Page 40 of The Best Man Wins

“Buddy! Check it out!”

Okay. No way I’m getting out of this. I begrudgingly turn my eyes upward.

Ray stands by the mirrors, flanked by his yes men. He lifts his hands and motions to the black corral cowboy hat on his head. “What do you think? Can you see me walking down the aisle in this or what?”

“That’s cute,” I say, monotone.

“So you like the hat?”

“No. That’s cute that you think you’re going to be walking down the aisle.”

Ray’s smile fades. I turn my attention back to my phone. I hear him shoo away his posse (“Give me a moment, yeah? Think they’ve got some ties in the back—”). Still, I don’t budge until Ray is up in my face and his big, clunky hand clasps my shoulder.

“Hey, let’s talk.” It’s not a request. I’m petty, but even I know when it’s time to face the music, so I tuck my phone away in my back pocket.

“All right.”

Ray presses his lips together and lets out a sigh like a deflating balloon. “Listen here…I know you don’t approve of me and your sister getting hitched. I don’t know what it is about me…maybe you think I’m some stupid country hick.”

“Well, the first step to fixing a problem is admitting it.”

“But let me tell you—” Ray smiles, but there are daggers in his teeth. “—if there’s one thing us country boys do well, it’s protect our own. Cora’s my family now. If you try to come between us, I don’t care who you are. I’ll knock your pearly teeth out.”

The hair on the back of my neck rises. Before I realize it, my hands are tight fists. “Why wait?” I challenge him.

Ray just grins. He pats my shoulder, and I wince. “Heck, boy, you are wound up. Have a drink. Relax.”

He makes to leave, but I shoot back, “I don’t think you’re stupid. Or too country, whatever that means. I think you’re Cora’s flavor of the week and, this time next year, she won’t remember your name.”

Ray frowns at that, but it’s a sympathetic frown. The kind of scowl a doctor gives before he delivers terminal news. “That’s where you’re wrong. I love the hell out of that lady. And she loves me.” His eyes flicker over me. “Let’s get along, Braxo. Don’t make her choose between us.” As he walks away, over his shoulder, he adds, “You aren’t gonna like the choice she makes.”

My fists don’t relax. They can’t. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I feel a cold sweat on the back of my neck. I rake my fingers through my hair and try to shake out the flight-or-fight instincts. In my mouth, I taste metal.

This isn’t over.

I’m only half paying attention for the rest of our time in the shop. Eventually, everyone picks out a suit that fits his style and looks at least mildly uniform. When it comes to payment, I put down my card. As we walk outside toward the truck, the groom and his groomsmen are discussing among themselves what to do next. I hang back a pace.

“We’ll hit up the Orchard,” his friend says. “I’ll buy. Whiskey all around.”

“Aw, heck, bad idea,” Ray chuckles. “Y’all know whiskey is my weakness. Once you start, you can’t stop. Isn’t that right, Braxo?” He nudges me playfully. Apparently, he thinks we’re friends again.

I draw my lips in a patient smile. “Sure.”

The boys all pile into Ray’s truck. I’m crammed into the back with two other guys. I zone out as they talk loudly, laugh even louder the whole way to the bar. If they’re this loud sober, I can’t imagine the noise level as soon as they get some liquor in them.

Ray pulls his car into a gravel lot, and the tires crunch. The boys hop out. I glance around—everyone is distracted, patting each other on the back as they compare the single bridesmaids.

Discreetly, I reach into my pocket. There, I find Ray’s wedding band. The one he plans to give to my sister on their wedding day.

I roll the window down and pluck the ring out of the box. With a flick of my wrist, I toss the ring through the window and into the bushes that line the side of the road. The expanse of green flora swallows the tiny thing whole.

“Braxo! You coming or what?”

“Be right there.” I shut the door hard behind me and follow the boys inside.

Yeah. Try to marry my sister without that.

Good luck, Ray-O.

---