Chapter 21
Kelsi
The following night, Kelsi walked into Crow’s Nest rocking her trusty leather cowgirl boots.
It looked the same as she remembered—warm wood flooring, an eclectic mix of tables and chairs on the outskirts, all different styles so that none quite matched.
But it somehow all worked together. In the center of the room was a large dance floor.
A handful of elderly couples were out already two-stepping across the floor to the music the DJ was playing from his booth in the corner.
She needed this distraction from everything.
Kelsi scanned the room, searching for Cat or, at the very least, another friendly face. A few of the younger people at the tables surrounding the dance floor she recognized from school. None that she knew well enough to want to strike up a conversation with.
Finally, Kelsi saw a slim hand waving erratically at her from a corner table.
She sighed in relief as she made her way to her exuberant friend.
Cat had a tan cowboy hat perched atop her curls, and a man’s arms around her shoulders.
This must be her elusive husband, Kelsi thought to herself as she looked at him.
He gave her a warm smile as Cat detached herself from him to greet her in an overenthusiastic hug, throwing her off-balance for a second and into the table. The beer lurched precariously on the table as it jostled, but not a drop spilled.
Cat settled herself once more into the arms of her husband, and the smile he gave her made a sour sensation swirl in Kelsi’s stomach. She wanted a man to look at her that way, eyes full of love and unquestionable devotion.
“Kelsi, this is my husband, Ben. He’s from Oyster Shoals too, but he was in my year at school.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ben.” She smiled genuinely at Ben. Cat had only ever spoken highly of him, and she could tell he was a good man from the way he treated her friend.
“You too, Kelsi.” His voice was a smooth, deep baritone that surprised her because it didn’t quite fit the boyish face it came with.
Cat poured a full glass from the pitcher and slammed it in front of Kelsi. “Drink up so we can dance!”
Kelsi laughed at her and picked up the glass, taking a big drink from the lukewarm beer. “You can’t even drink, and you’re forcing it on me! The audacity!” She gave a dramatic gasp.
Cat grinned, mischief in her eyes. “The best part about being pregnant is forcing everyone else to get drunk for me and being sober to remember it all the next day.” She winked and moved her hands in a “hurry up” gesture.
Kelsi downed the rest of her beer in two seconds and slammed the empty glass back down on the wood table. She met Ben’s raised eyebrows and Cat’s broad grin with an exasperated shake of her head and grabbed Cat’s hand to pull her to the dance floor.
The DJ had Watermelon Crawl playing, so she and Cat quickly got in line with the other dancers. They were soon giggling uncontrollably with each other as they danced across the floor.
A song later, Kelsi noticed a tall figure heading her direction on the dance floor.
Sheridan’s grin was disarming as he reached her, extending a hand to her as Cat not-so-subtly winked at Kelsi and edged away from the pair and off the dance floor.
Kelsi couldn’t restrain her smile as she placed her hand in his and he spun her around in a tight circle.
He pulled her close, whispering in her ear, “I didn’t fully think this through, but I don’t actually know how to line dance. I just used my one and only move.”
She laughed loudly, pulling away from his arms gently.
She led him off to a corner of the dance floor that was unoccupied and spent the next few songs teaching him beginner line dances.
He stumbled through the motions, completely lacking rhythm, but she was enchanted by his good humor over his fumbling as they danced in the corner.
It was after Sheridan somehow managed to trip over his own feet and stumbled into her that she caught him in her arms, laughing, and looked up, locking eyes with Dylan.
He was standing across the room at the bar, leaning against the counter with an amber bottle clenched tightly in his fist. His attention was completely on her, and she could feel it as surely as the sweat rolling down her back.
When he finally broke eye contact and greeted one of their old classmates with a handshake and smile, her body shivered.
She slowly relaxed her muscles from the tension she’d held under Dylan’s scrutiny.
Unfortunately, she was still holding Sheridan in her arms, and he felt the shiver against his own body.
He smiled at her and tried to pull her closer, thinking it was him who caused the reaction, but she stepped away, smiling to soften the rejection.
“My feet are a little tired!” she yelled over the music, jerking her thumb in the direction of Cat and Ben. “I’m going to take a break and head back to Cat.”
He looked disappointed but released her without protest. “I’m gonna grab a beer. Want one?”
“I’m okay, thanks.”
She sidestepped the dancers and made her way to where Cat and Ben were still seated. Cat’s grin made her nervous as she approached. The second she reached her, Cat grabbed her arm and wiggled her eyebrows at Kelsi.
“When are you going to tell me more about how it’s going with the hot cop?”
Kelsi winced. “Like I told you earlier, I asked to take it slow, and so we’re seeing how it goes. Nothing is really happening there yet. We had one date that went well, and he’s been clear that he wants a second. We’re just friends.”
Cat giggled at her. “Sure, whatever you want to believe. That man, though.” Kelsi knew before she even followed Cat’s finger that she was talking about Dylan.
“Now, I haven’t heard anything about you and him, other than what the town gossips told me after church on Sunday.
Which was some piping hot tea, by the way, but I want to hear it from you. So spill.”
Dylan was still watching her as he smiled at something the bartender said to him.
A bottle was held loosely in his hand, both elbows resting on the wooden bar behind him.
His dark jeans looked painted on to his thighs, and he wore a dark-gray T-shirt.
His muscles flexed underneath it when he raised his beer to his lips and took a drink.
As he lowered the bottle once more, he slowly licked his lips, presumably catching a drop of beer.
All the while, his eyes were heavy on Kelsi.
“I, um, we . . .” Kelsi broke off, unable to form a sentence under the weight of his gaze.
She turned away from him, facing Cat as she took a deep breath before explaining the mess that was her and Dylan.
“We were friends forever. I can’t remember a time in my life that Dylan wasn’t a part of.
Things got complicated as we got older. I realized I loved him while we were in law school together.
He didn’t feel the same way.” She smiled sadly, shrugging her shoulders as though loving him wasn’t the single most amazing and devastating feeling in her life.
Cat grabbed Kelsi’s right hand, stilling her fingers, which she hadn’t even noticed were drumming against the table. Her friend trained her gaze on the man in question, studying him seriously before turning to Kelsi.
“How do you know he didn’t feel the same way? Did he tell you he didn’t?”
“No, he didn’t have to tell me. He showed me he didn’t. I kissed him the night before graduation, and he said he’d meet me the next day, but . . .” Kelsi trailed off and forced a smile. “It doesn’t matter anymore. That was years ago, and we’re coworkers now.”
Kelsi couldn’t help but feel as though her friend saw right through her charade. She continued to scrutinize Kelsi with an unreadable expression on her face.
“I don’t think it’s that far in the past,” Cat said, pensive, before she moved to lighter topics with a conspiratorial grin.
“Now, my favorite rumor about you came from the librarian, who said she heard from the pastor’s wife that you and Dylan secretly had a baby while you were in law school, but you put it up for adoption because you couldn’t agree on a name, and Dylan’s suggestion was so terrible that you quit talking entirely over it. ”
Kelsi couldn’t help it—she burst out laughing. “Oh, is that so? And did she hear what name it was that Dylan had in mind?”
“Yes.” Cat’s eyes sparkled as she leaned in closer to Kelsi. “Herbert,” she whispered.
Kelsi broke into giggles over it. “You know, he did really like Herbie Fully Loaded when we were kids.”
“No!” Cat gasped dramatically and they both collapsed into each other, giggling.
Ben leaned over and gave Cat a tender kiss on her forehead before announcing he would be right back.
Kelsi, even though she had an amazing evening out with a new friend, still felt the bitter weeds of jealousy take root in her gut at their easy intimacy.
She’d never had that with Tom, and she wondered about it.
They hadn’t been the couple that was passionate and engaged in PDA.
In fact, she couldn’t recall any instance where she and Tom had kissed while out in public.
Had that been a warning sign for their relationship that she’d ignored?
And did she want to be part of a couple that didn’t hold back in public?
She didn’t know, but there was something about the way Cat and Ben looked at each other, their familiarity, that made her think she did.
She glanced over her shoulder to Dylan as he straightened and took a step in her direction.