Page 30 of Whiskey Proposal

Has she been out of the house? She went to Billings with her brother and niece, but she didn’t go to Denver with them for the few days they were gone. I doubt she’s been to town. “You haven’t even met her.”

“Let’s change that. Bring her over tomorrow night.”

I snort. “I don’t think that’ll fly.”

“Why?”

My irritation hits its limit. Cruz is going to keep prodding if I don’t give him something. “Because she accused me of being a thief.”

He shrugs. “There was a time.”

“I know.” Defensiveness prickles over my skin. Even after days, I’m still raw that she took something I shared with her and threw it in my face. “She came out to the shop and saw her dad’s truck, and it set her off.”

He blinks, but it’s followed by a frown. “Why?”

“Because she knows that pickup means something to her and she doesn’t want to admit it.”

“No.” He scratches the back of his neck. “Why do you have Hutch’s old pickup?”

The back of my throat burns. I never told him. The whole thing was supposed to be a surprise—after Emerson settled in and healed some old wounds. “To fix it up.”

“Damn, Lane.” He scoffs. “You are a thief.”

“I didn’t steal it. I haven’t stolen a thing for twenty years, and you know it.” Why am I so worked up over this pickup?

Because I never asked. Hutch died, and the next day, I rolled it into my shop, knowing Emerson would be in town soon. I never asked, and my gesture’s not only unwelcome, but it’s also thickening that protective bubble Emerson’s got around herself.

“Okay.” He draws the word out slowly. “You’re still a little sensitive about it.”

“No, I don’t fucking care about my past. She’s using it as an excuse. She’s trying to find every reason to stay away from me.”

His gaze is appraising. “I see.”

He probably does too. The hazards of growing up so close. “Yeah.”

He props a hand on the framework holding the barrels. “You ever wonder where we’d be without Myles?”

“I don’t have to. We lived it.”

“True. What about without Mae? And the rest?”

His point is clear, and guilt winds its way through my organs. We went from only having each other to having a whole family and the legacy behind us. She’s alone. By herself in my house. She has Brooks, but he’s trying to save Hutch’s ranch while raising a kid. “Fuck.”

“Yep.” He pushes off the framework and slaps me on the shoulder. “Go home. I can pull tomorrow’s barrel.”

CHAPTER NINE

Emerson

“Auntie Em, come inside.” Hillary dashes into the house I grew up in.

I stay rooted on the porch. I’ve been in Huckleberry Springs for a week and a half, and I haven’t gone inside yet. My aversion shouldn’t be this bad.

“Go on then, Lucky. Leave with your brother. I told your mom to take you with her, but she didn’t want you neither.” Hutch’s rough voice streams through my head.

My lungs burn. That was almost twenty years ago. Get over it. One foot in front of the other is all I need, but I can’t move closer to the door.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brooks tells me. “I’ll let her know you had to go or something.”