Page 157 of In Spades

“I’m sorry, babe,” Bridget said, reaching to give Maddie’s hand a squeeze. Bridget’s shirt sleeve pushed up as her arm stretched across the bar. Green and yellow bruises mottled her wrist.

Kristin and Maddie noticed the bruises at the same time I did, but Bridget quickly let go and pulled her sleeve back down.

“Bee, what the hell?” Maddie said, regaining some of her kick-assery.

Bridget didn’t even bother lying. “I gotta unpack the truck delivery that came in this morning. Holler if you need something.”

My time with Kristin didn’t last long. I needed to check in with the staff at Allegiant to make sure things at the inn were running smoothly. I also wanted to call Steve or Chase to make sure Rich wasn’t being released on the promise to appear in court. That snake deserved to sit in jail for as long as possible.

I took Kristin back to her car at the inn, then followed her back to Havelock to make sure she made it home safe. We lingered outside her house for a few minutes. I hoped she would ask me to stay until it was time for poker night. That was, if she decided to go.

That hope was dashed when Kristin said the kids would be home from school soon, and that she would meet me at Maddie and Luca’s tonight.

One step forward, two steps back.

So, instead, I found a spot at a coffee shop in Havelock to knock out a little remote work. Kristin could be as stubborn as she wanted to be about me hanging out at her house with the kids. But after the day she had, I sure as hell wasn’t letting her drive back to Beaufort by herself in the dark.

I decided to drop into a grocery store on my way back to her house. Since she didn’t exactly know I was going to insist on driving her to poker, I thought it best not to show up empty-handed.

I had three bouquets in one arm. The boys probably wouldn’t have been too crazy about flowers, so I picked up a six-pack of glass bottle cream soda—Logan’s favorite—and a six-pack of Cheerwine for Hunter.

When I pulled up to Kristin’s single wide, I felt as nervous as I had the first time I visited. Our relationship was in a precarious position. On the one hand, I thought maybe she was ready to dive back in—to give the relationship her all. On the other hand, I worried that she might cut her losses and tell me to beat it.

I tucked my humble offerings under my arm and made my way up the little dirt path to the three front steps. I stood on the lowest one and raised my fist to knock on the door. Before I made contact, it swung open from the inside.

Logan towered over me with his arms crossed and his shoulders filling the frame.

“Hey, Lo,” I said with a half-cocked grin. “How’s it going?”

“What do you want?” he snapped.

Okay, I should have expected that. Part of me knew that as hard as it was to win over Kristin, winning over Logan was going to be a greater challenge. I would be moving mountains to get back in Kristin’s good graces. It would take an act of God to change Logan’s perception of me.

“I’m here to pick up Kristin for poker,” I said as if it was a predetermined arrangement.

“Lo, who’s at the door?” Kristin called from inside the house. A second later, she appeared behind him, peering around his arm. “Oh…”

“Hey, sweetheart,” I smiled. “You look beautiful.”

And she did. Dark jeans were painted on her skin. She was in a cream-colored sweater with threads of gold woven throughout it and a pair of brown boots that came up to her knees. Her dark brown hair was piled on top of her head with a few loose tendrils hanging down, framing her perfect face.

“I, um… I thought I was going to meet you at Maddie’s,” she said, sounding annoyed that I’d thrown a wrench in her plan.

Well, buckle up, Sunshine. I’ve got a whole damn toolbox to toss at you.

“You had a long day. I wanted to make sure you got there and back safely.” I looked at Logan. “And I wanted to pop in and say hi to everybody. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, ‘cause we didn’t wanna see you,” Logan sneered. “Or hear from you. Ever again. So, why don’t you just go fu?—”

“Logan.” Kristin put her hand on his arm. “Give me a minute. Okay?”

Logan didn’t move away from the door. He maintained the high ground, giving me a death stare. Finally, with another nudge from Kristin, he backed away.

Kristin slipped through the door, closing it behind her. With her at the top of the stairs, we stood eye to eye. “Will, I?—”

“I know, I know,” I said, interrupting her. “You told me to meet you there. But I’m sorry. That’s not good enough for me.”

Her jaw clenched. “You don’t get to decide what my boundaries are.”

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