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I leapt from the swing and chugged the rest of my beer. We’d made love this morning. She’d made me feel like I was the only one that mattered. Like it was just us again.
More than that, she acted like she cared, mentioned our future. And now she was out kissing some other guy?
“You going to do something about it?”
I whipped around and faced my sister. “Like what? Sounds to me like she’s made her choice.”
This was worse than when she’d left me the first time.
“Now, hold up.” Stone pointed his bottle at Mulaney. “Feels like you’ve skipped over some stuff.”
I almost missed the flare of irritation in her eyes, but I spoke before she could. “I’ve heard enough.”
She released a long breath. “I know y’all think I like being the bearer of bad news, but I swear I don’t.” She hesitated. “Was I supposed to keep this to myself?”
After a long minute, I finally answered, “No.”
“She come here to break things off for good this morning?” Stone asked. “Mama said Jules was supposed to come back in for breakfast but she never did.”
“I didn’t think so.” I plowed a hand through my hair. “Hell, I don’t know. But if it’s like you say, then we’re done.”
“You’re just gonna let that California pretty boy have her?” Mulaney asked as if I’d lost my mind.
“How am I supposed to trust her? First, she runs off to Paris for all practical purposes without telling me. Bails on us living together at the last minute. And now she’s with another guy. One she brought home for Christmas.” I sagged against the porch railing.
“I don’t know how you’re going to avoid her at Smokey’s tonight.” Stone tugged on his ball cap.
I groaned. Christmas Eve had become an event at the only bar in Burdett. All the town folks got together to celebrate, dating back to the Depression. I usually looked forward to this event, but I sure as hell didn’t feel like going this year.
“I’m not going,” I decided on the spot.
“Yes you are. If she’s going to act like that, you can’t let her think it bothers you. You don’t show up, and she’ll know.”
Damn it. My sister had a point, but right now, I wasn’t sure I cared.
Grandmama came out on the porch, taking a quick peek behind her into the house. She produced a small jar of moonshine. “If your mama sees this, I’ll deny everything.”
When she offered me the first taste like she knew I needed it, I readily accepted. After a long swallow of liquid fire, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and passed it to my sister.
After we’d all had a drink, Grandmama screwed the lid back on the jar. “Supper’ll be ready in twenty minutes.” She nudged me in the ribs. “And if you think you ain’t going to Smokey’s to face that girl, you’ve got another thing coming.”
Chapter Thirteen
Juliana
For the thousandthtime since we’d gotten to Smokey’s, my eyes darted around the bar and came up short. The place was crowded, and the Jacobs were nowhere to be found.
I tried to reach Mitch earlier, but Stone said he was busy and he’d tell him I called. That was hours ago, and there’d been no reply. I was probably overreacting. A ranch the size of theirs was a big undertaking. I knew very well that nobody sat around much during the waking hours. With all the kids home, there was probably a lot of work to catch up on.
The jukebox switched from an upbeat song to a slow one by Brooks and Dunn. “She Used To Be Mine” had the people on the dance floor switching from the two-step to cheek-to-cheek.
“I can’t come to a shindig like this and not dance.” Alfie grinned at me. “Did I say that right? Shindig?” He enunciated the word, and I smacked him in the arm.
“Show the boy how to do it,” Nana encouraged, nudging me in the back.
I set my beer on the table and stood. “Come on, California.”
Once we found an empty spot on the dance floor, Alfie pulled me into his arms, his expression serious.
