Page 122 of Axe Backwards
“She is a very capable young woman,” my mother replied, her chin lifted and her nose in the air.
My heart stuttered. Holy shit. For her, that was a ringing endorsement. It was probably the nicest thing she’d said to me in twenty years. I was putting this one in the win column.
Noah nodded at them, then he put his hand on my lower back.
Taking the hint, I gave my family a tiny wave. “Enjoy the party.”
Side by side, we wandered to the dart boards, where his brothers had all set up.
“That was uncharacteristically nice,” I said, still trying to wrap my brain around the encounter.
I’d expected Alex to criticize my outfit, and I figured Graham would complain about the lack of proper vintages of wine. Instead, they seemed to be having a nice time. It was truly baffling.
Noah shrugged, eyes twinkling. “Or you’re uncharacteristically amazing and they got tired of denying it.”
With a huff of a laugh, I slapped his shoulder and headed over to the dartboard.
We drank beer, ate waffle fries, and played multiple rounds of darts. For so long, I’d been only going through the motions, doing the things I was supposed to do. I pretended to be happy in my marriage. I pretended to care about my soulless corporate job. And I pretended to enjoy living in the loud, bustling city. Every day I woke up on autopilot and did what was expected of me.
Now? Now I was fucking living. This weekend had been so much work and had taken months of planning. The number of stomachaches this festival had given me was probably in the triple digits. But it had all been worth it. Bringing the community together to benefit the food pantry was a dream come true.
I never wanted to pretend again. I wanted real and messy and challenging. I wanted Noah and Tess and the rest of this zany town.
“I’ll get the next round,” I announced as Adele was tallying up the score. It was unnecessary, given the massive margin of her victory, but she insisted, nonetheless. Weaving through thedense crowd, I made it to the bar and waved at Jim, the cranky owner of the Moose, who was bartending tonight. He routinely dropped off supplies at the food pantry. He claimed they were “extra,” but I saw right through him.
With five beer bottles in hand, I turned away from the bar and ran right smack into Denis Huxley.
His beady eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a smile. “Just who I wanted to see.”
“Hi, Denis,” I said weakly, stepping to his left so I could walk around him.
He stepped that way too, moving forward as he did, forcing me back against the hard edge of the bar top.
“Parker Gagnon filed freedom of information requests about some of our businesses,” he said. “You know anything about that?”
“Sorry, I don’t,” I said with a forced smile.
He put his arms on either side of me, pinning me against the bar, his breath heavy with alcohol. “I know what you took,” he hissed. “And I warned you about crossing—”
His body was yanked back, and then Noah was there, one hand clenched into a fist like he was going to throw a punch.
“Do not put your hands on her.”
Jude appeared beside him, then Cole, Gus, and Finn. Apparently, the entire Hebert cavalry had arrived.
Denis put his hands up. “I’m just having a conversation with my business associate.”
Those words nauseated me.
“We have no business to discuss,” I said, pulling my shoulders back. I didn’t need the Huxleys or their dirty money. This weekend had been a success, and I was more confident than ever that I could scrape together anything the food pantry still needed.
Denis scowled. “Warned you.” With that, he turned and stalked away.
“You okay?” Noah took the beer bottles from me. The concern on his face instantly melted the anger building inside me.
“I’m fine. Thank you for coming to my rescue.” Tilting to one side, I surveyed his brothers, who were all standing behind him, still puffed up and ready for a fight. “All of you. But I’m good. We can go back to celebrating now. Gus, you still owe me a game of darts.”
Eventually, the jukebox started spitting out tunes we couldn’t help but dance to. Alice and Becca twirled me around for ages, taking selfies and gushing over me in the most ridiculous way.
