AllFreeNovel
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Everything was off. I blamed Duke.
When the song ended, Jo excused us for a much needed break. I’d barely made it to the stairs on my way to the whiskey when Duke got on stage, breezing past me like I wasn’t there. He grabbed the microphone, and people paused, confused.
“Hey, folks—sorry to interrupt. I know we were all shook up after the calf roping, can we give Poppy Blum a round of applause for such a great showing and welcome her back?”
My face was steaming red, the color deepening by the second as the dance floor clapped in pockets. I tried to smile and raised an awkward hand.
“I just want y’all to know that Poppy and I are gonna run a fair race, a respectful race. We’ve been through a lot, she and I, but we’ve buried the hatchet and are moving forward as friends. And to show our solidarity, the next dance is just for me and Poppy. Thank you!”
He stepped away from the mic, and I imagined him exploding into mist.
“What are you doing?” I hissed as he approached and put a hand on my back to guide me down the stairs.
“Trying to get you to dance with me.”
“But why?”
“It’s the only way I can get you to talk to me.”
“What makes you think I’ll listen?”
“Just a hunch. Guess I’ll have about three minutes to see if I’m right.”
“You manipulative son of a bitch,” I said, smiling and waving my way to the dance floor. When I glanced at Jo, her eyes were on her phone that was hooked up to the PA. And with a wicked smile, she played a song she’d clearly chosen just for the occasion.
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” began to play, and a laugh cracked out of me like a whip. Duke’s face flattened, and he gave Jo a look that she openly mocked. He tried to take my hand like we were going to two-step, but I laughed and backed away from him.
“You wanted a dance? Then it’s going to be a line dance.”
He sighed, tried to smile as he stood by my side in the middle of the dance floor and started the obligatory line dance.
“Go ahead,” I said as we trotted and kicked and turned in time. “What was so important that you had to make us both look like idiots in front of everybody?”
He sighed. “Harder to talk to you when we’re this far apart.”
“Guess you’ll have to make do.”
“I have more to apologize for than you getting hurt.”
“You sure do.”
A pause as we made another turn, now facing the stage. “First off, I’m sorry for how things ended, but I never cheated on you.”
“This is what you’re leading with?”
“I didn’t cheat on you,” he repeated solemnly, and when I glanced at him, his face was determined, insistent. “I never so much as looked at anybody else, not until you dumped me.”
“I dumped you? You said you were never coming home. Was that code for ‘Let’s stay together’?”
“No, I said I didn’t know when I was coming home, and you lost your mind.”
“I know your mama taught you to never accuse a woman of being crazy, especially when you’re trying to apologize.”
“You’re the one who said we should end it.”
“Because you weren’t coming home, Duke. Like, ever.”
“I did come home. I just didn’t see you.”
I frowned. “There’s no way. Somebody would have seen you and told everybody.”
“I never stayed in town and was never here more than a couple nights. But I did come back.”
“Why bother hiding from me? We broke up, right? You didn’t owe me anything.”
He was quiet for a kick-step. “What makes you think I stayed away for your sake?”
My frown deepened, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know any more. “You were probably sleeping with that high-and-mighty snob who answered your phone that night. Lara. Lulu. Lingonberry.”
“Lana.”
“Did you at least date her?”
“For four years.”
My foot didn’t land quite right, and I wobbled. When I’d regained my balance, I found I had not reined in my rage. “Nice. Really fucking nice. Glad to see you found your type. Evangeline could be her sister.”
“Evangeline is her sister.”
My head swiveled, my face contorted. “You’re sleeping with your ex’s sister?”
His face contorted right back at me. “Evangeline? Ang is a lesbian, Poppy.”
I blinked, parsing that information. “Oh.” When I recovered, it was to battle the sense of relief I felt at that knowledge. Instead, I focused down on my anger that he’d stayed with Lana as long as he’d ever been with me. “Anything else? This is what you wanted to tell me? If so, I’ve heard enough.”
“You asked.”
“Goddammit, Duke. Say whatever you have to say and then leave me alone.”
He was quiet while his back was to me, but when we were side by side again, he said, “I never cheated on you, and I will stand by that until the day I die. I didn’t date Lana until we were broken up, but she got exactly what she wanted when you and I split. And I want you to know that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for how it ended, and I’m sorry for what it did to you. I’m sorry I didn’t apologize a long time ago. I… I’m just… I’m sorry, Poppy.”
