“In fact, I don’t want to talk at all. Just… leave me alone, Sawyer. Find a new friend .”
His expression darkened at her tone. “Remy…”
“Goodnight, Sawyer,” she said, forcing herself to walk away and close the door behind herself.
When she got back to the front of the bar, it was empty, a few scattered bills on the counter from the regulars who’d left. Relieved, Remy locked up and broke down the bar setup.
She held herself together through the whole thing, swallowing down all the pain threatening to rise inside.
Be strong , she told herself. Be strong for Shiloh.
She finished everything else and grabbed the mop, working it over the floor in hard circles, trying to exorcise the darkness growing in her chest. As she bent low to get underneath one of the tables, giving the whole place the best cleaning it’d probably ever had, she twisted the mop oddly.
“Ow!” she cried, yanking her hand back. A big splinter had split off and jabbed into her palm, blood already welling around it.
She dropped the mop, prying the splinter free and sucking at the tiny cut. Tears welled up in her eyes, though it didn’t hurt that badly.
This is nothing, compared with how I’ll feel if Sawyer finds out about Shiloh .
That thought proved to be too much, after all she’d been through in the last few hours. She could feel it all bubbling up inside, the pain and sorrow that she so badly needed to release.
At least here, at The Speckled Hen, no one would see her break down.
Remy sat down at the booth, hung her head, and finally let herself cry.
8
“ S till moping about Remy ?”
Sawyer looked up from his spot at the kitchen table to find Colt sauntering into the kitchen. His brother was fresh from the shower, but he had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days.
“You look like hell,” Sawyer said. “Didn’t you go to bed at the same time as me and Walker?”
Colt smirked and shrugged as Walker came in, catching the tail end of Sawyer’s words.
“A hundred bucks says Colt was at some lucky divorcee’s house until the wee hours,” Walker said, opening a cabinet in search of a coffee cup. “Where are the cups? Three months here, and I still can’t find a single thing in this kitchen.”
“To the left of the sink,” Colt said. “And we weren’t talking about me. We were discussing whether Sawyer is just grappling with his hangover, or whether he’s mooning over Remy River.”
Sawyer snorted and shook his head. “No way, Colt. I don’t want any bad blood between me and Remy, especially considering the fact that we need a handshake agreement with her father to keep sharing land and water rights.”
“So you didn’t drive back to see her after we came home last night?” Walker asked, handing Colt a mug and pouring coffee in his own.
“Well… just to set things right,” Sawyer said. “I don’t have to defend myself to you two. Mr. Catahoula’s Prime Manwhore over here, and… Walker, I don’t even want to know how long it’s been since you got laid.”
Walker’s answering scowl made Sawyer chuckle. “That’s what I thought.”
“That’s a low blow,” Walker said.
Sawyer shrugged. “It’s been four years, Walker. Nobody in the world has more sympathy than me, I promise. But you’ve stopped living your life.”
“And you’re hung up on your high school sweetheart,” Walker shot back, setting his coffee cup down so hard it sloshed coffee onto the kitchen counter.
“I’m not hung up on Remy,” he insisted. “There are other fish in the sea.”
“And yet, I get the sense that you’re not exactly leaving anyone behind in D.C. No one expected you to find a new girl when you were deployed, but for the year since you’ve been back… nothing?” Colt asked, sipping his coffee.
“No one I feel any need to get back to,” Sawyer said.
Walker was still scowling into his coffee, Colt moving to pour himself a bowl of cereal. They were all quiet for a few
His expression darkened at her tone. “Remy…”
“Goodnight, Sawyer,” she said, forcing herself to walk away and close the door behind herself.
When she got back to the front of the bar, it was empty, a few scattered bills on the counter from the regulars who’d left. Relieved, Remy locked up and broke down the bar setup.
She held herself together through the whole thing, swallowing down all the pain threatening to rise inside.
Be strong , she told herself. Be strong for Shiloh.
She finished everything else and grabbed the mop, working it over the floor in hard circles, trying to exorcise the darkness growing in her chest. As she bent low to get underneath one of the tables, giving the whole place the best cleaning it’d probably ever had, she twisted the mop oddly.
“Ow!” she cried, yanking her hand back. A big splinter had split off and jabbed into her palm, blood already welling around it.
She dropped the mop, prying the splinter free and sucking at the tiny cut. Tears welled up in her eyes, though it didn’t hurt that badly.
This is nothing, compared with how I’ll feel if Sawyer finds out about Shiloh .
That thought proved to be too much, after all she’d been through in the last few hours. She could feel it all bubbling up inside, the pain and sorrow that she so badly needed to release.
At least here, at The Speckled Hen, no one would see her break down.
Remy sat down at the booth, hung her head, and finally let herself cry.
8
“ S till moping about Remy ?”
Sawyer looked up from his spot at the kitchen table to find Colt sauntering into the kitchen. His brother was fresh from the shower, but he had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days.
“You look like hell,” Sawyer said. “Didn’t you go to bed at the same time as me and Walker?”
Colt smirked and shrugged as Walker came in, catching the tail end of Sawyer’s words.
“A hundred bucks says Colt was at some lucky divorcee’s house until the wee hours,” Walker said, opening a cabinet in search of a coffee cup. “Where are the cups? Three months here, and I still can’t find a single thing in this kitchen.”
“To the left of the sink,” Colt said. “And we weren’t talking about me. We were discussing whether Sawyer is just grappling with his hangover, or whether he’s mooning over Remy River.”
Sawyer snorted and shook his head. “No way, Colt. I don’t want any bad blood between me and Remy, especially considering the fact that we need a handshake agreement with her father to keep sharing land and water rights.”
“So you didn’t drive back to see her after we came home last night?” Walker asked, handing Colt a mug and pouring coffee in his own.
“Well… just to set things right,” Sawyer said. “I don’t have to defend myself to you two. Mr. Catahoula’s Prime Manwhore over here, and… Walker, I don’t even want to know how long it’s been since you got laid.”
Walker’s answering scowl made Sawyer chuckle. “That’s what I thought.”
“That’s a low blow,” Walker said.
Sawyer shrugged. “It’s been four years, Walker. Nobody in the world has more sympathy than me, I promise. But you’ve stopped living your life.”
“And you’re hung up on your high school sweetheart,” Walker shot back, setting his coffee cup down so hard it sloshed coffee onto the kitchen counter.
“I’m not hung up on Remy,” he insisted. “There are other fish in the sea.”
“And yet, I get the sense that you’re not exactly leaving anyone behind in D.C. No one expected you to find a new girl when you were deployed, but for the year since you’ve been back… nothing?” Colt asked, sipping his coffee.
“No one I feel any need to get back to,” Sawyer said.
Walker was still scowling into his coffee, Colt moving to pour himself a bowl of cereal. They were all quiet for a few
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