Southern Sinner (North Carolina Highlands 3)

“No fucking way y’all are faking it,” he continues. “Really?”

I look at Hank. He looks back. His expression is crestfallen. He’s scared, yeah.

But I know he’s also crushed. Rhett didn’t do that. I did.

And that crushes me too.

Chapter Nineteen

Hank

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snap at my brother, jumping to my feet.

I carefully lean my guitar against the fireplace and head for Stevie. I don’t wanna touch her, not when she made it perfectly clear she doesn’t want me to. But I do want to protect her. So I do my best to stand half a step in front of her, my body blocking hers from view.

Rhett shrugs. He’s got bags under his bloodshot eyes and stubble that’s a day too scruffy. “We were up early. Amelia had brunch with some friends—”

“Wait, wait, wait. Amelia spent the night at your place?”

“It’s not what you think.” He has the grace to look sheepish. “Nothing happened.”

“I call bullshit.”

“I swear it, Hank. Trust me when I say she’s not interested. Honestly, I think she kinda hates me, which . . . whatever, I get it. Besides, she said she’s got a boyfriend. I didn’t lay a finger on her.” He holds up his hands. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

I rake a hand over the top of my head. “Christ, the last thing we need is some guy coming up here and threatening to shoot you ’cause you slept with his girl.”

“I didn’t sleep with her,” Rhett says forcefully. “Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time a dude threatened my life.”

I wave him away. “I don’t wanna know, so I’m not gonna ask. Rhett, leave. We’ll talk about this later, all right?”

“Nah, I think I’d like to talk about it now.” Rhett leans his shoulder against the jamb. His eyes move to Stevie, who’s peeking over my shoulder. “I had a feeling something was up with y’all. I know my memory ain’t exactly the best, but I definitely woulda remembered y’all catching up after Vegas.”

I’m fisting my hair in my hand now. “Why the fuck doesn’t anyone knock on this farm? You can’t just barge in here—”

“You’re one to talk. You were barging in left and right at Samuel’s house when he and Emma—”

“Don’t,” I say sharply.

An awkward silence fills the room as I stare Rhett down. Stevie’s breath quickens, audible inhales and exhales that tickle the nape of my neck.

“That’s why you’re doing this,” Rhett finally says. “To prove to Samuel you’re over Emma. That’s fucked up.”

“I know. But I wasn’t gonna keep Samuel from his happy ending. I know how bad he and Emma want to tie the knot. The idea . . .” I look away. “It came from a good place.”

I feel a hand on my shoulder. Stevie stands beside me. I feel a surge of gratitude. Of comfort too. I know whatever she’s about to say will be the right thing.

“I can attest to that,” she begins. “I knew Hank loved his family. But being here at Blue Mountain Farm, I’ve witnessed firsthand just how much he cares about y’all, and how much the happiness of his family means to him. He’ll do anything for you guys.”

Rhett cocks a brow. “He cares so much that he’ll lie to us? Hurt us, even?” He turns to me. “You tell her how you lied up and down to everyone before, right?”

I look at Stevie. She looks back, her forehead crinkled but her eyes kind. As usual, she’s not judging me. She’s just listening.

“I lied. You know that,” I say to Stevie. “But you don’t know what I lied about. I lied about having feelings for Emma. I asked Samuel point-blank if he wanted her, and he lied and said no. He asked me the same question, and I lied and said no too. We lied to each other over and over again. It was stupid, but I guess I was afraid of being humiliated.”

“Were you afraid she’d reject you?” Stevie asks.

I nod. “Yes. That, and I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. She was our employee, you know? I also didn’t want to step on Samuel’s toes. I think I knew he had a thing for her, and it drove me crazy he wouldn’t tell me about it. We used to tell each other everything. I missed how close we used to be.”

“You were hurt,” Stevie says.

“I was, yeah.”

“You’re gonna hurt a lot of people all over again with this fake dating crap,” Rhett says. “You know Mama’s gonna be heartbroken. And Milly? Lord, she’s gonna kick your ass from here to Timbuktu. Because here’s the thing, brother, we don’t want to hurt you. We want you to be happy. And I don’t know if y’all are really good actors or what, but we see how happy you are with Stevie. Beau and Mama and I were talking about it last night at the party—how we haven’t seen you this lit up in ages.”