Page 39 of Between the Stars

Memories hit me every time I pull down that familiar gravel road into the ranch. I lived my life running around those grounds and it’s nothing like the one I have in Tennessee. I’m not sure if that’s a good, or a bad thing.

Josie reaches for my hand when we’re in my parents’ driveway. “Good luck, brotherfucker.”

“You’re one to talk.”

She lifts her drink to her lips, smirking. “True.”

Her expression reminds me of Jace, and I lean my head back against the headrest. “What am I going to do?”

“How far did it go?” She sucks an ice cube from her coffee into her mouth suggestively, winking. “Are we talking adultery?”

“Is it adultery if you’re not married?”

“I…” She pauses, her brows drawn together, lips puckered and twisting to the side. “I’m not sure.”

I shrug, staring at the cup in my hand and the beads of water trickling down the sides as the ice melts. “You know your brother.”

Josie presses the ignition button on the brand-new Ford she 4x4’d her way here in. It’s Mr. Vaughn’s truck, but Josie steals anything she finds the keys to. “If I know Jace, he fucked you in his Jeep, too desperate to make it to a bed.”

Well, she knows him, doesn’t she? “I don’t know what to do.”

“I don’t think he does either, girl.”

She’s right. He probably doesn’t. Jace… he doesn’t make a decision unless it’s a bad one. So why’d he expect me to drop everything and make a decision today?

That’s Jace Madsen Vaughn. Demanding as shit.

I shift in the seat, not ready to get out into the cold and face my family. “What did Rhett say?”

“When?” She takes a drink of her coffee. “When he realized you and Jace were both missing?”

“No. After you two…” I flick my wrist between us. “Christened Mean Aunt Titty’s.”

Smirking again, she sips her coffee obnoxiously. “Nothing really. Kissed me and said, ‘Merry Christmas’ like it was my damn present.”

“Maybe he thought it was.”

Josie’s eyes widen. “Girl, you’re not going to believe the shit Barron got himself into.”

Oh, Barron Grady. Back in the day, he was more trouble than Jace, but he mellowed out after high school. Two kids will do that to you. “What?”

“You remember that chick I told you about, Kacy?”

I nod. “The one who crashed into Bishop Repair?”

“Yeah, her. Anyway, I guess she was Tara’s assistant.”

“Barron’s wife?”

“Yep.”

“No shit?”

“Uh-huh. But get this, she didn’t know it was Barron’s shop when she crashed into it.”

“Really?”

“She quit and left California only to get stuck in a snow storm and crash into Tara’s ex. Literally.”

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