I scoff. “Am I invisible?”
“Unfortunately not,” Wren snarks, wriggling her fingers in the most condescending wave. Davis grips my shoulder, steering me toward an empty seat in the back before all hell breaks loose. He knows how the woman grates on my nerves.
“What’s she doing here?”
Davis chuckles. “At the town meeting? Probably the same as the rest of us.”
I mutter under my breath as I take a seat next to Heath and Levi, both dressed in jeans and an SBFD t-shirt. “Did you two plan your outfits?”
Levi rolls his eyes. “I swear this fucker wants to be me.”
Heath snorts out a laugh. “A dad with a fourteen-year-old? Fuck no. I mean, no offense to you or Auds—you know I love the girl—but you’re thirty with a teenager. Can you picture me with a kid?” He shivers at the thought while we nod our heads in agreement.
“Well, you better make sure you’re always using protection, since you’ve slept with half the town.”
Heath scoffs. “I haven't, not even close.”
Levi’s eyebrows raise. “Hell, you might have a slew of kids out there looking for their daddy.”
“You shut your goddamn mouth, Welles. Don’t even put that in the universe.”
We all laugh at the fear on Heath’s face. He’s not as slutty as we joke, but he’s definitely the type to love ’em and leave ’em. The man is terrified of commitment. Hell, he hasn’t even committed to owning a house. He’s still renting out a studio apartment on Main Street above Ember & Ivory, which his cousin’s wife helps run for her best friend.
Levi elbows my side, and I look down at where he nudged me before looking up at him. “What?” I hiss.
He tips his head to the left, toward a certain someone I can’t seem to avoid, no matter how hard I try. Standing in the aisle, I watch as Wren embraces Greer Emerson, smiling at her old friend, and my chest aches. This was never how it was supposed to be. Wren and I were supposed to be married, with a kid or two, living on the plot of land that connects our two farms with a home built with her in mind. Summer days spent on the lake with our friends and Sundays gathered around a large oak table surrounded by family and friends.
My eyes land on Baker, who's standing behind Greer, but he’s watching me. An eyebrow quirks in my direction, as if asking me what I’m going to do about this.Thisbeing the situation between Wren and the group—and me. I don’t understand why Greer isn’t as pissed as I am to see her. Those two were thick as thieves. Have they stayed in touch?
Feedback from the microphone has everyone groaning from the god-awful screech. Mayor Emerson chuckles, causing a cringe through my body. I despise the man, but I keep my opinions to myself since he’s Greer’s dad, after all. Even though she would love nothing more than to find out she was adopted and not be a product of Chuck Emerson.
“Welcome,” he greets the crowd. “Nothing like a little feedback to get you all to quiet down.”
I roll my eyes.Idiot.
“Tonight’s meeting is going to be quick and civil.” His eyes cut through the crowd. “I’m talking to you, Joe and Betty. Your bickering on social media isn’t going to fly in this meeting tonight.”
“She always starts it,” Joe argues.
Betty scoffs. “No one wants to start anything with you, Joe.”
“Betty. Joe. Enough.” Mayor Emerson covers his eyes, shaking his head. “I’ve got a meeting to attend, so let’s get this started.”
I lean close to Levi, dropping my voice. “He probably has a poker game to get to.”
“He’s such a slimy fucker,” Levi adds.
For a while, I’ve been hearing rumors surrounding Chuck Emerson and some sketchy men. Most of them gather at Emerson Manor and gamble. It’s one of the reasons Greer started hanging out with us in school.
Turns out, she had a lot of rebellious ideas to try, including vandalizing the neighboring towns’ windows. She wanted to cause a fight between their mayor and ours—her dad.
“What’d I miss?” my sister, Saylor, asks, sliding into the seat next to me. A large tote hangs off her shoulder. As she tries to move it, she bumps the chair in front of her. Everything about her movement is loud and chaotic.
A voice clears over the microphone, snapping our attention to the podium. Chuck Emerson shoots daggers at our row.
“Why is your sister always a disaster?” Levi gripes next to me.
Saylor nudges my shoulder. “Look, it’s Wren.” She smiles, waving wildly at Wren, who’s looking in our direction. “Have you had a chance to talk to her?”
