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“Then I think we should go to the Hellhole and watch some dancing in person.”
Sweetie shook her head as she washed a plate.“Not me.Half the town already shunned me today.I don’t need to be shunned by the other half.”
Cloe wasn’t a person to lose her temper ...unless it involved one of her family members.Her voice shook with disbelief and anger.“The townsfolk shunned you?”
Hallie snorted.“Idiots!Don’t tell me people still haven’t gotten over what happened with Jace.”
“Actually, they’re not mad about that as much as they are about me leaving Wilder and not returning until now,” Sweetie said.
Cloe’s voice softened.“Because they love you, Sweetie.”
She nodded.“I know.And they’re right.I should have come back sooner.Not just for the townsfolk, but for Daddy, Mama, and Mimi.I let my own pride and anger keep me from the people I love.”
“Well, hiding away in this house isn’t going to get the townsfolk to forgive you,” Hallie said.“I say we walk right into the Hellhole as if we have every right to be there and raise some Holiday Sister hell of our own.”
* * *
The Hellhole wasone of the county’s most popular restaurants and bars.Partly because of Bobby Jay’s signature barbecue and partly because of the huge dance floor Bobby kept sanded as slick as ice over asphalt.Texans loved to dance as much as they loved the baby back ribs Bobby cooked in a big ol’ smoker and then braised on an open-faced grill.Bobby’s barbecue kitchen had a huge pass-through window.As Sweetie walked by, she could see Bobby in his tall ten-gallon hat and barbecue sauce-stained apron cutting thick slices off a slab of brisket.
It looked like very little had changed at the Hellhole in the last twelve years.At least that’s what she thought until they were seated at a table in the bar and she saw the stage where the old jukebox had once been.
“Since when did Bobby Jay start hiring live bands?”Sweetie yelled over the Miranda Lambert song the lead singer was belting out ...and quite well.Damn her.
“I don’t have a clue,” Hallie yelled back.“But I love it!”She glanced around.“What I don’t love is how everyone is staring.”
It was the truth.Everyone had stopped their own conversations and was now staring at Sweetie and her sisters.
“I knew this was a bad idea,” Sweetie said.“I’ll be lucky if Bobby doesn’t toss me out on my butt.”
“Over my dead body.”Hallie glared back at the staring townsfolk as if daring someone to say something.“I’ll grab us some beers at the bar.”
“Margarita for me,” Sweetie said.
“Dr Pepper for me,” Cloe added.She always appointed herself the designated driver and she took her job seriously.
A few moments later, Hallie returned with their drinks.“Well, it looks like the men in this town don’t hold grudges.Every cowboy at the bar wanted to buy all of us drinks.Sweetheart Holiday included.”
“You’re kidding.”Sweetie took her margarita.
“Nope.I didn’t have to spend a dime.Which is good because I don’t have many dimes to spend.”She handed Cloe her soda before holding up her beer.“To the Holiday Sisters and the generosity of Texas men!”
The margarita was strong, sweet, and salty ...and so were the next two sent over to their table.After the second one, Sweetie started to feel buzzed.By the third, the buzz had turned into a happy drone.It had been a long time since she had cut loose and forgotten about everything but having fun.In Nashville, when she was at a bar, she was always working.When she didn’t have gigs, she waitressed to help pay the bills.There was no time for enjoying life.
She jumped to her feet.“Come on, you two.I want to dance!”Hallie immediately stood, while Cloe stayed seated.
“You two go on,” she said.“I’ll hold our table.”
Since the bar had gotten a lot more crowded in the last two hours, it seemed like a good idea.Of course, everything seemed like a good idea.Including two-stepping with her little sister who had always wanted to lead.
“Let me lead, Hal!”
“I am!”Hallie stepped on Sweetie’s toe for the third time and they both burst out laughing.While they were having a giggling fit, someone tapped Sweetie on the shoulder.When she turned, she found herself looking at a big ol’ wall of a cowboy.
Sweetie looked way up at the cowboy’s face.“You is one big boy,”
The cowboy pulled off his hat.“I’m Bud Wilkes.We went to school together.Remember?”Sweetie remembered.Bud had been a defensive tackle on the football team.The same football team Jace had quarterbacked for.She figured she was about to be yelled at, but she was too drunk to care.
“Well, hey, Bud.How you doin’?I guess you’re pretty pissed at me for breaking Jace’s heart and ruining your chances to win state.”She waved a hand.“So go ahead and let me have it.”
