After nearly an hour went by, Nova couldn’t stand being in her tiny studio-like cabin any longer. Seeing that it was only eight o’clock, she toyed with the idea of finding Julius and attempting to convince him that his plan was ridiculous. Either that, or perhaps just snatching a bottle of wine from the cellars and drinking herself into a stupor so that she could cease to care about anything anymore.

Yet, as she walked along the dirt road leading back to the main building of Windego Winery, a jeep pulled up alongside of her. She shielded her eyes from the headlight and tried to get a look at the driver. “Cannon?” she said. “What the hell are you doing over this way?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said, peering out at her through the passenger’s side window. After getting a thorough look at her appearance, a crease formed in his brow. “Hey—you all right?”

Nova grimaced, remembering she looked like hell. After Julius left, she had cried for at least twenty minutes straight without regard to her mascara, which had smeared and ran down her face. She was sure she looked more like a raccoon than a woman at the moment.

“I’m fine. It’s just—my brother’s here. We’re having some family issues.”

“So he did show up, huh?” Cannon said. “Well, I’ve been there before. Got family issues of my own to contend with. Where’re you off to?”

Nova laughed mirthlessly and shook her head. “I don’t even know. I was thinking about grabbing a bottle of wine, but maybe I should just go back to my cabin and keep my misery to myself.”

“No. Why don’t you hop in? I can get you something a little bit stronger than wine.”

“Oh yeah? Where’re you headed to?”

“Wilson’s Bar. Have you heard of it? It’s a local watering hole. Not the fanciest place, but they serve good beer.”

Nova’s face scrunched. “I kind of remember that place. It’s been a long time, but my father used to occasionally drink there.” She stood still for a moment, contemplating whether she should go out for drinks with someone who was practically a stranger. Not to mention, someone who had spent the day treating her like an annoying bug that he couldn’t successfully swat. She peered through the jeep window into his dark blue eyes and then shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, what the hell? Why not? Let’s go get trashed.”

She opened the door and gracefully hopped into the passenger’s seat and shortly thereafter, Cannon sped off into town. They rode in silence, partially because the windows were lowered and the wind racing through their ears made it difficult to hear. Not before long, Cannon pulled up in front of the bar.

The first thing Nova noticed was the water-fountain not far from the bar’s entrance, mainly because a Golden Retriever was there, happily lapping a drink of water.

“When you come to Wilson’s Bar, you can always count on a four-legged friend being close by,” Cannon said, looking at the dog with a smirk on his face.

Nova turned her gaze toward Cannon. She wasn’t sure if she was imagining things or not, but she could have sworn she detected something hidden within his voice and behind his statement. “Well, I’d imagine so, the way the fountain is placed. It’s going to attract all kinds of strays.”

“That’s what it’s made for.”

“Is it?”

“Yep. Wilson was the name of the owner’s dog. He named the bar after him. Come on.” Cannon hopped out the jeep, and Nova followed suit, the car doors locking behind them as they approached the bar’s entrance. The instant they stepped inside, Nova was taken aback by the crowd. “Uhm—why are there a million people here on a Wednesday?” she asked, looking around with wide eyes.

“Because it’s the only bar in town. And this is just what people do here. They like to be together.”

“Hmm,” Nova said. “So this is what hu—people do around here for fun.” She laughed nervously and inwardly cringed, hoping that Cannon hadn’t noticed her slip-up. She had come dangerously close to saying ‘humans.’ When she glanced at him though, he showed no signs of noticing her goof. Or perhaps the large crowd had muffled her words.

“Take a seat. I’ll go get drinks,” Cannon said.

Nova nodded, breathing a sigh of relief.

Due to the crowd, she had to search around for a while before finding a high table for two. She seated herself in one of the chairs, and then kept an eye out for Cannon, quickly spotting him at the bar placing an order. When he left the bar with two beers in hand, she waved her arms until he saw her. He handed over one beer to her, and then raised the other. “To Wednesday.”

Nova clinked her beer against his. “Yeah. To Wednesday. Wild Wednesday from the looks of it.”

Cannon settled into the seat across from her. “So—why’s your brother back? I haven't seen him on the property yet.”

Nova stared at her beer glass. “It’s just family business. And not actual business- business. Just family crap—like my brother being a total pain in the ass. But that’s nothing new.”

“Sorry to hear that. I didn’t know things were so rough in the Windego family.”

“Surprise, surprise. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t all sunshine and roses. Julius makes sure of that. I just wish he wasn’t so damned stubborn. He makes everything more difficult than it has to be.”

“So you didn’t know he was coming then? I mean, you asked me today if your father said anything about him.”

“I didn’t think he would actually show up. I don’t even think my father knew that he was coming. Actually, I’m positive he didn’t know.” Nova took a healthy swig of beer from her glass and then glanced around the bar, suddenly making eye-contact with the last person she wanted see again in Crescent Valley—Dax Bradwick. Her eyes wide, Nova set the glass down on the table, eyeing the random brunette hanging all over Dax. The woman kissed the bottom of his jaw and trailed her fingers down his neck. In turn, Dax wrapped his arms around her waist, but not before giving her a playful smack on the butt.

Nova’s grimaced, disgusted although she honestly wasn’t all that surprised. She hadn’t expected to see him, but she wasn’t surprised by the behavior, it was so typical of him. It just showcased one of the reason their relationship couldn’t work out. Dax was incapable of truly settling down with anyone, and frankly, so was Nova. That was one thing the two of them truly shared in common; they both liked their freedom. Dax was an eternal playboy, and Nova didn’t want to be claimed and held down by a bear anyway.

But still—she couldn’t deny the fun times they’d had together, and she couldn’t truthfully say she didn’t miss their escapades…

“Nova? Nova? Are you paying attention?” Cannon whistled and snapped his fingers.

Nova blinked. “I’m sorry. I just saw someone.”

Cannon laughed. “Yeah, I can tell. I know that look. That’s the ‘I’ve-just-seen-one-of- my-exes’ look. How is it that you’ve got an ex in the area though? I thought you’ve been gone a long time?”

“I visited, occasionally,” Nova said after a pause. “And is that ‘look’ really a thing, or did you just make it up?”

“It is most certainly a thing. Everybody has that look about somebody. So, who’s the guy?” Cannon craned his neck, attempting to follow Nova’s gaze. His eyes darkened. “It’s not Dax Bradwick, is it?”

Nova nearly spit out her beer. It dribbled down her chin and she hastily wiped at it. “How the hell did you know that? Out of all the men in this bar, how did you figure that out?”

“Because you’re not the only one who has history with him.”

Nova nearly choked again despite having nothing in her mouth. She certainly hadn’t expected that explanation. She raised her eyebrows. “You and him? I have to admit, I definitely didn’t see that coming. Wow.”

Cannon laughed. “No, no, no—it’s not like that. He and my ex had a thing. My ex just happened to not be my ex at the time, if you catch my drift.”

Nova nodded. “Okay. Now that, I can believe. She cheated on you with him?”

“Bingo,” Cannon said with a sigh. “She was a real winner, that one. It kind of broke my heart when she officially ended things with me and admitted how many times they had been together. The guy’s a complete asshole.”

“I won’t argue with you about that. But on the other hand, your girl—she’s the one who cheated.”

“True. That’s why I think she’s an asshole too. But you see, there’s a bro-code, and he broke it. So basically, I’m not a fan of either of them.” Cannon took another sip of beer. “What happened between the two of you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Nova shook her head and held up her half-empty beer glass. “I don’t think I’ve had enough beer to go into that right now.”

Cannon nudged her arm. “Oh, come on. It can’t be worse in my story, can it?”

She sighed. “Fine. Dax and I have been off-and-on for years. We are each other’s rebounds. It’s not healthy.”

Cannon finished beer his beer. “Another round?”

Nova shook her head, still trying to pry her eyes away from Dax and the brunette. The two of them were making-out now, not caring at all about who watched them—and there were quite a few people watching them, scandalized by the display of PDA. “I think one was enough for me. Maybe we should go.”

Cannon turned around and glanced at Dax again. “No.”

Nova furrowed her brow, confused. It wasn’t often that men said ‘no’ to her. “Excuse me?”

“We’re not leaving yet. Before we go, I’m going to have another beer, and you’re going to pick a song on the jukebox. We’ll leave when you give me a dance.”

Nova eyed Cannon for a moment. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Cannon smirked, the sight of it animating his face in a way Nova had never seen before. “I’ve never been more serious in my life,” he said. He then reached into his pocket, handed her a quarter, and winked before sliding off his chair and heading to the bar for another drink.

What’s this guy’s deal? Nova thought, puzzled. With one of their social enemies sitting in the same bar, she couldn’t fathom why Cannon suddenly wanted to dance with her, particularly since he had treated her like garbage most of the day. Nova glanced in Dax’s direction again. Even though he and the brunette had stopped making out, they still weren’t providing the most appropriate visuals for public viewing. They stood with their foreheads pressed together, having a whispered conversation while groping on another. Nova rolled her eyes and wished the two of them would leave and get a room already.

It then occurred to her that Dax may be the very reason Cannon wanted to dance with her. She huffed, thinking that maybe she wasn’t the only one keen to flaunt rebound dates. She couldn’t help wondering what Cannon’s ex looked like, and whether he just wanted to show Dax that he had moved on to someone better. Then she remembered the disheveled state she had left her cabin in and realized that couldn’t be the case; if Cannon wanted to show her off, it certainly wouldn’t have been while she looked such a mess. Self-consciously, she ran a hand through her hair, only for her fingers to stuck in the tangles.

Embarrassed, she reached for her glass and chugged what remained of her beer.

Taking a deep breath, she closed the quarter in her fist. It was warm from Cannon’s body-heat. She looked toward the bar again, where he stood, and wondered what he was up to. And most notably, she wondered why she was so curious to find out.