by Dawn McClure
The tangy, bitter taste of cold beer, the woodsy smell of smoke from the bonfire, and the country music blaring from various radios assaulted her senses. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss the occasional summer night out in Garner. It took being physically there to remind her of what she’d been missing.
It wasn't very often that she went out and partied. Hell, the last time had been two summers ago, when she, Matt, and their friend Shane Taggert, had gone to the Roadhouse and closed it down at three in the morning. The Roadhouse wasn't like the Longbranch. A person could get a meal and play some darts at the Roadhouse. The Longbranch was just your average small town country bar. A few round tables, plenty of beer, and a dance floor was all they crowded into the small space.
She looked up at Brandon while he stood next to her nursing a beer. Had he ever closed down a bar before? No, probably not. He’d ironed his polo shirt before picking her up.
As opposed to David. Don’t look at him. Don’t look at him. Pretend he doesn’t exist. Now that was a fight she wasn’t going to win. Her gaze—much like sonar on a submarine—glided over to where he stood, as though she’d known exactly where he’d been while pretending to herself she’d had no clue. Pathetic.
David was currently throwing back a shot with Tucker next to the bonfire. Tonight he wore a black T-shirt and jeans that hugged every last muscle on his body, only this time he had on a black cowboy hat. Home for only a short period of time and he already had a farmer’s tan going on. As the life of the party, he'd been rubbing elbows with everyone and receiving his fair share of welcome home cheers. Everyone always had liked David.
Brandon, on the other hand, wore a pale blue polo shirt, dark jeans that had never hosted a speck of mud on them, and loafers. His skin would undoubtedly stay as unblemished as the day he was born. Blond where David was dark, he was also slightly built, but he didn't carry around that nauseating bad boy look David owned. Brandon was much more polished.
She squeezed Brandon’s hand. She liked polished.
The trucks that were backed up and circled the bonfire were all tuned to the same country station and blaring so loud the people back in town could probably hear Steve Earle's legendary song, Copperhead Road. Several people lounged in the back of those pickups while some were seated on lawn chairs positioned around the fire.
Her brother was throwing back shots with David as though his former bestie had never left. Matt wore a Co-op T-shirt with the sleeves and most of the sides torn off. Tool. And Abby, bless her heart, was hanging out with the boys like she’d always done. Probably secretly wishing Matt would finally see her for what she’d wanted her whole life: girlfriend material.
Matt looked at Abby as one of his closest friends. Misty doubted he would ever cross that line, but that didn’t seem to faze Abby. She stared up at Matt as though he were some Greek god while he stood by her completely oblivious, yet utterly devoted to her.
And Misty thought she had problems.
Misty raised a brow when the four of them—Matt, Abby, David and Tucker—made a toast by smacking their beer cans together.
Now that she'd taken a step back and got a good, long look at them, it wasn't any surprise that Brandon had never hung around her crowd. From the kiss she and Brandon had shared earlier, she knew he still tasted like mint toothpaste instead of beer, and he still smelled like his aftershave and not like smoke from the bonfire.
A lot had changed between her and Brandon in the last four years. They had hung out a few times during their freshman and sophomore year at South Dakota State University. He'd been the complete opposite from the people she’d hung around all her life. Interesting and solid. She hadn't really talked to Brandon much in high school, and it turned out he had a thoughtful, if not slightly cautious, way of looking at the world. He'd finally asked her out on their first real date in the middle of their junior year, but they hadn't started sleeping together until their senior year. Brandon, always the perfect gentleman—respectful and polite—was the same between the sheets. They’d been together for more than a year, and now in a few short months, they’d be separated for the first time since becoming a couple.
A long-distance relationship wasn't something she was going to relish, but they'd manage.
Brandon took a sip of his beer. “When do you think you'll be ready to go?”
He’d read her mind. “Soon. I'm ready to get out of here too.”
“Let's make a few rounds to get the ball rolling, and then we'll make a break for it.”
She nodded in full agreement until she realized where he was leading her.
She and Brandon were completely different in this respect, at least. Confrontation didn't bother him, which was why he was going to make a damn fine lawyer. She, on the other hand, wanted to steer clear of her old stomping buddies, but there she was walking beside sober and polished Brandon toward drunk and loud David.
Her gaze quickly ran the length of David while he wasn’t looking her way. He'd had the sleeve of tattoos before he'd left Garner, but the added muscle he'd put on while in the Corps made them look a little more...earned. He'd been like all the other boys he’d hung out with in high school—a rough and tumble kind of country boy—but he'd also been the type to clean up pretty good come Sunday morning.
Not anymore, that was for sure.
Every step she took in David’s direction sobered her up a little more. She could have sworn that by the time she and Brandon joined Matt’s little circle of friends, she could have taken a sobriety test and passed. Especially when Tucker, Abby, Matt and David stopped talking and stared at them.
And leave it to Misty to sound like a dork to end the awkward deer-in-the-headlight looks. “What are y'all up to?”
Abby must have inhaled a gnat because she choked on air. Matt smiled so big all that could be seen were his pearly whites under his ball cap, and Tucker's eyes went wide and to the right—to gauge David's reaction. So naturally, she looked his way too.
Those tats couldn't hide the muscles in David’s arm when he flexed. One thumb hooked around a belt loop, his other hand holding his beer, he looked like the poster boy for a biker gang. All he needed was a bandana and a leather jacket.
She glanced away, refusing to look at him again. She didn't look at her brother, either, because she could tell he was still grinning like an idiot out of her peripheral vision.
Who needed enemies when you had friends...
“So, uh, I hear you might be taking a teaching job somewhere in Rapid,” Tucker said, saluting her with his beer. “When are you heading out?”
Of all people Tucker was her savior? Much like her brother, he wore a T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. Built like a brick shithouse, he could pull it off better than her brother. Tucker had been an offensive tackle in high school, her brother the quarterback, and David had been a wide receiver. The three were pretty damn close. And from the looks of it, David had squeezed his ass right back to where it had been back in the day.
Not that she cared. “If all goes well I'll be leaving the second week in August. I’ll have to set up my classroom and shop.” Thinking it was a good idea, she added, “Brandon will be in Vermillion. He's been accepted to law school, so it's three more years for him.”
His father had graduated from the University of South Dakota many moons ago, and Brandon was hell-bent on following in his dad's footsteps—even if it meant they would be nearly four hundred miles apart.
“That's a distance,” Tucker said, stating the obvious.
“Yeah,” she replied lamely. It was only three years. As Brandon always said, three years wasn't the end of the world when they could have a lifetime together. When she’d done her student teaching the last semester of her senior year, it had flown by. The distance hadn’t affected their relationship much at all.
She frowned after that thought passed through her mind, but let it go.
Brandon inclined his head toward David, taking on the so-called elephant in the room. “So Dav
id, how did Afghanistan treat you? You were there as an infantryman, correct?”
Misty looked over at David, her chin hitching up just a notch. If Brandon wasn't uncomfortable with the close proximity, she'd pretend she wasn't either.
David shrugged. “Not much to talk about.” He looked from Brandon to her, his expression remaining impassive.
Misty tried not to look at him, so she glanced at Abby. Abby’s gaze darted back and forth between her and David like she was front and center at a Wimbledon match.
Abby stood only about five-foot-two, the shortest of their group by far. Cute and tan with long, dark hair, she was known as the funny one. She and Misty had been best friends since kindergarten. Just like with her twin, Misty could communicate with Abby with just a look, and she used that to her advantage now. Her silent plea—get me outta here!
Since Abby was too short to throw her arm over Misty's shoulder, Abby threw an arm around Misty’s waist and pulled them both out of hearing distance. “As interesting as that was, I have some good news. The school board held their monthly meeting yesterday.” She let Misty go and stood in front of her, smiling from ear to ear.
Abby had gone to SDSU too, and had majored in early elementary education, so it wasn't a stretch to come up with the good news her best friend wanted to share. “You got the job?”
Abby’s brown ponytail bounced when she stood straighter. “You're looking at the new second grade teacher at Garner Elementary.”
Misty leaned down and hugged her. “Congratulations! That’s awesome!”
Strangely, she didn't feel as excited as she was letting on. Misty had tried to convince Abby that she wanted to go west, somewhere near the Black Hills, but Abby hadn't wanted to leave Garner. Hadn't wanted to leave her own family's ranch. Misty had thought Abby hadn’t wanted to leave Matt, but she’d never said as much. She and Abby had talked about staying in Garner when they were younger, and even went so far as to state who they were going to marry. She'd never told Matt that Abby had a major crush on him all throughout school, and obviously still did.
Abby might be smaller than her, but if Misty pulled that crap and told her brother the obvious, her best friend would kick her ass from here to Aberdeen.
“I'm absolutely thrilled. Hey, if you want, I can talk to Carl for you. He literally just said the other week that he wanted a change of scenery. You know he's originally from Aberdeen,” Abby said.
Carl was the Ag teacher at Garner High School. Just as much as Abby wanted to stay, Misty wanted to leave. “No, I don’t want you to talk to him. Why does everyone think I want to stay here? You know I want to move to Rapid.”
“I know what Brandon wants, but what do you want?”
Where had that come from? “Have you been conspiring with Matt? Is it so hard to believe that I want to go to Rapid City? It's gorgeous out there.”
South Dakota was one giant dusty field after another until you reached the Black Hills. Brandon had talked her into going to Terry Peak Skiing Area in the middle of their junior year of college, and it had been love at first sight—with the area. Loving Brandon had come later.
Abby tilted her head. “Yeah, but Matt is staying. Shane's not leaving. Hell, even Tucker and I are planting our boots in Garner. We just... We all thought you would too. It won’t be the same with you gone.”
There'd been a time in Misty’s life when she wouldn't even have considered the thought of moving from her hometown, but the land just didn't call out to her like it once did. “There's a lot more opportunity there. Besides, it almost feels like a fresh start.”
Abby looked over her shoulder at the guys and then back at her. “Listen, you want to stay here the night? I'm itchin' to throw back a few. I can ask Jeff if we can crash in his spare bedroom.”
Misty groaned inwardly. This was how it always started. She loved her friends, but she wasn't part of their crowd anymore. “No, I'm heading out with Brandon soon. We were just making our rounds before we leave.”
“Oh, come on. You used to love bonfires. And we haven't hung out in forever.”
Abby sounded more and more like Matt. “What's the fun in getting drunk and passing out in a cornfield?”
Abby waved her hand in dismissal. “Hell, I haven't passed out drunk in a cornfield since high school. Which, by the way, was all your brother’s fault. Nope, I learned to hold my liquor in college, like every good freshman. The point of hanging out with us is about having a good time, like you used to. You wouldn't even go out to the bars with us in Brookings once you hooked up with Brandon.” Abby had said Brandon’s name as though she’d been referring to the devil.
The whole business of her having changed when it came to Brandon was starting to wear thin. “I think I'll pass.”
“Oh, come on. You're leaving soon. Can't you loosen up just one night?”
Misty knew one way out of this. It was slightly dirty on her part, but staying at the kegger wasn't really on her things-I-want-to-do list for the evening. She'd already stayed longer than she'd intended. “I'll tell you what. If Brandon wants to stay then we'll stay. He’s my ride.”
Abby's face fell. “He's not going to want to stay.”
That's the point. Misty smiled and went back to Brandon. She linked her arm through his. “Hey, you want to stay? Have a few more beers?”
Brandon looked past her to Abby with a knowing smile on his face. He knew what Abby was up to. He'd always said she was a bit of a loose cannon. “If you want to stay that's fine. I'm meeting my father and uncle for breakfast tomorrow.”
“Oh, I don't—”
Abby squealed and linked her arm through Misty’s, as though to anchor Misty there in case she thought about taking off, and gushed to Brandon, “Aww, Brandon, you're such a doll!”
Wait. What the hell just happened? He better not cash out on her in front of–
Brandon kissed her on the side of the head. “I'm going to head out. I'll call you in the morning.”
David couldn't believe what had just happened. Misty stood not five feet away from him, wearing cute denim shorts that were frayed at the bottom, a flowing floral top, and some strappy-looking sandals. She was by far the sexiest woman at the party. And her boyfriend just left her because he had to get up early.
Who was David kidding? He'd left her too. And he'd done it in such a way that she'd likely never look at him the same again. If she only knew that he'd never wanted to leave. If she'd just picked up the phone when he'd called her after boot camp, he would have had the chance to explain what had happened. As the months had gone by, he'd pictured his window of opportunity creeping down until one day he’d finally realized she'd shut it.
Now the window wasn't only shut, it was locked good and tight.
The guilt he'd grown accustomed to over the years started gnawing at him again. She looked a little embarrassed. And as she'd done so often in the past, she looked to her brother for help. David could read the vulnerability in her eyes. There'd been a time when she'd have looked to him to help her in an awkward situation, but that time had passed.
“You want another beer?” Matt asked her.
She nodded, clearly thankful for the lifeline—until her brother told her that he'd go grab her one and Abby took off after him. They left Misty alone with him and Tucker without so much as a backward glance. As Caroline slurred a week ago, “Awkwaaaard.”
This awkwardness was new to him and Misty. All through school they'd hung out. Whether that be on the ranch, at the football field, or just a Sunday fishing trip, even the silence that settled between them on occasion hadn't been awkward. There’d been times in Afghanistan when he'd thought back on those simpler times with her. Hell, when had he not thought about Misty?
“Sheeeiiit. Look who just pulled up,” Tucker said.
David glanced to where Tucker was staring and saw Tucker's ex-girlfriend, Lisa. Lisa looked like most of the girls at the party, cute and country. She’d barely hopped out of the truck before someone handed her a beer.
>
Tucker downed his own beer, crushed the can in his fist, and tossed it in one of the many trash cans. “Don't mind if I do,” he said, walking away, leaving him and Misty to stare at the ground.
David had no idea what to say. He'd wanted to talk to her the night of the Caroline nightmare, but hadn't had the chance. He'd tried to offer help back at the ranch the other day when she and Matt had been mending fence, and she'd shot that shit down so fast it had taken him a few seconds to make his feet move in the direction of his dad's truck.
Hell, he had to say something. He cleared his throat. “Listen, about the other night with Caroline—”
“There's nothing to say. You don't owe me an explanation.”
Again, he was taken back by the new Misty. In the past, she would’ve just looked at him with those teal eyes and hung on his every word. Now she didn't want to listen to anything he had to say. He didn't care though. He needed her to hear the truth from him. “I only took her home.” He knew the town thought he and Caroline had slept together when he'd hung out with her back in high school, but it had never been the truth. Not even close.
Misty tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Like I said, I don't care. Do whatever you want.”
Or whoever you want were her unspoken words. He couldn't blame her, not after what he’d put her through. Still, before Matt came back and ruined his chance, he said, “You look nice tonight.”
She looked up at him and narrowed those pretty blues. “I have a boyfriend.”
A fact he was well aware of. Hell, he'd been well aware of it all night. He'd watched Brandon and Misty stand rigidly on the outskirts of the party. Didn't miss their kisses. Didn't miss when they held hands. Looks aside, they really did seem like an odd couple. David sensed that Brandon was sucking the joy right out of her. David remembered times when he, Misty, Matt and Abby had turned this town on its side with their antics. There hadn't been a day that had gone by that they hadn't laughed and joked.
Misty had been your typical cowgirl, born and raised on a ranch. She'd been in numerous barrel racing events throughout the state, and he'd been by her side for well over half of them. She'd gone fishing, hunting, and was even known to take her own truck out mudding. From what Matt told him the other night, she didn't do anything like that anymore.
