to be coming to a head.
“Do something,” I hissed to Sam.
“What?” He was watching the exchange with avid interest.
“They’re going to get into a fight,” I said.
“So? I think it might be fun to watch.”
“Landon will kill him.”
“Probably,” Sam agreed. “He might be too drunk to stand, though. I kind of want to see what happens.”
“What about Bay?” I tried a different tactic.
“What about her?” Sam was clearly missing the point. “I think she’ll root for Landon. Jack may be her father, but she seems to really care about Landon – although I can’t figure out why.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I snapped.
“You seem pretty comfortable with my daughter,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
“That’s what happens when you’re there,” Landon replied, unruffled. “You get comfortable with people. Why do you think the three of them are so uncomfortable here? They don’t really know you.”
Uh-oh. I exchanged a worried look with Bay.
“I think we should go to bed early,” Bay said, pulling on Landon’s arm.
“Leave him alone,” Aunt Tillie said. “I think he’s being entertaining.”
“You should go home,” Bay said. “Your hip is fine.”
“I don’t want to leave yet.”
“Oh, let her stay,” Thistle said, waving from across the table. “She’s having fun. Someone here should.”
Was everyone losing their mind? Why was everyone so combative? It wasn’t unusual for Landon to pick a fight to protect Bay’s honor, but he was being overtly aggressive tonight. Since he was the king of calm, it seemed out of character. I scanned the table, confused.
The only two people in the room who appeared untouched by the mayhem were Marcus and me. He met my gaze across the table, his eyes just as troubled as mine. What was going on here?
“Since when are you on Aunt Tillie’s side?” Bay asked.
“Since she started making more sense than you,” Thistle said, tapping her temple. “She’s a genius.”
Aunt Tillie smirked. “I’m liking you more and more tonight.”
I furrowed my brow. I was wrong in my first assessment. Marcus and I weren’t the only ones untouched. Aunt Tillie was fine, too. Sure, she was persnickety and mean, but she was always those things. Crap. She had done something.
“You’re such a suck-up,” Bay said, reaching for her glass of wine. “You always suck up to Aunt Tillie. You claim you’re not scared of her, and you’re the one who always wants to get back at her, but you’re also the first one to suck up to her.”
“Oh, whatever,” Thistle said. “We all know Clove is the first one to suck up to her.”
Bay nodded, agreeing. “You have a point.”
It was the wine, I realized. Well, to be more specific, it was the red wine. I’d had wine, too, but I’d stuck to white. Marcus didn’t like wine, and he’d been nursing the same beer for the past hour. Everyone else at the table had drunk red wine, and they were all acting strange.
I grabbed the half-empty bottle in front of Bay and lifted it to my nose. “Where did you get this?”
Dad took a second to focus on me. “What?”
“This wine,” I said. “Where did you get it?”
Dad shrugged. “We ordered it from somewhere.”
“Where?”
“I … I don’t remember right now. I’m sure there’s an invoice in the office. This crate arrived yesterday. It was an added bonus from the company for placing such a large order. It was a gift.”
I leaned forward so I could study Aunt Tillie’s face. In addition to being a master manipulator, and consummate busybody, she was also a renowned winemaker. She did it on the sly – and outside the boundaries of the law – but her brew was known far and wide. “Is that so?”
Aunt Tillie met my gaze briefly, her face sobering when she realized I knew. She turned her attention to her fingernails. “Well, I should be going,” she announced. “I think I need to walk off my
“Do something,” I hissed to Sam.
“What?” He was watching the exchange with avid interest.
“They’re going to get into a fight,” I said.
“So? I think it might be fun to watch.”
“Landon will kill him.”
“Probably,” Sam agreed. “He might be too drunk to stand, though. I kind of want to see what happens.”
“What about Bay?” I tried a different tactic.
“What about her?” Sam was clearly missing the point. “I think she’ll root for Landon. Jack may be her father, but she seems to really care about Landon – although I can’t figure out why.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I snapped.
“You seem pretty comfortable with my daughter,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
“That’s what happens when you’re there,” Landon replied, unruffled. “You get comfortable with people. Why do you think the three of them are so uncomfortable here? They don’t really know you.”
Uh-oh. I exchanged a worried look with Bay.
“I think we should go to bed early,” Bay said, pulling on Landon’s arm.
“Leave him alone,” Aunt Tillie said. “I think he’s being entertaining.”
“You should go home,” Bay said. “Your hip is fine.”
“I don’t want to leave yet.”
“Oh, let her stay,” Thistle said, waving from across the table. “She’s having fun. Someone here should.”
Was everyone losing their mind? Why was everyone so combative? It wasn’t unusual for Landon to pick a fight to protect Bay’s honor, but he was being overtly aggressive tonight. Since he was the king of calm, it seemed out of character. I scanned the table, confused.
The only two people in the room who appeared untouched by the mayhem were Marcus and me. He met my gaze across the table, his eyes just as troubled as mine. What was going on here?
“Since when are you on Aunt Tillie’s side?” Bay asked.
“Since she started making more sense than you,” Thistle said, tapping her temple. “She’s a genius.”
Aunt Tillie smirked. “I’m liking you more and more tonight.”
I furrowed my brow. I was wrong in my first assessment. Marcus and I weren’t the only ones untouched. Aunt Tillie was fine, too. Sure, she was persnickety and mean, but she was always those things. Crap. She had done something.
“You’re such a suck-up,” Bay said, reaching for her glass of wine. “You always suck up to Aunt Tillie. You claim you’re not scared of her, and you’re the one who always wants to get back at her, but you’re also the first one to suck up to her.”
“Oh, whatever,” Thistle said. “We all know Clove is the first one to suck up to her.”
Bay nodded, agreeing. “You have a point.”
It was the wine, I realized. Well, to be more specific, it was the red wine. I’d had wine, too, but I’d stuck to white. Marcus didn’t like wine, and he’d been nursing the same beer for the past hour. Everyone else at the table had drunk red wine, and they were all acting strange.
I grabbed the half-empty bottle in front of Bay and lifted it to my nose. “Where did you get this?”
Dad took a second to focus on me. “What?”
“This wine,” I said. “Where did you get it?”
Dad shrugged. “We ordered it from somewhere.”
“Where?”
“I … I don’t remember right now. I’m sure there’s an invoice in the office. This crate arrived yesterday. It was an added bonus from the company for placing such a large order. It was a gift.”
I leaned forward so I could study Aunt Tillie’s face. In addition to being a master manipulator, and consummate busybody, she was also a renowned winemaker. She did it on the sly – and outside the boundaries of the law – but her brew was known far and wide. “Is that so?”
Aunt Tillie met my gaze briefly, her face sobering when she realized I knew. She turned her attention to her fingernails. “Well, I should be going,” she announced. “I think I need to walk off my
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