Chapter 2
TWO
WAYLON
I mansplained chaps.
I mansplained chaps to the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
I want to walk behind the clinic, into the woods, die of embarrassment there, and let nature reclaim my body, but I have work to do.
The only thing that can distract me from my embarrassing unforced error is my mom coming in with one of the dogs for a checkup. Only it’s not a fun distraction because I have a gut feeling on how this visit is going to go, and I don’t like it.
One of my family’s dogs, Lady, almost tackles me the moment I walk into the exam room. I can’t help but grin. My family has had Labrador retrievers my entire life, and the breed is even the mascot of our family’s bourbon brand, Big Bubba Bourbon. I’ll always have a soft spot for them, and for Lady.
“Hey, pretty girl,” I coo, kneeling down and scratching all of her favorite spots. She goes nuts, tail whipping back and forth as she tries to give me kisses. My mom clears her throat. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, honey.” My mom is dressed in tailored pants and a blouse. She probably had a meeting with the board of the new animal shelter next door, which Stryker Liquors is donating heavily to. “How are you?”
“Not bad.” I sit cross-legged on the ground, as I usually do with larger dogs, and she puts her nose into my neck. “How are you?”
“Good. There’s just so much planning with Wes and Rose’s engagement and the wedding and the family reunion and the last touches on the shelter.” Mom sighs, her high-heel clicking on the floor. I know that sigh — it’s asking for me to ask about it.
My twin brother, Wes, just proposed to his girlfriend Rose about a week ago, and it’s been the best thing to happen to Mom in years. They’ve already chosen a date only three and a half months from now since the venue they like has a last-minute opening. Wes is the first one of the four of her sons — me, Wes, Ash, and John David — to get married, which has been her dream since we were all old enough to get into serious relationships.
She always assumed I’d be the first one. I did too. Now engagement and relationships in general, to be honest) are the last thing I want.
“Have you been giving Lady her vitamins?” I ask, running my hands down Lady’s sides to check for any weird lumps or bumps. “Her fur is looking good.”
“Mmhm.” Mom examines her nails. “A lot of these events will require a date.”
Here we go. In record time, too. I peek inside Lady’s ears. Healthy but a little dirty, but she’s always hated having them touched. She shakes her head after I peek inside each one.
“Will they?” I ask. Wes and Rose have barely been engaged long enough to have many serious plans, but I guarantee they won’t have a stuffy wedding where everyone needs a plus one.
Nope, that’s all Mom. I’m sure Rose and Wes could talk her out of it, but I don’t put it past Mom to pretend that a plus-one rule exists.
“I’d say so.” Mom shrugs and tucks some of her dark hair behind her ear. “Wouldn’t you want to bring someone special?”
“Mom.” If today were less of a mess, I’d have more patience. But the fact that she’s already going down this road within three minutes is pushing me to the end of my rope. “Please. Can we just have Lady’s appointment and move on? And not talk about my dating life?”
“I’m just saying! It’s top of mind.” Mom shrugs, as if we haven’t had this very same discussion countless times. “And it’s been almost two years, sweetheart.”
The way Mom’s voice softens when she talks about how long it’s been since I’ve dated makes me a tiny bit guilty for just a second. A very, very brief second.
Yes, it’s been a year and a half since my short-lived engagement imploded, but I don’t think there’s enough time for me to want to date again. To be honest, Christine was my only serious relationship and we’ve known each other since fourth grade. We didn’t start dating until college.
Then our relationship fell apart the first time by senior year because she wanted to “explore and experiment”. Five years passed and I took her back because I thought that she’d actually changed.
Yeah, she didn’t change.
But despite knowing that, Mom doesn’t get why I don’t want to get married and pop out a bunch of kids right this second. In her eyes, I’m young, fairly good-looking, and have a good career — I should have my pick of all the women in town, who she frequently sets me up on horribly awkward dates with.
And to her, me dating someone would push me up to the level of perfection she’s always driven me to. The level that until somewhat recently, I’ve always hit.
I think the only way I’d be free of this issue is if I start dating someone. And since she won’t let it go…
Maybe I can wait it out. But Mom is relentless. It’s almost admirable.
I turn my attention to Lady again, checking her eyes and hips for any issues.
“Lady looks great,” I say instead of addressing what Mom said. “But her weight is a little bit high. As long as you get her more exercise and avoid people food, we should be able to get it under control before it affects her hips.”
“She doesn’t eat that much people food.” Mom looks offended for a second, but I stare at her. “Okay, fine, she’s been having a lot of pup cups lately.”
When she says pup cups, Lady whips around like she’s looking for one, hitting me in the face with her wagging tail. I raise an eyebrow at Mom.
“I know, I know. I’ll lay off them.” Mom sighs, tapping around on her phone.
“Good. Let me give her her boosters, then you’ll be good to go.” I hop up and grab the tray of shots that the vet tech brought in for me before I came in.
Lady knows and trusts me, so she stays still while I give her shots. I dispose of the needles and stand up.
“By the way,” Mom says as she stands. “Do you remember my friend Michelle? Her daughter?—”
“No,” I say before she can even finish her sentence.
“You haven’t even seen her!” Mom shows me her phone. “She’s pretty.”
She’s okay, but Bianca pops into my head. I don’t think any woman is going to hold a candle to her.
Her perfect features. Her soft-looking tawny brown skin. Her tall frame with just the right amount of curves to it.
Sure, she gave off an icy vibe, but first appearances aren’t everything. She might just be shy.
I’m not sure how much we’ll see each other as neighbors, but I want to see more of her. From a distance, because I don’t think I can ever speak to her again without wanting to die.
My face heats again. I have no idea what happened. I was doing just fine the whole time even though looking at her perfect, gorgeous face was making my heart practically vibrate in my chest. Having some things to say — things I’m confident in — helped me.
But then she touched my arm. And my brain short-circuited.
A touch to my damn arm. If she touched me anywhere else, I don’t know what would happen.
“She’s fine, but I’m not interested.” I clip on Lady’s leash and open the door. Yeah, I’m being a bit rude, but I’m exhausted. “Marisol will check you out.”
“Maybe y’all can meet each other,” Mom says, like I didn’t speak at all. She takes Lady’s leash. “She’s invited to Wes and Rose’s engagement party.”
“When is that again?” I ask.
“In two weeks,” Mom says, exasperated that I didn’t remember this completely unnecessary event. Do Rose and Wes even want this? “Check the family Google calendar.”
“Okay, fine.” I sigh and run my hand through my hair. “See you then.”
“See you then.” She gives me a kiss on the cheek.
I’m really happy for Wes and Rose. I really am. Especially because they’ve been into each other for a long time, not that they admitted it until a year and a half ago. But him getting engaged has thrown gasoline on the fire of Mom trying to get me to date.
I head into the back again, feeling like I just finished an hour-long surgery rather than a fifteen minute booster shot appointment.
Over the next week and a half, the engagement party grows from a thing that I forgot was on my calendar to something I can’t escape. Our family text chain is all about it — the food, the guests, the music — and for whatever reason, Mom needs all of our opinions.
The guest list that seems to include every single person in a ten-mile radius of Jepsen. If the engagement party is this draining, then I don’t even want to think about the wedding.
Two days before the event, I get home a bit early and hear my dog, Duke, and Wes’s dog, Murphy, playing in the backyard. By the time I’ve changed out of my scrubs and showered, both dogs are tuckered out, stretched out on the grass gnawing on opposite ends of a stick. Wes is sitting on the back patio, legs stretched out in front of him.
“Wow, you’re home early,” Wes says, checking the time on his phone.
“For once.” I sit down in the seat next to him and sigh. “Thanks for letting Duke out.”
“No problem.”
Duke realizes I’m here and hops up, trotting up the stairs to greet me. He puts his paws in my lap so I can pull his front legs up on my shoulders. I rub his back and let him snuffle my neck for a bit, like we’re hugging. I’m not sure when we started doing this, but getting a hug from him every day, especially after a long day, is just as comforting for me as it is for him.
“Work’s busy?” Wes asks.
“Yeah.” I say, letting Duke back down. “I haven’t even gone to trivia.”
“Damn, no trivia?” Wes raises an eyebrow. My best friends, Jeremiah, his twin sister, Jada, and I are reigning trivia champs at the bar our family also owns, The Copper Moon. We’re way too into it and I almost never miss it. Wes is the bar’s manager, but he usually doesn’t stay for the whole shift for trivia.
“Nope.” My phone buzzes and I see another text from Mom. “Why does Mom need all of us to weigh in on everything?”
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Wes leans back in his seat. “But Mom’s eating this shit up and aside from weighing in every once in a while, we haven’t had to do all that much. It’s not too bad.”
“I guess.” I scratch Duke’s back leg where he can never quite reach. “She’s been bugging me about a date, though. She keeps saying it’s been nearly two years, but she doesn’t get it.”
I stare off at Bianca’s house, not really focusing on anything in particular. I see her pass by a window for a brief second and my heart skips a beat.
“I know,” he says, his voice quiet. “I don’t think she could.”
He, along with Jeremiah and Jada, weathered the storm of me being a fucking wreck after the second breakup with Catherine. They’re the only three people I trusted with it all. Even now the rush of shame and self-loathing pops up in my chest, but I can stuff it down.
“I need to head to work, but go have a beer or something and mute your notifications.” He stands up and stretches, and finally, Murphy does the same before trotting up the steps. “Maybe Mom’ll get the hint and stop blasting you with texts.”
We both stare at each other for a beat and burst out laughing at the same time. But when Wes and Murphy head inside, my smile fades.
I can tell my mom no, and I have plenty of times. But some things she just can’t let go. Should I bring someone just to keep her off my back? With all the people who are coming, we’d probably only say hello to each other and have a short conversation before someone else takes her attention.
I stay outside for a few more minutes until I feel overly antsy.
“Want to go for a walk, buddy?” I ask Duke.
He’s half lab, half husky, and the husky part of him gives him an alarming amount of energy. He’s always down for a walk or a run.
I clip his leash on and guide him to the path that runs along our property and Bianca’s, toward an easy path into the woods. As we pass, I can’t help but glance up at Bianca’s house again. I mostly spoke to Miss Gloria when she brought Sadie into the clinic or when she needed help with something around the house.
The house looks a bit worse for wear, now that I’m looking at it up close, and there’s a tree in the small space between our fences whose roots are going to screw up both of our fences if we don’t take care of it.
The house is just a few steps behind me when the unmistakable sound of a bloodcurdling scream echoes from inside Bianca’s house. Duke and I sprint up her front porch steps without a second thought and I bang on the front door.
“Bianca?” I call out. “Bianca?”
I don’t hear her respond, but I hear her whimper. I rush around to the back side of the house and try the door handle, pushing my way inside.