Ace Jebson was whirling her about the dance floor with a surprising degree of vigor for a man his age, spinning her under his arm frequently and pulling off some complicated footwork to the sound of some very twangy music that she didn’t think any of her LA friends would ever listen to without a deep sense of irony.

She was having fun though. She really was.

The old barn was done up in an array of twinkling, warm lights and a live band was playing. Some of the players included some very talented regulars she knew she’d have to call out for not telling her about how skilled they were. Mabel had dragged her around, introducing her to young people in a pushy but endearing way. She’d agreed to go to the December book club meeting to appease Mabel (feeling like she owed her one after skipping out on Thanksgiving) and actually thought it might be fun after meeting a couple of the women who ran it.

She’d danced quite a bit and was still clumsy, but was figuring it out thanks to the help of a slew of regulars who kept pulling her onto the floor. Jeb was by far the oldest and most energetic partner she’d had.

“Be careful there,” she giggled as he spun her around his back with the strength of a man decades younger. “Or someone is going to break a bone. And I don’t think it’s going to be you.”

He paid her no mind and kept up his lively moves until the song started to wind down, ending in an artful dip. “Thank you, kind sir,” she said, a little breathlessly.

She was just thinking about how she could politely explain she needed to take a breather to rest her aching feet when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Heya, Jeb,” Hudson said as the audience clapped and the band began their transition into the next song. “Mind if I cut in?”

“Not at all,” Jeb said. “So long as I haven’t tired our girl here out too much? What d’ya say, Los Angeles?”

Hudson looked more dressed up than she’d ever seen him in a crisp button-down and black jeans—a stark change from his usual muddy faded pants. Even his boots were cleaned.

Tali’s pulse quickened a bit. He was just a man who loved her niece a lot. Who babysat for her. Who once made her so angry she’d fantasized about beating him in the head with a skillet. And yet she felt her face growing hot at the thought of touching him and being touched by him. She hoped the redness in her cheeks was coming across as the results of Jeb’s boisterous dance moves and not the unexpected, unwanted jolt of lust that shot through her.

“Um, sure,” she said a little awkwardly, not sure how she could politely say no. Or that she even wanted to. She glanced at his hands. They were big and looked callused, but she knew, somehow, that they would be gentle. She swallowed hard. It sounded like it was gearing up to be a slow song. “Thank you, Jeb, for the dance of a lifetime. Round two later?”

“You got it,” he said, bowing to her and walking off.

“Hey,” she said, face hot as she took in the sight of Hudson standing before her, waiting to dance. He really was gorgeous, green eyes reflecting the twinkling lights of the barn. They really brought out the flecks of gold in them.

“You clean up nice,” she offered, trying to sound light and friendly. Tali allowed him to take her hand in his and slip the other around her waist. With a slight application of pressure, he tugged her closer, and she didn’t resist. She brought her other hand up to hold his shoulder, feeling taut muscle beneath her palm. She bit her lip.

“You too,” he said, glancing down at her.

There was something stiff about his mannerisms, and she suddenly felt much too aware of how much of her skin was exposed and how hot it felt. This was the first time she’d worn a dress since the wake. It was one Mabel had found for her in her daughter’s old boxes of stuff, a cute lilac one that hugged her figure up top and fanned out nicely at the waist, light and flowy as she’d twirled around the dance floor. She knew also his height was giving him a generous view of her cleavage, and wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

For a spell he was quiet, and they just danced. Tali tried not to think about the subtle scent of his cologne, or the way his hand felt around her waist, how big it was, how strong it seemed.

She had a man in her life who she truly adored, who she’d just spent her entire Thanksgiving with, whose company she’d enjoyed so much she had barely thought about Mabel or Hudson or anyone else.

So it really made no sense for her stupid, traitorous brain to wonder what it might feel like if Hudson were to bring his stubbled chin down to rest against her bare neck and say something deep and rumbly into her ear, whether it would make the hairs on her neck stand up, whether he’d enjoy the way she smelled as much as she enjoyed the piney, masculine scent of him. Yet her thoughts were getting away from her, and she pondered what it might be like to rest her cheek against his solid, muscular chest and feel the thrum of his heart against her ear.

This would not do. She had to make this...feel more casual. Fast.

“So, um, how—how did hunting go the other day?” she asked, trying to sound chipper instead of weirdly breathless.

“Fine,” he grunted. “Got a few.”

Tali looked up at him, confused at his caginess. There was definitely something off about him tonight, something in his eyes she couldn’t read.

“Enough to share?” she said, trying to sound friendly, teasing. “Because I thought someone promised me fresh duck if he got lucky. ‘A few’ sounds pretty lucky to me—”

“I need to talk to you about something,” he said suddenly, sharply.

“Oh,” she said, surprised.

Okay.

That made more sense probably, than him actually just going out of his way to try to dance with her. He didn’t necessarily seem like the dancing kind. At least she hadn’t noticed him out on the dance floor all night, although he’d been here almost as long as she had.

“Is it about Ella? Is she okay?”

“No. It’s. Well. Indirectly, maybe,” he said, still extremely stiff, his mannerisms too tight, too controlled. It wasn’t in line with his usual easy manner, and it was off-putting.

“Okay,” she murmured as he spun them about. His footwork was good, even if he was a little too rigid in his movements. She wondered if this was how he always danced, or if it was his strange mood. She shifted nervously. “You have my attention. Shoot.”

He didn’t. Not right away. He just frowned down at her, opened his mouth, shut it again, shaking his head. She felt herself start to stiffen too.

“Look, Tali, the thing is… I’m not…I’m not someone who goes around seeking out, uh, gossip, but it can be hard to block it out sometimes in a town this size. Anyway, I may have heard some things I didn’t want to believe it but, um…guess it turns out they’re true and uh,” he stammered, and his face was definitely red. She was sure hers was too as she stared up at him, mouth slightly agape as she waited to find out where exactly he was going with his.

“How about you come right out with it?” she said stiffly, heart pounding. “You’re starting to freak me out.”

“Fine,” he said, swallowing. “Yesterday, I was on my way down to Mabel’s and I— Well, I thought I might stop by your place for a minute, just to make sure you were really set on not going and, well, I saw his truck parked there. Can’t exactly mistake it. Cole Blackburn’s.” The way he said Cole’s name surprised her. It carried the unmistakable tone of disgust. “And I know it’s none of my business, Tali, but I—”

Her eyes widened.

“Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there, Hudson,” she said, pushing against his shoulder to put some distance between them. “Because you just said it. It’s absolutely none of your business.”

She was upset. God, there were tears of anger pricking her eyes already. Her stomach, which just a minute before had felt fine, if oddly jittery, now felt like it was full of lead. She felt sick.

“Well, the thing is, to a certain degree it kind of is. Because Tali, the man is…he’s no good. He’s no one a girl like you—”

“I can’t fucking believe you,” she said, voice small, hurt. That wouldn’t do. It did hurt to have him come at her about her personal life once again, but more than that, it was infuriating. Despicable. She charged on, louder, angrier. “You know, Hudson, I was just starting to feel like maybe you weren’t so bad, like we might even be capable of being friends or something, but I was obviously so fucking off the mark. I should have stuck to my damn gut. You are the most judgmental person I have ever had the misfortune to meet, and I—”

“I’m not being judgmental,” he hissed, the hand at the small of her back pulling her closer. “Really, Tali.” His expression shifted, pleading. “I’m concerned. Listen, there’s things about him you…you don’t not know. Because I’m sure the bastard hasn’t told you, and...and you’re sweet and it’s not in you to suspect. You must not know, because if you did, you wouldn’t go anywhere near him. Listen, Tali, the man is dangerous.”

Tali was so thrown that a burst of laughter exploded from her lips.

Yeah, right. Cole, who had the softest puppy dog eyes she’d ever seen? Who brought her new spices every time he came back from a job, who would read to her until she fell asleep if she asked him to?

“That’s ridiculous,” she said, shaking her head. “This entire conversation is just one ridiculous waking nightmare. You obviously don’t know him at all, Hudson.” She tried to pull her hand out of his.

“I don’t know him?” he asked, laughing bitterly. “Tali, the man’s lived in this town for ten years. You’ve been here two months. So maybe you might want to consider listening when I tell you that he’s not to be trusted. He’s not safe to be around, Tali, and if you knew the truth about him, you’d realize it’s completely irresponsible to bring a man like that around your niece—”

“Excuse me?” Tali asked, stunned. “For your information, he’s never come anywhere near the house until yesterday, when Ella was at the Callaways’ on the other side of town! They’ve never been in the same room as each other! Again, not that it’s any of your business!”

She was yelling, and she saw him give a nervous glance around at the people who were obviously noticing.

“You might want to keep you voice down a—”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said, louder than before. “Am I embarrassing you? Did you think doing this here would make me less likely to blow up at you? All that talk about me being good for her, making a difference for her? Obviously that was one big steaming pile of bullshit,” she spat, wounded. “In your eyes, I’ll always be some totally unfit, selfish screwup who makes crappy decisions, spends her time sleeping around instead of—”

“Jesus, Tali, that’s not what this is about!” he cried, still gripping her tight. Which wasn’t necessary, because she was too furious to want to walk away from this anymore anyway. She could see several couples around them giving them looks, but she ignored them. “I think you’re doing an amazing job with Ella, I really, honestly, do. And I can see you love her as much as I do, which is why I’m trying to tell you—”

“Matt liked him,” she said sharply, eyes narrowed.

“I…what?”

“My brother. He liked Cole. I know he did. He gave him a job. They were friends! I know they were. He’s told me things about Matty. Things he couldn’t know unless he knew him.” She inclined her chin up at him in challenge. Cole had told her how he spent a whole summer helping Matt on the boat. How Matt helped Cole build his cabin. He’d even shown her the place where her brother had sneakily carved “Matty T was here” on one of the rafters. He said that they played pool together at the Foxhole sometimes. He’d told her so, and she believed him.

“I…that’s…”

“Do you deny it?” she demanded.

“Well, no,” he said, and she shook her head in disgust, fury twisting in her gut.

“Then I fail to see how my personal relationship with a man who has never been under the same roof as Ella should be any concern of yours.”

She was fuming. She wanted to slap him, to claw at his face...

“That’s… look, Tali,” Hudson said, frustrated, teeth gritted. “The thing about Matty is...you know how much I loved him, but he was far too forgiving a person. Far too trusting, and—”

“Oh yeah? He was too trusting, was he?” Tali challenged. “Do you mean like how he trusted you to have his back out there on the water, and he ended up dead?”

She spat it out with venom, and the moment the last word spilled out of her lips, she knew she’d gone too far. He looked as though she had plunged a dagger into his belly and twisted. The pure anguish in his sea-green eyes floored her.

“Hudson, I—” she started, but he shook his head.

“Forget it,” he said abruptly, dropping her hand like it was on fire. “You know what, Tali? Don’t take my word for it. It’s goddamn public knowledge. You can ask anyone,” he said in a low voice, hurt and anger etched deep into his handsome features. “I suggest you do.”

With that, he turned around and stalked off the dance floor, leaving her in the middle of it among staring couples. They’d made quite a scene, but Tali was only vaguely aware of the looks she was getting as she stumbled her way past them in the opposite direction, just managing to hold in her tears until she reached the chill, biting air of the parking lot.