Turning back to Caitlin, “To old friends meeting in unexpected places, then,” I said, tapping her bottle with mine. “Do you want to get a table? We can talk and catch up. Maybe share a plate of nachos.”
I’d come here initially for the anonymity, but I was far from upset about the idea of catching up. Seeing Caitlin again brought back a lot of fond memories. It had been too long since I’d seen her, and I wanted at least a little time with her.
“Why not?” She slid off the barstool and made her way to a booth. “Is this good?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t paying attention to where she led us, far too interested in the hypnotic sway of her hips as she walked. My heart was beating fast, an effect she’d always had on me, and one that clearly hadn’t gone away with time and distance.
“I’m surprised to see you out of Poplar Springs, sheriff,” Caitlin said when we were seated and had placed an order for food.
I controlled my grimace. Location had beenoneof the obstacles between us. We’d never dated when she lived in Poplar Springs. As the sister of my best friend, I hadn’t been prepared to break the bro code. Plus, I was fairly sure Ethan would have punchedme for daring to try. But we’d both ended up at the same university in Austin and one thing had eventually led to another.
Trouble was, I never hid that I planned to return home after getting my degree while she had made it clear that she never wanted to see Poplar Springs again. But I wasn’t digging up that history between us tonight. “I get out of town occasionally. You still in Austin?”
A shadow crossed her face, but it was gone before I could analyze it. “That’s right. I’m only in the area for a baby shower. You remember Diana Innes? She’s Diana Wells now and expecting her first baby.”
“I hadn’t heard that she married.” Though it wasn’t a surprise. Many of our high school classmates had already started families. Long way to come for a baby shower but I didn’t ask her about that.
“Last year. They’re sweet together, and the shower was fun, but after an afternoon of mocktails, I thought I’d treat myself to the real thing.” Caitlin took a drink from her beer.
“Hard to imagine Diana settling down.” I remembered the attractive brunette. “She was always the party girl at Pop High—even more so in college.”
“I think everyone does settle down eventually. Having a baby, though, that’s a big step,” Caitlin said. “I like the idea of it, but I’m not ready for the reality.”
“I hear you on that.” I loved kids, including my nephew, Henry, but family could be messy and complicated. Finding out I had another brother at the age of twenty-six was proof of that. I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around it.
“Something wrong, Brian?” She tilted her head to the side and studied me. I fought the urge to squirm in my chair. She’d once been able to read me like a book.
“Nope.” I didn’t need to burden her, and I wasn’t sure what I’d say, anyway. I was still trying to work out my feelings about my new brother.Half-brother, I reminded myself. “Hear anything from your brother?” Ethan and I had been best friends since elementary school. To me, he was basically family. During our senior year of high school, his home life had deteriorated to the point that he’d moved in with us, even though doing so had left Caitlin behind.
“He’s doing great,” she said, her features softening. “He loves being stationed in Germany. It’s given him the opportunity to travel Europe. You know he was never happy living around here.”
Something the siblings had in common. “I see his pictures on Instagram sometimes,” I commented.
“His next leave will be in the fall, and he’s promised to come visit,” she said. “You two should get together. You do get vacation time, don’t you? Or is it all work?”
“I do. I’ll plan on it.” I was already contemplating the long drive down or possibly seeing if I could talk him into coming out here.Maybe Caitlin would be part of that get-together…As soon as I had the thought, I pushed it aside. What had been between us had ended five years ago.
“So how’s the job?” she asked. “Do you like being sheriff?”
“Keeps me busy, but I like it.” It was all I’d ever wanted to do with my life. My brothers, Luke and Jake, were born ranchers,but law enforcement had called to me ever since I could remember.
“You still in the tattoo business?” I asked. Caitlin had been a year behind me and I’d heard she’d left college before her senior year to pursue a career in tattoo art.
“Uh…yeah,” she said, unconsciously running her finger over the hummingbird tattooed on the inside of her left arm. It was delicate and ethereal. She gave the impression of being that way herself, but it wasn’t true. She had a core of inner strength. But I noticed a chink in that strength in the way she answered my question about her work. Why the hesitation?
“Caitlin?” I questioned, my tone soft.
“I’d like another beer. How about you?” She scooted to the edge of the booth as if she was ready to march over to the bar herself. What was she running from? If I’d been interviewing her at the sheriff’s office, I’d be convinced she was hiding something from me. But she was a friend, not a suspect, so I let it go.
“Sure, but let me get it.” I caught the eye of the server and held up two fingers. Just then, the music shifted to an upbeat song that had been popular while we were in college. I grinned at her, knowing she was remembering it too.
“Haven’t heard this in forever,” she said, all trace of tension gone. “Do you remember that night when we went to the Winking Armadillo and the biker group came in and mixed with the rodeo folk? I don’t think I’ve ever danced so much in one night or had so much fun.”
My memory of that night was just as clear, but it included one more detail. Our first kiss. Her brother had just left for basic training and we’d both been missing him. She’d insisted that weneeded to cheer ourselves up, so she’d dragged me out with a wider group of friends to the country-western bar.
“It ended in a good way, too.” She shot me a flirtatious look over the table, letting me know she hadn’t forgotten the kiss. “I have fond memories of that parking lot.”
I’d been itching to kiss her for years, but I’d always been afraid of risking my friendship with Ethan. But to my shock, the night before he’d shipped out, Ethan told me that he knew I had a crush on Caitlin, and actually said he was okay with it if I wanted to ask her out. Of course, he’d also followed it up with a list of everything he’d do to me if I hurt her, which I never intended to do.
