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My sister put a hand on my chest. “She knows you’re sorry.”
The sympathy in her words caught me off guard. Underneath the tough exterior, Mulaney was a good person, but compassion wasn’t her strong suit. I needed her abrasive self to come back to shake me out of this torment.
She obliged me by slapping me in the arm. “Get up. I need to get your brother a Christmas present.”
“I’m not going shopping, much less riding in the car with you for a few hours to a mall.”
“Who said anything about a mall?”
“Where else are you going to find him anything?”
“Just get up. While you shower, I’ll see if I can sneak out some leftover breakfast.”
Our mother was the kindest woman, except when it came to discipline. If we didn’t get up to eat before our chores, we didn’t get breakfast. Around here, after eight was practically lunchtime.
“What did everybody say?” I asked hesitantly.
Mulaney stood and patted my cheek, just like Grandmama always did. “That it’s a damn shame about that foal. And how proud we are of you for trying to save him. Blue is okay because of you.”
I shook off her words, certain she was lying to make me feel better. “Give me twenty minutes, and I’ll be down.”
* * *
“What the hellare we doing at a high school basketball game?” The worn wood bleachers were hard on my ass from the second I sat down. “You spent three hours giving me the grand tour of every oil well in this county. Just because you’re obsessed with black gold doesn’t mean everyone else is. Besides, I thought we were going shopping for Stone.”
“This is your alma mater. Where’s your sense of nostalgia?” Mulaney glanced around the gym, turning her attention to the court when the referee blew the whistle. “And since when do you prefer shopping to sports?”
Since the last time I was in this gym Juliana had stolen a kiss that led to us making love in the bed of my truck out in a corn field. Being back at our old school hurt like hell. We’d ruled these halls as a couple our senior year. Would’ve gotten together a lot sooner if I’d had the guts to take our friendship to the next level when I first wanted to. That girl had mixed me up since grade school, and I guess she still did. But I needed to figure out a way to get past that considering she’d moved on. Man, that was a hard thing to live with. Juliana belonged with me, but the way she ditched our plans to live together and left me hanging made me question our entire relationship.
She’d lied to me about something big. I hadn’t reacted well to the news about her trip, but damn it, she’d basically dropped a bomb and left me to deal with the rubble. I still hadn’t dug my way out, and now that she was back, I felt like I was buried alive.
A sharp pinch to my side sent a sting radiating out from the spot. I glared at my sister.
“Snap out of it, sweet pea.”
“I knew I should’ve stayed home,” I muttered.
“Like that was a good idea. If you think I’m giving you shit, what do you think everybody else would’ve done?”
Mrs. Hastings, our tenth grade math teacher, turned around and gave Mulaney an admonishing look. Mulaney stared back in return, almost clueless she’d cussed. Half the time I wondered if she was actually oblivious or just didn’t care.
“How’s Ollie? Heard he got bit by a snake,” Mulaney said, and Mrs. Hastings softened.
“Doing much better now. Thank you for asking.”
My sister nodded once, and the woman turned back around. How the hell did she know about our teacher’s dog? I’d just found out myself, and she usually didn’t bother with the business of the other folks in town.
I cocked my head to the side, but Mulaney ignored me, letting out a shrill whistle through her teeth.
“You gonna watch the game or me?” she said without looking at me.
I drifted my attention to the court in time to see some of our players giving a low five to—
A growl escaped me. How could I forget that Juliana’s brother was on the team?
Mulaney remained laser focused, still refusing to look in my direction.
“What are you up to?”
