Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tully didn’t know what had happened. One second, she had been sitting in between Birdie and Daddy in church, listening to Birdie sing “Amazing Grace” in her off-key voice, and the next second, she’d been driving out to the Hennessys to offer them a loan.
Had she lost her mind? Her mama would throw a fit if she knew Tully was getting a second mortgage on her house.
Mama was so proud of her for saving up for the down payment.
So was Daddy. If they knew she was throwing away all that hard work on a bar—along with the money her daddy had chipped in—they’d be livid.
And they had every right to be.
It was crazy.
And yet, she couldn’t stop herself from doing it.
Honky Tonk Heaven had to be resurrected. Whether it was because of the stories she’d grown up listening to or, like Jaxon had pointed out, her repressed wild side, she didn’t know. All she knew was that it had to reopen.
It just had to.
But that didn’t explain what she was doing traipsing along the river with a half-naked Hennessy in her Sunday clothes. It was obvious by the sour expression on Jaxon’s face he wasn’t happy about her tagging along.
“Who built this treeboat?” she asked, then promptly tripped over a tree root.
Jaxon took her arm and righted her. “It was Huck’s idea to build the raft, but we all worked on it. When it didn’t float, Daddy came up with the idea to put it in a tree.”
She didn’t remember much about the Hennessys’ father.
But she did remember seeing him one time at a county fair with his kids.
He’d had Poppy on his shoulders and was holding Huck’s hand, while Dawson and Jaxon walked along beside him.
He’d said something that made all the kids laugh and as they’d walked past, he’d grinned and winked at Tully. He’d looked like Jaxon did now.
Except happier.
She followed a scowling Jaxon up the riverbank to a clearing with a pecan tree right in the center.
The biggest tree she’d ever seen in her life.
Its trunk was massive as were the branches that reached up to the sky.
In the thick foliage, she could just make out dilapidated-looking structures on almost every branch.
When she got closer, she realized just how high up the Hennessys had built their tree boat . . . terrifyingly high.
“Hey!” Jaxon yelled and three Hennessy heads appeared over the edge of the lower level.
“Ahoy, Tully!” Huck yelled down. “You coming aboard?”
Before she could decline, Poppy spoke. “Are you kidding? The sheriff’s little princess isn’t coming up here. She’s too prissy for a cool treeboat.”
Tully pushed down her fear, grabbed onto the rope ladder, and started to climb. She might have been just fine if her sandal hadn’t slipped off. She watched as it fell all the way to the ground and bounced next to Jaxon’s bare feet.
He looked up at her and cocked an eyebrow. “Trying to kill me again, Officer Gentry?”
She couldn’t answer. Not when every muscle in her body was frozen with fear. All she could do was hang there, clutching the unstable rope in a death grip and staring down at the ground . . . imagining her body lying at Jaxon’s feet like her shoe.
“Tully?” Jaxon said. “You okay?”
“I think that would be a no, Jax.” Dawson’s voice came from above her. “If her white-knuckled grip on the rope ladder is any indication, I’d say she has a fear of heights.”
“Yep,” Poppy said. “I have to agree. And unless you want to see your girlfriend’s bones crack like an eggshell, Jax, you need to quit looking up her dress and get your ass up the ladder and save her.”
“Shit!” Jaxon stepped onto the ladder, causing it to sway and Tully to release a squeak of fear as she closed her eyes and waited to fall to her death. Instead, only seconds later, she was surrounded by tattooed arms and a warm, hard body.
“I got you, Tallulah.” His warm breath fell against her ear. “All you need to do is take one step at a time up the ladder.”
She shook her head. “Up? I’d rather go back down.”
“It’s closer to the top. Now slip off your other sandal so you’ll be more stable, then just take one rung at a time.”
With her body trembling, she did what he said and slipped off her sandal and let it drop before she stepped up to the next rung. Jaxon followed, his bare chest brushing her bare back and causing her to feel even more lightheaded than she already was.
“Good girl. You’re doing great.”
“Good girl?” Poppy said. “If you don’t punch him for that condescending misogynistic name, Tully, I will.”
“Shut up, Poppy.” Jaxon rested his hand over Tully’s and squeezed. “You got this, Tallulah. You’re just a few rungs away from the top.”
“All she needs is one, Jax,” Dawson said. “Then I got her.”
“Did you hear that? Just one more.”
She took a deep breath and took the next rung.
As soon as she did, Dawson’s hands slipped beneath her arms and hauled her over the edge.
She collapsed against his chest with relief for a brief second—just long enough to realize that Jaxon wasn’t the only Hennessy with impressive muscles—before she was lifted out of his arms and pressed against the other set of impressive muscles.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were scared of heights?” Jaxon asked.
“I’m not. I’m just scared of rickety, unstable ladders twenty feet off the ground.”
Poppy snorted. “And this person is supposed to be protecting the town?”
“I said shut up, Pops,” Jaxon said. “And don’t act like you’re so tough when you have a fear of water.”
“I do not have a fear of water. I have a fear of drowning.”
Huck laughed. “What’s the differ—oww! Why’d you hit me, Pops?”
“That’s enough you two.” Jaxon drew back and leaned down so his eyes were level with Tully’s. She was surprised by the deep concern she read in their golden depths. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I think so.”
He smiled. It was soft and caring and she suddenly felt like the fearful climb had been worth it just to see that smile. “Well, since it took so much to get you up here, you might as well enjoy the view.” He took her by the shoulders and turned her. “Look.”
She sucked in her breath.
It did feel like she was standing on the deck of ship sailing out into the deep blue ocean of the sky.
A strong breeze blew through her hair and the sun shone hot on her face.
To her right, the river wound through the valley like a glittery ribbon of silver, surrounded by outcroppings of pecan, cedar, mesquite, and oak trees.
To her left, was the town of Promise Springs, a mishmash of rooftops peeking out from green billowy treetops.
Growing up in Texas, she had seen a lot of pretty things—wild mustangs racing through red rock plateaus, a sea of purplish bluebonnets waving in a stiff spring breeze, longhorns lazily grazing through grass-covered hills, the gulf waters lapping against a rocky shore.
But none of those sights compared to this.
Maybe because this was home.
“Oh my gosh,” she breathed. “This is the best treeboat ever.”
“Damn straight it is!” Poppy moved way too close to the edge of the deck and held out her arms like Rose on the Titanic. “Nothing could make this any better.”
“Well, maybe one thing,” Tully said.
Poppy turned to her. “What would that be?”
“An elevator.”
All the Hennessys laughed . . . except for Poppy. She didn’t even smile. “Why are you here?”
“Jesus, Pops!” Huck said. “Way to be hospitable.”
“Sorry, but I’m not a flirt like you, Huck—happy whenever any pretty girl is around. I want to know why the daughter of the sheriff who put our brother in jail is hanging out in our treeboat.” She glared at Jaxon. “And he invited her.”
Jaxon released Tully’s shoulders and stepped to her side. “She came to offer us a loan to finish Honky Tonk Heaven.”
“Yeehaw!” Huck jumped and punched the air, causing the boat to rock in the branches when he landed. Tully might have freaked out if Jaxon hadn’t taken her hand and squeezed it reassuringly as he hollered at his brother.
“Quit jumping around, Huck!”
“Sorry.” Huck shot her a huge smile. “I’m just thrilled that you’re going to be our partner, Tulls.”
“She’s not our partner yet, Huck,” Poppy said. “You’re not the only one who gets to make that decision.”
“Poppy’s right.” Jaxon looked around at his siblings, seemingly unaware that he’d yet to release her hand. “We do it like we always have. Everyone gets a vote. Majority wins.”
“What kind of money are we talking about?” Dawson asked. “Enough to finish the bar?”
“If it’s not, I’ll get more.” The words just popped out of Tully’s mouth. What was she saying? Where would she get more money?
Poppy’s eyes narrowed on her. “Why? Why would you loan us money?”
She hesitated, knowing full well that Poppy wasn’t going to believe any of her reasons. And why would she? Tully’s reasons didn’t even make sense to herself. Why was she so obsessed with a stupid country bar? So obsessed she was willing to chance losing her house?
Jaxon must have realized she was struggling to find a reply because he answered for her.
“She sees it as a good investment. If we succeed, in only a few months, she’ll get her money back in full plus interest.” He didn’t mention getting a share of Honky Tonk Heaven.
Since they weren’t keeping the bar, she figured he couldn’t help her with that dream.
“The key word being if.” Poppy stared at her. “Why would you believe the Hennessy Hooligans will succeed?”
That she did have an answer for. “Because y’all have always been tenacious and determined when you set your mind to something.
” She glanced at Huck. “Whether it’s building Texas’s first igloo.
” She looked at Poppy. “Or filling Ms. Myrtle’s car with Lucky Charms after she said you had a bad Irish temper.
” She turned to Dawson. “Or somehow getting that longhorn bull into the high school principal’s office. ”
Huck laughed. “That did take tenacity, Dawg.”
Tully smiled at him before letting her gaze move to the other Hennessys. “I figure if you can make this amazing treeboat in one summer. Y’all can finish a bar in a few months.”
“Hell yeah, we can!” Huck yelled before looking at Poppy. “Come on, Pops. Vote yes.”
Poppy shook her head. “My vote is no. We don’t need Gentry money.” Her gaze pinned Tully. “I refused to let her benefit from our hard work after what her daddy did to Jaxon.”
“Stop being such a grudge holder, Pops.” Huck reached out and ruffled his sister’s hair .
. . which earned him a hard punch in the arm.
He rubbed it and winked at Tully. “I vote yes. We’d be stupid to turn down the offer.
” He looked like he was going to punch the air again, but Jaxon shot him a look and he settled back down.
“And what about if we don’t reopen the bar on time?” Dawson asked. “I have no desire to have a loan that size hanging over my head.”
Before Tully could come up with a solution for that, Jaxon spoke.
“I’ll be responsible for taking care of the loan if we should fail.”
“You’re voting yes, Jax?” Poppy asked. “Even after what her daddy did to you?”
Jaxon nodded and turned to Dawson. “Up to you, Dawg.” If Dawson voted against taking the loan, it would be tied. And Jaxon said it had to be a majority to pass. Tully held her breath and didn’t release it until Dawson spoke.
“Yes.”
If Tully had been on solid ground, she would have pulled a Huck and jumped for joy. Instead, she just released her breath and smiled.
With the help of the Hennessys, she was going to see Honky Tonk Heaven become the most famous bar in Texas again . . . if she ever made it down from the treeboat.
Getting down turned out to be easier than getting up. Probably because Jaxon stayed close behind her every step of the way. This time, she noticed every flex of his muscle. Every brush of hot skin. By the time she reached the ground, she was feeling more than a little dizzy and wobbly legged.
Just not from fear.
“You want to stay for supper, Tully?” Huck asked as soon as they were heading back to the house. “Jaxon is an amazing cook.”
Tully wasn’t surprised. Jaxon seemed to be good at everything. Cooking. Dancing. Making a woman weak-kneed.
Which was why Tully declined the invitation. If she was going to be partners with the Hennessys, she needed to keep her wits about her. Which meant keeping her distance from Jaxon.
“No, thank you. I should be going.” She glanced at Jaxon. “Thank you for showing me the treeboat.” She turned and headed to her granddaddy’s old Ford truck. Before she reached it, Jaxon was there opening the door for her.
“Nice truck.”
She glanced at him, expecting a smirk. Instead, he looked sincere. “I plan to fix it up, but I just haven’t had time.”
He nodded. “Dawson fixed up mine. He might be willing to help you with yours.”
She climbed in with a muttered thank you, expecting him to slam the door. Instead, he rested his tattoo arm over the top and pulled out his cellphone.
“Not that there’s any good service in this godforsaken town, but what’s your cellphone number?
” When she hesitated, he looked at her and cocked an eyebrow until she gave him her number.
A second later, her cellphone rang from the cup holder where she’d left it.
Like an idiot, she picked it up and answered like she always did.
“Officer Gentry.”
Jaxon’s voice came through the receiver . . . and next to her where he stood with a smile. “Hey, partner.”