Page 9 of Sweet Escape at Bayside
“Already married,” Violet said as she washed her hands.
Dixie joined her by the sink and said, “When my brother got married, it made me realize howsingleI was. So if that’s what’s going on, I feel your pain.”
Violet dried her hands. “I like being single. I just have a thing for my mother showing up at the wedding with my ex as her date.”
Justin slammed the spray bottle on the table. “What the heck?”
“That’s horrible,” Dixie said. “If I were you, I’d have blood on my hands—from the dude.”
Violet began pacing again. “He didn’t know she was my mother, and she didn’t know we were once together. Nobody did.”
“Glad I’m not the only one who’s been left in the dark on that subject.” Justin glared at her as he wrapped plastic around the sculpture.
Violet snapped, “Nobody knows about you and me, either.”
“So you twoarehooking up?” Dixie asked.
“No,” Violet and Justin said in unison.
“Okay, just getting my facts straight. But now he knows she’s your mom and she knows he was your guy?” Dixie asked.
“He knows,” Violet clarified. “She doesn’t.”
“And he’s still with her?” Dixie folded her arms, her eyes narrowing as she said, “Then it’s time for blood, and I’ve got your back if you want to take care of him right here and now.”
Violet smiled. “You’re all right,cousinDixie.”
“Hey, we Whiskeys put family above everything else,” she said. “Justin is family, and from what he’s told me, you’re one of his closest friends. That makes you family, too. Our great-grandfather founded the Dark Knights motorcycle club in Peaceful Harbor, Maryland, and there are a lot more bikers who’ll come to your aid if you need it.”
“Whiskeys?” Violet asked.
She knew Justin and his brothers and cousins were members of the Cape Cod chapter of the Dark Knights and that his cousin had committed suicide when she was in college, prompting their first annual suicide-awareness rally, but she’d had no idea about his connection to the original founder.
“Whiskey is my last name. My aunt Reba is Justin’s mom,” she explained.
“You know my aunt Red and uncle Biggs,” Justin reminded her. “They come to the suicide-awareness rally.”
“Oh right, the big guy with the cane? She looks like Sharon Osbourne?” Violet said.
“Right. They’re Dixie’s parents. But that’s enough family history.” Justin wiped his hands on a rag and stepped closer to Violet. “Listen, you want me to take care of this? Show up at that wedding with you to prove you’re over him? Run the guy out of town?”
Violet shook her head, wishing it were that easy.
“You want himgone, right?” Dixie asked. “That’d probably do it. No dude wants to see his replacement.”
Justin’s eyes were locked on Violet and full of concern. She looked away, and he touched her hip, bringing her eyes back to his.
“You don’t want him gone, do you?” he asked.
She ground her teeth together, unable to answer.
“Oh…” Dixie said. “You’re not over him?”
“I don’t know what I am.” Violet stalked away. “I’m angry at Lizza for bringing him here, angry at him forexisting, and angry at myself for being so pathetic that I’m standing here so messed up in the head that I can’t even sculpt.”
“There’s only one way to figure this out.” Dixie headed for the door. “Come on. Justin has a house full of liquor, and I’ve got a nose for bull. There’s nothing a night of tequila can’t figure out.”
Violet looked at Justin and said, “I think I like your cousin.”
