“I’ll leave you to it.”
* * *
GARRETT
I pulled at my tie a little, which felt like it was strangling me. I had one hundred percent not wanted to be here tonight. Forget that I wasn’t a massive crowds guy. Forget that I didn’t need to rub shoulders with the muckety-mucks. I had no doubt things would still be awkward with the one person I did like at The King’s Land. But when I’d mentioned the invite to Betty, she had practically lost her shit.
I suppose for people not from around here, meeting the Kings was a big deal. Having grown up with our place adjacent to theirs, to me they were just the Kings. Rich, sure. Garish. Yep.
But they threw good barbecues, and the people of Dusty Creek were always invited.
“Garrett, can you get me another glass of champagne? Oh, and caviar! Lots of caviar. Like, a whole plate of it.”
I laughed. “Betty, do you even like caviar?”
“I have no idea, but it’s rich-people food and I want to try it.”
“Okay. But should you have another drink if you’re going in to work soon?”
“It’s okay. It’s just champagne. One more.”
“You’re okay staying here?” I asked. The buffet was in the dining room area and this place was too crowded for both of us to maneuver back there.
“Uh, yes. I’m just going to stand here and goggle at everyone around me.”
“They’re just people, Betty.”
“Sabrina King isnotjust people, Garrett!”
I left to fetch Betty what she wanted. I wasn’t about to contradict her, but Brin King was the epitome of “just people.” I’d known her as a girl. I knew the heartache this family had doled out to her on a regular basis, just because she’d been a little chubby.
She wasn’t that now. I found myself looking around the room and spotting her talking to some old man who was trying to wrap his arm around her waist to pull her closer to his side. She resisted and the man pulled tighter. I was about to charge in, but she carefully extracted herself from the situation with a gracious smile and moved on to the next circle of guests.
Brin King. Wow. When I had seen her that night at the prom I had been so…proud. Not because she’d lost weight or turned out to be this beautiful young woman…but Prom Queen. That meant she also had to be popular. That the other kids at school liked her.
Okay, maybe there had been other thoughts besides pride, but I wasn’t going to think about that too closely.
I remembered, clear as day, when I’d come upon her standing up to Buddy and Fitz while they had some kid pinned against the locker. They were thugs, but fortunately they’d also been on the football team. When they saw their captain approach, all it had taken was a look and they’d stopped what they were doing and taken off.
Brin hadn’t known. She’d given herself a fist pump and I’d had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
I was glad I had done that. Glad that I made her feel like she could do things like stand down bullies on her own.
Where was she? Oh, there. Geezus, it was like you couldn’t miss her. In this room filled with actresses and people dressed to the nines, she stood out like a shiny star. Poised. Gracious. Beautiful.
I had smashed her a little bit the other day. I always knew she’d had a crush back in high school, but surely, after all this time…
Then it occurred to me. The necklace. Had that been some kind of stunt? Like the noises she’d heard at the ranch?
Like the time she told me Caroline had cheated on me? She had been right about that. I’d found out she was sleeping with some ranch hand and dumped her ass.
Had all of that been to get my attention?
I couldn’t say it wasn’t flattering…
Where was she… oh. There, she was. She was telling a story, and whatever it was must have been hilarious because everyone around her was laughing.
Wait, what was I supposed to be doing?
