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Drew
“Isit too early for something stronger?”
Easton abandoned the coffeepot he’d started. “Follow me.” We went into the dining room to the bar cart that held a variety of liquors, including a Mason jar I recognized. “How strong?” Easton held up a bottle of whiskey and the jar of Grandma Carter’s moonshine.
“I’m surprised you still drink that stuff,” I said, stifling a laugh.
“Me too.”
In middle school, when we’d visited Grandma Carter, we weren’t allowed in the house except at mealtime. She’d insisted we play outside, that boys needed to spend their days with Mother Nature. We’d run around, playing baseball all afternoon. Easton had charged into the house, sweaty and thirsty, and grabbed the Mason jar off the kitchen counter, downing nearly half before he realized he’d swallowed gasoline.
“You were as drunk as Cooter Brown, and Grandma Carter couldn’t say a word to you about it because Granddaddy would have known she was nipping the sauce.”
“He knew,” Easton insisted, and we burst into laughter.
“The way you stumbled around the yard, giggling at every damn thing . . .” I nearly doubled over at the memory.
“And you pestered Grandma Carter so much, telling her you wanted some of the magic water, that she eventually gave in.”
“That stuff was nasty.”
“You were lit after one big swallow.” We choked between laughs.
“What did we miss?” Daniel asked, Stone trailing behind him.
Stone pointed at the jar in my brother’s hand. “That’s what we missed.” He made a hand-it-over motion. “Pass it around, boys.”
“We haven’t even started yet,” Easton protested, unscrewing the lid and drinking. He handed it to me next.
“Grandmama’s going to be furious that we’re having some of this without her,” Stone said once he’d had a swallow.
“Miss Ruby is Grandma Carter’s biggest customer,” I said, and Stone nodded in agreement.
“Have you ever figured out what they trade? It ain’t cash,” Easton said, the jar already back around to him.
“Nope. They’ll probably go to their graves with it. Even my dad doesn’t know.”
“Is there some sort of unwritten law that you can’t drink this from a glass?” Daniel asked, holding up the jar.
Easton, Stone, and I looked at each other and shrugged. “This is just the way we’ve always done it,” Easton answered. None of us had ever thought to do it differently. We’d watched our parents and grandparents do the same thing all our lives. They swore by the stuff, said it kept you strong.
It had been a while since I’d hung out with the guys, not that these two were my friends, but it felt like it. They didn’t behave any differently toward me even though they knew what I’d done, taking their cues from Easton. Despite being a man who could hold my liquor, it didn’t take long for me to feel a little buzz. I felt guilty, behaving like all was well when my mother was sick just a few rooms away. Growing a conscience was something I needed to get over. I wasn’t equipped to handle caring about anyone but myself.
“Hey,” Easton said. “She’d want you to relax.”
“Yeah.” I took another swallow to bury the lie. My motherwouldwant me to have a good time and stop worrying about her, but it still didn’t feel right.
“I’m going to go see what I can find to eat in the kitchen,” Easton said, standing.
“If we can’t find anything here, I’ll scrounge something from our place,” Stone replied, getting to his feet as well.
As Daniel started past, I stepped in front of him. The guy was intimidating as fuck. He literally had black eyes, and if I hadn’t seen him around his wife, I’d think he didn’t have a soul. “Could I speak with you a moment? In private.”
His brows rose slightly; there was no hiding the disdain he felt toward me, and I respected him for that. “Of course.”
“I have something I want to show you.”
Daniel followed me to the room I’d shared with Sonya last night. Her scent still lingered, and I wondered what she was doing, if she had thought about me at all since we’d parted that morning. Daniel watched expectantly as I paused inside the doorway.
