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Doug Windley was not team Keatsy, as someone had decided to call us, the stupid nickname sticking so fast, we couldn’t get away from it. A shock to no one, Doug had redoubled his efforts after the assault at the car wash, the town up in arms as a result. Between that and the hold on the project while we addressed the laundry list of inspection requirements and refiled our permits, there were moments of deep concern that we wouldn’t get back in the air again. But Daisy, ever the optimist, never let the thought last long before steering us back to the sunny side, always on the sunny side.
The Patsy Cline song came to an end, and with a sigh, Daisy leaned back.
“Nope,” I said. “I’m keeping you. They’re gonna have to sing without you.”
She laughed, winding her arms around my neck. “You’d be willing to fight Jo for me?”
“Darlin’, I’d fight dragons for you.”
“Is Jo a dragon?”
“Absolutely yes.”
Another laugh, and she rose on her tiptoes to kiss me before I had to let her go, though I held onto her hand until her fingertips had slid from mine.
When I finally broke my gaze from her, it was to find half the town smiling at me with dopey looks on their faces. But as I waved them off and told them the show was over, I had on a dopey smile of my own. There was just no helping it these days.
I headed for the bar, and beer in hand, I stood at the edge of the dance floor and watched her up on stage. Every minute was a wonder, and I soaked them up like sand greedy for water.
“So. Daisy Blum,” Mitchell said from my elbow.
And just like that, the cheer drained out of me as if it had never been.
Disappointment hung thick in the air between us. His face was hard and weathered beneath a spotless dove-white Stetson, his steely eyes on the stage, hooded by heavy brows. Once upon a time, I’d watched that man walk down an aisle toward me with my future wife on his arm.
“Yessir,” I said with deference, my stomach twisting.
“Of all the women in this town, you picked her.” The slight shake of his head was of disgust. “Do you have any idea what trouble they’ve caused me? Our family?”
I didn’t miss his inflection on the word our.
“Sir, with all respect, I didn’t have much of a choice, not when it comes to her.”
“Don’t lie to me, boy. I might be old, but I’m no fool—you made a choice. I just cannot comprehend why you’d want her.”
The way he said it, like she was tainted and unclean, had my hand squeezed to a fist.
“I didn’t expect you to mourn forever, Keaton,” he continued. “Mandy’s been gone a long time. You should move on. But not like this. Not with her. Mandy wouldn’t have approved.”
My heart thumped in my ears, pulsed in my neck. “I don’t presume to know what Mandy would have thought, but I’d like to believe she loved me enough to give her blessing in what made me happy.”
He harrumphed, still glaring in the direction of the Blums. “I’d like to believe she’d choose the welfare of her family over whatever tail you’re like to chase.”
I shifted to look him full-on. “I’d be careful what you say about her, sir.”
He turned his hawkish gaze on me. “And I’d be careful what you say to me. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, son. Her aside,” he jerked his head in Daisy’s direction, “you’re playin’ a dangerous game, taking on this homeless shelter when half the town wants it shut down. I’d be hard pressed to find somebody on that side of things who’d be willing to hire you next time they need work done.”
“If there are people in this town who would boycott me for helping the homeless, I don’t know if I want their money.”
“Careful what you wish for. By my math, you seem to be givin’ a whole lot more than you’re gettin’. Gotta say I’m surprised to hear you can afford to turn down the work.”
My throat squeezed shut, every muscle in my body coiled. I found myself dangerously close to hitting the mayor in the middle of a town hall dance. So I gathered up the reins to my fury and held tight.
“’Preciate the advice. Next time, keep it to yourself.”
I brushed past him, heart banging like a string of Black Cats, my eyes searching for my brothers where I’d be safe from myself.
They frowned nearly in unison as I approached taking a hard swig of my beer to buy me another second to get ahold of myself.
“What happened?” Carson said.
“Mitchell. He’s lucky I’ve got self-control.”
“Or maybe you are,” Cade noted. “Hate for you to end up in jail.”
