I shake my head mid-sip. “Don’t blame me,” I say, even though we all know who it was.
Jane laughs. “Oddly enough, Patty, I donotthink you flew out mid-tour just to bartend a wedding. It was your brother. I guess they had quite the conversation, and it gave her the push she needed.”
I’m trying to imagine what kind of conversation they could have had. Sean gives the best bartending therapy out there,but after what happened to him, he doesn’t get in the way of relationships. Ever.
“Well, good for her,” Lou says.
“Agreed,” Jane says. And then something in her tone shifts. “And here’s where the random comes in. Tripp and I were wondering how you’d feel if she stayed at the house with you and Ash during the baseball season. She’ll be in Phoenix for Spring Training in March, but she wants to be close to Mullet Ridge for this first season so she can get the operation under control. There’ll only be a few weeks of overlap when you’re back from the first leg of your tour and Parker gets married, and there’s plenty of room, but we wanted to run it by you before offering it to her. I think all y’all would really get along.”
“Nice use of ‘all y’all,’” Lou says, but it sounds routine, half-hearted. Then I see her straighten and pull her shoulders back, and she gives a firm nod. “I adore Kayla. Tell her she can move in for as long as she wants. It’ll be great to have her there.”
Jane pauses. “Are you sure? Alicia, look at Lou for me. Is she sure?”
“I’m sure!” Lou says.
“She’s sure,” Alicia echoes.
But Jane asked the wrong person. Where Alicia sees a firm nod, I see a wall going up. Holding her head high, pulling her shoulders back, and pushing out emotion.
“Okay. I’ll tell Tripp so he can extend the offer to Kayla. Thanks, LJ.”
“Anytime, J. I need to hop in the shower, but we’ll chat soon. Tell me what Kayla says.”
“I will. Love you.”
“You too.”
Lou hangs up the call and stands like she’s got no cares in the world, like her stick straight spine isn’t a dead giveaway that she’s struggling with having Kayla move in. Tripp’s grandpaowned a huge house across the river from downtown Sugar Maple, and I know it has more than enough space for each of those women to have their own room. I’ve never met Kayla Carville, but there’s no way Jane would bring up something like this if there was even a chance she thought it would make things hard for Lou or one of their friends. The Janes’ loyalty runs deep and fierce.
So why is Lou upset?
Lou excuses herself to go to her suite, and I find myself watching her. Nothing new. I’m always watching her.
When she’s gone and Alicia’s back to work, I sit in the kitchenette and finish my coffee while I text Sean.
PATTY
So, Kayla Carville, huh?
SEAN
What are you talking about?
PATTY
The girl you met at the Sugar Maple farms wedding. I didn’t even realize you’d worked it.
SEAN
Ash told Dad and me the wedding was for a friend, so I wanted to make sure it was done right. We didn’t have a game that day, so it wasn’t a big deal.
I feel a twinge of guilt that I’m the reason Sean was tending bar that night. He shouldn’t have to worry about the bar at all during hockey season. That responsibility—that burden—is part of what I’ve tried to take away from him, even if he insists he likes being there with Dad and me. At least when I’m there, I know his presence at the bar is by choice. But we hired anotherbartender full time to replace me, so I thought it would take the pressure off him. Nothing I do seems to take the pressure off Sean, though. Sometimes, I worry I’m only making it worse.
SEAN
But what is this about Kayla?
PATTY
