Chapter 8
This is not going to be fine. Magnolia sat in the cab of her truck at the back of the parking lot. She’d thought it would be nothing to show up at the town watering hole. But looking at the parking lot full of every sort of pickup there was and a few motorcycles out front, she didn’t know if she was ready to be around so many people. The sound of loud music and laughter could be heard even all the way out there. On the exterior, The Hole looked exactly as the name implied—it was a big square gray structure with a shitty sign that read The Hole just above the front entrance.
Magnolia sat in the cab of one of the Triple R pickups with her hands plastered to the steering wheel and the engine still running. Sweat gathered between her palms and the wheel as she sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t do this.” She pressed her forehead to the center of the wheel. Nervousness had never been a part of her make up. She’d always been bold and brash. But sitting outside knowing everyone in the town already knew what she was going through made her want to curl up in bed and hide. Small town gossip traveled faster than wild fire, and Briar Ridge was no different.
Just as she was about to convince herself to put the truck in drive and go home, a tapping on the window startled her, making her snap back against the seat. She pressed her hand to her chest and wound down the window. “Geez, Dax, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
The moment the window was all the way down, she was hit with his clean, fresh scent. On the ranch, he was rugged and dirt-covered; all cleaned up, he was still rugged as hell, but there was a hardness behind his eyes he hadn’t had ten years ago. How had she missed it before? It gave him more sex appeal than any man should have. When he stood so close to her door, she couldn’t help but run her eyes over him, noticing the top two buttons of his black shirt were open, giving her a peek at his sunkissed skin. The stubble on his jaw, which seemed to be ever-present nowadays, was sexy as hell. He leaned up against the door. “Are you plannin’ on stayin’ in the truck all night, or are you gonna come in and have a drink?”
“Are you offering to buy me one?” she teased while she kept her death grip on the steering wheel. A nervous ball rested in her throat, and her eyes darted from his chiseled face to the shabby exterior of The Hole.
The right side of his lip tilted up in a smirk. “Only if you’ll let go of that death grip you’ve got there.” He nodded toward her white-knuckled hands.
“Dax!” a male voice called from across the parking lot. “Let’s go.”
Magnolia squinted her eyes, trying to make out the shady figure. “Is that Finn?”
“Yeah. Big son of a bitch, isn’t he?” He turned and yelled back, “I’ll be right there.”
“He must’ve grown five inches since graduation!” One by one, she pried her fingers off the wheel. “So much has changed.”
The sting of regret was something she rarely felt, but coming home and seeing all the things she’d missed made her feel it every day since she’d been home. It was as though she stepped out of a life she was in the middle of and ruined it all. Only now she realized it too late. In her gut, the feeling of longing overcame her… She missed them so much! Those four years away at college blinded her to what she’d left behind, and now she realized why she stayed away. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks—if she’d ever come home, she never would’ve left again. Instead, she went after a life she thought she wanted, but here in Briar Ridge, this was what she needed.
Dax shrugged. “Not as much as you think. It’ll be okay.” He pulled open the door then held his hand out to her. “Come on, Maggie. You can do this.”
With shaking hands, she turned off the ignition then took his hand. The warmth of his touch seeped into her skin and memories she’d long pushed back flooded to the forefront of her mind. Those memories of Dax pressed up against her, his tan skin brushing hers, his hands in her hair and the feel of them running down her back. For a moment, the past ten years had never happened, and they were still Dax and Maggie, the football player and the field hockey star. As she slid from the cab of the truck, she wondered if he remembered them like that, too? When he closed the door behind her, he uttered, “That-a girl.”
“Thank you,” she whispered as she looked up at him, trying to shake away the thoughts of their past. Tension gathered between them. Magnolia felt it coiling in her stomach, gathering low in her belly.
With his hands on his hips, he blew out a tension-filled breath. “Shall we?”
Swallowing that ball of nerves, she walked forward. With each step, her cowboy boots scuffled against the pavement. The cool night air seeped though her black leather jacket, chilling her skin. She’d chosen a white V-neck t-shirt for tonight, which showed just enough skin to make her feel attractive.
Dax ghosted beside her. When his hand pressed to the small of her back, a thrill shot up her spine. She didn’t dare say a word; she was just happy to have his touch on her. All too soon, they came to the entrance and closer to Finn. When he dropped his fingers from her back, she fought the urge to reach out to him.
A large, wide smile spread across Finn’s face. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Hey, Finn.” Magnolia lifted her hand, giving him a sheepish wave.
Though Finn was well over six feet, he looked haggard and a bit worn. I know the feeling. Whereas Dax’s scruffy face was trimmed and neat, Finn’s looked unruly. His hair was longer than she remembered it. Gone was the clean-cut all-American guy. In its place was a man hardened by time. His dirty blond hair was nearly down to his ears, falling into his eyes. Like Dax, he too wore a button down shirt, but his was a dark blue plaid and tucked into his jeans. If Magnolia hadn’t been so gone for Dax in high school, she might’ve taken a second look at Finn Heston. By all standards, the man was fine, and also, she sensed, a bit broken. He chuckled deep in his throat. “I heard you was around again. Damn shame I missed that trough bath your daddy gave you.”
Heat flooded her cheeks. “You heard about that?”
“Everyone heard about that. I was out gettin’ a couple extra things for the ranch when it happened. Damn shame. I’m told the nightgown was especially lovely.” He wagged his eyebrows, teasing her.
She swung out her hand, smacking him in the arm. “You’re terrible.” It had been quite the scene. She couldn’t help but laugh as she smacked him once more.
Turning to Dax, she asked, “How’d he hear about that?”
Holding up his hands in surrender while shaking his head, he said, “Wasn’t me.”
“So, are we going to hang out in the parking lot all night or are we goin’ to go in and do some dancin’ and have some drinks?” Finn clapped his hands together, then rubbed them back and forth.
“She’s a tad nervous is all.” Dax wrapped his arm around her shoulder, giving her the lightest squeeze.
Again, that contact sent a small thrill through her, but he dropped his arm quickly. A devilish grim broke across Finn’s face. “Well, then, we can’t let her go in alone.”
Magnolia had seen that look before. “Oh, no… Don’t you dare.” She held out her hands, trying to ward him off. When the glean of mischief sparked in his eyes, she took two steps backward. “Fiiiinnn, don’t you do it!”
He charged at her, then ducked down and tossed her over his shoulder like he used to when they were kids. And just like when they were young, he smacked his hand across her backside. Magnolia squirmed, kicking her legs, but couldn’t keep a straight face. “Finn, put me down! We’re not teenagers anymore.”
“Based on how well your ass filled in, I’d say we definitely aren’t.” He took a step back, and she bobbed on his shoulder. “Dax, if you please, open the door. I’ve got my hands full with your girl.”
Under his breath, Dax muttered, “Not my girl.”
Magnolia tried to snap up her head to look at him but was stuck hanging off of Finn. Her hair dangled down past his knees. With each step he took, the music grew louder, and the lighting went from natural darkness to a dim glow. Magnolia had enough. With as much leverage as she could muster, she smacked him in the ass. “Okay, down now.”
“Whooo, darlin’, a little harder. I like it rough.”
“Come on, Finn.” She twisted her body, searching for Dax. “Dax, pleeeasssseeee.”
Finally, Dax stepped in. “All right, man. Down she goes.”
With a groan, Finn placed her on her feet. She staggered back, bumping into Dax’s chest. The heat of his body seeped into her, warming her in more places than just her back. When she peeked at him over her shoulder, the muscle in his jaw ticked and a look of pain crossed his face. She turned to face him, placing her hand on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat in her fingertips. “Did I hurt you?”
Again, the ticking in his jaw. “Not this time.”
What does that mean? Before she could ask, a familiar voice carried over the music. “Oh, my gosh, y’all made it.”
Magnolia turned just in time to intercept Calla Lily’s hug. Though she was a tiny, curvy woman, she hugged like a linebacker. With her arms wrapped around Magnolia’s midsection, she squeezed the air from her lungs. Calla had curled her blond locks to a sort of bob that hit just at her chin, but she was still wearing the yellow dress and brown boots from the afternoon. When she pulled back from the hug, Calla’s blue eyes darted from her to Dax and back again. “Did y’all drive together?”
“Oh, um, no, not at all.” Magnolia motioned to the entrance. “We ran into each other in the parkin’ lot.”
The playful smile dropped from Finn’s face. “Hey, Calla.”
For a moment, Magnolia was taken back by the change in him and how broken he looked while gazing at Calla Lily. “Hey, yourself.” She smiled. “I’m makin’ pasta on Sunday. You still comin’?”
“I haven’t missed one in five years.” He shrugged.
Magnolia glanced around, wondering if anyone else saw the yearning sadness in Finn. When she met Dax’s gaze, she knew he saw it as clearly as she did. He turned and clapped Finn on the shoulder. “Let’s go get a drink.”
When Dax directed him toward the bar, Calla looped her arm through Magnolia’s and began to drag her in the opposite direction. “We’ll see ya in a minute. We got ourselves a table.” She pointed across the dance floor to a small area where tables were scattered about. The Hole reminded Magnolia of the broken down dive from an old movie. A shitty bar at one end of the room with people drunkenly talking and laughing with each other. A small packed dance floor where the latest line dances and couples dances took place. Country music blasted, keeping the mood light and fun in the room.
As they walked toward the table, Calla pulled her down to speak into her ear. “What was that with Dax? I though we agreed you’d stay away from him?”
“It was nothing! We just ran into each other outside.”
Calla gave her a warning look. “I meant what I said.”
“I heard you.” She snapped a little more harshly than she’d meant to. What was it with everyone around here? They acted like she was some kind plague on Dax, when in reality they’d had one of the best relationships she’d ever seen. But like most other high school loves, it ended when she’d went away to college.
Calla drew up short. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, but everyone better stop tellin’ me what to do.” Magnolia put her hands on her hips. “We all know how well that works out.”
“You know what? You’re right.” Calla threw up her hands. “From now on, I’m stayin’ out of it. Yes, ma’am. Not gonna say a word. My lips are sealed.” She ran her hand over her lips, making the zipping motion, then held her breath, puffing out her cheeks like a chipmunk.
Laughter burst past Magnolia’s lips. “You know just as well as I do that you can’t.”
Calla blew out her cheeks and smiled. “Sometimes, y’all need a voice of reason.”
Then as if to punctuate her words, a hoot of laughter rose above the others over by the bar. Zinnia, the last member of their trio from high school, sat perched on the corner of the bar. Shot glass in hand, she swayed to the music, letting her black tendrils swing wildly. The liquor tipped out of the glass, spilling across her hand. Like a cat, she licked it off her fingers, teasing the swarm of men around her. Out of the three of them, Zinnia was the most beautiful. With piercing blue eyes, a body to die for and her long hair, every man in the place had to be clamoring for her attention. Her short shorts and stomach-baring top left nothing to the imagination. Magnolia’s jaw dropped. “What the hell?”
“Come on. Let’s go sit down.” Calla pushed her toward a table just to the side of the dance floor.
Adam, Calla’s husband, gave Magnolia a warm smile. “Maggie, glad to see you came out.”
Forcing herself not to look at Zin, she turned toward him. The man had filled out since she’d last seen him. At least six feet tall, with a clean-cut shaved head and bright green eyes, he had a lightness about him the rest of her friends were missing, including herself. “It’s good to see you. How are things?”
He held up his ring finger as though proud to show it off. “Got me the woman of my dreams. Everything else is just gravy.”
Calla playfully slapped at his arm. “You better stop saying shit like that, otherwise no one will want to sit with you.”
Maggie glanced around the bar noticing two sets of eyes watching them. One was Finn. When Adam held up that ring, Finn took a shot. Interesting. The other set belonged to Zinnia. She’d finally spotted Magnolia, and the look of hatred couldn’t be mistaken. Zinnia pursed her plump lips then hopped down from the bar and started toward her, a look of pure determination crossing her face. Magnolia swallowed. “Here we go.”
Before Zinnia could make it across the floor, Dax was there to intersect her. He held out his hand, stopping Zin from going any farther. When she paused to look up at him, he wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer, his fingers splayed across her bare hip. A pang of jealousy shot through Maggie. Why were they so comfortable touching each other?
Zin tried to shove him away. When he didn’t budge, she threw up her arms and started gesturing wildly, as though her body couldn’t contain her anger. Just when she thought Zin would push past him, she turned the other way, heading back to the bar. Dax wrapped his arm around her shoulder and the two of them walked away, with her body pressed against his. Calla reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Just let it go.”
Finn lumbered up to the table, his hands loaded down with shots. When he set all the glasses down but one, he held it up to Magnolia. “To Magnolia, welcome home.”
Prying her eyes away from Zin and Dax, she plastered that fake smile on her face and grabbed one glass. “It’s good to be back.” She clinked her glass to Finn’s then shot down the burning liquid.
“Zinnia, wait?” Dax’s voice rose above the music, but it was too late.
By the time Maggie looked up, Zin was there standing beside her, her fists balled in anger at her side. She slammed her hands down on the table, causing liquor to spill from the remaining glasses. “Hello, Magnolia. Glad you could show up.” Her words slurred together in a quick sentence.
“Hey, Zin.” The taste of the brown liquor still clung to her mouth. “How are things goin’?”
“For me? Just fiiinnnneee. Matter of fact, since you’ve been gone, things have been better.” Her cutting words hit Magnolia like a ton of bricks. Threads of her temper began to rise to meet Zinnia head on.
Calla shot to her feet. “Zin, not now.”
“Aww, is the mother hen worried about me?” Zinnia plucked at Calla’s curls, then swayed on her feet. Her eyes turned cold. “You always did like her better.”
“It’s not a good time.”
Maggie had never see Calla so annoyed before. Normally she had a calm, confident tone about her, but now she just looked pissed off.
Zin lifted her finger across Calla’s lips. “Shhhh… We got some things to work out between us.”
“Look, Zin, I know I’ve been gone a while—” Magnolia shifted in her chair, trying to stay calm.
Again, Zinnia slammed her hands down on the table. “A while? A while?! Hell, it’s a wonder you ever came back.” She pressed her finger to the side of her mouth as if she were trying to look deep in thought. “Oh, that’s right, it took your preppy husband screwing someone else for you to come home.”
Zinnia’s voice had risen over the music, loud enough for others to hear. People at the surrounding tables stopped to turn and stare. Magnolia’s temper rose to a boiling point, and she shot to her feet, coming nose-to-nose with Zin. “I see time has treated you well, Zin. Or is that just the amount of liquor you drank?”
When Zinnia took another step forward, Dax slid in between them. “I think that’s about enough.”
“Look at you,” she sneered. With both hands, Zinnia shoved Dax back, but he barely moved. “You’re just as lovesick for her as you ever were. It’s pathetic.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “Go back to your friends at the bar and leave us be.”
A flash of hurt crossed Zin’s face before she turned impassive. “Y’all are stupid. Taking her side like she’s been here the whole time. Like she’s still family. I can’t even look at you.” When she turned to leave, she stumbled to the side, bumping into people as she walked. The trio of businessmen cheered once she reached them. One in particular wrapped his hands around her hips and lifted her to sit on the bar next to him.
“What the hell, Dax? I could’ve handled it,” Magnolia snapped.
He turned around, offering her his hand. “Dance, Maggie?”
When she hesitated, he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her behind him until they came to the floor. Suddenly she was nervous for a whole other reason. “I haven’t done this in a while.”
He stepped in closely to her, splaying his fingers across her back. She could feel his touch from between her shoulder blades all the way down past her ribs. “Simple two-step.”
As he stepped forward, he pressed his body into hers. Her breasts brushed his chest and then, as if it were only a few days ago, she began to move with him, easily finding the rhythm of the song. His breath ticked her ear as he whispered, “I know you could’ve handled Zinnia. Hell, I think she’s run so wild because you weren’t here. But I don’t think your first night out should end in a fight.”
“Who says it would end in a fight?” she teased.
Dax tilted his head back and laughed. The rumble of his deep timbre vibrated into her belly doing weird things to her body. “Like I don’t remember when you lost the field hockey GMCs because of a bad call. And when the other team started to gloat, you and Zin went ballistic. Y’all took down four girls before the football team stepped in to pull y’all off ’em.”
It was true—whenever Magnolia let loose, Zinnia was there to cover her back. But where had Magnolia been the past ten years to cover hers? As wild as they were together, Maggie had been Zinnia’s rock and the one person who could stop her from going too far. She glanced over her shoulder to where Zin was double-fisting drinks. With a sigh, she leaned in closer to Dax, relishing the feel of his body against hers. Before, when Eric held her, she realized she’d been trying to force two puzzle pieces together. But now, being this close to Dax, with his voice in her ear, and his heady scent enveloping her, she couldn’t stop her body from responding to him. Even if she wanted to. And knowing that… well, they just fit. “I’m sorry I left.”
It was the first time she apologized to Dax for leaving the way she had. When his gaze snapped down to hers and a look of shock crossed his face, she knew the apology should’ve been the first thing out of her mouth. Dax cleared his throat. “I’m glad you came home, Maggie.”
When he spun her around and brought her back into the surround of his arm, she giggled. “I’m glad too.”
“Whoooo-hoooo!” A clapping came from the other side of the room. “Prom king and queen back together.”
Maggie arched an eyebrow at him. “She’s cruising for a bruising.”
A smile broke out across his face and he chuckled. “Let’s just sit down a while. She’ll stop soon.”
When he directed Magnolia back to the table, the momentary warmth between them seeped away, pissing off Maggie even more. Red hot anger flared in her stomach. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to keep her mouth shut. When she shot a glare at Zinnia, the wild child blew her a kiss. In return, Magnolia did the only thing she could think of—she raised her hand high above her head and gave her a very specific finger. Dax pressed his hand to her other arm. “Let’s just be calm.”
“Calm? Oh, I am calm.” She grabbed two shot glasses off the table and downed one after another. The burning liquid had her lips pulling back off her teeth. “See? This is me bein’ calm.”
“So I see.”