Page 20 of Crashing the Altar
Lifting my eyes skyward, I muttered, “What kind of idiot doesn’t know you can’t make loud noises like that so close to horses?” as I turned around, ready to tear whomever the moron was a new one.
Catching sight of the driver through the windshield of the speeding SUV, I gritted my teeth.
I was going to kill my sister’s husband.
The vehicle came to a sudden halt, kicking up a cloud of dust. Temper flaring, I marched up to the driver’s side and wrenched the door open. “What the fuck, Mac?
My brother-in-law’s mouth dropped open, his eyes going comically wide at my harsh tone and raised voice. Stunned, he remained silent for a beat before finding his voice. “Wait, you’re not happy to see me?”
“No, I’m not happy to see you. Not when you’re tryin’ to get one of my guys killed in the pen by spooking the horses.”
Mac cringed. “Shit, that’s my bad.” He turned in his seat. “Meemaw, why didn’tyou stop me?”
That’s when I noticed the familiar woman seated in his passenger seat, and I dragged a hand down my face. “What are the two of you doing here?”
My meemaw arched an eyebrow. “I think the better question is what areyoudoing here?”
Stepping back, I gestured to the fairgrounds around us. “Working. What does it look like?”
“Looks like you’re burying your head in the sand,” she shot back.
Most people had kind, sweet grandmothers who spoiled them and offered a place of refuge when you butted heads with your parents.
Then there was my grandmother.
She lacked a filter and said whatever popped into her brain. She gave zero fucks what anyone thought of her and was a straight shooter who wasn’t afraid to call people out on their bullshit—especially when it came to her own family.
Meemaw had been trolling me over my crush on Penny for as long as I could remember, even though I vehemently denied it. You’d think that with the girl getting married, she would have let it go, but her presence here proved I’d been foolish to assume that.
I crossed my arms. “So what if I am? I don’t see how that’s anyone’s business but mine.”
“You’ve been stuck to that girl like glue since you were both in diapers. Now you’re tellin’ me that you’re just gonna let her go without a fight?”
“Let her go?” I huffed. “I never had her to begin with.”
“And whose fault is that?” Meemaw challenged.
“Dad already hammered that point home weeks ago. So if that’s what you came up here to do, I’m sorry to tell you it was a wasted trip.”
Mac dragged in a deep breath. “She’s struggling, man.”
My body went rigid. “What? Struggling how?”
He shook his head slightly. “She’s been walking around like a zombie, like she’s detached from everything since the engagement. It’s really unsettling because she’s always been so vibrant and full of life and laughter. Aspen and Bex are really worried about her.”
The timing of the engagement coincided with when I skipped town. Guilt swarmed me, knowing that my absence in her life was likely to blame for extinguishing her spark.
Think mighty highly of yourself, don’t ya?
“Tucker tells me I’m shit at pep talks, but I’m gonna give it my best shot, so bear with me, all right?” He took my grunt as permission to proceed. “You know how I look at your sister?”
Warmth filled my chest, picturing the loving gazes the pair of them didn’t bother to hide from the world. “Yeah, like you’ve got hearts in your eyes.”
“That’s how Penny looks at you. Maybe you couldn’t see it because she’s your sun and your moon and everything in between, but it’s been there for as long as I’ve been around.” He sighed. “Listen, I get it. I was fucking terrified to tell Aspen how I felt about her. But the idea of losing her forever because I kept my damn mouth shut was enough to scare me straight.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t the same. She’s mybest friend, Mac.”
A grin tugged up the corners of his mouth. “I’m not seeing the downside, brother. The two of you have spent your whole lives building a relationship. You’re each other’s favorite person. I have no doubt that if it were possible to spend every second together, you would.”
