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Her entire face relaxed as she breathed out in relief, nodding her head.
“Cool, thanks, Deac. C’mon, loser, you promised me free booze.” She grabbed Forrest’s cuff and all but yanked him away from me.
dakota
“I have to pee.I’ll be right back.” Forrest shoved his beer into my hand and left me standing at the dessert table with too many things to carry for the number of hands I had. I sighed, setting the beer on the table before picking up my wine and draining it. I walked the empty glass back to the bar before returning to where I left the beer and dessert plate.
Standing there, waiting for him, I let my eyes survey the room slowly and take in everyone who was there. My sister Carolina would be at home with the kids of parents who were here. My sister Arizona was running around like a madwoman emceeing the event for her fiancé, one of the firefighters. Then there was Georgia, whose marriage was crumbling faster than a Roman ruin, so she wasn’t here. The Butlers were, though. I’d seen them a few minutes ago all come in. Colt, Wren, Beau, Rose, Evan, June, and Ma.
Once Forrest was back, we’d probably make our way over to sit with them, and I needed another glass of wine before I settled in to watch my heart get sold to the highest bidder.
“Dakota.” Ma’s voice at my side made me jump as I turned to look at her, smiling sheepishly.
“Hey, Ma. How are you feeling?” It was a courtesy to ask since I knew. Working at the hospital where she was going weekly for treatment left me privy toexactlyhow she was doing.
“Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” She smiled as she reached out for a strawberry tart, setting it carefully on a napkin before she turned to look at me. My stomach immediately knotted and turned. I knew that look in her eye. I’d known Ma Butler long enough to know when she was up to something, and that twinkle in her eye was a dead giveaway.
“Are you buying anyone tonight?”
Red alert! Get out of here! Run! Go, GO, GO!
“No …” I said carefully, already nervous about where she was going with this. “I don’t have the money.”
“If there’ssomeoneyou want to buy, I could give you the money. In fact, I’d behappyto.”
My eyes searched hers, trying to read between the lines but scared to read too much. First of all, why would she be encouraging Deacon and me? And secondly, how did she know?Did she know?
“I don’t think there’s anyone up there I’d want to purchase,” I spoke slowly, turning back to the dessert table before grabbing a confetti cookie, needing something to put in my mouth before I said something I’d come to regret.
Ma moved in closer, her body pressing against mine as her voice dropped. “Deacon needs a good woman who will love him and take care of him long after I’m gone.”
“To that logic, then, so does Forrest.” I turned to look at the older woman, who smiled knowingly at me.
“He does, but he has you to help too.”
“So, you want me to double-team two of your sons?” My face twisted into one of horror, unable to comprehend where the woman got the idea that I wanted to be with both her sons.
“No!” She laughed, throwing her head back with another laugh. “No, not like that. I only mean … When I’m gone, unlike what you and Forrest have, Deacon doesn’t have that. And I know how he feels about you. And I know how you feel about him. I see how you look at him.”
And here I thought we’d been getting away with it.
“Ma, Deacon’s had two years to take us from whatever we are to something more serious and concrete. He doesn’t want that. He’s happy with our arrangement, and our arrangement keeps Forrest happy, which keeps everyone else happy. So, contemplating anything else is selfish.”
“But you’re not happy,” she said knowingly before taking another bite of her tart, moaning at how good it was. She licked her lips after swallowing and surveyed me one more time. “I’m just saying, being selfish isn’t as complicated as you think it is, Dakota. And I’m saying fewer people will be upset that you chose to be selfish than you think.”
She took another bite of her tart and slowly walked away to join the Butler crew who’d taken over a whole row of the auditorium. My thoughts swirled, and I tried to understand what she was saying as she walked away. Forrest knew about us? Had he already accepted it and had given his blessing silently?
Why hadn’t Deacon said anything?
“Damn, what a line-up. I guess a toilet overflowed in the men’s, so they were diverting everyone to the women’s, but then obviously they were separating who was going in by sex, and it was a mess. The moral of the story is if you have to pee, hold it till we get home.” He grabbed the plate of dessert, including my half-eaten cookie, and took a bite of it before tilting his head in the direction of his family.
I followed in a daze.Does Forrest know about us?Would I buy Deacon tonight?It would be a huge gesture, but maybe that was the kind of thing we needed to kickstart whatever this was into a relationship category.
deacon
“Up next is Deacon Butler!”My brothers began hollering like they were at a baseball game, whomping and clapping as I walked onto the stage, blinking under the bright lights. After a few seconds of squinting, my vision adjusted, and the first thing that came into view was Dakota, sitting beside Forrest and Ma, looking sick to her stomach.
Was she really that bothered about all of this? She hadn’t mentioned anything when we saw each other last.
