Page 61 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“It’s not your mom’s fault either. She really thought she was protecting you.”

He looked down at the ground. “Whatever.”

“She loves you, Lucas. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Juliette climbed out of her truck, eyeing them with concern. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Doc said.

“We got everything done,” Lucas said anxiously. “Can I still go to Robert’s?”

She looked toward the shed. “Wow, the barn looks brand-new. I thought you were going to patch it, not redo the whole thing.”

“We’d just have to do it all over again after a few good rains,” Lucas said, parroting what Doc had said earlier. “The fence is done, too. Doc said the gate was too rickety, so we rebuilt it. Can I go?”

She looked at Doc incredulously. “That’s amazing, and yes, you can go, Lucas, but we need to talk about your curfew.”

“Midnight,” Lucas suggested.

“No. Ten thirty,” Juliette offered.

“Mom. Nobody goes home that early. Eleven thirty.”

“Eleven,” she countered.

“Eleven fifteen,” Lucas pushed.

Doc tried to keep a straight face. The kid had game.

“Fine, but that means you’re ready to leave at eleven fifteen, not twenty minutes after I get there.”

“Okay. Can we go as soon as I shower and change? Everyone’s going to be there soon.”

“I’d like to shower first.”

“Come on, Mom. You take forever,” Lucas complained.

“I can drop him off on my way home,” Doc offered. “I mean, if that’s okay with you and Lucas.”

“Lucas?” she asked.

“Fine, whatever. Give me fifteen minutes.” He ran into the house.

“You sure you don’t mind driving him?”

“Not at all.” Doc took in the dried blood and dirt on Juliette’s jeans. “That must have been quite an emergency. Are the animals okay?”

“They’re going to be fine, but it was awful,” she said. “Three horses got out last night, and they found them right before Jade called this morning. Two were tangled in barbed wire, and the third had a fractured leg.”

He drew her into his arms and kissed her. “Damn, darlin’. You should’ve told me. I would’ve come help.”

“The owners were there. I called a service we use sometimes, and they sent a tech out. We were fine. Besides, I thought you and Lucas could use the time together. How did it go?”

“Up and down, but overall I think we made some headway. He’s struggling with liking me and the fact that we have things in common.”

“I wondered if that was going to be a problem because you and Lucas are so alike, and he and Josh were not alike at all. But Josh loved him. I’ll talk with him.”

“We talked about it, and you should know that he doesn’t remember Josh or the things they did together. He only pretends to. I think that’s mostly what scares him about being around me. Josh is the only dad he’s ever known, and Lucas feels like he’s betraying him.”