Page 2 of My Redneck Baby Daddy

He’s a tall drink of water, the thought slammed through my brain as I took in the sight of him.

He scanned the room, clearly looking for someone. He wore a clean gray button-down with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and dark tattoos curled along both forearms. His blond hair was flattened in a way that told me he had worn a ball cap all day. When he stopped at my table, I had to tilt my head all the way back to meet his eyes, and they were the brightest green I had ever seen.

"Rue?"

I stared at him.

I knew that jaw, and I knew that face, and I knew the story every person in Irondale had told about it at least a hundred times.

His smile faltered some. "Unless you're not Rue, and then this is about to get real awkward.”

"Bobby Jo Maddox?"

He nodded slowly. “Last I checked."

I stood so fast my chair scraped the floor. "Excuse me. I need to use the restroom."

I locked myself in the last stall and pulled out my phone with shaking hands and fired off a text.

RUE: Regina Beharie.

REGINA: Oh shit… Government name.

RUE: YOU SET ME UP WITH METH BOBBY JO?!

My phone rang before I could send another message, and I answered in a whisper that was really a scream wearing a disguise.

"Regina, he sold drugs to half the county! I know you fucking lying!”

“Rue, take a breath. Hamilton has worked for him for six years," she said. "He respects him, girl, and he says Bobby Jo is nothing like the man people still gossip about."

I leaned on the nearest surface. “He went to prison, Regina."

Regina had the nerve to laugh loudly. “So did Martha Stewart!”

"THAT IS NOT THE SAME THING!”

She laughed so hard I had to hold the phone away from my ear. When she finally recovered, her voice softened. "Have dinner with him. That's all I'm asking. If you hate him afterward, I will never mention Bobby Jo Maddox again."

I looked at myself in the mirror above the sink, glasses crooked and cheeks flushed, and I sighed. "One dinner."

She was smiling on the other end of the phone, I could just tell. “One dinner."

I took a deep breath. “I’ll never forgive you."

I ended the call right after she spoke. “Yes, you will."

Bobby Jo hadn't moved from the table, and when I sat back down, he looked more amused than offended. "Figured somebody would've told you."

I shook my head. “Apparently my best friend values entertainment over honesty."

He offered another smile, and I swore he had a dimple. “Hamilton didn't tell me much about you either."

I froze with my wine halfway to my mouth. "So Hamilton was in on this too."

"From what I can tell, he and Regina have been plotting for a month or more. He said you were smart, and he said you were shy, and he said his life would be over if I ran my mouth." Bobby Jo shrugged. "I'm trying real hard not to run my mouth."

I asked what he did for a living even though I already knew.