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What a prick.
Finally, out of breath and streaked with mud, I sat back on my heels and smoothed my skirt over my knees. “Not getting any help from you, clearly.”
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
My face twisted at his demanding tone, despite the fact its rough timbre had the tiny hairs on my neck standing on end.
“Paying my respects. Though”—I glanced backward and down at the hole, where two muddy shoe prints were now stamped on the top—“typically it goes a little more smoothly than this.”
I laughed at the pure ridiculousness of the situation I had gotten myself in. No doubt Aubergine and Eagle would laugh their asses off when they heard about it.
My laughter subsided, and I smiled up at him. I swear his top lip curled as he said, “Do you have any idea how blatantly disrespectful, inappropriate, downright—”
I lifted my hand in the air as I maneuvered to stand. “I’m gonna stop you right there.”
I’d had just about enough of his brash, arrogant tone. I swooped my hands in front of me. “Nothing about this was disrespectful. Well, except for the falling-in part, but that wasn’t my fault. It was yours.”
His rich, caramel eyes flared with anger. “My fault?”
I nodded once. “You startled me. I was having a moment with Terrance when—”
“Terrance? A moment?” The gorgeous man pinched his nose between his fingers, and I smothered a smile. “‘Another One Bites the Dust’? That’s your idea of respect?”
His hostile tone only fanned the flames of my fight-or-flight response.Oh, game on, buddy.
I smoothed my skirt once more and calmed my face, completely ignoring the fact that I was streaked with mud, one heel was broken, and my hair was rapidly coming out of its delicate chignon. “That song was his favorite. I felt compelled to play it one last time, in amoment of privacybetween him and me.” I pointed a finger at him. “You interrupted. You made me fall in, andyoucouldn’t be bothered to help me out!”
“Who are you?”
He didn’t even bother to pretend to be affected but let his eyes lazily lower down my body before quickly flicking back up to meet my gaze.
A haughty laugh shot out. “A friend of the family.”
The man was stone. Unwavering in his assessment of me. Irritated, I rolled my eyes and stormed past him, hobbling as my uneven footwear stole any sliver of grace I still had. I turned to him. “You know what? Judge me all you want, but the only thing sadder than a funeral is a funeral no one shows up to.”
At that, despite the fact I cursed myself for letting far too much slip, I stormed off toward my car, but not before I had the satisfaction of seeing realization spread across the sharp angles of his handsome face.
3
WYATT
“Boogertown?”Penny’s infectious giggles filled the back seat of the car.
My eyes rolled at the asinine name my grandparents had bestowed upon their own street.
Lee shifted so he could look at Pickle in the back seat. “You didn’t know? Aunt Tootie and Uncle Tater live down Boogertown Road.”
Penny laughed again. “Who would name it that?”
Lee’s smile widened. “They did. When they built their house at the end of this lonely road, Tater needed a name for it. He was going to name it Pic—”
“That’s enough.” I cut Lee off and shot him a hard stare. He didn’t need to tell my seven-year-old that our uncle almost named his roadPickledick Hollerjust to get a rise out of the mailman he hated so much.
Lee had the sense to look sheepish before crossing his eyes and making a funny face at Penny.
“Remind me again why you couldn’t have driven your truck here?” I asked my little brother.
After I put my car in park, he climbed out and opened Penny’s door. “And miss a second with this rat?” Penny leaped into his arms and pretended to gnaw at him like an actual rodent. “Not a chance.”
