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“Cade was an ass. If he’s not careful, I’ll punch him in the mouth.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Cade would have him laid out on the ground faster than Jake could blink. But whatever. I’d let Jake believe he could take Cade.
A knock at the door made me pop up into a sitting position.
“If it’s Cowboy Cade, I’m tossing his ass out,” Jake hissed through clenched teeth.
“I’m sure it’s not him.” I threw up a quick prayer.Please Lord. Not Cade.“What Liv?”
“Can I come in, please?”
Phew!“Yes.”
Liv entered and her eyes went straight to Jake, sitting next to me, then to me. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I know how you feel about money-talk, but I was curious… Nosy.” Her head lowered in shame.
“It’s okay. We all behaved badly.” I smiled at my baby sister. She rarely apologized and had staunch convictions. It was big of her to come up here.
Out of nowhere, Jake cupped my cheeks and kissed me. What was he doing?
“Dang, you guys.” Olivia giggled.
“Jake. No PDA.” I pushed his hands off my face and reared back.
“What can I say?” He chuckled. “Can’t help myself. You’re irresistible.”
I ignored his weirdness. Like what just happened? “Liv, you can’t tell anyone about Jake’s net worth. It’s nobody’s business.”
“I won’t. Promise. But what do I say he does for a living?” Olivia asked.
“He works in finance. That’s all anyone needs to know.” I didn’t like to lie, but it was better than the assumptions people would spread in my family’s circle of friends and in their community.
“Got it. By the way, Cade left a little while ago. It’s just the old people downstairs. Wanna go to Hotshots?” Olivia’s eyebrows bounced on her forehead, up, down, up, down, as she displayed an all too familiar, cheesy pretty-please grin.
“What’s Hotshots?” Jake asked Olivia. “A strip club?”
“No, no.” She waved him off. “Nothing like that. It’s the best bar in town. Craft beer and excellent food.”
I tilted my head. “What happened to the Rusty Nail?”
“Oh, it’s still there, but it’s more for the old folks. Hotshots opened a couple of years ago. The Davis brothers own it.”
“Wow, good for Travis and Diesel. Back when we were in school, they were determined to make their own beer.”
“And they perfected it.” Olivia clicked her tongue. “So, are we going?”
I glanced at Jake and shrugged. “What do you think?”
“If you want to go, I’m in.”
“Sweet!” Olivia did a little jig and clapped.
“I’ll drive.” Jake took out the rental car’s key fob from his pocket. He never liked being at the mercy of anyone or controlled, but I didn’t care. With him driving, I could drink all I wanted and so could Liv.
The drive had been tense, with Jake commenting on how there was nothing out here and no wonder I moved to California. I could tell my sister was close to exploding. Sometimes he didn’t have a filter and spoke without considering who he might offend.
It was after eight when we entered town.
“Are you sure the bar is open? Looks like a ghost town.” Jake drummed the steering window impatiently.
