Page 24 of Highball Rush
Scarlett stood on the step, an accusatory look on her face. “Mornin’, sunshine.”
“What do you want, Scar?”
She crossed her arms. “Well, you weren’t answering your phone, so I came by to find out why you weren’t at Moonshine this morning. But I think the reason is pretty obvious.”
I scratched the back of my neck, still trying to wake up. “What reason?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the owner of the car out front and those pretty little sandals in there.” She pointed at something behind me.
Oh, shit.
I glanced over my shoulder. Sure enough, Callie’s sandals were right there in plain sight.
“That’s none of your business,” I snapped.
“Trust me, Gibs, I don’t want to know the details. But you’re an ass for missing breakfast because you brought some hussy home last night.”
Anger flared, running hot in my veins. I pointed a finger in my sister’s face. “Don’t you fucking call her that, you hear me?”
Her eyes widened, but instead of attacking me like a feral cat, her mouth turned up in a wide grin. “Oh my god.”
I’d rather face the feral cat—and Scarlett was a biter—than that smile. Crap, why had I said that? “What?”
“I know you have a girl in there, but Gibson Bodine, is it a girl you actuallylike?” She stood on her tiptoes, trying to look past me. “Who is she? Do you have a secret girlfriend?”
Damn my nosy sister. Why’d she pick today to stop by unannounced? It was like she was drawn to family drama.
“No.” I moved forward, bracing an arm against the doorframe to block her access. I didn’t want her trying to slip inside. What could I tell her? Callie Kendall’s alive and sleeping in my goddamn bed? “It’s not like that. She’s just a friend who needed a place to crash last night.”
Inwardly, I congratulated myself on that one. It wasn’t even a lie.
Scarlett, however, clearly wasn’t buying it. “Since when do you have friends?”
“I have friends.”
“Like who?”
I glowered at her. “I’m not telling you who she is.”
She grinned. “Because she’s your secret girlfriend.”
“Jesus, Scar, no she’s not. Go the fuck home.”
“Fine. But tell your secret girlfriend I like her shoes.”
I rolled my eyes, stepped back, and shut the door in her face.
“If your secret girlfriend needs a place to stay, let me know,” she said through the door. “I might have a last-minute cancel on one of my lake cabins.”
“Go away.”
I ran my hand over my face. I needed coffee so I could think.
What was going to happen now? Would Callie say goodbye and I’d never see her again? Maybe I could convince her to start up the postcard thing again, but send them to me. At least I’d keep some connection to her. I could keep a secret; that clearly wasn’t an issue. I’d just burn them after I read them. Then there’d be no evidence of her.
I hated that idea. Not because I’d want to keep the postcards, or because I was worried about people finding out. It was because I didn’t want her to leave.
The floor creaked behind me. I looked over my shoulder and it felt like the wind had been knocked out of my lungs.
