“Of course not, but you do realize Daisy-Mae just had a baby?”
“A baby whom you adore.”
She’s not wrong on that front either.“A baby belonging to her ex-husband.”
“West William Winchester, are you saying you couldn’t parent Waylon because he’s not yours?Mama would be ashamed of you talking like that.”
“Mama has no qualms about telling me when she’s ashamed of me, and don’t you use my full name.I’m older than you.”
“Then start acting like it.”
“All I’m sayin’ is, he left the two of them vulnerable.I’m not sure my feelings on the subject really matter here.I’m her friend, and that’s the end of it.”
My sister narrows her eyes on me.“You’re not friends, and a woman like Daisy-Mae won’t stay single for long.”
“Lemon, I love you, but you need to drop this.”I shake my head, tearing my eyes away from Daisy.I glance around the room and lock eyes with several different women looking at me the way Wade looks at a juicy ribeye.I could ask any one of them to dance, but I know all of these women here, and none of them hold a candle to the gorgeous blonde across the room.
I down the rest of my beer and peel the label from the bottle, not realizing I’m making one hell of a mess before my sister smacks me upside the head.
“Ow!”I rub my ear and glare at her.“What the hell was that for?”
“Because you’re sitting here moping when you got somewhere else to be.”
“You got a case of baby brain already?”
“No.”She nudges her husband who’s watching Wade and Wyatt make idiots out of themselves on the dancefloor.“Colt, back me up.Tell West he’s being an idiot and he should just tell Daisy-Mae how he feels.”
Colt picks up his beer and takes a long sip, and then he looks between me and his wife with a stupid half-grin.“Oh, no.I’m not touching this one with a ten-foot pole.”
“Fine,” Lemon says.“No sex for a month.”
“Jesus, Lemon.”I screw up my nose in distaste.
Colt’s features turn pouty.“Come on, Lemonade.”
“One.Whole.Month.”
Colt glares at me.“Your sister’s right.”
“I usually am.”She nods.
“Piss or get off the pot, brother.Tell her how you feel,” Colt says.
“Or back off and let her be happy with someone else,” Cash adds.He’s been pretty miserable since he and Carla broke up, and I don’t like the way he’s looking at Dais.He meets my scowl head on and immediately looks away.“I think I’ll shut up now.”
“Good idea,” I deadpan.
“You know, Cash has a point,” Lemon says, sipping her ginger ale.“Why are you dragging your heels on this?”
“I just wanna point out here that none of you are poster children for healthy communication.”I toy with the ripped-up remnants of my label.“Cash didn’t realize Carla had left him until three weeks later, and don’t even get me started on the two of you.”
“Hey,” Colt says, “Slid a ring on her finger and put a baby in her belly, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, twelve years late.”
“Better late than never,” Lemon says with a crooked smile.Goddamn it.My best friend has rubbed off on her a little too much.Jesus.Disgust churns my gut.I don’t need to think about Colt and my baby sister rubbing on anything.I shake my head to rid it of those stomach-turning thoughts.“West?”
I roll my eyes.“What?”
