Page 104 of Chasin’s Surrender

“Suck at what?” Macy pushed.

“At making friends. I don’t want y’all to like Vivi Rush, I want y’all to like me.”

Bobby’s eyes widened—maybe in horror that I’d just made an ass out of myself, or maybe in shock that I’d told the truth. Whichever it was, I didn’t think it was a good look.

“You want us to like you?” Silver sputtered.

“Don’t mind her.” Bobby stepped in. “You’ll get used to it. For a country music phenomenon, she has some serious self-esteem issues.”

“I do not,” I clipped.

“Uh, yeah, ya do. You’re kinda crazy.”

“I’m not crazy,” I defended, even though I probably was a little crazy.

But I didn’t want these women to know straightaway that I was nuts.

I heard McKenna, Kennedy, and Macy start to laugh and my stomach started to feel funny.

“Great. Now they think I’m crazy because my best friend told them I was.”

“What? They should know what they’re getting into.”

“You didn’t just say that,” I hissed.

Silver’s very loud laughter garnered the attention of the men who were huddled around the grill.

Great.

“Girl, you fit right in,” Silver said when she wrangled her hilarity in. “There’s not a single one of us that’s normal. So it’s a relief to know you’re as crazy as the rest of us. I was a little worried when we all had dinner together we’d have to be on our best behavior so we didn’t make you want to run a mile. Chasin would’ve killed us if we scared you off.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m totally normal,” Kennedy protested.

“Really? You are?” Silver challenged. “Normal people don’t stand in their driveways brandishing a shotgun threatening to shoot someone’s truck.”

“Um, yeah they do, when the owner of that truck is trying to steal their land.”

Next to me Macy started shaking with humor. “That’s a true story,” she told me. “And don’t let Silver fool you with her sweet face and pretty eyes. She’s arguably crazier than all of us. Weston had to rescue her from the hull of a ship. But when he got her, she’d freed herself and threw a brick of cocaine at his head. It broke up and well dusted everything in white powder.”

My mouth dropped open and when I recovered I wheezed, “What?”

“It was nothing,” Silver said.

Nothing? Maybe she was crazy.

“Come on, we’ve got a lot to catch the two of you up on and Chasin’s already giving us dirty looks. So I figure we have ten minutes at most before he claims you and we have to stop talking,” McKenna shared.

Scarily, I might add.

She led the group to a picnic table and we all filed in.

As soon as my ass hit the bench, McKenna started. “I’ll go first since I was first, then Kennedy, then Silver, then Macy. When we’re done, you can fill us in. The rule is, you don’t leave anything out. We want all the juicy deets.”

I glanced to my right and found Bobby smiling like a loon.

“Why are you smiling like that? She…” I jabbed my finger at Silver, “threw a brick of cocaine at Weston. I don’t think there’s anything to smile at.”

“I know. I think next to you, Silver might be my new favorite person. Though the standing in your driveway with a shotgun is badass.” Bobby acknowledged Kennedy. “So it’s a toss-up. But I’m reserving the second favorite spot until I hear McKenna and Macy’s stories.”