Page 109 of The Moment He Saw Her

Chapter32

Strangely, Libby was not hungover, which was likely due to the vile drink Nina had forced down her this morning. She’d followed it up with waffles and bacon. After that, Libby had felt almost human. Except her chest. That still burned when she thought about Ryder.

“So, Libby, you going to keep hurting my brother?”

“I never wanted to hurt him, Sawyer.”

Lined up to run the third leg of the relay, Libby would much rather be huddled somewhere warm, inhaling coffee and thinking. Especially as Ryder’s eldest brother was running this leg for his family.

“Well then, make it right.” Sawyer wore a beanie pulled to his eyebrows, black sweatpants, and a thick black hooded sweatshirt. The T-shirt stretched over his sweatshirt had “Duke #1” on the front. He looked large and menacing, but she knew that was mostly a facade now. He was butter around his family, and especially Birdie.

“It’s not that easy, Sawyer.”

“Do you love my brother, Libby?” He leaned in close so no one could overhear them.

“I’m not talking about that with you.” He studied her closely, and whatever he saw on her face apparently pleased him. Sawyer nodded and then turned to talk to someone else.

“Car’s all done, Libby!” Bob called from the sidewalk.

“Thanks, Bob, I’ll collect it later,” she said, and then she would be driving straight to the thrift store to drop off her wedding dress. Libby wasn’t going to use it, and even if she did marry one day, it wouldn’t be in that dress.

“Have you seen your brother?” Red called to her from the sidewalk.

She shook her head, moving closer. “I thought he and my father would have left by now.”

“Nope. Sammy stayed and spent the night at ours.”

Libby stared at him for several seconds, working through what he’d just said. Samuel was Sammy, and he’d stayed the night at the Hecklers’ house. How was that even possible? she thought, thinking about her conservative, rule-following brother.

“He enjoyed a few more ciders and then helped in the bar until closing…. Okay, maybe ‘helped’ is a strong word, as he spent the night alternating between dancing with SJ and playing pool with the Hyland brothers. But he was there when we closed, so Dee and I took him home with us. He slept, and then this morning I had a long talk with him about family and how important they are.”

“I can see your mouth moving, but I can’t seem to comprehend what you’re saying,” Libby said. “My brother never drinks to excess, plays pool, or would dance with someone like SJ, and that’s not to say he shouldn’t,” she added, “just that he usually wouldn’t.”

“Your father left. Sammy stayed because your dad wanted him to talk some sense into you. Instead, I’m hoping we did that to him, Libby,” Red said.

The people in this town, she thought. They hadn’t known her long, but they still stood up for her, even if she’d lied to Ryder.

“Thank you for looking after my brother, Red, and I’m sorry again for not telling you who my family was.”

“It’s all right, Libby, we understand.” He smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Ryder will understand too. Just give him time. He’s a good man, don’t forget that.”

She made a sound between a sob and a hiccup, which had Red looking panicky.

“Get over there. The race has started,” he said. “You got this, Libster.”

She nodded, then hugged him and went back to her position between LouJean and Bradford, the lab tech and odd-jobs man in town.

“They’re coming!” someone called.

Libby focused on Cill, who was just behind Brody.

“What are they carrying?” she asked, squinting to get a better look.

“Shelly had a lot of square dance shoes, so we’re running with those as batons,” Bradford said. “Only in Lyntacky, am I right?”

Libby laughed, because how could she not? Her life was a hot mess right now, but watching Cill’s long legs head toward her while she clutched a shoe wasn’t something you saw every day.

“Right, focus now, Libster!” Red called.

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