Isobel still held her shoes in her hand, her bare feet muddied from her pursuit. She walked to the nearest patch of grass and wiped her soles clean, slipping the heels back on before she wrapped her hand around the doorknob and pushed in.
She wouldn’t drink. She was just getting information.
The crush of people made it difficult to spot her target, so Isobel angled to the bar, where a familiar face was mixing drinks.
“Izzy?” When Priya recognized her, her whole face lit up with a golden smile. The bartender was even more dazzling now thanshe’d been when she and Izzy had dated, and she was by far the most attractive person in the room. Married life suited her.
“Hey, Pree.”
Isobel hadn’t started drinking in earnest until after they’d ended things. Life had taken a dark turn for her family after Dane and June’s disastrous wedding reception. After Arthur had left and her father’s tree had sprouted from his ribs, Eva had fallen apart entirely. Her family had needed Isobel to hold them up, so she had. She’d dropped out of college and come home to bear more of the workload on the farm. She’d taken on full responsibility for the household’s upkeep, broken up with Priya, and held her sister while she grieved. When the noise got too loud, Isobel had discovered that a round of shots made things quiet again.
But none of that mattered, because she wasn’t here to drink.
Priya had tied her cropped black hair into a tiny bun on her nape. “What can I get you?” she asked. Isobel didn’t miss the nervous edge to her smile.
“Lemonade and fries?”
Visible relief melted the tension on Priya’s face. “You got it.” She worked quickly, her eyes straying back to Isobel as she scooped the crinkle cuts into a basket. “Are you doing all right, Iz? I heard about your sister.”
“I’m fine.” Isobel thumbed a water stain on the counter, desperate for a distraction. “How’s Molly?”
To her relief, Priya took the bait and her face split into a broad grin. “She’s good. We got a dog.”
Isobel’s plastic smile softened to something real. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Peggy’s collie had her litter last month. I think I’ve been replaced.”
As they laughed, Isobel searched the crowd.
“You lookin’ for the sheriff?”
“No, I…” A familiar flash of red hair caught her attention, and Isobel turned.There.Lenny was seated across from Avi Dawson, Priya’s brother and one of Lenny’s oldest friends. They spoke too quietly for Isobel to hear, but the lines of their bodies were carved in tension. When Avi downed his last bit of beer, the two men stood.
Dammit.
Isobel left her place at the bar and rushed to stand between them and the door.
“Out of my way, Moreau,” Lenny said.
But Isobel didn’t move, didn’t so much as break eye contact, even though a whisper of danger made the skin on her arms pebble with goose bumps. “No.”
Avi scoffed. “The hell she means,no?”
The words made Lenny’s cheeks turn pink. “Move. Now,” he clipped.
Isobel shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
It was about time Lenny learned that he didn’t get to have something just because he wanted it. Dane believed Lenny had changed, but he’d also been acting as his brother’s keeper for as long as Isobel had known the Walkers. Love could blind you to the truth. Isobel had watched this play out so many times before. Lenny screwed up, people got hurt, and Dane always took the fall.
It was time to break the cycle.
“Is there a problem here?” Priya asked, coming up behind Isobel and brushing her palms on her apron.
“The problem,” Avi said, his body language twitching with irritation as he lifted his chin toward Isobel, “isher.” He looked down his nose at Isobel. “You’re not even supposed to be here.”
“Izzy is always welcome here,” Priya snapped.
He was right, though. This room was overwhelming. The low, pulsing lights. The smell of cheap beer. The memories thickening the air around her. Isobel’s mouth watered, the taste of a whiskey dancing on her tongue, a delicate temptation she shouldn’t—couldn’t—give in to.
