Page 4 of November's Bad Boy: Kacen
“Doug,” Ruby’s other nephew, Jensen, says from beside us. I don’t recognize the bulky man stumbling into the room. He reeks of cheap whiskey and bad decisions.
“Didn’t expect to see you here, Doug,” Orville says from behind the counter.
Doug’s eyes dart around, wild. “Yeah, well, I heard there was a party.” His laugh is too loud, too forced.
Then Hades growls from the doorway behind where Doug walked in.
The crowd parts as the massive gray wolf prowls forward, fur bristling. Doug backs up fast, his drink sloshing onto his shirt.
“What the hell?—”
Before he can finish, two deputies step through the door. “Doug Hendricks, you’re under arrest,” Sheriff Lawson says.
The room goes silent.
Ruby crosses her arms. “Took you long enough.”
“What’s going on?” I ask quietly.
Ruby’s grin turns sharp. “Oh, this isn’t just a party, dear. It’s a sting.”
“A sting?” I ask.
“Doug’s been stealing from half the businesses in town. We just needed him to show up.” She tilts her head. “And you thought this was just about punch and costumes.”
Doug’s face goes pale as the cuffs click around his wrists.
“You all deserve it! She ran off our wedding,” He yells and jerks his head toward Kinley. “The whole thing caused my mom to drop dead of a heart attack. I swore my revenge at her graveside, and I almost had it!”
Hades gives another low growl that shuts him up fast.
I stand there, stunned. Here I thought I was coming back for small-town nostalgia and bad beer, not to walk into a police operation orchestrated by a grandma in a witch hat.
Ruby turns back to me, her smile back to its usual warmth. “See? Not all parties are what they seem.”
I glance across the room. Natalie’s watching the whole thing unfold, arms crossed, lips pressed together. When our eyes meet, there’s no triumph there—just strength. Steel. The kind of calm that comes from surviving worse storms.
I don’t look away this time.
Because she’s not the same girl I hurt. And I’m not the same boy who did it.
At least, I hope not.
By the time Doug’s hauled out and the chatter starts again, I’m standing near the back door with my half-empty beer, trying to decide if I should leave.
Ruby passes by and pats my arm. “Don’t run off yet. Night’s still young.”
“Ruby, you got your man.”
“Maybe,” she says, eyes twinkling. “But I’ve got another one in mind.”
She walks away before I can ask what she means.
I look back toward Natalie. She’s laughing again, but it’s not the same as before. It’s tighter, practiced. And I feel that familiar ache in my chest—the one that says maybe Kingston’s right. Maybe I do need redemption.
Draining the rest of my beer, I set it down.
For the first time in years, I want to stay.
