Page 109 of Highball Rush
A ripple went through the audience, some people reacting to Callie’s speech withoohs andahhs. Others with phrases like,how sweet, andthey’re just precious, andbless my soul, this is so much to take in.
I rose from my chair and went up to the front. They didn’t need every detail of her painful past. It hurt her to remember it—even more to speak of it—and she’d told them enough. And I didn’t want them getting sidetracked looking for the juicy details of our current relationship. Right now, we needed to deal with the threat in our town.
She handed me the mic and I paused, captivated by her beautiful face. The tip of her tongue darted into the notch in her lip—she did that when she was nervous—so I took her hand before turning to address the town.
“Callie came forward today because we need y’all’s help. Just so we’re clear, the judge is the bad guy. We got that?”
People spoke in low voices to their neighbors, but they nodded.
“We need to come together as a town to protect our girl. That means, for now, she ain’t Callie to anyone outside this room. She’s still Maya. Understood?”
More nods. They were with us.
“Sheriff Tucker is working on things from a law enforcement standpoint. There’s still evidence to gather to make a case against the judge.”
There were sudden calls for Bootleg Justice from several parts of the barn.
“I know. Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to get my hands on that sorry son of a bitch. But this goes beyond Bootleg. And it calls for the kind of justice that ends with him in prison, where he can’t hurt anyone again.”
Shouts of agreement filled the air and several people raised their fists.
“We have reason to believe a low-down, dirty scum who works for the judge is in town right now.”
This time there were boos and voices bordering on outrage.
“It ain’t yet clear why he’s here, and we need solid evidence to tie him to the judge. So no one take this into your own hands. This ain’t a situation for Bootleg Justice, either. But it’s important he doesn’t find out that she’s Callie.”
“We’ve got this, Gibs.”
“You can count on us.”
“Callie who?”
“Never even heard of her.”
I nodded, squeezing Callie’s hand again. “We’re asking a lot of y’all. And it means a lot that you’ll stand by us.”
My brothers rose from their chairs—Bowie, followed by Jonah and Jameson—to nod gratefully at the people around us. Scarlett looked teary when she stood.
This was us. My family. My people. And holy shit if it hadn’t taken Callie Kendall coming back from the dead to make me see it. Make me realize what I had.
“Are y’all gettin’ hitched?” a woman asked from somewhere in the middle. Might have been Clarabell.
“Callie, are you here to stay?”
“Are you gonna marry Gibson Bodine?”
“I can arrange the flowers.”
“We should have it at the park.”
“Do y’all still have the trellis from Bowie and Cassidy’s wedding?”
“What kinda cake do y’all need?”
Callie laughed, touching her fingers to her lips. And what the hell, I laughed too.
“Y’all are getting a bit ahead of yourselves,” I said into the mic. But I cast a quick wink at Callie. “Let’s just get through the current crisis.”
