Page 21 of Wine Whiskey & Lipstick

“Fortunately, our truck is also fine.” Dillyn turned toward it. “We’re just going to head home and try to decompress.”

Ben realized that Dillyn was stubborn. She was shaking and barefoot. He did what any reasonable man would do. He bent low and swept her up into his arms.

“Ohmygod!” Dillyn was in a whole panic. “What are you doing?”

Ben didn’t miss a step. “Taking you to your truck. You’re barefoot. The parking lot is littered with glass and debris. You’re clearly too foolhardy to accept my help. So, I’m not asking.”

Before Dillyn could argue, Ben was standing next to the driver’s side door. “Ladies.” He tipped his head to both Cat and Palmer. Cat smiled mischievously, then quickly opened the driver’s side door, and Ben deposited Dillyn into her seat. He made sure she was secured then closed the door before walking away as if he hadn’t done anything.

Quickly, her friends opened the truck doors and slid into their seats. The doors were barely closed before Palmer began to grill Dillyn. “Ms. Anderson, we don’t even have to ask who that was, do we? That was your cowboy, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t have a cowboy.” Dillyn pressed the ignition button, starting the truck. Slowly, she maneuvered around the parking lot. They moved at a snail’s pace. “Dammit! Can this night get any shittier? Selah has my phone.”

“Interesting.” Cat smirked. “Now you’ll have to drop by and pick it up, huh?”

Dillyn rolled her eyes. “You know how important my phone is to me. I don’t even know where they live.”

“It’s a small town. Someone does. Ben? What’s his last name again?” Palmer couldn’t remember.. She was going to google his ass.

“Selah said it but I don’t remember. There can’t be too many Bens and Selahs in Summer, right?” Cat asked conspiratorially.

Palmer laughed out loud. “Girl . . . we are in Hicksville, USA. Every third person is named Ben and maybe even Selah.”

Dillyn knew his last name but didn’t want them to look him up. So, she remained quiet. However, secretly, she was both excited and dreading the possibility of seeing Ben again.

Palmer started laughing sarcastically once they could pull out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Seconds later so did Cat.

“You two must still be drunk because I don’t see anything funny about this situation!” Dillyn’s heart was still racing.

“It’s not funny. We all know that some people died in there tonight,” Cat said. “There’s nothing funny about this shit. It’s just ironic. I’ve lived all over the world. Spent a lot of my youth in the hardest parts of Chicago, and this is the first time I’ve ever been in a place that exploded. The buildingexplodedin the backwoods of Tennessee. You’ve got to admit this is freaking crazy.”

Palmer agreed. “I know we hauled ass up outta there. I haven’t seen any of us move like that in years. I know I haven’t.”

Dillyn looked at her friends as if they’d lost their minds. She listened to them talk and talk until, finally, almost twenty minutes into their drive, they quieted. Dillyn glanced over and found them knocked out cold, sound asleep. She shook her head slightly and thanked God they were okay. Dillyn didn’t know what she would do if anything were to ever happen to either of them. She pulled onto the road leading to their property, feeling a profound sense of relief.

If I were going to die, at least I would have been with my sisters. They are crazy, but I love them.

Chapter 10

Selah stood just outside the horse’s stall, watching her eldest brother brush down one of the most incredible horses she’d ever seen. She was a beauty—a Turkmenistan.Most horses were different shades of black, brown, gray, and even white. Not Whisper. She was otherworldly. It wasn’t so impossible to believe that she was magical. Her body was slender and had an incredible metallic golden sheen to her coat.

Ben and Whisper had a special bond. Their spirits were both unsettled, but they seemed to calm one another.

Selah didn’t want to intrude but hadn’t gotten up at the butt crack of dawn for nothing. She needed to talk to Ben, and the best time was just after the sun came up. He was surly on a good day but a little less so in the mornings. After going back and forth in her mind, even after everything that happened at Frank’s the night before, Selah decided now was the time to have a much-needed conversation. She sucked in a breath.Here goes nothing.

Ben typically rose just before the sun every morning to tend to Whisper. It had become his new normal. There were ranch hands who could manage her but taking care of his horse gave Ben a sense of peace. It was akin to therapy. Today was especially difficult. After their experience at Frank’s, he was triggered and needed solitude.

Selah startled when he spoke before she could get her words together.

“How long are you going to stand there?” His tone was gruff. “I’m almost done brushing Whisper down, and we want to go for a ride.”

Selah straightened her spine and walked further into the stall. “Y-y-you knew I was here?”

Ben didn’t bother to answer. Of course he knew. He sensed her just like he could sense something had been on her mind these past few days, even before the craziness of the night before. Ben figured he’d give her some time to work it out before approaching her with his concerns.

He looked over his shoulder and his gaze locked onto hers.

Selah had had this conversation before with the rest of her family, and the results were always the same. A big fat no. After last night, she wasn’t sure if this was a suitable time but felt compelled to at least try. Maybe a different tactic from all of her other attempts might just do the trick. If she could convince Ben, then everyone else would fall in line. They all listened to him. He’d become the de facto leader of the Cash family ever since the untimely death of their parents. “Sooo. . . last night was crazy, huh?”

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