Chapter 15 #2
“Fine. I’ll go. I’ll be across the street at the bookstore if—”
“Great. Go.” He flips his hand, as if shooing me away. “Have fun.”
“Hey. I’m starting to think you don’t want me around.”
Anderson rolls his eyes. “What gave you that idea?”
With a smirk, I walk out, check for traffic, and cross the street to Billie’s Books. I need to pick up the next book club read, and I can always curl up with my new paperback for a while.
It’s raining today, and that actually sounds nice.
So I push into the store and am happy to see that Dani and all of her sisters are here, too.
Charlie is the youngest, and from what I hear, she’s a damn good, highly sought-after wedding planner.
Alex is Dani’s twin, and a reporter for the newspaper.
Darby, the oldest sister, is even here, and I haven’t seen her since high school.
We were friends back then, but lost track of each other.
She looks amazing.
“Hi, guys,” I say with a smile as I walk toward the back of the store, where the checkout counter is, and all the women are gathered. “It’s a Lexington sister party.”
“Oh my gosh, Jules,” Darby says and gives me a side hug. “Shit, I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“I was just thinking the same thing about you. Are you home? Are you visiting? What’s up with you?”
“She’s just visiting.” Charlie sticks her lower lip out with a pout.
“Stop.” Darby chuckles and shakes her head at her baby sister. “I’m visiting for now, but after this next term, I’ll be back up here, looking for an internship job to finish my degree.”
“Oh my God, that’s awesome. What are you in school for?” I ask.
“I’m in veterinary school,” she says. “Down in Colorado. And I like it down there, but I’m ready to come home.”
“Thank God, we miss you,” Billie adds with a wink. “Are you going to be here long enough for book club?”
“I’m here until next Tuesday.”
“Then that’s a yes,” Alex says. “Because book club is on Saturday. Right? Am I mixing up my days?”
“Saturday is right,” Billie confirms. “And we’re reading a Mafia romance. Be With Me by Gabrielle Sands.”
“Oh, hook me up, sister.” I wink at her, already excited to dig in.
Mafia romance is my jam these days.
“I’m down for that,” Darby says. “Reading something other than an animal anatomy book sounds fabulous.”
The next thing I know, Ava and Harper come striding into the store, and it turns into a spontaneous hour-long party of chatting and talking about books.
Millie even comes over from the coffee shop next door, takes our orders for some caffeine, then joins us. She’s married to Holden Lexington, the oldest sibling and only boy in the family, and I can tell that she’s excited to have Darby home, too.
It feels so good to have friends. To be home in a familiar community, and I don’t have to do my best to avoid Brooks anymore, worried that he’ll be somewhere, glaring at me.
I don’t feel like I have to hide or be ashamed.
I can just be me, and for the first time in a long, long time, I feel like I belong. I didn’t realize just how much my heart needed this until now.
“I have to say, you look fantastic,” Darby says as we drift away from the larger group. “And I heard a rumor that you and Brooks are back together.”
I press my lips together, but I can’t stop the smile that spreads. “Yeah. We’re back together.”
“Good. You were always meant for each other, Jules. Anyone with eyes in their head could see it, even when we were in high school. I’m glad it’s working out.”
“So far, so good. How about you? Any men in your life?”
Darby smirks and shakes her head. “Nah. I’m way too busy with school, and I’m not really interested anyway.”
“Women, then?” I lift an eyebrow, and she laughs.
“No, no relationships at all. I’m as straight as can be, but men take work, and I have to put in enough of that in every other aspect of my life. I don’t see a relationship fitting into that any time soon. And that’s okay, you know?”
“For sure. I think it’s awesome that you decided to go back to school. Have you always wanted to be a vet?”
I sip my iced coffee, compliments of Millie, and Darby shakes her head. “I didn’t know what I wanted for a long time. Mostly, for the majority of my life, I was just surviving, you know?”
I nod slowly. Darby’s childhood was horrific. I don’t know the details, just that their father was an abusive piece of shit. And I hate that so much.
“But now you can thrive,” I say with a smile. “And I know how that is. I had a rough time in my teenage years, and then I found my way into a marriage that wasn’t healthy or happy. We can thrive in our thirties, girl.”
“Hell yes, we can.” She holds her coffee up to cheers with mine. “If you hear of a ranch around here needing an intern, let me know. I’d rather not work for my brother. I love him, but no.”
“Did I just hear the magic word of ranch?” Ava asks, drifting our way.
“Yes, I’m going to need a job in the spring,” Darby says. “I’ll be finishing up my large animal vet degree. Do you have a ranch?”
“My family does,” Ava replies, tapping her lips with her finger. “I’ll ask Tucker if he could use some help next year. He’s my oldest brother and runs the Hendrix Ranch now that my dad has retired.”
“Good for him,” I say with a nod. “He has hi, I’m a hot-as-hell cowboy written all over him.”
“Ew.” Ava wrinkles her nose. “No, he doesn’t.”
I turn to Darby. “He’s hot. Around our age, tall, dark, and handsome.”
“He could look like a toad for all I care. I need a job.”
“I mean, it can’t hurt to look at a sexy cowboy while you work,” I reply, shrugging one shoulder.
“Who the fuck are you talking about, Wildfire?”
I jump, my stomach climbs into my throat, and Ava breaks out in laughter.
“You startled me.”
I turn to find Brooks’s sizzling gaze on me, his eyes narrowed, his jaw tight. “Who. Are you. Talking about?”
“Tucker,” Ava says helpfully. “We were talking about your friend Tucker. Who your girlfriend thinks is hot.”
Ava is a shit stirrer.
“Look, I can observe that a person is attractive without it meaning anything or threatening you—”
Brooks cuts me off by wrapping his hand around the back of my neck and covering my mouth with his. I can hear everyone around us whoop and clap their hands, and my face heats.
How can he turn me on so much with just a single kiss?
“You were saying?” he growls against my lips.
“I have no idea.”
His lips twitch into a smile. “Good. Hello, ladies.”
“I’m just so happy,” Bee says, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I want you two together so bad. Don’t mind me, it’s just the hormones.”
Brooks chuckles and reaches out to brush his hand down Billie’s hair. “Don’t cry, Bee.”
“I can’t help it.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and when I pull it out, my face falls.
Unknown Number: Send me ten grand. Today.
Brooks is looking over my shoulder, and I’m not trying to keep the words out of his line of vision.
“Dammit,” I mutter.
“Let’s go, Wildfire. You can take care of that at home.”
I nod, and then make the rounds, giving hugs and saying goodbye. And with the book club book, along with three others, tucked under my arm, I set off with my man.
“Did you leave work early?” I ask him as he takes my hand and links our fingers.
“I want to spend time with you.”
Excitement bubbles up in my chest. “Good. I was kicked out of my place earlier. Apparently, I’m in the way.”
“You’re not in my way,” he says and kisses the top of my head. “Let me show you just how not in my way you are.”
“That sounds like a really good idea.”