“Seriously though, thank you so much. I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I strapped on my shoes and let go. I needed it.”
“I may not be interested in teaching, but I’d sure love to be a guest dancer—with you—if you’re open for that.”
“Yes! I’d love that.”
Standing, I shook his hand once more. “I should get going. I bet they’re starving.”
“It was a pleasure, Waylynn. You’re welcome any time.”
“Thanks, Frank.”
I changed out of my shoes and pulled my phone out of my bag. I didn’t want to talk to Jonathon over the phone. I needed to talk to him in person.
Me: I’m in San Antonio with Meli and Corina. Can I call you later?
He didn’t respond right away. As a matter of fact, I didn’t hear from him at all. Not even by the time we had gotten back to Oak Springs and Amelia dropped me at home.
Before I got out of her car, she reached for my arm. “Everyone’s planning on heading to Cord’s Place tonight. You want to go?”
“Everyone?”
“Yeah, Mom and Dad are watching Chloe and Gage. Please come.”
“Let me see what Jonathon is doing and I’ll let you know.”
“I talked to Cord earlier. He said that Jonathon and Dustin were planning on being at the bar later tonight.”
My chest squeezed. “Okay. Well, then, I guess I’ll see him there.”
She nodded. “Have you called him?”
Peering at my phone, I replied, “I sent him a text saying I wanted to talk. He hasn’t answered.” I shrugged. “I think I’ll head to the dance studio and check on the floors.”
Amelia gave me a sympathetic smile. It was my own damn fault. I had pushed Jonathon away…again.
“Talk to ya later. Thanks again, Meli! I had a great afternoon.”
“Bye. Love you, sis!”
As I walked into my house, I tried to push away the dread that was taking root in my chest.
Sitting on the sofa, I closed my eyes. My voice barely above a whisper, I spoke his name, willing him to call me.
“Jonathon.”
The only thing that followed was silence.
Chapter Eighteen
Waylynn
Cord’s Place was packed. Not surprising for a Friday night. The music was playing and there wasn’t an open spot on the dance floor.
“Wow! Why is it so packed in here tonight?” I yelled, following Paxton and Amelia. Corina was pulling up the rear.
“What did you say?” Corina hollered.
Stopping, I faced her. “Why is it so packed tonight?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Mitchell texted and said they’ll be here in a few minutes. I guess they were plowing one of the pastures.”
Paxton pulled on my shirt. “Cord saved us a table close to the bar!”
I gave her a thumbs up. Perks of knowing the owner.
When we finally got to our table, Cord appeared. “Evening, ladies. What are we drinking?”
“Water for me!” Corina shouted.
“Coke for me,” I added.
“What’s wrong, big sis?” Amelia asked. “You still hungover from last night?”
Rolling my eyes, I replied, “Something like that, smartass.”
Cord pointed to Paxton and Amelia who ordered beers.
Amelia was bouncing in her seat, itching to get out on the dance floor. “Where are the guys? I’m dying to go dance.”
“Want to dance? I’ll dance with you,” Paxton said.
My sister jumped up, grabbed Paxton, and pushed her way through the crowd.
Corina and I both laughed.
“The girl likes her country dancing.”
I agreed. “Yeah, she does.”
Cord came back with our drinks and a beer for himself. Some girl was giving him the eye, and I was positive he would be ditching us soon and disappearing with her.
“I’d say business is doing good.” I said with a wink toward my brother.
He raised his glass of beer to my Coke. I caught the girl shooting me a dirty look, so I focused in on her and raised my Coke to her, as well.
“Who’s that?” Cord asked.
“Some whore giving me the evil eye because she thinks I’m stealing her hot piece of ass.”
“Hey! Don’t talk about me like that. I have feelings, you know.”
Corina laughed. “Please. If you had seen her looking at you before you walked up to us, you’d have bypassed us and went straight to her.”
Cord pretended like he had been hit in the chest. “How could you, sweet sister-in-law! Are you saying I’m…cheap?”
Corina half shrugged. “If the boot fits.”
“Ha!” Cord dropped his head back and laughed, but then his face turned serious. “But you know what? Tripp told me someone who’s not from around here applied for a permit to sell alcohol. Tripp’s been hinting to me it’s an Irish Pub.”
I sat up. “No way! I love Irish pubs.”
Cord narrowed his eyes at me. “Seriously?”
“What? I do.”
“You didn’t think you would be the only bar on the square, did you, Cord? With the way the town is growing, I’m not surprised.”
“Well, I don’t like it one damn bit. We have a fine establishment here at Cord’s Place.”
“A little competition can’t hurt anyone,” I added.
He rolled his eyes and took a drink of beer.
“What else do you know about it?” I asked.
“I know I don’t like the owner.”
Laughing, I glanced to Corina. “How can you say that? You don’t even know the guy!”
“They’re opening up on the corner where the old pharmacy was.”
“Good location.”
Cord pointed to me. “Stop it, Waylynn.”
“I’m just saying, stop freaking out until you know more about the place.”
“Freaking out? I’m not freaking out!”
Corina attempted to hide her laughter. I—on the other hand—laughed right in my brother’s face.
“Oh sweet brother, you are freaking out. Big time!”
I looked up to see Tripp, Mitchell, and Steed all walking up. I couldn’t help a smile.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the way women look at them,” Corina said.
“You have nothing to worry about, Corina. Look at how my brother can’t seem to take his gaze off of you. The man only has eyes for you.”
“And I him.”
Mitchell leaned down and kissed Corina.
“Gross. You nearly swallowed her whole, Mitchell.”
“Hello to you too, Waylynn.”
I slid down a seat so that Mitchell could sit between Cord and Corina.
“You not manning the bar?” Tripp asked.
“Just informing the girls here about the new bar coming to town.”
Steed leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hey, Steed.”
Tripp sighed. “Jesus, I should have never told you. If I had known you were going to act like a baby I’d have kept my mouth shut.”
I grinned and took another drink. “If it’s not an Irish pub, what is it?” I asked.
Tripp grinned. “All I know is they applied for a liquor license.”
“That’s what you’re bellyaching about, Cord?”
He looked away and must have caught sight of the floozy making eyes at him. He stood up. “It’s been real, but I see fun over there. I need something to take my mind off the competition, if you catch my drift.”
He turned and ran right into someone.
“Shit!” Cord yelled as the drink the girl was holding spilled all over him.
“I’m so sorry!”
“Did she say oil was so sorry?” Corina asked.
“I think she said I’m, but it sounded funny.” Mitchell replied.
It wasn’t hard to notice Cord was instantly taken with her. As he shoul
d be. She was drop-dead gorgeous, and I knew she wasn’t from Oak Springs.
“Wow. Do you see how green her eyes are?” Corina said, leaning in closer to say it in my ear.
I nodded.
“I didn’t mean to run into you,” she said.
Cord flashed her that famous Parker grin. “No worries, sweetheart.” He stepped around her and headed over to the bitch who’d been giving me dirty looks.
The green-eyed beauty watched Cord walk over to the girl and start putting the moves on her. Glancing back at us, she smiled.
“Have a nice one.”
I couldn’t help but smile. This girl wasn’t from Oak Springs, or even America. She was from Ireland.
“You too!” everyone said.
Once she walked off, I looked around the table. “She’s Irish!”
“What?” Mitchell and Tripp said as Steed busted out laughing.
“Oh, goodness. Cord just met his competition, and he didn’t even know it!” Corina said.
Steed glanced over to Cord. “Do we tell him?”
I laughed. “Hell, no. I say we keep letting him believe his new competition is a man.”
“How did he not catch the accent?” Tripp asked.
“Because he had one thing on his mind.”
“I agree with Waylynn, but did anyone happen to notice how he looked at her and how he is currently watching her at the bar?” Corina stated. “Good thing Trevor is off tonight, because I can promise you he’d be all over that girl.”
Watching Cord, I noticed how he was still eyeing the Irish girl, his “competition.”
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun,” I said as I leaned back in my chair and watched Cord’s eyes follow her out the front door.
Corina and I looked at each other and grinned.
I’d never seen Cord watch a woman with as much intensity as he just did. Cord Parker had just met the game changer and the poor bastard didn’t even know it!
“Hey, isn’t that Jonathon on the dance floor?”
My heart dropped, and I spun in my chair. I swallowed hard as my eyes searched the crowd. When I found him, I quickly looked to see who he was dancing with.
“That’s Evie, Jonathon’s sister.”
“I didn’t realize he had a sister,” Corina stated.
“He has three sisters and two brothers.”
“She’s pretty.”
“Oh, hell. Once Trevor lays eyes on Evie, shit is going to hit the fan,” Steed said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Looking at me, Steed continued, “Once Trevor finds out who Evie’s brother is, he’s going to go after her. Tit for tat sort of thing.”
Mitchell and Tripp laughed while I glared at them.
“Um, no. Evie is off limits to Trevor and to you, Tripp.”
“Me? What makes you think I would go after her?”
“You have a dick, that’s what.”
Tripp nodded. “Reason enough.”
When Evie looked our way, she waved, pulling her brother with her as she ran over to the table.
“Hi, Waylynn! Here she is, Jon. It’s Waylynn.”
Giving me a warm smile, he replied, “I can see that, Evie. Thanks.”
“He’s been waiting for you to show up. Have you been here long?”
“Not very long.”
I couldn’t pull my eyes from Jonathon. He looked around the table and shook my brothers’ hands, then he gave Corina a hug.
“Mitchell, I’m in the mood for a dance!” Corina said. My brother took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Paxton was making her way back to the table.
“Well, Wade showed up and Amelia dropped me like a hot plate!”
Everyone chuckled. Kissing Steed, Paxton sat down next to him. “Hi Jonathon! I thought that was you on the dance floor.”
He tipped his hat toward Paxton. “Evening, Paxton.”
“Jonathon?”
Looking over, I found Bethany Lenard, Jonathon’s ex and the bitch who wrote that trash article. One quick sweep of her body, and I wanted to gag. She was dressed in a tight, short skirt with a shirt that showed her stomach and cleavage. This girl left nothing to the imagination.
“Hey, Beth. How’s it going?”
“Okay, I heard you were looking for me last night.”
My heart dropped. Did Jonathon get so upset with me he went in search of another woman?
I looked away, trying to keep the bile down my throat. How could he?
“No, I wasn’t looking for you. Sorry.”
“Are you sure? Cause my roommate said you stopped by last night. I was on a date.”
My eyes lifted to Tripp’s, and he shook his head. When I looked at Steed, he didn’t seem too bothered by the fact that Jonathon had left my house and went to this whore’s.
“Bethany, I didn’t stop by your place last night.”
Bethany’s gaze was bouncing from me to Jonathon. “That’s not what my roommate said.”
Jonathon laughed and shook his head, all the while my head pounding again. I went to look away when his words froze me in place. “I was at Waylynn’s all night, so I couldn’t possibly have been at your place.”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. He was lying. Oh my God, did he think I was so drunk I wouldn’t remember him leaving? I stood up to call his ass out when Tripp grabbed my hand.
“Don’t.”
Looking at my brother with a confused expression, I asked, “What?”
Tripp moved into Corina’s seat and placed his mouth next to my ear. “Jonathon slept in his truck at your place all night so that he could check on you. He sent a text to let Steed know. We all ate breakfast together this morning at Mom and Dad’s.”
Relief washed over me. Then confusion. “How did she know we were fighting?” I asked in a hushed voice.
“That, I don’t know.”
When I turned around, Bethany was staring at Jonathon. “One of these days you’re going to get tired of her and come crawling back to me.”
Jonathon shook his head. “I highly doubt that. Enjoy your evening, Bethany.”
Bethany stomped off like a child who had just gotten her toy taken away. I stood up as Jonathon faced me.
“I guess I’ll be calling it a night. Night, y’all.” He tipped his hat at me and added, “Waylynn.”
Then he walked away. Leaving me standing there like a complete idiot.
I closed my eyes and shook my head. Turning, I looked between my two brothers and Paxton.
“What just happened? Why did he treat me like an old friend he was saying hi to?”
Paxton shrugged. “I don’t know, but I think you best go after him and find out.”
Grabbing my purse, I felt my anger starting to boil. How dare he walk away? “Oh, that is exactly what I intend on doing. Excuse me, y’all.”
Chapter Nineteen
Jonathon
My truck was parked on Main Street, so I got to it pretty quickly. Right as I opened my door, I heard her call out my name. And I knew it was time to give Waylynn Parker a taste of her own medicine. I got in my truck, started it up, and pulled onto the road. I looked in the rearview and watched her stand on the sidewalk, her hands at her sides.
Shit. What if she didn’t drive to the bar. I swung a U-turn and started back down Main. Waylynn stepped into the street to flag me down. Yep, no car.
I came to a slow stop and rolled my window down. “Waylynn? What’s the matter?”
“Don’t you ‘what’s the matter’ me, Jonathon Turner.”
She marched around the front of my truck, and it was all I could do not to start laughing. Once she was in, she hit me on the shoulder.
“Ouch! What in the hell was that for?”
“For making me think you were gonna drive off and leave me here.”
“I was driving off, until you ran into the road.”
Her mouth fell. “You were honestly going to leave without me? I’ve been calling you.”
“I
don’t have my phone.”
She snarled her lip. “Really? Where is it?”
“Probably somewhere in your folks’ house.”
Her mouth snapped shut. “Your phone is at my parents’ house?”
“I sure hope so, or I’ve lost it. I’m pretty sure I left it on the counter there.” I glanced out the window.
“That’s why you didn’t return my calls or text today.”
“That would be why.”
Waylynn remained silent for a few seconds before she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry for the way I acted last night. I didn’t mean anything, and I hope you know that.”
“I do.”
The weight of her stare made me peek at her. “I know you didn’t mean anything, and I know you were upset, Waylynn. I only wish you would have let me talk to you instead of pushing me away and getting drunk. If we want this to work, we need to talk to each other.”
“I was confused last night, but today my mind has been cleared, and I realize how stupid I’ve been acting. I’ve been so caught up in what everyone else thinks about me or will think about me, that I let it cloud what my heart truly wants.”
“I asked you this before, Waylynn, and I’m asking you again…what do you want?”
“Happiness. Love. My dreams. You.”
I reached for her hand. “That’s all I want for both of us, Waylynn. Together.”
“I also need you to know that when I went to the fertility clinic, it was just to ask questions and it was right after I found out about Mitchell and Corina. I was feeling sorry for myself and acting foolish. I want a baby still, though. If things work out with us…I mean…I want a baby soon.”
I pulled over and put the truck in park. I needed to look into her eyes as I spoke to her. When I kissed the back of her hand, her eyes finally seemed to shine again.
“I want to start a family too, Waylynn. I wasn’t feeding you lines of bullshit to get into your pants. You were acting with your heart and that can never be a foolish thing.”
She let out a gruff laugh. “Oh, trust me, your heart can lead you astray. At least it can until you learn how to listen to it. I was able to do that today. I went dancing.”
My brows lifted. “Dancing? Where? I was at the studio most of today.”
I chuckled. “Amelia, Corina, and I went into San Antonio to use a dance studio that a friend of Amelia’s owns. It was the first time I’d danced since I’ve been here and there was something very therapeutic about it. When I was finished the fog had lifted.”