Page 3 of Home Tears

Mae was still talking. “—She’s going to light into you. You better have a good excuse ready, though I don’t think it’ll work.”

Yeah. A good excuse. Dani cleared her throat. “I didn’t know about Erica’s death when it happened. I couldn’t come for the funeral. I’ll tell Julia that when I see her.”

“That’s not going to fly. She’s going to say you didn’t tell anyone where you were, and it’ll be your fault. They’ll turn everything on you. You know that.” Mae had a keen eye on her. “Well, I’m guessing this isn’t the first you heard about your sister’s death. You’d be shaken and you’re not. How did you find out?”

That was a whole other conversation as well. “Just heard around, you know. What’s done is done.”

“That why you’re here?” Aunt Mae continued to study her niece.

“Just time to come back.” Dani motioned toward the liquor bottles. She was suddenly parched. “I’ll have a rum and diet.”

“Ah hell, don’t go breaking your aunt’s heart. You’ll have a beer on tap, not some diet soda crap.”

Dani grinned. “I’ll take one of those then. Whatever you have on tap and need to get rid of.”

Mae slid the drink across the bar. “That’s my girl.” A pause and a tap on the counter with her fingers. “So, you going out to see that sister of yours after this?”

“I was wondering about a place to stay. I wouldn’t feel right about imposing on Julia and Aunt Kathryn.”

Dani was lying, and Aunt Mae knew it. She wouldn’t step foot in that home if it were the last habitable place in the world.

Mae nodded, approving. “You’ve grown some teeth. I can see it. You look good, too.”

Dani flushed.

She was fit and trim. Clear skin. Doe eyes, or that was how they’d been described to her by a boyfriend once and eyelashes that models would’ve killed for. Dani knew she looked good, but she also knew it’d cause problems. It was another reason to steer clear from her last remaining sister, but that was a problem for a different day. “How about a place to crash for a while?”

“There’s my place. You’re always welcome there, but if you’re looking for some privacy, the cabin’s open, too.”

A three-bedroom, log cabin on a corner of Loon Lake and protected by miles of woods on both sides. It was out in the middle of nowhere, and that sounded perfect. It was exactly what Dani needed.

“Sounds good. Thank you so much.” She sipped the rest of her drink.

“Do me a favor.” Mae rested a hand on the counter, pointing to where Dani was sitting. “I remember how you used to be, always ready to go off on your own, but stay a while. You only got fighting to look forward to right now.”

Put that way…Dani stayed sitting.

A settled atmosphere ascended the bar for a moment, but the front door opened up. Sunlight lit up a path inside, hitting right onto Dani’s back, and the peaceful feeling was suddenly gone. She tensed, and then the door slammed shut. The room was cast into darkness for a moment.

“Hey, Mae.”

The voice was smooth and silky, and Dani recognized it immediately.

Jonah Bannon.

He was the badass in high school, always ditching class and fighting when he was there. She didn’t know much about him because they ran in different circles. She did know that even back then, he’d been gorgeous. He was literally a lean mean machine, and glancing from the corner of her eye, Dani saw that hadn’t changed. There was a bit more recklessness built into the twitch of his jaw. His hands were tan and strong. Firm. A bit rough from working, but a person could tell the fitness underneath those clothes.

Jonah’s infamous body couldn’t be hidden.

The only other difference she could see was that his ruffled curls were shaven for a clean-cut, buzzed look. They had been rich and thick before.

The new haircut agreed with him.

“Can I get a beer?” Putting some money onto the counter, he hopped on a stool three down from Dani. “And who owns that Mustang in your parking lot?”

Aunt Mae reached for a bottle. She glanced to Dani underneath her eyelids as she set it before him, then waited a minute before commenting, “No can do, Jonah. My loyalties lie elsewhere on that topic.”

He had reached for the bottle, but held it suspended in the air now. “You kidding?”

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