I took a long, hot shower, followed by an even longer nap. It was a restless sleep, though. I had a feeling the decisions I was making were affecting everyone and everything, including my relationship with Sutton, who, aside from Charlie, was all I had left for family these days.?When I finally felt myself falling into a deep slumber, my phone buzzed. I picked it up, not even looking at the name on the screen.?
“What,” I growled.?
“It’s me. Can you let me in? The master lock is on.” My brother sounded breathless and a little wary. I had a feeling I knew why he was on my doorstep.?
“If you’re here to lecture me, save it. I’m tired, and the bar opens up in two hours. Let me sleep.”?
He chortled. “What if I promised you half lecture and half brotherly advice? Would you take it?”?
I groaned and crawled out of bed, padding through my apartment to unlock the hardly used front door, kicking aside boxes Lee had stored out of the way.?
“Yikes, you look rough,” he said when I flung open the door. Pickle stood in front of me, sitting on her haunches. She let out a long, vibrating hiss.?
“Oh, shut up, Pickle!’ We both hollered in unison, and Charlie pushed his way through the door and into my bedroom.?
“Come on, lay back down. We can talk while you snuggle.”?
I nestled back in my bed, the blanket curled up around me, and Charlie sat at the foot, resting his head up against the wall.?We sat quietly for a few minutes, and just before I felt the comfort of my brother wrap me up like an old quilt and drift off to sleep, he started running his mouth.?
“You and Sutton need to work this out, Magnolia. We all know you’re strong minded, but forcing yourself into an engagement and then ripping your best friend’s head off when she’s just trying to protect you is so unlike you. I mean, it’s kind of like you, but come on now.”
I rolled away from him and wrapped myself up like a burrito in my blankets.
Charlie jumped up off of the bed, and I could hear him pacing the room. “And Sutton is up to something. I don’t know if she’s squirrelly because you and Lee are freaking everyone out with your stupid will-they-won’t-they drama, or ifsomething else is bothering her. And you’rewaytoo self-involved to even see that she’s hurting.”
“You know what would be great?” I mumbled into my pillows. “If you would go away. Don’t you have your own life to deal with?”
“Okay, so you want me to take you seriously, but then you want to hide when I talk to you about something super heavy? Come on now.”?
“Charlie, what I do with my time and my life is none of your business.Youdidn’t inherit the bar. I did,” I said, still not facing my brother. “You moved on, and you started a life elsewhere. The bar is mine, and however I can protect it, I will.”?
“It’s funny that you say that because, honestly, I’ve been working overtime to help bail you out. But then Lee came back, and of course, he’s going to save the day yet again. The bar might be yours, but our momma’s name is on the front and her heart is buried somewhere in the walls. So, of course I care what happens. Stop being so goddamn stubborn.”?
I ripped the blankets off and sprang upright in bed. “Youstop being stubborn. You and Sutton and Lee and everyone else! It’s almost likeno onewants to see me happy or to see me do something—finally—on my own!”?
Charlie scrubbed his fingers through his hair wildly. I thought he was going to start ripping chunks out, he was so frustrated with me.?“Marrying someone who texts you shitty things in the middle of the night so that you can keep pouring beers for the rest of your life isn’t doing it on yourown, Magnolia.”?
If I hadn’t been so tired, I would have jumped up and whacked him so hard across his giant, stupid head he would have seen stars. “It’s a chess move,Charles,” I spat. “Maybe you just want me miserable, so it gives you an excuse not to get your own life together.”?
My brother threw his hands up in frustration. “Don’t you get it? We all want to see you happy! That’s why we all walk on eggshells. It’s why we all coddle you, why we allenableyou.” He crossed the room and towered over me, his face turning red. “It’s why we all stood outside the Wilder house and told Dane to leave you alone because weknowhe’s a snake in the damned grass! Why, when Lee left, I sat up here every single night and held you while you fucking cried! Because you’re my sister, and I love you. I’m doing my best here, but I won’t stand by you if you marry him.”?
I let out a harsh, derisive laugh, pulling my knees up to my chest. Charlie had only gotten truly mad at me a handful of times in my life, and this was one of them. “What do you mean?” My voice cracked, betraying the fear I was trying to hide. The thought of him walking out, leaving me behind, twisted my gut. He was all I had left, the only family I had, and the idea of losing him too was more than I could bear.
“What I mean, Magnolia, is maybe I’m tired of cleaning up your messes, and I don’t want to have to say ‘I told you so’ when shit hits the fan with Dane.”?He stomped out of my room, making him the third person in twenty-four long hours to slam the door in my face and walk out fuming at me.?
I spent the rest of the afternoon tossing and turning, my pillow damp from tears I hadn’t meant to cry. The silence of my room felt oppressive, each passing minute a reminder of the fights I couldn’t take back. Lee’s words still echoed in my ears, raw and jagged, and I couldn’t shake the way Sutton’s and Charlie’s disappointment had settled into my chest like a weight I couldn’t lift.
Eventually, I sat up, staring at the phone on my nightstand as if it might somehow make the decision for me. My stomach churned as I reached for it, my hands trembling slightly. This was the call I’d been avoiding for weeks—the one I knew could unravel everything, or set it all in motion.
Taking a deep breath, I dialed the number, the sound of each ring amplifying the pounding in my head.
“What’s up, baby?” Dane sounded just as tired as I did, but I didn’t care. I had some things to say.?
“When you come home, I’m moving in, and I hope you didn’t give your momma back that ring because I want it.”?
Chapter twenty-seven
LEE
