“Look, hopefully we’ll find Vex tonight and then this can all be over with so we can go home.”
Monroe had always been the optimistic one. Dotty was the practical one.
And she was the burden.
Dotty sighed and nodded. “All right, we’ll do this. But what if we can’t find him or any information about him?”
“Then we’ll head back to Vegas. I just have to show ‘due diligence’ that I searched for him. I think I’ve done that, right?”
“What I want to know is who names their kid Vextar?” Dotty asked.
Monroe frowned at her. “Don’t be mean, Dotty. And we still don’t know that he doesn’t have a good reason for leaving me.”
“No, but I’m not sure that any reason would be good enough to walk out the morning after your marriage. Even if said marriage was done on a whim after a few drinks.”
“I know you’re looking out for me, but he really is a nice guy.”
Dotty looked skeptical and Addie didn’t blame her. Nothing about this Vex seemed nice. Trying to find him was definitely a long shot.
Dotty glanced over at her. “What do you want to do, Addie? Are you going to come with us or stay here?”
She pointed at Dotty.
“You’re coming?” Dotty checked.
Addie nodded. Normally, she could easily speak to her sisters. It was just when her anxiety grew high that her voice failed her. That her throat closed over and the words couldn’t get through.
Unfortunately, right now, she was all anxiety and not much else.
3
“Jesus, Monroe,” Dotty muttered as she sidestepped a large puddle that had a suspiciously strong smell to it. “Pretty sure that was pee on the ground.”
“I guess someone really had to go,” Monroe said, trying to sound cheerful.
But even Monroe seemed cautious as they walked up to the door.
The Uber driver had asked them several times whether they really wanted to be dropped off there, which seemed to be a bad sign.
They came to a stop at the entrance and looked up at the sign.
Rabid Dog.
“Interesting name,” Dotty said. “This is quite possibly the worst-looking bar we’ve been to yet.”
“I know, but we’re running out of places,” Monroe said dejectedly. “I’ve begun to think that I’ve dragged you both to Montana for no reason.”
This was their third bar tonight and Addie was starting to get a headache from all the noise and people. Her anxiety was through the roof and she really had to pee.
She glanced back at the puddle on the ground.
Gross. Addie wasn’t good at peeing in public bathrooms; she tended to freeze and couldn’t go. But she was nearing desperation, her bladder so full that it hurt.
“Hey, we got to visit Montana,” Dotty told her, bumping into Monroe gently. “We’d probably never have come otherwise. And you had to show the court that you spent some time looking for him.”
Addie nodded and leaned against Monroe’s other side.
“Yeah, I guess so. Well, let’s go in and then we can go back to the hotel and get some sleep.”
