That was nice of her, damn it.
For some reason, I don’t like having reasons to appreciate Magnolia.
She and I didn’t always bicker. When we were younger, we were friends, but that changed my senior year.
I still get a twinge of guilt over breaking up her relationship with Luke. How was I supposed to know she wasn’t really sneaking around behind his back? I’ve always been a little rigid when it comes to certain things, and I’ve worked hard to not be so strait-laced, but back then, I couldn’t let that fly.
Trust me—Magnolia has made me pay for that mistake.
She’d never believe me, but she was better off not dating that guy. Aside from the fact that Bash would’ve freaked out if he’d found out Luke and his sister were hooking up, Luke was the biggest player in our group of friends. The way he talked about girls was worthy of PornHub. Magnolia didn’t deserve that treatment.
In retrospect, I could’ve handled it more gently, but I was young and dumb and not great with interpersonal relationships. I’ve taken a shitload of communication and psych classes to improve my “robotic outlook on life.” That descriptive gem came compliments of a girl I dated in high school. Those words stung, but it opened my eyes, and I’ve since tried to do better. To be better.
Now that I think about it, had Maggie been my girlfriend, I’d have put up a bigger fight than Luke did. He just accepted that Maggie was seeing someone else—which, for the record, she did in fact say. If she hadn’t been lying in the first place and just told Bash the truth, he could’ve been the one to handle things.
After I tug on my coat, Kayla helps me stuff myself and my crutches into the passenger side of my grandpa’s old truck.
“You bringing a date to my wedding?” she asks as she runs around to the other side to warm the engine for Dad.
“Probably not.”
“You still upset about Amelia?”
“Nope.” Maybe.
Deep down, I know my ex and I weren’t well suited. She was a model and stunningly beautiful. This will sound horrible, but dating her made me feel like I wasn’t that middle-school geek anymore. The sex was pretty amazing, and we had fun together, but all of my friends hated her, and I can’t say I blamed them. Amelia’s idea of a good time was causing drama, which is the polar opposite of my goals in life.
Still, it was tough to crash and burn like that because the end was ugly.
“Hmm.” My sister looks me over, and I sigh.
“I thought we were done with the inquisition.”
“Can I set you up with someone for my wedding?”
Christ, no.
She clasps her hands together. “Pretty please?”
Kayla knows she has me at a disadvantage because I’d pretty much do anything to make her happy. “Fine. It’s your wedding.”
She squeals and reaches over to squeeze me in another hug. I’m about to tell her she can set me up with anyone she wants except Magnolia Morales, but she knows better. Kayla had a front-row seat to one of our disagreements a few years ago. Doubt she’d want that kind of tension at her wedding.
As Kayla gets out, my father ambles toward us. “What’s she trying to finagle you into doing?”
I laugh because we all know Kayla’s ways.
Before I can respond, the CB on the dashboard roars to life and my grandfather’s voice fills the truck. “This is RogerRabbit. Who the hell is gonna feed me before I die? Over and out.”
Gramps used to be a trucker, and the only way he agreed to live on my parents’ property was if they installed a few CB radios around so he could easily communicate with us. He didn’t want “no fancy fucking phone.”
My mom bangs open the front door of the house, turns her head toward the backyard, and shouts, “I’m coming, old man!” Balancing a tray of food in one hand, she heads over to my dad. They pause in front of the car as he leans down to rub her nose with his and whisper something in her ear that makes her blush and giggle like a teenage girl.
“Ugh, they’re gross.” Leaning in my door, my sister makes a choking sound. “I heard them going at it last night. Almost puked.”
Wincing, I hold up my hand. “Overshare, dude.”
I definitely don’t want to hear about my parents’ sex life, but I’m grateful they’re still in love and have each other. Bash and Maggie lost their dad when they were in middle school, and it wrecked them. That’s why they moved here to Heartland Hills, a small town in the Texas Hill Country.
