Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Bailey
I spent the entire night tossing and turning, and didn't manage a single wink of sleep. I couldn’t. Not when every lie my parents confessed replayed in my mind on a loop, forcing me to lie helpless in bed with no answers. I couldn’t call him. Couldn’t have Nash ease my anguish by assuring me none of it was true. This was a conversation that needed to be had in person, but I’m afraid to look him in the eye and listen to him tell me every single thing they said is the truth.
I’m unbelievably exhausted. My head is throbbing, my eyes burn from how sleepy I am since waking up at five in the morning. Not even the three lattes I’ve had in the last five hours have helped. Monroe, Billie, Brynn and I have been baking for hours and finished over twenty dozen batches of cupcakes.
Early this morning, Jase, Camden and Jake went over to Honeybees and loaded his truck with all the ingredients—twelve pounds of flour, six dozen eggs, nearly four pounds of butter for baking, and another two for the buttercream frosting, plus all the other essential items—I had stored there for the occasion. They dropped them off back here at my family ranch before heading out to set up the beer garden downtown.
The town square, from Main Street down to Sutton Creek and back around, will be blocked off, leading out to the plaza park by city hall. The Crossroads Annual Harvest Festival is one of my favorite events’ in town. Think of it as a large outdoor farmer’s market that not only celebrates the small business and farms in town, but brings the community together during the most special time of the year. From local family-owned restaurants, large, to renowned apple orchards and my favorite maple and pecan farms—the two wondrous flavors in my cupcakes—all of Crossroads and a few neighboring towns, come together to celebrate the bountiful harvest of the year and hope for another year of plentiful crops.
Being a part of a festival I’ve always loved to attend as a child was a dream come true. With the event being the perfect marketing strategy for Honeybees over the years, I’m excited about what it will mean for Stingers Tavern now that we’ve added the beer garden.
“You doing all right, B?” Monroe asks as she shimmies up beside me, trying to sneak a taste of the peach buttercream I’m using to frost the cupcake currently in my hand. I swat her hand away, though not before she snags a finger of frosting, shoving it into her mouth and nearly moaning as she pulls it out.
I hear Jase clear his throat as he walks into the kitchen. “I don’t want to know what’s going on here.”
“Oh, lighten up Jameson,” Monroe teases, taking a cupcake this time and not being shy about it as she nearly stuffs the entire thing in her mouth, intentionally licking her lips and fingers clean when she does.
Jase stares in disbelief and I can’t help but laugh at the dumbfounded look on his face at her response. Officially in her second trimester of pregnancy, she is no longer having any morning sickness and her cravings for sweets has nearly tripled since last night.
Luckily, she’s not yet showing, but you wouldn’t be able to tell in the loose fitted Honeybees T-shirt we designed specifically for today paired up with a pair of flared jeans and cowboy boots. Billie, Brynn and I are wearing the same shirts, only ours are cropped, since we aren’t growing a human inside of us.
“What are you doing here, Jase? Shouldn’t you be at the town square setting up for the festival? We have two hours until it’s set to begin.” The festival is a three-day weekend event, but the first night is always the busiest.
With a shake of his head, he looks away from her and meets my question. “I came back to pick up some of the empty kegs I had stored out in the barn. We’re expecting twice as many people as last year’s event, so it’s better to be prepared than to run out of beer before the end of the night. Are you going to need any help to transport all of this?” he asks, staring at the trays of cupcakes neatly stacked in the plastic storage containers we’ll be using to transport them.
“Nash is supposed to stop by with Monty’s truck to help us take all of this over.” Just as I say it, my phone rings in my pocket, an incoming text from the man himself.
Nash: Good morning, Angel. Hadn’t texted you because I know you’ve been busy. I’m on my way to pick you up. Should be there in the next fifteen minutes.
I can’t help the smile that creeps up my lips at the relief he hadn’t called me because he didn’t want to bother me. If I hadn’t been so busy, I definitely would have obsessed about why he hadn’t reached out since we’ve spent almost two weeks exclusively texting all day long.
Jase grunts, though he doesn’t comment or ask why his best friend is the one that’s helping me. “Well, I’m leaving in fifteen minutes. Just need to shower, change, and then I’ll head out. Let me know if you change your mind.” he chances a glance back at Monroe, who is currently on her third cupcake. Luckily, I anticipated this happening and planned ahead, making two extra batches just for us to enjoy.
Something about the way he watches her seems different this time. Jase is aware of Monroe’s pregnancy. He was there the night we all met up at the bar after closing and decided we’d respect Monroe’s wishes of doing things at her own pace. None of her brothers were happy with the idea, but they also knew arguing with her wouldn’t solve anything. Especially since Billie and I made it known we wouldn’t allow them to piss her off or make her cry anymore.
But Jase sat in silence, only there because of his rekindled friendship with Nash, and because we were in the bar he co-owns. In the years since Monroe and I have been friends, I’ve always suspected she was sort of into my brother, only I know after what happened with Nash and I, she would never do something about it.
Regardless of being single for the last few years, Jase had a long-term-girlfriend, Indy, who moved away two years ago when they just couldn’t keep up with the long distance relationship. He didn’t seem to beat up about it anymore, but for nearly a year, he wasn’t quite himself. I almost felt like maybe they rekindled their relationship and that would explain his sudden secrecy with the out-of-town trips he’s been taking nearly once a week.
Billie saunters back into the room, her gaze flicking back between Monroe and Jase, who are now standing suspiciously close to one another. Jase takes a step back and exits the room without another word, while Monroe busies herself with washing her hands in the kitchen sink.
I haven’t told either of them about my conversation with my parents last night, but I know they can sense something isn’t right. I should be ecstatic that the day has finally come and the stress of it is nearly done with, but all I can think about is the knot in my stomach I’ve had since I woke up this morning. Something about today just doesn’t feel right.
It’s like the air is thick with indecision, and at any moment, something might snap that tension.
“Nash is on his way,” I say, setting down the last batch of the cupcakes before reaching behind my back to untie my apron. Before either of them can respond, there's a loud commotion coming from the front yard, yelling and arguing, along with the blaring horn of a car.
Billie’s smile widens in an oddly smug and proud way. Like she’s keen on something Monroe and I are not. “Sounds to me like Nash is already here.”
Without being able to stop and get a look at myself in the mirror, horrified by the idea I’m covered in flour, I step out onto the front porch of my family’s home to find my father in the middle of the driveway where Nash has just pulled up.
Staring in awe as he hops out of Monty’s sleek black Ford F250—looking every part the sexy, rebellious cowboy he’s never been—my mouth goes completely dry. Those butterflies I seem to feel anytime we’re in the same room swarm around, making my heart race with excitement.
Someone is saying something behind me but I can’t hear them, my eyes glued to the tight dark blue wranglers perfectly fitted around his muscular ass. The black dress shirt he’s wearing with the top three buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up just below his elbow, molds to his broad chest and strains along the muscles of his forearms and biceps.
The ink on his tan skin gleams in the bright sunlight reflecting down on him, but it’s the black cowboy hat with matching Tecovas on his feet that makes me swoon.
As if Nash Bishop wasn’t already every woman’s wet dream come to life, this version of the man leaves me absolutely speechless. The wide, dangerously seductive smile that creeps along his lips when he sees me has me done for. I can hear more whispers from everyone who’s now gathered on the porch behind me, but as I step down onto the cobblestone path leading toward the circular driveway he’s parked along the edge of, my eyes are fixed on him.
Ignoring my father, Nash saunters toward me, his smile dropping slightly when he notices the audience that’s formed behind me. I’m not sure who’s here, other than Billie and Monroe, who followed me out, but I know Brynn is nearby and has yet to head out for the festival.
My heart rate quickens with every step he takes, closing the distance between us until all the air is sucked out of my lungs by his lips. With one hand on my lower back, teasing the skin showing over the waist of my jeans, Nash pulls me into him, craning his neck until he lowers his face to mine. Angling his lips, they crash against mine, gentle and not the usual obsessive need to devour me as they tangle with mine.
There’s so much I want to say to him at this moment, to convey how much he means to me. With his lips, Nash washes away my earlier worries, reminding me he’s here now and regardless of the reasons he left, it shouldn’t matter. I’ve spent too long without him. I don’t want to waste any more time.
Leaning up on my toes that are still in my pink fluffy slippers, I deepen the kiss, taking in every needy stroke of his tongue against mine. My father clears his throat, reminding us both he’s standing a mere five feet from us and I’m so incredibly mortified, I don't want to pull back from him and risk a glance in his direction.
Nash exhales a breath of a laugh as his lips release mine. “Let’s get your sweet ass and all those cupcakes in the car, Angel.”
“ I s everything ready?” I ask Nash as we drive downtown. The merchandise is secured in a large, refrigerated cooler in the back of the truck. Billie and Monroe are not far behind us in Billie’s jeep, having stopped by Honeybees to pick up a few extra ingredients for the specialty lattes we’ll be selling alongside the cupcakes.
The iced brown sugar shaken espresso with a maple cold foam and a pecan syrup drizzle is one my favorite drinks Billie’s ever crafted. Along with the green matcha oat latte with a peach infused cold foam, today is bound to be a total success.
“Monty, Theo and Beau are downtown with Cam, setting up the tents, tables and fence that needs to be secured around the space. It’s double the size of what we expected, but we have enough tables and Monty built a makeshift bar where we’ll serve the signature cocktails you created.”
With one hand gripping the steering wheel and another tangled with mine resting on the center console, this moment feels right. “What about the HoneyBees booth?” I ask, trying to hide the blush that appears from the way he’s looking at me.
“I set it up this morning. All it needs is your cupcakes and coffees, and you're all set.”
Nash did all this for me. He and his brothers are working alongside mine to ensure today is successful for both my businesses. After last night and the bitter attitude from my parents after what started off as a pretty decent night, I’m surprised any of the Bishops are helping Jase and I. but it only goes to show the type of people they really are.
“Thank you, Nash. You and your brothers have been an enormous help. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.”
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he laughs. “Don’t thank me yet, Angel. I’m sure that stunt I pulled in front of your daddy is going to come back and bite me in the ass by the end of the night. As for my brothers, they somehow barter something in return.”
The familiar warmth of his hand reassures me that everything my father said has to be a lie. Our earlier kiss in front of everyone was proof that Nash could have never done what he claimed.
“How’s it feel, all of you guys back in the same place?”
“Oddly, as if no time’s passed. We are all different people, that’s for sure. I kept in touch with Theo and Beau, and saw them pretty often if we were in the same state. They weren’t as much of a threat to me or a reminder of Crossroads and the life I left behind as Monty and Monroe.”
“Are we ever going to talk about that?” I ask, just as Nash pulls into the parking spot behind the tents set up for us.
As we pull up to the venue, Jase is the first one to see us, his gaze hardening as he catches sight of us alone in the truck. Not that he has a right to say anything about the two of us together, regardless of whatever betrayal he might feel on behalf of Nash, but we’ve discussed nothing about my relationship with his friend. He gives me an incredulous look as he nods his head toward the dash window.
“One day, maybe.” The break in Nash’s voice suggests everything is not as clear cut as it seems and dread suddenly consumes me. “But right now, we need to get you out of this car and unload everything before your brother comes over and murders me.”
I try to laugh at his playful humor, but realize he’s not joking in the slightest as Jase approaches the truck. Beau and Monty head our way as Billie and Monroe pull up to the spot beside us. Hopping out of the truck, I look toward Billie, who’s also exiting her car, a knowing look on her smug face as she slides up next to me and whispers so only I can hear her.
“That kiss,” she swoons, jokingly fanning herself. “God, I wanted to scream and I almost would have if I weren’t stunned speechless.”
I playfully swat her arm, feeling that blush intensify as I catch Nash looking our way. “You and me both, babe.”
In a matter of minutes, we have the entire truck and jeep unloaded, Billie, Monroe and I working hard to set up all the merchandise on the tables before the event opens its doors at three o’clock in the afternoon. Beside us, the guys have set up the beer taps along the bar Monty built in just a few days' time, connected to the beer kegs that sit on the floor behind it.
The guys will all take turns serving the drinks. Jase and Beau will man the beer station with Raven, while Monty and Nash take care of the cocktail lounge, situated closer to the edge of the cafe’s tent.
As guests arrive, they’ll be met with the opportunity to mingle around the cocktail tables, perch on the many bar stools lined around them, or cozy up on the plush couches forming a circle around the fire pit. The space has transformed into a beer garden oasis, and with a photo booth, decorated with wild flowers and greenery to look like a secret garden, it will be a night for making memories. Beautiful garlands of twinkling lights flicker all around us, creating an unforgettable atmosphere I know so many will enjoy.
“I think the photo booth needs to be a permanent staple at Stingers. It’s a genius idea,” Billie says, as she refills the ice chest. She’s not wrong. Actually, the entire setup is making me wish we had an outdoor space at Stingers, particularly one we can enjoy all throughout the summer. It may have to be something we add on to the property in the coming months.
Glancing toward the photo area, I notice Nash setting up an amp speaker and connecting it to a mic that is propped up on a stand, then setting it to the right of the lounge area. “What’s the mic for?” I ask, hoping to God they aren’t planning to have some karaoke contest going.
“Please don’t say karaoke,” Monroe whines, reading my mind.
“No, actually,” Billie says, sudden excitement brimming from her eyes. “Theo agreed to put on a little pop-up concert for us. Well, I mean for you and Stingers. Apparently, his agent mentioned something about being back in his small town and giving back to the community that raised him will be good for the playboy image that’s causing him some trouble.”
“A concert by the Theo Bishop,” I joke, though it’s no joking matter. This is huge for us, and will surely make our space the most sought after tonight. Even better if I can convince him to do it all weekend.
Theo is one of the hottest country music stars of the decade, but primarily in the last four years since his hit song Carolina, remained number one on the country music charts for one hundred and six weeks straight. He’s toured with some of the greatest, sold out arenas all on his own, and is deemed the sexiest cowboy by women and men alike.
Though he currently lives in Tennessee, it’s well known that he arose out of the vast farmlands of Crossroads, North Carolina, which is also why our town has become such a tourist destination over the years. Everyone wants a taste of the town that gave them their country music legend.
“Are you going to jump on stage and sing something with him?” I ask Billie, hoping the answer will be yes. “You know you are amazing with country duets. I don’t know why you don’t post more videos of you singing on your Instagram and TikTok, since they have gone incredibly viral in the past.”
Monroe chimes in, agreeing with me. “We could have ourselves a very own Country Music Princess on our hands, but you refuse to give yourself a chance.”
“How did this turn into being about me?” she asks defensively, but I can see she’s curious about trying it. Since we were kids, it’s been a dream of Billie to be a singer, anyone famous honestly, but she’s also her worst enemy in doubting herself and her talents. She has an incredible voice and even better than her skills as a talented secret songwriter, is her drive and passion in all she does. “Let’s focus back on you, babe. Are you and Nash like officially a couple now?”
Annoyed by the deflection but also aware of how much of a good mood I’ve been since Nash kissed me outside of my daddy’s ranch this morning, I try to hide the blush that permanently stains my cheeks.
However, Monroe tenses beside me at Billie’s question. I know it’s not because she doesn’t approve of Nash and me—she’s slowly been working on mending her relationship with him—and instead, because the entire topic makes her uncomfortable. I mean, I would feel the same if we were talking about my brother and her.
“Honestly, I think so. We haven’t officially said it, but, at least for me, I don’t see how I could ever go back to the way things were before Nash came back to Crossroads. He also doesn't seem as eager to leave.”
“He’s not going anywhere, Bailey,” Monroe assures me, our gazes all shifting to where he’s standing with Monty, lost in easy conversation like he and his brother have spent the entire last decade together.
It amazes me how easily the Bishops have accepted their differences and forgiven the past choices they’ve made. Franklin’s death was really a blessing in disguise for them, allowing them to reunite and, for once, grieve the same loss again, reminding them they only have each other to look out for.
I wish my family saw things that way when in reality our unity in the public eye is strictly to allow people to see this image of a perfect family, though we are far from it. Everything my parents have forgiven, every indiscretion my siblings and I caused, is erased all to keep up appearances. Though the judgment and resentment is only buried deep beneath the surface where it builds and builds until it can no longer be held back by lies, and erupts, taking us and those closest to us with it.
“I sure hope so. Now all that’s left to do is the impossible—get my brother and family to see Nash and our love the way we do.”
Billie throws her arm over my shoulder and gives me a sly wink. “Who said anything about it being impossible?”