“Hush.”
Addie did as she was told when she saw Harper Blake walking out onto the stage. She was smiling and waving to the crowd. She stepped up in between Jasper and Jack. She slipped her arms around Jasper’s middle when Jack began to talk.
“I’d like to introduce one of my son’s good friends,” Jack said. “She’s joining us from Memphis, but she’s originally a New Mexico girl. I’ve known her for the better part of a decade, and she’s like family to me. Please welcome Miss Harper Blake.”
“Thanks for inviting me, y’all.”
The men without shirts began to whistle and cheer.
“She’s struttin’ her stuff like she’s the damned queen of the Delta.” Wanda crossed her arms across her chest. “She ain’t even from here.”
“Neither am I.”
“Yeah, but you know better than to say a word that don’t belong in your mouth in the first place.”
“I think I’m ready to go home,” Addie said. “I’d literally rather be anywhere but here.”
“Sure thing, honey,” Wanda replied. “But we’re still going to the party tonight, right?”
“Jasper doesn’t want me at that party.”
“Sure he does.”
“Harper is going to be there.”
“Who cares whether she’s there or not?”
“Please, let’s just get out of here.”
“Fine.” Wanda sighed. “Just let me give Bryar a kiss. I had to beg my parents to keep him tonight, by the way. They had reservations at some fancy steak house at one of the casinos in Tunica.”
Addie wasn’t listening. She was instead replaying Harper putting her arms around Jasper over and over again. She’d been so nonchalant about it. Like it was something she did all the time.
All the time.
Wanda took hold of Addie’s hand. “Try not to think about it, sugar.”
“I’m fine. I just want to go home.”
“Well, let’s get you home. I’ll fix ya a good stiff drink.”
“No,” Addie said. “I want to go home. To Chicago.”
Wanda stopped short, jerking Addie back with her. “What?” She let go of her hand. “Why? Because some stupid lawyer who doesn’t know her ‘y’all’ from her ass had her hands all over Jasper Floyd?”
“It’s not just that.”
“Then what is it?”
“I just don’t fit here, Wanda.” Addie bit the bottom of her lip. “I don’t belong here any more than Harper does. It’s time for me to sell my aunt’s house and get back to a place I understand.”
“Well, that’s about the dumbest damn thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I never planned on staying here forever,” Addie reminded her. “This was always temporary.”
Wanda opened up the car door with a harrumph. “Well, excuse me if I thought maybe I mattered to you.”
“I can’t stay here for you, Wanda.”
“So you’re just gonna leave us all behind?” Wanda asked. “That it, Addie? Just gonna walk away from everything and everybody down here ’cause your life ain’t so easy?”
“Wanda—”
“No,” Wanda cut her off. “Don’t say nothin’ else. I just thought more of you is all.”
Addie leaned up against the car. The metal bumper of the old car singed the back of her legs. The music continued from the stage, and all around her people were eating, drinking, and laughing. It was the most alive she’d ever seen the sleepy little town. As much as she hated to admit it, it was the most alive she’d been in a long time.
Two figures broke away from the crowd and galloped toward her, a mass of arms and legs glinting in the sunlight. “Addie!” they shouted in unison.
“What are you two doing here?” Addie pushed herself off the car. Her legs throbbed.
“We came down with Harper this morning,” Warren replied. “We’ve been here since nine A.M.”
“Since nine A.M.,” Neil repeated. “I drank an entire chai latte before we got here. But there are only”—he leaned in to whisper to her—“porta-potties here.”
“We’ve been searching all over God’s green earth for a toilet that flushes,” Warren continued.
“Jasper really should have warned us,” Neil finished.
Wanda got out of the car. She didn’t look at Addie. “Is this your first time at the festival?”
“Artemis invited us. She told us about it a while back when she came up to help Jas clean out his office.”
“Did she invite Harper, too?”
“She was standing right there when Artemis was telling us about it.”
“You’re both welcome to come back to my house,” Addie said, fully aware where Wanda was headed with her line of questioning. “I do have indoor plumbing. But I don’t think I’m going to the party.”
“Why not?” Neil asked.
“I’m exhausted.”
“Nonsense.” Warren dismissed her. “You can rest when you’re dead.”
“I’ve really got a lot to do at home.”
“Yeah, like pack,” Wanda mumbled.
“Are you going on some kind of trip?” Warren asked.
“Not exactly.”
“She’s leavin’,” Wanda spat. “Movin’ on from our hick town.”
“That’s not what I said,” Addie protested.
“If you’re planning to leave, what better reason could there be than to go to a party?” Neil threw his hands up in the air.
Addie couldn’t think of a worse reason, but she didn’t say that. She knew Neil and Warren wouldn’t stop pestering her and that Wanda wouldn’t stop scowling until she agreed to go. It wasn’t like she had to stay once she got there. It wasn’t like anyone would notice, anyway.
CHAPTER 39
ADDIE HAD NEVER SEEN A MORE SPECTACULAR SIGHT THAN THE Floyds’ house all lit up for the party—even the scene of the blues festival downtown couldn’t compare. The outside of the house was decorated in blue and gold lights, and there seemed to be a constant stream of cars pulling into the long, winding driveway.
“Where am I going to park my car? That field over there on the right?” Addie asked Warren.
“I don’t know. Follow Wanda and Neil.”
“I can’t see them. It’s raining too hard.”
“You’ve got an umbrella in here, right?”
“No.”
Warren turned to her, his horrified expression evident even in the darkness of the car. “What kind of a person doesn’t keep an umbrella in her car?”
His face was so preposterous that Addie had to laugh. In that moment, she was glad she’d been pestered into coming to the party. She could leave her packing for tomorrow.
By the time Addie and Warren made it to the front porch, they were soaked to the bone. Wanda and Neil were waiting for them.
“Y’all look awful,” Wanda said. She looped her fingers through her curly hair.
“Addie didn’t have an umbrella,” Warren mumbled. “She’s a degenerate.”
The four of them made their way to the bar, which was right in front of several tables and chairs that no one was using.
“Everybody here is old,” Wanda whispered, taking a look around.
“I’m sure not everybody is old,” Addie replied. “Maybe just everybody in this particular room is old. It’s still early yet.”
“I’ll have a gin and tonic,” Wanda said to the bartender. “Addie, what do you want?”
“Do you have Midori?” Addie asked. She wondered if this meant Wanda was speaking to her again. She’d been ignoring her since their argument at the festival.
“Sure do,” the bartender replied. “Midori sour?”
“Yes, please. Could I have three cherries?”
“You got it.”
Wanda was right. There were a lot of old people there, and Addie didn’t know any of them. She assumed, of course, that they were all friends of Artemis and Jack. They stood in clumps, drinking wine and laughing. It wasn’t much like the rowdy party Addie had expected
after a blues festival. Of course, nothing about the Floyds’ house was rowdy. It was genteel and elegant, a lot like, Addie thought, Harper Blake, who was standing alone with Jasper at one end of the room.
They saw Addie at the same time that Addie saw them, and there was nothing she could do to escape the embarrassment she felt as they both stared at her. She knew she couldn’t run away, but that was the only thing she could think about when she locked eyes with Jasper.
“C’mon,” Wanda said. She scowled over at Jasper and Harper. “Let’s go find another room full of old people to hang out in.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”
“Since when?”
“They’re coming over here,” Addie whispered. “Oh, God. I want to die.”
“Shut up. Smile. And stop bein’ so dramatic,” Wanda shot back. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out what’s goin’ on with you today, Adelaide.”
Addie wished she knew.
“Hello, ladies,” Jasper said. “I’m glad to see you two found Warren and Neil after they abandoned Harper.”
“You didn’t tell us that it was going to take an act of Congress to find a working restroom,” Neil replied. “Adelaide was kind enough to allow us the benefit of toilet paper.”
“Don’t seem like Harper was abandoned,” Wanda said. “Seems like she managed to get here just fine.”
“Jas gave me a ride,” Harper replied. She linked her arm through his. “Looks like you all got drenched.”
“How bad do I look?” Warren asked. “On a scale of one to ten . . . how bad is it?”
“Seven,” Harper replied without blinking.
“I’ve got to go find a mirror.”
“It’s too bad you all dumped me,” Harper continued, ignoring Warren. “I got to come in through the private garage.” She raised an eyebrow. “There is an elevator.”
“I think I’m going to follow Warren to the bathroom,” Addie said. She hurried off without waiting for a reply from anyone. She thought about Jasper and Harper alone inside the elevator together. She felt so angry and stupid. This was not how she wanted to feel. This was not what she signed up for when she packed up her life in Chicago and moved into her aunt Tilda’s ramshackle house. It was supposed to be peaceful, serene. The Delta was supposed to heal her wounds, not rip them open and pack them with Mississippi River mud.
Instead of going to the bathroom, she wandered into another room just off to the side of the main part of the house. She doubted this was meant to be used as one of the party rooms. There was a white leather chaise at one end. She went over and sat down. Out the window she could see streams of cars rolling in despite the rain.
The stupid rain.
She didn’t really want to look in the mirror. She knew what she’d find—limp strands of hair stuck to her neck and face, mascara where it shouldn’t be, and a pink bra that was showing through her sopping white silk tank top. She lay back on the chaise.
“What are you doing in here all alone?” Harper stuck her head in the room. “Everybody is looking for you.”
“Just trying to dry out.”
“Well, your friend Wanda is on her third drink.”
“She can handle herself.”
“I’m sure she can,” Harper replied drily. “She looks like she comes from sturdy stock. She says you’re ready to go home to Chicago?”
“I might be.” Addie stood up.
“Well, that’s probably for the best.” Harper walked over and put her arm on Addie’s shoulder.
“What do you mean?”
“What would you do here, anyway?” Harper asked. “Your little antique business is cute, but it’s not a living.”
“Who told you that I have an antique business?”
“Jasper.”
“Well, I don’t have a business,” Addie said, “not anymore.”
“All the more reason for you to go back to where you came from.”
Addie tilted her head back. “What do you mean, back to where I came from? What do you care where I live or what I do with my time?”
“I don’t care,” Harper replied. “As long as you don’t live or spend your time here.”
Addie took a step away from Harper. “You need to back off.”
“I’ve worked too long and hard to land Jasper Floyd.” Harper wagged a sinewy finger in Addie’s face. “And no blond piece of trash from Chicago is going to come in here and take that away from me.”
Addie looked around the room to see if anyone else was hearing the same conversation that she was. “If you were going to land Jasper, you would have done it by now,” she whispered in the calmest voice she could muster. “Now if you would please get out of my way, I need to refill my drink.”
Harper took a step back and allowed Addie to brush past her and out of the room. Addie’s blood was boiling. She could feel the heat steaming up from her body and penetrating through her shirt. It made it even worse. She felt like she was trapped in a sauna. She trudged back to the heart of the party.
“I’m telling you, Neil”—Warren slammed his glass down onto the table—“if you go up to that deejay and ask him to play Journey, I’m leaving right this second.”
“It doesn’t have to be Journey,” Neil protested. “I just want a decent song. And I’d prefer for it to be an eighties song.”
“This is not a junior high dance,” Warren replied. “And there is no possible way that decent and eighties song can be used in the same sentence.”
Neil leaned back into the chair dramatically. As he rolled his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Addie. “Addie! I didn’t even see you sitting there! Where’s Jasper? I thought he went off to find you.”
“I haven’t seen Jasper.” Addie looked over to the opposite side of the room where Wanda was sitting at her own table with at least three drinks. Wanda and Addie locked eyes, but Wanda looked away before Addie could motion for her to come over. “I’m going to go over and check on Wanda.”
“I’m sure we’ll still be debating the necessity of Journey when you return.”
Wanda was slumped in her chair staring down at her hands when Addie sat down next to her. “What are you doing all the way over here by yourself?”
Wanda didn’t look up.
“Aren’t you having any fun?”
“I guess so,” Wanda said. “You know, in all the years I’ve known Jasper and his family, this is the first time I’ve ever been inside his house.”
“Really?”
“I thought it would be nicer.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of a dump, huh?”
Wanda took a sip of her drink and then grinned over at Addie. She burst into a fit of giggles. “I mean, did you see that kitchen? It’s bigger than my whole house!”
“I got lost the first time I was here,” Addie confessed.
“You know what my granny used to say about rich people?”
“No, but I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.”
“She used to say that half the stuff rich people own are about as useful as tits on a bull.”
“Which means?”
Wanda put her hand on Addie’s. “Honey, I ain’t got time to explain to you why tits on a bull is useless. But it means that rich people buy junk they don’t need just because they can. And after bein’ in this house, I can tell ya she was right.”
“I’m sorry about earlier,” Addie said. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I don’t hate it here. I just don’t know what I’m doing anymore. And that’s not your fault or Jasper’s fault or the fault of this town.”
“Bein’ lost is the only way you can find yourself. You wouldn’t believe how many different versions of me I’ve found.”
Addie grinned. “Maybe you can help me find my way.”
“Come on.” Wanda stood up. “Let’s go back over and sit with Warren and Neil.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Warren and Neil had been joined by Harper and Jasper. The argument h
ad been replaced by the silent act of lips pressing to crystal full of mixed drinks. Harper wasn’t smiling.
“Harper practically attacked me earlier,” Addie explained. “She told me to move back to Chicago, stay away from Jasper, and called me trash.”
Wanda made a gurgling sound into her drink. “She said what?”
“She was pissed.”
“She ain’t seen pissed.” Wanda stood up.
“Sit down!” Addie grabbed Wanda’s arm.
“I ought to go over there and show her just exactly what trash means.”
“Believe me, that’s something I’d like to see,” Addie replied. She watched Harper from a distance. Harper’s mouth was set in a hard line. Her shoulders seemed to slump. Her hair didn’t seem so glossy, and her eyes didn’t seem so bright. “But she’s not worth it.”
CHAPTER 40
ADDIE WAS RELIEVED THAT JASPER WAS SITTING AT THE TABLE. She knew that neither Wanda nor Harper would say a word with him there.
“Jasper says he’s going to have to leave the party early,” Warren said. “I don’t think he fully grasps the notion of being a host.”
“I’m not the host,” Jasper reminded him. “My parents are the hosts.”
“So what are we supposed to do while you’re gone?”
“I’ll be back.” Jasper stood up.
“Does this have anything to do with that phone call you got earlier?” Warren asked.
“What phone call?”
“The one you got just before you headed off to look for Addie.”
“No,” Jasper replied. “It doesn’t.”
“Why don’t I go with you?” Harper was already standing up.
“It is raining like crazy outside,” Jasper replied. “And it is awful muddy. You sure don’t want to walk all the way down to the barn to check on a calf.”
“That’s what the phone call was about?” Warren asked.
“No.”
“Will you at least find your parents for me before you leave?” Harper asked. “I wanted to see your mother for a bit.”
It was clear she didn’t want to be anywhere near Addie. At least not without Jasper in her sights.
“They’re around here somewhere,” Jasper replied. “The last time I saw them they were upstairs. Why don’t I take you and Addie up there before I go?”
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