Chapter 15 #2
Hollie told me she was divorced. A flash of memory seared through my mind—Hollie’s head on my shoulder as we swayed. She said she was divorced and that her situation was complicated.
My torturers wore different expressions. Cooper—entertained, barely holding in a victory scream. Harlan—slack-jaw, wide-eyed.
I tried to find my tongue, forcing my tone to stay nonchalant. “Oh, uhm, I thought Hollie was divorced.”
Bea’s head reared back. “Who told you that? She’s been married since I was sixteen.”
No, this couldn’t be right.
Hollie wouldn’t lie to me.
Even as I had that thought, I realized how stupid it was. I didn’t know Hollie. Not really. Maybe she was the type of woman who would lie and cheat on her husband. That was probably why she didn’t approach me at the reception but waited until I’d left. She wanted to interact with me in secret only.
I had kissed—scratch that, had lost my damn control with—a married woman?
Harlan recovered first. “Married, huh? I didn’t realize any of your other siblings were married.”
Bea said, “Peter has been married about a year. And Hollie has been married for—I don’t know, twelve-ish years?”
I felt their eyes on me, but I stared at the scraps of eggs on my plate.
Nausea ripped up my throat.
If a man touched Laurel the way I’d touched Hollie, he would’ve lived the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair. I didn’t play around with women, period. I considered marriage a sacred union—not a game. All of what happened between us was a lapse in my typical judgment.
Nothing about Hollie seemed conniving or twisted, but you could never really tell with people, could you? My jaw locked and hot sweat broke over my shoulders and chest. The term fury didn’t even touch reality.
“Twelve years.” Cooper whistled low and slow.
I glanced up and immediately wished I hadn’t.
Tag’s eyes roamed my face, a frown between his brows. Steering the conversation, he said some final words. They bounced off my brain—like hail on the poor colt Cooper left in the rain.
Breaths pulled tight against my rib cage as reality hit me, wave after wave. Admittedly, I thought about that kiss—about her—way more than I should’ve. I had imagined seeing her again one day, what I’d say and do. I even imagined us as a couple.
If that wasn’t the apex of stupidity, I didn’t know what was.
When we disbanded from the table, I got up and charged off toward the barn. Technically, I needed to clean up the kitchen, but I felt like I was going to be sick and needed a minute.
But Tag was hot on my heels, gravel crunching beneath our boots.
“Jesse!” He snapped. “Hold up.”
Reluctantly, I stopped, turning to face him.
Hands raising to his hips, Tag narrowed his eyes. His steely grey irises searched mine for the span of two breaths. “Mind explainin’ what all that was?”
“All what?”
He nodded back to the house. “Whatever side show I just witnessed.”
“Nothing. The guys were just being stupid.”
“I’m not talkin’ about the guys. I’m talkin’ about you.”
I looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. “What do you mean?”
“You turned red—you’re still red.” He shook his head. “Did something bad happen? Is there something I need to know?”
“No.”
A pause. “You sure?”
We didn’t lie to each other. Maybe at one point in our friendship, we weren’t real upfront about our past and personal lives, but those days were gone. Lying straight to his face felt wrong.
“It’s nothing important, Tag. I’ll figure it out.”
“It has something to do with Hollie. As soon as Bea said her name, your face changed.”
I shook my head as I opened my mouth, but no words came. What could I say besides flat-out lie and deny it?
“I’m right, ain’t I?” He left the question hang. When I didn’t answer, he prodded me. “Did something happen between you two?”
I swallowed. “I don’t want Bea to know.”
He huffed. “Might be too late for that. She’s the one who told me to come check on you.”
I let my head flop forward. “Dammit.”
“Yeah, so start talkin’.”
The breeze picked up, whipping my t-shirt around my warm, sweaty torso. June heat in Texas smothered good days. Now, the heat sat like a weight on my shoulders—concrete I had to swim through to take a deep breath. “We had an…encounter when she was here.”
“Encounter? What the hell does that mean?”
“She followed me out to the barn after the wedding. And we—nothing really happened. But we”—why is this so hard?—“kissed and—”
“You kissed her?”
“She told me she was divorced.”
“The guys were crackin’ jokes left and right. Don’t think I missed any of that ‘cause I caught every word.” He looked away, a little embarrassed to ask. “Did you two—”
“No. We didn’t. I swear I just kissed her.”
“Alright.” Tag went a little white. “Bea is gonna be pissed.”
“I’m sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I never would’ve touched her if I knew she had a husband at home. Why wasn’t he at the wedding?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never met him.”
I frowned. “Really? Even when you’ve gone to Colorado?”
“No. He’s some sort of business exec and works every holiday, apparently.”
“Do you think she told him what happened?”
“I can’t imagine a husband would be alright with her comin’ back and workin’ on the same ranch with you if he knew the truth.”
I concluded, “So she probably didn’t.”
“I’d say that’s safe to assume.”
“Are you going to tell Bea?”
He swallowed, thinking for a moment. “I should.”
“This is embarrassing enough as is.”
“Her sister cheated on her husband. And before you object, in my book, kissin’ another man qualifies.”
We agreed there. And “kiss” didn’t explain the half of it.
“Would Bea tell Hollie’s husband?”
That made Tag pause. “I don’t think he has much of a relationship with the Thompsons, so I doubt it. And we desperately need Hollie’s help. But…this could hurt their family.”
The word family barrelled into my chest like a bullet.
What if Nora and Izzy suffered for it?
My world spun again.
“I should tell her,” he whispered. The regret in his tone made me feel like the scum of the earth.
Quietly, I promised. “Tag, I won’t go anywhere near her. I never would’ve touched her—I swear it.”
Tag looked at me, nodding. The rigidity in his shoulders drained away, his tone softening. “I know. It’s a big deal—you kissin’ someone.” He paused, his eyes roaming my face. “You alright?”
“I’m fine. That was a…” The gravel became the most interesting thing around, and I dragged the heel of my boot through it. “Just a tough day.”
“What day? The wedding?”
I swallowed, feeling small for even bringing it up. “Yeah.”
“Because…” Tag waited, his voice uncertain. “Laurel?”
I said nothing, just lifted a shoulder.
“Why was it a hard day?”
“I—it’s the dumbest excuse for a kiss ever. So it doesn’t even matter.”
He waited a few beats then asked, his voice softer. “You were lonely, weren’t you?”
I shrugged. “I just…wasn’t thinking straight…with the wedding and all the couples. It’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid.” Tag pulled his hat off his head, jamming his fingers into his ash-brown curls. “I should’ve checked on you.” He squinted as he thought for a moment. “Were you sober?”
“Very.” Cautiously, my eyes flicked to his.
“I can only imagine how you might be feelin’ right now.”
“Sick to my stomach.”
“Alright. We’ll keep this between us…for now. I need you to shake on it though. I don’t wanna be an accomplice to any fallout when word gets back to her husband.”
He held out his hand, and I lifted my palm to his.
“You have my word, Tag. Nothing else will happen.”
He looked regretful, sad for me, as he dropped my hand and took a step back. “I’m gonna get back to Bea. And you better pray her questions aren’t too direct, ‘cause I won’t lie to my wife.”
“Fair enough.” I turned to go.
“And Jesse?”
I looked back.
“We’re best friends.” He settled his cowboy hat back on his head. “Next time you’re havin’ a bad day, come tell me. Maybe we can stop you from doin’ any more stupid shit.”
Despite it all, a small smile lifted my lips.