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“Sorry. I’m up over there.” Jesse gestures to his sister. “You all play together.”
My heart drops. Oh, well. This night was supposed to be about Maddie and me getting closer anyway.
“Okay, Mads.” I chalk up my cue. “I racked the last game. You rack this time, and I’ll shoot first.”
“Good enough.” Maddie racks the balls, and I do a really lousy break.
What is wrong with me?
I sigh. “Your shot, Mads.”
She shoots, sinking the three ball. “I’m solids.”
She continues shooting until the game is over before I even have a shot.
Damn. Shehasgotten better. Jesse must be giving her pointers.
I look over at his table, where Cage is beating him again.
Man, the planets must be out of alignment tonight.
I take a sip of my drink. Peach Street is my father’s favorite bourbon. It’s made here on the western slope. And I have to say, it’s delicious.
Despite the fact that our family owns a winery and we all like alcohol, rarely do we ever drink to excess. Sure, we’ve all been known to tie one on occasionally, but it’s not the norm for us. Four drinks is my limit when I’m eating. Three when I’m not. I have a high tolerance.
“You want to play again?” Maddie asks.
“I do need to redeem myself,” I say, “but I guess I’m not really into it tonight. But if you want to play another game, I will.”
Maddie places her cue on the rack. “No, I’m done. There’s a table available over there. We can watch the guys play.”
I nod and follow Maddie to the table.
Angie and Sage walk into the bar. I wave them over.
“No Gina tonight?” Maddie asks.
“No.” Sage takes a seat, her gaze wandering to Jesse, Cage, and Dragon.
“She’s hurting,” Angie says. “All the stuff she just learned about her dad and her grandmother. She’s having a hard time with it.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Maddie asks.
“No,” Angie says. “She just needs to accept it and get through it on her own.”
Maddie glances at the bar. “Ava seems to be doing okay.”
“Ava’s been dealing with it for a while now,” I tell Maddie. “Apparently Wendy Madigan, her grandmother, reached out to her and Brendan. It’s all a very strange story, but Gina’s having a hard time finding out she’s not related to our grandmother, Daphne Steel, who she always thought she looked like.”
“From the pictures I’ve seen,” Angie says, “you’re the one who looks like Grandma Steel, Bree.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of a dead ringer for sure.” I scan the twins’ faces. “Though the two of you kind of look like her, and so does Aunt Marjorie.”
“Yeah, but you…” Angie shakes her head. “I mean, if you look at Grandma’s senior picture from high school and then put yours next to it, it’s almost like you’re looking at twins.”
“I know. Gina looks like Uncle Ryan.”
“She does,” Maddie says. “And that’s certainly not a bad thing. He’s the handsomest of all the Steel Brothers.”
