Page 58 of Up in Smoke

“One love, too!” She sighs wistfully. “I hope our husbands will be friends.”

My lungs seize.

“Oh, they will be,” Hattie growls. “Or we’ll pull a doubleGoodbye Earl.”

Mesa wouldn’t dare. Hattie? Yeah, I’m scared hearing that out of her mouth. Having heard enough, I approach them and cut in.

“Ladies.”

“Buddy!” Mesa squeals and jumps to her feet.

Great start. I just love hearing her call me that.

I stumble back a little when she jumps into my arms and nearly chokes me with a tight hug. After setting her down, she stands directly in front of me, my front to her back. She grabs both of my hands and lifts, wrapping my arms around her upper body and locking us in an impossibly tight hold. “My ride is here! If you know what I mean,winkwink.”

“This is your ride,” Hattie repeats, voice perfectly even and unperturbed.

Her eyes narrow at me, but she gives nothing away, avoiding a scene. Good to see her impeccable acting skills haven’t dwindled. Funny thing is, we got along like peanut butter and jelly back then.

Still, I took Heston’s side in the end. And she knows it.

I lean down to mumble into Mesa’s hair. “You’re drunk.”

She pulls my arms until they tighten around her and whispers, “I know. And my air conditioner is broken.”

In the south, there are few worse things than no AC. “Grab your bag and we’ll go to the ranch,” I say. My attention turns to Hattie as I try to figure out how much she’s had to drink. Sheseems less giddy than Mesa, but I’ve never met anyone harder to read than her. “Do you need a ride?”

“No,” she answers flatly.

“It’s not far. She’s renting a little house behind the library in town,” Mesa reveals.

That shocks me as I remember how Hattie used to play around with her daddy’s money. I’m tempted to make sure she gets back safely by demanding I take her into town, but her daring stare tells me to leave her be.

“Oh! This is my friend Hattie Jo, by the way. We met at book club. And Hattie, this is Tripp.”

I chuckle when Mesa sways back and forth, trying, and failing, to make my arms tighten around her even more. If I squeeze any harder, she’ll suffocate. Her voice is peppy and upbeat, and she didn’t hesitate to show her excitement when I arrived. Tipsy or not, I’ll take it.

There are nonice to meet yous exchanged between Hattie and me, who are well-acquainted. She nods with a practiced smile and I do the same. I lead Mesa toward the door, but she refuses to unfold herself from the front of my body, so it’s more of a conjoined wobble than a walk.

“Hattie just moved here,” she babbles on. “And she said she’s staying?—”

“Okay,” Hattie quickly cuts her off with a friendly pat. “Be safe getting home. Call me tomorrow.”

“I will! I had such a fun night. Next time, let’s meet at your house and have a sleepover.”

Hattie laughs, but it’s quiet. “We can do that. Here’s her bag.”

I manage to loosen Mesa’s grip on my arms to take the overnight bag that Hattie extends toward me. She gathers her keys from the table and follows us outside.

“Just don’t get any ideas, girl! I already have a best friend and he’s right here!” Mesa twirls around me to slap me right on the ass.

“Good luck with that,” Hattie calls out with a cocked eyebrow as she opens her car door.

I think she might flip me off or shout a valid warning to Mesa. Instead, her lips press into a soft line and the edges of her eyes drop. It’s almost sad. Then, her body lowers, and her door slams shut. I jog to catch up with Mesa, who’s already in the passenger seat of my truck.

We’re not five minutes down the road before she’s chugging the bottle of water in my cup holder. It must sober her up enough to realize we haven’t talked since last night and we’re now alone in my truck together.

I have no idea what to say, so I let her fiddle with the radio in silence, finally landing on some music that we listen to on the rest of the drive to the ranch. We remain quiet until we’ve finally arrived and walk into my room. Once I toss her bag by the bed, she shucks her cardigan and heads straight for the shower.

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