I mean like. I like a fierce woman.
“I hate this plan,” I mutter.
“Noted,” she says with a grin that makes my chest tight. “Now, are you going to help us, or are you going to stand there being responsible while we have all the fun?”
I find her an hour later,after she said she needed some air. She’s sitting in her truck in our driveway, Rita in the passenger seat, and from the way her shoulders are shaking, I can tell she’s crying.
I knock gently on the window. “You okay?”
She looks up, tears streaming down her face, and tries to smile. “Peachy. Just having a moment with my emotional support goat.”
“Can I come in?”
She nods, and I walk around to climb in the driver’s side, carefully moving her to the middle of the bench seat. Rita tries to take a bite out of my shirt.
“Rita, no,” Callie says weakly, pulling the goat back. “We don’t eat the McCoys. That’s poor etiquette.”
“Since when has Rita cared about etiquette?”
“Fair point.” She wipes her eyes with her sleeve. “Sorry.I said I was fine with everything, and then I got out here and just... broke.”
“It’s a lot,” I say carefully.
“Yeah.” Her voice cracks. “My dad won’t even look at me. The whole town thinks I’m some kind of... I don’t know, rebel seductress. And I keep thinking... am I wrecking both families? Am I destroying everything for something that might not even be anything?”
Rita bleats softly and starts nibbling Callie’s hair, which makes her laugh through her tears. “What are we doing, Wyatt?”
“Don’t know.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
“Would you prefer I lie?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Okay. Everything’s going to be fine. The town will forget about this by tomorrow. Your dad will come around. Mrs. Delaney will find a new hobby.”
“Better lies, please.”
“Rita will learn to behave. The feud will end peacefully. Todd Fletcher will stop smelling like cheese.”
That gets a laugh. “Now that’s just crazy talk.”
We sit in comfortable silence for a moment, Rita munching contentedly on what appears to be an old parking ticket.
“I’m scared,” Callie admits. “I’m scared that I’m making a mistake. That I’m ruining everything for everyone. That you and your brothers will realize I’m not worth all this trouble.”
“Hey.” I turn to face her fully. “Look at me.”
She does, still tearing up.
“You’re worth it,” I tell her firmly. “You’re worth the gossip and the drama and the family fights. You’re worth Todd Fletcher’s winky face emojis and Mrs. Delaney’s hashtags. You’re worth everything.”
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
“What do you know?”
