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We sip our bourbons.
“Yeah.”
I’m waiting for the shoe to drop because he’s holding one up, weighing it.
I sigh. “Out with it.”
“The fucking town vultures are circling. I’ve heard all sorts of things about you beating the shit out of that guy, of you and Sarah being a thing,” Lawson remarks. He knows the truth of what happened . . . well, most of it considering he arrested me for the bullshit. But he has ears to the ground and hears all the shit that goes on in this town. It’s one of the things that makes him a damn good sheriff.
“The problem with small towns is they got nothing else to do but gossip, and half the damn time, they got shit twisted.”
“True that.” He takes another sip and swallows. “No one knows anything, and pretty much most of the town is here. Willa’s making moves on one of the staff. I sent in Dakota to sort it. Poor guy looked fucking frightened.”
“That woman needs to sort herself.” There’s charity and knowing history and then there’s people not helping themselves and Willa is the latter.
Her trying to fuck, suck, and marry any one of us is a black mark too.
He sighs. “You reckon this shit with Alpine Energy is done?”
“After the meeting we had? Nope. BNK are looking to buy into something big and they think this is it.”
He frowns and turns, leaning against the makeshift bar, looking out at the crowd. “Keep expecting Alpine to turn up or that bozo.” He glances at me. “I know Alpine left, and my deputies are to let me know if they return, but . . .”
“There’s gonna be a lot of people in and out of this little town now that Dakota has this place up and running officially.” I get another drink. “Sarah had something interesting to say. Like maybe Dakota’s asshole family are behind the renewed interest.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter, as long as there are no more attacks or threats against Wildcat.”
I’m still waiting for the shoe to drop. “You have something on your mind other than this. I know because the town will find something else to gossip about. Willa will go and hook up with someone, somewhere, and make a fool of herself, and the will is ironclad. So?”
“How are things with you and your lady who bailed your sorry ass to freedom?”
There was the kiss, but . . . “Fuck, I don’t know. I don’t even know what I want.”
A small smile appears, but Lawson doesn’t say a word.
“It’s confusing. She’s beyond complex, and she looks at me like she wants to fuck my brains out, yet every time there’s a step forward, she runs a hundred paces back.”
“Have you tried, you know, talking to her? Maybe letting her know you could be up for more than your usual.”
“Thank you very fucking much for that piece of advice.” I raise my glass.
He rolls his eyes. “We’re gonna get married in the fall.”
“Does Dakota know?”
Lawson laughs, shaking his head. “Asshole.”
His entire family is here, Rose looks tired, but I remember law school and that’s gotta be nothing on medical. She’s pretty amazing, and her plans of a clinic here is beyond admirable.
I miss our chats and teasing her like I used to before she got herself all grown up and in school. She’s like the sibling I’ve never had, and as she pushes her wire-rimmed glasses up her nose, she slaps Mack’s arm. He’s goofing around, probably telling her some outrageous tale.
Everyone is here.
Except Sarah.
And something twinges in me that feels a lot like guilt because I’m the reason she’s not front and center. I don’t need a five-page report to know that.
I want to say I shouldn’t have kissed her, but I can’t. Because if I had my way, we’d both be missing and naked, doing a hell of a lot more than me brushing my lips across hers.
