Page 328 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

“But you’re telling Lee, right?” she asked, guiding him over to the side of the building next to them. “There won’t be a better time to talk to him than tonight.”

He rubbed between his brows, as if in physical pain, then said, “As much as I don’t want to be in the middle of this, I think I have to do something. Georgie and Addy love him.”

She heard what he didn’t say. Jack might not love him, not yet, but the little boy he’d been still wanted a brother, even after what had happened today. She’d intended to destroy Lee for the way he’d treated Jack earlier, and while she was going to give him a temporary pass—it wasn’t every day you found out your girlfriend was cheating on you with your father, who, oh, by the way, was running some kind of scam that could get you arrested—his get-out-of-jail-free card would expire right quick if he crushed that tender part of Jack’s soul again.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

And he actually laughed a little, deep in his throat. “Is there any being ready for this, Red?” He lifted a hand and stroked one of her curls, sending a jolt from her scalp down to her core.

“Stay focused. You’re distracting me.” But as she said so, she pulled him closer, hand on his firm butt, and kissed him.

He didn’t pull away, and it felt good, impossibly good, to be out in public with him without worrying who would see.

“That’s the kind of distraction I could use,” he said when she stepped back. But she headed in the direction of the bachelor party instead of seeking out somewhere they could get horizontal, and he didn’t object. He fell in beside her and took her hand, sending a thrill through her. Other than him, when had a man last held her hand? When had she wanted one to?

As they approached Libations, they exchanged a look, Jack getting that closed-down expression he seemed to roll out whenever he didn’t know how to process something, that look she’d originally misread as aloof, and she laughed and opened the door. She hadn’t let go of his hand. The bouncer, Ed, was someone she’d known since elementary school, and he grinned as they came inside. With the way the building was designed, a bottleneck with the entrance as the neck, they couldn’t see past him.

“We’ve been expecting you,” Ed said. “I hear you’re one of the ones who orchestrated this disaster. Fred says you better show up in the morning in a hazmat suit to clean up.”

“That bad, huh?”

“I’m less worried about what’s happened than what’s about to happen. Which one of you knuckleheads thought it made sense to make Lurch the designated driver?”

She exchanged a glance with Jack.

“I guess Dottie can’t get it right all the time,” he said quietly, with a smirk.

Something crashed in the back, and Ed winced. “Better get that hazmat suit ready. One of those guys looks like he’s ready to yack.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, and led Jack into the adjoining room. Shewouldhelp if they needed it, but she was reasonably sure he was messing with her. Just before they reached the main part of the tasting room, she glanced at Jack. “What do you think we’ll find back there?”

His lips lifted slightly. “Maybe Lurch made up with the donkey guy, and they decided to recreate the petting zoo.”

“Or Stella came and she decided to do a live-drawing class. In the nude.”

He cringed.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out who’s right,” she said brightly.

They turned the corner, and Maisie burst out laughing. The place was somewhat crowded, but a bubble of space had been left around their group. Lurch’s face had been marked up to look like a goat, and while the rest of their crew had tasting glasses, he had four different beers arrayed in front of him and was halfway through three of them. The group was gathered around the table next to the dart board, which had been plastered over with a taped-up picture of Stella hugging a goat. Darts wereembedded in the wall on all sides of it, but none had made it onto the picture. Josie, who was for some reason in a fairy costume, stood next to Lurch, soothing him by the looks of it, and River sat a couple of seats down, surrounded by familiar faces from Buchanan Brewery and Big Catch. He looked like he was having a good time, at least.

“I should have bet money on it,” she said. “Live art show. Although something clearly happened between Lurch and Stella.” She shrugged. “It’s surprising it lasted this long. Where’s Finn?”

It was then she realized Jack wasn’t looking at the sideshow at all. His gaze was on Finn and Lee. Lee was…was hedancing? A Beach Boys song was playing over the speakers, but no one else was swaying to the music, only a very, very drunk blond man who looked surprisingly different from the stick-up-his-butt stiff she’d seen on that Thanksgiving video call. Finn stood next to him, bobbing to the music a little, a slightly nervous look on his face.

She should check in with River first. It was his bachelor party, and she was supposed to be his best man. Co-best man. But he had a big grin on his face—a real grin, not one of his fake smiles—and the days of codependency were over. She and River both had new commitments. New people in their lives.

So she squeezed Jack’s hand and led him through the crowd, releasing him when they reached the swaying pair.

When he saw her, Finn’s eyes lit up like he was a kid who’d just found his mother in a crowded shopping mall. “You’re here!”

She leaned in and hissed in his ear, “I said get him drunk or get him out. I didn’t say get him so sloppy he’s going to puke.”

He shrugged helplessly. “He wouldn’t stop. Like I said, something’s going on with him.”

Jack had come to a stop beside her. He was looking at Lee with a helpless expression that she understood all too well. They’d come here to talk to a sober person. What were they supposed to do now?

“It’s you,” Lee said, coming to a stop. He put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “My brother from a different mother.” He paused. “Did you know the model for that awful painting at my sister’s house is here? He’s the designated driver, but he’s been pounding beer for longer than I have.” He started laughing, and the waft of alcohol from him made Maisie cringe. His mood turned more serious as he stared at Jack. He was looking at his face like he was searching for some resemblance between them. Their coloring was different, but it was there, undeniable as their identical noses. “Finn’s right. I shouldn’t have said that to you earlier. I don’t know you, but you don’t know me either. That conversation you overheard was personal.”

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