Page 36 of Crossroads

“I know, right? My brother is sick and in love. I hate him.” Teagan said it nonchalantly, but I had to wonder if there was anybody in Teagan’s vision. From the few times that we were able to hang out together, I didn’t know of anyone that she was seeing. There were plenty of attractive and seemingly nice men in Ashford Creek, but I supposed when you lived here all your life and had multiple brothers and brothers’ friends constantly taking care of you and watching out for you, it had to be hard. Briar had gotten out of it, but Teagan was still deeply immersed in the culture of Ashford Creek.

“Oh my God. You’re Kiera West,” a woman with bright red hair and even redder lips said as she practically ran over to me. She clapped her hands together and reached out as if to hug me. I was used to it and didn’t flinch, but before she could even come forward, Rune was there, stepping between us.

“Now, Kelli, you know the rules. You let everybody have their own space. And if you see somebody here who happens to have more Instagram followers than you, you keep it to yourself. Because then they won’t come back, and I lose money. You see how it is.”

“Oh, I know that, Rune. I just lost myself for a minute. It’s so lovely to meet you, Kiera. You are an amazing drummer. And those bandmates of yours are hot.”

Teagan shuddered. “Kelli, you do realize that one of those bandmates is my brother-in-law, right?”

“Not your brother. You’re allowed to think your brother-in-law’s hot.” Kelli tossed her hair back and gave me a little wave. “Well, hey, it’s so great to see you here in Ashford Creek. We’re becoming a hotbed of famous people. Rock stars and hockey players. Even a former NFL star.” She winked at Teagan, obviously speaking of Callum. “Now we just need a movie star or two, and we have the whole shebang.” She sauntered off with her friends, leaving me slightly startled.

Rune rolled his eyes. “Sorry about that, Kiera. Are you liking your beer?”

I pushed the moment out of my mind since I should be used to it by now, and looked up at the bearded bar owner. “We were just talking about that. Callum knows how to brew.”

“Don’t tell him that. He’ll get a big head.”

“That’s what I said.” Teagan rolled her eyes, grinned, and held out her fist. Rune blinked down at it before reaching out to fist-bump her.

“Are we fist-bumping people now?”

“I don’t know. I saw the teens do it when I was hanging out with Tess, helping her get them ready for practice. I’m apparently down with the kids.”

I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh, but Elizabeth had no qualms about it. “Considering I spend way too many hours a day with teenagers, we’ll never learn the lingo. And that’s okay. Our parents thought we were idiots, too, and tried to catch up with whatever cool sayings were out there. We will never know them. We will always sound ridiculous. It’s part of growing up.”

“You’re a wise one, Elizabeth,” Rune added. He scrunched his nose, his septum ring shifting around, before glaring at a group of rowdy people behind us.

“Are you guys going to eat anything, or just take the space for beer?”

“It’s good to know that all bartenders and owners are as grumpy as you, no matter where I am. It makes me feel like I’m at home while I’m on the road.”

“You’re lucky that your Bodhi’s friend, or Bodhi’s…friend, or I’d have something smart to say about that. Do you want food?”

My cheeks blushed at that innuendo, and I had to wonder exactly what Bodhi was telling Rune. Nothing, right? Bodhi didn’t talk to anyone about me. Because there was nothing to talk about. Other than the fact that we had slept together and then had cried together. No, I didn’t want to know what he had said to Rune.

Teagan threw a napkin at him. “Stop teasing her when you’re just looking for information. Weirdo.”

“You are the weirdo,” Rune mumbled.

“Good one,” Elizabeth teased. “And we’d like to order the wonton nachos and three side salads.”

“Dressing?” Rune asked.

“Ranch,” we all said at the same time.

He lifted a brow. “Nothing if not predictable.”

“Oh, shut up, you like the fact that we’re predictable,” Elizabeth said with a laugh.

“You know, you’re getting mouthier than you were as a teen. And I distinctly remember you being sweet and polite to your elders.”

Elizabeth smirked at him as Rune walked away, but I distinctly saw the light in her eyes dim ever so slightly. I wanted to ask what that was about, but she again met my gaze and gave me a quick shake of her head. I knew there was always going to be history within a small town. But I had to wonder exactly how many layers deep all these connections were.

“I can see your mind whirling right now,” Elizabeth said, before she drained half her beer in one go. “I used to date Rune’s brother. It was back in high school, and then we broke up right as we started college. No big deal. Rune just likes to play the big, growly brother. Felicity is sweet about it, however. Probably because she was so young at the time. It’s not a big deal, other than the fact that it’s a small town, so, therefore, all our lives are a big deal.”

“If Rune wants to go deep into our dating history, I’m sure that we could bring up a few stories about him,” Teagan began, and the two of them latched onto the subject and began naming all of Rune’s ex-girlfriends.

I listened with half an ear when I did the mental math to try to figure out exactly who Elizabeth had been talking about.