People carrying toolboxes, cleaning supplies, casserole dishes, and Tupperware containers. The A-Sisters carrying greasy bags of donuts and a carafe of coffee. Birdie holding the handles of two big jugs of sun tea. And Daddy carrying the Yeti cooler that Tully had gotten him for Christmas.
His gaze landed on her and Jaxon.
Jaxon released her like she was a hot potato.
“Hey, Sheriff Gentry. Umm . . . what’s going on?”
Her daddy set the cooler down on a table and gave him a stern look. “I heard you’ve been keeping my daughter working day and night.”
Jaxon visibly paled. “I tried to get her to slow down, but she wasn’t having it.”
Daddy nodded. “Stubborn . . . just like her daddy.”
Birdie huffed as she set down the jugs of tea next to the cooler. “You can say that again.” She gave her son a loving look. “But you always did know when to accept you were wrong and make amends, Del.”
As if on cue, her daddy took off his hat and looked at Jaxon.
“It’s been brought to my attention that I didn’t do my job on the night Mickey’s got robbed. I made an assumption without properly investigating the crime and clung to that assumption even when I didn’t have enough evidence. That was wrong, son.” He glanced around at the townsfolk. “Especially when my beliefs influenced an entire town.”
Everyone fidgeted uncomfortably as Daddy looked back at Jaxon. “I know that sorry doesn’t quite cover what I put you through, but I’m hoping some day you can forgive me. In the meantime, I figured you could use some help. But if you don’t want it from me, I won’t blame you.”
Jaxon stood there for a moment before he crossed the room to her daddy. All the townsfolk watched with wide eyes as if Jaxon was going to punch her daddy right in the nose. But she knew better and her heart swelled when he held out a hand.
“Thank you, sir.” He shook her daddy’s hand. “My siblings and I . . . and your daughter would sure appreciate some help.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Birdie yelled. “Let’s get this place ready to open!”
In one day, with the townsfolk’s help, the dancehall came together. The kitchen got a fresh coat of paint and a new vinyl floor. The oak dance floor got polished to a high shine and chairs and barstools were unboxed and placed and beer signs were put up and liquor lined up on the mirrored shelves.
Even the kitchen appliances Tully had secretly ordered arrived and were installed. Jaxon loved his surprise and gave her a kiss that had her wishing they were alone.
During all the mayhem, someone started the jukebox and people stopped what they were doing and tried out the dance floor. There was laughter and plenty of stories told . . . mostly about Honky Tonk Heaven, but some about the Hennessy Hooligans’ childhood exploits.
But none were mean spirited.
Tully wasn’t surprised. She’d always known the townsfolk had good hearts. But the Hennessys hadn’t known. They looked more than a little stunned as people retold stories. Gossip could seem vicious when whispered behind backs, but when spoken with genuine smiles and good will, it turned into harmless memories.
Once the sun began to set, people started leaving. With their toolboxes and empty Tupperware containers in hand, they passed out handshakes and hugs to every Hennessy before they disappeared out the doors.
When they were gone, the Hennessys all looked at Tully as if she had the answer to the townsfolk’s reversal.
She smiled. “What can I say, it’s just part of living in a small town.”
The following night, Jaxon decided to try out the new cooktop in the kitchen and make a celebration dinner for Tully and his siblings. He looked like a kid in a candy store—or the sexiest Iron Chef—as he flipped smashburgers and checked on the sweet potato fries sizzling away in the deep fryer. Once it was ready, they moved all the food out to one of the tables and sat down.
“I knew we could do it all along,” Huck said around a big bite of burger.
“You did not!” Poppy stole two of his fries and munched them. “Yesterday, you were ready to quit just like the rest of us.”
“I wasn’t quitting. I was just taking a break to regain my energy, then I was planning on coming back in and raising some hell with a bunch of quitters.”
“I’ll show you a quitter.” Poppy went to sock him, but Jaxon’s words stopped her.
“It doesn’t matter who was quitting and who wasn’t. What matters is . . .” The happiness on his face was the most beautiful thing Tully had ever seen. “The Hennessys did it.”
“And a Gentry,” Huck said. “We can’t forget Tully.” He socked her in the arm and she couldn’t keep the tears from welling in her eyes at getting her first Hennessy punch.
“Sweet Lord.” Poppy groaned. “No crying at the dinner table or you have to do dishes.”
