“Of course I know that!” I scoffed. “Jenn ordered it herself. She had to have. Couldn’t have been any more clear if she’d spelled out the word DESPERATE instead of LOVE.”
“Okay,” Carter said with a relieved breath. “Okay, then. So you’ve gotta know Dunn’s not on any hot date with Jenn right now either—”
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “No, that I do not know. That is exactly the sort of wrongheaded thing he would do, because for an intelligent, capable, loving man, he’s an utter fool when it comes to relationships just like I am, and…” I was mortified to find myself on the verge of tears. “And I hurt him very badly earlier, and I may have pushed him past the point of no return. I told him to go be with Jenn, and for the first time in our friendship, it seems the man took me at my word. Now for fuck’s sake, Carter, stand aside so I can catch that limo!”
“Or. Orrrr.” Carter spun me around, laid an arm over my shoulder, and forcibly walked me toward the sidewalk. “You could stick with me, and we could chat about this, and you could remember that you are a reasonable, rational individual, in possession of a big brain and good sense. Then you could go and talk to Dunn calmly, laying out all your fears and hopes for the future, and—”
“Carter, I know you mean well, but that sounds stupid.” I shook my head miserably. “It was my big, overthinking brain that got me into this mess! I called Dunn all day long, and he didn’t answer his phone. He’s obviously been stewing in anger all day—”
“Oh, he’s been stewing in something,” Carter muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Carter said hurriedly. “What were you saying?”
“I was saying Dunn’s clearly pissed, and—” I moved my arm in a sweeping circle… and my silly Entwinin’ wreath fell out. I’d forgotten it was even there.
Well. Looked like I wouldn’t be needing it this year, didn’t it?
“You know what? Never mind.” I dropped the silly thing on the ground and kicked it over to the fence.
Miss Sara, who made the best frosting in town, was the most senior member of the Beautification Corps, and was also a local judge—thus making her three times more powerful than any human had a right to be—met me on the sidewalk with a sympathetic smile.
“Tucker, honey, not to, er… add to your troubles, but we have zoning laws against… this sort of thing inside the town limits,” she said, blinking at the wreath. “You’re gonna have to move that from your property within three days or be fined.”
Fucking figured.
“Miss Sara, how does one apply for a burn permit here in the Thicket?”
She blinked. “Oh, I… Er. Over at Town Hall, I suppose.”
“Excellent. Bonfire at my place tomorrow,” I said with a tight smile. “I’ll supply marshmallows. Carter?” I called. “Carter, I thought we were walking here.”
“We are!” Carter jumped up from where he’d been kneeling on the ground a couple of paces back and tucked something in his jacket pocket. “Just, ah… tying my shoe.”
“I changed my mind.” I stalked down the street toward the center of town, not waiting for Carter to catch up. “I spent the whole dangity day constructing a wreath I’ll never get to use. If I’m not interrupting their date, I’m going to the Tavern. I’m gonna have a few shots of that whiskey Dunn likes—”
“Jameson,” Carter supplied.
“Yeah.” I shot him a suspicious glance. “How’d you know?”
“Lucky guess,” he said smoothly. Then he sighed. “Come on. I’ll buy the first round.”
“Isss jess that he’s such a good man,” I explained to Carter, four or seventy minutes later. “The best man. I dint wanna love him. I couldn’t help it.”
“Yes, yes, so you’ve said. Twelve times in the last ten minutes.” Carter glanced up from whatever the heck he was typing into his phone and sounded a trifle bored. “You’ll note that I’m not arguing. From all my observations, he seems like a very good guy. Very devoted.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. Even people who didn’t like Dunn thought he was a good man. That said something.
I wasn’t sure what, but I’d ponder it later.
“Devoted. Thass exackly it. He loves his mama, and he loves Red, and Gracie and the girls, and Brooks and Mal. And he loves me.” I sniffed and twirled an empty shot glass on the table. “And Bern’dette.”
“His cat.”
“Nah, his pet pig,” I said happily. “He pretends she’s not his pet pig, but I think that’s ’cause Dunn’s not so great at recognizing the truth of things right away.”
“Like… recognizing that his cat is a pig?”
“What? No. Jeez, Carter. Pay attention. He doesn’t realize that his pig is a pet, just like he didn’t realize that his friend was his true love. But if you’re gonna make someone a bed under the dining table near the heating duct to keep them warm, I think that means you care about them more than average, wouldn’t you say?” I snorted and shook my head.