Page 16 of Butterfly Sisters
The toast popped as Leigh finished fixing her coffee and took it to the table, eyeing Meredith while her sister reluctantly spread the jam and then made herself a cup of coffee.
“So, why did you have to get up?” Leigh asked.
Meredith pinched a piece of the toast by the corner and took a bite, walking over to the kitchen chair and sitting down with her mug of coffee. “Colton and I are going fishing.”
“You and Colton?” It wasn’t that her sister was going fishing with Colton. But the fact that he’d made plans with Meredith, when he hadn’t seemed to care one bit about seeing Leigh, caused disappointment to fall upon her like a summer rainstorm.
“Yeah,” she said, the words coming out mumbled through the toast held between her teeth to free her hands to stir her coffee. She set the toast on the bare table, the mug in her hand. “What?”
“Nothing.” She was already irritated by Meredith’s tone. “You don’t even know Colton anymore,” she spat before wanting to suck the words back in, but they were out there now.
Meredith zoned in on her with those dagger eyes of hers, their deep blue like lasers. “What do you mean, I don’t know him?”
“It’s been eight years since we’ve spoken to him, Meredith.”
Her sister leaned on the table and folded her arms. “Maybe sinceyou’vespoken to him. I text him every now and again and call him on his birthday every year.”
Leigh’s jaw fell slack. He’d never called her back in college… Fire raged in her veins at the idea that Meredith, who couldn’t give a hoot about anything, had stayed in touch with the one person from Leigh’s childhood that she’d cared about most.
“What’s that face?” Meredith said, leaning into Leigh’s view. “What, are youjealous? Come on, Leigh. Grow up.”
Leigh set her coffee mug down with a clunk. “I’m not jealous.” Jealous wasn’t the right word at all. But she didn’t have the right one, so she just sat there, stewing.
“If Colton and I had anything going on, don’t you think it would’ve already happened? I’m going fishing with my good friend, who I’ve known for years. Yet somehow, in this house, I get flack for even that.” She blew air through her lips and took a bite of her toast.
“What about Mama’s news? Don’t you think you should stay to hear it?” Leigh asked, switching gears to get the focus off of Colton.
“I won’t be gonethatlong. It’s just fishing.” She popped the last bite of her toast into her mouth, putting her bare foot on the chair and pulling her knee to her chest. “He should be here in a sec to pick me up. We won’t be gone more than a few hours.”
“Colton will be here in a minute?” Leigh asked in alarm. “Don’t you need to put some clothes on?”
Meredith rolled her eyes and got up, flouncing out of the room with her mug, the second slice of toast untouched and still on the counter. She returned wearing a pair of cut-off Levi’s, dragging her curls into a ponytail on top of her head. Her hair barely brushed and with no makeup on, she was still stunning, giving Leigh a little punch to her self-confidence. Leigh took off her glasses and folded them, placing them on the table, and ran her fingers through her hair.
Meredith slid on her old boots and snagged the second piece of toast from the counter, the red Ford pulling up in the driveway. “See ya,” she said, opening the door and loping out.
With a sigh, Leigh turned away. But the sound of Elvis’s barking pulled her attention back to the door, and she stifled a grin as she looked through the window. Meredith had the passenger door open, but Elvis was on her seat, yapping and growling at her while Colton attempted to quiet him down.
Colton got out of the truck, his dusty boots hitting the gravel. He marched over to Meredith’s side. Leigh cracked the door to hear what was going on.
“Let her in, Elvis,” Colton said, reaching into the truck to pet him. Elvis dodged his hand, still barking.
Every time she tried to climb in, the dog barked louder. “He doesn’t like me.”
“Elvis, let her in or you’re sleepin’ on the sofa tonight.”
That got Elvis’s attention for a second, until Meredith started to get into the truck and the dog went ballistic again. Leigh laughed from inside, and both Colton and Elvis turned to look at the door. She darted behind it, closing it slowly. Sharpening her hearing, she listened to try to figure out what was happening now and, to her relief, she heard the truck door finally shut and Elvis was quiet. Leigh pulled herself away, staying clear of the windows until they were gone. She grabbed her mug of coffee and took a long, warm drink of it, savoring the nutty flavor to get her mind off the earlier conversation with Meredith.
A knock sent her jumping out of her skin and coughing up the sip. Leigh set the mug down, still coughing, and opened the door to find Colton standing there with Elvis by his side. Meredith was in the truck.
“Hey,” he said, an unreadable look on his face.
“Hi,” she returned, clearing her throat before another cough surfaced.
“I hate to ask this, but your sister suggested it. Can Elvis stay with you? He won’t be in the same vehicle with her.”
Leigh looked down at the hound, the dog’s deep-set eyes on her, his ears up.
“I thought he’d be okay after meeting Meredith last night, but evidently he’s still spooked.”
