by Jiffy Kate
My mama stands with her hands on her hips and looks around the barn. Her eyes squint as she takes in every detail, making sure everything is perfect. She’s definitely in her element right now, party planning being one of her many talents, but I don’t want her to stress out. She should be having fun along with everyone else and not worrying about keeping the stacks of napkins straight.
“No, I think we have everything we need. What do you think?” she asks.
“I think it’s perfect and, if it’s not, no one will notice or care. That’s why we have booze, remember?” I wink at her and watch her shoulders relax while she laughs.
“Looks like the word got out we’re havin’ a party tonight,” she says with a sigh.
“It’s all good, Mama,” I assure her. “Don’t stress the small stuff, okay? All that matters is that you and Dad have fun. Thirty-five years is a long time to put up with his ass. Speak of the devil, I’m pretty sure that’s him over there lookin’ for someone to jitterbug with. You’d better get over there before he’s snatched up by Ms. Devereaux.”
“Oh, please, your daddy knows better than to dance with anyone else but me,” she says, laughing. “I’ll go, though.” She kisses my cheek and looks up at me, smiling.
She starts to walk away but quickly turns back to me. “Shoot! I forgot to refill the ice chests. Would you mind going to the big freezer and grabbing a few bags of ice?”
“Consider it done. Now, shoo.” I motion for her to keep walking then, head out to the big house.
Everywhere I look I see people smiling and having fun. Hearing their laughter as they eat and drink makes me extremely happy. It’s the same feeling I get when I’m at one of my restaurants, but this is one hundred percent better because these are my people . . . people I’ve known and loved my entire life.
The freezer with the bags of ice is in my parents’ garage but, since the garage door is closed, I have to walk through the house to get to it. I walk through the kitchen and down the hall toward the garage, stopping when I hear an odd sound, kinda like a moan.
The sound gets louder and louder, so I follow it until I’m standing in front of a bathroom. That explains the moaning. It’s a little early in the evening for someone to be worshipping the porcelain god, but it’s not unheard of. My people like to party hard.
I start to walk back down the hall but stop again when I hear a different sound coming from the bathroom. It’s another moan, but the voice is different . . . deeper. Curiosity gets me, and I place my ear against the bathroom door. Various grunts and groans make me stifle my laughter, and I wrack my brain trying to figure out who’s in there.
Oh, shit.
If it’s my brother and Dani, I’ll need some brain bleach. But I know I saw Dani talking to Cami outside, so it can’t be them. And it can’t be Micah with someone else. A year ago, maybe. But there’s no fucking way Micah would cheat on Dani, and, if he did, he’d get the beat down of his life.
“Ugh, why do you drive me insane yet make me feel so good?” a voice growls from inside the bathroom.
Well, that’s interesting.
The voices are muffled, so I press my ear harder against the door to hear better.
“Can you just shut up for a few minutes and let me fuck you? I’m so close, but your mouth is ruinin’ it,” the second voice replies.
Fuck. I know that voice.
“Shut up, Tucker Benoit. I don’t need you to get off. I could walk out right now and leave you begging for more. Don’t tempt me.”
“Ha! That’s not what you said last night, was it, Piper?”
Holy shit.
Tucker and Piper are fucking in my parents’ bathroom and, apparently, it’s not the first time. I don’t even know what to do with this information, but it sounds like they’re almost done in there. So, I’d better make a decision.
Do I bust them as soon as they walk out?
Do I tell Cami . . . or Micah and Dani?
Better yet, maybe I should keep it a secret.
I could always use this new information to bribe Tucker.
I step away from the door and walk quietly into the garage. After grabbing a couple of bags of ice, I open the garage door and leave that way, not wanting to run into the fuck buddies and blow my cover.
Once the ice chest is refilled, I grab myself a beer and start to mingle again. When I see my brother talking with someone from his past, it gets my hackles up a bit. Since I’m such a nosey motherfucker tonight, I decide to join in on their conversation.
“Hey, Micah, need another beer?” I ask as I walk up to him.
“Nah, I’m good. Alex, you want anything?” Micah asks.
“No, thanks.” Alex turns and smiles at me. “Hi, Deacon. Congratulations on your wedding. Sorry, I crashed your party. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see everyone again. Oh, and I’m sorry about what happened to Pockets. I heard about the fire.”
“Yeah, it’s shitty, but we’ll figure things out. It’ll be back better than ever.” I smile tightly at her and wish she’d never showed up here tonight. I’ve never liked her. Maybe because, unlike Micah, I’ve always seen her for exactly what she is, a manipulative bitch.
Back in school, she was always weaseling her way in with whoever would get her what she wanted and I doubt much has changed since then. “It’s cool,” I tell her. “It’s been awhile. What has you back in these parts?”
“Alex was just telling me about a business opportunity we might be interested in.”
I thought Micah had wised up to her ways, but apparently not.
“Oh, really?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow at my brother. “Well, I’m off the clock tonight, so you two have your little chat. Micah can fill me in later.”
Micah gives me a strange look and shrugs. “All right.”
Sometimes I could smack that boy upside his head. I don’t know why he’d entertain any idea coming from Alex. With Dani in the picture, he’s obviously not thinking with his dick, at least he better not be. But I’m not so sure he’s thinking clearly. The last time Alex was in town, all she wanted was a piece of him, and he turned her down. Surely, he’s not dumb enough to fall for her tricks this time, because I seriously doubt she has anything credible to offer.
Thankfully, the rest of the evening goes off without a hitch and Alex the bitch seems to disappear as fast as she showed up.
Cami and I sneak away around nine thirty and walk over to the cottage to tuck Carter in and tell him good night. On our way back to the barn, we detour by the pond, stealing a few quiet minutes alone.
“I love you, Mr. Landry,” Cami says, stretching up on her tiptoes to reach my lips.
“I love you, Mrs. Landry,” I tell her, leaning in for another kiss.
“We could stay here,” she says. “No one would miss us.”
“I doubt that. The second your brother takes that stage; he’ll be hollerin’ for us.”
She laughs, and I love the way it sounds and feels as I hold her close.
“You’re right. He’s such a jackass.”
“He is that, among other things,” I snicker, thinking back about the bathroom festivities.
“Okay, let’s head back.” There’s a reluctance in her voice, and I hold her to me for another minute. The fact that I get to leave with her, tonight and every night for the rest of my life, is the only way I’m able to let her go so we can walk back to the barn.
As we walk inside, the music starts up, as if on cue.
“Where are those newlyweds?” Tucker asks through the mic, squinting his eyes and searching the crowd. “Don’t tell me they’re still consummatin’ the marriage.”
Oh, I could ruin that asshole right now.
The joy that floods my soul with that knowledge is enough to keep my lips sealed.
This is gonna be fun.
I raise mine and Cami’s joined hands and the crowd cheers.
“This one’s for y’all,” he says with a wink as he strums out the first chords of Marvin Gay
e’s Let’s Get It On.
The people around us laugh and cheer and Tucker eats up every bit of it.
I hope he gets his fill, because he’s so got it coming to him. Just wait.
Pulling Cami to me, we begin to sway, keeping our own rhythm. The second she’s in my arms and my eyes are on hers, the world around us falls away, just like it always has.
THE END
SO, IN CASE YOU DIDN’T notice, there are two of us.
We’re both from the south, one just a little further than the other.
Jiff was born and raised in Louisiana. She’s now living in Texas with her two teenagers and a bulldog named Georgia Rose. She loves purple and 80’s movies and geeking out at Comic Cons.
Jenny Kate was born and raised in Oklahoma. She’s raising a seventy-year-old in a twelve-year-olds body. She’s also the mama to two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Wrigley and Oliver. She loves Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs and coffee.
Some people think we’ve been friends forever, but in reality, we’ve only known each other for five years. Four of those years, we’ve spent spinning tales and writing words. Our first published book, Finding Focus, was released in November 2015.
If you like romance set in the south, then you’ll love our southern fried fiction with heart and soul.
CONNECT WITH US
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FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE’D LIKE to thank our families. They’re the ones who have to put up with our lack of domesticity while writing words. Thank you for being so understanding and willing to make yourselves meals and play hours of Minecraft and watch dozens of videos on YouTube while we write.
We’d also like to thank Lady Antebellum for their inspiring music. Practically every lyric they’ve ever wrote helped us through this story. We can’t hear one of their songs on the radio without having all the feels for Cami and Deacon.
Our pre-reader and amazing friend, Pamela Stephenson, we’re so thankful for your continuing support and encouragement. Thank you for being our fresh set of eyes when we needed it. You were there from the beginning to the very end, and we couldn’t be more grateful!
And God bless our editor, Nichole. She’s been with us through all the re-writes, two-hour phone calls, and weeks of editing. We couldn’t have done this without you! We hope we didn’t run you off with this one and we promise to never do a prequel again. *shifty eyes* Every time we say that, we feel like we’re jinxing ourselves. But seriously, we’re going to try really hard to keep it from happening.
And Nichole’s counterpart, the other person who makes up the dynamic duo of Perfectly Publishable, Christine—you were a godsend from the very beginning. We’re still in debt to Heather Maven for putting us in contact with you. Thank you for always being so generous with your time and for making our pages pretty.
Jada, thank you for another gorgeous cover!! We love working with you.
And vodka. Vodka has been there for us through the hardest parts.
Also, a shout-out to Amanda Daniel for being so willing to pre-read for us. You’re awesome! Thank you so much for your feedback.
And there is no better pimp than Lynette Nichols! We’re so happy that you’re our friend and that you love our stories! We love you! Thanks for always being willing to help and read our words. Your input is invaluable.
If you’ve made it this far, bless you. We’re so thankful for you. Writing is what we love to do, but having readers is what makes it worthwhile. If you loved this book or even liked it a little, we’d love to hear from you! Your reviews make our days.
Until next time,
Jiff and Jenny Kate