“Jesus,” he said in my ear, tickling my hair. “Was that as awkward as it felt?”
“Ten times more,” I murmured back.
He chuckled as we reached his pickup. He opened the passenger door for me. When I slid into the seat, he leaned in. “Are you doing okay?”
I peeked over his shoulder. Damien and Wendi were furtively glancing at us while they walked to their car.
I stroked his beard. It wasn’t for show. I craved the connection. If it had been appropriate, I would’ve sat on his lap during the service. “I’m really glad I decided not to wear jeans.”
He gave me a quick kiss. “I mourn every time you have to put on clothes.”
I was grinning when he closed the door. And I didn’t miss the dirty look Wendi shot in my direction.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Madison
I fluttered around Flatlanders. The bar was lined with sandwiches and snacks—chips, dessert bars, and light salads. Scarlett had made a few pitchers of lemonade. I wouldn’t be testing our payment system or mixing drinks, but I was grateful I had a place to send off Mom.
Teller was my shadow. He’d be chatting with his siblings and in-laws one second and then at my side the next, making sure I was doing all right and getting what I needed.
My gaze continued straying to the door. Tension rode over my shoulders and down my spine, an unwelcome shawl on a stifling hot day.
Mae took post behind the bar, looking at home chatting with her daughters on the other side. She’d probably worked the tasting room at Copper Summit a time or two. Maybe I could hire her so I could get away from town.
No. That was the shock of seeing Damien and Wendi. Of my nephew looking at me like he was going to run. He was just a kid and this had to be a confusing time. He’d lost his dad earlier this year and then a grandma he hadn’t known well. I was his only family on the Townsend side. How was Damien’s family treating him? I hadn’t been good enough for a daughter-in-law. How would they handle not only another man’s son but the son of the guy Wendi had cheated on to be with Damien?
A wicked part of me hoped they accepted Logan and gave Wendi the same shit attitude they’d given me. If they treated her like she was some unrefined peasant with relatives she should be ashamed of, well, I’d sleep a little better at night.
I brushed a tendril of hair off my face. “What can I get you?” I asked Lane. His lemonade glass was empty. I wasn’t serving alcohol, but the soda fountains worked.
“Not a thing,” Lane said. “But you can let me help clean up.”
“I have nothing else to do.” The saving grace of the last week had been my job. It’d worn me out enough to sleep during the day after my shift.
I should’ve scheduled Mom’s service for Thursday or Friday, but I’d wanted it over with. I’d wanted to put it behind me so I could figure out how to live without her. I’d been doing everything to care for her and now my future only included Flatlanders. The house was sold. The money was in escrow. This place was my last tie to my family. Except for my nephew. I peered out the window.
A BMW was parking a few spaces down from the entrance.
I lifted my gaze to Teller. He watched me, his jaw hard. His eyes asked me if I was ready.
I didn’t know. Were you ever ready to speak to your ex and the woman he’d cheated on you with? The love I’d felt for him had evaporated like raindrops in the sun, but the betrayal was there. The reminder that I hadn’t been good enough. Yet with Teller, it was all dulled. I nodded and brushed my hands down my skirt.
I was almost to the entrance when they walked in. The room didn’t go silent, but the conversation around me fell to a murmur.
Wendi entered first, then Damien right behind her with his hand on her back. Logan clung to Damien’s leg.
Good thing I had weeks of history with Teller, or that would’ve wrenched open the break in my heart. I had wanted kids, Damien had insisted we keep waiting, and here he was, with someone else’s.
I pushed it all away. Damien was a different life. I’d been a different person. At the moment, I almost believed it. “Hey,” I said. “Thanks for coming. It would’ve meant a lot to Mom.”
They both gave me dubious expressions, but I shrugged it off. Wendi’s brows drew together as she took in everyone, and she shrank against Damien. The bar contained more Baileys than there’d been when she and Teller had dated. The sisters were all married now, and the guys too, except for Lane and Cruz. She probably only knew of them from before she’d moved out on Scott.
Teller came up behind me and put his hand on the small of my back. Damien drew himself up straighter, but he’d never be the height or width of Teller.
“There are still plenty of places to sit,” I said.
Wendi gave her head a little shake. “When is the paperwork getting taken care of? Riley’s at the old salon a few doors down. I told her we’d pop in and sign whatever we needed to. Shouldn’t take long, right?”
