Page 18 of Wrecked
I grabbed my beer and slid the tray of shots from the counter and nodded, "Yeah." Reaching the table without spilling the contents in my hands took some maneuvering on my part. When I placed the shots in the center of the table, everyone except Logan seemed happy to see me.
Eyes narrowed, we stared at each other. I lifted one shoulder in a small shrug, and a smile stretched across my friend's face. He pushed to his feet and feigned a punch to my shoulder before he said, "No hard feelings, man."
That there was my relationship with my best friend. We fought like family, and we made up like it too.
I pulled a chair out and lowered my tired body onto it. Taking a long swallow of the beer, I finally felt the tension slowly seep out of my pores. To my left, I noticed that Eli seemed a bit more…offthan he usually was. I knew better than to ask him about it though.
"What happened to your hand?"
Harper's question earned me the attention of everyone else around the table. I looked down at my bruised knuckles; opening and closing my fist to test the pain. It still hurt but not nearly as much as the gaping hole in my chest ached.
"I, uh, banged it up while pulling an engine." I felt the weight of Logan's stare at my lie. We hadn't needed to pull an engine in quite some time. Lucky for me, my friend didn't say a word.
"You have to keep icing it to keep the swelling down," Harper's voice was filled with concern. "Are you taking something for the pain?" She gave me a pointed stare, "You can't mix alcohol and medication."
Logan tugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. "Sugar, he is a grown-ass man, let him be."
She leveled him with a stare too before a smile broke free. With a quick lift of her shoulders, she insisted, "It's not my fault you lot need constant mothering."
"I'll drink to that." Lizzy lifted her glass in the air before she brought it to her lips. "By the way," she eyed me over the rim of her glass. "I heard you and the new girl—" she set her glass down and tapped her chin. "—Hmm, how do I put this?" I held my breath while she stared at the ceiling pretending to think. The last thing I needed was the town gossiping about Kenzie and me getting into a screaming match.
"Had an altercation," Lizzy exclaimed, triumphantly pointing at me.
"You been at the hair salon again, Liz?" Logan asked. "You know those old ladies love to gossip about nothing. Remember how the entire town thought Harper and I were getting married after only one date? I'll give you a guess where the rumor started."
Laughter erupted around the table, and I gave a nod of thanks to my friend, who still had my back after our little tiff.
Lizzy proceeded to explain to us, in a very animated way, how Mrs. Atwood described to her what she apparently saw. Much to my relief, everyone just shrugged it off, and soon the conversation drifted to how Eli had treated Harper when she arrived.
The laughter around the table got louder as we downed our shots and ordered a few more. My gaze flitted from one happy face to the next, and all I could do was shake my head and guzzle down another swig of beer. I'd often wondered how my life would've ended up if I hadn't had these people to keep me sane.
"Have you made a decision about that property yet?" Chase directed his question at Eli. The property in question was an old farmhouse that was going to require a lot of work, but what made it really alluring was the fact that it was next to his parents' ranch.
"Yeah," answered Eli. "I think it will be best for Molly if Mom and Pop are close by, ya know."
Harper laughed, "Flynn is going to be so excited." The house Harper and Logan were in the middle of renovating were just down the road from the property Eli was interested in. I grinned to myself as I imagined all the Jackson boys buying up the property surrounding their parents. We'd have to rename the creek to Jackson Creek.
"I hope you boys are ready to work," this coming from Eli. "The main house is livable but there is a small cottage adjacent to the house, and I'm thinking of turning it into a playhouse for Molly."
The only time you'd ever see any kind of emotion coming from Sheriff Jackson was when he spoke about his daughter. His normally cold eyes would light up, and his lips would twitch from the smile just wanting to break free.
"Maybe I can finally convince you to adopt one of the animals?" Chase sounded hopeful.
Eli shook his dark head and took another swig of beer. "Getting an animal is a huge responsibility. I think I'll wait till Molly is a bit older."
"She's seven," Logan stated. "That girl is more grown-up than actual grownups. I think she'll be able to handle a pet."
"We'll see."
"Wow!" Lizzy exclaimed. "She cleans up good."
I, along with the rest of my friends, followed her gaze to the entrance of Joe's. My lungs collapsed in one fell swoop as I watched Kenzie nervously enter the bar.
She'd swapped her stifling business suit and heels for a pair of Levi's that might as well have been painted onto her, and a tank top that was definitely going to draw everyone's attention to her chest. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and paired with the brown leather cowboy boots on her feet; she looked good.
Way too damn good.
"I take it that is the owner of the Mazda?" I barely heard Eli's question through thewhooshingin my ears.
