“You should make it a moonshine run,” I said. “Finishers get a free drink at the end.”
“Does everything have to revolve around moonshine?” Jonah asked.
Bowie and I both looked at him with furrowed brows.
“You can have a regular old 5K run anywhere,” I said. “This is Bootleg Springs.”
“Point taken,” Jonah said.
Scarlett burst in wearing a big smile. The kind of smile that made me nervous. She was up to something.
“Hey, y’all,” she said. “Guess who is in town at this very moment, staying in one of my rentals?”
I glanced up. “Leah Mae Larkin?”
Her expression fell, her mouth dropping open, and her shoulders slumped. “What? How did you know?”
“I saw her at the Pop In.”
“Way to ruin a girl’s fun.” She crossed her arms. “I was hoping to surprise you.”
“Sorry.”
Scarlett’s grin returned. “That’s okay. Because there’s more.” She paused, no doubt attempting to add to the drama.
“Get on with it,” Bowie said, gesturing for her to continue.
“She asked about you,” she said, pointing her finger at my nose.
“Me?”
“Yes, you,” she said, her eyes shining with glee. “And I gave her your number.”
I blinked at my sister, my mouth partially open. I couldn’t think of anything to say to that.
“There’s something I’m missing here,” Jonah said.
“Jameson and Leah Mae Larkin were friends when they were kids,” Scarlett said. “Now she’s a model and on TV.”
“I knew the TV part,” Jonah said. “I guess now I know why you started shit with Rhett the other night.”
I hunkered down in my seat. “Just wasn’t right, is all.”
“Hmm,” Scarlett said. “Well, you better answer your phone when she calls you.”
I gave her a noncommittal grunt.
“Is Jayme calling or what?” Gibson asked.
Bowie got out his phone. “I’m calling her. I was just waiting for everyone to be here.” He dialed and put his phone on speaker.
“Bodines,” Jayme said when she answered. “Everyone present?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bowie said.
“All right, here’s the latest,” she said. “The sweater tested positive for blood. There will be more DNA testing to determine whose blood, although the chances of it not being Callie Kendall’s seem slim. Still, all we can do is wait for the forensics report.”
“Okay,” Bowie said. “What about the house?”
“They’ll be finished soon,” she said. “I’m pushing to get them out of there. They’ve had plenty of time. If they were going to find something, they would have by now.”
“So they haven’t found anything else?” Bowie asked.
“If they have, I haven’t been made aware of it,” she said. “They certainly didn’t find her body buried in the backyard, or we’d all know about it.”
“Hey,” Gibson barked. “No need to be so insensitive about it.”
I met Gibson’s eyes and nodded. He was right. Callie was a Bootleg girl, and we all cared about her. Dead or alive, we stuck up for our own.
Jayme paused before replying. “Apologies. My point is, chances are they didn’t find anything new.”
“What are we looking at here?” Bowie asked. “Dad can’t be charged with anything, right? You can’t try a dead man for murder.”
“No, you can’t,” Jayme said. “Even if there was overwhelming evidence, no criminal charges would be filed. But since it’s a missing persons case, they’ll try to reconstruct what happened to see if they can locate her body and determine if anyone else was involved. The other thing you have to be concerned about is Judge and Mrs. Kendall.”
“What about them?” Scarlett asked, crossing her arms like she was uncomfortable.
“They could potentially file a civil wrongful death suit against your father’s estate,” Jayme said.
“Over a sweater?” Scarlett asked.
“The burden of proof in a wrongful death civil suit is different than a criminal case,” Jayme said. “I don’t know if finding the sweater is enough, but it’s a possibility to be aware of.”
Gibson scowled. “His estate. Not like he had anything worth taking.”
“There’s the house,” Scarlett said.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Jayme said. “For now, keep laying low. And quit starting bar fights.”
I knew everyone was looking at me, but I kept my eyes down.
“That’s it for now,” Jayme said. “I’ll let you know when you can get back into your father’s house.”
“Thanks, Jayme,” Bowie said. “Appreciate the time.”
“Sure,” she said, and hung up without saying goodbye.
“Well ain’t that some shit,” Gibson growled.
“I think it’s all gonna be fine,” Bowie said.
Ever the optimist, my brother. I wasn’t so sure things would be fine, but I kept my mouth shut. Didn’t have much to add that hadn’t already been said.
“We done here?” Gibson asked, already up and halfway to the door.
“Bye, Gibs,” Scarlett said.
Gibson grunted on his way out.
“I guess that’s about as good of news as we can hope for,” Bowie said.
“Y’all want to get some dinner?” Scarlett asked.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and a hit of adrenaline surged through me. Had Scarlett really given Leah Mae my number? Or had she just said that to mess with me?
While Scarlett made dinner plans with Bowie and Jonah, I carefully pulled my phone out of my pocket and peeked at the screen. I had a text, but I didn’t recognize the number. Made my hands shake a little, but I didn’t want to draw any attention.
I flicked my thumb across the screen. Tapped the text.
Hey Jameson. This is Leah. Hope you don’t mind me sending you a message. I thought maybe we could get together and catch up. Tomorrow? What do you think?
I closed the screen quickly so no one would glance at my phone and see it. I didn’t want to answer questions about it right now.
“What about you, Jameson?” Bowie asked. “Dinner? Devlin’s gonna meet us there.”
I stood, pocketing my phone, and kept my eyes on the floor. “Not tonight.”
“Aw, come on, Jame,” Scarlett said.
“You want a ride home?” Jonah asked.
“Nah, I’m good,” I said. “You guys have fun. I’ve been holed up in my workshop so much lately, I could use some air. Gonna walk home.”
“Guess I can’t argue with you getting out a little,” Scarlett said. “You sure you’re all right?”
“Fine, Scar,” I said, smiling at her over my shoulder. “Night, y’all.”
The air outside was finally starting to cool. I hadn’t been making shit up. I did need the fresh air. But not because I’d been working too much. One little text from Leah Mae had my palms sweating.
It was ridiculous. She was just a girl I used to know.
That’s what I was telling myself, anyway.
I reckoned she had asked Scarlett about me. And here I’d thought I wouldn’t see her again after that encounter at the Pop In.
Taking a deep breath, and feeling mighty foolish that it was necessary, I took out my phone. Kept walking down the street in case one of my nosy siblings came out.
Me: Hey Leah Mae. Yeah, I’d like that. When are you free?
Leah Mae: Really? Oh good! How does lunch sound?
Me: Lunch sounds great. Moonshine at noon?
Leah Mae: Perfect. I’ll see you then.
I found myself almost typing it’s a date, but I stopped. It wasn’t a date. Just two old friends catching up. I reckoned she’d be leaving town soon anyway. Her life wasn’t here. It was off being famous. Marrying someone else.
Still, it would be nice to spend a little time with her. Find out how sh
e was really doing. Maybe I could figure out why her eyes didn’t sparkle the way they once had. Get that image of the girl in a cage out of my head so I could focus. Because right now, it was all I could see.
6
Jameson
Times like this, I wished I had a little more Gibson in me. Or even Bowie. I couldn’t imagine my brothers being nervous the way I was. Not over a girl, anyway. Especially one that was just a friend.
Of course, they were both older than me, and neither of them showed any signs of settling down. So maybe they weren’t the ones to emulate after all.
Still, I felt foolish for the way my heart thumped and nervousness unsettled my stomach. I parked down the street from Moonshine and looked out to see if Leah Mae was here yet. A few people wandered up and down the street, but no sign of her.
I got out just as a car parked across the street. My heart sank straight to the concrete below my feet as I watched Leah Mae and her fiancé get out of the car. Damn it, he was here too?
The thought that I might be able to get back in my truck and leave without her seeing me crossed my mind. But I dismissed it as quickly as it had come. I had better manners than to stand her up, even if I’d thought it would be just the two of us. It wasn’t the same, but I’d make the best of it.
I looked up and our eyes met. She smiled, and I knew I was in some trouble. Damn it, she was pretty.
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I walked down the sidewalk to meet her. Or them, as it were.
“Hi, Jameson,” she said. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“Sure.” I glanced at Kelvin. He was glaring at me, his arms crossed over his chest.
His eyes flicked to the ground behind me. “What is that?”
Mona Lisa McNugget, Bootleg’s town chicken, was pecking her way up the sidewalk. She stopped near my foot and scratched, looking for some little tidbit on the ground.
“It’s a chicken,” Leah Mae said, her voice amused.
“I know it’s a chicken,” he said. “What is it doing here?”
“It’s Mona Lisa McNugget,” I said.
“There’s a chicken just… walking around town?” he asked.
As if she could sense his disdain, Mona Lisa charged toward Kelvin and started trying to peck his ankle. He jumped backward, like she was a giant spider or something, not a regular old chicken. Mona Lisa kept after him, her head bobbing, beak thrusting.
“What the hell?” he asked. “This chicken is trying to attack me.”
Leah Mae started to laugh and covered her mouth. I just kept my hands in my pockets, watching. I’d never seen Mona Lisa go after someone like that. I probably could have coaxed her away, but I wasn’t so keen on interfering.
“Hey y’all,” Bowie said from behind me and smacked me on the back. “What’s going on?”
“Not much,” I said.
“Somebody get this chicken off me,” Kelvin said, hopping from foot to foot.
“Kelvin, just move out of the way,” Leah Mae said. “She’ll leave you alone.”
“Is that Leah Mae Larkin I see?” Bowie asked.
“Hi Bowie,” Leah Mae said.
Gibson came from the other direction. He spared half a glance for the chicken, still trying to peck Kelvin, and stopped in front of the rest of us.
“Leah Mae,” he said with a nod, as if it wasn’t unusual for her to be here. Or maybe he just didn’t care. Hard to tell with Gibs. He looked at me and Bowie. “So we eatin’ or what?”
“What are all y’all doing here?” I asked.
Bowie shrugged. “It’s lunch time.”
Oh my god. Was my entire family going to show up?
“Oh hey, y’all!”
I closed my eyes and shook my head, hearing Scarlett’s voice. Of course she would be here, too.
“Well, isn’t this fun,” Scarlett said. She walked over, arm in arm with Devlin. “It’s like a reunion.”
“Hi again, Scarlett. Everyone, this is Kelvin Graham.” Leah Mae tried to gesture at Kelvin, but he’d hopped his way down the sidewalk, trying to get away from the relentless pecking of Mona Lisa McNugget. “Kelvin, what are you doing?”
“This fucking chicken won’t leave me alone,” he said.
“We’ll go get a table,” Bowie said. He nodded at Kelvin. “Nice to meet you, Kevin.”
Kelvin stopped. “It’s Kelvin. Ow, what the hell?”
“Don’t hurt her,” Leah Mae said.
I was having a very hard time not laughing, but I kept quiet. Gibson, Scarlett, and Devlin followed Bowie inside Moonshine, ignoring the chicken attack occurring on the sidewalk.
“Do you want to come in and have lunch?” Leah Mae asked Kelvin. “Or go back to the cabin and get some work done?”
Kelvin took a few quick steps toward us, leaving Mona Lisa McNugget distracted by something on the sidewalk. “Jesus, this place is crazy. I’m not eating here. I’ll go back to the cabin.”
Leah Mae glanced at me and gave me the tiniest of winks. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
Kelvin eyed the chicken. “Yeah, positive. You’re just having lunch?”
“Yes, I already told you that,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “And you didn’t have to come into town. I could have driven myself.”
He leveled me with a hard stare. I met his gaze, keeping my face blank. He had nothing to fear from me as far as Leah Mae was concerned. I wasn’t the sort to mess around with another man’s girl. But he didn’t know that, and I saw no need to clarify. If he didn’t trust Leah Mae, that was his problem, not mine.
“Call me when you’re done,” he said. “I’ll come pick you up.”
“Okay,” she said.
He grabbed her by the waist and planted a kiss on her forehead. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like she stiffened. With another glance at me, he turned for his car. Mona Lisa McNugget went after his ankle again, so he hurried across the street. He got in his car, and the chicken strutted on down the road.
“Does Mona Lisa McNugget always do that?” Leah Mae asked.
“Nah, she’s usually a real sweetheart,” I said. Leah Mae laughed, and I glanced inside Moonshine. My siblings were sitting in a booth, drinks already on the table. “Do you want to grab something to go from the Pop In? We could take it down to the lake and avoid… all that.” I gestured to the table full of Bodines. And Devlin, but he was one of us now, even if he wouldn’t ever have our last name. Of course, Scarlett might just make him take her name eventually.
“I was hoping you might suggest that,” she said.
With a fair bit of relief, I led Leah Mae up the street to the Pop In. I bought us sandwiches and drinks. It wasn’t a date, but I still insisted on paying. Then we walked down to the lake and found an open picnic table.
“It’s amazing how familiar this place is,” she said, settling down on the other side of the table. “Some things are a little different, but it’s still Bootleg Springs. Does that even make sense?”
“Sure it does,” I said. “I guess that’s part of its charm.”
“I miss it.” She unwrapped her sandwich. “I heard your dad passed away. I’m really sorry.”
“Thanks,” I said. “It wasn’t unexpected.”
“Still, must be hard.”
I nodded. Didn’t much want to bring up Callie, but I wanted Leah Mae to hear it from me first if she didn’t already know. “Yeah. I don’t know if you’ve heard the talk, but there’s some evidence that suggests my dad could have had something to do with Callie Kendall going missing all those years ago.”
Her lips parted, and she set her sandwich down. “Oh my god.”
“Scarlett found Callie’s sweater in an old trunk at Dad’s place.” I swallowed back the sick feeling creeping up my throat. “The police have been investigating again—went through his house. You stay in town long enough, you’ll hear people speculating.”
“Wow. That’s awful. Do you have any idea why the sweater would have been at your dad’s house?” She put up a h
and, as if to stop me from answering. “I’m sorry, that was a rude question. Of course you don’t know why.”
“I don’t. It’s baffling, actually. I want to believe it’s a coincidence. That he wasn’t involved. It’s hard to say after all these years. And it’s certainly not something you want to think about your father.”
She offered a gentle smile, her eyes full of warmth. “No, of course not. I remember your dad, and I know he wasn’t always very nice. But I don’t think…” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Whatever happened, hopefully they’ll find out the truth someday and everyone can have some peace.”
“Thanks. That’s my hope too.” I resisted the urge to reach over and squeeze her hand. I didn’t want to talk about my dad anymore. “How’s your mom these days?”
“She’s fine. Still lives in Jacksonville. She remarried not long after I graduated high school. His name’s Stan Michaels. He’s a nice guy—runs an insurance agency. I think they’re happy.”
“Does she know you’re here?”
“She does,” she said with a smile. “She had to get used to me traveling all over the world when I started modeling. I don’t think she’s so worried about Bootleg Springs anymore.”
“That’s good.” I’d always thought her mom’s hysteria over Bootleg was sorely misplaced. It was a far sight safer than most places, even with Callie Kendall’s disappearance. People ’round here looked after each other. “What about you? Where do you live these days?”
“Los Angeles,” she said. “Actually, Kelvin just moved us into a new place. I haven’t even seen it yet. He took care of everything, but my stuff is all still in boxes. He got it while I was filming the show, and I’ve been traveling and living in hotels since then.”
She seemed all right with that arrangement, but something about it bothered me. “Sounds like you’re without any roots.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” She took a bite of her sandwich, and I did the same. “Listen, Jameson, I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of keeping in touch.”
“No need for apologies. I didn’t do so well at it either.” Which was the truth. The way we’d drifted apart had probably been more my fault than hers. We could have kept up our friendship over email at least. But she’d gotten a boyfriend in Florida, and I’d started dating Cheyenne Hastings. I’d missed Leah Mae, but at the time it had seemed easier to just let it go. And once she’d started modeling, it had seemed like she’d moved into another world. One that was far too removed from my life in Bootleg Springs for us to ever be friends again.
Sidecar Crush (Bootleg Springs Book 2) Page 5