Page 23 of Careless Hope
The years had been kind to her, trading the shy glances of high school for a confident shine in those green eyes. She was a memory made flesh, all grown up and sitting right there in the Dusty Barrel, sipping on a drink through a little red cocktail straw.
I shouldn’t bother her. I wasn’t sure I’d want to see Sutton right now so soon after family dinner anyway. So I fell into conversation with Hank and some of the regulars whose stools might as well have been labeled with their names.
But I couldn’t help that every couple minutes, my eyessought Caroline again. All of their own accord. I surely didn’t try to seek her out.
But the fourth time I glanced over, I saw that she’d been watching me. She gave me a smile, warm and bright, and I couldn’t help but return it.
“Fuck it,” I whispered to myself. “Hey Hank, can I get another?”
We were friends now. I refused to consider any other reason I’d felt drawn to her. Caroline was as sweet and innocent as they come. I wasn’t about to tangle her up in my mess of a reputation. But I could be her friend.
After grabbing my drink and leaving some cash on the bar, I let my feet carry me closer. Caroline hadn’t noticed me approaching yet, too wrapped up in conversation with Sutton, but I couldn’t help the grin that tugged at the corners of my mouth.
“Mind if I join?” My voice intruded gently, nudging into their bubble of camaraderie.
Sutton’s gray eyes flicked up, lighting up with welcome and mirth. “Walker! Sit on down, cousin. You remember Caroline, right?”
“Of course,” I said, tipping my hat as I settled into the booth next to her, muscles relaxing into the familiar gesture of greeting. “Doc and I had breakfast the other day, but I’m gatherin’ you already heard about that.”
Caroline’s cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink and I nudged her shoulder with mine.
“Okay, guilty. You know how this town likes to talk.”
I pursed my lips. “Mmhmm, sure do.”
The ice in my glass clinked as I took a sip, the whiskey burning just enough to keep me sharp. Sutton was mid-laugh, throwing her head back in that carefree way of hers, whileCaroline’s chuckle was more reserved, like she was still testing the waters after being away for so long.
But it was nice to have someone in town who didn’t think the worst of me.
“Remember when we tried to sneak into old man Jenkins’ barn for that Halloween dare?” I asked, nudging the conversation towards the shared ridiculousness of our youth. Caroline and Sutton were two peas in a pod back then, and before the politics of high school life hit us, we’d shared quite a few adventures.
Caroline’s eyes sparkled with the memory. “And he caught us, waving that pitchfork and hollering like we’d summoned the devil himself.”
“Scared the daylights out of me,” Sutton admitted, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear. “But you, Walker, you were laughing even as we ran like bats outta hell.”
“Wasn’t nothing but an old guy in his undies and a bad temper,” I quipped, the corners of my eyes crinkling with the smile I couldn’t suppress.
“Seems like you haven’t changed much,” Caroline observed, her voice light but carrying an edge of truth that made me take a longer look at her. She’d sure changed—the shy girl from school had morphed into this poised, beautiful woman who could probably cut a man down to size with one of her diagnoses.
“Maybe not on the surface,” I conceded with a shrug. The bar’s din swelled around us, a mix of laughter and off-key karaoke blending into the backdrop of our growing reconnection.
“Listen, I know dinner was rough tonight?—”
“Sut, don’t.” I really didn’t want to deal with that right now. Especially in front of Caroline. I wanted to forget about it, at least for tonight. I took a long gulp of the whiskey.
“I just wanted to apologize. For my part in it, I mean. I didn’t realize Gray has been so hard on you.”
“It ain’t no thing.”
Caroline caught my eye, and her concerned expression might have slayed me if I wasn’t feeling the alcohol.
“It seemed like a thing,” Sutton said. “Anyway, I’m not trying to dwell. Just letting you know, I’m on your side and I think your ideas are really good. I told Gray as much before I left.”
Caroline shifted her gaze between us, then smiled. I found it interesting that she was all I could focus on.
“Ah, my dreams are pointless to my big brother. But I appreciate your support, Sut.”
“Of course.”
