The question is issued conversationally but something about it feels like a trap. The hand at my back jerks slightly. I look up, hoping for some guidance form Alex, but he’s looking away from us. “We, uh, we met a couple of years ago. At my sister’s birthday party.”
Juan nods. “Do you also live in Dallas?”
“No, I, um, I live just under two hours from here, in Harlow County.” I don’t know why I’m so nervous but talking to Juan has me rattled.
His eyes crinkle in a humorless smile. “I believe I may have met some of your family already.”
Fantastic. I wonder which family member has impressed him most? Wendell, who brought his own beer cooler to the party with him, or Barry, who asked the jazz band if they’d take a request and then suggested they play ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica. “I guess they’re a hard bunch to miss.”
Juan raises his glass to me in a toast and takes a drink. The silence between father and son is palpable. The first night I spent with Alex, he hinted strongly that theirs was not a good relationship. Until this moment, I had no idea just how bad things were between them.
“And your escort for the wedding? Where is he?”
I expected this question from my aunts. They’ve been hounding me to rally up a date since Paige flashed her three-carat stunner in their faces. But I hadn’t expected anyone else to be interested in my apparent lack of a love life. Again the hand on my back flexes.
“I don’t have one, yet.”
Juan makes a show of looking shocked. “A beautiful woman like you? Impossible. There must be someone…suitable, for you.”
The pause has me flinching. Juan is clearly not going to be one of my biggest fans. He and Grandma Chamberlain will have a lot to talk about.
Suddenly, his attitude brightens considerably. “Cadence,” he calls merrily, waving over a beautiful, albeit waif-thin blonde. “Come and join us.” He beckons her over with a backward wave of the hand and the pressure on my back disappears completely.
Cadence looks likes she belongs at the Oscars instead of a mid-day garden party. Her floor-length green dress has an iridescent quality and its hue changes as she makes her way toward us. “Well, hey, y’all!” She reserves her smile and her eyes for Alex and Juan alone. “Are you havin’ a good time?”
Juan leans over to kiss Cadence’s hand. “It’s better now that you’re here.”
She beams before finally meeting my eyes. Is it just my imagination or do I see a measure of defiance in her stare?
She tilts her shoulder up, faking embarrassment at Alex’s father’s attention. “I was hoping I’d run into you today, Mr. Ramirez. Daddy wanted me to remind you about the charity golf tournament next month. He still needs another player to round out their team and he’s hoping to snatch you up!”
The formal use of Juan’s surname, mixed with her playful tone is evidence of Cadence’s long history with the Ramirez family.
Juan smiles at her, his humble laugh about as genuine as Cadence’s cup size. “Oh no, he puts too much faith in my abilities, I’m afraid. But…if you insist…”
Another girlish giggle. “Well then it’s settled,” Cadence exclaims, hand on hip. “I’ll tell Daddy straight away.” She turns her attention toward the brooding man at my left. “And just where have you been hiding? As the Best Man and
Maid of Honor
,” she says, her last words dripping in condescension, “we’re supposed to be mingling together.” She turns to Juan and rolls her eyes. “I swear, I need a GPS to find this man at parties.”
Alex frowns when she swats playfully at his chest. The move makes me want to rip her skinny arm off.
“I wasn’t hiding,” he says.
“Yes,” Juan interrupts, “Alex was just introducing me to Paige’s lovely sister.” His compliment rings a little hollow. “Are you two acquainted?”
Cadence fixes me with a razor-sharp gaze and a beauty queen smile. “Oh yes, Charlotte and I have known each other for years. Ever since the first time she came to visit Paige at school.”
Juan’s interest perks. He returns his attention to me. “Oh, are you a fellow Longhorn?” he asks, referencing Paige’s school mascot.
Cadence snorts.
“No.” I straighten my back. “I went to TCU.”
Her lip twitches.
I return her smirk. I may be poor, but I
ain’t
stupid. “On a full scholarship.”
I desperately want to add that I fucked the Best Man on his kitchen counter three days ago, but wisely hold back.
For the first time since learning I traveled here on the Harlow County crazy-train, Juan seems both pleased and impressed. “Wonderful. What degree do you possess?”
All aboard!
Next stop, Hillbilly Holler. “I studied geology. I’ve always been fascinated by what we’re standing on.” I look down and tap the little rocks beneath my boots.
“Is that so? I’ve worked with many geologists over the years in my business.”
“So has Charlotte,” Cadence pipes in, “She got firsthand experience with a couple of them while working out at the oil fields.”
Juan cocks his head to the side, impressed. My stomach twists itself in knots. “Is that where you did your field research?”
“No, I, uh, I never graduated.”
Cadence grins wickedly. Juan grimaces.
“Charlie is a small business owner.”
I jump, startled by Alex’s voice. He’s been suspiciously and irritatingly quite during my interrogation.
“Really?” Juan’s interest is more reserved this time. “What kind of business?”
I open my mouth, but Alex answers for me. “A bakery in her hometown. It’s been a big success for her.”
Again I open my mouth to interject, I’d hardly call barely breaking even a big success, but Juan cuts me off.
“I’m sure her parents are very proud.”
Alex responds forcefully. “She has plans to expand in another year. Maybe even grow her brand into something like a franchise.”
Franchise? Who am I, Ronald McDonald? I lean over and look back at Alex. He’s glaring at his father. Juan’s eyes turn into slits.
I’ve found myself in the middle of something I want no part of.
“Tell me, Charlie.” Juan reluctantly releases his son’s glare, and fixes a cold hard stare on me. “What do your parents do?”
An uncomfortable pause falls over our little group. “My father still works in the oil fields over in Harlow and my mother passed when I was twelve.”
Juan bows slightly in my direction. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
It’s silly, she’s been gone for years, but the mention of my mother brings old pain to my chest. I’m so desperately uncomfortable standing here, all I want is to run into her arms. I swallow hard and look away.
Cadence, unable to stand the silence, chirps happily at Juan about running into a mutual family friend. I’m grateful for her inability to shut the hell up for once. She’s taken the attention off of me.
On the drive up I had butterflies in my stomach, nervous about making a good impression on Paige’s future in-laws. I wanted to prove to her, and maybe myself, that our family was just as good, just as deserving as the wealthy clan she’s marrying into. Now I find my cousins running amuck and my aunts acting like a bunch of hopeful grave robbers. Worst of all, I find myself being used as a Monopoly piece in a twisted game between Alex and his father.
Alex shifts so he’s further behind me and places his hand in the center of my back, unseen by the other two. His touch makes the whole situation worse. The lie about me expanding my business makes me feel dirty. I turn sharply, shaking his hand off. “It was a pleasure meeting you,” I say, nodding to Juan. I don’t turn around and say goodbye to Alex. Cadence can go fuck herself.
I dig my cowboy heels into the earth and move toward the big house, glad for their stability. I may not be fancy, or connected, or have a college degree, but I’ll be damned if the one person in my life who I thought really saw me for who I am, is going to make me feel like a fool.
Chapter Six
Forty-Two Days Until Walter Tries a Keg Stand at The Reception
There comes a moment in everyone’s life when reality turns up uninvited, rolls it’s eyes at your naïve hopes and dreams then rears forward to slap the shit out of you.
Watching Cadence lean into Alex, and whisper something in his ear, makes my cheek tingle. Her body is turned into his and her hand is on his chest. I’ve been alternating between anger, embarrassment, and hurt since walking away an hour ago. I’ve got to be content with a few stolen kisses behind the gazebo, standing on the sideline as Cadence touches and flirts with him. The whole scene makes me feel a little used and ashamed, and that pisses me off.
Maybe I wasn’t making the best impression on his father but the way Alex jumped in felt like he was defending his interest in me to his father. It wasn’t something I was prepared for.
The little group surrounding the two is probably having a good laugh at my family’s expense. Not that I blame them. Aunt Patsy has been making a spectacular show of flirting with Ken’s great-uncle Frank who’s ninety, wheelchair bound and absurdly rich. Cadence throws her head back in laughter, exposing a long, thin neck. Alex smiles, albeit reluctantly, and all at once, I transition from hurt back to anger.
“Some party, huh?” My dad comes up beside me clutching a Pabst Blue Ribbon in one hand.
I look away from Alex’s group and try to smile. “Hey Daddy.” I move in for a hug. He’s a world-class hugger and the love and acceptance I feel in his arms makes me feel a bit better. I look down when he pulls back and tries to get a good look at me. “Where on earth did you find a PBR in this place?” I motion to the beer in his hand, hoping to distract him.
He winks and brings the can to his mouth, taking a drink. “Wendell brought a cooler of ‘em.”
“Right. This isn’t Mexico you know. You can drink out of the tap. Especially when the tap is attached to a keg of Stella Artois.”
Dad waves off the suggestion. “I’m not drinking anything I can’t pronounce.”
Alex’s deep laugh recaptures my attention. Cadence seems incapable of keeping her hands off of him and Alex isn’t doing much to fight her off. A yanking sensation fills my gut with anxiety.
“Uh-oh.” Daddy shakes his head somberly, taking another swig of beer.
“Uh-oh, what?”
“I’ve seen that look before.”
“What look?”
“The Jodie McCreary look.”
“Huh?” Jodie McCreary was a cheerleader, an honor student, the class president, and a total slut-bag in school. I caught her giving my boyfriend, Jake Parish, a hand job in the parking lot of the Tasty Freeze. The following Monday she accused me of filling her locker with tapioca pudding to which I feigned both outrage and innocence. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal, if she hadn’t been standing so close to the locker when she opened it.
“What does Jodi McCreary have to do with anything?”
“The last time I saw you put that much effort into staring down a girl--” He gestures toward Cadence. “--she ended up being called Pudding Face for the next two years.”
I suppress a smile. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mmm-hmm. But as a suggestion, you might consider using Jello this time around.”
I knit my eyebrows in confusion.
“More economical,” he says. “The cost of pudding’s gone way up.”
My dad strides away, headed for the front door. With his PBR in one hand, and the other shoved carelessly in a pocket, he looks comfortable and content with his surroundings.
I scan the open floor plan but Alex and his friends have moved on. As I look for a clue of where he may’ve run off to, someone else catches my eye. Dirty blonde hair, green eyes, and a shit-eating grin. He swaggers toward me.
“I hoped we’d meet again.” Spencer Ross, an old school friend of Ken and Alex’s, shamelessly hit on me the last time we met. Judging by the bawdy look on his face, I may be in for round two.
“Lucky me.” There’s no use pretending with this guy and I’m still pretty raw from my exchange with Alex and his father. I haven’t got it in me to be charming.
Spencer grins, biting his lip, enjoying the challenge. “You’re looking lovely today. New dress?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“The color matches your eyes almost perfectly. I’ll bet you’re the envy of every woman here.”
His compliment feels like an insult or a joke. It throws me. I’ve never been good at dealing with rich people. Too often, their manners ring empty. I nod and look away.
“So how are things going for you, out in the wild west?”
His jab at my hometown ignites fire in my veins. “Harlow’s less than two hours from here. Not exactly the wild west.”
Spencer holds up his hand. “My apologies. I only meant to ask how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine, thank you.” I cross my arms, rubbing them with my hands. His presence gives me the chills.
“Oh, c’mon, Charlie. I’m not going to bite. I promise.” He leans casually to one side. This is his turf and he knows he has the advantage on me.
Caving, I say, “I opened a bakery in town a few months ago.”
“Good for you. Has it been successful so far?”
“Can’t complain.”
Spencer leans forward, grinning. “Aren’t you going to ask how I’ve been doing?”
I copy him and let my eyes wander over his frame. He’s got a movie-star quality about him. Like he knows how good looking he is but tries to appear unconscious of it.
I throw the question back at him, hugging myself a bit tighter.
Spencer runs a hand through his hair. “Oh, you know.” He smiles shyly toward the floor. “Same old, same old.”
His attempt to disarm me just makes me mad. “So you’re still a womanizing letch living off your family’s good name? It’s been two years, Spence. I’ll admit, I thought you would’ve gotten a promotion by now.”
His eyes briefly widen before a wild, excited smile splits his face. “Well, well, well… look who just joined the party?”
Exasperated, I turn to walk away. He moves quickly to block my path.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Move.” I drop my arms to my sides, my hands balling into fists.
“I don’t think so. This party was a complete bore until thirty seconds ago.” His eyes drop to my cleavage and linger. “Last time we met, I think I may’ve remarked on how similar you are to your sister.” His gaze travels slowly up the length of my neck, stopping briefly on my lips before meeting my eyes. “But I don’t think so anymore.”