Promise Me a Sweet Texas Kiss (Honky Tonk Heaven #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Talk about rising from the ashes.

It was like the fire had never happened. Gone was the pile of charred rubble and in its place was a country bar that looked identical to the one Rosie Hennessy had loved more than she’d loved her four kids.

The old jukebox looked exactly like the one Huck and Poppy had wrestled in front of when Huck had refused to let her play “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town for the hundredth time.

The huge oak dance floor, filled at that moment with two-steppers, looked like the same one thousands of other two-steppers had shuffled across since the dancehall had first opened over a hundred years earlier.

The stage where the band was playing a Tim McGraw song looked like the one that had hosted country music legends from Loretta Lynn to Tim McGraw.

The classic neon beer signs hanging on the walls looked the same.

The cowboy boot sign directing people to the bathrooms looked the same. And so did the shiny silver Texas star that hung in the middle of the mirrored shelves behind the bar.

The only thing that wasn’t the same was the mahogany bar.

Huck had done a much better job making this one.

He’d coated it with a thick polyurethane finish to protect it from condensation rings, spilled beer, and slammed down tequila shots, but just not enough to take away from the natural beauty of the grain.

Yes, Honky Tonk Heaven looked like it once had .

. . and it took every ounce of willpower Dawson Hennessy had not to smash a fist into the wall he leaned against at the injustice of it all.

The only thing that kept him from it was the joy he saw on his brother’s face as he whirled his new bride around the dance floor.

If there was one thing that kept Dawson’s temper in check, it was his siblings’ happiness.

Especially his oldest brother’s.

Jaxon had spent most of his life watching out for his two younger brothers and sister.

Dawson, Huck, and Poppy hadn’t been what anyone in Promise Springs, Texas, would call easy kids to raise.

They’d been hellions who loved to get into trouble.

Jaxon had been the one who took the blame for most of that trouble.

Even when it had landed him in jail.

So, Dawson owed him.

He owed him big time.

He’d just never thought paying his brother back would include returning to Promise Springs and renovating a dancehall he hated.

But he’d done his duty.

Honky Tonk Heaven was once again open for business.

Monday morning, after they met with their mama’s lawyer and finalized the will, Dawson planned to collect his inheritance, say his goodbyes to his family, and head to Dallas where he planned to use his inheritance to open a custom car shop.

He’d restored an old ’67 Chevy for Jaxon, added a chrome push guard and roll bar to Poppy’s Jeep, and even restored Huck’s old Harley motorcycle.

He’d planned to restore the ’66 GMC he’d bought off an old rodeo cowboy, but there was something about the faded paint, rusty bumpers, and squeaky doors that spoke to Dawson.

Maybe because he and the truck were similar.

Dawson might not be as old, but he felt just as beat up.

Life had thrown him plenty of bumps and curves.

Some he’d navigated well. Others had dented him beyond repair.

Being back in Promise Springs, reminded him of all those dents.

Mostly because the townsfolk never let the past stay in the past. The group of women sitting at the table to his left was a perfect example of that.

The A-Sisters owned the town coffee shop, Grounds For Divorce, and were the biggest gossips in town.

If you wanted town news, all you had to do was stop by for a cup of Adele’s coffee and some of Ada’s mini donuts.

Arlene would be happy to wait on you and fill you in .

. . while her sisters yelled their comments from the coffee bar and kitchen.

Which was why Dawson stayed away from Grounds For Divorce.

That, and they still held a grudge against him and his siblings for painting a giant dick on the front window when the coffee shop had been their daddy’s, Dick, newspaper office.

Which might explain why the Hennessys were their favorite subjects to gossip about.

“It was a cryin’ shame how the Hennessy kids treated their mama,” Ada said before she forked another bite of wedding cake into her mouth, completely unaware that one of those Hennessys stood not more than ten feet away.

“They just left her to live and die in that big ol’ monstrosity of a house all alone. ”

“So true.” Arlene took a swig of her beer. “No loyalty whatsoever. I was surprised Jaxon even showed up for the wedding. I thought for sure he’d leave poor Tully at the altar.”

Dawson had never doubted Jaxon would show up. Once Jaxon loved you, he loved you forever . . . even if you broke his trust.

Adele leaned in closer to her sisters. “If you ask me, it might have been best if Jaxon hadn’t shown up.

Tully is just too sweet to be married to a Hennessy.

” She glanced at the dance floor where Tully and Jaxon waltzed.

“Of course, it already looks like Jaxon has corrupted her since she quit a perfectly respectable job as the town deputy to run this dancehall with him.” She shook her head. “Just shameful, is what it is.”

“You don’t really have room to talk about men corrupting you, Adele,” Arlene pointed out. “Not when your second husband ran that massage spa that was massaging more than just men’s backs.”

Adele shot her sister a disbelieving look. “How can you hold that against me when I truly thought those women Jimmy employed were actual masseuses? Suzette gave me a massage once and I’m telling you she got out all my kinks with her magic fingers.”

“I’m sure she got out Jimmy’s too.”

Adele released an angry growl and Ada jumped in.

“Now, sisters, there’s no need to talk about the past. Especially when the present is much more interesting.

I just saw Huck Hennessy sneaking off with Layla Marshall earlier and now he’s gyrating on the dance floor with Dahlia Fleming.

I’ll bet you right now that he gets into every single woman’s panties before he leaves town.

Not that Dahlia’s single. Her and Wyatt’s divorce still isn’t final. ”

“Well, at least he’s not drinking like there’s no tomorrow,” Adele said. “When I walked past the kitchen, I saw Poppy Hennessy doing shots with the caterers and she already looked like she was three sheets to the wind.”

Dawson frowned. That wasn’t good. Poppy rarely drank.

None of the Hennessys did—probably due to the fact they’d seen their fair share of drunken antics while working at Honky Tonk Heaven.

But on the rare occasions when Poppy did drink, she got mean.

Not that she wasn’t mean to begin with. But when she drank, she got even meaner.

Arlene finished off her beer. “I shiver to think what Dawson is doing right now. He’s worse than all the Hennessys combined.

I heard from the high school principal that he was in her office every single day when he was a teen.

If not for fighting, then for cussing out teachers or starting fires in the bathroom.

I’ll be absolutely flabbergasted if that devil’s spawn doesn’t do something to ruin his brother’s reception. ”

Ada nodded as she scraped the last of the cake icing from her plate with her fork.

“Dawson might look like an angel, but he’s a hellion, alright.

Any woman with half a brain will keep her distance from that one.

” She licked the fork clean and set it on her plate before scooting back her chair.

“Now I’m gonna go talk to Tully’s mama and see what she put in this wedding cake to make it so delicious. ”

Adele got up. “I’ll go with you. I want to see if she has any intentions of moving back to Promise Springs.” She smiled slyly. “Did you see the looks she and Tully’s daddy were exchanging during the wedding? I’m thinking a second chance romance is in the works.”

Arlene followed after her sisters. “Wouldn’t that be nice if the sheriff got back with his wife? I do love a happily ever after.”

As soon as the sisters were gone, Dawson pushed away from the wall to go check on Poppy. But he hadn’t even taken a step before a soft, lilting voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Devil’s spawn? Hellion? Worse than all the Hennessys combined? My goodness, you do have quite the reputation in this town, don’t you, Country Thor?”

Dawson whirled to see a woman peeking around the post to his left. Soft curls the color of moonlight surrounded a face with eyes the vibrant green of a spring leaf that had just unfurled from its bud.

Most men would feel a spike of desire, or at least attraction.

Dawson just felt annoyance.

Magnolia Hastings might be stunningly beautiful, but she was also annoying as hell with her sunshiny personality, love of all things pink, and the inability to know when to shut up.

Her constant nonsensical chatter had ruined one of the few places he enjoyed in Promise Springs.

Since she took over running Time To Read while her uncle convalesced from double knee replacement, Dawson couldn’t even buy a book without having to deal with her.

It was hard to believe she had once been the sassy kid with a straggly ponytail and dirt on her face that he’d caught writing cuss words inside the playground slide tunnel after her mama had passed away.

She and her daddy had moved only months later.

And California had sure done a number on her.

She now looked like Reese Witherspoon’s character in Legally Blonde. Her hair was too blond, her smile too bright, and her clothes too pink.