“People know you, Tenor. No one bought any of her shit.”
“She wasn’t lying.”
“She’s more fake than you and Ruby were pretending to be. She’s trash and that’s why she’s going to Flatlanders. It’s a shithole.”
A woman walked by, stopped, and pinned Teller with a glare. My stomach dropped. Madison Townsend. Shit.
She folded her arms over a cream-and-maroon flannel. Her jeans were as worn as Teller’s. “How exactly would you know? Been sneaking in undercover?” Her shrewd gaze shifted to me. “I expected better of you than spreading lies about my brother’s place.”
I didn’t care to get dragged into the Scooter-and-Teller drama. I kept my mouth shut.
Surprise passed through Teller’s eyes, but he quashed it quick enough with the calmness he used to really piss people off. “He doesn’t have to, Mad Maddy.”
Her left cheek twitched at the nickname. She ground her teeth together and fury flashed in her eyes. Teller’s expression was aloof, almost teasing.
My brother could be infuriating with little effort. I almost felt sorry for her. But she could’ve kept walking and left the conversation with my brother between me and him like it had been meant to be.
Teller scratched his chin. “Did you move back because Scooter wasn’t causing enough trouble?”
Her eyes sparked. “Do you only wag your tongue about Townsends when you need to feel superior, Bailey?”
“Nah.” His smile was slow. “I only let my tongue taste quality.”
She jerked, visibly stung. “Someday, you Baileys will realize that not everyone has it as easy as you.” She stomped away and slammed her way out the door, the bell tinkling for dear life.
I exhaled. “Jesus, Teller.”
He frowned at me. “What? She started it.”
“‘I only let my tongue taste quality,’” I mocked.
“You’ve heard how bad the drinks served there are.”
He couldn’t be that clueless. People thought I was the naive one of the Bailey crew. “You made it sound likeshewas cheap.”
“What part of saying I only let my tongue—” He blanched. “She did not take it sexually,” he hissed, but his expression was fraught, like he truly had only meant to insult the crappy bar pours and not the woman herself. I believed him, but I wasn’t Madison.
“She did.” I might’ve been indignant about her interruption as well if I hadn’t seen her be sort of considerate with Ruby.
“She didn’t have to start shit. If she’s that loyal to her asshole of a brother, then she’s probably just as much trouble.” He waved it off and took a long pull of his coffee.
“Let’s hope we never have to find out.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ruby
Tenor’s pickup was still in the lot when I pulled into Copper Summit. It was Wednesday night, but he usually left shortly after my shift started. He also stopped in to say hi, and I was already looking forward to it.
As I closed in on the entrance, I spotted lots of bustling inside. People around the counter. Wynter was coming toward the door. She smiled when she saw me, but it had the tension ofI hate to tell you this...
She opened the door and held up a sheet of paper that readClosed. Sorry for any inconvenience.“I’m so sorry. I was hoping to catch you before you left Bozeman. I forgot you were meeting me earlier.” She shook her head, her blond hair flying. “I got distracted in the flurry. I’m so sorry. We’ll reimburse your mileage, of course.”
Wynter and Autumn were behind the various cocktails in the bar, and today, I had planned to join them on their brainstorming sessions to create content. Wynter would be busymixing and tasting, and I’d catch it all. I knew before I’d even started that these posts would be dynamite.
I wasn’t worried about the drive, but I had looked forward to hanging out with Wynter and Autumn. “Oh no, what happened?”
I scooted around her and entered. Tate and Teller were behind the bar. Teller tugged at the collar of his black Copper Summit polo. Tate wore a green flannel with the sleeves rolled up like he’d come straight from the ranch, which he likely had. Each had a grim expression, and both of them were looking at something at their feet. A toolbox was open on the counter and various tools were scattered around it.
