Chapter 20
“ I can’t believe your mother pulled this off,” Maggie breathed, gaze darting around the bar.
“There was no talking her out of it.” Which was crazy. Her mother and Jonah had just broken up, literally days ago. In her opinion, her mother was being a drama queen. But when Olivia Mack wanted something, she made it happen. “I didn’t want to enable her by helping too much, but?—”
“You still blew up the helium balloons and wrote ‘hashtag freedom’ on them?”
“Hey. You did too.”
Maggie chuckled. “Guess we’re both suckers.”
Polly grinned.
Her mother had wanted to label it a divorce party. But she wasn’t divorced yet, so she’d gone with a breakup bash. She’d stuck with the black dress code and bite-size sandwiches. They’d even been able to find a blank sash that Maureen had then embroidered with “almost single and ready to mingle.”
It wasn’t technically true. Her mother was far from ready to mingle.
But this was a good distraction, and not just for Olivia.
Her mother racing around to organize it had allowed Polly to completely bury her head in the sand and ignore everything going on with Joel and Jonah and the mystery killer in town.
Dusty stopped beside them, his white beard so long it brushed against the tall table. “So this is a divorce party?”
Her mother had put him on speaker when she’d reserved the booth. He hadn’t been so sure. Her mother had actually needed to repeat herself three times until eventually he just said he’d put the booth in her name.
Polly lifted her shoulder. “More of a breakup bash.”
“Huh.” He frowned at the sash on her mother. “This a new thing the kids are doing these days?”
“I wouldn’t say Liv’s a kid.” Maggie laughed.
Although, at that very moment, her mother kneeled, opened her mouth, and her friend put the rim of her wineglass to her mouth and tipped it forward.
“ Hey! ” Dusty shot toward them.
Polly couldn’t stifle the laugh. “Okay. This was definitely a good idea for her.”
Maggie bumped her hip. “You needed this as much as she did.”
“It does feel good to smile.” She sipped her beer. “He’s texted every day, you know.”
“Do you text back?”
“Well, I’m a sucker, so yes. Even when he just calls me Sunshine, my stupid reactive heart kicks.”
Maggie’s smile softened. “That’s because your heart can’t help who it reacts to.”
“He texted today that he wants to talk to me about Bronte.” Even saying that name put a sour taste in her mouth.
“And what did you say?”
“That I have this big fabulous party planned, but maybe tomorrow.”
Maggie nodded. “Good. You should talk to him tomorrow.”
She watched her mother throw her head back and laugh at something another of her friends said. “I don’t want to be in my fifties and throwing a divorce party for my fifth divorce.”
“You won’t. And I know that because I know you.”
Her mother was suddenly in front of her, grabbing her hand. “Come on.”
Her drink almost spilled at the tug from her mother. “Where are you taking me?”
“We’re going to duet ‘Forget You’ by CeeLo Green.”
“No.”
“Yes!”
She tried to dig in her heels, but dammit, she was still moving. Did her mother develop super strength when she was drinking? “Mom?—”
“Come on. Live a little, darling!”
“I do live.”
“No, I mean drink too much without thinking about the day-after hangover. Sing in front of a group of strangers without caring that you sound like a drowned rat.”
“I sound like a drowned rat when I sing?”
“Do something so reckless that you feel alive!”
Oh, she felt plenty alive. No embarrassing herself in front of a bar full of people needed.
She stumbled when her mother pulled her up onto the tiny stage that had the ancient karaoke setup of a monitor with two microphones. This stuff had seen better days.
Her mother touched the screen and searched for the song. “Ready?”
“No.”
Her mother hit load track , then shoved a microphone into Polly’s hand. The music in the bar stopped and “Forget You” started.
When the first line of lyrics appeared, her mother didn’t hesitate, she threw herself into it, belting out the lyrics. Her friends, who had now congregated at the front of the stage, cheered and yelled, drinks spilling over as they threw their arms up.
Polly couldn’t help herself…she laughed. And when her mother nudged her hip, Polly rolled her eyes.
Guess she was doing this.
Without glancing at the lyrics, she sang the next line. She was ridiculously out of tune and sounded exactly as her mother had described, but everyone cheered her on anyway.
People in the crowd started singing with them. Everyone in the bar danced and drank. There probably wasn’t a person in the room who wasn’t smiling.
They were halfway through the song when the bar door opened and Joel walked in. Not just Joel, his entire team—but Polly only saw him.
His gaze went straight to her, as if even in a roomful of people, she was all he could see. And maybe she was. Heck, she was on a damn stage.
She continued to belt out the lyrics, watching his lips curve into a wide smile. Ethan went to stand by Maggie, and the rest of the guys stopped at the bar, but Joel didn’t take his eyes off her. He barely moved at all.
She liked having his gaze on her. It was possessive and intimate, like a public declaration that she was his.
When the song finally finished, her mother pulled her into a hug before taking the microphone and flying off the stage toward her friends.
Polly moved slower, heading toward Joel. But she paused when she overheard a couple of her mother’s friends talking.
“I’m ninety percent sure the guy Jenna was seeing was religious.”
Polly slowed her steps further.
“How do you know that?” the second woman asked. “She never even admitted to dating anyone.”
“Please. The late nights. The makeup and shorter skirts. And that glow. Then she started talking about going to the local Catholic church, but she wouldn’t tell us why.”
“Polly.”
She jumped, looking up to see Joel in front of her. “Hey.”
His brows flickered. “Everything okay?”
“Of course. I, um, didn’t know you were coming out tonight.”
“Couldn’t miss my first divorce party.”
She smiled. Or at least she tried to. After the car accident, she told herself she’d stop looking into Jenna’s death. That she’d leave it to the professionals. But this could be connected to Jonah and Jonah was connected to her mother. That made this personal.
One little visit to this church wouldn’t hurt, right?
Joel slipped an arm around her waist. Then his breath whispered against her neck. “You smell nice.”
A shudder skipped down her spine, and suddenly all she could concentrate on, all she could think about, was Joel. The arm around her waist. The breath that tingled her skin.
Fuck, it felt good to hold Polly again. To smell the sweet scent of her skin. It was like she bathed in strawberries.
“I’ve missed you.” It felt like a lie. He hadn’t just missed her. He’d felt her absence like a quiet ache inside him that grew louder every second they were apart.
“You said you wanted to talk about…Bronte.” She stumbled over the name like it was hard to get out.
“She left.”
Polly’s eyes shot up. “She did?”
“Yeah. I told her that I didn’t want her here. That we were never going to get married like our parents wanted. She actually took it better than I thought she would. She confirmed she was back in Houston a few days ago.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.” He kissed her neck, feeling her shiver.
“Will you regret it?”
He lifted his head and traced the golden specks in her eyes. They reminded him of the stars when the sky was really dark. “Never. I will never regret my decision to love you instead of marrying her.”
Her eyes flared.
“How’s your mom?” he asked, slipping a lock of hair from her cheek.
“She’s drinking herself into oblivion and giving inspirational speeches about singing in front of strangers.”
“Uh, and you took her advice, hence the singing.”
“No. There was physical force involved in that. The woman had vodka-induced strength on her side.”
Joel chuckled.
“Seriously though. She’s doing better than I thought. She was really sad for the first three or so days but since then has seemed almost okay. Which is odd, considering how deep she got with Jonah. I wish we had an update on the gun and whether the bullet’s a match though.”
“We’ve been checking in with Ward every day.” His jaw tensed in frustration. “He said he put a rush on the test, but if that was true, we would have gotten the results already.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Ward’s so useless.”
He was worse than useless. His inability to do his job put everyone in this town at risk.
Maureen stepped toward them. “Hi, Joel. What are you doing here?”
“Well, Maureen, I heard there was a party, and where there’s a party, there’s a Joel Dawson.”
“Oh, I have no doubt.” She laughed and patted his arm. “Now Joel, I don’t know if you know this, but I’m very good at readings. Anytime you’d like a little insight into your future, you let me know.”
Joel glanced down at Polly. “It’s okay. I’m pretty sure I know what my future holds.”
Her cheeks turned a pretty pink.
“Lucky for you, things look bright in your future.” Maureen leaned close. “That’s not to say it won’t come with some surprises though.”
His smile faltered. That sounded a bit too ominous for his liking.
Maureen turned to Polly. “Dear, do you know where your mother has disappeared to?”
“She was with the women at the front.” Polly scanned the crowd.
Joel did the same, but he couldn’t see her.
“Where is she?” Polly asked under her breath, panic widening her eyes slightly.
Joel slipped his hand into hers. “Come on, she might be in the bathroom.”
He sent a quick text to his team, knowing they’d scour the bar with him, just in case he was wrong. Then he led Polly through the crowd.
“What if something happened to her?” she asked, nerves shaking her voice. “What if someone took her like they took the other women? Oh God, this is how Maggie’s mother went missing. She left the bar and ended up in the river.”
“Hey.” He stopped and cupped her cheeks. “Let’s not borrow trouble before we have to.”
She scanned his eyes before finally nodding.
He followed her to the bathroom and waited outside the door. He didn’t like that he couldn’t see her. His hands clenched, his chest feeling tight, right up until the moment she stepped back out.
She shook her head. “She’s not in there.”
His phone vibrated with a text.
Zac: Outside, west of the building beneath a green ash tree. She’s with Jonah. Just talking at the moment. I’ll keep my eyes on them until you get here.
Shit. Polly wouldn’t like this.
He took Polly’s hand. “I know where she is.”
“You do?”
He stepped outside, keeping Polly partially hidden behind his body and scanning the dark street as he moved.
Zac leaned against the wall on the side of the bar.
Outwardly, he looked relaxed. But Joel knew that with one wrong move from Jonah, Zac would be across the lot and detaining the guy before he could so much as try to run.
Not that any of his team thought Jonah was behind these murders.
Polly gasped when she saw them behind the tree. They stood close, Jonah’s hand on Olivia’s hip, head lowered like they were about to kiss.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered, before marching across the lot.
Joel dipped his chin toward Zac, a silent thank you, before following.
“What are you doing?” Polly cried when she reached them.
Olivia gasped and jumped back. “Polly?—”
“He’s a suspect in a murder investigation,” she barked.
“Yes, but?—”
“And you’re at your own divorce party. A party you organized.”
“It’s my fault,” Jonah said quietly. “I texted your mother and asked to meet.”
Olivia touched Jonah’s chest before looking at her daughter. “Jonah didn’t kill anyone.”
“And you know that because you know him so well?” Polly gasped.
“He’s my husband.”
“He’s been your husband for two seconds! And you’re drunk. We’re going home.”
Her mother’s brows twitched, and for a second Joel thought she’d fight Polly on it.
Then Jonah touched Olivia’s arm. “It’s okay. She’s just looking out for you. When all this is over, when my name is cleared, we’ll sort out everything.”
If the tensing of Polly’s muscles was anything to go by, she didn’t like that.
Joel touched the small of her back, feeling just a bit of the tension ease out of her.
Polly was quiet as Joel drove them back to her house.
Her mother, on the other hand, filled every second of silence.
It was actually pretty impressive that, even while drunk, she could hold such an extensive conversation.
Joel couldn’t make out everything she said because a lot of the words slurred together, but for the most part, she raved about the music and the food and the decorations.
When they reached Polly’s house, he helped Olivia out of the car. She leaned into him as Polly stormed forward and unlocked the door.
Olivia frowned up at him. “Why are you so handsome?”
“Good genetics?”
“No. I think it’s because you’re nice. Only nice guys are handsome.”
“I don’t know. I’ve met some pretty handsome terrorists.”
She threw her head back and laughed.
Polly unlocked the door.
“Polly needs a nice guy,” Olivia sighed, once she’d sobered.
“I can hear you,” Polly called over her shoulder as she stepped inside.
“Why is that a bad thing? Joel’s handsome and nice, and you need both those things.”
“I don’t need any guy, and I certainly don’t need my mother telling guys that I need them.”
Olivia grinned. “This isn’t just any guy, Polly. It’s Joel. The first man to break through that icy?—”
“Okay.” Polly grabbed her mother from Joel’s arm. “Time for bed. Thank you for your help, Joel. I’ll take it from here.”
Then they disappeared down the hall, out of sight. But if she thought he was leaving that easily, she couldn’t be more wrong.