Avoiding Gibson was easy, with Leah Mae staying with me and plenty of reasons to not go out. Truth be told, I avoided all my siblings. Even Jonah. He was around, as roommates generally are, but he had a lot of clients in town now, so that kept him busy. Leah Mae visited her dad, and I spent time in my workshop.

Then, about a week after the taco fight, she dropped a bomb on me.

“I have to go to L.A. next week,” she said, her voice casual, like that wasn’t big news.

We were sitting out on the back porch while the sun went down, sipping some apple pie moonshine. I had on a thick flannel over my t-shirt to keep off the chilly September air, and she was wrapped in a light gray sweater, her cowboy boots dangling over the side of the wooden deck chair.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked.

“The show’s final episode airs next week, so we’re all supposed to go to this big end-of-season party,” she said.

“Is the media going to be there?”

She nodded. “They will be at the beginning. They’ll want to take pictures and do interviews. Then they’ll have a private party afterward.”

“How long have you known about this?”

“A while,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to go, but I should. It’s in my contract. Plus, it would feel like admitting defeat if I didn’t.”

“Makes sense. Is this a social type thing? Like where people bring dates?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” I said. “Then I’m comin’.”

She swung her legs around so she was sitting upright in her chair. “Jameson, I can’t ask you to do that. It’s going to be crazy. All these cameras and people shoving microphones in your face—you’d be miserable.”

“Darlin’, last I checked, my balls are still in place,” I said. “A man does what needs to be done, even if it’s outside his comfort zone. I’d never let you face that shitshow by yourself. Of course I’m going with you.”

“That would make it a lot easier.”

I shifted forward in my seat and leaned closer so I could tuck her hair behind her ear. “That’s exactly why I’m going.”

She smiled and pressed her lips to mine. I kissed her back, softly. I wasn’t surprised she’d assumed I wouldn’t be willing to go with her. Took a man to stand up and do what was necessary. Last guy she’d been with hadn’t been much of one. She wasn’t used to someone standing by her side when things got tough.

“You didn’t need to keep this to yourself,” I said, touching her face with the backs of my fingers. “Next time, let me know. I love you, Leah Mae. I’ll walk through hell and shake hands with the devil himself if you need me to.”

Not that I was thrilled with the prospect—of the devil, or this party. A studio event in Los Angeles sounded about as far outside my realm of experience as you could get. And the media being there? Hell, it was liable to be a disaster. But I still wasn’t going to let her face that disaster by herself.

But I wasn’t too proud to get a little advice on the matter. So the next day when Scarlett asked me to swing by and help her with a few things at Dad’s old place, I thought I might mention it. See if she had anything to say. Trouble was, conversations where things like feelings were going to be front and center were about as easy for me to face as a crowd of people wanting to hear me speak.

Scarlett was ripping up the linoleum in the kitchen when I arrived. I’d brought work gloves, so I put them on and without a word, got down to helping her.

We worked for a while, with Scarlett doing most of the talking. She’d recently had brunch with Devlin’s parents, and it had gone well. Seemed she’d been her usual sassy self, rolling over them like a tornado in a trailer park.

She stood and brushed her gloved hands together. Her hair was in a ponytail and she wore a dusty t-shirt, jeans with holes in the knees, and a pair of brown work boots.

“Not bad for an afternoon’s work. Thanks, Jame.”

“Anytime,” I said. “Sounds like things with Dev are goin’ all right.”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile, her eyes sparkling. “They sure are.”

“Good.”

I rubbed my neck and glanced away, not sure how to bring up the trip to L.A. Seemed like a simple thing—nothing I should get nervous about. But it wasn’t travel tips I was looking for. And I had no idea how to start a conversation about my relationship. Or how I was feeling about it all.

“Everything all right?” she asked.

“Sure.”

She laughed. “Jameson Bodine, you act like I’m not your sister who can read you like… well, like a book or a magazine or just about anything. What’s wrong?”

“It’s not that something is wrong,” I said.

“Okay, what then?”

I shrugged. “Well, Leah Mae has to go to a studio party in L.A. next week.”

“That doesn’t sound like much fun.”

“No, not especially,” I said. “I’m going with her.”

She grinned at me. “Course you are. You worried about what to wear or something?”

I paused and blinked at her a few times. “Well shit, Scar, I hadn’t thought to worry about that, but now that you mention it…”

“Leah Mae will help you with that,” she said. “Or Devlin knows all about dressin’ up. You can ask him.”

“Thanks.”

She took off her gloves and tossed them on the dusty counter. “So are you going to keep making me pry this out of you? Because I have a lot more work to do today.”

I put my hands on my hips and looked down. “It’s just that… I’m not sure how this is going to go. I’ll face the cameras or whatever I have to do. That’s fine. But this is her world I’m steppin’ into. A man’s supposed to lead in a dance, not follow.”

“Good thing it’s not really a dance,” she said.

“It’s a metaphor.”

She laughed. “I know, and I hear what you’re saying. Look, I can’t speak to being the man in this scenario. But I can tell you I’ve been in your shoes. I had to go to that charity barbecue with Dev and it was like being on an alien planet—one where the natives were hostile toward visitors.”

“I’d imagine that wasn’t easy,” I said.

“Actually, it was pretty great,” she said. “I understood Devlin a lot better after seeing that side of things for myself. It helped me see where he’d come from. I think it did a lot for our relationship.”

“So, you mean, getting out of your element and into his was a good thing.”

“Absolutely,” she said. “It’ll be good for you and Leah Mae, too. Think of it as a chance to show her off to the world. She’ll be perched on your arm, lookin’ all sexy in a fancy dress. You’ll be there to make sure she can hold her head high and look all those assholes in the eye.”

“That’s exactly why I’m going.”

“Then what are you so worried about?” she asked. “You’ve got this.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I reckon.”

“God, Jameson, I don’t think you realize just how adorable you actually are,” she said. “All those Hollywood people are going to eat you up with a spoon.”

I wasn’t sure about all that. But supporting Leah Mae—backing her up so she could face a tough situation—that I knew I could do. And maybe Scarlett was right. Maybe it would be good for us, like it had been good for them. I certainly hoped so. As strong as my feelings were for Leah Mae, there were still a lot of unknowns. And I wasn’t sure how much more pressure the two of us could take.