay?” I finally asked.
She gave me a look. “Do you even need to ask?”
“I’ll always ask.”
“I know. You’re always here when I need you.” Her expression softened, barely. “Thanks for not jumping in.”
“You didn’t need me to. You had it covered.”
That pulled a breathy laugh out of her. Not quite amused, but close enough. “He’s just so—ugh.”
“I know.”
“Do you think there’s a planet somewhere where men like that turn into frogs instead of middle-aged, deadbeat, cheating assholes?”
“I can only hope. But hey,” I added. “I’ll send him to another planet whenever you want. Just say the word and I’ll handle him.”
She sighed, nodding her thanks to me, then looked at her sisters. “Sorry, guys.”
Piper just waved her off. “Please. We were one dramatic moment away from storming in like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Murder Charges.”
“Maybe tomorrow I can get through the night without needing a rage fest and a court-appointed mediator,” Paige muttered.
“This will be over soon,” Piper said, as they all turned back toward the door. “By the way, I called Ren; he’s on it. That asshole will not be taking the house. Get that worry right out of your mind.”
“Thanks.” She looped her arm through Piper’s. “Talking to Ren is probably better than committing murder.”
The cool night air followed us in as the kitchen door swung open and we filtered back into the warm, noisy light of the tavern. The jukebox, as if sensing the all-clear, picked up in the middle of “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”.Glasses clinked. Chairs scraped. Conversations slowly returned to normal.
By the time I sat down again with my brothers, Paige was back behind the bar like nothing had happened, the servers were making their rotations, and Jasper was pouring drinks.
“Is she going to be okay?” Tucker asked. “That was bad.”
“She will be.” I shrugged, trying to downplay my worry for her, running a thumb along the condensation of my glass. “She always is.” But the words felt less certain than I wanted, less reassuring than I’d intended. Around us, the tavern buzzed as everyone went back to their evening.
I watched her from across the room as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at someone at the bar. It wasn’t a big smile. Not her real one. But it was enough to make me stay put—for now.
She caught me looking and gave the tiniest shake of her head, like she knew exactly what I was doing and was too tired to argue about it. And then she moved on to the next customer and returned to work.
I stayed where I was, beer in hand, letting Spencer and Deacon argue over ranch versus blue cheese on wings while I kept an eye on her.
When closing time rolled around, the tavern’s energy had faded to a gentle murmur. The regulars trickled out with nods and waves, the last glasses were stacked, and the bar lights flickered low. I said goodbye to my brothers, then started stacking chairs on tables while Paige finished tallying the register—her movements were precise and practiced, eyes focused anywhere but on me.
She clicked the lock on the door and gave me a tight smile. “You don’t have to help. I got this,” she said, voice quiet but clear. The way she straightened her shoulders made it obvious: she wanted space, not comfort.
“You know I do,” I insisted.
“Okay. Thank you…” she whispered.
I watched her for a moment, wanting to bridge the distance but knowing better than to push. There was a rawness in her eyes, a tension in her posture that told me tonight wasn’t the night for easy reassurances or clumsy gestures. Instead, I just nodded, stacking the last chair and letting the quiet settle between us like a fragile truce. We moved through the familiar motions of closing up—her wiping down the bar, me checking the back door—each of us careful to keep our words light and our distance respectable, as if any sudden move might shatter what little calm we’d managed to reclaim.
