Instead of exploring any more of that soft skin, I put my hand back on the table.
“Smooth,” I confirmed. “How are the blisters?”
“Not so bad.” She turned her hand over to show me the damage, and touched the fresh bandages across her palms. “After that, we went to Sidecar.”
“And I reckon you had one or two.”
“Just one, but it was a doozy. Their sangria doesn't mess around.”
“The hallmark of a good sangria.”
She smiled, open and free, and I had to clamp down tight to stop my heart opening up in return. It had always been this way with June, from the first time Bret brought her to our parents’ over-the-top Fourth of July barbecue two years ago. There was just something about us that clicked, something about her that got under my skin and stuck with me long after she was gone.
Memories of that day still wandered through my mind when I least wanted them to. I’d been near the grill, listening to one of my mom’s friends talk business I didn’t care a thing about. June came out the sliding glass doors onto the back deck, a gauzy dress flecked with red, white, and blue stars swaying around her in the bright summer sun. When she looked at me, I’d thought my heart stopped—I was that far gone in two seconds.
And then Bret had come out and snaked his arm around her waist, and my heart really had stopped.
I’d meant to play it cool with her, but never quite managed it. Instead, we settled into an easy friendship as if we’d known each other for years. She made me laugh, a spark of sunshine breaking through the gloom Delia had left behind. She didn’t make anybody guess where they stood with her, either. Utterly transparent, her heart shone out like a beacon, on display for all to see. Whatever indifference I’d tried to fake, that openness had drawn me in and taken over my rational thoughts. No matter how many times I told myself my friendship with June was innocent, I’d known my side of it was anything but.
She scowled at the beer in front of me. “You’re not supposed to mix alcohol and ibuprofen.”
Nurse June, at the ready to diagnose, treat, and scold.
“It’s not a problem.”
“That can be really dangerous, you shouldn’t—”
“It’s not a problem because I didn’t take the pain pills this afternoon.” I’d probably regret my decision tomorrow, but I could have a couple of beers, at least.
Her scowl shifted into something far too tender for my liking.
“Are you in too much pain?” she asked so low, I could barely hear her.
“Define too much.”
Her smile hit me square in the chest. I should have headed for the door right then. I could have made any excuse to leave early—hell, I could have just admitted to everyone my busted-up chest couldn’t take it anymore.
But this completely relaxed side of June seemed to ease some layer of the ache that consumed me, and I wanted to enjoy it, even if I knew it couldn’t last.
So I stayed.
TWELVE
june
I hadto admire Ty’s tenacity. Out on his ranch, he prowled around out of sheer stubbornness to keep his business going, and tonight, he stayed at the bar long after he wanted to leave, all for the sake of his best friend. I could respect that, even if it drove me straight up the wall.
He should have been tucked up in bed, sleeping with the help of some pain meds to soothe his aches. Instead, lines strained at the edges of his mouth, and one eye twitched now and then in a stifled grimace. His color wasn’t the best, either, but at least he was sitting down—about as close to resting as I figured he would let himself get. Sitting still was probably too much inactivity for a man like him, all action and movement, as wild and rugged as the horses he trained.
“What’s the diagnosis, Nurse June? Is it pneumonia?”
His question jolted me out of my contemplation. I’d been goggling at him. Sitting a foot away from him and staring right into his face like a teenage girl mooning over her celebrity crush.
“I think you’ll live.” I tried to look more normal, and less dreamy. “You’re too stubborn to get pneumonia.”
He nodded. “Damn straight.”
Eliza came over and bent forward to put her head down between ours like an overeager waitress. “How are you doing, Ty? I heard about your accident.”
