Myles handed the lemonade to Wynter. She took a big drink and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. His eyescrinkled at the corners as warmth infused them. He swiped at her lower lip with his thumb.
“Exactly,” I said.
Ruby giggled and hooked her hands on mine. “It’s so sweet. I always wanted that.”
Wynter winked. “I think you have it.”
Ruby stiffened under my hands, and I commiserated. Our goal was to look legit, but moments like this felt too fucking real.
Mama came out the back door of the house with a giant bowl in one hand while holding Elsa on her hip with the other. Both Myles and I jumped to help her.
He waved me off. “I got it.”
“Ten bucks says she’ll give him the bowl, not the toddler,” Wynter said as she watched her husband jog across the gravel stretch between the house and the shop.
“I’m not taking bets I’m going to lose,” I said.
“Hey, Wynter,” Ruby said, “there’s one more thing on Monday I wanted to talk to you about. I’m just mentioning it so I don’t forget. I don’t want to bombard you with work stuff on a weekend.”
Wynter waved off her words. “Technically, I brought it up first. Bombard away.”
Ruby’s grip on my hands tightened. “So, um, last weekend I was at Flatlanders Prohibited.” She glanced back at me. “For research purposes only.”
“I wanted to prove that she’d get hit on,” I said because Wynter would dig for the story.
“So you took her to Flatlanders?” Wynter screwed her face up. “You could’ve taken her to Broken Oar. What a waste of potential Flatlanders is.”
“It’s not terrible.” Ruby’s answer was light and sweet, much like her. Flatlanders was run-down and poorly managed. “But Itook some pictures, and I sent them to the bartender, Allen... since he gave me his number.”
A low growl left me, and Wynter snickered.
“They must’ve made it back to the owner. She wants to pick my brain, but I want to clear it with you. I only planned to give her general tips for increasing social media engagement and help her brainstorm.”
Wynter’s expression turned doubtful. “She? Madison?” Her gaze lifted to mine. “You think Allen sent her the images instead of going to Scooter?”
Ruby pulled away to study each of us. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Madison is the owner’s sister,” I explained. “She doesn’t live in town, but she’s moving here. Allen might’ve bypassed Scooter because he wants a job and Scooter is running Flatlanders into the ground.”
“Does Madison know you work for Copper Summit?” Wynter asked hesitantly.
Worry infused Ruby’s eyes. “I don’t know. I forgot that they don’t know me.” She grimaced. “They think my name is Rue.”
I placed my hand on her lower back and stroked her with my thumb.
“You’re free to meet with her,” Wynter reassured Ruby. “But she might not want to talk with you once she learns you’re on Team Bailey.” Wynter winced. “That’s how she’ll see it.”
“I can go with you,” I offered. “Just in case she gets mean.”
Wynter shook her head. “Madison’s not mean. She’s... defensive. Her mama and daddy hated the Baileys. Now Scooter owns the bar and hates the Baileys. Madison was a year ahead of me in school and she had nothing to do with me or my sisters.”
“Maybe I do need reinforcements.” Ruby leaned into me. “I’ll tell her who I am first and see how she reacts. If she wants tomeet, I’ll be back next weekend.” She glanced back at me as if asking for permission.
The idea she might skip a weekend unsettled me. “Yeah, you will,” I growled.
Wynter groaned. “Yep. I can see it. Myles and I really were incorrigible.”
“You still are,” I replied. “Allof you.”
