Chapter 22
Nine months later
Macey
I stare at the blank page of my diary. In a few more pages, this journal will be finished. Maybe then I’ll actually have the courage to start a novel.
“Macey, good news! You’re taking the day off.” Ginny bursts into The Cowherd. “George is taking your shift, and your brother’s going to work in your office on the books.”
“Really? How do you know all of this?” I’m already coming out from behind the bar.
“Logan set it up. He said every time you technically have a day off from the bar, you spend it helping somebody else. Which is true, Mace.” Ginny grabs my hand. “So we’re going to spend the afternoon tubing on the river!”
“That sounds amazing.” I wave at George as he walks in through the door.
“I know. Let’s go to the store in town and buy new bathing suits first.”
Ginny starts walking so fast I have to nearly jog to keep up with her.
“Is everything all right?” I ask her as we hustle down Main Street.
“Of course. Why?”
“You seem…tense.”
Beep!
We both jump at the honking directly to our right. I turn, prepared to tell off the driver.
Dave and Logan are grinning at us from Logan’s truck.
“Get in,” Dave says with a wave.
“We’re shopping first,” Ginny says.
“We’ll go with you,” Logan says as he hops out and opens the back door for us.
I smile up at him. “Thanks for thinking of this.”
He winks. “I had selfish motives, too, you know.”
“Oh, really?”
He nods as his hand goes to the empty belt loop on my jeans. “We haven’t seen each other much lately.”
“I saw you this morning.”
“Outside of the bar, I mean.”
He’s right. I’ve been working more than normal since my father’s accident last year. I keep saying things will stabilize, but I’m still waiting for that moment.
I lean into Logan’s strong shoulder. “I’ve missed you, too, cowboy.”
As I float lazily down the Guadalupe River with Ginny, Logan, and Dave each on their own separate rafts, Ginny grabs onto my float to hold me back with her.
“What is it, Gin?”
She lowers her voice to a tense whisper. “You were right. Something is going on with me.”
“What is it?”
“I’m pregnant.”
I take one look at Ginny’s wide, horrified eyes and know this was definitely not something she and Dave planned.
Thoughts of Mama’s own unplanned pregnancy with me flood my brain.
“Does Dave know?” I whisper as we continue floating down the river, the sun beating on our heads and the cypress and oak trees passing by as the current carries us along.
“I mentioned it to him. I’m pretty sure he’s in denial.”
I look ahead at Dave laughing with Logan and trying to balance his beer can in the river.
“Look, it floats!” he says.
“Yeah, he’s having a hard time handling it,” Ginny says in a sad voice. “Macey, what’s it like to be a single mother?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been with child.”
“You don’t need to give birth to be a mother. Come on, everyone knows you raised your three siblings. Your daddy was drunk, and your mama was…busy?”
My jaw tightens defensively.
But I can’t say she’s wrong. I did half-raise my three siblings. More than half, really. Mama kind of dropped off after birth. She loved being pregnant, but those infant and toddler years were a real bitch for Mama.
“You won’t be alone, Gin. Dave has always said he wants to be a daddy.”
“By drinking and partying every night?” she says. “He hasn’t changed since high school. That’s the problem.”
I frown. “Well, he’s going to have to pretty darn quick. Talk to him again.”
“I will. I just have no idea what to do. My daddy’s going to be devastated. You know how traditional he is.” She sighs. “We’ll have to get married.”
I whip my head over to her. “Gin, are you sure that’s what you want? I know you love Dave, but you don’t need to force a marriage if you’re not ready.”
“But I want to marry the father of my child,” she says. “That was always my plan.”
“I know. And sometimes men change when they marry,” I say encouragingly. “They grow up.”
At the loud splash, I look up at the two floats in front of us. One of them is now empty, and a sputtering Dave pops up out of the water. Still holding his beer.
“Good Lord.” Ginny shudders. “What have I gotten myself into?”
I reach over and grab her hand. “We’ll figure this out, honey. Don’t worry. It’ll be okay.”
The next day, as I organize the glasses and check the taps to make sure all is in order behind the bar, my mind wanders. I can’t focus on work.
I text Ginny to check in. Are you okay?
On my way over, she writes back.
While I wait for her to arrive, I scroll through the pictures on my phone from our trip to the river yesterday.
I smile at the photo of Logan looking at me when Ginny and I were teasing Dave for falling into the river. His mouth is tipped up the way it always gets when he’s trying not to laugh.
And his muscled chest—I had to look at him shirtless all day long. It was nearly enough to make me break my nine-months-long streak of celibacy.
Yes, I haven’t been with anyone since Logan.
Normally, he and I both move on quickly after we have our yearly fling. We start dating someone as fast as possible. It never lasts, but it helps break the feeling of missing each other.
But this year, I just couldn’t. I’ve stayed single this entire time, and while I can’t be sure, I haven’t seen Logan with any women at all.
And God, I just wanted to jump him yesterday.
I go back to checking the taps, but my mind is still on those photographs of my hot cowboy neighbor.
“Shit!”
I shake off my wet hands and frown as I look down at my shirt, which is now soaked with beer. Looks like I checked the tap for a little too long.
I leave the bar area and go to my office where I have a spare t-shirt hanging on the back of my chair.
Texas Y’all. I smile at the t-shirt design. This shirt always reminds me of Logan. More specifically, it reminds me of times we’ve gotten naked together.
I sigh as I whip off my wet t-shirt and replace it with the dry one.
Is it wrong that all I want is Logan’s hot lips on mine, his hands tangled in my hair, and his tongue in my mouth?
We should wait longer, considering we were together twice the last time. Hell, technically we should skip a year altogether. God, I don’t think I can do that.
The banging of the front door startles me out of my lust-filled thoughts. Before I can leave my office, Ginny walks in and drops into the chair behind my desk.
She points to the empty jail cell across from my desk. “Do you really think Jane Austen’s ghost had a lover in England?”
I laugh. “Gin, I don’t know. The whole story’s a fantasy. You know that.”
“Right.” She frowns. “I wonder, though, if she misses him.”
“Ginny, you’re losing focus.” I snap my fingers. “Let’s deal with your love life rather than a ghost’s.” I lead her out of the office and down the hall to the bar.
She hops onto a stool, and I sit next to her.
I look behind the bar at the photograph of Mama and Daddy in happier times, laughing as I waddle across the bar at age two.
Ginny’s eyes follow mine.
“Gin, I’ve been thinking, and I definitely don’t know if jumping into marriage is the right idea…”
“Can you round up Logan for me?” she says breathlessly. “Dave and I talked, and we have a solid plan.”
“Great! What is it?”
“Ask Logan if he can drive us in his truck. Dave and I need you both with us.”
I blink at her. “Need us where?”
“Vegas. We’re getting hitched!”