My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You took him out to forget about another woman?”

  She nodded, her head swiveling in a circular pattern. “A girl has got to do what a…girl has got to do,” she said slowly, enunciating each word. Then she grinned, happy she got it right.

  “One more drink, but then you’re done.”

  “Aww, don’t be a party pooper! I need at least two more before I can get up there again,” she said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.

  “Haven’t you done enough already?”

  She shook her head quickly from side to side. “It’s Saturday night!”

  “I’m aware.”

  “Time for drinking and fun and dancing and drinking!”

  “You don’t say,” I deadpanned.

  Pouting her lips, it was nothing like the woman from earlier tonight. In fact, I’d almost go so far as to say she looked adorable doing it. Almost.

  “Tennessee, just two more?”

  I knew I was going to regret this. After all, she was already way too drunk to drive. She probably knew someone who would give her a lift. Hell, she knew everyone in this town.

  “One.”

  “Three,” she countered.

  “One.”

  “Three!”

  “One!”

  “One and a half,” she answered quickly

  “Two,” I said before realizing she wasn’t going to say three.

  “Ha! One and a half, it is!”

  But before I could even make her the drink, she danced away from the bar and met one of her friends on the dance floor, shaking her ass like she was in a nightclub instead of a bar in Western Montana.

  But I made her the damn drink anyway, keeping it behind the bar for when she came back minutes later.

  “Thanks, Tennessee!”

  I grunted, turning away to avoid any further conversation with her. But there was no one left waiting for a drink. It was getting late, and the bar would be shutting down soon.

  I hauled more glasses to the back and dropped them at the sink to be washed. Thankfully, that wasn’t part of my job tonight.

  By the time one o’clock rolled around, my feet were aching and I was ready to hit the hay and get some shut-eye. I hadn’t bartended in years, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled that I’d taken it on for the night.

  I did as Lizzy instructed me earlier, ringing the bell above the bar to signal last call. As I was taking the final orders of the night, I heard the most God-awful sound coming from the stage. Glancing over, I about shouted for whoever it was to shut the hell up, only to realize it was none other than my neighbor.

  But to make it worse, the date—Sawyer, I think his name was—joined her up on stage. It’s Your Love.

  I recognized the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill song instantly. Though I hardly thought it was appropriate for what appeared to be a first date.

  Still, they seemed to be having the best time ever up on stage, even if I did think they both needed to be shot for attempting to sing.

  Thankfully, it was the last song of the night, and whoever was managing the karaoke called out that it was time to head home. A round of groans filled the bar, and the sheriff was in the corner, directing traffic out the front door. Luckily, not everyone was wasted.

  Josie came stumbling over with a grin on her face. “Wanna make me one more?”

  “Not even a little.”

  “Pretty please with sugar on top and a cherry in the middle?” she slurred.

  “Does that actually work on anyone?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but her date came sidling up to her, slinging his arm around her neck. “Josie, wosie, will you take me home?”

  Sighing, she fumbled for her keys, which I immediately snatched out of her hand.

  “Hey!”

  “You’re not driving.”

  “Well, of course I’m not,” she giggled. “You have my keys!”

  “Sit your ass down. Both of you.”

  Pouring them water, I set a cup down in front of both of them. “Stay.”

  “Yes, sir,” Josie said, her face contorted somewhere between serious and laughing as she saluted me.

  My dick stirred behind my jeans, but I squashed the thought of her saluting me in the bedroom, reminding myself that if I fucked her, I’d have to find someplace else to stay, because there was no way in hell I’d look at that face every day and deal with her chipper attitude just because I had the bad sense to stick my dick in her.

  The bar cleared out quickly, aside from Josie and her date, who were practically passed out on the bar. I cleaned up, stacking the chairs on the tables before sweeping. The cook came out and said he would finish up, giving me the all clear to leave.

  But when I saw my neighbor snoring on the bar, I knew my work for the night was far from done.

  “Hey, let’s go,” I said, poking her in the arm.

  She barely stirred.

  “Josie, it’s time to go.”

  She mumbled something under her breath, but didn’t move an inch.

  “Fucking hell,” I muttered, hauling her into my arms bridal style. I had no fucking clue where the guy lived, and I wasn’t sure I would get it out of him based on the way he was drooling all over the bar.

  I took her out to my truck, sliding her into the passenger side before buckling her in and going back for the date. There was no way in hell I was carrying his ass out to the truck.

  “Hey,” I slapped him upside the head.

  “Ow, why’d you do that?” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

  “Time to go.”

  “Good. Told Josie didn’t want to go.”

  “Well, next time, be more convincing.”

  He stumbled off the barstool and followed me out the door. I had to keep stopping as he braced a few times against the brick exterior, breathing deeply like he was gonna puke.

  “If you get sick in my truck, I’m sending you the bill.”

  “Nope, I’m good. Just dizzy as hell.”

  “Where am I dropping you?”

  “Same as her.”

  I laughed at that. “Yeah, I don’t think so, man.”

  “No, really. I live with her.”

  Ah, so he must be the brother. “So, you’re not dating?”

  “Josie?” His face scrunched up in disgust. “That’s my sister.”

  Thank God for that. “You should have chosen a different song to sing.”

  “My choice.” He sighed heavily, stumbling around to the other side of the truck. He barely got the door open before realizing Josie was in the front. “I miss her,” he muttered as he climbed into the back seat.

  I really didn’t want to know, but he told me anyway.

  “Pearl was amazing.”

  “I’m sure she was.”

  “Really, man,” he said, sticking his head between the seats. “You should have met her. She was so beautiful.”

  “You sound like a sad country song. Buckle up.”

  He fumbled with his belt for a good two minutes before finally getting it clicked in. Christ, I did not need this at two in the morning, and I still had to get them inside.

  “She left me, man. Just like that.” He attempted to snap, but failed miserably. “She was the love of my life.”

  “That’s not a real thing,” I muttered.

  “No, really. She was like…the sun and the rain and the moon and stars. You know?”

  “No.”

  Sighing, he leaned back in his seat. “Josie got it.”

  “Of course she did.”

  “But she left me.”

  “Probably because you were talking too much, just like your sister.”

  “Nah. She got some job. And then she was gone.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Gone, gone, gone.”

  He shuffled forward as much as the belt would allow. “Have you ever been in love?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t do it, man. It’ll break your heart.”

  “Not planning on it.”

  “Right?” he laughed. “That’s what I said. And then, boom!” he shouted. “Just like that. She took my heart and left for Colorado.”

  This was the longest ride of my life.

  “Who would do something like that? Just leave. You don’t leave someone you love.” He slid forward again, slapping me on the shoulder. “Hey, promise me something.”

  “Nope.”

  “When you find that someone, you hold onto her with both hands. Don’t ever let her go.”

  “Sure.”

  “No, I’m serious. Cuz, otherwise, you’re just sad and lonely, drinking with your sister on a Saturday night.”

  “What if I don’t have a sister?”

  “Well, then you can borrow mine.”

  My lips twisted at the implication. Not that I would mind having her under me, and every which way. She had a nice body, and if I gagged her, I wouldn’t have to hear her speak, but somehow, I didn’t think she’d be okay with that.

  “Oh, look. We’re at your house.”

  I shifted into park in my drive, thanking God that I was finally home and could leave these two behind. I flung the door open and walked around to Josie’s side, unbuckling her and catching her before she could slide out of the truck.

  “You got the door?” I asked Sawyer.

  “Sure. I got keys somewhere,” he muttered, looking in my backseat.

  There was no way in hell I was waiting on him. I went against every instinct in my body and opened Josie’s purse. It was a nightmare. Tissues, lipstick, change, a fucking yellow ball with a smiley face on it…what the hell did she need all this stuff for?

  Finally, I found the keys.

  Carrying the limp woman was harder than I expected when walking across the slick ground, but I made it to her door without slipping or dropping her. Getting the door open was a little harder.

  “Hey!” Sawyer called out. “I think I found them!”

  I ignored him and started trying the multitude of keys in her door.

  “Wait, nope! That’s just a Cheeto!”

  The door gave way and I kicked it open, flicking on the light. The couch was closest, so I dropped her there, shoved a pillow under her head, and removed her shoes. I could still hear Sawyer outside, shouting about something, but I didn’t pay attention as I went in search of a bucket.

  If I had been nice, I could have carried her to her room, but that was a little too much work for two in the morning, especially since I didn’t know where it was. By the time I got back out to the truck, Sawyer was on his knees digging under my seats.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  His head popped up, but he was all over the place as he tried to find me with his eyes.

  “Dude, do you know how much change you have down here?”

  I looked at his open palm and sighed. “That’s not change. You’re holding a charger.”

  “Really?”

  He examined it for a solid minute while I waited for him to get off his knees.

  “You ready to get inside?”

  “Oh, did you get in?”

  “Yeah, about five minutes ago.”

  “Cool,” he nodded, dragging himself to his feet by gripping the door with all his might.

  “Shut the door,” I said as I turned to go to his house.

  The door banged shut just as he let out a girly yelp. Slowly turning, I rolled my eyes to the heavens when I saw him laying flat on his back.

  “Hey, something’s wrong. Everything’s dark!”

  Once I got him inside, I was never speaking to him again.

  6

  JOSIE

  There was no way in hell I would make it through this day if those drums kept pounding at full volume.

  “Stop!” I called out, growling in anger when the drums didn’t quiet.

  I was going to kill him. When had Sawyer decided to become a drummer, and why the hell had he decided that first thing in the morning was the best time to practice?

  Peeling my crusted eyes open, I squinted around the extremely bright, extremely painful room. I was on the couch, not in my bed. That explained the massive crick in my neck and the tweak in my back.

  I slid my legs to the floor, only to kick a bucket from the side of the couch. “How the heck did I get here?”

  Bad decisions and alcohol swarmed my mind as little bits and pieces of the night before pummeled me.

  “Oh, that was so very bad,” I muttered, pressing my hand to the side of my head where it felt like a spike was being driven through my temple.

  And yet, Sawyer continued to play the drums.

  Shoving to my feet, I stumbled down the hall and slammed my fist against his door several times before flinging it open. But he wasn’t playing the drums. He was actually hanging off the edge of the bed with his mouth gaping.

  So, that banging was actually all in my head. Well, there was only one thing that would fix this, and that was a very strong cup of herbal tea.

  Bracing against the wall, I slowly made my way to the kitchen, doing my level best not to fall every second step. I pried the cabinet open with much more force than was actually necessary and reached for my favorite mug. Sadly, it was too high, and raising my arm that high only made the pounding in my head worse.

  I bent over, thunking my head on the counter as nausea churned in my stomach. I was never drinking again. This was the worst day of my life. I wasn’t sure I’d ever had so much to drink. But I’d let my brother get the best of me.

  Tea. I needed tea.

  Moving with the greatest ease, I found a clean mug in the dish rack, not that it was really big enough for what I needed, but it would have to do. However, the light reflecting off the pot was shining right in my eyes, making my headache even worse.

  Blinds. I needed to shut the damn blinds. Right.

  I shuffled across the kitchen, wove my way through the living room, and over to the front window that was causing the wretched pounding in my head. But something outside was wrong.

  My tired eyes scanned every inch of the yard, over to the neighbors across the street, and finally back to the driveway, but I couldn’t pinpoint what the problem was. And the fog in my brain wasn’t helping a damn thing.

  The longer I stared out the window, the more my brain was suffering. I yanked the cord and closed the blinds, then headed back to the kitchen to finish my tea.

  And that’s when it hit me, halting me in my tracks.

  Pressing my hand to my stomach, I shook my head slowly. “No. Oh, God, no. Please tell me…”

  I rushed back to the window, yanking on the cord again to open the blinds. It was staring me right in the face.

  Or, rather, the lack of a vehicle was staring me in the face.

  I hadn’t made it home on my own. But that meant…

  I cupped a hand over my mouth as I barely remembered Tennessee taking my keys from me last night in the bar. Which could only mean that he had brought me home.

  My eyes drifted back to the couch where the bucket still sat.

  Crap, I’d made a fool of myself, but just how badly, I wasn’t entirely sure yet. The only thing for me to do was to walk over there like a big girl and thank him for driving me home last night.

  But in order to do that, I needed my tea. One thing at a time. I couldn’t function properly until I had my herbal tea.

  The effort it took to make it to the kitchen was astronomical, but even worse was when I tried to figure out why my tea kettle wasn’t warming up. The damn thing didn’t seem to want to turn on, and it was electric. It was too much for my brain to process right now.

  Grabbing my mug, my kettle, the base for it, and my herbal tea, I did the only rational thing a woman like me could do at this hour.

  I went to my neighbor’s house.

  The brisk morning air chilled me to the bone, but then again, I didn’t even know what I was wearing, and looking at my clothing would take my focus off the very slick, very uneven ground I was currently trying to walk across. When I finally made it to his door, lifting my fist when both hands were full was quite the conundrum.

  So, I hit my foot against the door. Pain shot up my leg, but that was the least of my concerns when I was barely staying upright. Leaning my head against his door, I groaned in pain. Or nausea. Heck, I wasn’t even sure at the moment. I just knew I felt horrible.

  I realized after a long few minutes of waiting that no one was actually going to answer the door, that I had walked over here for nothing, and now I would have to make the long trek home. Maybe I could just sit on his step for a few minutes until the cold shocked me out of my alcohol-induced depression.

  And that was just what I was about to do when the door was flung open. Yelping, I slipped forward, falling right into the masculine arms of my neighbor. With my nose squished up against his bare chest, I could smell every delicious inch of him.

  “Are you sniffing me?”

  “Hmm?” Was I? Maybe. I wasn’t really sure.

  Strong hands gripped my biceps and pushed me upright. The world tilted with the sudden movement and it took a good five seconds for everything to stop moving.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I opened my mouth, grimacing when I tasted my own nasty cottonmouth. What had died in there?

  “Are you going to throw up?”

  I shook my head slowly, then remembered why I came over here in the first place. “I came to say thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Well, there’s no vehicle outside,” I said slowly, not because I thought he was stupid, but because I could barely get the words out without thinking through everything very carefully.

  “Your deduction skills are astonishing.”

  “And the last thing I remember is you taking my keys.”

  “Yeah, you were pretty drunk.”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “You passed out on the bar.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “I had to carry you to the truck.”

  “Again, not surprising,” I muttered.

  “And then I had to deal with your date,” he bit out.

  I winced, thinking about how bad my brother must have been. “Sorry about that.”

  “He thought a Cheeto was your house key.”