“Good.” Tim clapped his hands, then rubbed them together. “Y’all should swing by then for some barbeque. We’ll have a bonfire and plenty of cold beer. Folks’ll start showing up around six.”
Zane gave a noncommittal nod. “I’ll check with Norah and Luke, see what they think.”
“Check with us about what?” Luke came around the trailer and noticed Tim, marching over and clapping him on the back. “Don’t tell me it’s one of your famous bonfires. I still haven’t recovered from the last one.”
Tim chuckled. “That just means you did it right.”
Norah walked up behind him, her eyes flicking from Zane to me before landing on Tim. “When’s this?”
“Next Saturday,” Tim said. “Y’all better show.”
Norah glanced at me, then back at Zane. “I’ll have to pass this time. We’re short-staffed at the bar with Laurel still out on maternity leave.”
My stomach dipped at the thought of her missing out on something that sounded a lot like tradition. “I can work if you want to go to the barbeque.”
She shook her head. “You should go. You haven’t been to one of Tim’s parties yet. It’s kind of a thing. Good way to get properly introduced to Tarnation.”
“You sure?”
She smiled. “You’re new. You need the full experience. Besides, I’ve done my time.”
I didn’t say it, but I appreciated it. Especially the way she saidyou need the full experiencelike she meant more than just the party.
Tim gave us a parting wave. “I’ll see y’all then.”
He wandered off toward the bleachers, leaving the rest of us in a small cloud of dust and with something that felt dangerously close to excitement bouncing around inside my chest.
Luke looked at the time. “We better get moving before they start without us.” He asked Norah to pin his number on his back, and Zane turned to me, holding his paper out.
“Would you mind?”
“Not at all.” I pinned it to the back of his shirt, letting my eyes wander a little too long. He had that easy, lived-in look cowboys seemed to be born with—dusty boots, sun-warmed skin, and a way of filling out a pair of Wranglers that should be illegal. “All set,” I said, stepping back.
He looked over his shoulder. “Thanks.”
Luke mounted up and trotted off on his mare, but Zane hung back for a second longer. He didn’t reach for me or say anything overt. He just looked at me in that quiet way of his, like there were a dozen things he wanted to say but wasn’t going to—or couldn’t.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Luke turning in his saddle to glance back. A devious grin tugged at his mouth. “Y’all coming’? Or are you just gonna keep giving each other googly eyes all day?”
Heat rushed to my face as Zane sighed heavily. “Fuck off,” he shouted back to his brother.
Luke laughed and nudged his horse into a quicker pace.
“I’ll see you over there?” Zane asked, the tips of his fingers brushing against my hip. With the way little currents of electricity buzzed with each caress, you’d think he was stroking my naked skin.
“I’ll be with Norah,” I said. “Cheering you on.”
“Good.” He nodded, and the corners of his mouth curved into that soft, crooked grin that, more and more, made my stomach dip. Then he turned and walked away.
Norah came up beside me. “Well,” she said with a knowing gleam to her eye. “Thatwasn’t obvious at all.” Her arm hooked through mine as she pulled me to follow behind Zane and Luke. “Tell meeverything.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Zane
The fairgrounds were packedand buzzing with energy. Live music blared from the stage—some twangy cover band butchering a George Strait song—while kids zigzagged through booths, faces painted like superheroes and unicorns half-melting thanks to the Texas heat. Smoke from the barbecue pit clung to the air, mixing with the sweet scent of kettle corn and fried dough. And everywhere I looked, people were smiling, shouting, and calling out my name like I hadn’t fallen off the face of the earth for a year. I gave a few nods and a few half-hearted waves, but mostly I kept walking.
Because all I could see washer—standing near a long table lined with pies with her hands clasped in front of her like she didn’t know what to do with them. Her braid had loosened over one shoulder, little strands of it escaping with the help of the day's humidity that refused to let up. She looked flushed and completely unsure of herself, and I…I wanted to take that insecurity away from her. I wanted to march up to that table, frame her face in my hands, and tell her straight that she was strong and brave as hell—even if she didn’t feel it right now.
