Page 6 of Camera Stays On

“My daddy raised me right.” He slid his arm behind me, resting it on the small of my back as we walked toward the building. Sawyer was waiting for us near the door, smoking a cigarette.

“Took you long enough.” He flicked the butt, smashing out the flame with the bottom of his dress shoes. He looked odd, dressed up like he was. This wasn’t the Sawyer I knew. I would have never guessed he owned a suit. When he’d come walking into the funeral home, I had to double take. He’d even brought flowers. All of it was so…unlike the man I’d known before.

While Ash, on the other hand, looked almost exactly as I’d remembered. The casualness of his clothes and whole attitude when he strode up to us was welcome. Like a sunny day after the rain.

The men couldn’t be more different.

“You buying us drinks or what?” Ash laughed as he opened the door and gently pushed on my back to go in. Sawyer’s gaze zeroed in on his hand, his jaw ticking. He quickly stepped between us, entering the bar right after me.

“Let’s get a booth,” he muttered as he walked ahead of me. The bartender saw us and nodded as Sawyer strode to a booth in the back. I followed, a little deflated, knowing he’d expect me to sit beside him. As if reading my thoughts, Ash brushed past me, quickly sliding into the same seat Sawyer was in, making it so I had to take the bench on the other side. Relief rushed over me. I caught Ash’s gaze, and he winked.

Butterflies fluttered in my belly.

Jesus, what was this?

I rolled my eyes and mouthed thank you before I took my seat, placing my purse on the empty space beside me. Sawyer was glaring daggers at his brother, unamused by what he’d pulled.

“Hello, gentlemen. Long time, no see,” our waitress greeted, seeming not to notice me. She looked familiar. I squinted at her, trying to place her.

“Carly?” I blurted. The familiar woman turned, not bothering to hide a snicker as she flipped her mess of auburn curls over her shoulder.

“Hello, Purdy.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to correct her, but it felt pointless. In this town, I wasn’t Andi. To them, I’d always be Purdy.

“How are you?” I asked politely.

“Fine.” She turned sharply back to the brothers. “You want your regulars?”

Sawyer nodded. “Yeah, and bring a drink for Purdy.” He cleared his throat.

“What do you want?” she snapped, as if my very presence annoyed her. I started to shrink in my seat. I looked around the bar, wondering if others were as angry as she was that I’d returned to Collingwood, or if she was still the same bully from middle school.

“Just get her whatever cocktail is the special,” Sawyer answered quickly. Carly spun around and stormed back to the bar.

I opened and closed my mouth, slightly confused. “Why is she so m-m-mad at me?” The muscles in my jaw and neck tensed as sudden anxiety from the uncomfortable interaction brought my stutter back. That made twice today.

I almost never stuttered anymore.

Sawyer rolled his eyes, and Ash snickered.

“Carly was one of the girls who benefited from your wedding getting called off.”

It took me a moment to understand, but when it hit me, my mouth fell open, and my gaze shot back to the woman at the bar, tapping her foot impatiently at the bartender.

“Will you shut it?” Sawyer shoved his brother, causing him to tip over, his hat dropping to the floor. Ash just laughed and scooped it back up.

“What? She deserves to know why half the women we went to school with are gonna give her dirty looks while she’s in town.”

Sawyer’s eyes seemed to be close to popping out of his head.

I pursed my lips.

“I didn’t come here to talk about a few drunken nights.” Sawyer rolled his eyes and turned to me, took a deep breath, and forced a smile. His fists rested on the tabletop. He was clutching them so tightly his knuckles had gone white. Slowly, his muscles relaxed. Carly brought us our drinks, sliding a purple cocktail my way. It sloshed onto the table, but I remained polite, thanking her as I reached for a napkin. Sawyer grabbed for his drink, and Asher ordered some bar food for the table, much to Carly’s dismay at having to come back.

“So,” Ash said, interrupting the awkward silence. “What’ve you been up to, Andi darling?” My body responded to the way he said my name in a way it shouldn’t have after so long. I straightened, swirling the straw in my glass but not taking a drink.

“Not much. I moved to Chicago. Started a life there.” I was hesitant in what I wanted to disclose. When I left five years ago, I didn’t want to be found. I’d dropped all social media, stopped using the nickname I’d gone by most of my life, and never even bought another cell phone after I left mine behind—right along with my wedding dress. I wanted a fresh start without any temptation to call or come back to this place.