Chapter 4
Edie
“Where the hell could she have gotten to?” Edie muttered, stepping outside to check for any sign of Jesse, as if she would have magically reappeared in the thirty seconds since she’d last checked. Matt and Carly had left over an hour ago, and so far, Jesse still hadn’t returned to the store.
Behind her, she heard Taylor’s quiet sigh. “She knows this town as well as anybody, Edie. And it would serve her right if you went home without her and she had to find her own way.”
“That’s not the point.”
“What exactly is the point, Edie?”
Turning around, she frowned at Taylor who was watching her through slightly narrowed eyes. “What do you mean?”
Taylor’s eyes narrowed even further, giving Edie the distinct impression she saw far more than Edie wanted her to. “I mean I’ve been sitting here for an hour, watching you watch the door, waiting for her to return like some sort of lovesick puppy. Are you still in love with her?”
The question had Edie’s head snapping back as if Taylor had physically reached out and slapped her. “What? Of course not!”
“Then why didn’t you tell her ‘absolutely the fuck not’ when she asked to stay with you?”
“Because she…” Edie trailed off. “She needed a place to stay, and I have plenty of room.”
“And so does the bed and breakfast two blocks over, not to mention any number of hotels between here and Charleston. It’s not like she can’t afford her choice of accommodations, Edie. Why didn’t you send her packing?”
Frustration mixed with embarrassment was a volatile cocktail, and Edie could feel her fuse growing shorter with every passing second. “Because I didn’t. End of story.”
If Taylor heard the warning in Edie’s tone, she flat out ignored it. “Nope, not good enough. You know if any one of us were in this situation, you’d be threatening us within an inch of our lives until we told you what was going on.”
The fact that there was more than a little truth to Taylor’s statement only had that short fuse burning hotter and faster. “It’s different.”
“It’s not.” Hurt flashed in Taylor’s baby blues. “But fine. I thought we were better friends than that, but if you don’t want to tell me what’s going on with you, then just forget it.”
“I don’t know, okay!” The words burst out of her, seemingly ripped straight from Edie’s heart if the ache in her chest was any indication. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell her to fuck right off when she said she was going to stay with me. Hell, I don’t know why I didn’t kick her out the second I found her sitting at my kitchen table. I’ve never known what I was doing when it came to Jesse Walker, and I guess that’s the one thing that hasn’t changed over the last ten years.”
“Oh, Edie.” Eyes shimmering with tears, Taylor rushed forward, throwing her arms around Edie’s neck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I’m just worried about you.”
“I know, honey. But I can handle myself.” She returned Taylor’s embrace, telling herself it was for the other woman’s sake, and not because she desperately needed to be held so she wouldn’t shatter into a million pieces. “I’ll be fine.”
“Of course you will.” Pulling away, Taylor sniffled and offered up a beaming if somewhat watery smile. “You’re Edie Fucking McDowell. If anyone can handle their ex gate-crashing their life after all this time, it’s you.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence.” Despite her dry response, she actually did appreciate knowing one of her girls had that kind of confidence in her ability to get shit done.
Giggling, Taylor wiped at her eyes. “Just do me one favor, okay?”
“What’s that?”
“If it gets to be too much for you, call us. One of us, all of us, day or night. You’ve been our rock for so long. Let us be there for you.”
“Sure.” The lie rolled easily off her tongue, and she even managed a smile. “But I doubt Jesse will be staying around long enough for it to get to that point.”
“Uh huh.” Judging by the tone of Taylor’s voice, she didn’t believe that any more than Edie did. “Well, if I find out you needed us and didn’t call, I’ll be the one making you cut a switch.”
Edie raised a brow, though she couldn’t stop her lip from twitching with amusement at Taylor’s threat. “I’d like to see you try, Little girl.”
“I could be toppy if I wanted. I could!” Taylor insisted, her bottom lip moving into an adorable pout.
Before Edie could do more than smirk at Taylor’s declaration, her phone vibrated in her pocket. “Hold that thought.” Pulling the phone out, she sighed at the number on the screen and hit the button to answer. “Hey, Gary. What’s up?”
“How do you feel about llamas?” the overly cheerful voice on the other end of the call asked in response.
“Llamas? Seriously?”
“Yup. Someone with more money than sense bought his five-year-old daughter a llama for her birthday and long story short, I have a llama in need of a temporary home.”
“Jesus Christ.” Rubbing a hand over her face, she closed her eyes and groaned. “All right. Send me the address and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thanks, Edie. You know I appreciate you.”
“Yeah, well, you owe me.”
“A bottle of Woodford?”
The offer of her favorite whiskey had a reluctant smile tugging at Edie’s lips. “That’ll do.”
She ended the call and stuffed the phone back in her pocket. “All right. I have to go pick up a fucking llama. If Jesse shows back up…”
“Offer her a ride to the closest Greyhound station?” Though the words were practically dripping with sweetness, Taylor’s smile was more than a little wicked.
“No. Point her in the direction of my farm and tell her to get walking.”
A wicked sort of glee lit Taylor’s eyes. “That’s the Edie McDowell we all know and love.”
Jesse
The walk around town helped to clear her mind, even if the interaction with Taylor and Carly still sat heavy on her heart. Somehow, when she’d been packing her bag for this impromptu trip back to Lost River, it had never occurred to her that Edie would have actually told anybody about them. The Edie she’d known had been almost militant about keeping their relationship a secret, especially after what had happened with her parents.
Then again, this Edie was obviously no longer the woman Jesse had fallen in love with that summer. One more thing to weigh on her heart, she supposed.
Back at the feed store, she frowned at the empty spot where Edie’s truck had been. Maybe she’d just gone to run an errand or something.
Bracing herself for Taylor’s icy fury, Jesse plastered on a smile and opened the door. “Hey, Taylor. Is Edie here?”
“Nope,” Taylor answered, barely glancing up from the book she was reading.
“Okay, well… do you know where she went?”
“Out.”
Jesus. “Out, where?”
“I’m not Edie’s keeper.”
“Well, can you at least give me her number so I can call her?”
Without even pretending to look up this time, Taylor turned a page. “Nope.”
This was getting her nowhere. Stomping up to the counter, Jesse slapped her hands down on the polished wood hard enough to have Taylor’s head jerking up to stare at her. “All right, Taylor Dawson. Are you going to tell me why you suddenly hate my guts?”
Taylor blinked in surprise, a pretty blush creeping into her cheeks even as she lifted her chin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know you well enough to hate you.”
“Exactly my point. So, what’s your deal? Is this all because of Edie?”
Before Taylor could do more than open her mouth to respond, the bells above the front door jangled and Jesse whipped around to glare at the intruder. Only to find Ian Grady stepping into the store with a wide grin on his face.
His smile brightened even more when he spotted her. “Jesse? Holy shit! I didn’t know you were home!”
Ian rushed forward, sweeping her up in a tight hug, and Jesse’s heart stuttered a bit as she returned the embrace. It was a knee-weakening relief to know not everyone felt the same way as Edie and Taylor did about her return to Lost River.
“I had some business in town, figured I’d stay a bit,” she said when Ian put her back on her feet. “How have you been?”
“Good. Really good.” His gaze shifted to Taylor, and his grin seemed to freeze on his face. “Why are you staring at me like you want to rip my throat out, Tayter Tot?”
Tayter Tot? Well, that was freaking adorable. And fitting for Taylor, who was cute as a button even when she was trying to murder you with her eyes.
“Nothing,” Taylor said, her voice as stiff as her posture. “Jesse was just leaving.”
Eyebrows raising, Ian glanced from Taylor to Jesse and back again. “What did I miss?”
“It’s nothing,” Jesse said, echoing Taylor’s words but adding a bright smile she didn’t remotely feel. “I was just coming in to ask Taylor if she had Edie’s number so I could get a ride up to her house.”
“Knowing Edie, she’s off saving a herd of cats or another goat or something. But I can give you a ride wherever you need.”
“Absolutely the fuck not.” Fury snapped in Taylor’s eyes and her voice, making Ian’s eyes narrow in a look Jesse recognized all too well.
Uh oh.
“Excuse me, Taylor Grace?”
Yup. That was definitely a Daddy Warning Tone if she’d ever heard one.
But Taylor either didn’t hear it or didn’t care. “I said, absolutely the fuck not. You aren’t giving her a ride anywhere.”
Ian’s gaze flicked toward Jesse for only a second before returning to Taylor’s defiant expression. “Jesse, please excuse us for a minute. Taylor and I need to speak in private.”
Shit. Taylor really was going to hate her forever if Ian took her to task over their… whatever this was between her and Taylor. “Actually, if I could just get Edie’s number I’ll get out of your hair. I’ll head over to Joe’s Diner and wait for her.”
“No need,” he said firmly without bothering to actually look at her. His gaze was still locked on the furious blonde behind the counter. “Taylor. Office. Now.”
A tiny sliver of worry snuck in through Taylor’s icy facade. “Can’t it wait?”
“No, it cannot. We can either have this discussion in private, or we can have it out in the open. Your choice.”
The color on Taylor’s cheeks darkened as she shot another glare Jesse’s way before marching toward the back of the store, her back ramrod straight.
“We’ll be back in a minute.” Pointing a finger at her, Ian pinned Jesse in place with a no-nonsense look. “Stay right there.”
Standing in the middle of an empty store, waiting for the fight to start, was awkward as hell. But she was also dying to know if her hunch about their relationship was right. And that curiosity was what had her tiptoeing over to the door as quietly as possible and pressing her ear to the thin wood.
“I am absolutely not apologizing to her!” Outrage colored Taylor’s muffled voice, making Jesse wince. “You don’t know what she did!”
“Did she do something to cause you harm?” Though Ian didn’t raise his voice to match Taylor’s, there was no mistaking the deadly fury in his tone.
“No, but?—”
“Then you are going to march your butt back out there, apologize to Jesse, and I will be back to pick you up from work after I drop her off wherever she needs to go.”
“I won’t! And you can’t make me.”
Oh, shit. Even through the door, Jesse swore she could feel how heavy the silence that fell inside the office was.
“You and I are going to be having a very long talk about this when we get home, Little girl. In the meantime, I suggest you do as you’re told before I decide that discussion needs to happen right here in Edie’s office.”
“Daddy, no!” A note of pleading entered Taylor’s voice, and despite everything that had happened, Jesse felt a stir of pity in her chest. “She’ll hear you!”
“Apologize now or apologize with a sore bottom. It’s your choice. And for the record, if I have to spank you now, you’ll be getting double when we get home, on top of being grounded for the next two days. So choose wisely, Tayter Tot.”
“But Carly leaves for Nebraska on Wednesday! I can’t be grounded!”
Guilt twisted in Jesse’s stomach as Taylor’s voice pitched higher. It almost sounded like she was on the verge of tears after Ian’s threat.
“Then go apologize.”
“Fine,” Taylor snapped. “But I’m not going to mean it.”
“Go, Taylor Grace.”
Ian’s tone clearly said he was done arguing about it, so Jesse hurried away from the door to take her place in the middle of the store again, praying her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. She waited until she heard someone approaching to turn, a fake smile plastered on her face.
Taylor stopped several feet away, her hands clasped tightly in front of her and a red blush nearly covering her face. Whatever embarrassment she felt didn’t stop her from jutting her chin out and glaring at Jesse. Again. “I’m sorry I was rude.”
She didn’t sound the tiniest bit sorry, but Jesse supposed she couldn’t blame her. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t be very nice to me either, in your position.”
Taylor looked over her shoulder at Ian with a smug smile that earned her a hard look in return before Ian softened his expression for Jesse. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride wherever you need to go.”
“That would be Edie’s farm,” Jesse said with a grateful smile.
“Sure thing.” Pausing beside his babygirl, Ian slid an arm around her waist before lowering his head to capture Taylor’s lips in a long, hard kiss. Even from a distance, Jesse could see it was the kind of kiss that soothed even as it promised retribution later. “I’ll be back in a bit to help you close up, Tayter Tot. I love you.”
Some of the tension faded from Taylor’s shoulders as she nodded. “Love you, too.”
“I’m sorry about… whatever that was back there,” Ian said as he and Jesse stepped out onto the sidewalk together. “Taylor isn’t usually so rude. Actually, Taylor is never rude.” The corners of his mouth dipped down and a little wrinkle formed between his brows as if he’d been hit with a sudden realization. His gaze, far too ‘Daddy-like’ for Jesse’s comfort, zeroed in on her. “I don’t suppose you can shed any light on that for me.”
“I can… but it’s personal. All I can say is it doesn’t have anything to do with Taylor directly. She’s pissed because of something that happened between me and someone else.”
He held her gaze a few heartbeats longer before nodding. “All right. I can respect that.”
Guilt pricked at her as they made their way to Ian’s car. “Don’t be too hard on her,” she said as Ian held the passenger side door open for her. “She’s just being a good friend.”
“I’ll take it into consideration.”
Figuring she’d done as much as she could do for poor Taylor, Jesse bit back a sigh and slid into the car. Taylor could handle her own Daddy. Jesse had bigger problems to worry about.
Like finding Edie so she could finally get some peace of mind about the way she’d left, then get the hell out of Lost River. For good this time.