by Tijan
car, are you?”
He shrugged. “I’d still like to take it for a ride, but no. The car was an excuse. The fair’s tomorrow. You going?” He moved his fork around his plate and sank it into his last piece of meat. “I think you should go. You can go with Aiden if you want.”
“Your sister?” Dani asked in surprise.
“Yeah. She and Kate are going together. They’re good friends.” He rolled his eyes. “Kate usually shows up Friday nights, and the two of them gossip about every girl I’ve ever dated. That’s what friends do, right?”
“Gossip?”
“Yeah.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“You should get some.” Jonah placed his cup on the table. “You’re right, you know. Everyone thinks you’re after Jake and Julia. I know that my presence is supposed to help assuage that, but it’d be good if you were friends with my sister. Kate also.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because Aiden is not friends with Julia.” He cleared his throat. “And that’s all I’m going to say. I’m not getting anymore involved.”
“What?” She heard herself tease. “Too good for the gossip scene?”
“Exactly.”
His eyes darkened. “Come to the fair. I honestly think my sister would love seeing you again.”
“Are you going to be there?”
His grin deepened. “I might be around, but I have to warn you.” He’d finished eating, and he stood with his plate in hand. He said, before heading inside, “If you don’t agree to come, either my sister or Kate is going to show up to help convince you.” He disappeared beyond the door, but she heard him call back, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
She had been warned.
Jonah stayed to help with the dishes, despite her reassurances she didn’t mind cleaning up. He only shook his head and filled up the sink. He washed. She dried, and he kept asking her questions about her travels. Once he was done, he helped finish with the drying, and then gave a wave as he repeated his warning once again about the fair. He said, “Don’t be surprised if one of them show up tomorrow.”
And it was a day later, after she’d gotten her first good night’s sleep in a long time, when she heard a car honking from the driveway. Dani moved to the front door to see Jake scowling from his squad car. He stayed sitting while the passenger door opened.
“Hey, Dani!” Kate got out and approached, a friendly smile and wave.
Dani was holding a cup of coffee and raised it in the air as a greeting. “Morning. Would you like a cup?”
Kate groaned, closing her eyes a moment and swaying on her feet. “That sounds amazing.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ve been dealing with cranky ass all morning. I need caffeine since I can’t have anything stronger till I get off-duty. And I have to tell you,” Kate began as the door slammed shut behind her. “I swear that Julia is a greyhound. It’s like she can just sniff out whiffs of you on his uniform or something. Whatever she said must’ve been a doozy.”
Dani held out a cup. “I didn’t realize the power of my presence.”
“Are you kidding me?” Kate snorted, taking the cup. “I might have to deal with Crabby out there, but trust me when I say that this is the most fun our town has had in a year.”
“Really?”
“Oh, hell yeah.” Taking a sip, she continued, “And speaking of the town, that’s why I’m here. I know Jonah mentioned the fair, but I don’t think you have a complete understanding of what’s going on.” She raised her cup toward Dani. “I’m here to fill you in.”
Dani hid her smile.
Suddenly a more reserved expression came over Kate’s face. The little spark dimmed in her eyes, and her mouth moved into a serious line. “I’m taking some liberties coming to you and talking about this, but I hope that’s okay with you. Also, I feel like I’m already involved because of my sour-puss partner out there.”
Dani prepared herself. “I’m ready.” She nodded at Kate, folding her hands on her lap. Her own coffee was left on the table. Dani had a feeling she needed to hear this head-on. No distractions.
“Politics. That’s what this town is about. Small. Town. Politics. And you, my dear, just threw yourself smack in the middle of it. You see, most of this town worshipped your little sister, blessed be her name, but…your other sister—she’s been walking around this town like she’s got a crown on that head of hers.” A hardened look entered Kate’s eyes. “Most of us are tired of it. Really tired of it, and that’s where you come in.”
“Me?”
“Yep, because you are going to take Jake back from her. We all know he was rightfully yours in the first place.” She leaned forward. “And when you do—”
Ah. Kate really didn’t like Julia. Dani nodded, filling in the blanks. “Julia will be a puddle.”
“Exactly.” Kate lifted her cup in a salute. “And her group will be knocked out of power. People like Jake in the community, but they don’t like him with Julia.”
“And I’m supposed to be the one to break them up.”
“Exactly.” Kate beamed at her, missing the sarcasm in Dani’s voice.
“Except that I have no intention of getting back together with Jake.”
“Really?” Her eyes rounded, like a sad puppy dog. “You don’t?”
“I don’t.”
“Are you sure? I thought I saw a flirt going on yesterday.”
“No flirt.”
“No?”
Dani shook her head. “No.”
“You sure?” Kate asked again.
“I’m sure.”
“Can I ask why not?”
“I didn’t come home with an agenda for small-town politics or to knock my sister off her throne. I came home…just to come home.”
“Well, I’m disappointed.” Kate sighed, leaning back in her seat with her shoulders slumped. The battle just defeated her. “I was so hoping. You stole my entire thunder I had going all day yesterday. I had everything worked out in my mind and there’d be ‘happily ever afters’ all around for everyone.”
“Why don’t you steal Jake from Julia?” Dani would’ve laughed if she hadn’t been taking a sip of coffee as she saw the horror come in to Kate’s eyes. “Or not.”
“Hell no. I like him as my partner, but that’s it for me. Man.” She sighed again, the corners of her mouth dipping down. “This just means that Julia has him for good. Jake’s never dated outside the O’Hara gene pool. He’s doomed forever.”
“Maybe he’s actually happy with her?”
“No. That can’t be.” Kate shook her head. “I was so hoping to get you on board.”
“You said the rest of you are tired of her. Who’s the rest of you?”
“Me. Aiden and Bubba. Oh, those two married. Her and Bubba Meadows. And Robbie Gray—he’s a lawyer, you know. And it’s perfect because Kelley Lynn is his secretary. Sometimes we ask him to find out what they’re all planning.”
“Robbie Gray? Wasn’t he—”
“Tall, skinny, and nerdy? Yep. A social misfit just like the rest of us, except that he’s tall, dark, gorgeous, and rich now. He’s not a social misfit anymore, but he remembers his roots. He’s a good friend.”
Catching a note in her voice, Dani grinned. Kate had a thing for the attorney. That was interesting, and she could handle interesting for someone else, just not her own issues. She needed to be uninteresting.
“Why don’t you ask him out?”
“Jake? We already went over this.”
“No. The other guy. Robbie.” Dani picked up her coffee, but only held it, frowning. “Or did I get that wrong?”
Kate’s own frown was almost a glower. “No. You got it right, but Brooke Richter and Lori Hayden are duking it out over him.”
Dani was pretty sure they both had been cheerleaders, or on the dance team. “Are they still…?”
“They’re still gorgeous.”
After Kate’s high school transformation, she now looked almost a
verage. The brown hair fell to her shoulders, and she was no longer the skinny skeleton she’d been back then. She filled out, and while some guys loved the wholesome, healthy look—most guys either went for the dark hair, dark eyes, sensual lips kinda look, or girls who looked like Brooke Richter and Lori Hayden.
Kate slapped a hand on the table, excited again. “What about Jonah Bannon?”
The coffee was lowered back to the table. “What about him?” Dani sat back, her frown forming again.
“I was joking yesterday, but is there something going on between you? That’d be great. Jonah’s better than Jake. I’d love watching my partner squirm. I didn’t know he had it in him to snipe so much as he did yesterday. Bannon this and Bannon that. All I heard yesterday.” Kate continued, “And Jake’s worshipped the ground Jonah walks on, until yesterday. That all changed now.”
“Kate.”
“Huh?”
“I’m really here just to do my own thing. Nothing else.”
“So, no Jonah?”
“No Jonah.”
“Oh.” She sighed. “Okay. I’ll get over it. You should still come to the fair tonight with us. I even made Robbie promise not to bring Brooke or Lori. It’s a date-free night, except for Bubba. He doesn’t count anyway since he’s Aiden’s husband, and Julia’s going to be gone for the weekend. She’s at some clinic or conference, or something. She won’t even be there.”
“Who’s all going?”
“Me, Robbie, Aiden, and Bubba, and I think Stilts is coming, too.”
“Stilts?”
“He migrated from Northway, but he’s fun. Just the group. Jonah will probably be with his crew. Hawk, Gee, Cory Lyles, those guys. I don’t know if you remember them from school, but they’re all still friends. Badasses back then. Badasses now. Well,” she amended, “they’re more responsible now, but no. They’ll be at the beer gardens, and it’s a little disgusting to watch women fall over themselves for Jonah. Although, Aiden likes to rate them all later when we’re at her house. Jonah doesn’t much appreciate it, especially when she gives the reasoning for her ranks too. If you want entertainment—that’s funny!”
Did she want to go? No.
Should she go? Yes.
“When and where?” She accepted her defeat.
“Seriously?” Kate broke into a wide smile. “We’re going around eight thirty to check all the barns, and we’ll end up at the beer gardens later that night. This is great, Dani. What’s your number?”
Dani wrote her number down, and around nine that night, she was at the beer gardens. It was set up inside a white barn, with two large green-painted doors opened. Picnic tables were spread out all over the inside, with a section in one corner where beer was being sold. From where Dani stood, she could see a thick crowd had formed as people waited to pay for their cups. Some left with a pitcher filled and a stack of plastic cups in the other hand. The entire place was still warm. Dani’s hair stuck to the back of her neck. She knew it’d be even hotter inside, but two large barn fans were set up outside the entrance and she spied another one by a side door. Even over the fans’ loud noise, she could still hear loud murmurs of conversations, laughter, and cheering inside.
She wondered if she should try the side door. She could sneak in and see if she spotted the rest, but Kate called earlier and said everyone was running late. Dani came a bit later than she had planned. Kate instructed her to look around the beer gardens first. The group was going to congregate there before going through the animal barns. She hoped to avoid walking into the beer gardens alone, but looking around—“Hey.”
Jake was behind her, dressed in a blue polo and jeans. His hair was wet, and he ran a hand through the wet locks. He was dressed for the evening, but that wasn’t whom she saw. He held a confused look in his eyes, like he was still wondering if she was staying or going and Dani didn’t think it was about being at the beer gardens. His shoulders slumped forward, he put his hands in his pockets. In that moment, she saw the little boy who’d been her best friend. The boy who always shuffled behind her, kicking rocks ahead with his hands stuffed in his front pockets.
She felt an ache at the memory, but he jerked his head toward the corner. “You going in there?”
“Thinking about it.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” He itched behind his ear. “Look, You and Jonah—you two are so opposite. I just…it kinda spun me. The thought of you with someone else. I know lots of years have passed, and realistically you’ve probably been with other guys, but it feels like we just broke up last week. I don’t know if that makes sense. We broke up and you were gone the next day. I didn’t have time to…”
“Adjust.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not here to take you away from my sister.”
“I know.”
Did he? Because she didn’t want to deal with him thinking that, or saying something to her sister so she thought that, too. Good gracious. She had enough on her plate. She studied him a moment, but didn’t push it. She supposed that was an issue she’d have to wait and see how it played out, and hearing an outburst of laughter, she gestured behind her. “I think…”
“Okay. Yeah.” Jake nodded as he stayed put.
“You’re not coming?”
“I’m going to sit tight for a little while.”
Dani took a second look. He was exhausted. He either didn’t want to be seen going in with her or he wanted a moment to collect himself. The Jake she knew always liked those brief seconds before. He liked to ready himself.
“Okay.” Dani nodded and turned the corner.
Maybe she should’ve taken a page from Jake’s book and gotten prepared, because once she stood in that doorway, she was so not prepared. It was like in the movies. People saw her and the room grew quiet. It sounded like a collective hush, and Dani knew the cause. She began to turn away. It was instinct, to run, but she stopped herself. That wouldn’t help either.
Someone laughed in the corner and stood up, starting a slow clap. “The rumors are true, and our mysterious friend has returned home!”
The lighting inside was dim, but Dani thought she recognized Aiden Bannon.
The clapping took off, slow and tentative at first, but then thunderous and fast by the end. Dani was fighting against rolling her eyes. She didn’t want to piss people off further. Dani’s ears were ringing from the clapping.
She waved both hands in the air. “Okay. Stop. Please.”
It took a little bit, but when it was quiet enough, someone yelled out, “Where you been, Dani?”
“Looking good!”
“Damn good!”
A few wolf whistles and laughter broke out, but Dani ducked her shoulders and moved to the back corner where she thought Aiden was located.
She was right.
Around a table in the back, she spotted Aiden, Jonah’s sister, with her husband. (His massive bulk hadn’t changed or gotten softer over the years.) Kate sat alongside who Dani figured was Robbie Gray (Kate was right—tall, dark, and gorgeous now). And another guy with a medium build and dark hair pulled into a ponytail.
“Hey, Dani!” Kate called out, coming toward her. She hooked her elbow, pulling her closer to the table. “Let me introduce and re-introduce.”
She turned toward Aiden and Bubba first. As they were introduced, Dani couldn’t help but think how these people had never been her friends, yet they seemed to want to be her friends now. Growing up how she did, with whom she did, she instantly wondered what their agenda was, but no. Jonah didn’t operate like that, and this was his sister. Kate might’ve had her own goal, but Dani told herself to relax. Aiden was always known to be kind. Dani searched for any malice intent in her wide and soft eyes, but she couldn’t find any. Jonah’s sister shared his genes. While he was dark and lean, she was blonde and petite, but both had the same striking eyes. They shared the same cheekbones as well.
“Dani.” Kate pointed to ponytail guy. “This is Stilts. I told you that he migrated from Northway—”
“I’m not a goose or a bear, Katey. I didn’t migrate. It’s not