I miss her smile. Her voice. Her arms around me as she teased me.“My grumpy Irishman.”
I miss having someone by my side and in my bed. Zye’s words come back to me. But he’s wrong. I don’t deserve another chance.
Jane has tried to convince me to date again, but I’m thirty-two. I have a nine-year-old child to raise and a diner to run. I don’t have the time or energy for more.
And if, by some miracle, I found someone, could I risk another loss?
My watch beeps at fifteen minutes. Time’s up. I lock my melancholy back in its box and pull myself together. We have the dinner rush to get through.
When Jane and Lanie return hours later, Jane catches my eye and gestures to a booth. My stomach sinks. This isn’t a quick chat.
I grab a coffee for me and a lemonade for her. Even though it’s July in Missouri and hot, I still need coffee, especially after the long day. I swear that everyone in town stopped in.
“I’m sorry for earlier,” I say, straight away.
She squeezes my hand. “It’s fine, Christy.” But her gaze is on the scarred table instead of me. She traces her fingers along the grooves left by not-so-clever teens. “There’s something else I want to talk to you about.”
“Go on.” I try to keep the growl out of my words, but I can tell I’m not successful when I catch a quick smile on her lips before it disappears.
“I’m worried about tomorrow…”
“D’ya want to see the cake? It’s ready.”
She shakes her head, still not looking at me. “I need you and Garrett to get along.”
Garrett—my blood pressure rises just hearing his name. Jane’s confirmation makes me realize there was a part of me that expected him not to show. He’s only returned to Mule Creek a few times since Emily passed away.
But Garrett loves his sisters more than anything. So, of course, he’ll be at the wedding, but I haven’t considered what that will look like. Or thought about what happened the last time I saw him.
“Maybe you should talk tohim,Jane. He starts it. Every damn time.”
“I’m talking to you, Christy, because you’re the one who might listen to me. But I did tell Garrett that fighting with our brother-in-law at my wedding would not go well for him.” She keeps her gaze locked on me until I finally break.
“Fine.” I sigh. Not as dramatically as Zye, but it’s probably close. “I’ll try.” And I will. There’s no way I’m going to let snooty, too-good-for-his-family Garrett ruin this wedding.
2
GARRETT
Who the hellhas a wedding at a VFW hall? Not that Mule Creek has many options, but Jesus, it has about a thousand churches. Hell, even outside would have been better.
But that isn’t true. The July heat is smothering. Wearing a suit and tie makes it worse. But the part that makes it unbearable is the man a few rows in front of me, so big he towers over everyone else, even sitting down. His red hair is tied back, and a light-green dress shirt stretches over his broad shoulders. I can’t see his face, but I can picture his short beard, perpetual frown, and the green in his eyes that perfectly matches his shirt. His suit jacket hangs from the back of his chair.
There was a time when I tolerated Aidyn Christy. Barely.
As far as I can tell, he was a good husband to my sister. At least until the end, when everything went to hell and he let her die without lifting a finger. The familiar rage comforts me, diverting my focus from the muscles highlighted by his tight shirt.
I welcome the anger. Letting it feed—explain—the tension in my body.
He turns and catches me watching. His bushy red brows crowd together. And I’m caught in his look filled with so much emotion that I can’t turn away. Then he jerks his head forward. I try to focus on Jane and Isaac as they repeat their vows. This is important to my sister.
I’m the oldest of three. Emily was born two years after me, so we were close growing up. Our parents thought they were done until Jane came along nine years later. There are eleven years between us, but I’m here today because I’d do anything for Jane. But fuck, I hate weddings. And this one is no exception.
Did Aidyn get the same talk from Jane that I did? Don’t get into a fist fight with your brother-in-law. Don’t get into a screaming match.
Don’t ruin my wedding.
No worries there. I plan on staying as far away from Aidyn Christy as possible. His eyes find mine again, and he scowls.
