“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Harper’s southern chirp pulls me out of my thoughts as her hand finds my shoulder.
I stand to hug her as we slide over to make room for her on the end. “Ladies, this is Harper Brookes. She’s new to town and working with Beckett at the law firm.”
They each wave, introducing themselves one by one.
“Tell us about yourself,” Sadie says, flagging the server for another drink. She, too, is a new mom. For a minute, it makes me wonder if something is in the water. I’m fairly certain I heard Joy is pregnant, too.
Staring down at my drink, my stomach churns. Perhaps if there is something in the water, it will affect my ice, too.
My hand runs over my soft, flat stomach, remembering that time in my life. A time when I thought I’d found someone I could spend forever with, though I was in love with another man. Ryan and I had been happily dating for three years. Our relationship progressed as it should have, culminating in our decision to move in together after two years. Everything was fine. We were fine, and then everything changed.
In an instant, my world seemed to fall apart.Wefell apart. It wasn’t because of him but because of me. I never told him the truth. Only my mother knows what happened.
I retreated into myself and pulled away until we called it quits. That’s when I moved into my apartment. That’s when I rebuiltmyself, but one thing remained… the stars in my eyes when I thought of Nash Donovan.
“Mommies unite,” Amalie cheers with her drink in the air. “We have babies, but that just means you can help guide us. We’re both first-time moms,” she points to her and Sadie.
“At least Rhodes did the single-dad thing for eleven years first. Gives us a head start.” Sadie takes a long drag through her straw.
I’d swear she was still pregnant the way her skin glows and those mismatched eyes of hers sparkle.
“Single parenthood is no joke,” Harper concedes, crossing her long legs.
“What happened to the father, if you don’t mind my asking?” Amalie chimes in.
“We got a divorce. I wasn’t happy, so I left. Pretty simple. He still wants to be part of her life, but he’s in Alabama, and we’re here.” Harper shrugs as if it’s no big deal. I’ve never met a woman so unbothered by everything, and it’s refreshing as can be.
“Well, there are plenty of cowboys to choose from,” River snorts. “Just ask Joy and me. We picked the grumpiest ones.” They laugh in unison as if they share some magical secret. I suspect they do. Those two snagged the Garrison brothers. Plenty of women had their eyes on those bachelors, but they never gave them the time of day.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Harper snorts, sipping her drink again.
Our group laughter rings through the bar, but we swiftly change the topic to stories of the past. Their antics from the beach party last July’s Summer Explosion and warnings for Harper about Old Man Wilber and his dog Patches, our favorite two menaces in Cole County.
“He’s ridiculous. It wasn’t enough that I came here to help when he broke his femur. Oh, no…” Sadie waves her handthrough the air, her long ponytail swaying with her movement. “This man decided he is once again going to climb the same tree because he’s not paying someone to do something he can do on his own, and…” she pauses dramatically, a single finger held in the air, “He still plans on riding next week.” Sadie’s hand slaps her bare thigh as if in disbelief that her grandfather is so crazy.
She’s not. She knows, but she worries about him. It’s sweet.
“Rides what?” Harper breathes.
“Bulls!” Joy, River, and Sadie all groan at once.
“Is it bad that I might want to see that?” Harper chuckles, just before River’s gaze tracks somewhere behind me. Her eyes immediately light up, only for Joy, Reyna, and Sadie’s to follow.
Spinning in my seat, a line of men approaches us. The Garrison brothers, Rhodes with a baby carrier strapped to his front—how he got in with that is beyond me—and a man I don’t recognize, whom I assume is Reyna’s man.
“Ladies, let’s go,” Gray mumbles.
We’re all on our feet in seconds, hugging and promising to do this again soon. The ladies fawn over Rhodes, bouncing him and Sadie’s son, making cooing noises while we finish up. I keep my back to the moment as my stomach churns once more.
Linking my arm through Harper’s, we head out behind the crew when a male voice stops me in my tracks.
I swear the universe is doing everything in its power to keep this man in my path, and it feels like torture.
Harper leans in close, whispering in my ear. “Isn’t that the same guy from the cafe?”
“Yeah, I am,” Nash stops in front of us. “Do you need a ride home?” he asks Harper.
“No, I’ll manage.” She hugs me again before exiting the bar with the rest of our group, leaving me alone with the man I can’t seem to escape.
