by Dylann Crush
She held out her tokens to the bartender who didn’t appear old enough to drive, much less be serving booze. “Two whiskeys. Neat.”
That was an interesting order. She either wanted to impress me by pretending to shoot whiskey, or she had no idea what to order and was going to pass her drink off to me after she tried a tiny sip.
Neither of those things happened. She wrapped her fingers around the two tumblers the bartender sat on the bar and handed one to me.
“What are we drinking to?” I asked.
“How about to the past, to the future, and to the space in between?”
Sounded good to me. “To the space in between,” I repeated.
“Are we sipping or shooting tonight?” She turned to me with a gleam in her eye—a sparkle that had nothing to do with the reflection of so many fairy lights.
“That’s up to you. This isn’t my rodeo, you know.”
She edged her brows up then lifted the glass to her lips. With a quick toss of her head, she downed the amber liquid. As she set the glass down on the bar, her tongue poked out to lick a drop from the edge of her mouth.
Not wanting to be left behind, I slammed my shot as well. I knew my whiskey, and whatever they were serving tonight wasn’t all that bad. Or maybe being in Scarlett’s presence had rendered me incapable of passing judgment. Either way, I was going to follow her lead tonight.
“Should we go see what table they put us at?” She tilted her head toward a table against the wall that held tented place cards.
“Sure.” I took her hand, not entirely for show. She might have strong-armed me into joining her tonight but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t enjoy myself.
We reached the table and Scarlett picked up the card. “Ms. Scarlett Jarrett and guest. Table four. Damn, that’s my unlucky number.”
“What?” My fingers brushed hers as I took the card from her hand and flipped it open. “I’ve never heard of an unlucky number before.”
“It’s true.” Her shoulder rose and fell in a half-hearted shrug. “I’m sure you have one, most people just don’t realize it.”
I couldn’t tell if she was pulling my leg. “So what makes poor number four your unlucky number?”
She held out her hand and lifted her pointer finger. “I was four years old when I fell off a horse and split my head open.”
I winced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, I still have the scar.” She brushed back a section of hair from her forehead. “Do you see it?”
Putting my hand on her shoulder, I moved a step closer. The scent of whiskey and vanilla wafted by my nose. “That little line right there?” My finger traced an inch of raised skin.
“You checking her for lice or something?” April Waite joined us, turning our cozy couple into a tension-filled trio.
Scarlett let her hair fall and took a step back. “I was showing Theo my scar. You remember when I fell off that horse, don’t you? It was my fourth birthday party, and I believe you were there with your mom that day.”
April put her hand to her chest. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’d remember something like that. It’s time to find your seats. The salad is plated and they need to start serving or we’re going to get behind schedule.”
“We wouldn’t want that to happen. Let’s go find our table, shall we?” Scarlett reached for my hand. “Heaven forbid the entire evening fall to pieces just because of me.”
April pointed a pink-tipped talon toward the front of the room. “You’re at table four with me. Up toward the front. Just look for Judd.”
We stepped away from April and Scarlett closed her eyes for a long blink. “I told you four was my unlucky number.”
“You’re going to be fine.” I put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face the small riser that sat at the front of the room. “Want me to grab a couple more whiskeys from the bar while you find our seats?”
“That would be absolutely, positively divine.”
I let go of her hand and watched while she wound her way through the tables to unlucky table four. In my limited experience there didn’t seem to be anything unlucky about Scarlett Jarrett. By the time I grabbed two more whiskeys and joined her at the table, everyone else had taken their seat. I ended up sandwiched between Scarlett on my right and April on my left. As I unrolled my silverware to put my napkin in my lap, April’s hand pressed to my arm.
“You’ll have to tell us how you and Scarlett met.” Her lips curved up in a smile but there was a glint of a challenge in her eyes. Or maybe it was more of a dare. She still didn’t believe Scarlett and I were for real.
Scarlett must have been listening in. Her hand landed on my thigh, mere inches from my crotch. You better believe my dick took notice. As I slid my napkin into my lap I grabbed Scarlett’s hand and twined my fingers with hers so I could put some kind of barrier between her palm and my leg. Nothing good would come out of our evening together if she kept unintentionally fondling me under the table.
“It’s a good story.” I pushed a laugh out and glanced at Scarlett, wondering where to go from there.
“We met at the Lovebird Café.” Scarlett squeezed my hand under the table. “Theo was passing through for work and stopped to have lunch. I recommended the chicken-fried steak and the rest is history.”
April leaned forward, her elbows on either side of the bread plate sitting in front of her. “That’s it?”
“Well, that’s not all of it.” I drew out the words, trying to give myself as much time as possible to come up with something better that wouldn’t sound too off the wall. “I work for the Bat Conservation Alliance. I’m in charge of educating the public all about bats. Scarlett mentioned there are a bunch of caves around here and offered to show me where they are.”
“I just bet she did. You have quite the history with those caves, don’t you?” I’d heard the expression “turn up your nose at” but I’d never seen it in action. The current look on April’s face was the epitome of that phrase and then some.
Scarlett took a generous sip of her whiskey and turned to the man on her other side.
“You know, the geology teacher is leading the kids into one of the caves in a couple of weeks. She does it every year. I wonder if you could go with her and talk about bats.” April resumed her overly friendly attitude after Scarlett’s snub.
“Um, maybe. That definitely fits with the Alliance’s mission. I spend most of my time traveling from school to school and talking to kids. I’ll have to check my schedule.”
“Why don’t you give me your card, and I’ll make sure the two of you get connected?”
“Sure.” I slid my hand away from Scarlett’s and pulled my wallet out of my back pocket. “Email or text is the best way to reach me.”
“Thanks.” April dropped my card into her sequined purse. “You’ll love working with Ms. Donnish. She’s full of energy and quite the looker. Half the boys in Judd Junior’s grade have crushes on her. Isn’t that right, Judd?”
The man on April’s left nodded, his mouth full of salad.
“I’m so sorry. You haven’t met my husband yet.” April put an arm on his shoulder. “Hey, Sugar, this is Theo Wilder, Scarlett’s plus one.”
He finished chewing and leaned forward, extending a large hand. “Judd Waite. It’s nice to meet you.”
As I shook Judd’s hand, Scarlett snatched her hand away from my leg and stabbed a piece of arugula. “Nice to meet you too.”
“Judd’s been down in those caves, haven’t you?” April caressed her husband’s shoulder as she spoke.
He shook his head. “Not for years. Did you need something from the bar?”
“I’m fine,” April said.
“I’m going to grab a drink.” Judd pushed back from the table. “You good, Theo?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I still had my second untouched tumbler of whiskey in front of me.
April leaned in, like she was about to divulge a secret. “Don’t tell me Scarlett conned you into trying t
o find that treasure. Has she told you about her crackpot dad yet?”
Scarlett must have overheard. She tensed next to me. I glanced over to see her jaw clenched, her teeth gnashed together so tight she’d probably have a hell of a headache come morning. “Leave my dad out of this, will you?”
April ignored her, probably sensing she now held the attention of the other people at the table. “Y’all have heard this before, haven’t you?”
Scarlett stared down at the wilted spring mix salad that a server set down in front of her.
April either wasn’t so great at reading social cues or didn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone else. Having met her a total of twice now, my money was on the latter. She cleared her throat and raised her voice a few decibels. “As I was saying, Scarlett’s dad was always telling everyone his grandpa or great-grandpa or someone down the line used to ride with Jesse James’s gang.”
“Hell, everyone around this part of the country claims some relation to the James gang.” One of the guys on the other side of the table went back to passing the bread.
April must have sensed she was losing control of the conversation. “But Scarlett’s dad claimed there was hidden treasure in one of the caves.”
“April, that’s enough.” Scarlett pushed back from the table. “If you’ll excuse me.”
I waited a beat, not sure if I should stay so I could keep April from saying more, or if I should go after Scarlett. When I considered who I’d rather spend more time with, the choice was clear. I pushed back from the table and tried to catch up to Scarlett as she darted into the hall.
12
Scarlett
Why did I let April get to me? I’d known her for thirty-three years. Not only was that thirty-three years too long, but it also meant that I knew her MO. Why did I think it would make a difference if I showed up with a hot bat guy by my side? April was never going to let me have one moment of peace.
“You okay?” Theo cupped my elbow with his hand. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’m fine. There’s no reason for her to drag my dad into this. I never should have come.” A lot of people thought my dad was crazy, but I’d always figured there might be something to his ramblings. When I was little he’d shown me that map of his. A small part of me always wondered if his stories could be real.
Theo leaned against the wall and shot me a teasing smile. The kind that said he was on my side. “I’ve got you. If we tag team it, I think we can take her down.”
My laugh tumbled out as I pictured Theo flinging April into the ropes then tagging me in to finish her off. “It would have to be a no-holds barred cage match.”
“But then you’d get your dress all messed up and that would be a shame.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” I smoothed my palm over my skirt. This dress had set me back a full day of tips at the salon. And though I barely knew the man, on some level it seemed like Theo understood me better than most people who’d known me all my life.
“You okay?” Jaylene huffed out a breath as she rushed into the hallway.
My immediate reaction was to jerk back from Theo. Jaylene didn’t seem to notice she’d broken up a somewhat intimate moment. She put her hand on my arm. “I saw Queen Karma say something then you rushed out. What did she do this time?”
“Nothing. Just more of the same. She told everyone about my dad and his crazy claim that there’s some leftover Jesse James treasure in the caves.”
“Oh. Why would that make you upset? Your dad’s been through the caves on your property at least a dozen times and never found anything.”
“Because she’s painting my dad out to be some psycho whack job.” I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling the need to defend him.
“But he is a psycho whack job.” Jaylene gave me a look like I was the dumbest gal around.
“My dad was, I mean is, a bit of a colorful character,” I explained to Theo.
“We all have that one character in the family, don’t we?” Theo grinned like having an embarrassing relative was an inside joke.
“My dad’s really off the wall.” How could I explain the conspiracy theories, his fragile grasp on the real world, and what it was like living with a guy who refused to take his meds? That was enough to scare off anyone.
“Well if it makes you feel any better, my dad’s not exactly father of the year material either,” Theo said. “He once left me in a cave overnight during one of his exploratory trips.”
“Like he went home and just left you there?” Jaylene asked.
“No. He left me in one of the larger spaces with a lantern and told me he’d be back in an hour. The lantern ran out of propane and I sat in the dark all night long until he found me again the next day.”
“How old were you?” I couldn’t imagine being stranded in the pitch black for any length of time. My dad had always gone down into the caves by himself. At least he’d never dragged me with him.
“Ten.”
“I’m surprised you’re not scarred for life.” Jaylene’s eyes went wide and she shook her head. “Did he say what happened?”
Theo picked at a thread on his cuff. “He got distracted. He’s the kind of guy who gets so involved in something that he could go for days without eating. Makes for a fantastic researcher but a pretty shitty dad.”
“Well, now we’ve got something in common.” I took in a deep breath. “Do we have to go back in there?”
“Hey, I paid fifty bucks for my ticket, and I haven’t had the main course.” Jaylene pulled a compact out of her purse and reapplied her lipstick. “Did you see they’re serving a chocolate molten lava cake for dessert?”
“Mmm.” Theo’s brows rose. “How can you pass up chocolate lava cake? All that ooey, gooey hot fudge?”
“You’re in luck.” Jaylene snapped her compact and tucked it back into her purse. “If chocolate’s your thing, Scarlett here has a hot fudge recipe to die for. That reminds me, my mom wants me to bring a few jars back with me. Do you have any ready?”
I cocked a hip. “Why didn’t you give me a head’s up? I could have made you a case of it.”
“Well, I don’t head back until tomorrow night. What are you doing all day tomorrow? I can help.” She held a hand up to her mouth and directed her fake whisper to Theo. “She guards that recipe with her life. Won’t let anyone help her make it since she’s afraid they’re going to steal it out from under her and start selling it by the truckload.”
“Is it that good?” A tiny wrinkle appeared between Theo’s eyebrows.
Jaylene moaned. “You have no idea. Scarlett, you’ve got to make the man some of your hot fudge.”
“Cut it out.” I played off Jaylene’s compliment, although inside I was beaming. I might not be great at holding my own against April Waite, but I was one-hundred percent confident in my hot fudge sauce.
“Seriously. Can you make me some tomorrow?” Jaylene leaned in, invading my personal bubble of space. “I’m willing to pay.”
“I promised Theo I’d help him with a project.”
“How intense is this hot fudge process?” Theo asked. “I’d be willing to forego the sad looking stuffed chicken if your hot fudge is as good as she says.”
“Oh, it’s good. Better than mere words can describe. You’ve got to try it for yourself.” Jaylene waggled her brows. “Why don’t you go back to Scarlett’s place and she can slip into something more comfortable and rock your world with all of her deliciousness?”
My eyes bugged. So much for supportive friends.
“I’ve got to get back in there. Are you good?” Jaylene spread her arms, an invitation to hug it out.
I pulled her close and muttered against her ear. “I’m good. Although, could you be a little less obvious in your attempt to get me laid?”
“If I’ve learned one thing over the years, it’s that subtlety doesn’t work very well with you. Now go smear that man’s hot bod in hot fudge sauce and lick it off so I have something fun to tell April abo
ut.”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” I gave her one last squeeze then let her go.
“Theo, will you take my friend home now? And stay with her tonight so she’s not sad?” Jaylene put a hand on Theo’s arm. “You’d be doing the world a great service.”
He chuckled, a deep laugh that vibrated through my core. “I’ll make sure she gets home safely. There will be chocolate though, right?”
“See?” Jaylene said. “I always told you that your hot fudge sauce would be the way to a man’s heart.”
“Go on and get back in there.” I gave Jaylene a playful nudge toward the door.
She disappeared through the doorway, only turning back once to blow me a kiss. I missed the hell out of her since she’d moved away. Having her back in town for the weekend was just an unwelcome reminder of how sad and lonely my life had become. Spending a little bit of time with Jaylene was like visiting my past—before my world had taken a turn for the worse.
“Do you want to go?” Theo asked. “I’m fine either way. It’s up to you.”
I smoothed the lapel of his blazer and nodded. “I’m sorry you’re not getting your money’s worth out of your new clothes. But I think I’ve had enough of April to last me a lifetime. Do you mind if we cut the evening short?”
“I don’t mind at all.” He dug the valet ticket out of his pocket. “You are going to give me a taste of that hot fudge sauce, aren’t you?”
“Sure. I’ve got a jar in the fridge and some homemade vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Doesn’t that sound like a well-balanced meal?”
“Works for me.” He held the door open and we walked out into the fresh air. I inhaled a deep breath. Someone must have cut a late field of hay earlier in the day. The smell of fresh cut grass drifted past my nose.
Theo handed the valet the ticket and shoved his hands in his pockets while we waited for his truck to be brought around. “You ever think about moving away?”
I shrugged. “Sure I think about it. But it’s not really an option.”
“Why not? Seems like you might be happier somewhere where…”
