Page 62 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
“Honey, that girl is sad,” his mother whispered loudly in his ear. “You need to make her happy again.”
“Not happening. That is over and done with, Mom, like I’ve already told you and every member of our family,” he lied. After what happened in the Reynoldses’ kitchen, nothing was done between them, no matter how much Leah wanted to believe otherwise. They had history, but now it was more than that… he just wasn’t sure what label to put on it yet.
It was always amazing to Dan that his mom, who was everything that was responsible in her daily life, could come so undone at Girls’ Night. He wasn’t sure what Red put in the drinks, but pretty much every woman in here was shit-faced.
“Right! You’re all leaving now. Outside in an orderly fashion,” Red said from behind the safety of the bar as the song finished.
The women ignored him.
“Shots, shots!” they cried.
Dan sighed and left his mother after kissing her cheek and telling her to behave. Leah was seated beside Nina at the bar now, and they were having what looked to him like a heated conversation.
“Excuse me, ladies,” he said, moving between them. Dan then stepped up and onto the bar. Whistling loudly, he waited for the noise to stop. When he had silence, and all eyes were on him, he said, “Listen up, the law is speaking.” Some blew him kisses; others smiled. “Those who want rides, outside now, or you’ll be spending a night in the cells.”
“Don’t you think he’d make a wonderful stripper in his uniform?” Nancy from the Waffle Place yelled.
“I taught you in school, Deputy Dan. You’ve turned into such a lovely boy,” Maybelline Tricker added. “Couldn’t write worth a damn, and always in trouble, but so polite,” she added.
And that was the trouble with working in the town that had raised you. You got no respect from the older generation.
“Let’s get moving, ladies!” Dan called.
They gave him some good-natured booing and then gathered their bags and headed out the door for the next part of the leaving ritual.
“He’s not the boss of us,” Leah said to Red. “I need another drink.”
Red shot Dan a look. He shook his head.
“Let’s go,” he said to Nina and Leah, who were still at the bar when he jumped down. “Get in the van.”
“I don’t need a ride,” Leah said, stone-faced. “I need a drink.”
“You planning on walking all the way back to your house?” Dan asked.
She huffed out a breath.
“Move it, ladies.” He placed a hand on each shoulder and turned them toward the door.
Leah shrugged his hand off, but Nina turned and threw herself into his arms. By the time he’d wrestled her off him, Leah was out the door.
“We’ve discussed this. It won’t work, Nina.”
“Right, right. I sometimes forget because you’re sooooo hot, and I’ve had too much to drink.” She planted a kiss on his cheek. “You should get back with Leah. You’re a great couple, and she needs you.”
“Not happening,” Dan said, nudging her to the door.
“Play the music, Tripp!” June Matilda said.
The women were now all congregating in the middle of the street.
Sighing, Dan pulled out his phone, knowing no one was moving until this was done. This, too, was part of Girls’ Night.
“Shouldn’t you have that ready to go?” JD asked, sounding testy. “They do this every time.”
“Your phone not working, pretty boy?” Dan snapped back.
“What’s crawled up your ass?” JD asked. “People expect me to be an asshole like your brother, but not you, Deputy Dan.”
