Page 105 of All Along The Watchtower

BREE

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into karaoke night again.” I crossed my arms, watching Monty set up the equipment.

“It’s because I brought home another shiny award for Dark Moon Rising. And it’ll be fine this time. Promise. We have our list of banned singers, and there’s a firm two-song limit.”

I gave him the side eye. The last karaoke night had devolved into an epic disaster involving three fistfights and someone trying to perform an entire Broadway musical. But Monty had earned his victory lap with that gold medal from Brewgaloo, North Carolina’s biggest craft beer festival. We were offering samples to everyone in celebration.

The bar was packed tonight, mostly with locals getting their fun in before the tourists descended for Memorial Day weekend. This was how I liked it best. These were my people. The ones who’d supported me and Pop through his recovery, who’d come out to help search when Peyton had disappeared, and who’d raised a toast in our honor when Ford and I had gone public with our relationship. I was feeling a little squishy in the heart region and so incredibly grateful for how things had turned out.

School would be out next week, and Peyton couldn’t wait. She currently sat with the Gray Beards in their corner booth,surveying the crowd and listening to their usual cutting up. Pop’s color was good, and his rehab had been progressing faster than the doctors had anticipated. They had no idea how stubborn Ed Cartwright could be. My Pop was gonna be around for a good long while. Thank God.

My gaze swung toward the door, and my heart lifted as I spotted Ford. I started to raise my hand in a wave and stopped as I saw who’d come in behind him.

Rios paused just in the entryway, his dark eyes scanning the room, cataloging the occupants and every tactical detail of the place. At least until his sisters saw him.

“Rios!” Caroline’s joyful shriek cut through the babble of voices. She scrambled up from the table where the McNamara clan was holding court, trailed by Gabi.

I grinned as I watched the pair of them converge on him, trapping him in excited hugs. I couldn’t actually hear them from this distance, but I suspected they were both peppering him with questions in rapid-fire Spanish. It took a while for him to run the gauntlet of hugs and greetings from family and friends. But eventually he made it to me.

I came out from behind the bar and pulled him in for my own hug. “Good to see you.”

“Great to see you, too.” He pulled back, dividing a look between me and Ford. “Glad you two got your heads out of your asses.”

Ford cheerfully flipped him a middle finger.

I shook my head in amusement. “We’ve heard that often enough, we’re considering putting it on a t-shirt and selling it at the bar.”

“It would be a best seller.”

At this point, I wondered if everybody had known how we’d felt about each other. It hardly mattered. We were together now, and we were happy. That was the only thing that was important.

“You want to try the new beer? Dark Moon Rising just won a gold at Brewgaloo.”

He glanced around, clearly taking in the sample glasses we usually used for taster flights. “Sure, I’ll have a sample.”

“Don’t be silly. As a welcome home, you get an entire glass on me.”

Rios laughed, and the sound was a little rusty. It didn’t quite make it all the way to his eyes. I wondered what he’d been up to, and what had precipitated this surprise visit home.

Back behind the bar, I took my time building Rios’s pint, letting the head develop properly. Behind me, voices drifted over from a nearby table.

“Did you hear about Madden Reilly?”

The name caught my attention. I hadn’t heard it in years.

“Miles and Gwen Busby’s cousin? The one who moved out to Washington?”

“California. She was some big deal prosecutor out there. Emphasis on was.”

“What happened?”

“Lost her job.”

“Over what?”

“Helped convict an innocent man. New evidence came to light, and the conviction was overturned. Guess the guy had connections ’cause next thing she knew she was out.”

“Ouch.”

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