Page 62 of Panty Dropper

I’d watched him, Hank, Jimmy, and Cheyenne sing karaoke, and hung around during the Shuffleboard Showdown, which was another one of the late Mr. Comfort’s requests. Originally there were only going to be three teams, but the brothers insisted on Cheyenne joining in.

So there ended up being four teams, each with a Comfort on them, competing for the title of Shuffle Board King, which James Sr. had proudly held for a quarter of a decade.

Ultimately, it came down to Cheyenne and Cash against Billy and Ray. I still wasn’t convinced that Cash hadn’t thrown the game thanks to the not-so-friendly looks that Billy had been shooting his way.

While Jimmy was crowning Billy and Ray, I slipped out. It had been a long day and I hadn’t wanted to field anymore questions about what was going on between Billy and I. Apparently, it had created quite a splash when we’d made our Dylan and Brenda 90210 exit. I’d assured all inquiring parties, including Mrs. B and her best friend Miss Shaw, that Billy and I were just friends. I wasn’t sure anyone was convinced by my assurances, most of all me.

Butterflies flitted in my stomach as I opened the door. “You’re earl—” My word dropped off before I could get out the last syllable. A Comfort stood in front of me, but not the one I’d been expecting. “Cheyenne! Hi!”

“Hi, I hope you don’t mind me just stopping by.” She lifted a pink box and paper tray containing two beverages. “I brought donuts and coffee.”

“You’re always welcome! Come on in!” I held the door open for her.

“Expecting company?” she commented as we both settled at the small table/desk that sat in the corner of the room. I perched on the edge of the bed and she lowered down on the sole chair in the room.

“Um, no, why?” I lied. I had no idea why I did that. Cheyenne was a friend and I didn’t normally make it a habit of lying to my friends.

Cheyenne eyed me suspiciously, and I broke. “Well, Billy mentioned taking me out to look for places to live.”

“Ooooh, that sounds fun.” She opened the lid revealing an assortment of delicious looking pastries.

“As friends,” I rushed to clarify. “We’re just friends.”

“Well, I won’t stay long. I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for coming to Southern Comfort last night, I know that you didn’t want to.”

“No, it wasn’t like that—”

She held up her hand. “Save it. I saw the look in your eyes when I asked if you were going. You went for me and I really appreciate it and I’m sorry that I really didn’t get a chance to talk to you.”

“You seemed pretty busy.” I was dying to add, with Cash. But since she hadn’t batted an eye when I’d insisted Billy and I were just friends, even though she’d seen me sneak out of his house, I figured I’d show her the same restraint. “There were a lot of people there.”

“Yeah.” Her lids lowered as her head dipped down in a coy manner. “Actually, I wanted to ask you about one of them.”

I was more than happy to discuss Cash with her, but I wasn’t sure how much help I’d be. I’d barely spoken to the man.

“He was at the funeral,” she continued, “and also showed up to the bar right before you and Billy left out the back.”

It took my brain a second to catch up to who she meant. “Mr. Abernathy?”

Her eyes narrowed and her head tilted. “I think that’s what I overheard someone call him. He was sharply dressed, with salt and pepper hair. Not real tall but he has an…an air about him.”

“Yep, that’s him. Jennings Abernathy.” I picked up a jelly donut and almost cried when I sank my teeth into it.

“Who is he?”

I finished off my bite, grabbed the paper-thin white napkin that came with the donuts and dabbed my mouth with it. “Why do you ask?”

“I recognize him.”

“You’ve seen him around town?”

“No, yesterday was the first time I’ve seen him since I’ve been back.”

“You remember him, from when you were younger?”

“No. I mean, yes…but not when I lived in Firefly.”

“You knew him in Connecticut?”

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