asked.
“It’s best if you and Lex have time to talk, without his mother or me around.” I kissed
his cheek. “Besides, you’ll be back in twenty-four hours. I can find something to
occupy myself.”
He kissed me. Hard. “I’ll text you when I get there.”
“Drive safe.”
• • •
“What are your plans tonight now that the sheriff is gone?”
I tore my attention away from a riveting episode of Ice Road Truckers and looked at my sister. “Been a while since I’ve been to Clementine’s. Thought I’d
catch up with the crew and the regulars.”
Hope swayed with Joy on her hip, softly biting her lip. I braced myself for the don’t-start-drinking-again
plea. But she blurted, “Can I go with you?”
I think my jaw hit the floor. “What?”
“I never get to go out. I’d like to have a conversation with an adult that’s not Jake,
Sophie, or you. No offense.”
Had Hope ever been to Clementine’s? The place had a bad reputation—deservedly so.
Plus, I considered it my bar. Might be stupid, but I had the urge to protect it even
from my sister.
“Of course, me goin’ would boil down to Jake watching Joy for a few hours.” She bit
her lip again.
The fact Hope was willing to leave her baby, a baby she rarely let out of her sight,
proved to me she needed a break. I smiled at her. “Sure, if you wanna come along,
that’d be great. You can keep me from drinking until the wee hours so I’m not hungover
when Lex gets here tomorrow.”
“Great. Umm . . . what should I wear?”
I checked out her outfit, a brightly patterned blue-and-black poet’s shirt paired
with black leggings. “You look awesome. I’m not changing. I’m wearing this.”
“Can I borrow some makeup?”
“Knock yourself out. It’s in the top drawer on the right side.”
“Okay. Be right back.” Hope passed me Joy.
“Hey, Poopy.” When I smooched her crown, her little bitty pigtails tickled my nose.
She smelled like graham crackers, apple juice, baby powder, and sweet innocence. I’d
dealt with my fears—a butt load more than I’d first suspected—and let her become part
of my life, which might seem like a no-brainer to most people, but I was at a dark
place after I killed Anna. I thought by staying away from Joy, I was actually doing
her a favor.
But Hope hadn’t allowed my distance from her child. It amazed me when I uncovered
my sister’s pockets of strength.
The barking dogs alerted me to Jake’s presence right before he walked in. Joy squirmed
and tried to jump from my arms to get to her father.
Jake only had eyes for her. He plucked her away and blew a raspberry on her neck until
she squealed. Only then did he acknowledge me. “Hey, Mercy.”
“Jake. How did things go today?” He’d been dreading moving cattle. I didn’t know enough
about what that entailed, except he did it multiple times a year.
“Better than I expected, to be honest. I had good helpers with Luke and TJ and their
boys. Where’s Hope?”
“I’m right here.”
We both turned to see Hope leaning against the doorjamb.
“Wow, babe, you look great. Do we got a hot date or something I forgot about?”
She laughed self-consciously. “Mercy’s going to Clementine’s to have a drink, and
I asked if I could tag along.” Her eyes anxiously searched his face. “That’s all right,
isn’t it?”
“Of course it is. You deserve a night out.” He paused and looked from me to Hope and
back to me. “Who’s your DD?”
“I plan to have only one drink, Jake. So we should be fine. Besides”—Hope smirked
at me—“Mercy don’t want the sheriff to get wind of her arrest while he’s out of town.”
“You’re hilarious, sis.”
“Well, you two have fun. I’ll take lil’ punkin home.” He mock-whispered, “Now that
your mama’s outta the picture for the night, I can teach you how to wrassle gators.”
Jake shot me a smile before he took off.
Hope
“It’s best if you and Lex have time to talk, without his mother or me around.” I kissed
his cheek. “Besides, you’ll be back in twenty-four hours. I can find something to
occupy myself.”
He kissed me. Hard. “I’ll text you when I get there.”
“Drive safe.”
• • •
“What are your plans tonight now that the sheriff is gone?”
I tore my attention away from a riveting episode of Ice Road Truckers and looked at my sister. “Been a while since I’ve been to Clementine’s. Thought I’d
catch up with the crew and the regulars.”
Hope swayed with Joy on her hip, softly biting her lip. I braced myself for the don’t-start-drinking-again
plea. But she blurted, “Can I go with you?”
I think my jaw hit the floor. “What?”
“I never get to go out. I’d like to have a conversation with an adult that’s not Jake,
Sophie, or you. No offense.”
Had Hope ever been to Clementine’s? The place had a bad reputation—deservedly so.
Plus, I considered it my bar. Might be stupid, but I had the urge to protect it even
from my sister.
“Of course, me goin’ would boil down to Jake watching Joy for a few hours.” She bit
her lip again.
The fact Hope was willing to leave her baby, a baby she rarely let out of her sight,
proved to me she needed a break. I smiled at her. “Sure, if you wanna come along,
that’d be great. You can keep me from drinking until the wee hours so I’m not hungover
when Lex gets here tomorrow.”
“Great. Umm . . . what should I wear?”
I checked out her outfit, a brightly patterned blue-and-black poet’s shirt paired
with black leggings. “You look awesome. I’m not changing. I’m wearing this.”
“Can I borrow some makeup?”
“Knock yourself out. It’s in the top drawer on the right side.”
“Okay. Be right back.” Hope passed me Joy.
“Hey, Poopy.” When I smooched her crown, her little bitty pigtails tickled my nose.
She smelled like graham crackers, apple juice, baby powder, and sweet innocence. I’d
dealt with my fears—a butt load more than I’d first suspected—and let her become part
of my life, which might seem like a no-brainer to most people, but I was at a dark
place after I killed Anna. I thought by staying away from Joy, I was actually doing
her a favor.
But Hope hadn’t allowed my distance from her child. It amazed me when I uncovered
my sister’s pockets of strength.
The barking dogs alerted me to Jake’s presence right before he walked in. Joy squirmed
and tried to jump from my arms to get to her father.
Jake only had eyes for her. He plucked her away and blew a raspberry on her neck until
she squealed. Only then did he acknowledge me. “Hey, Mercy.”
“Jake. How did things go today?” He’d been dreading moving cattle. I didn’t know enough
about what that entailed, except he did it multiple times a year.
“Better than I expected, to be honest. I had good helpers with Luke and TJ and their
boys. Where’s Hope?”
“I’m right here.”
We both turned to see Hope leaning against the doorjamb.
“Wow, babe, you look great. Do we got a hot date or something I forgot about?”
She laughed self-consciously. “Mercy’s going to Clementine’s to have a drink, and
I asked if I could tag along.” Her eyes anxiously searched his face. “That’s all right,
isn’t it?”
“Of course it is. You deserve a night out.” He paused and looked from me to Hope and
back to me. “Who’s your DD?”
“I plan to have only one drink, Jake. So we should be fine. Besides”—Hope smirked
at me—“Mercy don’t want the sheriff to get wind of her arrest while he’s out of town.”
“You’re hilarious, sis.”
“Well, you two have fun. I’ll take lil’ punkin home.” He mock-whispered, “Now that
your mama’s outta the picture for the night, I can teach you how to wrassle gators.”
Jake shot me a smile before he took off.
Hope
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