Chapter 1
“MEN ARE WEASELS. AM I right or am I right?”
Mary Alice Reed winced as her cousin Finn lifted her Jack and Coke in a toast, and drained half the glass, seeming to take it for granted that everyone agreed. Mary Alice leaned toward their friend Presley and asked, “How much did she have to drink before you got her here?”
“It’s possible she might have downed a half a fifth of Bailey’s. She told me she was having Irish coffee. I didn’t realize she’d left the actual coffee out of her mug until she’d drunk most of it.”
Mary Alice plucked the glass from Finn’s hand.
“Heeeeeey.”
“Drink some water so we’re not scraping you off the floor in the morning.” Mary Alice shoved a full glass in Finn’s direction. “And why don’t you have some more fries to soak up some of the booze?”
Finn eyed the basket of shoestring fries with a mixture of longing and regret. “They’ll go straight to my ass.” She sucked the water down by an inch and shrugged. “What the hell? He’s not here to care about my ass anymore, is he?”
Mary Alice exchanged a look with Presley. “This is not the night for Margot to be late. Finn’s already two-and-a-half sheets to the wind, and we haven’t even started The Three Furies.”
“Maybe we should reschedule.”
“No! We came here tonight to bash my asshole ex and tha’s what we’re gonna do.” Finn punctuated each word with a wild gesticulation of the fry.
Mary Alice wiped a splatter of ketchup off the sleeve of her jacket and nudged the water glass. “Drink some more water, sugar.”
She scanned the room. The Mudcat Tavern was packed, as it usually was on a Friday nights, which meant plenty of witnesses. The Three Furies was Wishful’s favorite ritual for the woman scorned. Three shots of booze, three darts, and one unfortunate effigy were supposed to have the cleansing power to put the bastard ex behind you and move on. Mary Alice couldn’t understand the appeal of doing such a thing in public. Wishful was a small town, with little better to do than gossip. Why add fuel to the fire?
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Margot breathed in a rush. “The event ran over and my second in command is out with the flu.” The fourth member of their quartet peeled off her winter coat and slid onto a chair, taking a good, hard look at Finn. “Someone got started without me.”
“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here!” Finn announced cheerfully. She’d grabbed the Jack and Coke, when Mary Alice’s back was turned, and drained the glass before they could do anything about it. She slammed it down with a crack. “Let’s get this party started.”
Finn slid off her seat and nearly continued to the floor. Presley caught her, lifting her up with the same wiry strength she used to wrestle recalcitrant dogs at her veterinary practice.
“I’m okay!”
“Are you really? Seriously, Finn, if you can’t actually walk to the bar on your own, I’m not letting you do this tonight,” Mary Alice warned.
“I’m fiiine,” she insisted, pulling away from Presley and turning too quickly, latching onto Mary Alice’s sleeve to steady herself. “You should be doing this with me.” Finn punctuated her statement with a jerk of her arm.
Mary Alice didn’t know what the statute of limitations was for completing The Three Furies after a breakup, but three months was probably long past time. Plus, the town loved Judd. He was a damned hero. Coming out in public to complain about how he didn’t want her was just going to make her look pathetic. “Thanks, but I’m good.”
Finn scowled at her. “No, you’re not. If you were good, you’d have moved on by now.”
“Just because I didn’t run out and try to replace Judd with some other guy doesn’t mean I’m not over him.”
“How are you not angry?” In her current state, Finn wouldn’t understand any woman who didn’t want to castrate the offending ex and set him on fire.