Page 17 of Whiskey Chase
I didn’t even get the words out when Scarlett jumped, tucking her knees to her chest and spinning backward.
“Wooooooo!” Cassidy shrieked in my ear.
“Excellent form,” June commented.
They surfaced, one at a time, the family resemblance evident in the matching ear-to-ear grins. Scarlett bobbed in the water and splashed Gibson. He dunked her and swam over to an empty tube.
“Water me, McCallister,” he ordered.
Still stunned by Scarlett’s ball-of-fire body and precision gymnastics, I dug through the cooler and tossed him a bottle of water.
Scarlett hauled herself aboard and caught the towel Cassidy threw at her. “How’s the water, dare devil?” Cassidy asked.
“Warmer than the air,” Scarlett said, bending at the waist and flipping her head upside down to towel dry her hair. Was I the only one staring at her ass in that tiny scrap of fabric?
A quick scan of the nearby decks told me I wasnotthe only one. Every male who wasn’t related to Scarlett was avidly enjoying the view.
I crossed to her, blocking everyone else’s view, and handed her a beer.
“Thanks, Dev. Stick around here long enough, and we’ll have you back-flippin’ in no time.”
I couldn’t imagine anything less likely.
8
Scarlett
The sun dipped low on the horizon casting a pinky orange glow across the surface of the lake. The shadows grew longer, the coolers slowly emptied, and the music played low in the background as we listened to crickets and tree frogs. I leaned against the railing enjoying the heat that pumped off of Devlin’s body next to me. He’d relaxed today, smiled, laughed, made small talk.
Misty Lynn Prosser did her best to catch Gibson’s eye while she bounced on the lap of her on-again, off-again fuck buddy Rhett. Misty Lynn had the misfortune to be the person I hated most in this world. She’d kicked Gibson when he was down, right after our mama’s death. She cheated on him and laughed in his face when he called her out on it. Gibson didn’t hit women. But I sure did.
Her nose still hooked to the right just the slightest bit from my fist. Bootleg Justice was swift and brutal when necessary.
I still hated her guts to infinity and back again. But this was Bootleg. So Misty Lynn showed up at every party, every bonfire, every softball game just like the rest of us. And while she blew Rhett in the Shop ‘n Buy parking lot, I knew she still wished she was Gibson’s girl.
Devlin shifted next to me, nudging my shoulder with his. He pointed with his water bottle toward the sun as it finally disappeared behind the trees. I smiled.
He’d argued baseball with June for almost a solid hour. And he’d given my bikini more than a passing glance. I liked seeing that heat in his whiskey brown eyes. That slow thawing of the ice inside him. There was life in him yet. He just needed to be reminded of it.
Dusk fell. It was my favorite time of day. Sure, there were merits to the sunrise, and the sunset was no slouch either. But dusk was when the world got quiet. Dusk was when Daddy swung Mama into an impromptu two-step in the kitchen on the good days when supper was getting done and the right song came on the radio. Dusk was when I sat on my screened-in porch and reminded myself how lucky I was. Every day, I used this time to count my blessings.
I had a house I loved, a truck that started every morning without fail, a business that made me indispensable, and I had my brothers. What more could I want?
Besides maybe someone like Devlin to fool around with. I side-eyed him as he chatted with Bowie and EmmaLeigh’s husband, Ennis. There was something there that sent my blood singing. Sure, he was a pleasure to look at. But there was something else there. Several somethings. He was going through a rough patch, and I was a sucker for someone who needed a little extra loving. But the way he looked at me was a lot different from the way every other man in town did. It was downright impossible to be sexy and mysterious with a guy who’d dared you to eat paste in kindergarten.
But Devlin didn’t know me as Jameson’s little sister or Jonah’s daughter. He looked at me like I was awoman. And I liked it.
It was right about that time that the right song came on and someone cranked the volume. Those with enough energy jumped into the Cowboy Boogie in bare feet.
“What’s happening?” Devlin asked in my ear as the decks rocked and swayed with the motion.
My skin pebbled in a thousand different places with him so close.
“It’s a line dance, and we should probably move—”
It was too late. Rocky Tobias’ enthusiastic arm caught me across the chest, and I felt myself falling. Strong arms reached around me, but dang if that gravity didn’t have other plans. We hit the water in a splash, and I came up laughing. Devlin surfaced next to me spitting lake water.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his hands searching my arms for injuries.
