Page 2 of The One With The Secret Crushes

Scott renovated half the bar to be an upscale bourbon and whiskey experience. The other half was a cleaner version of the dive bar we all knew and loved. He added local musicians on Friday nights and lured in bands from out of town for Saturdays. He hosted bourbon tasting experiences, which Joanne booked for our guests on occasion.

I knew all of this because I'd had a crush on Scott Shaw since my freshman year of high school.

I avoided Scott Shaw because he forgot I existed, and it crushed me. Four years of friendship apparently meant nothing to him. All along I feared he simply put up with me because he felt sorry for me. That I was a kid to him and once I was gone, easily forgotten. For years I hung onto the hope that when I finally ran into Scott again, he'd see me as a woman.

Instead, he didn't recognize me at all.

"I really don't like going out," I replied, hoping they didn't notice the blush on my cheeks. Embarrassment was never something I was good at hiding. "Bars aren't my scene."

Certainly not bars owned and operated by Scott Shaw.

"Hmph." Lucy stuck out her lower lip.

"It's not gonna happen," Joanne grumbled. "We should just quit trying."

Lucy leaned closer to her sister and tried to cover her mouth as she whispered, "But shelikeshim."

Great. My stupid crush was known just like everything else in this town.

Joanne didn't bother whispering. "She does and she's being stubborn. I've known Mack long enough to know that you don't make her do anything. You let reality smack her in the face."

"I guess that means we have no choice," Lucy sighed.

"We do not. I'm really sorry my friend, but this is for your own good." Joanne waved at Maeve.

"What are you sorry for?" My gut sank as I saw it all happening in real time. Maeve stood up, eyes locked on me. From my left Aunt Sharon emerged from a car I didn't recognize. Aviana Rendall approached on the sidewalk with her Australian Shepherd, Barnaby.

This was an ambush.

"You're going to book club," Lucy said. "It's time."

No.No, no.

"You can't hide forever," Joanne shoved a forkful of pancakes in her mouth.

"I'll go to the saloon on Friday. I'll have breakfast here every day."Anythingbut book club.

Lucy shook her head slowly. "It's too late. Book club it is."

I was surrounded.

"Hello my darling niece!" Aunt Sharon reached down to pat Barnaby's head all while grinning maniacally at me. "We hear you've finally decided to join us."

"I think there's been a misunderstanding." Maybe if I crawled under the table I could slither past their feet and run for it.

Aunt Sharon clamped her hand down on my shoulder. "No misunderstanding. We've all sat back and given you time. We hoped you'd come to us on your own. But we cannot, we simplycannot, watch you wallow a moment longer. We've given you so many opportunities, Mackenzie. I know murder mysteries aren't your thing, but we must start somewhere."

"It's fun," Aviana insisted. "And there's food. Even if you don't like the book you'll like the food."

I wasn't so sure about that.

My Aunt Sharon did nothing conventionally. She wrote a best-selling series of books and then quit. She traveled extensively...for cheese. Seriously, she spent a month in Italy and all she came home with, all she talked about, was the cheese. And she ran Lost Creek's one and only book club, This Book Club Is My Alibi, also known as the TBCIMAs (tee-buh-see-muhs), and/or the Alibis. But it was no ordinary book club. It was a murder mystery book club. The only thing they read was murder mysteries, preferably serial killers.So manyserial killers. It was all they talked about, aside from town gossip. The books, movies, podcasts, all serial killers.

And did they meet at the town bookstore? Oh no. Of course not. They met at the saloon instead.

Fuck my life.

But it was morning and Scott worked late. Sharon had the keys to the bar because he wouldn't be there. This would be fine.

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