Page 32 of Bourbon and Bluebells

Alyssa made a face at the phone. There was nothing she wanted to say to that. “I have to go. Talk soon.”

As soon as she ended the call, her phone beeped with an incoming text. She gave it the evil eye. Her mum often did that; she texted some snippet of information that she’d forgotten to mention during the call and tried to use it to get Alyssa to call her back again.

Ignoring the text, going instead to the kitchen in search of something to eat, Alyssa couldn’t even feel bad. She’d done her best to be a good daughter her whole life. Well, her whole life until she discovered that that life was a lie. She blew out a sigh. It was like she’d told Bentley; you couldn’t change the past, you could only make the most of the present. And she was trying to do just that. She went to see her dad every chance she got.

As she pulled the fridge door open, she eyed her phone again. She didn’t like to admit it, but she tried to minimize contact with her mum as much as possible. That wasn’t saying much; she still came to visit every few months. But no way was Alyssa going to let her come and live with her.

~ ~ ~

Bentley set his phone back down on the bar. He’d hoped that Alyssa might text him right back. But it didn’t mean anything that she hadn’t. He was the one who’d said it was better if they left things for a while. He was the one who’d said that he’d be busy with his meetings here in New York all week. Yet, here he was, texting her and watching his phone like a hawk as he waited for her reply.

Reaves grasped his shoulder as he came and sat down beside him. “How did today go?”

Bentley nodded. “It was a good day. Productive. I’m expecting to have the new contracts signed before we leave at the end of the week.”

Reaves gave him a puzzled look. “That’s a good thing, right?”

Bentley made a face at him. “Don’t play dumb. You know it’s a good thing. What are you getting at?”

Reaves laughed. “I’m getting at the fact that you look miserable. I thought these contracts were a big deal. I thought you’d be upbeat and ready to celebrate by the end of the week. But you look more like somebody peed in your Wheaties. What’s going on, boss?”

Bentley rolled his eyes at him. “What’s with the boss shit?”

Reaves laughed again. “Nothing. I suppose on the one hand, I want to interrogate you; make you tell me what’s wrong. On the other, I’m trying to remind you that I won’t overstep the line if you don’t want me to.”

Bentley had to laugh. “There’s nothing wrong.”

“I call bullshit. There’s been something wrong since we left Summer Lake. If you don’t want to talk about it, tell me to butt out. But don’t lie to me.”

“Sorry.” Reaves might be one of the company pilots, but he was also one of Bentley’s oldest friends. “I …” He took a slug of his bourbon and set the glass back down on the bar, waving a finger at the bartender to bring them another. He couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at his phone, but there were no new messages. “Don’t laugh at me, okay?”

Reaves raised his eyebrows. “You know I can’t make any promises there.”

Bentley laughed himself at that. “Yes, I do. And since you answered me honestly and didn’t give me any bullshit about how you won’t laugh at me, I’ll tell you.”

“You met a woman?” Reaves ventured.

“I did.”

“I’m all ears. Tell me more. I knew there was something weird going on with you. Oh, wait! She’s in Summer Lake?”

Bentley shook his head slowly. “She isn’t.”

“But she was? She was there last weekend, wasn’t she? That’s why you’ve been weird since we left there, right?”

“She was.” He sighed.

“So, what’s the deal?”

There was nothing for it. There was no point beating about the bush. If things were ever going to go anywhere between Alyssa and him, he was going to have to tell his friends what the situation was at some point.

“The deal is … You know how Mom wanted me to go last weekend to meet Russ’s daughter?”

“Yeah. Oh, wait! You’re telling me that the woman you met – the woman you’re getting hung up on – is Russ’s daughter?”

“I am.”

“And what do your mom and Russ think about it? Are they the problem?”

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