I didn’t even think as I grabbed the hammer with my good hand and flung it across the barn, screaming until the thumping in my head turned to a dull roar. My lungs heaved from the exertion and my shoulder throbbed, but for the moment, I felt better.
“Yep, I bet that did the trick. He won’t bother her at all now.”
28
BAILEY
The dreaded day was here,and there was no stopping it.
If I could have found a way to avoid spending the entire day with my family, I would have, but it turns out that simply refusing to show up does not work in all scenarios.
I sat in my momma’s driveway, trying to work up the courage to go inside and face the disappointment. I knew this day wouldn’t be easy, but actually going through with it was more difficult than I thought.
“Just do it,” I grumbled, grabbing my cup of coffee that I picked up on the way from The Daily Grind.
That alone was a great feat, considering I was just two shops away from the General Store and across the street, and a few shops down from the boutique where my now-arch nemesis worked.
But I managed to pull it off in the name of coffee and survival. A day like today was not for the faint of heart, and I was going to need all the backup I could get.
Shoving my door open, I decided to get it over with. Sitting in the car would only delay the inevitable.
Before I could even reach the front steps, Billie was rushing out ofthe house, wrapping her arms around me in the biggest hug I’d ever gotten from her.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered. Stepping back, she looked me over. “Now, once you get inside, be sure to look as sad and pathetic as possible so Momma will stop asking me questions about my future.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said, tipping my coffee cup in her direction.
“Seriously, though. Are you okay?”
I knew that question would be asked a million times before the town finally moved on. I was going to have to get used to it. “I think I’ll survive,” I grinned.
That was the key to it all, really. Play it off like it was just another breakup. Liam was nothing to me, and my little heart would recover in no time.
Honestly, there was no other way around it. If I was sad and pathetic, the whole town would continue to give me sympathetic looks. But if I held my head high and pretended everything was fine, they would all move on, gossiping about me behind my back instead of to my face.
It wasn’t the perfect solution, but it was better than the pitying looks I was bound to receive.
“So, Momma is on a war path, just so you know. I feel I should warn you before we get in there that she’s already cancelled the caterer and the flowers since the end of your engagement?—”
“There was never any engagement.”
“And she’s also weaseled her way out of your dress fitting. She was going to have you wear her wedding dress.”
She pulled a disgusted face before pretending to throw up.
“Consider yourself lucky that Liam broke things off with you. That dress is so out of fashion.”
“Yes, getting one’s heart broken is a small price to pay for getting out of wearing a hideous wedding gown,” I retorted.
“Right? Also, if you could mention that you’re really sad and needher comfort, that would be great. I have plans in town today, and I really can’t afford to be late for anything.”
I stopped at the steps, glaring at my baby sister. “I thought the whole point of me coming over was so we could spend time together.”
“Right, well, I may have led all of you to believe that, but I actually have a date,” she winced. “I’m really sorry to do this to you, but it can’t be helped.”
My sister always had been a little selfish. And why shouldn’t she get out of the house and enjoy her day? She was living with Momma for the foreseeable future, and God only knows, she was going to be tortured until she moved out.
“Alright. Who’s this date with?”
